Chapter 371: The Astral Ark

Everyone knew who Lu Yin was—the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest. His final battle with Tian Hou had stunned all Shangwu Academy’s students.

If Ah Fan had actually been defeated by Lu Yin, then no one could blame him. There were only probably two or three Limiteers who could withstand a single attack from Lu Yin.

Northgate Gang smirked. “Why should we believe your words? Fine, even if the person who managed to win the teleportation stone was really Lu Yin, my eldest brother is still an Explorer with a power level of 30,000. He’s also ranked ninety third on the Top Hundred Rankings. He’d definitely easily defeat Lu Yin! Don’t overestimate him just because of your own failure! Such a claim is nothing but an embarrassment to the Northline Flowzone.”

The people in the restaurant all agreed, as the Top Hundred Rankings was the best indicator of one’s power. Although Lu Yin was powerful, in their eyes, he was still just a Limiteer who could barely challenge an Explorer. However, those in the Top Hundred Rankings were different. Even the person ranked hundredth on the list was someone comparable to a Cruiser.

These people were unaware of Lu Yin’s recent feat in the Outerverse’s San Dios. He had matched a record set by one of the Ten Arbiters by using Thirty Stacks, and that was enough for him to defeat two elite Explorers at the same time. If they had known about this event, then they wouldn’t have been so confident. Nonetheless, Ah Fan was also exaggerating; he couldn’t tell who was stronger between Northgate Lie and Lu Yin.

Lily Shu’er’s eyes glinted with a special light when she heard Lu Yin’s name. She seemed very curious about that person.

Ah Fan didn’t argue with Northgate Gang any further and left the restaurant. There was no point in saying anything further.

Northgate Gang didn’t stop him, but when he was about to ask Lily Shu’er to take a seat, he realized that she had disappeared.

Outside the restaurant, Ah Fan was sullenly walking away when Lily Shu’er caught up to him. “Hey! How did it feel when you were fighting Lu Yin?’

Ah Fan ignored her.

Lily Shu’er’s brows creased together, and she jumped forward to block Ah Fan’s path. “Hey, I’m talking to you.”

Ah Fan reeked of alcohol, and he answered in a clearly irritated tone. “I don’t know.”

“Wasn’t the academy’s teleportation stone won by Lu Yin? How could you not know? Were you lying about facing him?” Lily Shu’er shouted.

Ah Fan stood there, rooted to the spot, his head hung low, and his eyes filled with memories.

Lily Shu’er walked over and crouched down. She then looked up to make eye contact with him as she curiously asked, “What? Was it indescribable?”

Ah Fan sighed. “One palm, multiple stacks.”

Lily Shu’er’s eyes widened. “One palm? You lost to one strike?”

Ah Fan nodded and then continued on his way.

Lily Shu’er anxiously ran after him. “You’re one of the strongest students in Shangwu Academy. My cousin even mentioned you by name when she sent me to the academy, but you’re saying that you couldn’t even withstand one of his palms?”

Ah Fan bitterly replied, “You’re right. I couldn’t even take a single hit. I’m useless.” He then continued walking towards Shangwu Academy.

Lily Shu’er stood there, blinking in shock. “Is he really that powerful? I need to tell my cousin and let her know about this Ten Arbiters candidate.” She then ran away with a playful smile.

Outer space was always dark. By now, Lu Yin had left San Dios and was currently heading towards the Northline Flowzone in the Innerverse.

The conflict between Darkstar Gorge and the Darkmist Weave wouldn’t end anytime soon, so Lu Yin had temporarily placed Zhao Ran under Barley’s care. Yue Xianzi was staying behind in San Dios this time.

Compared to Yue Xianzi, Lu Yin wanted to have more interactions with An Shaohua. Watermoon Villa was comparable to the Frostmoon Sect, but more importantly, Lu Yin had a better feeling about Watermoon Villa than the Frostmoon Sect. However, since An Shaohua had finally managed to leave the Innerverse, he didn’t want to return just yet. Otherwise, Lu Yin would have brought him along.

“Seventh Bro, how could you not bring along a pretty girl?” the Ghost Monkey asked cheekily.

Lu Yin frowned. “Do you want to be blocked off again?”

The monkey instantly fell silent. He knew that Lu Yin wasn’t joking around and that he would really block off his senses. It was actually already quite kind for Lu Yin to warn the Ghost Monkey. Most of the time, he would just screen off the monkey’s senses without any warning. The Ghost Monkey had sadly enough already gotten used to such treatment.

Lu Yin was using an Aurora spacecraft that belonged to San Dios, and this one wasn’t radiant grade, but a blackhole grade one.

The blackhole grade Aurora was the dedicated transport vehicle for representatives of the Outerverse Youth Council. The spacecraft was strong enough to take attacks from even a Hunter and was a hundred times faster than a normal spacecraft.

This was an unbelievable speed that Lu Yin couldn’t have even imagined before this, but now, he was actually experiencing it for himself.

One normally needed at least seven to eight months to travel from San Dios to the Northline Flowzone if they were using a standard spacecraft, and this estimate didn’t even include any delays due to route changes. But Lu Yin, with this blackhole spacecraft, needed less than three days to arrive.

This was what it was like, using a blackhole grade Aurora!

Of course, these three days didn’t include the time spent crossing the Astral River.

Lu Yin estimated that he would arrive at the Northline Flowzone in less than five days.

With enough money, the only thing restricting someone was their imagination; with enough money, anything was possible. With this blackhole grade spacecraft, Lu Yin wouldn’t need to waste so much time while travelling in future.

