Nightqueen Yanqing quirked her lips up and smiled as she arrogantly looked down at Lu Yin. “‘Took it?’ You miserable ant, where did you find the audacity to speak like that? I thought that I would easily dispose of you, but it seems that I have no other choice but to use that move. Open your eyes, you pathetic ant, and see what it means to be a Nightking, as only a Nightking can understand this battle technique. Nightking’s Body!” With a low growl, the grey air circulating around Nightqueen Yanqing’s body extended before gradually merging with her four-lined battle force. Soon after, a strong gale swept out in all four directions, crushing the earth and distorting the void. This time, even the second energy barrier installed by the academy tutors flickered.

Many watched on nervously. What is this battle technique? Is it another Nightking clan battle technique?

Outside the arena plains, Chilian Daynight had a fiery gaze as he stared at Nightqueen Yanqing. Nightking's Body was a superb battle technique that only the Nightking of the Daynight clan could comprehend. The technique brought the physical body’s power to the next level and was equivalent to unconditionally increasing one’s battle force by a whole line. Essentially, Nightqueen Yanqing now had five-lined battle force.

Many gasped in surprise when they realized just what effect Nightking’s Body had. Clearly, every one of the Nightking clan’s battle techniques could shock the entire crowd. Nightking's Body was rather well-known, although there had only ever been a few individuals who had managed to successfully cultivate it. Who here could have expected Nightqueen Yanqing to actually succeed.

In the Sword Sect, the white-clothed elder exclaimed, “I never would have thought that a female child could actually successfully cultivate the Nightking's Body. That technique can even rival the Third Sword of the Thirteen Swords. Every Nightking battle technique has an overwhelmingly suppressive force. That little brat is immune to the Third Sword, but I wonder if he can also block the Nightking's Body which is just as strong as the Third Sword.”

At this time, Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Grandini all had ugly expressions when they saw the current Nightqueen Yanqing’s true terror. She had hidden herself very deeply.

From the moment Nightqueen Yanqing revealed her Nightking's Body, she had ascended to the same level as Starsibyl, Han Chong, and Liu Shaoqiu. From the perspective of the elites who understood the Thirteen Swords, Lu Yin had only triumphed over Liu Shaoqiu because of his special constitution that rendered him immune to the Third Sword, which had no physical offensive capabilities. It could even be said that Lu Yin’s power had not been accepted by many of the audience members, much like how Grandini Mavis had not been accepted either. To them, the ones who were truly at the pinnacle were Starsibyl, Han Chong, Nightqueen Yanqing, and Liu Shaoqiu.

Lu Yin also had an ugly expression, as he could feel Nightqueen Yanqing’s power rising rapidly. Her strength was as deep as the ocean, and also as immovable as a mountain.

“Don’t be so scared that you admit defeat. Then, I’d have to personally go to Astral-10 and crush you there,” Nightqueen Yanqing declared in an icy voice. Her body suddenly disappeared from view, and a moment later, Lu Yin felt an intense pain blossom in his abdomen. The scene in front of his eyes flew away from him at a terrifying speed. He had been struck by an overpowering strength that slammed his body into the ground. The power of that blow had shattered his four-lined battle force, causing him to cough up blood.

Nightqueen Yanqing stood above the plains and looked down at where Lu Yin had been blasted an unknown depth into the ground. She raised her head and looked around outside the plains, where she saw Liu Shaoqiu, Starsibyl, Han Chong, and all the other peak combatants. She smiled slightly. This was the strength of her Nightking's Body. It pushed her physical strength to the level of five-lined battle force and allowed her to crush all her opponents like ants.

Watching his screen, Undying Yushan sighed. The Nightking clan was just too terrifying.

On Earth, Zhou Shan and the rest all clenched their fists and nervously stared at the screen. Lu Yin had actually been smashed into the ground by a single strike. At this rate, everything was pointing toward disaster.

Over a billion Earthlings fell silent in unison as they nervously watched the screens.

On San Dios, the floating city, Wendy Yushan’s eyes flickered as she unconsciously clenched her sword hilt. Nightqueen Yanqing’s arrogant demeanor was too much for her—it was just unsightly.

At Astral-10’s space station, Madam Nalan calmly set down her wine glass. “But can the Nightking's Body give one the ability to survive in outer space?”

