Countless people stared in amazement as Lu Yin faced Tian Hou. His knees began to bend, and it seemed as if he was about to kneel down.
If he knelt at this moment, Lu Yin would be finished for the rest of his life. The entire Human Domain would reject him because he represented all of them at this moment. To have humanity kneel at the feet of an astral beast was unacceptable.
On Zenyu Star, the expressions of Huo Qingshan and the rest changed, and their faces drained of all color.
Wendy Yushan clenched her hilt tightly, and she suddenly stood up, her eyes blazing.
In the Innerverse, the face of the black-haired lady with the white sword went cold.
In the Daynight Ancestral Area, Zhuo Daynight nervously watched on.
At this point, countless hearts seized as people stared on in a daze. Would Lu Yin kneel?
Tian Hou’s eyes flashed with pity. He knew that this person would be finished if he was forced to completely kneel. But for the sake of victory, this was necessary. This was the price, and it was heavier than even death.
Lu Yin’s eyes filled with horror as his knees gradually bent and approached the ground.
Countless watched on with bated breath.
In the sky above the battlefield, the Astral Combat Academy mentors were about to stop the match, but Lilac Snow appeared at the first sign of movement.
Outside the battlefield, the contempt in Yun’s eyes grew even more intense.
Starsibyl watched on gravely; her divination had revealed no such scene.
The Astral-10 students clenched their fists, and Xia Luo’s face dropped.
Nightqueen Yanqing gleefully sneered.
Right when Lu Yin’s knees were about to drop, a sound suddenly reverberated in his mind. It was the Stonewall Scriptures.
At the same time, Tian Hou howled in misery and retreated in a sorry manner. In that instant, he had been sent flying backwards by an indescribably majestic pressure. Lu Yin realized the circumstances that he was in and flew into a rage. He lashed out with his bound hands and sent Tian Hou flying again.
Countless people let out their held-in breaths. Lu Yin had withstood the critical juncture and not kneeled.
Lu Yin’s back was drenched in sweat as he tore away, panting heavily. He still felt fearful, as everything would have been ruined if he had knelt down—his future would have been reduced to nothing if that had happened.
“Seventh Bro! Seventh Bro, can you hear me? Seventh Bro!” the monkey screamed without end.
Lu Yin panted heavily. “Yes, I hear you.”
“What just happened? You wouldn’t respond no matter how hard I called for you.” The Ghost Monkey was panicking.
The monkey did not understand what had happened either. In the end, a legend was merely a legend and there were no precise records about them. No one knew exactly what abilities Tian Hou possessed.
Lu Yin watched Tian Hou crash into the ground and grit his teeth. He still held some residual anger, as the worst result of this battle was not death, but rather being forced to kneel down to his opponent. This had angered him beyond all reason, and he charged out with Flash and ruthlessly pounded down at Tian Hou.
When Tian Hou’s body was forced underground, his dazed brain finally seemed to awaken a bit. He saw Lu Yin’s strikes descend upon him, and he raised a hand. “Let’s struggle to the death!”
There was a tremendous boom, and the ground was once again smashed to powder. This shocked many students’ hearts, as Lu Yin was now being held up by Tian Hou once again.
Tian Hou grit his teeth and stared at Lu Yin; he wanted to devour his opponent’s emotions once more. No one would obstruct him this time! He wanted to understand the attack that had sent him flying just moments ago; after all, he should be matchless!
Terror reappeared in Lu Yin’s eyes, but this time he could hear the Ghost Monkey. “Seventh Bro, you are terrified again. Damn, this is such an evil ability! Seventh Bro, your wife is being snatched! Your Ming Yan from the Shenwu Continent is being snatched away by the Daynight clan!”
Lu Yin’s eyes abruptly changed as he heard the monkey’s words and the image of Ming Yan’s dazzling beauty appeared in his mind. His fury spiked to new heights, and he mercilessly sent Tian Hou crashing underground again.
