Lu Yin’s eyes burned with a fervent light as he stared below the ground. There, he saw a terrifying number of rune lines lying just beneath the surface. Eh? What’s that?
Suddenly, a pair of eyes opened and focused on Lu Yin.
Lu Yin took several steps back as his scalp went numb. He had just been noticed, and that gaze was definitely from a super powerhouse lying underground. Could that have been Tian Yanzi just now?
With a whoosh, the ground in the distance started to boil before a fiery dragon ascended into the sky and roared. It unleashed a wave of raging flames that caused the void to tremble.
The 200,000 cultivators who had migrated to this place all stared up at the fiery dragon that had risen into the sky in astonishment. Was that a real dragon or a fake one?
As the fiery dragon roared, it released a heat wave that took the form of visible red waves that swept across the cultivators. As they passed through them, many people had their clothes burned away, and of those people, most of them were women.
Cries of shock were heard all around before a litany of curses were shouted out.
Hai Qiqi had been protected by Hai Dashao, and the young man stared at the fiery dragon with wary eyes.
Lan Baobao was no exception.
Lu Yin was puzzled; what was this all about?
The fire dragon raised its head and then spat out another wave of fire that caused the temperature of the air to rise steeply.
“Evil creature, back off!” A cry cut through the clouds and dispersed the high temperature in the air.
The crowd of cultivators all stared at the monstrous fiery dragon.
It snarled, trying to demonstrate its power, but it also appeared to be rather sullen.
“Get back!” someone shouted out again.
The fiery dragon flew a circle in the sky, clearly reluctant to leave, but in the end, it dashed back towards the ground.
A middle-aged man dressed in a fiery-red gown appeared in the sky, and even his hair was a fiery-red color that made it look like it was burning. This was Tian Yanzi.
“That evil creature is very mischievous. I’m sorry it scared you people,” Tian Yanzi apologized.
The women whose clothes had been burned away were indignant, but they did not dare say anything. This was the Skyblaze Dojo, and they were currently facing the Skyblaze Dojo Master, who was second only to Dojo Master Lan in the entire Grayweed Continent. They had to suppress their irritation.
Dojo Master Lan and the Bluearch Dojo Master also flew into the sky to talk to Tian Yanzi.
The other cultivators were all ushered into the Skyblaze Dojo.
Lu Yin frowned as he looked at the sky. He could tell that the eyes that had looked at him earlier had not been the Skyblaze Dojo Master’s, as they did not feel the same. There was another terrifying powerhouse at this dojo.
“Qiqi, where are you guys going?” Lan Baobao called out.
Some distance away, Hai Dashao, Hai Qiqi, and Elder Tong all headed in another direction.
When Lu Yin looked over, a bulb seemed to light up in his head. He suddenly realized the identity of the person who had looked at him: the Sea King. That was it—Hai Dashao and the others were all headed in the direction of those eyes. Additionally, that terrifying gaze had to have come from someone who was more powerful than even the Skyblaze Dojo Master and Dojo Master Lan. Thus, it could only be the top expert of the Starfall Sea, the Sea King.
But Lu Yin could not understand why the Sea King was hiding in the Skyblaze Dojo.
“Brother Zhang, do you know where the Sea King is?” Lu Yin asked.
Zhang Dingtian shook his head. “Everyone has been searching for him, but no one has found him. I don’t know where he is either.”
Lu Yin’s eyes flashed; it turned out that even people like Zhang Dingtian were not privy to this information. Perhaps only Hai Dashao, Elder Tong, the Skyblaze Dojo master, and Dojo Master Lan were aware of this information. The Sea King had his own schemes, and they were surely designed to target the Sixth Mainland.
Lu Yin’s hopes suddenly rose, as it was possible that they might not be facing complete and utter despair after all.
“That perverted dragon is so detestable. I remember when I accompanied my master here more than ten years ago. The exact same thing happened,” a girl cursed under her breath next to Lu Yin.
On the other side, a cultivator smiled bitterly. “That dragon is a specialty of the Skyblaze Dojo, and it was born in the subterranean fire. The Skyblaze Dojo Master borrowed its strength to protect the Skyblaze Dojo.”
“Still, it shouldn’t humiliate us like that.”
