Lu Yin spun around to suddenly face Hart Phoenix. “You have some balls to challenge me when you haven’t even broken through to become a Limiteer.”
Hart yelled out, “It’ll be more of a challenge this way!”
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and curtly replied, “You’re just asking for a beating.”
After saying that, Lu Yin stretched an arm out towards the gold-colored Undying Bird. Hart Phoenix did not expect that Lu Yin would use his bare hands to contest the Undying Bird’s flames; that was simply courting death in his eyes. Lu Yin was up against the golden Undying Bird, the top innate gift of the Phoenix clan, and its high temperatures were enough to melt anything in the bird’s path. It was clearly a foolish decision to touch it with one’s bare skin.
Back during the Astral Combat Tournament, Sha had utilized a combination of his domain and innate gift to freeze the golden Undying Bird. Back then, Hart Phoenix’s understanding of his own power had not been as deep, as he was confident of defeating Sha now. As for someone using their bare body to contact the flames of the bird, just the idea was laughable. If the golden Undying Bird was something that could be handled in such a cavalier manner, the Phoenix clan would not have become the terrifying force to be reckoned with that it was.
And yet, Hart was destined to suffer a heavy loss this day. He had first been toyed with by the Sea King, and now, he was facing off against Lu Yin, whose actions managed to upend Hart’s entire understanding of the world. That was because he clasped the golden Undying Bird within his hand like a small chick before holding as if he was about to cast it aside like a piece of trash. “Go and play somewhere else.”
Hart’s mouth dropped down, gaping wide open; why was this happening? Was Lu Yin’s physical body really that strong? Hart was unresigned to the fact that Lu Yin could withstand the golden Undying Bird’s flame with his body, so he started preparing to launch a counter attack. However, the very next moment, a cold sensation filled his body. The golden Undying Bird had been frozen, and it fell onto the ground with a thud.
Hart was dumbfounded. This time, his golden Undying Bird had been frozen by Che Han. When he saw his innate gift freeze over once again, Hart Phoenix was forced to question his life; why had his golden Undying Bird been frozen so easily?
The frozen golden Undying Bird was reminiscent of an incomparably beautiful art piece as it plummeted into the middle of the Skyfall Cascade. Hart soon followed, being washed away by the water just like Xun Jiong before him.
Everyone fell speechless as they watched the events at the top of the Skyfall Cascade unfold. The sight of a handsome man being washed away by the river would entertain anyone. At the beginning of the selection, Lu Yin and the others had gathered at the middle of the mountain that was the Sea King’s Dome and then battled against each other as they slowly made their way up the Skyfall Cascades. This contrasted sharply against those people who had been given preferential treatment and taken straight up to the top level of the Sea King’s Dome. But now, they were all being wrung out of the mountain through the flowing waters of the Skyfall Cascades.
It was the complete opposite of before, as the only thing that mattered now was one’s personal strength.
Many people were perplexed. What did the Sea King actually want? Had he ever been concerned about how attractive the potential groom was, or did he have some kind of vendetta against those who were too attractive? The entire matter was very strange, but one thing was certain; one’s own abilities were still the most fundamental determiner.
At the southwest section of the Skyfall Cascade, beside the water bank, Zhang Dingtian held his broken sword in his hand. As he raised his head and looked at the screens, another person was washed onto the shores of the river. Would Lu Yin be able to defeat Mu Rong? That was the question Zhang Dingtian was pondering.
“Xia Luo is in trouble! He’s up against Mu Rong!” Little Pao yelled out with a terrified cry.
Michelle and the others all looked in the same direction. Xia Luo was indeed getting closer to Mu Rong, and they were currently only merely three meters apart.
Mu Rong did not go out of his way to attack Xun Jiong and the others, but he would attack whoever was in his path. And as it turned out, Xia Luo was standing right in front of Mu Rong with his back towards the unequaled Limiteer. Xia Luo was looking at Faceless, his eyes full of contemplation.
Mu Rong raised his wooden flute and struck out, aiming at no particular target. Everyone had witnessed how powerful his wooden flute was, and even a random attack from it struck fear into the hearts of all who saw it.
Xia Luo’s expression changed when he sensed that something was amiss as he moved aside to evade it. Right in front of him, the wooden flute reappeared, headed straight for his upper arm. Mu Rong had not put much force behind this attack, and his attack could even be called lazy. Xia Luo responded in kind and dodged it without much effort, narrowly avoiding the wooden flute as he took a step back. He was not hurt in any way, aside from his cloak being slightly ruffled by the passing flute.
Mu Rong was flabbergasted. He immediately turned around and cast a stern look at Xia Luo. His attack had not merely been throwing the wooden flute, as he had also locked down the space around him since it was within the range of his domain. The fact that Xia Luo had been able to dodge it so easily caused Mu Rong to seriously reevaluate Xia Luo.
