Lu Yin wasn't the only one dropped from the sky; there were many others like him. They were all still alive, but one could also say they were all already dead. They... were "meat," food for the miner slaves below.
Lu Yin gritted his teeth, looking at his arm. His Null-Ring was gone. His personal terminal was gone. Everything had been taken. Furthermore, the ambient Star Energy was incredibly scarce. Fortunately, the Star Energy reserved in his body hadn't been fully depleted; there was still a little left. He couldn't just fall like this. Otherwise, even if the fall didn't kill him, he would be eaten alive. He had already heard the words "eat meat."
He was getting closer and closer to the ground. Lu Yin's eyes turned savage. He could clearly see the slaves. They couldn't even be considered human. Each one was like a beast with a bloody maw, snatching at the shattered corpses that fell and tearing into them.
This scene was not unfamiliar to Lu Yin. He had seen it during the Earth trial. But back then, he was in a position of superiority. Now, he was the one waiting to be eaten.
Closer and closer. Just as Lu Yin felt the slaves' hands about to grab him, he roared and forced his palm up. "Rippling Palm!"
Phanh!
The ground was shattered by his palm. A shockwave dozens of meters wide swept outwards, killing all slaves within its range. At the last possible second, Lu Yin executed the "Wandering-Step", rolling onto the ground, gasping for breath. Intense pain wracked his body.
The surrounding slaves scrambled back in fear. The scene had terrified them. They were just ordinary people, not even cultivators. They didn't dare approach Lu Yin, no matter how gravely injured he was.
Lu Yin didn't dare pass out. If he fainted, he would die. He wanted to move his body, but he hadn't eaten in who knew how long. He had no strength. He couldn't budge, only able to wiggle his fingers.
He raised his eyes and scanned his surroundings. His hair was completely burned off, and he was naked—those people had probably stripped him for the convenience of the slaves. He lay prone on the ground, glaring viciously, which scared the slaves even further away.
The dust on the ground emitted a pungent, foul odor. This planet was fundamentally unsuitable for human habitation. Strange insects occasionally crawled out of the cracked earth. Lu Yin was starving. He snatched one and swallowed it. It tasted horrific, but it was all he could eat. Otherwise, when he starved to death, he would also become "meat."
He had never thought he would experience such a thing. This kind of torture was beyond description.
He had been in a standoff with the slaves on this planet for several days. During that time, despite his injuries, Lu Yin never slept, forcing his bloodshot eyes to stay open.
On the fifth day, the surrounding slaves inexplicabiy dispersed. An old, hunchbacked man, thin as firewood, appeared before Lu Yin. He walked over, step by step, and finally stopped in front of him, slowly crouching down.
Lu Yin could even smell the stench of decay on him. "Get lost!" Lu Yin roared with all his remaining strength. Star Energy flickered on his fingertips, forming the shape of a flame in an attempt to scare the old man away. A wisp of battle-qi even emerged from his body, but it was fleeting.
The old man was surprised and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Battle-qi? Little one, are you a disciple of a great power?"
Lu Yin didn't answer, just glared at the old man, his heart sinking. This man knew so much; he was clearly no ordinary person, but a cultivator. He couldn't be scared off. Am I really going to be eaten? The thought filled Lu Yin with sorrow. He never imagined he would become a sacrificial pawn in a great power's game. He didn't even know which "big shot" was manipulating all this. He was like an ant, about to be killed at will.
"Want to eat?" the old man asked. Two glints of light appeared in his skull-like eye sockets.
The old man's words shocked Lu Yin. He stared at him, his bloodshot eyes filled with desire.
The old man's mouth curled into a grotesque angle. His terrifyingly gaunt face, with its two deeply sunken eye sockets, moved closer to Lu Yin. He whispered, "Human flesh. It's also called 'white meat.' Do... you want some?"
Lu Yin roared, "Get lost!"
The old man "heh-heh'd" with a strange cackle. He just sat in front of Lu Yin, neither attacking nor leaving.
Another strange, palm-sized insect crawled out of the ground, a green barb on its tail. Lu Yin snatched it and bit down. The green barb stabbed viciously into his lip, but for the current Lu Yin, nothing was more terrifying than starvation.
Green liquid dripped from his mouth as his eyes remained fixed on the old man.
The old man didn't move, just staring at Lu Yin, until Lu Yin could no longer hold on and collapsed completely.
He didn't know if he was dead or just unconscious. Perhaps this time, his eyes would never open again.
The moment Lu Yin lost consciousness, the old man suddenly stood up, moved behind him, and placed a finger on his back. Then, his hands began to move over Lu Yin's body in a strange pattern, channeling Star Energy, as if guiding it along a specific route.
After a full half-hour, the old man finally stopped and collapsed, boneless, to the ground. He stared at Lu Yin. "Whether you live or die is up to fate. If you don't die... it can be considered a sliver of hope for my family."
...
At the same time, the date for the Ten Academies Tournament was set: three months from now.
The tournament was the biggest event for the Ten Academies, but its influence on the outside world was usually limited, at most attracting a few major powers to recruit talent. But the effect was minimal, as most geniuses at the Academy already came from those powers. This time, however, the tournament was linked to the star-region war. It was a recruitment plan by some of the universe's most powerful figures. Because of this, it would be broadcast across the entire universe, and its influence would be enormous.
