There was less than a month remaining before the tournament started. In the Human Domain, at the borders of Erudite Flowzone, there was a gigantic, white bone soaring through space. It was headed across the border and towards the Erudite Flowzone. The white bone was the spacecraft that had come from the Astral Beast Domain and was carrying the beasts as it headed to the competition in the Human Domain.
Shui Chuanxiao watched as the giant bone disappeared into the distance with a pondering look in his eyes.
“Do we really not need to check them, sir? Things will get bad if there are strange beasts onboard like those Sheng Ao from before,” Enya anxiously asked from behind Shui Chuanxiao.
Shui Chuanxiao shook his head. “There’s no need for that. They’re not that stupid. The Erudite Flowzone is under surveillance by many epic powerhouses, and every single thing they do is under heavy surveillance. They won’t be able to fool anyone. Don’t worry.”
Enya was confused. “Why was this Tournament of the Strongest scheduled all of a sudden?”
Shui Chuanxiao narrowed his eyes. “The war has to stop for a time.”
Enya was surprised. “We’re stopping the war?”
“This tournament is just an excuse for the Astral Beast Domain and the Technocracy to enter the Human Domain and conduct negotiations. The border wars that have gone on for countless years have reaped a large number of casualties from both sides, and both sides also have matters that they must deal with. That’s why the war will be temporarily stopped, but exactly who will be heading the efforts is an important matter that must be negotiated,” Shui Chuanxiao answered. He was saying quite a bit, which was rather unusual for him. It was as if he was instructing her.
Enya was still confused. “I don’t think that there’s anything in our domain that we need to handle. Won’t they take this opportunity to attack us?”
Shui Chuanxiao snickered. “Who said that we’re fine? The truth has merely been concealed. Once the cunning party dies, another one will be cast aside.” At this point, Shui Chuanxiao seriously said, “Remember this well, Enya. No matter when or how, do not ever let your guard down when it comes to defending the border. Never let that happen.”
Enya nodded and glanced at Shui Chuanxiao with a strange look in her eyes. The commander was acting very strangely today.
Within the Erudite Flowzone, the white bone moved just like a universal spacecraft as it shot through space, catching quite a bit of attention as it did so. Ripples formed around the bone as it traveled through space, and they prevented the beings within the bone from making direct contact with the outside universe.
Not very far away from the bone, a massive, pen-shaped spacecraft slowly drew closer to the bone. Within it were students from the Erudite Flowzone’s Lost Radiance Academy who were about to take part in certain trials.
Not too long after that, the two spacecraft met, making for quite a strange sight. Both ships had unique structures; one was a bone, the other was a pen, and both were on the same path, although it appeared that neither was willing to give way for the other.
At the frontmost tip of the bone, a purple-haired beauty lazily opened her eyes. Then, she lightly tapped out with a single finger, causing the entire local region of space to be covered with snow as everything froze. The other spacecraft was also frozen, after which it slowly dropped down.
Within the frozen spacecraft, Ying Tang was shocked. As a mentor of Lost Radiance Academy, he had the strength of a Cruiser. However, there was absolutely nothing he could do against this seemingly delicate snow. He could only watch on as the academy’s spacecraft fell down, giving way to the other spacecraft.
“Have mercy, Lilac Snow,” a voice boomed through outer space, causing ripples to spread out and melt the snow into nothingness.
At the end of the bone, the purple-haired beauty disdainfully replied, “Why are you hiding? Is this the so-called character of a cultured person?”
A middle-aged man walked out from within the void and fearfully gazed at the beauty. “I didn’t think that you’d come, Lilac Snow.”
“I didn’t think that your family would have sent you here either, Wen Yao. Or perhaps… Are you here to keep an eye on us?” Lilac Snow lazily answered with a completely nonchalant expression.
“I’m not keeping an eye on you. I’m just helping you finish the tournament without any issues,” Wen Yao stated.
Lilac Snow sneered. “How hypocritical. Enough of that. Stop blocking us. Make them leave.”
Wen Yao waved his arm, gently lifting and pushing the huge spacecraft aside, and making a path for the bone vessel from the Astral Beast Domain.