Xia Luo spoke with a smile on his face. “I am sorry for blocking your path.”
Mu Rong scanned the man in front of him with his eyes and then stared cautiously at Xia Luo. His expression became increasingly astonished before he replied, “I made an error in judgment. You are stronger than I had thought.”
Xia Luo shrugged his shoulders. “Still not as strong as you, though. Goodbye.” And with that, he turned around and left.
Mu Rong did not stop him, but as he watched Xia Luo walk away, he had an irresolute look on his face; could his senses have been wrong? Mu Rong had felt his star energy being diffused earlier, and it had not been from some ordinary lockbreaking ability.
Xia Luo and Mu Rong’s brief skirmish had drawn the attention of many others, including Lu Yin. Xia Luo was truly strong if he could force even Mu Rong to take him seriously. Such a look on the unequalled Limiteer’s face had only ever appeared when he faced off against Zhang Dingtian. Not even Lan Yu possessed the capability to force Mu Rong to be serious.
Little Pao and the others heaved sighs of relief. It was a good thing that Xia Luo had not been embarrassedly thrown off of the mountain since they all had very good impressions of him. The man was kind to others, and although no one knew what he was ruminating about all the time, he did not give off a dangerous air. These qualities made him an ideal teammate.
Xia Luo’s distance from Mu Rong increased, but he did not leave the area within the sluice gates. Instead, he headed straight towards Faceless, the cold glint in his eyes condensing until it was a freezing look as he approached him. This cold glare was directed away from the view of Lu Yin and the others, and only Faceless could see it.
Faceless, with a swift attack from his sword, hacked at a handsome Explorer and forced him to the ground. With fresh blood splashing onto his feet, Faceless looked up as Xia Luo moved closer to him step by step. His ugly facial features were distorted, but his eyes remained calm.
Xia Luo stared at the ugly man, his brows locked together. Although Lu Yin could not see it, Michelle and the others could see his expression on the screen. Xia Luo was showing an expression that they had never seen before.
“Hey, is Xia Luo really going to challenge this man to a fight? Even though that guy’s really ugly, he’s ranked seventy second in the Top 100 Rankings. That’s even higher than Qin Chen’s ranking!” Big Pao blurted out in an exaggerated fashion.
Lulu clenched her fists tightly. “Good luck, Xia Luo! Don’t be afraid.”
Coco was worried. She preemptively took out her giant syringe, obviously ready to heal someone at any given moment. However, her actions were in vain since she was not even allowed into the middle part of the mountain, let alone anywhere near the peak.
At this moment, aside from Xia Luo, all of the other people who had gotten in due to their looks had been eliminated. There were now only six people in the area surrounding the Sea King’s Trident, and Xia Luo was an anomaly.
Among the six people, Che Han was the closest to the Sea King’s Trident, merely thirteen meters away from it. Cheng Wu was the closest after Che Han while Lu Yin was more than a hundred meters away from both Cheng Wu and Che Han. However, Lu Yin was less than twenty meters away from Mu Rong.
Mu Rong turned around and looked at Lu Yin before quickly redirecting his attention towards the Sea King’s Trident. He still did not see Lu Yin as a serious threat. As far as he was concerned, this man was unlike Zhang Dingtian. Mu Rong had felt Zhang Dingtian’s resolve and boldness the moment Zhang Dingtian drew his sword, but Mu Rong did not feel the same sort of resolve coming from Lu Yin.
Even though the two Limiteers had very similar reputations, Mu Rong was not the type of person who paid much attention to others’ reputations. There were just too many people out there who fought for fame. Having said that, Mu Rong did not take Lu Yin lightly either, and he had to admit that Lu Yin was a worthy opponent. He might possess the same fighting strength as Zhang Dingtian, but he would not gain much from fighting someone at that level as victory would be nearly guaranteed.
Among those with similar reputations, Ye Xingchen was the only one who interested Mu Rong. As a powerful Limiteer who dared to barge into the Cosmos Sea, his resolve and determination could only be that of an extraordinary person’s.
“Seventh Bro, I have this nagging feeling that that guy is looking down on you,” the monkey said in an angry voice.
Lu Yin had sensed this as well, but he was not too bothered by it. Instead, he focused on the Sea King’s Trident and began to slowly make his way towards it.
With a swoosh, the tip of a blade brushed past Lu Yin’s side and into the ground. In the distance, Faceless and Xia Luo had begun doing battle.
Lu Yin was puzzled as to why Xia Luo did not retreat. Even more surprising, he had started battling against Faceless. Even though Xia Luo was quite powerful, it was unlikely that he would be able to defeat the 80th ranked individual of the Top 100 Rankings. So, why did he want to fight?
