BOOM!
Suddenly, the super-massive spaceship began to explode. The entire hull shuddered violently, throwing the weapons off target. A beam of light grazed the personal ship Lu Yin was piloting, shooting off into the depths of space. Immediately after, the super-massive ship was engulfed in a sea of fire and exploded catastrophically.
Although Lu Yin wasn't hit directly, the beam still destroyed his personal ship's cabin door. A massive suction force pulled from the breach. The ship screeched as air was vented, and the crushing pressure made it hard to breathe. It's over. The ship is still destroyed.
The strange noises grew louder. Lu Yin smiled bitterly. He hadn't expected to escape his fate on Toflo after all. Death... was unavoidable.
As the personal ship disintegrated, Lu Yin was exposed to the void. The immense pressure nearly burst him apart. Fortunately, thanks to his resilient body, he didn't die instantly. He clung tightly to the cabin door. Propelled by the shockwave from the massive ship's explosion, the door was flung violently into the depths of space, like a meteor.
Lu Yin lost consciousness. He was only in the Melt-realm; it was impossible to survive in space. Death was just a matter of time. Unconsciously, he began to circulate the Life-Death Mystic Art.
...
Not far away in space, another super-massive spaceship was cruising steadily.
In the command room, someone exclaimed, "Captain! There's an explosion detected off the starboard bow! Suspected spaceship explosion!"
"Ignore it. Continue on course."
"Yes, sir."
Just then, another cry of surprise rang out. "Cap... Captain! Look! There's someone floating in space!"
The entire command room stared in astonishment at the main screen. On it, a piece of a ship's cabin door was floating silently. Lying on the door was a young man in tattered clothes. He didn't look very old and appeared to be severely injured.
"Zoom in," the captain frowned, then ordered suddenly.
The screen gradually closed in, and everyone got a clear look at the young man.
The captain was stunned. "It's him? Immediate rescue!" At the same time, in a luxurious lounge elsewhere, a woman with a fresh and stunningly beautiful face was studying a star map, lost in thought. The captain's voice came through her personal terminal. "Ma'am, please look at this."
The woman looked at her terminal, saw the same image, and her expression changed. "Rescue him immediately! I'm on my way!"
...
Not long after, Lu Yin was brought aboard the ship. He was immediately lifted into a life-support pod, and several doctors began treatment.
"Ma'am, this child's injuries are too severe. It's a miracle he's still alive."
"What a strong body! It's already at the Explorer-realm standard."
"His internal organs are severely damaged, and... it's getting worse. It's as if he has no self-healing ability."
"Huh? He's only in the Melt-realm, yet he survived in space. A miracle!"
...
"Ma'am, I didn't expect to run into him again so soon after parting ways," the captain said in a low voice.
The woman was none other than Matron Nalan. She listened to the doctors' discussions, her eyes filled with a strange light. "This is fate. In the vast universe, it's hard enough to find a specific planet, yet we've run into this person twice in a row, both times when he needed help the most."
"You are his 'Guiren' (noble benefactor)," the captain said with a long smile.
Matron Nalan watched Lu Yin being treated, a small smile playing on her lips. "A benefactor? Perhaps."
...
There was only half a month left until the Ten Academies Tournament. And at this moment, Lu Yin had just been saved by Matron Nalan.
For seven consecutive days, all the doctors on the Nalan family's ship worked tirelessly to save him, barely managing to pull him back from the brink of death. The cost was enormous; even extremely precious medicinal herbs from the Innerverse were used on him.
"How is he?" Matron Nalan asked, her gaze unashamedly fixed on Lu Yin, who was lying naked in the nutrition fluid.
A doctor whispered, "Ma'am, this child's injuries are incredibly severe, and he has no healing ability. But for some reason, a thread of life force is stubbornly keeping him alive; he just won't die. After our all-out efforts, his life is no longer in danger, but we don't know when he'll wake up."
Matron Nalan nodded.
At that moment, the door opened. A beautiful young woman in a long white dress walked in. Notably, she carried a longsword on her back. It wasn't the ancient style of Ten-Thousand Swords Mountain, but something simpler, one might even say plain.
"Aunt, who is this?" the young woman asked, her gaze equally unashamed as she looked at Lu Yin. In her eyes, there seemed to be no distinction between male and female.
Matron Nalan smiled. "A classmate of yours, from the Tenth Academy. His name is Lu Yin."
The young woman was surprised. "The Tenth Academy? I thought the Tenth Academy had disappeared."
"You really don't pay attention to outside news. This kid is no simple character. He's the Top Student of the Tenth Academy, just like you," Matron Nalan said.
The young woman was surprised again, sizing up Lu Yin. No matter what the Tenth Academy was like, being the Top Student was certainly not simple. But... he's only in the Melt-realm.
"Aunt, since the Tenth Academy still exists, I don't need to rush back to the Innerverse. Let's just go straight to the Tenth Academy," the young woman said.
Matron Nalan's eyes lit up. "That's right! Why did I forget? The Tenth Academy is closer. Good, contact them."