A shadow appeared behind her and answered her question. “If one is not an Explorer, then they cannot survive in space. The Nightking's Body can at most raise Nightqueen Yanqing’s battle force to the level of five lines, but even that will only increase how long she can survive in outer space by a small amount, which is already very short. Thus, she still would not be able to survive in outer space.”

“Are there absolutely no cases of someone beneath the realm of Explorer surviving in outer space?” Madam Nalan was curious.

“It’s rumored that, when the Ten Arbiters were Limiteers, they could kill Explorers while in space, but rumors are rumors. Those stories were never verified.”

Madam Nalan frowned: the Ten Arbiters, it’s always the Ten Arbiters. After the universe’s transformation, the Ten Arbiters had become the standard against which every youth was measured. Every single past move and action of theirs was something to be compared to, but no one could actually measure up.

If even Nightqueen Yanqing could not survive in space with her current physique, then what did that signify about Lu Yin? Madam Nalan still had not forgotten the shock that had struck her when she realized that Lu Yin had not perished even after floating through outer space.

Above the arena plains, Nightqueen Yanqing stood in the sky, alone and arrogant. She then gently stepped down. Her pure white thighs flashed with a gleam as a shock wave rippled out before the ground suddenly exploded as she attempted to force Lu Yin out. “Get out here!”

Everyone watched on nervously. They could feel that the match was about to be decided.

Deep in the ground, Lu Yin released a slow breath with a grimace. He did not want to expose this so soon, as it was a stage that only the Ten Arbiters had ever stepped on while at the Melder realm. No one else had ever done what he was about to do in the entire history of the Astral Combat Tournament. However, the current situation was out of Lu Yin’s control, especially since he could not use his Cosmic Palm. Otherwise, a nine-stars Cosmic Palm powered by with four-lined battle force would be able to contest Nightqueen Yanqing’s Nightking's Body. After a moment of consideration, Lu Yin decided to throw caution to the wind. He would end this season’s tournament with a shocking reveal. Lu Yin focused his thoughts, and his eyes trembled. The four-lined battle force that had crumbled away reappeared around his body before then seeping through the cracks in the ground to form a purple halo that distorted the void.

Nightqueen Yanqing felt contempt for Lu Yin’s struggles, as his four-lined battle force was unable to withstand a single strike from her.

Countless audience members frowned as they watched on; was he still going to try to use four-lined battle force? In previous tournaments, a four-lined battle force user would have for all intents and purposes been the strongest competitor, but the bar in this tournament was wildly higher. Four-lined battle force was actually somewhat common.

But then, a stunning sliver of a dark-gold radiance flickered within the purple aura before shooting into the horizon, dying the entire sky the same dark gold color even as the purple was wiped away.

Everyone was amazed by what they were seeing. Is that… five-lined battle force?

Starsibyl and the rest of the peak fighters narrowed their eyes and unconsciously stepped forward, only to look into the ground in disbelief. How was this possible? Five-lined battle force was something that only the Ten Arbiters had ever achieved while still in the Astral Combat Academy.

Nightqueen Yanqing’s body trembled, and she involuntarily retreated several steps in shock. Beneath the earth’s surface, the dark gold radiance had accumulated into a breathtaking, dazzling brilliance.

In the sky, a dozen mentors appeared, including Astral-10’s Sandmaster. They all stared at the scene on the ground in shock. “Other than the Ten Arbiters, another five-lined battle force user has actually appeared in the academy. This person’s talent is no weaker than the Ten Arbiters.”

“Another Ten Arbiters candidate.”

…

Countless viewers were shocked as they stared at their screens, even space-exploring powerhouses. Battle force was very difficult to comprehend, and only the top-notch institutions such as the Astral Combat Academy could consistently churn out battle force users. In the Outerverse, any battle force user could stand above all others, while five-lined battle force was so difficult to comprehend that even space-exploring individuals could not do so easily. Five lines was considered to be the sign of a powerhouse.

Anyone who could cultivate five-lined battle force was destined to become a space-exploring powerhouse who can easily crush anyone in their realm. But now, a lowly Melder had actually comprehended five-lined battle force, shocking the heavens.

