Countless people were stupefied. He had actually torn the void.
In the "Storming the Three Academies" segment, very few people truly fought. Experts were usually just allowed to pass, as the defending students wouldn't provoke them; it would only waste time. Diao's attack, however, gave countless people a true glimpse of the combat power of the Starry Sky Academy's top-tier experts.
That student was unfortunately eliminated. Because his move was suspected to be an attack, he was disqualified. That person was also a Domain Master.
Diao cursed his bad luck. He had actually just gone all-out against a Domain Master.
At this point, only just over a hundred students had been eliminated. Most had died to Chi Lian-Baiye's poison algae, and a portion in Diao's attack. Aside from the 200 remaining who hadn't passed Diao's position, there were still nearly four hundred people charging toward the end of the valley.
The situation was just like the last Ten Academies Tournament. Last time, the three guarding academies failed. This time, in everyone's eyes, would be no exception. So what if a Tenth Academy student was hyped to the heavens? Did they really think he could stop so many people?
The students from the Seventh Academy were already in despair.
Yan Qing-Night-King's eyes were icy. In the most-watched tournament, she didn't even have the qualification to appear. That bunch of fools.
On the spaceship, Liu Xiaoyun was also frowning deeply, a trace of helplessness in her eyes.
Matron Nalan sighed. "It's alright, Xiaoyun. There will be many more opportunities."
Liu Xiaoyun looked resigned.
"Do you all really think Yin can't hold his ground?" Lu Yin spoke up.
Liu Xiaoyun turned and shot him a cold glance, having no interest in talking to him.
Matron Nalan's eyes lit up. "Student Lu thinks he can hold?"
Lu Yin shrugged. "No idea. Maybe."
Lu Yin didn't know how strong the Neo-Human Alliance was, but he knew Yin was definitely not simple. That fox-like smile hadn't vanished from his face yet.
Outside the valley, the people from the Tenth Academy were also resigned. They, too, didn't think Yin could hold out.
Nearby, people were discussing, "Look at that bastard from the Tenth Academy, his smile is so infuriating. I really want to rip his face off and stomp on it."
"Yeah, his smile is so... yin (sinister). It's creepy."
"You can tell he's not a good guy."
...
The group from the Tenth Academy silently stepped back.
In the valley, over four hundred students charged to the very end, seeing Yin still leaning casually against the cliff. Their eyes lit up with excitement. Did this guy give up? Great! Saves us the effort.
In the crowd, Liu Ji suddenly stopped the moment she saw Yin. It's him! The one who made her scalp tingle, one of the people who made her feel the Tenth Academy was unfathomable. Liu Ji had a deep impression of this person. He might be terrifying.
"Liu Ji, what's wrong? Let's go..." Beside her, Gass urged.
Liu Ji's eyes flickered. She didn't answer.
At the very front, a group of students had already dashed past Yin.
Countless people were enraged, cursing the Tenth Academy for sending out a piece of trash. The guy is restricted from fighting back, and you still don't dare to make a move?
Outside the valley, Wu Da's eyes widened. Trash? This guy is an absolute expert, even if he's only in the Melt-realm.
A breeze swept by. Several students passed Yin. Someone even cursed "trash."
In that instant, Yin's eyes opened fully. In a flash, an indescribable, bone-chilling cold enveloped the area. All the students felt a chill down their spines, and then they saw a scene that terrified them: the students who had just passed Yin... were all dead. Their deaths were silent, without a ripple.
All they saw was a single, gleaming butterfly knife, and a ring of blood.
Yin's killing speed... is that fast? Of all the students present, only the Domain Masters could see it clearly. The vast majority couldn't see anything. By the time they saw the butterfly knife, they were already dead.
The cause of death was just a red line on their necks. There were no other wounds.
In just over ten seconds, no less than twenty people had fallen. And Yin... stood in the valley, smiling at them. That fox-like smile on his face now seemed so terrifying.
If Chi Lian-Baiye's attack was brilliant, and Diao's was shocking, then Yin's was like a dragonfly skimming water—without a ripple, yet the most frightening of all.
The valley was dead silent. All the students stared blankly at Yin. He had killed more people in an instant than Chi Lian-Baiye and Diao. This was a bloodthirsty demon.
On the high peak to the south, Yan Qing-Night-King's eyes lit up. "Interesting. Such fast attacks, even a normal Domain Master can't achieve that. Is this the strength of a Tenth Academy student? Not bad."
Kuang Wang was surprised. "I thought the Tenth Academy only had those two 'left-behind' (liu shou) students. I didn't expect another vicious character."
"I'm now looking forward to seeing who the Tenth Academy's Top Student is," the man in the eighth seat said curiously. He was Feng Shang, the Eighth Academy's Top Student, the Zone Master of the Illusory-Path-Realm, and one of the people Gall feared.
After speaking, Feng Shang glanced aside at the ninth seat. A man wearing absurdly large headphones was sitting there, bobbing his leg, lost in his own world. This was the Ninth Academy's Top Student, the Zone Master of the Seed-Path-Realm, Liu Yin.
"Liu Yin! Can you hear me?" Feng Shang shouted.
Liu Yin continued to bob his leg.
Feng Shang was speechless.
