Chapter 1000

When he heard the sound of her voice, Lu Yin was caught off guard, and he looked down. “You’re awake?” 

Zhuo Daynight stood up and cleaned the blood on the corner of her lips. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” Lu Yin replied. 

Zhuo Daynight surveyed their surroundings and then lowered her head. “Is this the Champions' Stage?” 

Lu Yin nodded. “That’s right, I was lucky enough to get control of it.”

Zhuo Daynight stared at him. “Be careful of Nightking Zhenwu.”

Lu Yin was about to answer, but then, a dozen cultivators suddenly flew towards them from the distance. They were all Explorers and Limiteers, and the Limiteers were carrying some strange-looking tools.

As soon as he saw them, Lu Yin took action. There was no way to determine if someone was from the Fifth Mainland or the Sixth Mainland by sight, and only an imprint could reveal the truth. Even at this time, nobody from the Fifth Mainland had ever cultivated an imprint, so this was the best way to determine a person’s origins. 

Lu Yin attacked with a Skybeast Claw that fell upon the crowd as a beast howl echoed through space and time. The newcomers all felt a terrible crisis befall them, and they immediately revealed their imprints as they attacked Lu Yin, though a few of them instead turned to flee. 

This group of Sixth Mainland cultivators only had about a dozen people among them, and their strongest person was merely an Explorer. Lu Yin easily dealt with the situation, and he even captured a cultivator who had tried to escape. “Do you recognize me?” 

That Sixth Mainland cultivator was terrified, and he shook his head. “N- no.”

Lu Yin was confused. “Since you don’t know who I am, why are you fleeing?”

“Because you’re a Cruiser while we are only Explorers,” the Sixth Mainland cultivator quickly answered. 

Lu Yin sneered. “You people from the Sixth Mainland commonly fight against people in higher realms, and there were even so many of you in your group. It doesn’t make sense for you to flee the moment you saw me. You only have one more chance to answer.” 

The Sixth Mainland cultivator was terrified by Lu Yin’s blatant bloodlust. He quickly replied, “I- I recognized the Champions' Stage.” 

Lu Yin was flabbergasted, but he quickly came to an understanding. The Champions' Stage was where titles were given to members of the Fifth Mainland’s younger generation, and it was also their symbol of honor. It was always in the Cosmic Sea, but then it had suddenly appeared here. Anyone who was able to fight over control of the Champions' Stage had to at least be a titled powerhouse, and that group was incapable of dealing with experts of that level. 

This young man was rather intelligent. 

Lu Yin directly knocked the man unconscious. He had no desire to kill someone who could not resist, so instead, he threw the man to the side, treating him as a prisoner of war.

The Champions' Stage continued to fly towards the northwest, but Lu Yin had no idea where it was headed. Thus, he started to control the Champions’ Stage to make it fly towards where the fissure that led to the Outerverse. Once they arrived in the Outerverse, they would be in his territory, and there, he would not be afraid even if a Cosmic Imprinter arrived. 

Suddenly, Zhuo Daynight looked up and stared into the distance. 

Lu Yin turned to look in the same direction, and off in the distance, he saw a figure streaking through the void at a startling speed, headed straight for the Champion’s Stage. The figure had black-and-white hair, and they cut a striking visual as they soared through outer space. It was actually Nightking Zhenwu. 

Lu Yin had never expected Nightking Zhenwu to catch up to them so soon. 

Zhuo Daynight quickly told Lu Yin, “Hurry and flee! He’ll definitely kill you.”

Lu Yin clenched his fists—flee? He refused to consider such an option since he was not willing to run away. If he fled, then the Champions' Stage would belong to Nightking Zhenwu, and the sole qualification to go to the Astral Tower, along with the greater chance to become one of the Cosmic Five, would also go to the Nightking. If Lu Yin fled, then he would also be relinquishing that opportunity, and he would actually be contributing to Nightking Zhenwu’s success.

Nightking Zhenwu’s strength was something that really could not be fathomed at this time. If he also received a Progenitor’s inheritance, then Lu Yin did not even dare to imagine what heights Nightking Zhenqu would reach. Even if Lu Yin was confident in eventually overtaking the Nightking, it was not something that could be done within a short period of time. 

“Hurry and escape! You aren’t his match,” Zhuo Daynight growled at Lu Yin, her face pale.

Lu Yin was truly unable to abandon the Champions' Stage, and during his hesitation, Nightking Zhenwu tore through the void and stepped onto the Champions' Stage. His hands were clasped behind his back as he looked at Lu Yin. “You’re quite brave to stay here.” 

