Lu Yin's eyes widened. This was a talent—Chi Lian-Baiye's talent. That seaweed looked venomous on sight; no wonder he excelled at group attacks.
There were about a thousand students participating in the Ten Academies Tournament, a number that had been controlled; otherwise, every student would have chosen to compete.
The Third, Seventh, and Tenth Academies were excluded from this batch, as they had students guarding the valley. Currently, there were just over seven hundred students charging in. For one person to face over seven hundred Starry Sky Academy students, the pressure was imaginable. But Chi Lian-Baiye's expression was calm. On his body, Two-Pattern Battle-Qi appeared.
It was not surprising for a Domain Master to have Two-Pattern Battle-Qi, but in a valley shrouded in poisonous algae, this scene made many students despair.
The first dozen students who touched the algae went limp and fell, then gradually faded away. They had died instantly. For any student wanting to breach the valley, the first thing they faced was this deadly poison.
Before the screens, countless people across the universe watched this scene, feeling the terror of the poison. Simultaneously, Chi Lian-Baiye's name became known to countless people. He alone was enough to deal with nearly half the students.
At the far end of the valley, Yin leaned casually against the cliffside, his face relaxed, still wearing that fox-like smile.
It was unknown how the Starry Sky Academy managed to broadcast the events in the Afterlife-World as a video feed.
The moment he saw Yin's smile, Lu Yin's brows twitched. He had a strange feeling. This guy... or rather, the Neo-Human Alliance... aren't planning to cause trouble, are they?
Suddenly, the image of the valley on the screen changed. An azure-blue color spread, freezing the poisonous algae. As far as the eye could see, blue had replaced green.
Liu Xiaoyun's expression changed. "This is Star Energy being forcibly used to simulate ice, even changing the color. An expert has made a move!"
In the valley, Chi Lian-Baiye's expression also changed. He looked into the distance, gritting his teeth in anger. "Sha!"
Sha, an expert from the Fourth Academy, the Domain Master of the Slaughter-Path Ice-Domain, and also the person Yin had submitted to after entering the Slaughter-Path.
"You want to let these people pass and get our Third Academy directly eliminated? Impossible!" Chi Lian-Baiye roared, soaring into the sky. He pressed his palms down. "Flower Rain!" With a low shout, the originally frozen poisonous algae all trembled, trying to break the ice and attack the students.
The mass of students didn't wait for his attack. They all rushed toward the back of the valley at top speed.
Chi Lian-Baiye's earlier move had already eliminated nearly a hundred students. But now, he was entangled by Sha. More importantly, a giant monster suddenly appeared, covering half the valley, perfectly positioning itself in the air to separate Chi Lian-Baiye from the students below.
Outside the valley, the many students watching exclaimed, "It's Long Ze! An expert from the Great-Shaman-Net-Dragon clan! One of the Fourth Academy's Domain Masters!"
"It looks like the Fourth Academy is going all out to ensure more than half the students pass, just to eliminate the Third Academy and remove a rival!"
...
To the south of the valley, there was a high peak overlooking everything, with ten seats upon it. This was the place for the Ten Academies' seeded players. Seeded players represented the Top Students; this was tradition. At this moment, all seats were filled except for the first, seventh, and tenth.
In the third seat sat a woman. Her long, black-and-white hair drifted in the light breeze, her beautiful face obscured by strands of hair, revealing only a pair of purple pupils. She was the Third Academy's Top Student, the Zone Master of the Undying-Realm, Yan Qing-Night-King.
She stared at the screen, then her cold, purple eyes glanced to the side. "Was this your idea?"
Not far from her, in the fourth seat, sat a man with red hair and an icy expression. A faint red glow emanated from his body. He was the Fourth Academy's Top Student, the Zone Master of the Slaughter-Path-Realm, Blood-Flow-Cloud.
Hearing her, Blood-Flow-Cloud said nothing, remaining colder than anyone, his pupils merely glowing crimson.
Yan Qing-Night-King frowned. Before she could speak, further away, Kuang Wang laughed loudly. "Woman of the White Night, after all these years, you still don't know Old Blood? Does he look like that kind of person? It's obvious his subordinates did this behind his back."
Yan Qing-Night-King snorted. "People change. It's no secret the Fourth Academy wants to replace my Third. But the Seventh Academy is going to be dragged down for no reason."
Blood-Flow-Cloud's eyes widened slightly. He spoke in a hoarse voice, "I will make Long Ze pay. But... the other one, I don't know."
"You mean Sha. That guy really is a bit of a lone wolf," Kuang Wang said.
Yan Qing-Night-King said no more. Blood-Flow-Cloud's meaning was clear: it wasn't his order. That Great-Shaman-Net-Dragon was too arrogant, daring to act behind his Zone Master's back. He really thinks he's secured a footing in the Human Star-Domain? Just a race from the border's Fiery-Blue Flow-Zone that betrayed the Astral-Beast Star-Domain.
...
In the northern part of the valley, the sky-full of poisonous algae finally broke through the ice and descended, attacking the students.
However, most of it was blocked by Long Ze's enormous body. The Great-Shaman-Net-Dragon's body was massive and incredibly fast. Although it couldn't actively attack Chi Lian-Baiye, it could defend. The next moment, the blue ice spread again, bypassing the dragon's body, this time sealing Chi Lian-Baiye off in the air.
Yan Qing-Night-King's face darkened. "That fool!"
