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Just before the outcome between the two was about to end, a small blade tore through the void, miraculously appearing and flying a single circle around the two before vanishing again. The two contenders froze in place, and a trace of blood appeared on their necks. They had almost been killed just then.
Everyone stared foolishly at the scene, and then they looked in another direction. A unique spacecraft flew up, and the small blade had shot out from within that vessel.
“That’s the Lingling clan’s spacecraft.”
“The Lingling clan? That terrifying clan? That means… Was that blade the legendary Que’s Mighty Slash?”
“That’s right. That blade isn’t something that would come from an Explorer, which means it’s user is in the Limiteer realm. However, it was able to defeat two elite Explorers in an instant. Aside from that person, who else could accomplish such a thing?”
In the heavens, the man and the woman looked at each other in agony. They had given their all in this battle, but both of them had been defeated by someone else in an instant. What’s more, they hadn’t even been able to see the other person’s face.
On Nightking Planet, Nightqueen Yanqing looked at her screen and incessantly replayed that exact scene, visibly moved by what she had seen. “He actually came. That’s right, that’s Ling Que. He’s here!”
A member of the Daynight clan who was behind her was puzzled. “Que’s Mighty Slash? Sounds familiar.”
Nightqueen Yanqing’s lips perked up. “In the current universe, there are only three people in the younger generation who can be truly considered to be unequalled Limiteers: the Cosmic Sea’s Ye Xingchen, the Ten Arbiters Council’s Mu Rong, and the Lingling clan’s Ling Que. Que's Mighty Slash is Ling Que’s battle technique.”
That Daynight clam member was shocked. “I remember now! This blade once beheaded five Explorers, and one of them was even strong enough to challenge the Top Hundred Rankings. So this is Ling Que?”
Nightqueen Yanqing nodded with an excited look on her face; she had invited Ling Que herself. Her objective was very simple—to suppress Lu Yin. To her, Lu Yin was an unremovable stain on her brilliant life, as well as that Zhanlong Daynight. Unfortunately, Zhanlong had gone missing in the Shenwu Continent, or else she would have invited Ling Que to teach both of them a lesson.
Fortunately, Lu Yin would definitely appear at this gathering since he had been invited. Everyone praised Lu Yin as an unequaled Limiteer, but she had learned from her brother, Arbiter Zhenwu, that Thirty Stacks was merely the publicized record left behind by the Divine Fist. Those who were truly unequaled would not stop at just Thirty Stacks, and Ye Xingchen, Mu Rong, and Ling Que had all received the Ten Arbiters’ recognition of truly being unequaled Limiteers.
In other words, Lu Yin was still a shade inferior to them, and she was planning on using this slight difference to magnify Lu Yin’s shortcomings during this Daynight Feast and shatter the perception of his invincibility.
“Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you’re the best!”
“Ling Que, Ling Que, I love you! Ling Que, Ling Que, you’re the best!”
…
Cheers sounded out from one spacecraft in particular. The vessel carried a group of pretty girls who were gorgeously dressed, and they were all dancing about and shouting excitedly.
This scene caused the crowd to be taken aback; were these groupies?
Ling Que’s appearance at Nightking Planet caused quite an uproar. The Lingling clan was based within the Spirit Seal Flowzone, and they rarely interacted with outsiders. Their race had an incomparable innate gift which caused them all to be arrogant, but it also meant that they were so powerful that not even the Daynight clan would lightly provoke them.
Ling Que was one of the strongest Limiteers in the younger generation, but he had always maintained a low profile. No one thought that he would appear at Nightking Planet for this gathering.
Some guessed that his appearance was related to Lu Yin since there were only four unequaled Limiteers throughout the entire universe’s present younger generation. Lu Yin was one of them, so it was normal for Ling Que to take an interest in him.
Due to Ling Que’s appearance, more invited youths started heading towards Nightking Planet, and many uninvited people gathered in the Daynight Flowzone, hoping to witness the potential battle between Ling Que and Lu Yin.