Lu Yin clenched his fists and took a deep breath. He had encountered Realmlings while in the Innerverse, and he had even faced the Daosource Three Skies before, and more than one of them at that. Logically, Lu Yin should be strong enough to fight with Nightking Zhenwu, at least with the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon.

However, for some reason, Nightking Zhenwu gave off a sense of pressure that Lu Yin had never felt before, which made him dejected. This person was one of the Ten Arbiters, but Lu Yin had traded blows with Realmlings who were able to rival the Ten Arbiters. So why did Nightking Zhenwu give off such an exceptional amount of pressure? 

Lu Yin could not be sure, but the young man currently in front of him made him feel an excessive amount of pressure. 

“Do you want to kill your own ally?” Lu Yin asked in an icy tone as he kept a wary eye on Nightking Zhenwu. 

Nightking Zhenwu arrogantly replied, “So what? Nobody knows, and besides, the war is already over. Even if anything is revealed, I, Nightking Zhenwu, can accept the burden of this crime.” 

Lu Yin’s eyes went wide. 

“Do you really believe that the Lockbreaker Society is enough to protect you? If not for Nightking Yuanjing needing you to find the Third Nightking, you would have died a long time ago. Now, I’ll fulfill your destiny.”

Nightking Zhenwu attacked by tapping out with a finger. The colors black and white were suddenly the only colors in the world. This was the Nightking Finger, and back in the Daosource Sect’s ruins, Nightking Zhenwu had used this technique to severely injure Lu Yin, as not even his Yu Secret Art had been able to divert it. 

At that time, Lu Yin had failed to divert the attack with the Yu Secret Art, and the situation had not changed this time either. This Nightking’s attacks were very crafty, and although his finger strike appeared to consist of just one attack, in the next instant, dozens of phantom images appeared, and Lu Yin could not divert all of them. Also, this finger was extremely powerful. 

Lu Yin’s pupils shrank as he stared at the descending Nightking Finger. Just when it was about to land on him, he also moved a finger: Dream Finger. 

Force clashed against force, but Lu Yin was not afraid. His physical body had transformed several times, and his physique could not compare to what it had been back in the Daosource Sect’s ruins. At that time, his Dream Finger had been unable to block the Nightking Finger, but his strength had advanced considerably since then, and furthermore, they were still under the cosmic phenomenon’s suppression. 

There was a bang as the void rippled. After that, a powerful shockwave lashed out in all directions. A terrifying gale filled with spiritual force swept over the edges of the Champions’ Stage. Zhuo Daynight’s breathing grew sluggish, and she was thrown away, almost falling off of the stage. The Sixth Mainland cultivators who had been knocked unconscious by Lu Yin all died, as they were not able to survive this aftershock. 

Dong dong dong!

Nightking Zhenwu retreated several steps, and he stared at Lu Yin as if he was looking at a monster. “You-”

Lu Yin retracted his finger, the tip trembling slightly. He had over-exerted himself, but he was both excited and emotional at this moment, as he had actually forced back Nightking Zhenwu!

Ever since Earth had suffered its apocalypse and Lu Yin had first started cultivating, the Ten Arbiters had always been like a sun traveling through the heavens. To him, each and every one of them had been an unreachable existence, especially Arbiter Zhenwu. The first time Lu Yin had seen this person’s name was in the corridor of the Daynight clan’s stone of inheritance. At the very top of a list of names was Nightking Zhenwu’s name. At that time, Lu Yin had already sensed that this person was a blazing sun. 

Arbiter Zhenwu was the king of the Daynight clan’s youths, and he was also the king of the youths in the entire Daynight Flowzone. With one sentence, he had been able to strip Lu Yin of his qualifications to join the Council of Astral Academy. One word from that person had forced Lu Yin to come up with all sorts of means to stay alive. Eleven years had passed, as Lu Yin had cultivated for almost eleven years now. At this moment, he could finally stand up to this person with his own strength. 

On the other side, the bloodlust in Nightking Zhenwu’s heart had erupted completely. Lu Yin had been able to join the battlefield atop the Champions' Stage, which had proven his strength. However, from Nightking Zhenwu’s perspective at that time, Lu Yin had simply relied on his secret technique to do so, and he did not have the true strength to stand on that level. On top of that, Nightking Zhenwu had always been concealing some of his strength, as he did not want to be targeted by Bu Kong. 

However, he had not held back with that Nightking’s Finger just now, yet his attack had actually been stopped by Lu Yin. The confrontation between the two was very similar to what had happened in the Daosource Sect’s ruins, but the outcome was vastly different. 

