After hearing Lu Yin’s question, Hai Qiqi gave him a serious look. “Let me ask you a question in return. Who do you think is stronger: Lan Yue or me in a thousand years?”
“How would I know?”
“There’s your answer. How the heck would I know if you’re stronger than Lan Si when he was a Limiteer or not? You should ask Starsibyl, but I’m not her.”
Lu Yin had forgotten about Starsibyl and realized that he indeed should have asked her back when they had spoken.
“Right, did Starsibyl ask you a question?” Hai Qiqi suddenly looked at Lu Yin, interested in a new topic.
Lu Yin muttered to himself for a second, but then looked at her solemnly. “Guess.”
Hai Qiqi turned around silently, her brain working at extreme speed. “Just you wait.”
Although chatting with Hai Qiqi usually left Lu Yin choking back his words, it was still a relaxing activity, all things considered. He knew that Ka Dejia would not do anything overboard to Zenyu Star so long as Lu Yin did not participate in the contest on Planet Pyrolyte. Ka Dejia’s existence on Zenyu Star did not change anything for the planet or the empire; this was the only thought that Lu Yin could use to console himself.
However, this feeling of being stifled could not be completely ignored, and Lu Yin had recently been mulling over the fact that he needed to find an Enlighter backer for the Great Yu Empire somehow. Strangely, Lu Yin was reminded of the symbol that he had seen at Huo Qingshan’s family estate, and he felt like he should find some time to chat with Huo Qingshan after this current matter was resolved. With Lu Yin’s own hidden trump cards, he was not afraid even if Huo Qingshan had some kind of super powerhouse behind him. Lu Yin could not accept having a foreign organization living right under his nose.
Several days passed, and a large-scale battle broke out on Planet Pyrolyte. No, it could not be classified as a battle, and should instead be considered as the outbreak of a war since nearly one thousand people were involved in the conflict.
Pyrolyte Mountain was once again the site of a major conflict, and war had broken out because the Daynight clan’s reinforcements had arrived.
Fresh blood flowed across the dark-red, withered dirt while strange worms occasionally emerged from the ground to gnaw on the corpses, only to be swept away by the constant aftershocks from the ongoing battle. There was smoke and ash everywhere.
One Sword Sect disciple was surrounded by several people. His longsword was shattered, and he fell dead to the ground.
Nearby, a tamed astral beast was hacked to death by sword qi that swept across its body. The attack also affected several nearby Limiteers who did not dodge in time, and they lost their limbs.
On the ground, there was one disciple from the Second Grade Hall who was nearly dead. He frantically fished out some pyrolyte ore and quickly detonated it, causing the area around him to tremble. Unfortunately, the strength of the explosion wasn’t enough to kill any of the surrounding Limiteers since the blast wasn’t even at a power level of 10,000.
As far as one could see, the entire region of Pyrolyte Mountain had been drenched in the flames of war. The participants were not just limited to just the Sword Sect, Daynight clan, and Second Grade Hall; there were also people from many other powers mixed into the chaos, including Northline Flowzone’s Northgate Gang and Ah Fan.
Liu Xiaoyun lifted her longsword as a giant gash opened up across her arm. Fresh blood dripped down the hilt and onto the ground. There was also a bloody wound on her forehead.
Opposite her, Nightqueen Yanqing’s four-lined battle force enveloped her body, and her eyes were filled with a purple light; she had even activated the Nightking’s Body. “You’re not my opponent. On account that we’re fellow students, I’ll spare your life. Scram!”
Liu Xiaoyun gripped her hilt, but she did not back away.
Some ways away, Yan Hua was in an even more miserable situation than Liu Xiaoyun; he was facing Zhanlong Daynight.
Yan Hua had not been able to leave even a single injury on his opponent.
Yōu Ye’er was being protected by multiple Sword Sect disciples, and she had already been escorted away from the battlefield. This battle was bound to be the Sword Sect’s complete and utter defeat, as the Daynight clan’s alliance with the Second Grade Hall amounted to a force that just the Sword Sect could not withstand.
Since Kuang Wang felt grateful for Liu Xiaoyun showing mercy during their battle, he did not act at this time. Even so, just Zhanlong Daynight alone was enough to determine the outcome of this battle, not to mention the addition of Nightqueen Yanqing and Zhuo Daynight, who had just stepped onto the battlefield.
Zhuo Daynight had also been recruited, and she was participating in this contest on Planet Pyrolyte. Her red-hilted longsword had already beheaded many opponents, and while within her domain, none of the Sword Sect disciples could hurt her.
