Chapter 322: Oppression

At this moment, Ben’s fantasy realm made everyone feel apprehensive. It felt as if it could instantly defeat the average Limiteer from the Astral Combat Academy, which was very terrifying indeed.

As time continued to tick by, everyone felt that something was amiss. Ben’s fantasy realm had shrouded the entire battlefield, but Tian Hou still showed no abnormal reactions. He remained so calm that it was almost frightening.

On the west side of the battlefield, Yun’s expression grew heavier as the disdain in her eyes gradually morphed into shock. It seemed as if she had discovered something extraordinary.

Suddenly, Tian Hou raised his head, and while the body underneath the black gowns remained hidden, everyone felt as if his body had become distorted the moment he raised his head. And then, he vanished.

This was not due to extreme speed or tearing through the void. It was more like he had merged into the void as one.

Lu Yin’s eyes widened, as he had never seen such an extraordinary method before. A space-exploring powerhouse could tear through the void to cross enormous distances while Lu Yin himself could rely on extreme speed to shuttle through the void. However, he had never met someone who could merge into the void like that.

A moment later, Tian Hou’s figure appeared above Ben, and he kicked down at the book with both legs. His attack was so forceful that Ben was directly buried underground. Then, the void distorted once again as Ben’s body vanished. The book-like competitor had been swallowed by the void, just like what had happened during Liu Xiaoyun’s battle against Tu Bo during the Astral Combat Tournament. Even though Liu Xiaoyun had won, she had still been banished into the void by Tu Bo, which meant that the match had ended with mutual destruction.

“Seventh match. Victor: Tian Hou.”

The crowd finally reacted after the battle had already ended. This battle had been one of the quickest, second only to Starsibyl’s, and it had taken around as long as Yun’s battle against Han Chong. The outcome had been decided in an instant, as the difference between the two sides was just too significant.

Three out of the four competitors from the Astral Beast Domain had also been defeated. Like the Technocracy, the beasts were not weak, and their competitors’ strength greatly surpassed the average Academy leader’s, but they had also encountered the wrong match ups. It could only be said that the participants in the Tournament of the Strongest were at an extremely high level, where even a student leader such as Kuang Wang could not hope to compete.

Only Han Chong of the four competitors from Astral Combat Academy had fallen, as he had faced Yun. Both competitors from the Cosmic Sea had advanced.

The seven competitors to enter the next round of drawing lots were Starsibyl, Grandini Mavis, Lu Yin, Tian Hou, Yun, Liu Shaoqiu, and Zi Jun.

“The first round of battles is over. The next will begin in one day.”

One day was enough to allow everyone to recover; since the tournament was taking place in the Lifeseek Realm, the participants’ recovery rate was extremely quick.

Although there had only been seven battles this round, each one had been a feast for countless eyes.

The Astral Combat Tournament had only been a tournament for the students from Astral Combat Academy, and it was not sufficient to represent the wider universe’s selection of elites from the younger generation. The Tournament of the Strongest was different; whether one looked at Starsibyl, Tian Hou, or Yun, they were all the top elites of their respective star domain. Within the same generation, few could rival them. Through these battles, one could truly witness the peak power of a Limiteer.

It was a pity that this level of competition was not suitable for the general public to spectate.

Fortunately, the Great Yu Empire, Earth, East San Dios, and various large powers could watch it, though normal folks had no way to access the tournament.

While the Tournament of the Strongest was being held, the negotiation between the three star realms was also underway.

“Continuing this battle has brought all three sides irreparable losses. It’s absolutely necessary to stop this war.”

“You humans are so hypocritical. You fight when you want to and stop when you don’t.”

“Isn’t this what your Teacher Skymender intends? Otherwise that Tian Hou of yours wouldn’t have been allowed to step foot in our star realm.”

“Teacher is benevolent, but that shouldn’t be the platform for your human hypocrisy.”

“Regardless of whether we fight or not, we will not return the territories that we have captured.”

“Although your Technocracy has inherited some powerful ancient technology, your resources will be exhausted one day. Your resources are your foundation, and once you run out, you can only wait for your slow but inevitable demise.”

“Before that, we will completely conquer your Human Domain.”

“Alright, there’s no need for such nonsense. Before this negotiation begins, the general direction has already been set for us. Let’s talk about the details.”

…

Atop Astral-10’s trial zone mountain, Lu Yin opened his eyes, and the other Astral-10 students awakened one after another as well. They all turned to Lu Yin. None of them disturbed him, except for Xia Luo who walked up to Lu Yin. “Let’s chat.”

Lu Yin nodded. “What’s the matter?”

Xia Luo gave Lu Yin a serious look. “How strong do you think Han Chong is?”

Lu Yin was baffled, as Xia Luo and Han Chong were strangers. Why would he ask about Han Chong?

“Very strong,” he replied.

“And yet, he still lost.”

“What are you trying to say?” Lu Yin asked. At the space station, before he left, Silver had made certain remarks about Xia Luo that made Lu Yin harbor suspicions about Xia Luo. As such, and Lu Yin had taken some precautions.

Xia Luo smiled slightly. “During the Astral Combat Tournament, Xia Ye fought Han Chong but was crushed. That final painting of the mountains and seas is very special, and according to Xia Ye, it holds an unavoidable power. And yet, Han Chong lost to Yun. I’m here to remind you to not underestimate that Yun, as she is extremely terrifying.”

Lu Yin was deep in thought. “I know.”