Regardless of profession or status, everyone would do their utmost to watch the competition on that day.
Because this tournament's influence was so great, the "snow-hidden" (secretly-trained) prodigies from all the great powers emerged one after another, joining the Starry Sky Academy, awaiting the tournament.
But at this moment, the Tenth Academy was shrouded in shadow. Elder Cai looked helplessly at the image on his personal terminal, sighed, and shook his head with a bitter smile.
The screen clearly showed the scene of Lu Yin being struck by the beam at Pirate Harbor. It was just a fleeting image with no conclusion, but no one believed he could have survived. That was a weapon specifically used to deal with Cruiser-realm experts. Even an Explorer-realm expert would find it difficult to survive a direct hit, let alone a mere Melder.
"Why did that kid have to be at Pirate Harbor... Sigh." Elder Cai was speechless.
Michelle stood beside him, also watching the screen, watching Lu Yin's final moment. She frowned. "No matter what, he was the Top Student of our Tenth Academy. He can't have died for nothing."
"There's no way to get revenge for him in that place," Elder Cai said.
Michelle was confused.
Elder Cai said flatly, "That's Pirate Harbor. To be killed there is to bear the name of a pirate. Anyone who dies there must carry that reputation. This is why those people dared to bombard the planet without restraint."
"We just let it go?" Michelle was furious.
Elder Cai waved his hand. "Of course not. Don't worry, someone will stand up for him."
Lu Yin was a Lockbreaker, and one with achievements. His death would provoke the wrath of the Lockbreaker Research Association. Unless they could really prove he was a pirate, the Association would not let his killers go.
Soon, the Tenth Academy freshmen also learned of Lu Yin's fate. Elder Cai didn't hide it. With the tournament approaching, Lu Yin was the Top Student; news about him couldn't be concealed.
"What? Brother Lu is dead?" Keke was devastated, shouldering her giant needle. "It's all my fault for not being by his side! Otherwise, one shot would have fixed him!"
Zahra was silent. "Keke, this has nothing to do with you."
"Oh, right! Brother Lu seemed to be on the same planet as my senior brother. I wonder if they're okay?" Keke worried.
"Don't worry, your senior brother is fine," Zahra said.
Xia Luo looked at the screen, a rare trace of helplessness on his face. "To die so... carelessly? A pity."
Lulu's spirits were low. She had long considered Lu Yin a friend. From the Earth trial, they had come all this way, and just like that, he was dead. Life was too fragile.
Yin, for once, was not smiling. His eyes were endlessly cold. Lu Yin's death had disrupted his rhythm.
It wasn't just the Tenth Academy. If they could get the footage of Lu Yin's death, so could the other academies. He was a Starry Sky Academy student, after all. His death was enough to attract the Academy's attention.
"I was just thinking the Tenth Academy was about to rise. I didn't expect their Top Student to die so easily. And in Pirate Harbor, ha!"
"The Fire Realm people must be happy. Hey, it wasn't them, was it?"
"Impossible. They wouldn't dare to murder an Academy student. You can only say the guy had bad luck. They were wiping out pirates, and he got caught in the crossfire."
"Our guess was right all along. This guy was definitely just a smokescreen the Tenth Academy put out to fool the other academies."
"Don't be fooled. The strongest in the Tenth Academy isn't this Lu Yin. It's Xia Luo, Lulu Mebis, and the others."
"Wrong! It's Da Pao and Xiao Pao! They teamed up to challenge the Heavenly Path's Zone Master. They're definitely top-tier experts among Domain Masters."
...
Sixth Academy. Karon was excited. "He's dead! He's really dead! That's great!... Wait, what does his death have to do with me? The main point is his uncle! That bastard!"
Elsewhere, Liu Ji frowned. "He was a Lockbreaker, after all, yet he died at Pirate Harbor. Will the Research Association let this go?"
Eighth Academy. Gall smiled. Lu Yin's death put him in a good mood. "Go tell Xi Yue the news. Let her have a good laugh, too."
Innerverse, Seal-Token Flow-Zone, Spirit-Dream Clan Ancestral Land. Xi Yue watched the footage of Lu Yin's death. For some reason, she couldn't feel happy. The scene in the second layer of the sand sea kept replaying in her mind. Her spirits sank.
At the same time, Grandmaster Wu Sheng also received the news. He was furious. "Investigate! Who dares to touch someone from my Lockbreaker Research Association! I don't care if it's the Leiao family or some other trash! Investigate all of them! This matter... the Association must be given an answer!"
Because of Lu Yin's death, the colossal machine known as the Lockbreaker Research Association began to turn. Every Lockbreaker was a treasure of the universe; they could not die so easily. If a Lockbreaker's death was not investigated, their status would decline. This was something the 630,000 registered Lockbreakers in the directory could not accept. Never mind a One-Star Bright-Eyes Primary Lockbreaker, even the death of a Lockbreaker with no achievements would be thoroughly investigated to its source. This was the terror of the Lockbreaker Research Association.