The battle soon ended, as the Daynight clan did not want to start a blood feud with the Sword Sect. In addition to some deaths, Liu Xiaoyun, Yan Hua, and Yōu Ye’er had all been spared by Nightqueen Yanqing. She had given Liu Xiaoyun some moderate injuries in order to prevent her from participating in the planet’s battles in the near future.
The Daynight clan disciples swept across the battlefield. Nightqueen Yanqing was holding a piece of star essence to restore her energy. She was also looking across the battlefield when her eyes landed on Zhuo Daynight. Nightqueen Yanqing’s eyes flashed with a sharp light, as Lu Yin would not have been able to join the Council of Astral Academy if it were not for this woman, and the following series of events would not have occurred either. This woman was from the Daynight clan, but she seemed to support outsiders. Nightqueen Yanqing’s hatred for Zhuo Daynight had even surpassed what she felt for Lu Yin.
As she thought about things, Nightqueen Yanqing appeared in front of Zhuo Daynight and slapped at her. Zhuo Daynight’s eyes went wide, and she responded with a slash of her sword. A shockwave swept out with a bang, and the ground sank from the powerful collision. Zhuo Daynight was overpowered by Nightqueen Yanqing’s enormous strength, and she felt an overwhelming strength oppress her as she spat out a mouthful of blood. Nightqueen Yanqing coldly spat out, “Slut, I’ll let you know who’s your master.”
Then, with the boost of strength she received from activating the Nightking’s Body, she unleashed another burst of strength, acting even more ruthlessly than she had against Liu Xiaoyun in the recent battle.
At that moment, a hand seized Nightqueen Yanqing’s arm. “Woman, don’t go overboard.”
It was Zhanlong Daynight.
Nightqueen Yanqing glanced apprehensively at Zhanlong Daynight, snorted, released her hand, and then turned to leave.
Zhuo Daynight collapsed to the ground with one knee, panting heavily. Against Nightqueen Yanqing, she held no hope of victory at all.
Zhanlong Daynight looked at Zhuo Daynight with some interest. “I heard that your relationship with Lu Yin isn’t bad.”
Zhuo Daynight coldly replied, “We have no relationship.”
“Then why did you help him?”
Zhuo Daynight put her sword away and walked off into the distance without looking at Zhanlong Daynight.
He watched her, and his lips curled up. “What an interesting woman. I like her.”
Pyrolyte Mountain had exchanged masters once again, and now, it was once again under the control of the Daynight clan with the assistance of the Second Grade Hall.
The various powers all noted that, during the recent battles, all of the top elites were students of the Astral Combat Academy, such as Kuang Wang, Liu Xiaoyun, and Nightqueen Yanqing. Each Astral Combat Academy student that entered the scene was someone who could not be ignored.
During this crucial period in the contest, many powers communicated back to their bases that their disciples should be sent to the Astral Combat Academy. In particular, Astral-10 was the top choice for quite a few. All the students from that particular academy branch were not weak, and even those who had come from the Outerverse were the same, since they had at least attained the average strength of a Astral Combat Academy student. There was no need to even mention Xia Luo and Silver, as they boasted a strength that was at the same level as an Area Master’s. And finally, there was Lu Yin, who was the strongest Limiteer in the universe.
The Daynight clan had not taken control of Pyrolyte Mountain for long when the Dire Barbarian Clan’s Avery arrived. The Dire Barbarian Clan had allied with the Blaze Realm and the Ross Empire. Each alliance had become clear and defined at this point.
At around the same time, Lu Yin finally returned to Frostwave Weave.
This region of the universe had been the starting point of his cultivation, but it definitely would not be the end.
A wide-eyed Hai Qiqi looked around. “You were born in this place?”
Lu Yin replied, “Frostwave Weave is huge. Don’t bother looking around. I haven’t been to this area either.”
“Hasn’t Frostwave Weave been unified by your Great Yu Empire?”
“The Starfall Sea belongs to the Sea King, but has he visited every place there?”
“Of course,” Hai Qiqi answered matter-of-factly.
Lu Yin was left speechless once again.
On Planet Pyrolyte, battles kept erupting everywhere. Wherever a pyrolyte mine was discovered, it was sure to become the location of an intense battle soon enough.
Jared was escaping in a pathetic manner while Wen Qian’er and Xi Yue were chasing him.
The tables had turned. Just as how Jared had previously snatched Xi Yue’s pyrolyte mine before, she had now brought Wen Qian’er with her for revenge. If Jared had not escaped quickly enough, then he felt that there was a chance he would have been killed.
