Gerbach and the others were awestruck. While they had already expected to lose, they were shocked that they had been so thoroughly and effortlessly crushed by Schutz.
They were the best of the Great Yu Empire’s younger generation. Losing to Lu Yin was an entirely different scenario since they had never really treated Lu Yin as one of their own, but being defeated by Schutz this easily made all of them feel disappointed.
Even further away, there were other elites of Yu Academy watching on, including Gerlaine, Jeraldine, as well as the recent arrivals from Earth: Zhao Yu, Huan Sha, Fu Xiaoshu, Zhen Tong, Song Shi, and many others. They had personally just witnessed Schutz crushing the Hall Masters and were just as startled as the other students. This was the power of someone who had once been hailed as the strongest of the Great Yu Empire’s younger generation.
“This is the power of a student from the Astral Combat Academy. The difference is too extreme.” Tianming was apparently more casual about their loss and was the first to speak up, although his tone still betrayed his bitterness at their defeat.
Schutz replied, “There’s a huge difference between the Innerverse and Outerverse in terms of star energy control, battle experience, battle techniques, and even the power that various individuals have. I’m only considered average within the Astral Combat Academy.”
Gerbach and the others’ eyes went wide. “You’re only average there?!”
Schutz nodded as he looked over all the gathered students. After seeing Gerlaine and Jeraldine, he spoke a bit louder. “The reason why I’m back is because I promised Lu Yin to handle matters in Yu Academy and to increase the strength of the empire’s younger generation. I’ll also choose some of the best students from here to go to Astral-10 to be mentored.”
Everyone was delighted. The Astral Combat Academy was a dream for numerous people in the Outerverse. After seeing what Schutz was capable of, many people became even more excited at the possibility of joining the academy.
“How strong is the most powerful person in the Astral Combat Academy?” somebody asked.
Right after the question was asked, quite a few people looked at the speaker like he was a moron. That person had a confused expression as they asked, “Did I say something wrong?”
Song Shi snickered. “The most powerful person is naturally the Empire’s Royal Regent, Lu Yin. What, did you not watch the Tournament of the Strongest?”
The person was astounded. “The Tournament of the Strongest? No, I only watched the Astral Combat Tournament.”
Huo Zhong spoke up, saying, “Not everyone had the opportunity to watch the Tournament of the Strongest. The Astral Combat Tournament was publicly broadcast to the entire universe to watch while the other tournament was only broadcast in selected regions. Earth was special since it’s the Royal Regent’s birthplace, which is why you were able to watch it.”
Song Shi and the rest looked incredibly proud. Exactly! The Royal Regent had been born on Earth, so they had managed to see the power of the strongest student in the Astral Combat Academy even though they actually couldn’t understand his strength.
Schutz had a cold look in his eyes as he said, “Seeing it one thing but understanding it is an entirely different matter. Even Explorers and above can’t comprehend how powerful the Royal Regent is, much less someone like you. What you need to do right now is increase your strength as much as possible so that you can enter Astral-10. When the time comes, you can even ask the Royal Regent to take you into the Innerverse.”
“The Innerverse? Isn’t Astral-10 in the Frostwave Weave?” Gerbach asked.
Schutz shook his head. “The Royal Regent was the champion of the tournament, which means that Astral-10 is now ranked above the other academies. It will officially reenter the Innerverse.”
Everyone went quiet. Just the influence of the Royal Regent, Lu Yin, alone was enough to allow Astral-10 to reenter the Innerverse. He truly was an existence beyond their comprehension.
A few days later, Darkstar Gorge and the Nine Allied Nations officially made contact. It was no surprise to Lu Yin that, while the two forces tried to restrain themselves, they both still deployed a substantial amount of their forces. The Nine Allied Nations were fearful of that powerful being whose power level was over 200,000 from Darkstar Gorge while Darkstar Gorge also feared the powerhouse from the Darkmist Weave.
