Lu Yin lowered his gadget. Regardless of who was actually behind the schemes targeting those three corporate giants, it was none of his business at the moment. Those financial titans were arrogant, and it would also be beneficial for him if they suffered.

He asked Gavin to pay attention to this matter, as he was interested in seeing how Shamrock Enterprises and Aurora Enterprises would retaliate.

He stood up, as it was time for him to head to the mainland of the first ring around Zenyu Star.

Yu Academy was currently recruiting new students, and these prospective students came from not only Frostwave Weave, but also other weaves.

The current Great Yu Empire stood at the peak of the Outerverse, and Yu Academy was the academy that nurtured the Great Yu Empire’s young elites. Those who entered Yu Academy could learn how to better cultivate, and they might even get the chance to see Lu Yin, which was a prized opportunity for countless youths in the Outerverse.

Even if there was only a trace opportunity to meet Lu Yin, many people would risk their lives for it. It was just like how Lu Yin had participated in Astral-10’s entrance exam in the past, which he had simply considered an opportunity.

The first mainland ring of Zenyu Star was currently very lively with many spacecraft hovering in outer space above it. Many youths excitedly jumped into the sea and swam towards the nearby coast, which was where the entrance exam was being held. The applicants were allowed to use all sorts of methods, and those that survived till the end would be allowed to join Yu Academy. Yu Academy was recruiting a total of 500 students this time.

However, there were 1,000,000 applicants participating in this examination.

Choosing 500 students from 1,000,000 applicants meant that there was a one in 2,000 chance of acceptance, and this was also under the premise that the majority of the applicants had already been eliminated. The number of people who had applied had already shattered the record from several years ago, and it had nearly reached 100 million this cycle. The million applicants here had all been carefully selected from the various great weaves, and each one had to have the qualifications to even register. This showed how arduous Yu Academy’s entrance exam had become.

Lu Yin saw the youths who were fighting for their lives on a screen, and he felt rather nostalgic.

Back during Earth’s apocalypse, the Seven Sages of China had dominated the sky and had towered far above billions of Earthlings, being known as Sky rank powerhouses. However, such powerhouses might not even qualify to participate in Yu Academy’s entrance exam, which just went to show how stringent the application process was. This academy was the foundation of the Great Yu Empire’s future, and its importance had risen countless times higher after the Great Eastern Alliance’s establishment, which had led to the present situation.

The Yu Academy’s Hall Masters were all Limiteer realm experts, and the hall members were mostly Melders with the rare Sentinel. Those who were qualified to register were practically all Sentinels, and those who had made it to Zenyu Star’s first mainland ring had either used formcast models to cultivate or had high power levels. Either way, they had lasted through several elimination rounds to reach this stage.

“Your Highness, we have arranged for almost 100 Yu Academy students from the mainland to join and inconspicuously blend into the applicants. As long as an applicant is able to defeat a Yu Academy member, they will obtain the qualifications to join the Yu Academy in advance. These Yu Academy students are all Melders,” Huo Zhong explained as he respectfully stood behind Lu Yin.

Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then looked at one of the center screens that was displaying Fu Xiaoshu. He had come from Earth, and Lu Yin had some impression of this young man. He had an innate gift of illusions and his cultivation speed was also quite fast, which had allowed him to rise to the level where he was second only to the Hall Masters in strength within the Yu Academy.

There were dozens of cultivators surrounding Fu Xiaoshu, and there were even three Melders from other weaves. These cultivators all moved against Fu Xiaoshu together, hoping to defeat him.

But Fu Xiaoshu’s eyes simply flickered before the people surrounding him all fell to the ground, immersed within his illusion.

The low strength of these applicants meant that their numbers were meaningless against Fu Xiaoshu’s abilities.

Lu Yin diverted his attention to another screen, which showed another Yu Academy member being surrounded. Between this student’s Skybeast Claw and his star energy control, he easily defeated two Melders who had teamed up before proudly moving on.

The cultivators participating in this entrance exam were all elite disciples from various powers of multiple weaves, and their power levels roughly matched up to the standard Yu Academy student of a few years ago. In fact, some of the applicants even surpassed that old standard, and they would have been able to go against the Hall Masters of that time.

However, the current Yu Academy was a completely different place compared to a few years ago. In the past, there had only been a few Melder realm students, but that had been before Schutz had returned from training in the Innerverse. He had spent several years guiding the Yu Academy students, and with the additions of Yue Xianzi, An Shaohua, Ah Fan, and the others, the overall strength of Yu Academy had increased tremendously. Yu Academy had already surpassed the confines of the Outerverse’s standards.

Of course, there were also experts among the examination applicants who were able to compete with the ordinary Yu Academy students.

Lu Yin checked the other screens with interest and saw that Huo Xiaoling was actually among the students. This kid was actually already a Limiteer, but she had still gone there to join in on the fun.

Huo Zhong saw Lu Yin’s attention drift towards Huo Xiaoling, and he awkwardly said, “She said that she’s been too bored staying at home, so she wanted to go out for a walk.”

