On another spaceship, everyone in the Juggernaut Mercenary Corps was also watching the screen. At this moment, during the Ten Academies Tournament, all civil wars in the universe were prohibited. They could watch in peace.
"Yan! Pour the wine!" Dana propped her leg up generously and shouted.
Behind her, Yan stared blankly at the screen. Lu Yin? That shameful robber? He actually made it this far? This... this is too absurd!
...
In the northern part of the Azure-Blue Territory, there was a beautiful, azure-blue planet. It was Earth.
A long time had passed since Lu Yin and the others had left. When they departed, Earth was still mired in a sea of zombies. But at this moment, it had undergone a massive transformation.
The Great Yu Empire had dispatched troops to help Earth clear out the zombies and, moreover, did not interfere in Earth's affairs. Today, Earth was at peace.
In Jinling, a massive screen was raised. Countless people looked at it with envy. It was rumored that the upcoming tournament was from the universe's most elite academy, the Starry Sky Academy. At that time, they would be able to clearly witness the power of the universe's experts.
Earth, having gone through evolution, had stepped onto a new path. And they were only at the beginning of this path. What they were about to see was the true, distant horizon of it.
On the screen, a line of text appeared. It was the list of the Ten Academies' seeded players.
Zhou Shan was drinking water. The moment he saw the list, he spat it all out. At the very bottom: "Tenth Academy Seeded Player -- Lu Yin. Great Yu Empire's King Zishan, Azure-Blue Territory. Origin -- Earth."
This line of text stunned every single Earthling who saw it. The name of their planet... had appeared in the universe's most elite event! The word "Earth" was clearly visible. At this moment, countless people across the universe could also see it.
The entire planet fell into a deathly silence. The capital, Huansha, Lian Lao... the Northeast's Lan Ying, Zhao Yu... Jinling's Zhou Shan, Feng Hong, Luo Yun, Qin Xuan... the grasslands' Wu Sheng... Everyone who knew Lu Yin was stupefied. That person... had actually reached the most dazzling list of the universe's most VIP tournament, carrying the name of Earth into the eyes of countless people.
Not just China, but Europe, the Americas, Africa... Regardless of their relationship with China, at this moment, everyone was cheering wildly. At this moment, they were all Earthlings, proud of the word "Earth," proud of Lu Yin. This was a person who had walked out of Earth and, all by himself, entered the universe's most glorious palace.
A planet that was once obscure and insignificant had suddenly entered the gaze of the entire universe. The change this brought to Earth was immense.
A simple line of text inspired countless Earthlings.
In Jinling, a stunningly beautiful young woman's eyes lit up as she watched the screen.
In the capital, a young man with a face of ash lay on the ground, staring at the last line on the screen. Even surrounded by crowds, even trapped in a filthy gutter, nothing could stop his eyes from shining.
In a forest, another young man looked up, his eyes filled with excitement.
...
The universe's most glorious palace... They, too, hoped to join.
...
In the Outerverse, on a vast continent, there was a City in the Sky named Saint-Dious. This was the headquarters of the Outerverse Youth Council.
At this moment, Wendy Yushan was watching the screen, her eyes strange, especially at the last name on the list. It surprised her. The minor character she had once paid no mind to... was actually climbing up. He was... now qualified for her to glance at.
Not just the Outerverse, but the Innerverse, all the great Flow-Zones, countless planets... all had raised screens, awaiting the tournament. This was a major event now that the universe was connected. The goal was to inspire humanity itself, to prepare for committing to the border star-region battlefields. Humanity was not weak, and the Ten Academies Tournament was meant to prove that point.
...
In the Nalan family ship's medical bay, all treatment focused on Lu Yin was proceeding in an orderly fashion.
"His heartbeat is clearly faster. His consciousness should recover soon."
"His organs are recovering well. This child's life force is astonishing."
"Three days until we reach the Tenth Academy. The Matron has ordered that he must regain consciousness within three days."
...
Fragmented voices entered Lu Yin's ears. He frowned, his eyelids twitching. Where is this? What happened? Planet Toflo... explosion... mutual destruction... the Leiao family...
Scene after scene flashed through his mind. Suddenly, he saw a beam of light descend from the sky, blasting him into the abyss. He snapped his eyes open. Pang! The treatment pod shattered. Nutrition fluid splashed everywhere. Lu Yin gasped, his eyes wide, as the fluid dripped from his hair, drop by drop.
The people around him were completely silent, all staring at him.
After a long moment, Lu Yin looked up, scanning his surroundings, his gaze lost. "Where... is this?"
"Notify the Matron immediately! The patient has regained consciousness! His self-healing ability is accelerating!" someone shouted in a low voice.
Lu Yin was confused. Matron?
Not long after, in the luxurious lounge, Lu Yin once again met Matron Nalan. This beautiful "enchantress" had saved his life again.
Lu Yin bowed deeply and formally. "Thank you, Matron, for saving my life! Lu Yin will never forget this for as long as he lives! If you ever need anything, Ma'am, just say the word. Lu Yin will go through fire and water, without hesitation."
Matron Nalan smiled as she looked at him. "It's only been a short time, but you've matured quite a bit."
After surviving the life-and-death ordeal on Toflo, Lu Yin's gaze was deeper than before, his expression a bit more weathered. To nearly die twice in a row... it would change anyone.