“You don’t.” Xia Luo looked at Lu Yin’s surprised expression and then continued, explaining, “There're many mysterious matters in this universe, such as natural phenomena, sceneries, historical remnants, and other such things. The average person will not encounter these mysterious matters, or they won’t be able to remember or replicate them. However, once such a thing has been mimicked, that imitation gains an unfathomable power. Han Chong’s scenery painting is precisely that. You did not exchange blows with him, so you can’t understand the level of oppression it contains.”

Xia Luo’s words reminded Lu Yin of the Stonewall Scriptures. It was just a string of characters, but it could not be recited in full. This was essentially a non-memorizable, non-readable mysterious power.

“Brother Lu, we walked out together, and I hope that you’ll be able to tread a further path,” Xia Luo sincerely said to Lu Yin before turning to leave.

Lu Yin had felt lost from start to finish, not knowing what Xia Luo meant by his words.

After Xia Luo left, no one else bothered Lu Yin. He enjoyed a good rest, and when he opened his eyes again, it was time to reenter the Lifeseek Realm.

Everyone else was already present, and the battlefield had been returned to its original state as well.

“Seven lots. There is a single blank one that represents directly advancing through a bye. Help yourselves,” a giant voice boomed out.

Lu Yin raised his head as lots of three different colors spun in the air, the colors constantly changing. It was the same lot drawing method as the first round, though this time there was one colorless lot that also did not change, evidently the one that represented a bye to the next round.

Under the countless gazes of the audience, all the tournament competitors felt like it would be pathetic to grab that blank lot, aside from Lu Yin, and of course, someone else: Grandini Mavis. Their two star energies competed against each other as they fought for that blank lot while the rest of the competitors randomly picked a colored lot.

Their two star energies collided above the blank lot, but Lu Yin was slightly faster and managed to snatch it first. Grandini furiously grit her teeth. “Hey, are you a man? If you are, then go and have an honorable battle.”

Lu Yin looked sideways. “Isn’t the Mavis family composed of brawlers? Why don’t you fight?”

Grandini Mavis was furious, but was left with no choice since the blank lot had already been taken by Lu Yin. She snorted and finally took the last colored lot.

At this point, the Astral-10 students were all embarrassed. The rest had grabbed a random lot, but Lu Yin had deliberately snatched the blank lot, clearly saying that he was not interested in fighting this round. This caused many to feel that he had no confidence in winning. Even the viewers on Zenyu Star were struck speechless.

“The Royal Regent sure does things as he wishes,” one minister carefully said after considering the matter.

“Yes, the Royal Regent is trying to preserve his strength.”

“That’s smart, he should. Haha!”

…

On Earth, Zhou Shan laughed as he remembered his experiences with Lu Yin on Earth. This fellow was still the same and refused to be at a disadvantage or do more than what was necessary.

Wendy Yushan watched Lu Yin on her screen, and her eyes lit up. This man was approaching her level, and now that the Yushan family had been wiped out, he was perhaps the only kin she had left, which meant that it was impossible for them to marry. Still, she could be his elder sister!

In East San Dios, Yan Feng relaxed for some reason when he saw Lu Yin going straight for a free pass. From his perspective, this was Lu Yin revealing a sign of weakness. Although this person was far weaker than himself at this moment, the two were bound to become irreconcilable enemies. Yan Feng was also planning to wed Jenny Auna, who was technically Lu Yin’s fiancée. This matter would definitely incite a never ending conflict between the two of them.

In the Lifeseek Realm, Grandini Mavis glared unhappily at Lu Yin. It turned out that she was in the first match, and her opponent was Tian Hou.

Lu Yin shrugged and gave Grandini a sympathetic expression. Although she was from the Mavis family, she most likely wouldn’t be able to compare to Tian Hou in terms of power. If Lu Yin had yielded that blank lot to Grandini, then he would be the one facing Tian Hou in the arena right now.

“Just wait for me to get back,” Grandini softly threatened Lu Yin. She then waved her fist and entered the arena.

Lu Yin laughed. This woman did not seem confident, since the fiery nature of the Mavis family typically meant that any of them would always be itching for a fight.

Boom!

The ground vibrated, and smoke rose up. A giant crack appeared along the surface of the ground as multiple spatial cracks flickered above it, giving off the impression that lightning had torn through the heavens.

Grandini’s five-lined battle force flickered with a dark-gold radiance. Just like when she had dealt with Domi, her attack covered the entire battlefield.

Many were left speechless; this woman had erupted with her entire strength from the very start! The pressure of facing Tian Hou was clear to all those watching.

Lu Yin shivered in expectation. Five-lined battle force reinforcing Thirteen Stacks was the technique that Grandini had used to defeat Domi of the Technocracy. Lu Yin wondered how Tian Hou would fare against this attack.

When the smoke dispersed, the void distorted, and Tian Hou slowly stepped out, not a flaw to be seen on his robes.

Grandini’s pupils constricted, and she clenched her fists and charged forward with another punch.

Tian Hou’s body distorted as he merged into the void once again, causing Grandini’s attack to strike nothing but air. The sheer force of her punch pierced the void and tore out a large spatial crack. It was a mighty attack, but completely useless.

Everyone was overwhelmed with shock, as this Tian Hou was just too mysterious. Grandini had used all her power, but she could not even touch him.

Suddenly, Tian Hou appeared behind Grandini Mavis and used a single hand to press against her shoulder, causing the void to distort. This scene was very familiar. Ben from the Technocracy had been similarly banished into the void with this one move. The book had been completely powerless against Tian Hou.