Cai Jianqiang’s eyes lit up as he watched Lu Yin shatter the sword attack. He then said, “Brother Zi, this is Lu Yin, the leader of the Great Eastern Alliance.”

The man standing across from Lu Yin was shocked. “That’s Lu Yin?”

Lu Yin descended to land between Cai Jianqiang and the other man. He nodded in greeting to Cai Jianqiang and then turned to look at the other man. “I’m Lu Yin. May I know who you are?”

Cai Jianqiang introduced his companion, “This is Zi Rong. He’s the second young master of Amethyst Exchange.”

Lu Yin was surprised, and he looked closely at Zi Rong. He had heard of this person before, and he knew that the second Young Master of Amethyst Exchange had never worked for the family business. Instead, he had devoted all of his time and energy to cultivation and fighting. He was truly a battle maniac, and Lu Yin had been very intrigued when he first heard of this person. However, Lu Yin hadn’t bothered to find out more about Zi Rong since a battle maniac most likely didn’t have much influence within Amethyst Exchange.

Lu Yin hadn’t expected to meet this person here.

Zi Rong grinned at Lu Yin. “So you’re Lu Yin. I heard that your nickname is Enlighters’ Bane. Show me what you can do. You can use any items to fight—I don’t mind.”

The man’s blade instantly crashed towards Lu Yin, distorting the void around them.

He truly is a battle maniac, Lu Yin thought to himself as he answered, “I’m not here to fight, Brother Zi. I heard about you a long time ago.”

Zi Rong smirked. “My reputation isn’t that good, but you’ve already killed quite a few Enlighter powerhouses who came from the Innerverse. You’re pretty strong, so have a taste of my Battalion Slash.” The man then raised his blade again to attack.

Lu Yin’s eyes flickered. This fellow had to be crazy!

Cai Jianqiang moved to stand in front of Lu Yin and admonished Zi Rong, saying, “Alliance Leader Lu is just an Explorer, and you’re much older than him. Aren’t you embarrassed to attack him?”

Zi Rong laughed and put his weapon away. “Age is just a number. The current Ten Arbiters challenged us in the past, and I couldn’t even defend myself. Age is no longer important. The universe has truly changed.”

Cai Jianqiang was insistent. “No matter what, Alliance Leader Lu is still just an Explorer while you’re a Hunter. This fight isn’t fair.”

Lu Yin raised a brow. So there’s still going to be a battle?

Cai Jianqiang turned around and whispered to Lu Yin, “Alliance Leader Lu, Zi Rong is nuts, and he always wants to fight against powerful people. If you don’t agree to a fight, then he’ll just keep pestering you.”

Lu Yin nodded, and then turned to ask Zi Rong, “Do you really want to fight?”

Zi Rong clenched the hilt of his blade tightly. “Are you scared? That’s fine. I can suppress my power to the Explorer realm.”

Lu Yin shook his head. “That would be too boring. Your attack just now seemed like something that you’ve spent a great deal of time honing. I would like to face that.”

Cai Jianqiang’s expression instantly changed. “Alliance Leader Lu, don’t be reckless. Zi Rong’s blade has almost reached the same level as an Enlighter’s attack. He practices everyday and has never slacked off once. His attack is far more powerful than you believe.”

Birds of a feather flock together. One would never be able to interact with certain people without reaching a certain level.

Regardless of whether it was Cai Jianqiang, Aden, or Yan Yan, each and every one of them was a genius Realmbreaker.

Lu Yin could already tell how strong Zi Rong was since he had seen the man’s rune lines. In the past, Enlighters had been light years away from Lu Yin, but now, at his current level, Enlighters were no longer that uncommon. He encountered them all over the place, and this was the level that he had reached. This was what he was due. He now had the right to frequently interact with Enlighter realm powerhouses.

“Don’t worry. I truly want to experience that kind of power.” Lu Yin wasn’t planning on defeating Zi Rong, but the attack just now gave him a different feeling. What was cultivation? It was one’s determination and perseverance. Although Lu Yin was strong, had been hailed as invincible when he was a Limiteer, and was currently able to face off against Hunters while still in the Explorer realm, he had always felt like he was lacking something.

His power had been built off of his die and destiny, which meant that he lacked perseverance. He didn’t even recite the Stonewall Scriptures everyday, and he rarely practiced his Cosmic Art. Despite everything, his battle force had improved by leaps and bounds. He had spent even less time on his domain, and he had no clue why it kept improving. All in all, none of his power came from his own determination.

Despite that, Lu Yin could feel Zi Rong’s intense determination in that previous attack. He wanted to experience it directly and see if he could determine his future cultivation path.

Zi Rong looked at Lu Yin in astonishment. “You’re brave. I heard that you know a secret technique that can divert even an Enlighter’s attack. That would make it possible for you to withstand my attack.”

Lu Yin shook his head. “What’s the point of me facing your attack if I use a secret technique? Come on.”

Zi Rong’s eyes flashed, and he turned to glance at Cai Jianqiang. “It’s no wonder why you were willing to stay here and protect Planet Hydrotink. I’m also impressed by his courage.”

Cai Jianqiang wanted to say that he hadn’t stayed because of Lu Yin, but rather to gain some experience from the senior Lockbreakers. However, he didn’t say this to Zi Rong, as Lu Yin’s actions just now had actually impressed him as well. Not everybody had the courage to face Zi Rong’s attack, and on top of that, Lu Yin was just an Explorer. Cai Jianqiang stared at Lu Yin in awe, and he suddenly realized that the myriad rumors about this person were not true.

Zi Rong raised his blade as shadows formed and dissipated around it. Although everything happened slowly, Lu Yin could see all of these details clearly with his eyes. The next moment, an astonishing light fell upon him that was quickly followed by an indescribable aura. No matter how powerful this attack ended up being, it would carve out a path for his future—Lu Yin could feel this in his bones.

