Lu Yin searched through his cosmic ring as a smile slowly spread across his face. He never thought that he would actually recover what he thought had been lost forever, as there were plenty of valuable items he had painstakingly accumulated. There were 97,500 star crystals and another 710,000 crystals in the form of a Mavis Bank card in it. It was a huge sum, and it was a huge boon that he had recovered it all. At least he hadn’t saved Zhuo Daynight for nothing.

Lu Yin raised his head. He had been relatively certain that the Leo clan would not dare to kill Zhuo Daynight when they found her. And it seemed like this woman had indeed escaped safely due to her background.

Lu Yin’s gaze turned peaceful. If he had the Daynight clan as his background, then he would not have experienced that desolate nightmare on Driftcharge Planet. Instead, he would have been rescued by the Leo clan before being respectfully escorted to the Innerverse. He would never have been dropped onto some slave planet to become white meat.

Unknowingly, Lu Yin’s wandering thoughts reached into his past and reminded him of something else. He retrieved a ring from the returned cosmic ring. This was the Great Yu Empire’s Ring of Authority. If Undying Yushan died, then anyone with this ring would be able to command the empire’s troops. He had originally wanted to reject this ring, but his mindset had changed after surviving that calamity on Driftcharge Planet. He put the ring on his finger and found that it fit him surprisingly well.

A day quickly passed by, and everyone once again gathered at the arena plains to watch the tournament. The entire Human Domain seemed to quiet down as everyone watched the broadcast screens with rapt attention. The round of the top sixteen was about to begin.

Atop the high peak overlooking the fields, Xue Liuyun and Kuang Wang did not appear at their previous seats since losers were not qualified to sit there. This was the harshness of reality.

When Lu Yin appeared, many gave him looks of fear when they remembered how he had killed Chao Zhi, a four-lined battle force user.

The battles between the strongest sixteen would undoubtedly be much more exciting than the battles of the previous rounds, and more people came to watch as well. The first match already included one of the student leaders. Dao Bo was Astral-6’s leader, the Dao of Purgatory’s Realm Master, and one of the brightest up-and-coming genius Lockbreakers in the Lockbreaker Society. Like Charon, he was a single step away from raising his rank to that of an Intermediate Lockbreaker. The main difference between the two was that Dao Bo only lacked the power while Charon lacked both power and actual lockbreaking ability. Hence, Dao Bo was much more terrifying than Charon.

His opponent was Xia Luo.

When he saw Xia Luo, Dao Bo’s eyes gleamed. He admired this shocking lockbreaking genius from the next generation, but he knew that Xia Luo had not quite matured yet.

Lu Yin frowned when he saw the matchup. Xia Luo was definitely quite powerful, as he had easily dissipated Jared’s Karmic Flame Sword and inherited battle technique from the Dao of Illusion, but this battle would be against Dao Bo. He was on an entirely different level compared to Xia Luo’s other opponents, and Lu Yin wondered how far Xia Luo would be able to go.

Everyone in Astral-10 looked at Xia Luo sympathetically, but Xia Luo had a relaxed expression as he stepped onto the plains in a relaxed manner. He faced Dao Bo and cordially said, “Senior, please guide me.”

Dao Bo smiled. “I’m a Limiteer, and you’re a Melder. This battle’s not too fair for you. Since we’re both Lockbreakers, why don’t we compete by mutually trying to dissipate the other’s star energy?”

Xia Luo smiled. “I’ll follow senior’s suggestion then.”

Dao Bo nodded. “Alright then, let’s begin.”

As soon as Dao Bo finished speaking, the two simultaneously attacked each other. They both struck out with seemingly casual palms that collided without any no earth-shattering tremors. But between them, two seas of star energy clashed, as if heaven and earth had been split into two halves. This included not only the star energy within their bodies, but also the ambient star energy within the arena. The two students constantly dissipated the other’s star energy as if they were trying to take control of heaven and earth. This was a battle between Lockbreakers.

Lockbreakers only had eyes for star energy, and they specialized in dissipating all forms of star energy. This was the basis of Lockbreaking, and right now, in Dao Bo and Xia Luo’s eyes, their opponent was like a sourcebox, an item that had been sealed away by star energy.