However, Darkstar Gorge had grown accustomed to being the strongest, so they felt like they had the right to act as they wished. In their minds, their opponents wouldn’t be able to hold on for long, and they would definitely gain control of Shuta Planet in the end. Puyu would also make a move as well, since this matter affected his reputation.
Lu Yin observed the situation for a few days until he confirmed that the war was irreversible. The only way for the conflict to be resolved at this point was for one of the two sides to give up on Shuta Planet. Otherwise, the conflict would continue on for a long time. He wondered if he should add some more fuel to the fire, but after thinking things through, he decided not to. He could not take actions that were too conspicuous, or else someone might discover that he was the one responsible for the entire situation.
What he needed to focus on at this point was the Northline Flowzone.
A few days ago, the Ten Arbiters Council had ordered him to arbitrate a contest at Northline Gate.
Northline Gate was a landmark in the Northline Flowzone. The Northline Flowzone held seventeen families, which had banded together due to a rule that had been passed down for generations: whichever family won the contest at Northline Gate would rule the flowzone. and the other families would not be allowed to voice any objections. Their solid unity had helped them develop to where even the Eight Great Flowzones did not dare to underestimate the Northline Flowzone.
Back when the Northline Flowzone had first been assigned to Lu Yin, Feng Shang had reacted very strangely. This was because Northline Flowzone was very united against outsiders, so it would be difficult for Lu Yin to intervene.
While looking over information pertaining to the Northline Flowzone, Lu Yin pondered over this matter.
There wasn’t much to his orders. All he had to do was supervise a battle. Then what? The Ten Arbiters were all trying to gain more territory. Since the Northline Flowzone had been assigned to Lu Yin, he would lose respect and opportunities to advance if he wasn’t able to intervene in matters even within his assigned territory.
In addition, the Northline Flowzone was situated between the Blazing Mist and Beast Tamer Flowzone. Representatives from the powerful organizations of these two flowzones would definitely spectate the competition as well. Since Lu Yin did not have a good relationship with any of the organizations from the Blazing Mist Flowzone, he could not afford to have anything go wrong during the event. At the very least, he could not bring shame to the Ten Arbiters’ name.
Lu Yin stared at the ceiling with a troubled expression. The region’s unity against outsiders was the biggest issue on his mind.
At that moment, he received a video call from Old Cai from Astral-10.
Lu Yin was rather surprised. He had not been doing much for Astral-10 recently, and the academy hadn’t assigned him any missions either, so why was the mentor suddenly contacting him?
“How’ve you been doing, kid? I heard that you’ve done some pretty incredible things recently.” Old Cai looked the same, and his smile stretched from ear to ear, decorated by his pointy moustache as he looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin respectfully answered, “Thank you for looking after me. May I know what it is you need from me?”
Old Cai laughed. “It’s nothing. Do you still remember what the Astral Combat Tournament was for?”
The gears in Lu Yin’s mind turned, and his expression brightened. He knew what was going on now.
Old Cai frowned. “That look in your eyes doesn’t seem quite right.”
Lu Yin enthusiastically looked up at Old Cai. “The Astral Combat Tournament’s purpose is to decide the rankings of the various academies. Since I placed first, does that mean that Astral-10 is now Astral-1?”
Old Cai burst into laughter. “Yeah, that’s technically the case. However, Astral-10 has been weak for such a long time that our faculty members, students, and resources can’t compare to Astral-1’s. It’s pointless for us to become Astral-1, so we decided against it. However, Astral-10 can at least return to the Innerverse now, and it’s all thanks to you, kid.”
Lu Yin’s eyes brightened. “It’s great that we can return to the Innerverse. By the way, Old Cai, there’s something that I’d like to ask of you.”
Old Cai narrowed his eyes as he looked Lu Yin up and down. “Kid, I’m only telling you this because you have the right to know. It doesn’t mean that you have the right to decide what happens to Astral-10. Think carefully about the next words you’re going to say.”
