Within the Beast Tamers Flowzone’s First Grade Hall, a middle-aged man opened his eyes, and a crushing force that caused the void to collapse appeared. “The competition in the Northgate Platform is about to begin. This time, I will again be the one representing the Beast Tamers as a witness. I wonder if I’ll be able to challenge those three with my current abilities.”

Within the Blazing Mist Flowzone, the space was filled with flames. The heat there had clearly reached extreme levels, but it had no effect whatsoever on the void. This was the Blazing Region.

“Poison Flame, you’ll be the one to spectate the competition at Northgate Platform as a representative of the Blazing Region.” An aged voice called out. It was impossible to tell how close or far away the person speaking was, and it was also impossible to tell if the voice even came from a real person at all. It almost felt like a transmission that had crossed over from ancient times.

In a corner of the Blazing Region, the void distorted, and a man walked out, surrounded by turquoise flames. “Yes, sir.”

As the flames disappeared, Poison Flame’s true appearance was slowly revealed. He was a middle-aged man with a malicious face. As he gazed deep into space, he asked, “Is the competition at Northgate Platform about to start again?”

After speaking, he took a step and left Blazing Region to next appear atop a stone platform that was floating in space. There was a whole row of people kneeling there, and in front of the group was Jared.

“I was unable to achieve good results in the Astral Combat Tournament. I’ve let you down, master,” Jared said mournfully while he quivered.

Poison Flame glanced at him coldly. “Where’s the Karmic Flame?”

Jared gritted his teeth, and a venomous glint appeared in his eyes as he answered, “Arikar returned, so the sect gave him the Karmic Flame. If not for that, I wouldn’t have been defeated so easily.”

Poison Flame’s gaze went cold. “It seems that I’ve been gone for too long. Some people have clearly forgotten how terrifying I can be.”

Jared did not dare speak and only ducked his head, revealing fear in his eyes.

“When I return from the Northline Flowzone, you’ll tell me who it was that gave the Karmic Flame away,” Poison Flame casually ordered.

Jared’s eyes lit up. “Are you going to the Northline Flowzone? Is it for the competition at Northgate Platform?”

Poison Flame looked at Jared curiously.

Jared sucked in a breath and hastily explained, “I have an enemy from the Astral Combat Academy called Lu Yin. He participated in the Astral Combat Tournament. Since then, he’s joined the Council of Astral Academy and was put in charge of Northline Flowzone. He’ll probably attend the competition, and I-” But before he could finish speaking, Jared started coughing up blood due to the pressure that Poison Flame was giving off.

The terrifying pressure forced Jared’s entire body to the ground as he coughed out more blood.

“You want your master to interfere in your matter with someone of your generation?” Poison Flame icily questioned Jared. As the older man spoke, the flames in the area miraculously froze and took on a green shade.

Jared’s fear became more apparent as he trembled while staring at Poison Flame.

A long while later, Poison Flame let his pressure abate, releasing Jared before moving away.

In another part of the Blazing Mist Flowzone, in the region controlled by the Ross Empire, a gigantic hawk flew through the vastness of space, passing by planets and numerous bits of technology as it headed deeper into the universe.

“It’s Duke Blackhawk! Duke Blackhawk seems to be heading towards the Northline Flowzone.”

“There are rumors that the next round of the Northline Flowzone’s competition at Northgate Platform is about to begin. Duke Blackhawk must be attending as the Ross Empire’s representative this time.”

“So they managed to get him to go? He’s a powerhouse whose power level has reached nearly 200,000 units, and his innate gift, Glorious Hawk, shocked the universe when he first revealed it. He’s one of the top figures within the Ross Empire, and this is just a tiny competition at Northgate Platform. Did they really need to send him?”

“Who knows.”

…

The Northgate Platform, located within the Northgate Flowzone, wasn’t just some tiny stone platform. On the contrary, it covered a huge area, and even though it was just a stone platform, it could hold numerous people. Shangwu Academy had also been built at this site.