Gradually, the two bodies of star energy formed vortices and began attacking each other. They collided in the sky, and although the impact was obviously formless, it still felt like heaven had crashed into the earth. Many audience members became dizzy from the massive impact, but before they could recover, two abnormal waves swept out almost simultaneously—domains.

Impressively, Xia Luo had also comprehended a domain.

A similar scene had once appeared before, when Sha fought against Xue Liuyun. Their battle had also been a confrontation between domains. The difference was that their battle had been one of direct confrontation where each tried to suppress the other, but in this current battle, the domains were trying to dispel each other. This was something at least a few levels more difficult than suppression.

The sky and earth contorted in a strange manner, as if one was looking into a running stream. One student couldn’t restrain his curiosity and extended his hand past the energy barrier separating the stage from the audience and into the space beyond. His entire body was instantly shattered, causing the nearby students to jump in fright.

Normal people could not understand a battle between Lockbreakers, only Lockbreakers could.

In Lu Yin’s eyes, the arena had become very dangerous. Between the two fighters, Xia Luo was on the losing end as his star energy was gradually being dissolved and replaced by an almost invisible silver grey energy.

Not long after, the two canceled their domains at the same time, and Xia Luo smiled. “Congratulations, senior. You win.”

Dao Bo replied, “You’re pretty good. No worse than Charon.”

Xia Luo smiled and left the Lifeseek Realm while Dao Bo silently returned to the high peak and sat down.

Many were perplexed by what had happened, but no one asked for clarification. Some people needed to act like they understood even if they didn’t.

Lu Yin glanced at Dao Bo and silently praised him admiringly. If Lu Yin did not use his Cosmic Art, he wouldn’t even be qualified to take part in such a battle. His control of star energy was still far too low.

After the first battle ended, the second one started, featured Liu Xiaoyun and Tu Bo.

Liu Xiaoyun had not originally thought much about Tu Bo. Although her opponent had also reached the top sixteen stage in the tournament, in her eyes, he was still just an Area Master and not at the Realm Master level. However, she realized that she had underestimated Tu Bo soon after their match started, as her opponent’s use of water was inconceivable.

Lu Yin and the other academy leaders were shocked as well. This Tu Bo is quite powerful.

On the arena plains, streams of sword qi criss-crossed while rampaging rivers wreaked havoc. An unstoppable sword qi battle technique was continuously blocked by the soft flow of water, neutralizing all of Liu Xiaoyun’s attacks.

Minutes later, Liu Xiaoyun looked at Tu Bo in astonishment. She solemnly raised her sword as her clothes fluttered on the windless plains. Her eyes gleamed as a shock wave burst out from beneath her feet. A cold shiver ran down many people’s spines, as if a knife was hanging above their necks. This was a domain, but among the student leaders, it was not uncommon to have a domain.

The void in the sky split open in a sword shape that covered the entire arena plains.

Countless spectators felt their jaws drop open as they stared at this scene in shock. Liu Xiaoyun’s domain had shaped the void into a sword that encompassed the entire arena plains, including the void. Tu Bo had no choice but to face it directly.

Outside the arena, Liu Shaoqiu’s eyes remained calm, and they even held a hint of disdain.

Then, an endless storm of sword qi descended on the arena. It was as if countless shards of the void were falling onto the earth. The entire space became unstable, making many observers feel numb. Each blade in this sword rain could instantly kill an Area Master by itself, and this move could easily eliminate a magnificent army.

The countless audience members viewing their screens throughout the universe were also shocked; this was a terrifying sight that had been caused by a mere Limiteer. Once Liu Xiaoyun became an Explorer, what would this move of hers look like? If it were able to destroy battleships, then she would definitely become an important strategic powerhouse.

A portion of the arena plains was destroyed by her domain, and Tu Bo was forced to crouch on the ground. Only the ground beneath him was still intact, even if he appeared rather unsightly.

Liu Xiaoyun looked at Tu Bo, who had not died yet.