Lu Yin hesitated and then bowed respectfully. “I’m aware of that. What I would like to request isn’t anything too difficult. I’m just hoping that Astral-10 can stay in the Northline Flowzone for a period of time after entering the Innerverse and that it can wait until the event at Northline Gate finishes before continuing on.”
Old Cai was surprised. “Is that starting already?”
Lu Yin nodded.
Old Cai stroked his moustache and grinned. “Got it. You’re trying to use your connections to intimidate them, eh? What, are you afraid that the organizations of the Blazing Region and the Ross Empire will make things difficult for you?”
Lu Yin chuckled. “Not really. I represent the Ten Arbiters Council, so they won’t dare to go overboard. Besides, I’m also a part of the Lockbreaker Society.”
“Is that so? In that case, you can just go by yourself. Later.” Old Cai was obviously annoyed at Lu Yin’s reply.
Lu Yin quickly spoke up, “Of course, my most important identity is being a student of Astral-10 and being your disciple. Nobody would dare disregard the reputation of Astral-10, much less offend you, sir.”
Old Cai obviously relaxed greatly after hearing Lu Yin’s flattery. He thought it over and then said, “Alright, we’ll do it. We’ll go to the Northline Flowzone first, and after the battle is over, we’ll leave.”
“Thank you very much, sir!” Lu Yin was delighted. With Astral-10 nearby, he would feel much more reassured. None of the mentors were someone to be trifled with. Lu Yin had seen for himself how powerful Hunters were, so he was certain that Astral-10’s mentors weren’t mere Hunters but rather Enlighters!
He had never forgotten the rumor that Astral-10 was a prison. He had already guessed that the person being imprisoned was the crazy director, which meant that the mentors had to be incredibly powerful. Those people from the Blazing Region definitely wouldn’t dare to cause trouble for Lu Yin with Astral-10 right nearby.
Sometimes, a person’s only purpose in life was to maintain a good reputation, and Lu Yin was afraid that some of the older experts from those organizations would do their best to embarrass him. If that happened, then the Ten Arbiters would be annoyed with him as well and would start to doubt his abilities. Hence, he did not want anything to go wrong in any way for this event.
“You achieved something incredible for Astral-10. We discussed amongst ourselves and were planning to give you a reward, but forget it. Astral-10 going to the Northlane Flowzone should be enough of a reward in and of itself for you.”
Lu Yin was completely speechless. He’s so petty. “The Rainmaster already helped me simulate Thirty Stacks, so that’s already enough for me. Thank you so much for your help.”
“Haha, you’re a smooth talker, kid. You’ve got things wrong, though. As long as you manage to get to Northland Flowzone safely, those people will ensure your safety, and nobody will lay their hand on you. Not even the Blazing Region will do anything. Know why?” Old Cai snickered as he looked at Lu Yin, as if he had succeeded in some huge scheme.
Lu Yin was confused.
Old Cai continued on in a leisurely manner, saying, “Within the Outerverse, it’s very rare to come across an Enlighter. However, there are still Enlighters in the bigger flowzones within the Innerverse, and it’s no different for the Northlane Flowzone. It has seventeen families, and among them, there are three Enlighters with power levels of over 200,000. They are Elder Northgate from the Northgate family, Granny Chan from the Lily family, and Tie Sa from the Barthe Jacques family. Since you represent the Ten Arbiters Council, those people will definitely not just watch on as you get bullied. Nobody will try anything under the watchful eye of those three Enlighters, so your worries are uncalled for.”
Lu Yin smiled. “Even then, just having the academy be in the Northline Flowzone will boost my confidence, so I don’t regret making this request.”
Old Cai chuckled, nodded, and then hung up.
With Astral-10 close by, Lu Yin would have nothing to worry about. If anything huge did crop up, he also had Leon’s Armada backing him even if Astral-10 couldn’t handle things. Highsage Leon led a great power, and he even had the guts to go up against the Daynight clan.
With such things in mind, Lu Yin realized that his connections were actually pretty solid.
The battle at Northgate Platform was an internal matter for the Northgate Flowzone, so it did not have a huge effect on the surrounding flowzones.