At that time, Nightking Zhenwu had been able to easily crush this person without any effort. Even when Lu Yin had used his secret technique, he hadn’t been able to evade the Nightking’s finger attack. But at this moment, Lu Yin was actually able to directly challenge the Nightking’s attack; just how much time had passed since their last confrontation? 

Nightking Zhenwu did not say anything, but in the depths of his eyes, his overwhelming bloodlust was palpable. His body flashed as he appeared right in front of Lu Yin. The Nightking tapped out with the same finger again, still using the Nightking Finger, but this time, the finger was wrapped with red lines. This was—nine lined battle force. 

Lu Yin was surprised, and he quickly tried to dodge away, but how could the Nightking Finger be avoided that easily? Spiritual force spread out and covered the entire Champions' Stage as if an entire mountain was pressing down upon it. No matter where Lu Yin tried to hide, he would be struck by this finger, as this finger was not targeting Lu Yin’s physical body, but rather his spiritual force. 

Helpless, Lu Yin’s pupils transformed into runes as he weakened the strength of the finger strike. He then raised his right hand and converged his star energy to unleash the First Sun.

There was a collision, and the sun exploded, unleashing visible shockwaves that swept out in all directions. Zhuo Daynight had already been tossed to the edge of the Champions' Stage before this, and her enfeebled body was barely able to even stand. All she could currently see was a fuzzy, distorted void in front of her. She was unable to see what was happening in this fight, and Lu Yin and Nightking Zhenwu had already exchanged a dozen blows. 

Nightking Zhenwu wanted to use his nine lined battle force to reinforce his Daynight battle techniques in order to crush Lu Yin. 

However, Lu Yin was able to rely on his robust physique and Truesight to endure these blows.

The two of them were on the Champions' Stage, and their battle had erupted almost instantly.

Zhuo Daynight frowned as she observed the exchange with worry. She knew that Lu Yin’s battle prowess had improved drastically, but nonetheless, she still did not believe he had caught up to Zhenwu of the Ten Arbiters. She simply hoped that the suppression of the cosmic phenomenon would be able to reduce the disparity between the two.

Nightking Zhenwu’s berserk storm of attacks did not give Lu Yin the slightest chance to catch his breath, but fortunately, Lu Yin was not weak. He was actually treating Nightking Zhenwu like an Imprinter, and he cautiously took each step, which allowed him to manage to hold on. He hoped that someone else would come, and it would be best if they were one of the Ten Arbiters or some expert from the Neoverse. Lu Yin knew that he would not be able to protect the Champions' Stage himself, so he was merely hoping that it would not land in Nightking Zhenwu’s hands. 

Nightking Zhenwu had not expected Lu Yin to be able to last for so long. “In the Innerverse, Outerverse, and even in the Neoverse, there are no more than twenty people who can fight me like you. You should be proud of yourself.” 

Lu Yin did not answer, as Nightking Zhenwu’s spiritual force was putting a great deal of pressure on him. The Daynight clan’s battle techniques that used spiritual force were definitely not limited to what Lu Yin had seen so far. 

“I’ll give you this chance to join my Daynight clan and follow me. I can allow you to stand at the peak of the universe, and when I become a Progenitor in future, you may even have the chance to become a powerhouse with a power level of over 1,000,000, and you will be radiant for ages to come,” Nightking Zhenwu offered.

Lu Yin mockingly replied, “Is this what you promised Liu Shaoge?” 

Nightking Zhenwu’s gaze trembled. “I didn’t offer him any promises, as he followed me of his own accord.” 

After seeing that Lu Yin would not respond, Nightking Zhenwu frowned. “I’ll ask you again—are you willing to follow me?”

Lu Yin swatted out with a palm, replying with his actions.

Nightking Zhenwu’s eyes narrowed. “It looks like you don’t understand the true disparity between us. Very well, let me give you a taste.”

He then suddenly backed away and raised his right hand. The next moment, the entire sky seemed to become a scroll with Nightking Zhenwu in the very center.

“Lu Yin, hurry and escape! That’s Skybreaker!” Zhuo Daynight suddenly screamed.

Lu Yin’s scalp went numb, and he heard the Ghost Monkey’s horrified shriek within his mind. “Skybreaker? Someone actually learned that thing? Hurry up, Seventh Bro. RUN! That’s one of the two unrivaled battle techniques that belong to the Daynight clan, and it’s just as famous as Night’s End, Daybreak. It can beat an entire generation into submission—you definitely won’t be able to block it.”