Tian Hou was taken aback. Why is it not working? Impossible, no one is immune to my ability!
Lu Yin did not pursue Tian Hou and instead retreated a hundred meters back, from where he cautiously watched Tian Hou. The lingering fear once again arose within his eyes. What sort of ability was this? It had actually caused him to freeze in place.
“Seventh Bro, this is very bothersome. Tian Hou’s ability can mess with your emotions. Even if there’s no terror in your heart, you still have love or affection. Choosing any one of them will cause you to be unable to withstand his attacks. If Ming Yan is dead and Zhuo Daynight is slaughtered by Nightqueen Yanqing, what will you do?” the Ghost Monkey seriously asked.
Lu Yin’s heart sank, and he watched Tian Hou’s bloodlust increase. It was no wonder why this creature had become a legend; he truly was overpowering.
“What do you suggest?” Lu Yin asked quietly.
The monkey was at a loss. “I don’t know. I’ve already said that no one can face a Cosmic Hou alone, as they’re pretty much invincible.”
Lu Yin did not believe in invincibility, as no one was truly undefeatable, not even the Ten Arbiters.
Across from Lu Yin, Tian Hou stood up. He was in a sorry state as he had been heavily injured. He looked at Lu Yin with a strange sense of apprehension. This person had not only found a way to attack him, but he could also resist having his emotions being devoured. This made Lu Yin Tian Hou’s natural nemesis. His Master had mentioned that a variable might appear but that Tian Hou would definitely still win this battle. At most, he would drag out the battle. After all, his opponent’s injuries were far worse than his own.
The battlefield fell silent, and neither competitor attacked their opponent. They only watched each other fearfully.
At this point, the countless observers relaxed, as there was finally a temporary break in the battle. No wonder this was the final battle; it was a display of both wits and courage.
“Seventh Bro, I feel like you should stop struggling against him. At most, go for a draw,” the monkey suddenly said.
“You don’t think that I can win?”
“That’s for sure. Tian Hou believes that you can ignore his ability to swallow your emotions, so he’s scared and hasn’t acted for now. But if you continue to struggle against him, and he randomly swallows your emotions again, then my reminders might not work then. If the fight progresses, you’ll lose beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
Lu Yin was confident in the toughness of his body, but this confidence had to be reevaluated in the context of facing Tian Hou.
“What a pity. If you had managed to learn the Daynight Technique of Immunity, you could have confronted him and made him doubt life itself. He might even suspect if you’re the same species as him!”
Lu Yin frowned. “It’s not going to be easy to force a draw.”
“Try your best. It would already be awesome for you to get a draw. Throughout history, no one within the same realm has ever drawn against a Cosmic Hou, which means that you’ll have made history.”
“Since I’m making history, I might as well make a bigger story and beat him.”
“Wake up...”
“Since it can swallow emotions, then I’ll fight it without any,” Lu Yin spoke coldly as a faint red aura covered his body. It was the color of blood, and the willpower of iron blood pervaded him until he was filled with bloodlust.
The Ghost Monkey was stunned. “The bloodlust of the battlefield... Right, this is the harvest you gained from the Heavenly Drum. You’ve turned yourself into a soldier.”
On the battlefield, the brave would prevail. No matter how timid one was, one had to forget themselves upon entering the battlefield and immerse themselves within the constant massacre. It was as if Lu Yin had become a seasoned soldier on the battlefield—the bloodlust pervaded his mindset, and he held no fear. He forcefully suppressed all of his emotions and was filled with nothing aside from bloodlust.
Tian Hou was stunned, and a bad premonition surfaced in his heart as he watched the faint redness around Lu Yin spread.
Lu Yin suddenly appeared before Tian Hou with a shout as his bound hands heavily pounded down. Tian Hou tried to dodge while retaliating with his Phantom Soul Strike and trying to devour Lu Yin’s emotions. Even if this person could disregard his emotions, the mental effect could still delay his attack and create a favorable opportunity for Tian Hou. However, Lu Yin had shrunk his domain’s area and was now the same as a veteran on the battlefield. This time, he resolutely blocked Tian Hou’s devouring ability.