...
At this moment, within the Tenth Academy, Grandmaster Sa Hai stood silently on the sand, observing Da Pao and Xiao Pao, who were glaring at each other.
"Lil' bro, look, big bro is old. Just give this seeded-player spot to me, 'kay? I'll remember your kindness for life."
"No way! I want to be the seeded player!"
"Lil' bro, ever heard of 'humility'?"
"I should be saying that to you! Bro, don't pull rank on me! Don't think I don't know. You just want the spotlight! You want to be famous! The ten seeded players get to stand on the high platform. It's too flashy!"
"You... you ungrateful..."
"Keep arguing, and you'll never listen to Xi Yue's albums again!"
"You..."
...
Grandmaster Sa Hai lost his patience. "Shut up! The two of you are hopeless!"
Da Pao and Xiao Pao immediately went silent.
Just then, Sa Hai's personal terminal rang. He frowned. Honestly, he hated this thing, but who else was going to handle all the trivial matters of the Tenth Academy? The other old geezers wouldn't lift a finger.
"Who is it?" Sa Hai's tone was gruff.
On the other end, the young woman frowned, then said flatly, "Grandmaster Sa Hai, hello. I am the Seventh Academy's Top Student, Liu Xiaoyun."
Sa Hai was surprised. "The Seventh's Top Student? Why are you contacting me?"
Da Pao and Xiao Pao were also shocked. The Seventh's Top Student? Isn't that a Zone Master? A member of the Student Council? That was a person with real power. It had been a long time since their Tenth Academy had dealings with someone of that level.
"I would like to borrow the Ten Academies' Zone-Mountain to enter the tournament. I request the Grandmaster's approval," Liu Xiaoyun said.
Sa Hai was puzzled. "What about your own Academy's...?"
"This student is not in the Innerverse. I am in the Outerverse," Liu Xiaoyun said.
Sa Hai grunted. "Fine, whatever. Come if you want."
"Thank you, Grandmaster. One more thing: your academy's Top Student, Lu Yin, is with me. We will be arriving together."
Sa Hai was stunned. "Lu Yin? He's alive?"
"He's alive. Heavily injured, but he should make it for the tournament."
"When will you arrive?"
"According to the itinerary, about ten days. The tournament starts in seven. We might only be ableto arrive in time for the official draw."
Sa Hai said in a low voice, "Got it. Try to make it," and cut the call. He looked up and saw the astonished faces of Da Pao and Xiao Pao.
"No need to argue. The seeded spot goes to Lu Yin. He can't make it back for the start of the tournament. We can only make him a seeded player so his timing works out," Sa Hai said flatly.
"Lu Yin's not dead? That's amazing! To be hit by that kind of beam and live... it's a miracle!" Da Pao exclaimed.
Xiao Pao added, "Then let him be the seeded player. But he's unlucky, too. Has to stand on stage with those Zone Masters from the other nine academies. Heh heh, that's a lot of pressure."
Sa Hai was impatient. "Alright, enough nonsense. Scram!"
...
At the start of the Ten Academies Tournament, each academy could designate one "seeded player" to directly enter the draw. Usually, this was the academy's Top Student.
Lu Yin was only the freshman Top Student, not the entire academy's. But when the Tenth Academy reported his name, it still caused a sensation.
The news of Lu Yin's death at Pirate Harbor had spread long ago. For the Tenth Academy to still submit his name... it stunned many.
Openly and secretly, countless people were discussing how the Tenth Academy was still releasing smokescreens. But none of this talk reached the Tenth Academy, nor did it reach Lu Yin.
...
Seven days later, in the Great Yu Empire, at the Imperial Palace on True Martial Star, a massive screen was raised. This screen was connected to the universal network and would broadcast the entire Ten Academies Tournament in real-time.
Not just the palace, but almost every screen on True Martial Star would be broadcasting the tournament. This was a universe-wide event.
In the Huo family, Huo Xiaoling watched the screen, her expression complex. She had also participated in the Tenth Academy's exam but had failed. Otherwise, she might have been one of the people appearing on that screen. Thinking of this, she remembered Shuz and Lu Yin. One was the strongest of the Great Yu Empire's younger generation, the other was King Zishan. They... they will probably appear, right?
The Ona family had also raised a screen. They, too, would watch the entire tournament.
On the screen, the list of the Ten Academies' seeded players appeared. And the tenth name... was Lu Yin.
"There were rumors he was dead. I can't believe he's not only alive, but he's also a seeded player!" Rock Ona said excitedly to Snomo Ona.
Snomo Ona was also staring at the screen, excited. He let out a breath. "That's good. As long as he's not dead, that's good."
Not far away, Jenny Ona's eyes shook as she stared at the screen.
At the Martial Hall, Gurbach, Tian Ming, and the others were gathered. Others were watching for entertainment; they were watching to see... the "gap." This was an order from Wendy Yushan. The tournament represented the true pinnacle of the younger generation.