Shangwu Academy had been built by the seventeen families as a place for them to nurture the younger generation of their flowzone. This competition at Northgate Platform was primarily a means for the families to display their contributions to the flowzone over the past few years, as well as to announce the direction that the Northline Flowzone would take in the future. The gathering was also used to allow the young generation to compete against each other, as well as show off the most powerful people from each of the families.

Only by rising above the others and fulfilling all four parts of the competition would a family be able to gain control of Northgate Platform.

While the gathering was formally known as a competition between the seventeen families, merely three families were actually qualified to compete for control, since only three families had powerhouses with power levels that exceeded 200,000 units. They were the Northgate family, Lily family, and Barthe Jacques family.

In the past instances of the Northgate Platform competition, the victor had almost always been from one of the three families.

Shangwu Academy had been built on the Northgate Platform, and next to it were wide, commercial streets.

Northgate Platform was a stone platform with a strong foundation. Even those who were able to move in the universe without a spacecraft would have difficulty damaging this platform. There was no flowing water, mountains, or any seas on this platform, so it wasn’t suitable for people to live on it. All of these resources needed to constantly be transported in from the outside world, and these items were all available for purchase on the commercial streets located on either side of Shangwu Academy.

Currently, within one of the restaurants along a commercial street, there were about a dozen young students engaged in heated discussion. The restaurant served authentic, traditional food, but it had a modern screen, and the decor was a fusion of some sort between modern and ancient styles.

“My mentor said that the Northgate Family will definitely win this time. Their family heir, Northgate Lie, is an Explorer who has a power level of over 30,000 and is ranked ninety third on the Top Hundred Rankings. Nobody from the younger generation is a match for him!”

“The competition for the younger generation is just one part of the competition. You also have to look at the family’s contributions to the Northline Flowzone. No family can match the Barthe Jacques family in this area. They’re a financial powerhouse even outside of the Northline Flowzone, and they have extensive dealings with the Outerverse. Even the four financial powerhouses of the Outerverse can’t claim to be superior to them. A huge portion of the Northline Flowzone’s economy is supported entirely by the Barthe Jacques family.”

“But the Barthe Jacques family is a commercial family that doesn’t have much strength on their own. If they hadn’t hired the Scarlet Mercenaries, then they wouldn’t even have an Enlighter within their ranks.”

“So what? Scarlet Mercenary’s leader, Tie Sa, has been working for the Barthe Jacques family for so many years that the mercenaries are practically a part of the family.”

“I still think that the Northgate family has the highest chance of winning. Many years ago, the Northgate clan was an existence that even the Daynight clan feared.”

“Stop talking about the past. You need to pay attention to the present.”

“The Lily family isn’t doing too badly either.”

“The Lily family? They have a woman in charge, so there’s a tiny possibility that they’ll actually be able to win. Though, Granny Chan is pretty incredible as well. She’s one of the three guardians of the Northline Flowzone.”

…

In one corner of the restaurant, a man was drinking with an extremely depressed demeanor. As the alcohol hit his system, he overheard the discussion from the nearby table. Irritated, he slammed his own table and yelled, “Shut up! The gathering at Northgate Platform isn’t something that people like you can talk about like that!”

The young people glanced at the man, froze, and then retorted in a mocking manner. “I was wondering who would speak so arrogantly. So it’s just Ah Fan? What’s wrong? Are you still waiting for your mentor to expel you? I don’t see any reason why you should still be in Shangwu Academy, huh?”

“Ah Fan? One of the top students at Shangwu? That Ah Fan?”

“Top student? Pfft, he’s just a piece of trash who lost the only teleportation stone we had,” somebody commented in a condescending tone.

“Oh, I remember now. I heard that he lost it to Astral-10.”

“Yup. Our academy spent so much effort getting a teleportation stone, but that piece of trash lost it so easily. And yet, he still has the gall to stay at the academy. How shameless!”

