Lu Yin didn’t dare to be careless at this moment, and he released the star energy seal on his right arm to return to his peak state. He also released his domain and even activated his Cosmic Art.
With his strength fully revealed, the strange oppressive force he felt around him was inexplicably reduced. It was very puzzling.
By this time, Lu Yin had already reached the middle section of the Sky Platform, something that few students could manage. Those who had were all at least as strong as an Area Master.
Below the Sky Platform, people like Frankfurt, Tu Bo, Hart Phoenix, Uro, and Long Ze had appeared, and they were all staring up at Lu Yin.
Ascending the Sky Platform was a major event, and it was similar to someone crossing the Ocean of Death. Such an event would definitely attract a large audience.
As Lu Yin neared the peak, the vague strength increased once again, and the distortion of the void became even more noticeable, but it was now obvious that the distortion was not caused by that indistinct force.
After he climbed atop another sphere, the strange strength increased in intensity once again. Lu Yin felt like his entire body was being rejected, as if the void in this place was repelling him, as if the entire void wanted to erase his very existence. This sensation was probably why those other students had vanished; it must have been because of this strange strength.
Five-lined battle force suddenly appeared as a dark gold radiance blossomed around Lu Yin’s body.
Many students cried out in surprise.
When Lu Yin’s battle force appeared, the indistinct strength was reduced yet again.
The whole situation was very puzzling and strange, and this strange force made Lu Yin feel like he could be wiped out at any moment.
From when he had first started cultivating, Lu Yin had fought many battles and had even felt the enormous strength of that Seven Courts elder which was enough to annihilate the heavens themselves. But no matter how powerful someone’s strength reached, they always needed a bit of time to actually obliterate another person. Although that period of time might be extremely short, there was still a sliver of time that was needed. However, with this strange force surrounding him, Lu Yin had a feeling that the instant that he faltered, he would instantly vanish without any time to react.
“Seventh Bro, what’s this aura am I feeling? Are you at some incredible place?” the Monkey asked.
“This is the trial zones’ Dao of Purgatory, the Sky Platform.”
The monkey was lost. “The Astral Combat Academy’s trial zones?”
Suddenly, it shrieked, “The ruins of the Rune Technology civilization?!”
“You mentioned that’s what this place is.”
“No wonder there’s such a feeling here.”
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean? Have you felt this sensation before?”
The monkey hurriedly replied, “Of course not! Anyone who dares to test the Rune Technology’s strength is looking to die.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed, as the monkey was clearly lying; he had definitely felt this unique, indistinct strength before. This also meant that the strange strength came from the remnants of the Rune Technology civilization.
However, this wasn’t the time to investigate. He looked up and saw that there were only a few steps left before he would reach the peak.
Everyone below was anxiously watching on. Lu Yin’s current position was also Dao Bo’s limit. Dao Bo was able to reach this same place, where he was just a few steps away from the peak, but at that point, he always vanished from the trial zones, dying in an unknown manner.
Lu Yin took another step forward, and the strange strength increased once more. It was not yet threatening to Lu Yin, but its danger became very noticeable with this step. The feeling of rejection became even more intense, and now, a sense of danger appeared that made his back shiver. Lu Yin breathed in deeply before taking one final step. At the top of the platform, there was the distorted void while that indescribable strength attempted to dissolve his domain, his battle force, and his entire being.
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as an intense feeling of crisis welled up within his heart. He had a sense that he was about to be obliterated. There was no attack, but this feeling was very strong. He did not know how powerful that Arbiter had been when they were in the Astral Combat Academy, but since he was able to match the Divine Fist’s record, Lu Yin believed that he was no weaker than the Ten Arbiters when they had been at his cultivation.
The strange sense of crisis grew even more prominent. There were no marks on Lu Yin’s body and no external attack either, but his entire body started to become transparent.
Everyone held their breaths, as Lu Yin was about to vanish just like the others. They had witnessed this scene many times, and everyone who had failed had inexplicably vanished just like this.
Lu Yin was shocked. This shouldn’t happen. Was it possible that his strength still wasn’t able to match up to the Ten Arbiters’ of the past? How could that be possible? When that Arbiter had ascended to the top of the Sky Platform, they had also been at the Limiteer realm, because no Explorers were allowed to enter the trial zones. Did this mean that his current power still could not match up to the Ten Arbiters’ when they had been Limiteers? Exactly how strong had that Arbiter been? Was the Divine Fist’s record a lie?
Lu Yin suddenly realized that no one would ever reveal all of their hidden trumps. The Divine Fist’s record had been left for future generations to surpass, but they could only surpass what they believed to be the Arbiter’s record—no one knew the true limits of his strength.
Through the Sky Platform, Lu Yin could acutely sense the invincibility of the Ten Arbiters. Everyone had underestimated the Ten Arbiters yet again; their true power was incomparable and immeasurable.
Lu Yin’s body turned more and more transparent as his very existence was being erased. He was not yet qualified to ascend to the top of the Sky Platform.
However, right before Lu Yin completely vanished, his body suddenly solidified and that strange strength rapidly diminished.
The crowd could not understand what had happened, but they could see the result: Lu Yin had reached the top of the Sky Platform.
Despite the countless years that the trial zones had stood for, almost no one had ever reached the top of the Sky Platform, and there were only a few records of such students. Of the recorded successful students, only that one Arbiter had done it as a Limiteer. All of the others had actually been Explorers where they had been allowed back into the trial zones on an exception. Now, Lu Yin was the second Limiteer student who had ascended the Sky Platform since ancient times.