On the other side of the area, Che Han was now within ten meters of the Sea King’s Trident. As soon as he reached that distance, he clearly felt a sharp, threatening aura emanate from the weapon. Even though the trident was stabbed into the ground, its aura still gave off attacks that were so threatening that even he was scared of them. Sharp attacks pierced through the void and left a giant tear in his clothes.
This was the innate power of the Sea King’s Trident. It’s attacking prowess would grow the closer one moved closer to it. It was a good thing that it was still within a range that Che Han could handle. Since this was a part of the tasks for the Sea King’s son-in-law selection, the intensity was not that terrifying.
In front of Che Han, his Fireglass Frost froze the air. The white cracks within the layer of ice intensified and widened the closer he drew towards the trident. Each attack from the trident also caused the cracks to deepen.
Everyone watched on nervously. The Sea King’s future in-law would be one of these six young men.
All of a sudden, Cheng Wu rushed into the ten meters range of the Sea King’s Trident. Without any warning, he threw a punch straight at Che Han.
Che Han had constantly been on guard against Cheng Wu, and he retreated as soon as the large clock touched any part of his body, allowing him to narrowly avoid being trapped by the clock. If he was trapped, he would have ended up in the same situation as Ling Que. As he spun his spear around and entered a horizontal blocking position, Cheng Wu threw another powerful punch at the spear. “Thunder punch!”
A deafening sound rang out that caused the air to implode the void to distort. Visible claps of thunder spread out in all directions as Che Han’s spear was bent out of shape by the powerful punch. The impact of the attack forced Che Han to retreat a dozen paces, and he wore a pained look on his face as blood started pouring out of his ears.
It was no surprise that Cheng Wu was the strongest competitor there. He was ranked 69th in the Top 100 Rankings, but he showed no mercy to these weaker opponents. He was also an expert at launching sneak attacks.
Che Han’s head was still spinning when the large clock started creeping over towards him again. If he was caught by it and forced to receive one more Thunder Punch, he would suffer a fate no better than Ling Que’s.
Che Han hurriedly retreated more than ten meters away from the Sea King’s Trident.
Cheng Wu was suddenly all alone in front of the Sea King’s Trident. He threw a glance at Che Han before moving his gaze to Mu Rong and Lu Yin. Finally, he looked at Faceless, who was still fighting Xia Luo in the distance. His gaze then moved back to the Sea King’s Trident, and he started to make his way closer to the trident, his large clock encasing him within it.
Che Han’s eyes turned icy as he threw his spear straight at Cheng Wu, the five interlocking rings of snowflakes dazzling even as the void froze. The Fireglass Frost appeared again, shrouding both the sky and ground. The power of this attack was enough to send Qin Chen running for cover, but it had no effect against Cheng Wu. Che Han’s attack was not even enough to pierce through the large clock. Cheng Wu continued inching closer towards the Sea King’s Trident, until he was only about three meters away from the trident.
The tip of a huge blade violently swung down onto the large clock, the impact resulting in a resounding twang sound. Cheng Wu was momentarily stunned, and when he raised his head, he saw Faceless; Xia Luo had exited the area and left the battle.
Cheng Wu narrowed his eyes. He exited from the large clock and threw a punch at Che Han, who was the closest to him. Meanwhile, the large clock flew into the air and formed a barrier between him and Faceless. He had unexpectedly chosen to fight against both of them at the same time.
Cheng Wu’s goal was to become the Sea King’s son-in-law. He had grown up in a poor environment, and if it were not for his innate gift and fortuitous encounters, he would never have made it this far. He had absolutely no background to speak of, and he understood how painful such a thing was. What he needed was a strong backer, something that the Sea King could undoubtedly provide him with. To achieve his goal, he had not concealed his identity when he entered Sea King’s Dome. Additionally, he had not hesitated to launch a sneak attack against Ling Que, just to ensure that he would not be hurt in their exchange. He was now literally a step away from his goal, so he was going all out to demonstrate his value before the entire Sea King’s Dome.
The ones who threatened his position the most were Faceless and Che Han. The other two, powerful as they may be, were only Limiteers who could not even penetrate the defenses of his large clock. They were not worthy of his consideration; the Sea King’s Trident was his to seize!
The three powerful Explorers fought an intense battle merely ten meters away from the Sea King’s Trident. In front of them were Lu Yin and Mu Rong, who calmly watched on. They did not join in the battle, but neither did they retreat.
Mu Rong did not have much desire to become the Sea King’s son-in-law. Lu Yin, on the other hand, was simply hoping that someone else would grab hold of the Sea King’s Trident first.