Lu Yin sighed as he relished in the extreme speed of the spacecraft. Perhaps money couldn’t get everything. At least for this spacecraft, not everyone could use it since some people wouldn’t be able to withstand the extreme speed.

Normal Limiteers definitely wouldn’t be able to withstand this speed, and only Explorers and above would normally be capable of handling it.

One day later, the spacecraft suddenly stopped in the middle of space. Lu Yin looked into the distance, his eyes filled with memories. The place he was looking at was the direction where the pirate port had once sat. It was also the place where he had experienced a transformation after dying.

That incident had been a watershed point for his mindset. He had realized that one couldn’t remain an ant forever and allow others to determine their fate.

If he hadn’t gone through what he had after the pirate port, Lu Yin would, at best, be comparable to an Area Master of the Astral Combat Academy right now. He would never have reached the standard of an academy student leader, let alone become the champion of the Tournament of the Strongest.

Destiny was something that was truly unpredictable. Three years ago, he had just been a common student, but now, three years later, he was famed throughout the universe.

He wondered how much progress his family had made towards investigating that incident from many years ago. Since his family had now returned to Leon’s Armada, the masterminds behind that incident were probably trembling in their boots at this moment.

Lu Yin was almost at the Astral River, and he arrived soon after.

When he was last at the river, he had been traveling on one of the warfront’s warships, and they had used the military’s express lane. This time, he didn’t bother revealing himself since he wanted to enter the Innerverse normally.

The Astral River Ark was enormous, and there was a constant stream of spacecraft entering the ark through the checkpoints. They then entered the Innerverse and Outerverse via the ark.

The Ark Envoy was Elder Gu De, and he would continue to hold this position for many more years.

Secret dealings existed everywhere, and apart from using the standard channels to enter the Innerverse, many people had to pay attention to the attitudes of certain people on the ark in order to enter the Innerverse.

Back when Lu Yin had been in the Astral Combat Academy’s training zones, Gu Er had told him that even Explorers would have to kneel to him if they wanted a chance to enter the Innerverse. Right now, Lu Yin would have a chance to witness that scene for himself.

Under the gazes of countless people, an Explorer took out his cosmic ring while begging for the opportunity to enter the Innerverse.

The Innerverse held an irresistible attraction to people from the Outerverse. Many people held the opinion that they could only become a true powerhouse after entering the Innerverse, and this mindset had caused many Explorers to swallow their pride.

They believed that they would be able to get revenge after becoming a powerhouse in the Innerverse. However, the people on the Astral River Ark weren’t worried about such a possibility. After all, there were only a handful of people who would successfully become a powerhouse after entering the Innerverse. And besides, the people running the ark were quite powerful in their own right.

Before long, it was Lu Yin’s turn. He was idly looking around in boredom when he suddenly spotted a familiar silhouette: Gu Er.

Although they had only met once before, Lu Yin had a strong impression of Gu Er. When they first met, Explorers had still been completely out of Lu Yin’s league, but he had heard stories about Explorers kneeling before Gu Er. That story had left a very strong impression on Lu Yin.

Furthermore, Gu Er was Elder Gu De’s son.

Every spacecraft had to undergo an inspection since, apart from paying a certain fee, one had to have a valid reason to enter the Innerverse. The role of the Astral River Envoy was both to care for the ark and prevent too many people from entering the Innerverse. This was an unspoken rule of the Innerverse.

Lu Yin watched people on the spacecraft in front of him dejectedly leave the line one after another. When he saw Gu Er’s satisfied expression in the distance, Lu Yin smiled; it was finally his turn.

“Where are you from?” a voice asked from his spacecraft’s communication panel.

Lu Yin answered, “The Frostwave Weave.”

“You’re not allowed to enter. Leave.”

Lu Yin paused. “Why?”

“No one from the Frostwave Weave can enter today. Come back tomorrow,” the voice replied in an irritated tone.

Lu Yin was speechless. “What’s the reason?”

“No means no.”

At that moment, a voice rang out from the spacecraft behind him. “Brother, this is one of the Astral River Ark’s rules. Every day, they draw lots, and whichever weave is drawn is barred from entering for the day. They then draw lots again the next day. You won’t be able to enter right now, so just leave and try your luck another day.”

Lu Yin was stunned. How is this allowed?

“Fine, you seem to know quite a lot, and since you know so much, you don’t have to enter either,” the inspector standing next to the track sarcastically informed the person behind Lu Yin.

“What? Sir, I just wanted to help you, sir, since I saw that you didn’t feel like talking. That’s why I gave him an explanation. Please don’t blame me, sir. Please let me in!” the person on the spacecraft behind Lu Yin cried out anxiously.

The inspector smirked. “I really don’t feel like talking today, and since you’re so helpful, you can stay here and explain things to everyone for me. You can head on in after my shift’s over.”

The person was helpless.

Lu Yin watched this scene unfold with a frosty expression. The people on the ark had horrible attitudes, and they were constantly thinking of new ways to prevent people from the Outerverse from entering the Innerverse.

“Hey, why are you still here? It’s fine if you don’t leave. Just stay there if you want. If you can stay here for a while, then I won’t need to deal with so many idiots,” the inspector said haughtily.

Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when Gu Er walked over to the inspector. “What’s going on?”

The inspector’s attitude instantly became respectful when he turned to Gu Er. “Oh, Young Master is here. Please have a seat, Young Master.”

Gu Er lazily sat down and waited for the inspector to serve him some refreshments, acting as if he owned the entire place.

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