In Astral-8, Xi Yue looked for Feng Shang, as she wanted to invite him to head over to the Daynight Flowzone’s Nightking Planet with her.
However, she was turned down by Feng Shang, and he refused to budge on this issue.
Xi Yue was speechless, but she nonetheless headed off for the Daynight Flowzone on her own.
Feng Shang watched Xi Yue’s departing figure and sighed. Everyone was looking forward to Lu Yin’s battle with Ling Que, but only he knew that Lu Yin wouldn’t show up since he had been swallowed by a storm. His odds of surviving that encounter were just too low.
Meanwhile, Lu Yin slept for two days straight, and his brain became a little less fuzzy when he woke up. Afterwards, he started climbing towards the three peaks in the distance.
He thought about it for a brief moment before gritting his teeth and resolving himself to continue climbing. He chose the middle peak since, in general, it was more likely for the most important feature to be at the center.
He pressed both hands against the slope of the middle peak, and the oppressive pressure swept over him as the pressure on his spiritual force increased once again. At this moment, even Lu Yin found it difficult to resist the pressure, and his forehead beaded up with sweat. He gritted his teeth; he had to climb up to the top of this peak no matter what.
One day later, Lu Yin’s eyes had gone slack; the pressure was too much for him. He had no choice, so he began to recite the Stonewall Scriptures to resist the pressure as he climbed.
One day, two, three… five days. At this moment, Lu Yin had been unconscious for an entire day, and he was moving on pure instinct. After nearly a month of climbing, his body had developed an instinctual habit to climb, even though his consciousness had faded.
At that moment, if Lu Yin suddenly became clear-headed and looked around, he would not see the mountain in front of him anymore. He had reached the peak.
With a thump, Lu Yin finally arrived at the peak. His eyes were only open by a slit, but he seemed to see a figure in front of him. However, he could not remain conscious, and he slumped down to the ground, completely unconscious.
After he lost consciousness, the nearby figure gradually approached him. A scholarly and gentle-looking middle-aged man appeared with both hands clasped behind his back. He calmly looked at Lu Yin and then slowly bent down and waved, causing the clothes on Lu Yin to be shredded apart.
He looked at Lu Yin’s back in amazement. “What a seal! Something that belongs to neither five nor six. Could it be-”
He suddenly stopped speaking, stood up, walked to the edge of the peak, and looked at the gold radiance in the distance, but he still remained silent.
After some time, Lu Yin awoke, overwhelmed by a splitting headache. He forced his eyes open and looked up to see the back of that scholarly figure.
He was shocked. There’s someone else here? He hurriedly tried to stand up, but the combination of his physical fatigue and the spiritual force pressure rendered such a feat beyond him. He only managed to rise into a half-squat as he looked around.
The figure slowly turned around and calmly gazed at Lu Yin. “Ever since this space first came into existence, you’re the first one to ascend here, aside from myself.”
Lu Yin was shocked, though the figure in front of him still appeared indistinct since he was still suffering from the immense spiritual force pressure.
The scholarly man casually waved his hand, and a cool breeze blew past him. Lu Yin suddenly felt clear-headed, and all of the pressure that he had been under seemed to melt away. This person had easily dispelled the mountain’s pressure on Lu Yin’s spiritual force. This person was unimaginably powerful.
Lu Yin hurriedly stood up and slowly bowed. “Lu Yin pays his respects to senior.”
The scholarly man sized Lu Yin up and down. “You don’t belong to five or six. Where are you from?”
Lu Yin’s heart skipped a beat, as this person had mentioned “five” and “six” again. He was at a loss. “Five? Six? This junior doesn’t understand.”
The scholarly looking man stared at Lu Yin. Although there was nothing special about his eyes, they brightened a little. Lu Yin and the man looked at each other face-to-face, and though Lu Yin wanted to shift his gaze, he found that he couldn’t. His eyes felt like they were glued to the man’s eyes, and his vision was entirely focused on the man’s gaze.