Step by step, Lu Yin pulled himself out of the ground with a calm expression. He had survived two calamities at Driftcharge Planet. After involuntarily activating the Technique of Life and Death, he had survived his first encounter with death and upgraded his battle force to three lines. After his second brush with death, the technique had upgraded his battle force to five lines. Even now, Lu Yin still found it hard to believe that he had reached such a step, but that technique was just too mysterious. His current strength was all thanks to that elder back on Driftcharge Planet. Without him, the two unavoidable disasters that had struck Lu Yin would have merely resulted in his death. Lu Yin was only able to climb up to this point because of that mysterious Technique of Life and Death.

Unfortunately, this sort of technique could not be cultivated. Lu Yin had no clue how he had survived his first life and death ordeal when he had almost become white meat. But during his second life and death calamity, he would have definitely died if the Nalan family’s spacecraft hadn’t coincidentally passed by. Both of these experiences were things that he never wanted to go through again.

He clenched his right fist, causing the purple battle force to form a mark that covered his body. Outside of this imprint was a dark-gold circle. His entire body was lined with a thin layer of dark-gold aura. Lu Yin could feel an incomparably terrifying strength coursing through him. This was the strength that he had obtained after risking life and death. He was now going to use this strength at the very end of this season’s Astral Combat Tournament.

Not far away from him, Nightqueen Yanqing’s eyes grew huge as she stared at Lu Yin in shock. As he slowly walked out from the ground, her face turned deathly white. “Impossible, how could you reach five-lined battle force? That’s something that only the Ten Arbiters can do. It’s impossible for you to do the same.”

Lu Yin looked at his arm as he stood in front of her. Her innate gift of purple pupils no longer had any effect on him. “Impossible? Then try it yourself. I hope that you can take it.” He suddenly vanished only to reappear right before Nightqueen Yanqing. His right hand had already stretched out in front of her forehead, and Lu Yin lightly tapped it, causing a soft thump to resound through the arena. A shock wave tore through the void as Nightqueen Yanqing was sent flying. Her mind was still blank even as her surroundings blurred into an indistinguishable blur.

Lu Yin raised his lips into a sly smile before vanishing and reappearing next to the still-flying Nightqueen Yanqing. He slapped down with a palm, and there was a loud, rumbling tremor as the earth was pulverized into dust. Nightqueen Yanqing had been viciously slapped deep into the ground, where she spat out a mouthful of blood. Her clothes had been torn, and her smooth belly was exposed.

“Don’t forget—you still have the Nightking's Body that can rival five-lined battle force,” Lu Yin reminded her in a cheerful tone.

From her position in the ground, Nightqueen Yanqing suddenly opened her eyes and revealed a fierce look. She roared out loudly and forcefully endured her injuries as she charged out, only to spit out another mouthful of blood. She stared fiercely at Lu Yin. “That’s right! I still have the Nightking's Body that can rival five-lined battle force. The outcome hasn’t been decided yet!” She then charged ferociously at Lu Yin as she roared out, “Nightking Punch!”

Lu Yin stretched his neck, as this was exactly the reaction that he wanted. How could he improve his five-lined battle force if he didn’t have an opponent to fight against? It was not easy to upgrade one’s battle force, and one naturally had to experience many battles to do so. Nightqueen Yanqing was simply his first suitable battle target.

Bang!

Bang, bang, bang!

Bang!

Bang, bang!

…

The glaring radiance illuminated the void as the two figures collided at a speed that couldn’t be followed. Most of the audience could only see their phantom images slowly dissipating in the air and only Starsibyl and a few others could make out the two’s real bodies. Even then, all they could see was blurry shadows.

Regardless of whether it was Nightqueen Yanqing or Lu Yin, they were both clearly at the same level as Starsibyl and Han Chong in terms of strength. No one dared to say who was the strongest out of the four, but Starsibyl’s and Han Chong’s battle styles leaned towards domains and spiritual force while Lu Yin and Nightqueen Yanqing tended towards utilizing their physical body and battle force; these were two entirely different styles.

Boom!

A giant crack extended into the sky and tore straight through the second energy barrier that had been placed by the mentors. Fortunately, a mentor appeared right in time to block the shock wave. Otherwise, it would have killed many of the spectating students.