In the middle of the valley, the Seventh Academy's student (Diao) had a grim expression. He thought it would be easy, but Chi Lian-Baiye was being targeted. The Fourth Academy was going all out, and even the White Night Clan expert was helpless.
He could hear Chi Lian-Baiye's furious roars, but it was hard to break through the defense of two Domain Masters of the same level.
On the spaceship, Liu Xiaoyun's expression was grim. This situation rarely happened in "Storming the Three Academies." The tournament valued fairness. This segment was just to weed out students unqualified for the main draw. It was rare for anyone to intentionally try to get the guarding academies eliminated; it would cause conflict. The last time, it was because the Tenth Academy's student was too weak, dragging down the other two. This time, Chi Lian-Baiye, a top expert, was defending, yet more than half the students had broken through. The "Storming" was halfway to succeeding.
"Xiaoyun, how is that student from your Seventh Academy?" Matron Nalan asked.
Liu Xiaoyun said in a low voice, "Diao. He's very strong. In terms of true combat power, he's not weaker than Chi Lian-Baiye, but he excels at 1-v-1, not group attacks. The Seventh Academy has a technique called 'Vigorous-Steel Palm', which lets him use his full strength in every strike with almost no stamina cost. It's great for duels, but its advantage in group fights isn't obvious. Plus... Diao isn't fast."
Lu Yin felt helpless. Not fast... that essentially ruled this guy out. How many could he stop? These Academy students all had their own trump cards. Even a Domain Master couldn't defeat them easily. Most of these students were Limiteers; few were Melders.
Thinking of this, Lu Yin turned to look at the end of the valley. Yin was still leaning casually against the cliff, but now, a pair of butterfly knives had appeared in his hands.
...
No matter how furious Chi Lian-Baiye was, he was ultimately bypassed. With two Domain Masters tying him down, he couldn't catch up.
In the middle section, Diao took a deep breath. In front of him was the mass of students. His eyes were calm.
When the first student entered his 100-meter range, Diao attacked. It wasn't the "Vigorous-Steel Palm" Liu Xiaoyun mentioned. It was... gravity.
The moment the black gravity descended on the valley, the earth cracked. Countless people were shocked, especially those from the Seventh Academy, because Diao had never revealed his gravity talent. And it was 100x gravity right from the start—even Limiteers would struggle to bear it.
Even Liu Xiaoyun didn't know Diao had a gravity talent.
Lu Yin's eyes flew open. Gravity... a stamina-less palm... It reminded him of one person: Zhang Wuji, his opponent in the Transmission-Field-War. They had exchanged 23 blows, and in the end, Lu Yin had died, his organs crushed by the other's gravity.
Watching Diao rampage in the valley, Lu Yin smiled bitterly. And I thought I could have fought him back then. He wasn't even using his full strength. The "Vigorous-Steel Palm" was probably just a fraction of his power. No wonder the moment the gravity appeared, he was finished.
In the valley, Diao killed seven people in a row. The eighth, however, blocked his attack.
Diao was surprised. He glanced... it was a Domain Master. He immediately moved past him. His goal was to eliminate half the students; Domain Masters were clearly not in that group.
If the Seventh Academy students were shocked, the students in the valley felt like they had "eaten shit." They thought he'd be easy, but he was another monster. The gravity talent sealed off an entire area, making it impossible to dodge.
This Diao was no easier to deal with than Chi Lian-Baiye.
Outside the valley, Keke was astonished. "There are so many strong people! Zahra, are we really going to fight them?"
Zahra said helplessly, "These are the absolute top-tier experts. We don't need to compare ourselves to them."
Michelle's eyes burned as she watched the valley. The stronger these students were, the more her fighting spirit surged.
The entire valley was shaking. Whether one was inside or watching the screen, they could feel that suffocating power.
In the Great Yu Empire's palace, Wu Shan marveled, "This... is the gap in the younger generation."
Gurbach and the others were speechless. If they were thrown into that valley, they wouldn't even have the strength to fight back.
On Earth, everyone watched the screen, awed by the terror of the universe's experts.
Diao's sudden outburst pushed the tournament to a climax. From the very beginning, this tournament was destined to be extraordinary.
Just as everyone thought Diao could continue, a sweet, melodic tune made him pause. In the sky, a stunningly beautiful woman was singing, drawing everyone's gaze.
"That... That's Xi Yue! The superstar Xi Yue!"
"The Spirit-Dream Clan's Young Matriarch is making a move! Xi Yue's music... doesn't seem to count as an attack. It's not powered by Star Energy, so it's not a technique. It's just... music."
"The Eighth Academy is, just like the Fourth, trying to 'snipe' the Third and Seventh!"
...
Xi Yue's song was bizarre. Even without Star Energy, the "Illusory-Spirit-Melody" still hit Diao while he was unguarded. It wasn't an attack; it just pulled people into a vortex of their own desires.
Student after student streamed past Diao, rushing to the end of the valley. Their eyes were bright with excitement. Only one student from the Tenth Academy was left. That academy was as good as eliminated. Although the academy announcements had stressed that the Tenth Academy had experts, so what? Did they really think they could compare to the other academies? Impossible.
Xi Yue's song couldn't hold Diao for long. He suddenly snapped his eyes open. A student was trying to slip past. He struck out with his Vigorous-Steel Palm without hesitation. The student sneered, raised his leg, and swept it out.
Phanh!
The void was torn apart. A spatial crack spread from the sky, ripping the valley in two.