As the radiance fell onto Lu Yin, he could feel Zi Rong’s spirit, determination, and perseverance through it. He was stunned by Zi Rong’s perseverance, and Lu Yin felt as though he was facing an indestructible rock. He couldn’t win. There was absolutely no way he could defeat this attack.

Lu Yin felt an urge to put on his universal armor and use the Yu Secret Art. These actions had already become an ingrained habit of his, but he forcefully stopped himself as he felt Zi Rong’s perseverance. The rune lines of this attack didn’t match up to an Enlighter’s, as Zi Rong hadn’t used his full power. However, this attack was still sincere, and despite Zi Rong reducing the attack’s power compared to his battle with Cai Jianqiang, Zi Rong had still managed to put his perseverance, spirit, and determination on full display.

Lu Yin opened his eyes and unleashed his domain. His eight lined battle force appeared and covered his body as visible shockwaves of power emanated out from him. He then lifted his hand and formed a claw, causing an ancient beast’s roar to ring out. He used the Skybeast Claw in conjunction with his battle force and domain to defend himself from the attack.

The ground shattered with a bang as a countless amount of invisible force surged into space, causing the various spacecraft observing the planet to tremble. Spatial shockwaves also rippled out into the distance.

Lu Yin fell to the ground as the Skybeast Claw had only helped him block the attack for a brief moment before quickly disintegrating. Although Lu Yin could battle against Hunters with his current strength, Zi Rong wasn’t anything like a normal Hunter. He was a Hunter powerhouse who could challenge Enlighters, and even if he hadn’t reached the peak Hunter realm, his attack still wasn’t something that Lu Yin could easily face.

The classification of realms wasn’t the only way of measuring one’s power. Kong Shi had already reached the peak Hunter realm, but she couldn’t compare to Zi Rong at all.

Lu Yin had used the Yu Secret Art to divert his opponent’s attack any time he had faced off against a strong opponent on the level of Yan Yan, Twin Daemon, or Enlighters. He had never directly fought against such people with his own pure strength; after all, those people had far exceeded his strength, so he had never felt embarrassed at using the Yu Secret Art. However, now that he was facing Zi Rong, he didn’t feel like retreating. Cultivation was intended to train one’s body, and one had to train both their strength and their soul. Without the soul of a powerhouse, one would never be able to achieve greatness no matter how strong their body was.

Zi Rong had only attacked once, but his attack had ignited Lu Yin’s passion for cultivation.

He roared and used the Skybeast Claw once again. He continued to use the Skybeast Claw in rapid succession, trying to whittle away at Zi Rong’s attack.

Cai Jianqiang watched the two in shock. It was rare that an Explorer could survive an attack from Zi Rong, let alone fight back against it. Even the Ten Arbiters might not have reached Lu Yin’s level when they had been Explorers.

Zi Rong maintained his stance and carefully watched Lu Yin.

Suddenly, the space around them solidified, and a strange power caused them to shiver.

Lu Yin raised his hand and used the Dream Finger. The attack was finally shattered with a clang, but Lu Yin’s finger was bleeding profusely.

The effects of practicing the Finger Tap Technique could be clearly seen now, as Lu Yin wouldn’t have been able to shatter this attack and keep his finger intact before.

Crack.

The mountain range in the distance shattered apart as invisible energies tore the ground apart. Normal cultivators would no longer be able to approach this area as remnants of the blade attack remained in the sky.

Lu Yin smiled despite panting heavily. He had managed to withstand the attack. He had truly held his own against a genius Hunter. Although Zi Rong hadn’t used his full strength, Lu Yin had also held back. He could have easily diverted that attack away with the Yu Secret Art, but he hadn’t done so because he had wanted to experience Zi Rong’s perseverance.

He had accomplished his goal, but Lu Yin wasn’t going to change his battle style. He would continue to use the Yu Secret Art and external items whenever he fought against someone like Zi Rong in the future. However, he was no longer confused about his cultivation path either.

Lu Yin felt that he had learned a lot on this day, and he had a feeling that this battle would have a profound effect on his future.

He hadn’t improved his strength, but he had nourished his spirit.

Clap clap clap clap!

Cai Jianqiang looked down at Lu Yin from the sky and applauded. “Alliance Leader Lu, I am rarely impressed by people, but you have done it.”

Zi Rong also looked at Lu Yin. “I am also rarely impressed by people, but you are one of them.”

Lu Yin laughed and quickly bandaged his finger. He then used some special medications from Shamrock Enterprises to help his finger recover quickly.

He then leaped up out of the pit and glanced around. There were countless rune lines hanging in the air, signifying the remnant energy from Zi Rong’s attack.

Lu Yin felt relieved; if Zi Rong’s attack had been slightly stronger, he wouldn’t have gotten off with just a simple finger injury.

“You didn’t use your full strength,” Lu Yin told Zi Rong with a smile.

Zi Rong shrugged. “I just wanted to witness the abilities of the renowned Lu Yin. I wasn’t planning on killing you. Why? Do you want to attack me too? It’s only fair.”

Lu Yin answered, “No, thank you. My attacks would be useless against you.”

At present, his most powerful attacks were the Finger Tap Technique and the Skybeast Claw, but even when he used both techniques together, he had only barely been enough to block Zi Rong’s blade. Lu Yin wouldn’t be able to injure the Hunter with any of his attacks, and although his spiritual force was comparable to the Ten Arbiters’, Zi Rong was a person with incredible determination, which meant that his spiritual force was likely equally as strong.

Zi Rong grinned, as he already knew that.

“This guy’s so annoying! Seventh Bro, you shouldn’t have risked your life,” the Ghost Monkey said with a sneer.