Little Pao and Lu Yin avidly watched the battle play out in front of them until Lu Yin suddenly received a warning from the Sandmaster. He reluctantly took a step out before vanishing.

The two immortal birds were still brawling in the sky when Lu Yin appeared directly before Hart. Without a word, he unleashed a Nine Stacks Shockwave Palm, pushing him to the ground. Lu Yin then whirled around and attacked Bonny with another palm strike. Bonny tried to counter-attack with his black flames, but everything was scattered by Lu Yin’s attack.

When Lu Yin used his Shockwave Palm at the Nine Stacks level, it gave the attack unimaginable power. No one at Hart, Bonny, and Craynor’s level could defend against it, and the two rivals were simultaneously sent crashing to the ground.

Lu Yin had stopped the astonishing battle between the two rival immortal birds that easily.

The students from the Fifth Academy were dumbfounded by the sight. They knew full well how powerful Hart had become after breaking through to the Melder Realm. He could easily be ranked within the top ten Melders of their academy, but he had still been defeated in a single move. They had drastically underestimated Lu Yin.

Beneath the surface of the desert, Hart lay there in shock as blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth. He raised his head up in anger as he thought, I lost again?! I lost even after I became a Melder? Why is he so strong? Is he actually a match for those crazy geniuses?

Not far from Hart, Bonny spat out a mouthful of blood before looking around blankly. He was in a similar state of shock—to think that there was actually a Melder in Astral-10 who could defeat him! Even though Bonny wasn’t the strongest Melder in the Ninth Academy, he was still within the top five. Despite that strength, he had still been beaten by this person. No wonder the mentors had asked him to investigate Astral-10; this place had truly concealed itself well.

Lu Yin looked down from the sky. “Astral-10 isn’t a place for you to settle your personal grudges. Tell me if you want to duel me, and if not, then please leave.”

Hart wiped away the streak of blood on his face and stood up. “Let’s go.”

Bonny also stood up, and he glared at Hart, clearly unwilling to go. He then turned to look at Lu Yin one final time before departing as well. From that one exchange with Lu Yin, both of them had realized that they weren’t his opponents. There was no longer any point in fighting him now. More opportunities would come up in the future.

Lu Yin reluctantly watched them leave, feeling like he had wasted an opportunity. His attacks just now had been too strong. If he had held back slightly, then he might have been able to earn a hefty sum from the two of them.

Little Pao paid close attention to the two students and only left after he saw them leave Astral-10 on their spacecraft.

Once Hart entered his spacecraft, he immediately turned his gadget on. The face of a handsome man appeared on the display. When the students of the Fifth Academy saw him, they bowed low without even daring to lift their heads.

“What’s wrong?”

Hart gritted his teeth. “I want to enter the clan’s secret realm.”

“I asked you, what’s the matter?”

“I lost. I lost to Lu Yin from Astral-10.’

“How many moves?”

“One,” Hart answered with a grimace.

The man fell silent. “You won’t be his opponent unless you complete your metamorphosis.”

As soon as he heard the word “metamorphosis,” Hart’s expression changed and a trace of fear flickered through his eyes. “I… Can I undergo metamorphosis?”

The man’s gaze was cold. “You’ll have to undergo metamorphosis if you want to win. However, metamorphosing is extremely risky.”

Hart clenched his fists tightly. He thought about not only Lu Yin, but also the powerful Melders from his own academy. Lu Yin could be considered the catalyst for his desire to change, as Hart didn’t want to be weaker than the student of an exiled academy. Hart carried the heavy glory of the Phoenix clan upon his back and he refused to be a weakling who couldn’t even defeat a traitor.

“I’ll metamorphose.”

The man in the display smiled. “I will send out the appropriate orders. Once you have metamorphosed successfully, you will be able to directly join the Council of the Ten Arbiters. If you fail and die, I will avenge you. Lu Yin, right? I’ve memorized his name.”

“Thank you, brother,” Hart answered.

The display disappeared, and the Fifth Academy students raised their heads and sighed in relief. The pressure that the man exuded was intense, as he was one of Ten Arbiters: the Immortal Phoenix, Serati Phoenix.

Astral-10 returned to its previously peaceful state for the next two days as no new challengers appeared. And the ones en route wouldn’t arrive for some time.

Lu Yin inquired after the other students and was told that each one had found a suitable place for their own, individual training. “There are other training grounds in Astral-10?” Lu Yin was surprised.

Little Pao replied, “Of course. Astral-10 has a heritage that spans countless years. Although it was destroyed in an accident, some of the training grounds still exist. It’s just that they aren’t as complete as the Rain Observatory or the Sand Ocean. Nevertheless, there are still definitely places that are most suitable for each student. For example, Zhao Yilong is training at a cliff while Zora is spending all her time in a cemetery with skeletons.”

“What about me? Are there any training grounds that are suitable for me?” Lu Yin asked curiously.

Little Pao rolled his eyes. “Go look for one yourself. How should I know? I’m still a student too, ok? The mentors who actually knew the training grounds aren’t around anymore, so maybe you should ask the Headmaster?”

Lu Yin recalled the crazy old man. Forget it. He didn’t want to die just yet.

Lu Yin suddenly remembered what Lulu had told him while they were on the spacecraft. She had said that she wanted to obtain something from Astral-10 and that she wanted to battle with someone. Lu Yin wondered if she had been successful.

Little Pao continued talking. “You can stay here. It’s been peaceful for a few days, but it won’t last. The powerhouses from the Innerverse should be arriving soon.”

Lu Yin shrugged as he thought to himself, It’s about time.