“It really shouldn’t. Who knows where that thing learned such perverted behavior, but it still likes to burn away clothes, especially women’s clothes. Everyone, please don’t take offense. After all, it’s just the spirit of the subterranean fire, and not a real human. It’s not really that perverted,” a Skyblaze Dojo disciple awkwardly explained.
A laugh broke the atmosphere, and it came from an older cultivator. “There’s no need to explain. The true instigator isn’t that fiery dragon, but rather a different pervert. Just forget it, since you guys won’t get it even if I explain things.”
Many gathered around the man to ask more.
That aged cultivator remained aloof for a while, but he eventually continued his explanation. “Decades ago, the Skyblaze Dojo Master was roaming about the Starfall Sea, and he coincidentally saved a sylvan dragon and brought it back here. He allowed that sylvan dragon to remain here, and from that moment on, the fiery dragon changed. Before that, it had always been very pure, but its personality became like this due to the influence of that failure of a sylvan dragon.”
Many Skyblaze Dojo disciples looked embarrassed, but they had no way to defend themselves.
More and more cultivators learned of this story, and they successively asked for the whereabouts of that sylvan dragon, as they wished to teach it a lesson.
However, when they learned that the sylvan dragon had the strength to rival an Enlighter, they all changed their minds.
Lu Yin was astonished, as he had never expected a sylvan dragon to be in this place. He had crossed paths with other members of that species before, and although they were not his enemies, he had beaten up quite a few sylvan dragons when he had participated in Astral-10’s entrance examination. Thus, it was actually possible that the entire tribe had heard of Lu Yin’s name.
Just as Lu Yin was thinking about looking around for the sylvan dragon’s rune lines, a familiar voice entered his ears. “Lu Yin, come here.”
Lu Yin was surprised, as he could instantly tell that this voice belonged to the Sea King. It had truly been the Sea King who had exchanged glances with Lu Yin earlier.
The Sea King was located at the entrance to the subterranean fire, which was the foundation of the Skyblaze Dojo. When Lu Yin arrived, he was able to vaguely make out a fiery dragon roaming through the magma with a carefree expression.
And not too far away from the magma, there were quite a few clusters of rune lines within the reddened cave. They belonged to Hai Dashao, Hai Qiqi, Elder Tong, Dojo Master Lan, the Bluearch Dojo Master, the Skyblaze Dojo Master, and the Sea King.
Lu Yin’s figure flashed as he entered the entrance to the underground space, charging through the tunnel that was under the fiery dragon’s feigned ferocious vigil. The high temperature constantly distorted the void, and not even the average Hunter would be able to survive in such an environment. Hai Qiqi was likely only able to enter due to the Sea King’s protection.
Lu Yin followed the flowing magma into the cave, and he soon entered a spacious hall. This hall was vast, but despite its size, only the Sea King and the others were within the hall, silently waiting for Lu Yin to arrive.
When he saw the Sea King once again, Lu Yin realized that he could now see the Sea King’s rune lines. This was his first time seeing them clearly, as he had been nearly blinded by the powerhouse’s rune lines back when he had first arrived at the Sea King’s Dome. During the rest of that trip, he had not dared to look at his rune lines again.
“Junior Lu Yin pays his respects to Senior Sea King,” Lu Yin said respectfully.
The Sea King looked at Lu Yin in a stern manner. “You should not have allowed Qiqi to return to the Starfall Sea.”
Lu Yin was irritated to hear this greeting yet again, as everyone had told him the exact same thing: Elder Tong, Hai Dashao, Lan Baobao, and now, even the Sea King.
But feeling frustrated was all Lu Yin could do. He did not dare reveal any sort of temper, as he was currently facing the Sea King, not Hai Dashao.
He had originally thought that the Sea King was an Envoy-level powerhouse like the Arrow Mountain elder at best. However, their earlier exchange of looks had made the youth feel that the Sea King’s power might even surpass Mr. Yi’s.
This was the strength of the Starfall Sea’s undisputed top expert, and the man was indeed an Envoy. However, there could be an absolutely enormous difference in the power levels of Envoys. A power level of 500,000 was an Envoy, and so was a power level of 790,000, which was an incredible disparity.
“Father, how can you say that? I’ve already told you about everything that happened, and you can’t blame him!” Hai Qiqi was also upset and irritated with the Sea King.