Yin's "autumn-wind-sweeping-leaves" method of killing had stunned everyone, including the students outside the valley and the Grandmasters from the ten academies. They never expected the Tenth Academy to produce such a character.
On the spaceship, Matron Nalan looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "This student of yours is very impressive."
Liu Xiaoyun was also surprised.
Lu Yin smiled. "Of course he is. Even I don't know his background."
"Aren't you the Tenth Academy's Top Student?" Matron Nalan asked.
Lu Yin laughed. "I got this Top Student title in a bizarre way. He probably gave it to me."
"Is that so?" Matron Nalan didn't press further.
In the valley, Liu Ji's eyelids were twitching. She knew it. She knew this guy wasn't simple.
Although Yin's killing speed was fast, these students had all entered the Academy through bloody trials. They were shaken, but not yet afraid. After all, their opponent was only in the Melt-realm.
Soon, the students charged out again.
Yin smiled as he watched them. His butterfly knives danced. As the light flashed, several more people died. His speed was too fast, and he completely ignored their defenses.
However, Yin wasn't targeting the Domain Masters. He wasn't arrogant enough to block everyone. Chi Lian-Baiye and Diao had done the same, letting the Domain Masters pass.
As the butterfly knife vanished, Gass clutched his throat. He was an expert approaching the Domain Master level, yet he was killed all the same.
Beside him, Liu Ji's face was pale. Her strength was less than Gass's. She looked up, just in time to meet Yin's icy gaze.
Yin smiled at her, and his butterfly knife lunged.
Liu Ji gritted her teeth. A light flowed in her eyes. I see it! She used her talent, "Eager-Eyes-Await", to see the knife's trajectory, but she couldn't stop it. Her body wouldn't move.
Pang! The butterfly knife was blocked. A hand had appeared in front of Yin. The one who stopped him was Karon.
"Sorry. Her, you can't touch," Karon said coldly.
Yin smiled. His figure flowed, and the butterfly knife plunged into the neck of a student beside them. That student fell in disbelief, then vanished from the Afterlife-World.
The end of the valley was like a giant slaughterhouse. Yin's killing was an art, but to outsiders, it was terrifying. When his butterfly knife split from one into two, then two into three... countless people felt their scalps tingle. "That's a 'Field'! That guy has comprehended a Field!"
Many were shocked by this. A Field was not something just anyone could comprehend. Even Karon, that genius Lockbreaker, had only just begun to comprehend one.
At this moment, people finally understood why this guy, who was clearly in the Melt-realm, could leap ranks and kill as easily as chopping vegetables. For an expert who had comprehended a Field, fighting above one's rank was truly simple.
Some broke through the valley, some fell. Yin was the last line of defense, but he had killed more people than Chi Lian-Baiye and Diao combined. His Field was perfectly suited for killing.
Watching Yin, even the Zone Masters on the high peak wore grave expressions. Anyone who had comprehended a Field could not be underestimated, even if they were only in the Melt-realm.
In the sixth seat, Dobo's eyes lit up. He was interested in all Fields.
...
To the south of the valley stood ten tall war drums. In front of each drum stood a person—the "Dragon-Gate-Striker" chosen by each of the ten academies. Behind the drums, ten areas were marked out. Students were already arriving.
The first to arrive were all Domain Masters from the Trial-Realm-Domain. Their strength was immense. The three defenders wouldn't touch them, so they arrived smoothly. They just had to wait for all the students from their respective academies to pass, and then they would strike the war drum.
In front of the Tenth Academy's drum, Lulu looked up at the screen, her expression one of shock. She never thought that Yin, who had been so low-key ("not-showing-mountain-not-revealing-water"), was actually so powerful. A Field! And he leaps ranks so easily! This person's strength was definitely not weaker than Lu Yin's. No, maybe even stronger. Even if Lu Yin comprehended battle-qi, it was only at the initial level. Yin's Field was clearly not newly comprehended. Too terrifying. No wonder his smile is so infuriating.
Thinking this, her gaze drifted to the farthest drum, the First Academy's. A woman also stood there: Grantini Mebis, also from the Mebis clan.
Perhaps sensing Lulu's gaze, Grantini Mebis turned and smiled at her.
Lulu pouted. She scanned the people in front of the drums. These were all the top-tier experts of the academies, perhaps second only to the Zone Masters, because the war drums were incredibly hard to strike. At least a Domain Master was required.
The others were fine, but the person from the Fifth Academy caught Lulu's eye. Not because he was strong, but because... he was too weak. That man gave Lulu a feeling of extreme frailty. This kind of person can strike the drum? That's a serious physical task.
Lulu looked away, unconsciously glancing to her side. The person chosen by the Ninth Academy was a silent young man, his face pale, his body exuding a cold air. If she closed her eyes, Lulu would have thought it was a corpse. The Starry Sky Academy really has all-sorts.
...
In the middle of the valley, Diao was still holding back over 100 students. His gravity talent had reached its limit. Even if these students didn't fight back, they were all formidable, with many life-saving measures. Diao's eyes turned fierce. The gravity covering the valley suddenly vanished. In the next instant, his speed increased. He had applied anti-gravity to himself to accelerate.
With the gravity restriction gone, a portion of the students immediately rushed forward.