The battles in Astral-10’s Sand Ocean had been leaked to the public, and almost everyone had heard that Craynor, Hart Phoenix, and Bonny Phoenix had been defeated by Lu Yin. Each of the three was quite famous within their own academies, but they had still lost to Lu Yin, stunning everyone.

The news about Xi Yue had already caused Lu Yin’s name to be well-known, and with these battle results, he garnered even more interest from the other powerhouses. Even those who had no interest in Xi Yue started to pay attention to Lu Yin, wanting to challenge him as well.

In the Sixth Academy, someone said, “That’s weird. How can an Astral-10 student defeat a powerhouse from the Phoenix Clan? That’s an abandoned branch of the academy.”

“The universe is extremely large, it’s not surprising that a genius like him would pop up. I heard that the Blaze Realm is enraged because Craynor is second on the Blaze Realm Rankings, but his cosmic ring was actually stolen by Lu Yin. What a humiliating defeat.”

“Serves them right. The Blaze Realm already failed when they tried to stop Astral-10’s assessment, and now, the person who they sent to cause trouble was defeated. They should be furious, haha.”

“Shh, are you looking for trouble?! You also train in the Dao of Illusion. You better not meet Jared there. Otherwise, you’ll be out of luck.”

“Why are you so scared? At most, I'll stop pursuing the Dao of Illusion. It’s not like I can die in there.”

“But being killed there will still severely wound your spirit. Jared is an Area Master. If he really wants to create trouble for you, there’s no way for you to escape.”

“……”

“Shut up! Do you see who just came in?” The students who were gossiping looked over and became stunned. There was an alluring woman whose white hair reached her ankles. She was wearing a breezy summer dress and a black ring fringed with brilliant silver. It was Mira.

“It’s Senior Mira! Senior Mira is back,” the students shouted fervently as everyone looked at her with an excited gaze.

The entire Sixth Academy erupted with noise.

Mira was a huge celebrity in the Sixth Academy even after she had become an Explorer and graduated. However, she was still an alumni of the Sixth Academy as well as a representative of the Ten Arbiter, and her status was second only to them.

Mira smiled, and her red pupils swept past the crowd, causing many to breathe heavily. She was just too entrancing.

Lu Yin right? I have underestimated you. You’ve already gathered such a huge reputation even before you entered the training realms. Michelle is also in Astral-10. How interesting, Mira thought to herself. Though she seemed to walk slowly, she instantly vanished from sight after a single step, only leaving a fragrant breeze behind.

Another day passed, making it four days since Hart had left. During this time, new people came, seeking to cause trouble. A motley crew of people had all traveled to Astral-10 for Xi Yue. Some of them weren’t even students of Astral Combat Academy. However, Lu Yin didn’t turn any of them down and managed to earn an enormous sum from his conditions and unbeatable strength.

The true powerhouses wouldn’t rush to the Outerverse just because of Xi Yue. The only people who had rushed over were second rate experts who couldn’t even compare to Hart. To Lu Yin, they had just come to deliver money to him. He had earned nearly three-hundred thousand star crystals over ten days. At this point, even he thought that maybe he might be acting too shamefully.

After two weeks, people finally stopped challenging Lu Yin as his reputation had become very widespread at this point. The academies had all made note of him and his name was no longer unfamiliar to most people. However he was more infamous than famous as his reputation included teasing Xi Yue, robbing students, and being very greedy. Due to this foul reputation, all sorts of insults had been thrown at Lu Yin.

Xi Yue was outraged when she heard about what had happened after returning to the Souldream Tribe. Isn’t there anyone who can punish that pervert?

In Astral-8, blistering lava surged in slow, molten waves. Craynor stood there silently in discomfort, as he had for the last ten days.

Above the lava, burning red air blew into the distance like a sweltering sea breeze.

“You failed?” a low voice rang out.

Craynor bowed his head. “Yes. I’m sorry, but I failed.”

“Useless.”

Craynor didn’t dare to reply.

“Send some people into the Six Daos, and have them report to me once they see anyone from Astral-10. I want everyone from Astral-10 to be stopped.”

Craynor was elated. “Very well.”

Back in Astral-10, Lu Yin was unaware of a shocking event that had rocked the Great Yu Empire to its core; the Second Prince, Duke Yushan, had betrayed the Empire along with the Seventh, Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Squadrons. They had invaded five points in the Frostwave Weave, stunning the weave residents and all those nearby.

Undying Yushan was so infuriated when he heard the news that he fell unconscious, causing the Great Yu Empire to destabilize even further.

Within the palace, Dorren Yushan had a grim face. “Announce that Duke Yushan, Seventh Squadron’s Captain Batson, Eighth Squadron’s Captain Shalosh, Tenth Squadron’s Captain Felut, and Twelfth Squadron’s Captain Dove are traitors and wanted criminals in the territory of the Empire. The war has begun.”

But Duke Yushan’s declaration had come too late. By the time the Great Yu Empire reacted to the betrayal, all of the people loyal to Duke Yushan—including Vice Treasurer Sicar and some other ministers—had already left. Even the Sword Mercenary group and some of the elites of Yu Academy had joined the betrayers, causing the royal guards to descend into a second round of chaos.

While all of this was happening, some minor incidents flew underneath everyone’s notice. Zhang Dingtian, Seruzen, Bai Xue, and Xu San, who were all elites of Yu Academy, had all gone missing. If the times were more peaceful, then the repercussions would have been enormous.

After a few more days passed, it was the day of Astral-10’s New Student Competition. Lu Yin left the Sand Ocean and stood at the realm entrance, the venue for the competition.