“You guys just wait! My Blaze Realm will not let this go unanswered!” Jared roared. Every other disciple from the Blaze Realm had been eliminated, and he was all alone.
Some distance behind him, Xi Yue was not to be outdone. “You won’t have the chance!”
“Bring it on. I want to taste that Karmic Flame Sword!” Wen Qian’er shouted.
Jared was furious, but he ran away even quicker since he was afraid that the two of them might chase him down.
In another area of Planet Pyrolyte, Northgate Gang and the rest were having an argument. Powers from the smaller flowzones were different from the bigger ones; those like the Daynight clan would at most ally with one or two organizations while the parties from smaller flowzones did not have enough strength with just one or two of them. And so, they were forced to ally with seven, eight, or possibly even more than ten other organizations. As long as there were multiple organizations involved, there would naturally be disagreements.
Northgate Gang wanted to be the dominant voice in his party, but he was pushed aside by others as soon as he spoke. More than ten people were bickering fiercely, as some wanted to snatch Pyrolyte Mountain while others wanted to seize other locations. There was no unity whatsoever in their alliance.
Ah Fan looked on indifferently, as he had been forced to come here. He had originally had no intention of coming to Planet Pyrolyte, and he had only wanted to wait for Lu Yin at East San Dios to challenge him again. He wanted to see if he still was unable to withstand a second attack.
He looked up, staring at the sky as spacecraft after spacecraft shot down from space like shooting stars. This sight had never changed, as none of the forces was willing to abandon the pyrolyte mines.
Suddenly, Ah Fan’s eyes trembled, and he looked off into the distance. “Stop arguing. Pyrolyte Mountain is changing hands.”
The crowd turned to look in the direction of the mountain since they were not too far away from it. They watched as a single spacecraft crashed towards the mountain.
Someone was astonished. “That’s crazy! They’re actually landing on Pyrolyte Mountain! That person must have lost control of their spacecraft.”
“That person’s screwed. Pyrolyte Mountain is where the top elites of the Daynight clan and Divine Grade Hall have gathered. They were even able to defeat the Sword Sect! As soon as that poor bastard leaves the ship, they’ll end up doubting their entire life.”
“Maybe not. It could be someone from the Daynight clan or the Beast Tamers Flowzone.”
“Probably not. Any of their reinforcements would arrive in waves.”
Northgate Gang frowned, and he looked at Ah Fan unhappily. “Don’t cause such a fuss. It’s just a spacecraft going out of control.”
Ah Fan’s eyes narrowed. Was that really the case? There was indeed a strong possibility of that being the case, but what if that wasn’t the case? If someone was about to challenge Pyrolyte Mountain by themselves, who could it be? Lu Yin? It shouldn’t be him since he had only recently left the Starfall Sea and did not have the means to arrive so quickly. Mu Rong and Ling Que were the same, and aside from them, there was no one else who would attempt such a thing. Perhaps it truly was a case of the spacecraft losing control!
There were many other people aside from Ah Fan who had noticed the solitary spacecraft headed straight towards Pyrolyte Mountain, and many other groups around Pyrolyte Mountain were all watching it. They had all guessed that this was either a spacecraft that had lost control or contained someone from the Daynight clan or the Beast Tamers Flowzone. Otherwise, no one would be foolish enough to try to fight the forces at Pyrolyte Mountain by themselves.
But the truth was far different from what the crowd’s guesses. The spacecraft was destroyed by a powerful gust of visible wind that caused it to explode. The gale originated from the top of Pyrolyte Mountain, as the Daynight clan had launched an ambush attack on the descending spacecraft. In the next moment, there was a gleam from a sword streaking across the land that shook the ground as it swept out across the sky. The blade released an endless sword qi that caused all the onlookers’ hearts to tremble. In that moment, everyone felt numb, as if they had come face to face with their innermost fear.
The spatial crack extended into the sky. It looked like an astral beast had opened its ferocious mouth and was attempting to devour Pyrolyte Mountain.
Nightqueen Yanqing’s eyes instantly shrank when she saw this sight. “The thirteen Swords! It’s Liu Shaoqiu!”
The endless sword qi swept across all of Pyrolyte Mountain. Aside from the places where they were actually extracting pyrolyte from the ground, everyone was overwhelmed by the sword qi attack. This was the Second Sword of the Thirteen Swords that was executed in the form of a domain, each sword rivalling the strength of the First Sword.
The Thirteen Swords had astounded the universe in the past, and now, it had stunned Planet Pyrolyte.
