When Nightqueen Yanqing heard Liu Shaoqiu’s declaration about the Fourth Sword, a cold shock filled her heart. Without her four-lined battle force, she was not even confident that she could withstand the Third Sword, much less the Fourth Sword. This was Liu Shaoqiu’s current level.

After making this declaration, Liu Shaoqiu left Astral-3.

From start to finish, Nightqueen Yanqing had not dared to make a move. Just like what Liu Shaoqiu had said, among the Limiteers of the Daynight clan, only Zhanlong Daynight could be considered to be his match. No one else was worthy.

Zhanlong Daynight: it was this person yet again! He should have died after his defeat in the Shenwu Continent. His name should have never been brought up again. Nightqueen Yanqing hated even hearing his name, but the Daynight Technique of Immunity was something that she understood very well.

News that Liu Shaoqiu had defeated a strong competitor from the Cosmic Sea quickly spread. Following that, more news came out that the two experts from the Cosmic Sea had pulled out of the Tournament of the Strongest.

Lu Yin was astonished by the news on his personal gadget. Those two people were truly unfortunate; one had been eliminated by him and the other by Liu Shaoqiu. Having said that, they only had themselves to blame for purposefully offending the Sword Sect and the powerful Liu Shaoqiu by proxy.

It also had to be said that Liu Shaoqiu had shown tremendous improvement. The fact that he had mentioned the Fourth Sword showed that he had already completely grasped this next step of the Thirteen Swords. In their next battle, Lu Yin would have to face off against a completed Fourth Sword, which caused excitement to bubble up within his heart. He also felt a certain longing for the battle to happen sooner rather than later, as he was curious about the Fourth Sword.

When he saw the news about Liu Shaoqiu, Lu Yin was suddenly reminded of Li Zimo from the Shenwu Continent. That man’s talent for the sword was definitely not inferior to Liu Shaoqiu’s in the slightest. Li Zimo was a true master of the sword, and if he ever went to the Sword Sect, it would be an interesting development.

There was a ding from Lu Yin’s gadget and a notification popped up. Lu Yin opened it and was shocked by what appeared before him.

The competitors of The Tournament of the Strongest have been confirmed. From the Human Domain’s Astral Combat Academy: Starsibyl, Han Chong, Grandini Mavis, and Lu Yin. From the Astral Beast Domain: Embermane, Hua Yishou, Feng Jiu, and Tian Hou. From the Technocracy: Cloud, Ben, Duo Mi, and Yar Pater. From the Cosmic Sea: Liu Shaoqiu and Zijun.

Lu Yin looked at the notification and was a bit puzzled. Liu Shaoqiu is representing the Cosmic Sea in the tournament? This came as a bit of surprise. The Sword Sect was truly despicable for coming up with something like this. Also, who was this Zijun character?”

“Lu Yin, where are you hiding?” Lulu cried out in her lovable voice, appearing out of nowhere.

When he saw Lulu, Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. He waved his arms, creating a violent gale.

Lulu carefully sidestepped the gust of wind before turning around to look at Lu Yin, the sides of her mouth curling up. “Ah, so you were hiding here? Are you afraid to take part in the tournament?”

After saying that, she hopped up into the tree and landed less than three meters away from Lu Yin. She swung her snow white legs around with a carefree expression on her face.

Lu Yin gave a smile. “Coming back to tease me as soon as you finished your mission?”

Lulu giggled. “I’m not here to joke around. Actually, it’s the opposite—I’m here to pass you some important information.”

“Information?” Lu Yin asked, caught off guard.

Lulu pointed to herself. “Mavis.”

Lu Yin’s eyes lit up. “Are you going to tell me some information about Grandini?”

Lulu nodded.

Lu Yin was puzzled. “But both of you are from the Mavis family. Why would you want to betray her?”

Lulu snorted disdainfully. “That woman dared to strut around in front of me after showing her skills off, so I want to teach her a lesson. Anyway, ‘betray’ is too strong a word. I’m just filling you in on some basic facts about her. Things that many others are already aware of. Only a friendless, person with no background who has had no fortunate encounters such as yourself would be unaware of what I’m about to tell you.”

Lu Yin was rendered speechless. It was true that he had no background to speak of, but when did he become friendless? He had many friends… Oh wait, he didn’t actually have that many... Regarding his fortunate encounters, there had been several, but none he was willing to share.

“What a plucky girl. The Mavis clan is indeed terrifying,” the Ghost Monkey said.