They had been separated for a long time, and the Sea King doted heavily on his daughter. His face quickly grew much more gentle. “Alright, Father won’t blame him.”
Hai Qiqi was pleased with herself, and she glanced over at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was rendered speechless, and he decided to not act like the good guy if such a situation ever happened again in the future.
“Seventh Bro, your father-in-law’s family’s bullying you, and this monkey can’t bear to watch them do so anymore. Rest assured, this monkey will take your side and scold them to death,” the Ghost Monkey said with a snicker.
Lu Yin felt helpless, and he had to fight the impulse to take out that vile-smelling fruit and slam it into the Sea King’s face.
He surveyed the hall, and suddenly, Lu Yin quickly focused on a young person who was also present.
In the entire cave, aside from Hai Dashao and Hai Qiqi, there was actually another youth. He was standing in a corner with his back leaning against the scorching hot wall, looking at Lu Yin with interest.
The handsome young man had a light smile on his face and was wearing the uniform of Mt. Stacks Dojo. There was nothing special about his appearance other than his slightly above average looks, but Lu Yin was instinctively drawn to the youth’s eyes, which were filled with a confident authority that looked down upon everything from high above. There was also a limitless self confidence within them, as well as something else that seemed unclear. Was that expectation? Or could it also be a provocation?
For some reason, Lu Yin instantly recognized this person: the Ten Arbiters’ Divine Fist, Lan Si.
In the entire Grayweed Continent, there was only one person who was a member of the younger generation who was capable of fighting against an Imprinter and leaving unharmed.
The Innerverse’s Champions’ Stage had been established to grant titles during this war, and the highest title that one could receive was Arbiter. This hinted that there were likely some people who intended to use the Champions’ Stage to encourage more youths to compete. After all, the reputation of the Ten Arbiters preceded themselves.
However, even if the current Ten Arbiters did not abdicate, and even if only military contributions were evaluated, the Ten Arbiters would still be the Ten Arbiters. They were the only ones capable of accomplishing what they had, as no one else could match up to them.
Lan Si was one of those youths that stood at the pinnacle, but Lu Yin was the first one to approach the level of the Ten Arbiters.
Of all the Ten Arbiters, Lan Si had been the first to contact Lu Yin, and his impression of Lan Si was still the deepest, as their cultivation paths were very similar.
Lu Yin ignored everything else around him when he exchanged glances with Lan Si. The influence that the Ten Arbiters had on the younger generation was simply too overbearing. If Progenitors were deities to all cultivators, then the Ten Arbiters were deities to the youths of the Innerverse and the Outerverse. They were legends who could not be surpassed.
In the past, Lu Yin had created a great deal of commotion in the Innerverse when he had matched Lan Si’s Astral Combat Academy record. The commotion that he had stirred up in Mt. Stacks Dojo had also been because Lu Yin had broken Lan Si’s record.
The Ten Arbiters were treated as the benchmark to measure one’s talent against, and they also demonstrated the difference between the present and the past. This was because, before the Ten Arbiters came into being, nobody had ever reached such a high level at such a young age. Or, at least, no one in recorded history had done so.
Lan Si was very interested in Lu Yin, as this person seemed to specialize in challenging his own records. Lu Yin had done so back in the Astral Combat Academy, and then once again in Mt. Stacks Dojo. This was very interesting.
From above, a ball of magma dripped down, and Lan Si caught it. He casually waved his hand and flung the molten rock at Lu Yin.
The crowd watched this take place, but not a single one of them moved to stop him. Lan Si not only held great influence over the younger generation, but even a powerhouse like the Sea King would show respect to the youth.
That drop of magma seemed normal, but as it approached Lu Yin, it gave off a sense of deep oppression that seemed to originate from the void. This astonished several of the dojo masters who were present.
Hai Dashao’s pupils shrank, and he closely watched that drop of magma approach.
Lu Yin filled his eyes with star energy, allowing him to see the rune lines contained within that drop. There were very few rune lines, but they possessed a volatile power that could erupt at any moment. This was the Overlaying Stacks Path.
Lu Yin did not know how many stacks had been imbued in that drop of magma, but he could only stretch out his hand to grab it.