The moment Lu Yin ascended the Sky Platform, all of the Astral Combat Academy’s headmasters opened their eyes simultaneously. At this moment, Lu Yin’s name had been recorded down in the history of the Astral Combat Academy.
“A Limiteer who can actually ascend the Sky Platform. A genius from the heavens,” an elderly voice spoke from Astral-6.
“The Sky Platform only exists for motivation and inheritance; it’s not a test meant for Limiteers. All those who ascended in the past were Explorers, but two Limiteers have done so in recent years. The universe has indeed changed,” someone from Astral-2 said.
“It’s a good thing. The sooner the younger generation matures, the sooner us old folks can be at ease,” a voice from Astral-5 replied.
“Maturing too quickly might not sufficiently polish their willpower. The Ten Arbiters Council is too overbearing and is possibly too impulsive,” someone from Astral-9 said.
“It’s fine. They’re still young, and having some ambition is a good thing. This little fellow should go to the Ocean of Death next. Cross the Dao of Heaven’s Ocean of Death, ascend the Dao of Purgatory’s Sky Platform, keke,” an aged voice from Astral-1 said.
“It’s a pity that this child’s from Astral-10. That old fogey doesn’t even know that his own academy has produced a genius. What a pity,” a voice from Astral-4 rang out.
…
Back in the Dao of Purgatory, Lu Yin relaxed. Right before his body had completely vanished, he had suddenly remembered the Stonewall Scriptures. Every time he bumped into an unsolvable problem, he would recite the Stonewall Scriptures, which would sometimes result in miraculous effects. This time, it had produced a miracle once more. The Stonewall Scriptures had seemingly opened a path for him by forcefully dispersing that strange force, allowing him to successfully ascend.
It was a pity that he had not been able to rely on his true abilities, which showed that he was still inferior to that Arbiter as a Limiteer, though he was not sure just how far behind he was.
Speaking of which, his current power was already rather abnormal. But despite his die, all the fortunate encounters he had experienced, and his bafflingly powerful body, he still could not match up to that Arbiter’s strength from back then. He truly did not know how the Ten Arbiters had cultivated to reach such freakish strength.
Regardless of the methods he employed, Lu Yin had succeeded, and now, he felt as if he had ascended to another space. Half of his body was atop the Sky Platform while the other half was within the distorted void. The scene before his eyes was completely different, as he saw endless strange runes. It was as if the entire Dao of Purgatory had been divided into two.
This was the true state of the trial zones, the true form of the remnants that the Rune Technology civilization had left behind.
“Seventh Bro, what do you see? Tell me!” the monkey shouted. Lu Yin’s upper body was atop the Sky Platform, so the monkey could not see what Lu Yin saw.
Lu Yin did not know how to describe what he was seeing; looking at it was one thing, but comprehending it was another matter entirely. He was perplexed, as he did not know what good came from ascending the platform. He would rather witness an ancient battle between powerhouses.
Countless stared up from below, dumbfounded. No one had witnessed that Arbiter ascend to the peak as everyone had been chased away, and no one even knew which Arbiter had succeeded. Lu Yin was the only person to succeed in recent years.
Many expected him to extract an ancient inheritance that would allow them to broaden their horizons. However, contrary to expectation, there was no activity whatsoever even after they waited for a long time.
“Why does it look like Lu Yin’s been split into two halves?” someone mumbled.
The others continued staring, and the description seemed fairly quite accurate.
“Seventh Bro, your bottom half is exposed to those below! Don’t you feel insecure?” the monkey shrieked.
Lu Yin stared at the endless runes in the heavens and wrinkled his brows. The more he saw, the dizzier he became, and the more tired his eyes felt. Two rows of clear tears involuntarily flowed down from his eyes, and he closed them, not daring to open them again. However, the moment he closed his eyes, his body started vanishing, which frightened him into opening his eyes once again.
When he opened them for the second time, they felt so sore that he could not bear it anymore. It felt like someone was blinding him with a bright light.
He wanted to close them, but at the same time, he didn’t dare to do so. He was not foolish, and he knew that there must be a reason behind the fatigue he was feeling. His eyes would not become tired for no reason with his current strength. Perhaps this was related to the reward of ascending the top.
Lu Yin continued to endure the strain, and he even widened his eyes as he desperately stared at the countless runes. He grew more light-headed, and he tried to recite the Stonewall Scriptures again, but it was ineffective this time.
Finally, he could no longer bear it and closed his eyes. His body instantly vanished from the Dao of Purgatory in the exact same manner as those failures from before.
Everyone below remained silent. Had he succeeded or not? No one knew, as no one had ever witnessed someone ascending to the top.
On Astral-10’s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin suddenly opened his eyes and then reflexively closed them again as they were still too sore. What’s going on?
“Brother Lu, how are you feeling?” He heard Coco’s voice. Zora, Xia Luo, and the others were present as well, as they had all shown up to watch Lu Yin’s attempt at the Sky Platform.
Lu Yin shook his head and closed his eyes. “I’m alright. I just need some rest.”
Coco was worried. “Brother Lu, how are your eyes? Are you sick? Coco can give you a jab.”
Still with his eyes closed, Lu Yin immediately gestured that he was fine. He quickly replied, “There’s no need, Coco. I’m fine. I’m just a little tired, so I’ll be fine after a nap.”
“Oh.” Coco acknowledged Lu Yin’s words, but she still felt like it was a shame.
They all had a feeling that they should not disturb Lu Yin in his current state, so they all separated and left.
Lu Yin leaned against the trial zone mountain and tried to open his eyes. A trace of light entered his eyes, but there were also threads. Eh? Threads? Aren’t these runes?
Lu Yin jumped in fright, and his eyes instantly went wide as he observed his surroundings.