At this point, Ying Tang walked out from within the spacecraft and whispered something to Wen Yao. Wen Yao’s eyes shone as he glanced at the bone spacecraft. “There’s a youth who would like to challenge someone from the Spiritual Academy. Would you be willing to permit that?”
Lilac Snow was rather interested as well. “You humans are so hypocritical. Are you trying to test the waters before the tournament? Fine.” After speaking, she glanced at the bottom of the bone spacecraft. “Who wants to fight? It’ll just be for fun.” After that, with another casual wave of her hand, white snowflakes appeared in the void, forming an icy white route that extended into the distance. This would be the battlefield.
A young man exited the giant spacecraft. He looked quite similar to Han Chong.
“Who is he?” Wen Yao asked.
Ying Tang answered in a hushed tone, “That’s Han Kui, Han Chong’s younger brother. People call him the Little Art Saint.”
Wen Yao was caught off guard. “He’s Han Chong’s brother? What a surprise.”
“He’s always wanted to surpass Han Chong, which is why he asked to challenge a student from the Spiritual Academy,” Ying Tang explained.
Wen Yao shook his head. “The Spiritual Academy has no easy targets. Even Han Chong might not be able to win. This kid’s in trouble.”
A green-eyed golden mouse climbed out from within the bone spacecraft, slowly made its way towards the ice platform floating in space, and then furned to face Han Kui.
Han Kui was furious to see that he was facing off against a mouse. To him, this was a clear sign that these astral beasts were underestimating him! He immediately struck out, using his star energy to draw pictures of huge mountains to pressure the mouse.
This mouse was Hua Yishou, and he stared at Han Kui with beady green eyes that were filled with contempt. Against the huge mountains that were exerting pressure on him, the mouse simply opened its mouth, causing an suction force that was so astonishing that it distorted the void and caused spatial cracks to appear. Han Kui was startled by the sight and felt his scalp go numb. This mouse was able to create spatial tears just by opening its mouth? Creating spatial tears was the mark of a powerhouse amongst Limiteers.
The large mountain formed from star energy was swallowed by Hua Yishou in a single gulp. After that, Hua Yishou disappeared.
Han Kui’s eyes widened and he hurriedly dodged. The place where he had been standing looked as if something had bitten through it, leaving only a black hole behind. Hua Yishou disappeared once more, and while Han Kui had been able to avoid the first attack, he was unable to do so for the second one. He could only watch on, unable to move, as Hua Yishou closed in on him with a gaping mouth.
Nearby in space, Wen Yao waved his arm and stopped Hua Yishou. “Enough. We admit defeat.”
Han Kui panted heavily as he gazed at the disproportionately huge mouth of the tiny Hua Yishou. That mouth was able to burrow through the void and he couldn’t do anything to block it. This was the first time in his life that he had felt himself be so close to death, since it was clear that he had nearly been eaten.
Back atop the bone spacecraft, Lilac Snow contemptuously said, “If you don’t fear a fight, then you shouldn’t be afraid to die. I can’t believe that you saved him. This is the reason why you humans keep getting weaker with each newer generation.”
“Don’t speak too soon,” Wen Yao shot back.
Before long, the white bone spacecraft left.
Within the spacecraft, Han Kui’s expression was incredibly bitter. The difference between him and the mouse was just too big. He had always held the belief that he would one day surpass his brother, Han Chong, and that the gap between them wasn’t that much. However, it was only now that he understood that it wasn’t that the gap between them wasn’t large but rather that his brother hadn’t made the difference between the two of them clear. One could say that Han Kui was not even able to see the difference between him and his brother. It was no wonder why he was stuck in Lost Radiance Academy while his brother was one of the most powerful students in the Astral Combat Academy.
“That’s the power of the universe’s cream of the crop. Don’t feel down. You still have a chance to surpass your brother,” Ying Tang said to console the youth. He thought very highly of the young man.
Han Kui blankly nodded and stared at the starry skies with a complex look in his eyes. The universe was huge, and that mouse was definitely not the strongest within the Limiteer realm.
The Astral Beast Domain was located in the extreme east, while the Technocracy lay to the extreme west. These two domains were separated by a huge astral river, and the Technocracy shared a border with the Chaos Flowzone.
The spherical spacecraft from the Technocracy passed by the Human Domain’s border armies there and appeared on the astral river’s huge ark.