“Alright then, what do you want to tell me, you little traitor?” Lu Yin teased.

Lulu rolled her eyes at him. “Do not underestimate Grandini, and do not just think that she is an easy target just because she only has four-lined battle force. Let me tell you something—you didn’t see any more only because she either never went all out or never used her innate gift. If she does end up using it, none of you will be her match.”

“Innate gift?” Lu Yin asked curiously.

Lulu rolled her eyes again. “If you’re expecting me to tell you about the Mavis clan’s innate gift, you can forget about it. All I can say is that when she actually uses her innate gift to increase her powers, the change will not be gradual. It will be completely unlike how she fought during the Astral Combat Tournament; not even close to that. Having said that, if she does not use her innate gift to increase her powers, everything that I just said will be inconsequential.”

As he stared at Lulu, Lu Yin thought back to the time he had spent on Earth. Back then, this girl had used her innate gift to tame and bring back an Explorer level turtle. Despite the creature being at the Explorer realm, which was far higher than their cultivation realms, it had still been easily tamed. This was something unfathomable to Lu Yin, but he knew that this matter was definitely somehow connected to the Mavis clan’s innate gift. However, he still did not have even the slightest idea as to what the Mavis clan’s innate actually was. All he knew was that it was terrifying.

“I understand. I will face her seriously,” Lu Yin told her.

Lulu lifted her head. She considered something for a bit before speaking. “Actually, it is not that bad of a thing if she increases her strength. If I know those old foxes at the Astral Combat Academy, they probably won’t let competitors from the same domain fight against each other. If you fight her, it will only happen in one of the later stages.

“You seem very confident that I’ll be able to last to the very end,” Lu Yin asked in a probing manner, feeling that something was strange.

Lulu laughed before replying, “I’m not. I just hope to see it happen. After all, you are the student leader of Astral-10, so it will reflect badly on us if you lose.” Once she was done speaking, Lulu hopped down and left.

“Monkey, what’s the Mavis clan’s innate gift?” Lu Yin asked.

“Seventh Bro, how would I know what that clan’s innate gift is?” the Ghost Monkey answered.

“You don’t know?” Lu Yin asked suspiciously; this damn monkey knew everything!

The Ghost Monkey helplessly replied, “My knowledge comes from the records of dead powerhouses. These experts have had no record of the Mavis clan’s innate gift, and as such, I really don’t know what their innate gift is. However, there is one thing that is for certain: the Mavis clan is more terrifying than you can possibly imagine.”

“You’re just stating the obvious. For them to control the financial lifeline of the universe means that they clearly must have ancient powerhouses within their ranks who have power levels of several hundred thousand,” Lu Yin said.

The Ghost Monkey replied in a grave tone, “Several hundred thousand? You are still underestimating the Mavis clan. Even though there are no records of such, they definitely have powerhouses whose power levels are in the millions. And not just one; there should be several in the Mavis clan.”

Lu Yin was shocked. A Power level in the millions… What does that even look like? That kind of power was not just equivalent to hundreds of Explorers; it was a fundamental transformation. Such powerhouses could destroy planets with a mere breath; one glance could destroy an entire fleet. Absolutely anything could be destroyed by such a cultivator. That was how powerful they were.

Bit by bit, time passed by until there was only one day left until the Tournament of the Strongest began.

On this day, the Zenyu Star of the Great Yu Empire once again erected many screens, ensuring that everyone would be able to watch the tournament. Lu Yin was currently the empire’s Royal Regent, and he wielded the highest authority within the Great Yu Empire. Thus, this competition had become the most important event in the Great Yu Empire. It was to the extent where even the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons put everything aside in order to fully support Lu Yin.

The Tournament of the Strongest was unlike the Astral Academy Tournament where the viewers were unrestricted. During that tournament, everyone in the universe could watch the competition if they wanted to, and everyone in the Great Yu Empire had had the freedom to watch Lu Yin compete. But for the upcoming Tournament of the Strongest, only those with great status could watch it.

Earth was one of the few places that was fortunate enough to be able to watch the tournament. Since Lu Yin’s files recorded that Earth was his birthplace, the Auna clan had specifically sent some people over to ensure that screens were erected there in order to please Lu Yin.

The current Earth was completely different from what it had once been, and the technology there was developing at a rapid pace. This was especially so after Lu Yin had become the empire’s Royal Regent, since his ascension had greatly elevated Earth’s status. Many battle techniques and technology of the Great Yu Empire had been poured into Earth, and the planet had even built a space station. Furthermore, a select group of talented people from Earth had been chosen to join the latest round of the Great Yu Empire’s training in order to boost Earth’s strength.