The next moment, Lu Yin’s heart jumped, and he stepped back with a deathly white look. He looked at the man in astonishment, finally able to shift his eyes.
“May I know this esteemed senior’s name?” Lu Yin asked very respectfully.
The scholarly man shifted his gaze away. “You may call me Mister Mu.”
Lu Yin bowed again. “Mister Mu, this junior took the liberty of climbing this mountain and has disturbed Mister Mu’s peace. Please, forgive me.”
Mister Mu looked calm and refined. “It’s no matter. It’s your own ability that allowed you to ascend to this height. Your cultivation is not bad for your age.”
“Thank you, Mister Mu, for the compliment,” Lu Yin said deferentially. He then glanced at his right arm, but there was no sign of the monkey waking up. He looked back at Mister Mu, but hesitated at whether he should speak his mind.
“You wish to leave?” Mister Mu asked calmly.
Lu Yin nodded. “Might Mister Mu help me?”
Mister Mu looked at Lu Yin. “Since ancient times, you’re the second to have scaled this mountain. You can leave anytime you wish.”
Lu Yin was delighted.
“However, there’s an alternate choice.”
Lu Yin’s brows jumped. “Please enlighten me.”
Mister Mu clasped both hands behind his back and looked calmly at the distant golden light. “Accept the challenge and discover a way to become my disciple.”
Lu Yin’s eyes lit up, and he answered without hesitation, “This junior wishes to accept senior as his master. Might senior help me accomplish this?” Lu Yin was no fool, and he could see at once that this person seemed to be some kind of powerful recluse. He definitely would not offer inferior teachings, and even if they were, Lu Yin still wouldn’t lose out. At the very least, this Mister Mu was obviously much stronger than Lu Yin.
Mister Mu continued speaking, saying, “It’s not that easy to become my disciple, but you’ve already passed the most difficult hurdle, which is to arrive at this peak. Only you have succeeded since ancient times.”
Lu Yin’s eyes sparkled. This mountain was able to cause that Cruiser from before to vanish just from touching it, which meant that there must be some special condition for people to even attempt to climb it. His guess was that this place had something to do with the Rune Progenitor. His eyes had been altered by the Sky Platform, and he had also crossed the Ocean of Death. Perhaps this moment was Lu Yin’s opportunity, something that only he could grasp with his previous encounters.
This person in front of him should not be lying either; Lu Yin had to be “baptized” by remnants of the Rune Technology Civilization and then accidentally swallowed by the storm before he could appear at this place. It was very difficult for so many unrelated coincidences to occur, so it was possible that he was the only one to have fulfilled them all even after so many years.
With this reasoning, this Mister Mu might actually be related to the Rune Technology Civilization. Could he actually be an ancient Runemaster powerhouse?!
“The second hurdle can be difficult or simple. You just need to show me your destiny.”
Lu Yin was shocked. “Show you my destiny? How?”
“Display everything that you possess and attempt to shock me. Destiny is written by heaven and is something that cannot be controlled, but it’s also a strength of sorts. I cannot accept a disciple who is stupid, unlucky, or has a poor personality. You may begin.”
Lu Yin nodded as he now understood. Mister Mu wanted to see what Lu Yin knew, and this was a selection method that Lu Yin had not encountered before.
“This junior will show his incompetence now,” Lu Yin said. He then stepped forward with his right leg as five-lined battle force emerged from him, the purple veins covering his entire body while dark-gold lines sparkled around him, making for a dazzling scene against the golden radiance of the mountain’s backdrop. Lu Yin was confident that not many had comprehended five-lined battle force at his age, as nobody had surpassed such a level in the history of the Astral Combat Academy; he had reached the extreme.
With this five-lined battle force around him, Lu Yin looked expectantly at Mister Mu.