Tian Hou was thrown underground by Lu Yin while Lu Yin was simultaneously hit by the Phantom Soul Strike. However, as Tian Hou’s condition became more and more severe, his attacks weakened, and he was no longer able to cause as much harm to Lu Yin as he had earlier in their battle.
“Impossible! Even a veteran who has participated at the border warfront can’t resist having their emotions devoured. Why are you able to do so?” Tian Hou was incredulous. A seasoned soldier did not fear death, but they would still have emotions. Just merging the bloodlust of the battlefield into one’s domain would not stop his devouring ability. If it were that simple, the Cosmic Hou would never have become a legend.
Of course Lu Yin was not relying solely on the bloodlust, as he also had the Stonewall Scriptures. When his domain spread out, he had begun reciting the scriptures in his mind. The Stonewall Scriptures complemented his domain that had absorbed the battlefield’s bloodlust. Combined with the monkey’s nagging, he had constructed a formidable defense against Tian Hou’s emotion-devouring ability. All of these pieces were his own ability, and he had patiently cultivated them to this day. He had met all of these puzzle pieces by fate, and they now came together to allow him to defeat Tian Hou.
Inequality existed between living beings, and an existence like a Cosmic Hou represented invincibility from birth. Lu Yin had no chance of even challenging one if not for his fateful destiny.
Right now, Lu Yin’s destiny had given him the ability to challenge Tian Hou. Lu Yin did not want to squander this opportunity, and he wanted to win. He wanted to be unrivalled.
Thump thump thump…
The void shattered as countless spatial fractures radiated out, leaving the audience members dumbfounded.
Tian Hou was enraged; he had already used everything at his disposal as well as his full strength, but the battle had seemed to have reset to how they started, with the two of them each struggling to consume the other. He could not understand how a human had forced him to such dire straits, as this person was clearly nothing more than a mere human.
Throughout the universe, many people watched on nervously. This deserved to be the final battle, as the intensity of it surpassed even Lu Yin’s battle against Yun. It also had an atmosphere overflowing with a mystifying sense of fantasy.
With a loud explosion, the two separated at the same time, only to collide once more. It felt like heaven and earth were continuously crashing against each other, and Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. He felt light-headed, as he had almost reached his limit for reciting the Stonewall Scriptures. If he recited any further, then he would faint.
Opposite him, the vortex of Tian Hou’s body had slowed down, and he was also about to reach his limits. It was not that obvious, but Lu Yin could sense it.
Neither dared to speak, for fear that it would affect their final confrontation.
Everyone knew that this battle was finally about to end and that the outcome was about to be made clear.
Outside the battlefield, Starsibyl, Han Chong, Grandini Mavis, Feng Jiu, Yun, and all the rest of the competitors watched on nervously. This was the final battle of the Tournament of the Strongest, and it could also be considered to be a battle between the two peak Limiteers of the Human Domain and the Astral Beast Domain.
On the Firesmelt Planet, within the Frostwave Weave, Jenny Auna was in a daze as she stared at the screen. At her level, she simply could not understand this battle. However, when she watched Lu Yin’s all-out struggle, she felt as if she were gasping for air, as if she had cast aside something that had once belonged to her. She did not like Lu Yin, but the more brilliant his life was, the more difficult it was for her to bear it.
As the end of the battle finally came in sight, countless viewers in the universe were entranced by the battle and remained focused.
Pop!
Lu Yin spat out another mouthful of blood and growled. He then forcibly turned his body around and used Flash to tear through the void. He appeared right above Tian Hou and struck downwards with his bound hands. Tian Hou’s black vortex of a body was smashed into the ground, and Lu Yin suddenly unbound his hands. He slammed downwards again, and when his right hand came into contact with Tian Hou’s back, he pressed his left hand down on top. “Twenty Stacks Fortyfold Shockwave Palm.”