The humans did not know very much about the Technocracy because, since ancient times, nobody had been able to enter it, regardless if one tried to sneak in or barge straight in. This was because there were rumors that, within the Technocracy, there was a large, primordial brain that was able to scan everything in the entire domain at all times. That rumor was very exaggerated, but it was not impossible. After all, it was a fact that nobody had ever successfully entered the Technocracy.
This meant that the humans knew very little about them.
Within the spherical spacecraft, a half human, half robot female stared at the passing scene of outer space from within the spacecraft. Deep within her eyes, there was a strong sense of disdain and contempt that originated from her very soul. She was not looking down upon the Human Domain specifically, but rather, she was looking down upon the entire known regions or even the entire universe.
Next to her, a wolf-shaped robot lay on the ground, seemingly very obedient to her.
“I wonder if there’ll be anyone who can block me once I unveil my true form. All of them are nothing but useless ants in front of me,” the girl said with a slight grin. The Tournament of the Strongest was merely a game to her.
The Sword Sect was definitely the leading sect in the top flowzone. The Thirteen Swords were famous throughout the entire universe, and while their disciples might not be able to inherit all Thirteen Swords, they still possessed powerful techniques that were enough to shock the universe.
The Lightning Sword Technique was considered to be one of the most difficult ones to learn, and its power was second to none.
Amongst the many disciples of the Sword Sect, very few had actually managed to learn it. Of those who had, Yan Hua was one of them. He was a Limiteer from the Sword Sect who was second only to Liu Shaoqiu. He even stood above Liu Tang and held the same status as Liu Xiaoyun.
It was a pity that he was a bit old; he was about a decade older than Liu Xiaoyun and the rest. While he could still be considered as a member of the younger generation, nobody mentioned him anymore. In just a few more days, he would have to retire from that title. It would be fine if he had become an Explorer, but if he was unable to do so, then he would be nothing more than a joke.
Yan Hua sat atop the peak of a lofty mountain with a complex expression. He had given up too much for the Lightning Sword. With his talent, he could have easily become an Explorer if he had chosen to learn a different technique. However, him choosing the Lightning Sword meant that he had no way out. He could either succeed or fail and become forgotten. Those were his only choices
As he stared at the sword in his hands, Yan Hua tightly clenched the hilt. Lightning flashed in the sky above him as a reaction. Yan Hua was powerful, but unfortunately, he was out of time.
All of a sudden, the void in the distance shattered. An arrow streaked towards Yan Hua after piercing through the void. Yan Hua’s eyes widened, and he immediately counterattacked with his sword. Thunder boomed as a frightening streak of lightning struck the ground. The arrow was turned to dust while the lightning was simultaneously dispersed.
Yan Hua stood up and gazed into the distance in shock. That arrow had been shot by a Limiteer, but since when was there such a powerful expert in the Sword Sect? That arrow had been released from a great distance away, but it had still destroyed his attack. Even Liu Xiaoyun wouldn’t be able to achieve that.
With this in mind, Yan Hua soared into the sky and charged in the direction that the arrow had come from.
Far away, quite a few disciples were standing around the Sword Sect’s space station as they glared intensely at a young man.
The young man was half-naked, and the few bits of clothing that he did have were extremely casual. His body was covered with scars, and his demeanor was arrogant and snobbish as he glanced around at his surroundings. “So you all are the best of the Sword Sect? What a joke.”
Right after he said that, a female disciple stepped out and glared at the young man. “I request a duel with you.”
The young man snorted. “You’re not my match, little girl.”
“How dare you!” she yelled as she swept out with her sword horizontally. Sword qi spread out and froze the void. This attack wasn’t weak at all and was practically able to tear through the void. This young woman was comparable to an Area Master from the Astral Combat Academy.
A glimmer of surprise flashed through the young man’s eyes, but his figure disappeared like a fish swimming through the ocean as he dodged the sword attack. By shaking the void, he had effectively dispersed all of the star energy and sword qi in the area that had been sealing the void. He then shot out another arrow at the female disciple.
At that moment, an indescribable sense of danger could be felt. The void broke down as an arrow shot into the distance.
The girl’s face turned deathly pale. She wasn’t able to defend against this attack, and perhaps even her beloved seniors from the sect would not be able to either.