“Pfft. How shameless indeed.”

…

Ah Fan took a sudden swig of the beer in his hands, stood up, and then flung the mug at the students. As it flew towards them, the cup shattered right before making contact. The students did not expect him to attack so abruptly, and the surprise combined with the vast difference in their strength meant that the students were injured by the cup shards before they could even react. They instantly crumpled to the floor in pain.

The boss of the restaurant did not dare to say a word, and he merely watched on while hiding in a corner.

“I lost, I admit it. There’s nothing to complain about. Against that person, even the one you call the strongest, Northgate Lie, wouldn’t be able to walk away unscathed. I was just very unlucky,” Ah Fan said coldly.

The students on the floor gritted their teeth, but not one of them dared to refute Ah Fan’s words. He was one of the most powerful students in Shangwu Academy, and even though the academy no longer treated him well, his strength had not diminished at all. In short, they were no match for him.

“How arrogant.” A few young men and women were walking to the upper floor from the restaurant’s entrance, and the person at the very front of the group was holding a fan in his hand while looking incredibly relaxed.

Everyone glanced over and were shocked to realize that the newcomers were from the Northgate and Lily families. Two of the three most powerful families in the Northline Flowzone had made an appearance.

“I’m really curious to learn just who could be capable of preventing Northgate Lie from leaving a battle unscathed, Ah Fan.” The man with a fan in his hand looked at Ah Fan with an arrogant expression.

Beside him, a beautiful young lady put on an intrigued expression after hearing the question.

This young man’s name was Northgate Gang, and he was one of the Northgate family’s successors, as well as Northgate Lie’s younger brother by blood. He was also studying in Shangwu Academy and was one of the most powerful Limiteers in the academy. He was nearly as powerful as Ah Fan.

Ah Fan was silent.

At this moment, the students who had been attacked all stood up, and they were now glaring at Ah Fan venomously, eager for a fight.

More and more students gathered on the upper level of the restaurant to watch the show.

Northgate Gang snickered and politely told the surrounding students, “Let me introduce someone to you all.” As he spoke, he stepped aside and revealed the beautiful young girl standing behind him. “This is Lily Shu'er from the Lily family. She’s the cousin of the family’s heir, Lily Anne, and she just joined Shangwu Academy, so please take care of her.”

The crowd cheered as their attention was captivated by the girl. She was quite young and had an adorable, teasing light in her eyes, giving her a lively demeanor. She looked around the room before looking straight at Ah Fan. “You still haven’t told us who’s so powerful that even Northgate Lie would be hard-pressed to fight him and leave unscathed. He’s a powerhouse who’s on the Top Hundred Rankings, you know.”

Everyone’s attention instantly swiveled back to Ah Fan.

Northgate Gang looked over. “What’s wrong? You can’t tell us who it is? We use aliases in the ported battles, so it’s impossible to know who you’re facing for sure. It’s also impossible to talk during the battles. If you lost, then just accept it and keep training. And yet, here you are, slandering my brother in order to ameliorate your own humiliation. You’re a fellow student of the academy, but even I think that you’re an embarrassment.”

Many of the people around looked at Ah Fan with contempt clearly written across their faces. He’d lost, so that should be the end of the matter. However, he was still claiming that the person who he’d lost to was someone that even Northgate Lie would struggle against. Ah Fan’s behavior was nothing short of despicable, and now, someone from the Northgate family had overheard him. He was a huge disgrace to the academy.

Ah Fan clenched his fists tightly and looked up at Northgate Wang. “I’m not talking nonsense. The person who defeated me was Astral-10’s Lu Yin.”

The entire restaurant fell silent, and everyone stared at Ah Fan. “Lu Yin.” They all had heard of that name before.

Thus far, Ah Fan had only mentioned this matter to his mentor, which was actually the reason why he hadn’t been punished too harshly and been allowed to remain in the academy. Yet at this moment, to preserve his dignity, he had no choice but to reveal the truth.