Many of the Seven Sages of China’s subordinates from back then had been chosen to go to Zenyu Star. These included individuals like one of the snow girls, Zhao Yu, Huan Sha from the Capital, Jinlin’s Feng Hong, Luo Yi, Qin Xuan, and many others. It was a pity that Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng had decided to not go because they were reluctant to leave Earth.

Also, among those who had been selected, there were even a few who displayed innate gifts, which had shocked the Great Yu Empire. Innate gifts were rare, but so many people from Earth had displayed them in such a short period of time. Even Ban Jiu, the captain of the Twelfth Imperial Squadron, had started to take an interest in Earth.

Wendy Yushan was on a fractured planet within the Frostwave Weave, her face pale. As she looked at her personal gadget, she saw that the Tournament of the Strongest was about to begin. Her injuries would also soon finish recovering.

At East San Dios, beneath a massive screen, many spectators gathered to watch the tournament. Lu Yin was supposed to be at East San Dios, but he had been recalled to Astral-10 for this event. Lu Yin’s replacement was Mira, but to Bazeer and the others, it didn’t matter who was present as long as the person legitimately wielded Wendy Yushan’s authority.

On Firesmelt Planet, Jenny Auna’s face was bright red with emotion. She had just received news that Yan Feng would marry her in the very near future. She had been waiting for this day for far too long and had even broken ties with her clan for this.

In the distance, burning flames covered the ground. This was Firesmelt Planet’s natural climate. Even though she felt uncomfortable and out of sorts while on the planet, Jenny Auna felt that it was all bearable as long as she could be together with Yan Feng.

As she saw the giant screen rise up, Jenny Auna grew puzzled. After asking around, she came to realize that the Tournament of the Strongest, which was a follow up to the Astral Combat Tournament, was about to take place. This huge competition would feature not only the top four from the Astral Combat Academy, but also competitors from other astral domains.

As she looked at the screen, Jenny Auna thought about Lu Yin. For some reason, after the nuptial joy of marrying Yan Feng passed, she suddenly felt a strange hesitation seep into her heart. It was as though she was at the edge of a cliff, and no matter what direction she stepped in, she could only fall down. She suddenly thought of something and fumbled about in her cosmic ring. It was only then that she remembered that she had thrown the ring that Lu Yin had given her away.

It did not matter anymore, as it was gone now. However, that was not exactly a bad thing since Big Brother Yan Feng might misunderstand if he saw it. All these complex thoughts filled Jenny Auna’s head even as her eyes stayed glued to the screen.

In the Innerverse, inside the huge Sword Sect, many disciples focused on the screen. Liu Shaoqiu had challenged Lu Yin after comprehending the Fourth Sword and also joined the Tournament of the Strongest. At this moment, countless Sword Sect disciples were certain that Liu Shaoqiu would prove himself as the strongest. The Thirteen Swords were unparalleled, so Lu Yin was bound to lose this time around.

In the depths of the universe, past the Innerverse and above the vast Cosmic Sea where the waves were strong enough to tear a spacecraft apart, a huge, ancient warship bobbed up and down among the waves.

Aboard the warship was a melded, mixed aura of many powerful people. The aura of each individual was enough to send shivers down the spine of Explorers and even stronger cultivators. Furthermore, above this indistinct aura, there was another aura that reigned supreme among all others. Although it was faint, it was unspeakably dominant. It felt as if the mere presence of this aura was enough to bring the universe to its knees.

“Captain, the kid won’t let you down.”

“Yeah, captain. The kid made it all the way there all by himself and without any help. It couldn’t have been easy.”

“That’s right, captain. Just sit back and watch.”

Dong!

There was a tremendous ringing sound as waves spread out, covering the entire warship before crushing back into the Cosmic Sea. The waves spread over an unknown area before finally being subdued by a powerful force.

“What does he have to do with me? Why should I be concerned or disappointed by him? Shut up, all of you! If you keep talking, I’ll kill the lot of you!” A man’s booming voice reverberated across the vast sea, causing many sea creatures to tremble in fear.

The voice belonging to this man was feared by everyone in the Cosmic Sea.

“Mighty captain, please don’t be angry.”

“We were just joking; don’t mind us, captain.

”

“Captain, would you like some alcohol?”

…

“Shut your mouths, you useless swill.”