Not long ago, many things had been in the palm of his hand, including Earth's evolution... He could control everything. But the brief experience of the past month had caused him to metamorphose, both in mind and in strength.
"You saved my life once, and I saved yours this time. Let's call it even," Matron Nalan said with a smile. She poured Lu Yin a glass of wine and handed it to him.
Lu Yin accepted it, once again smelling the alluring, mind-numbing fragrance from this "enchantress." It was pleasant. He liked it. But this kind of scent could easily numb a person. "A life-saving grace... Lu Yin will never dare to forget."
Matron Nalan chuckled, her eyes sizing up Lu Yin. "The same serious expression, but the 'you' from last time and the 'you' now are completely different. It seems you've been through a lot."
Lu Yin smiled. "One must go through things to grow. By the way, Ma'am, do you know how much time is left until the Ten Academies Tournament?"
Matron Nalan pointed to a nearby screen. "It's already started."
Lu Yin was shocked. He hurriedly looked at the screen. What appeared was a narrow, desolate valley. On both sides of the valley were many people, all students. "Ma'am, this is...?"
"'Storming the Three Academies'. You should know it," Matron Nalan said.
Lu Yin gave a helpless, bitter smile. Of course he knew. Three academies were randomly drawn. The highest-ranked academy could designate one person from a lower-ranked academy to guard the valley with them. They had to stop half of the students attempting to pass through to be considered successful. Otherwise, all three academies would be eliminated. If this was happening... the tournament had indeed begun, and he had missed it.
"I can't believe I missed the tournament," Lu Yin said, dejected.
Matron Nalan smiled faintly. "You didn't miss it. You are the Tenth Academy's seeded player. You won't be appearing in the first three days. And in three days, we will arrive at the Tenth Academy."
Lu Yin was stunned. "I'm... a seeded player?"
Matron Nalan smiled. "You are the Top Student, so naturally, you are."
Lu Yin was puzzled. The Tenth Academy still had Da Pao and Xiao Pao. They should have been the seeded players. How did it fall to him? "...Ma'am, did you just say 'arrive at the Tenth Academy'? You're going there?"
"It's not me, but... she who is going." Matron Nalan pointed behind Lu Yin. Coincidentally, the door opened again. The young woman with the longsword walked in, coming face-to-face with Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was startled. The young woman's eyes seemed to flash with sword light. This woman is not simple.
The young woman had no interest in Lu Yin. She walked straight to the screen and sat down, watching calmly.
"Lu Yin, let me introduce you. This is the Starry Sky Seventh Academy's Top Student, Liu Xiaoyun. Like you, she is also a seeded player," Matron Nalan introduced.
Lu Yin was shocked. The Seventh Academy's Top Student? A Zone Master?
"For certain reasons, she missed the window to join the tournament. So, she wishes to borrow your Tenth Academy's Zone-Mountain to enter the 'Afterlife-World'. That is the tournament location," Matron Nalan explained.
Lu Yin's eyes lit up. "Does that mean I can still participate?"
"Of course," Matron Nalan smiled.
At this moment, three people appeared in the valley on the screen. Standing at the front was a man with arrogant eyes, clearly from the White Night Clan. The black and white hair was too conspicuous. Standing not far behind him was an older-looking student. And at the very back... stood Yin.
Lu Yin was surprised. "The Tenth Academy was drawn?"
"The first is Chi Lian-Baiye from the Third Academy. The second is Diao from the Seventh Academy. The third is Yin from your Tenth Academy. Your academy has great luck. In the last tournament, you were also drawn, and you got the other two academies eliminated," Matron Nalan said.
"The Seventh Academy was one of them," Liu Xiaoyun, who had been watching quietly, suddenly spoke.
Lu Yin felt a bit embarrassed. It had nothing to do with him; he wasn't even there.
"But this time, there's no need to worry. Chi Lian-Baiye alone is enough," Liu Xiaoyun said flatly.
Lu Yin was puzzled. Chi Lian-Baiye? Sounds very strong.
"Chi Lian-Baiye is one of the top five students in the Third Academy, and also one of the Domain Masters of the Undying-Realm. He excels at group attacks. No matter how many people attack, as long as they can't overpower him, he can stop them," Liu Xiaoyun said flatly.
"The students in the 'Storming the Three Academies' segment can only defend. They cannot fight back, cannot use talents, and cannot use techniques. Under these circumstances, Chi Lian-Baiye's advantage is infinitely magnified. That's why he just randomly chose students from the Seventh and Tenth Academies to guard the valley with him," Matron Nalan added.
Yin was the one "randomly chosen." In other words, in Chi Lian-Baiye's eyes, it didn't matter if the other two were there or not.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed as he watched the massive screen. While they were talking, the match... had officially begun.
With a loud sound, from the north end of the valley, all the participating students (except for the three guarding) charged out. As long as they crossed the valley, they would successfully enter the tournament draw. That was the chance to make a name for themselves in the universe! Whether by strength or luck, even if they only got one moment of screen time, it was something to brag about for a lifetime. For this chance, every student was giving it their all.
Looking at the mass of students charging into the valley, Chi Lian-Baiye scoffed. He slowly sank down, and his palms trembled. Star Energy shot into the sky, causing the air to ripple. Following that, green seaweed grew wildly from the earth. In an instant, the entire valley was filled with floating green.