At this point, a strong gale blew over and shredded the back of Tu Bo’s jacket. The torn cloth flapped in the wind, revealing three green leaves, the symbol of Shamrock Enterprises.

“Shamrock Enterprises? He’s a seed from Shamrock Enterprises!” someone cried out.

Many gazed at Tu Bo in wonder. It was widely known that Shamrock Enterprises actively looked for children with fantastic innate gifts in the universe and then marked them before allowing them to mature naturally. They would then join Shamrock Enterprises later on in the future. These people were called “seeds,” and each seed was an absolute genius. Astral-10’s Darkvoid was one, and this Tu Bo was obviously another.

Liu Xiaoyun was shocked by this development; it was no wonder why he had been so powerful as to stand up to her endless torrent of swords. He was a seed of Shamrock Enterprises.

Tu Bo slowly stood up, revealing countless bloody marks on his body even though he did not seem to be severely injured. He calmly looked at Liu Xiaoyun before suddenly raising his hand. Streams of water flowed around Liu Xiaoyun before tightly binding her. The ball of water sealing her then spun rapidly, directly isolating the void. WIth a wave of Tu Bo’s hand, the water ball was thrown into a spatial tear. Regardless of how strong someone was, it would be very difficult for anyone beneath the Explorer realm to escape from the void of nothingness.

Tu Bo did not need to defeat Liu Xiaoyun; his plan was just to throw her into the void.

But just before Liu Xiaoyun completely entered the void, a flash of light streaked through the arena, and Tu Bo collapsed directly; he had died. But not even two seconds after he died, Liu Xiaoyun’s body fully entered the void. That meant that she could only leave the Lifeseek Realm by dying. This match had ended in mutual destruction.

Many stared at Tu Bo’s corpse in shock, unable to comprehend how he had perished.

Only Liu Shaoqiu, standing outside the plains, understood. With gleaming eyes, he marvelled, “Elder sister, you actually managed to imitate the first sword of the Thirteen Swords. You’re still as stubborn as ever.”

No one had expected this match to end in both fighters’ deaths. In reality, if not for Liu Xiaoyun’s last sword strike, she would have been defeated. However, since Tu Bo had died before Liu Xiaoyun, it was actually her victory.

Feng Shang had an ugly expression, as every academy leader besides him had already fought a challenging battle. With Liu Xiaoyun’s death, three of them had died, and their prestige was gradually eroding. They could not afford to suffer any more defeats in the subsequent matches.

For the next match, a number appeared before Han Chong. Another academy leader was set to fight, although many felt strange that there hadn’t been any matches yet that featured two academy leaders. The Astral Combat Academy was being too blatant about avoiding such a match.

Han Chong’s opponent was Xia Ye. A lot of people gazed at Xia Ye respectfully as he had actually cultivated four-lined battle force; could Han Chong stand up to him?

The current rankings of the ten academies followed the previous season's tournament rankings. Aside from Astral-1 and Astral-10, whose positions had not changed for a thousand years, the other eight academies almost always saw some shifting in their positions. Although Han Chong was Astral-2’s leader, that did not necessarily mean that he could defeat Dao Bo or Feng Shang, two leaders of lower ranked academies.

“Old Chong, gain some face back for us,” Feng Shang said as Han Chong tapped on the number and appeared in the center of the arena. Xia Ye was already down there, waiting.

Many of the competitors’ trump cards had already been revealed by this stage, and Xia Ye was one of them. He immediately activated his four-lined battle force when he saw Han Chong. Xia Ye leaped across the arena and punched out, with the clear intention of using his physical strength to directly crush his opponent.

At the same time, on the peak, Starsibyl, Nightqueen Yanqing, and the few other remaining leaders stared at Han Chong. None of them had seen any of Han Chong’s hidden trump cards so far; just how far did his strength go?

Lu Yin also stared at Han Chong. This person’s strength-concealing technique was not inferior to Lu Yin’s own in any way. Rather, it could be said that all of the student leaders had various methods to conceal their strength, but for some reason, Lu Yin felt that Han Chong had hidden his strength especially deeply.

Xia Ye’s fist split the void, traveling straight for Han Chong.