As he uttered those words, the screen displayed the descent of Huo Xiaoling’s fire phoenix, which incinerated the area a thousand meters radius around her and forced countless applicants to silently retreat.

Lu Yin laughed, but he did not stop anything. Luck was also a part of cultivation, and these people were simply unlucky to have met Huo Xiaoling. There was no one they could blame. Back during Earth’s trial, Lu Yin had run into the Daynight clan’s Nightking Qingyu, but he had still managed to rise to his current position.

“Where’s Schutz?” Lu Yin asked.

Huo Zhong replied, “He’s close to breaking through and becoming an Explorer.”

Lu Yin was surprised to hear that Schutz was about to break through, though it was true that he had been a Limiteer for too long. Since he had trained at Astral-10, he should have broken through long ago. However, after he broke through to the Explorer realm, one of the Yu Academy’s Hall Master positions would become vacant.

As he thought about it, Lu Yin looked back at Huo Xiaoling. “After Schutz breaks through to the Explorer realm, let Huo Xiaoling inherit his position of Hall Master.”

Huo Zhong was delighted at this news. “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Lu Yin was amused by the man’s reaction. “Why are you thanking me? This isn’t favoritism—she’s earned the position based on nothing more than her own strength.”

Huo Zhong immediately agreed.

Lu Yin left after a short while. Although the people at the academy were all about the same age as him, and there were even some who were a bit older, their world view was completely different. Lu Yin held no further interest in watching their entrance exam.

Yu Academy had true geniuses among its students, especially the batch of cultivators from Earth. Fu Xiaoshu had comprehended a domain, Song Shi had comprehended battle force, and those like Zhen Tong or Qin Xuan possessed powerful innate gifts. It seemed that Yu Academy would churn out quite a few more experts in the future.

Seeing some people from Earth suddenly reminded Lu Yin of Jupiter, which was a thorn that had been lodged in his heart from start to end. The secrets still hidden within that planet might answer a great deal of his questions, but he could not enter.

Depressing.

***

In Frostwave Weave, there was a dark-red planet located slightly west of the weave’s center. This planet constantly spewed smoke and poisonous gases out into the atmosphere while boiling lava seeped out to the surface. This planet was completely uninhabitable, and no living creature was able to survive here.

But then, suddenly, a spacecraft appeared above the atmosphere. It was jerking oddly as it quickly fell to the ground before finally crashing into the lava and causing a minor surge. Everything within 10,000 meters of the landing site disintegrated.

Black smoke floated out of the spacecraft, and it was clearly damaged.

Many people wearing universal armor walked out of the spacecraft, and they moved towards the damaged section of the vessel. Following them, a middle-aged man emerged from the ship without a set of universal armor. Since he could survive in this harsh environment on his own, the man was clearly at least at the Explorer realm.

The middle-aged man casually waved a hand, unleashing a gale that swept aside all of the surrounding lava, and the shockwave shot into the distance where it eventually decapitated a black mountain.

“Chief, there’s no signs of any life on this planet,” a voice called out from the middle-aged man’s gadget.

“Got it. Repair the spacecraft quickly, as we still have to head out for our mission,” he replied.

“Yes, chief.”

The spacecraft was huge, and it carried more than 1,000 people. They were not upset about the spacecraft being damaged. While the ship was being repaired, everyone simply cultivated, rested, or went to one of the bars inside the vessel to have a good time.

These people were the Ordnance Mercenaries, the most famous mercenaries in the Great Yu Empire. The deputy captain was the captain of the Great Yu Empire’s Eight Squadron, Shalosh. Within the Great Yu Empire, these people could roam about freely and unobstructed.

Within one of the bars, a tall, beautiful woman with a whip danced around a pole with black heels, and all the people in the bar were whistling and shouting excitedly.

Seated at the bar, Ian frowned, as he did not enjoy this sort of environment. He had been with the Ordnance Mercenaries for several years by now, but he had never fully integrated, especially since this particular woman practically went insane at times.

The beautiful lady finished dancing to the song, and the crowd kept cheering. She lashed her whip and danced wildly, hitting quite a few people, but the crowd only grew even more excited.

“Scram, you bunch of wolves!” the woman shouted.

The crowd cheered even more resoundingly.

Not long after, the woman walked over next to Ian, embracing Ian’s shoulders. The heavy smell of alcohol still hung about her lips. “Little Ian, come and have a dance with me.”

Ian was helpless. “Sister Dana, you head on by yourself. I don’t know how.”

The woman was Dana, and she was the daughter of the Ordnance Mercenaries’ leader, Qi Jin. Back on Zenyu Star, this woman was the one who had brought Ian into the Ordnance Mercenaries. Although she frequently bullied this elite youth, she had also taken good care of him. If not for Dana, Ian would have died during their previous mission.

Although Ian was not comfortable with how Dana interacted with him, he still felt genuinely grateful towards her. Of course, there were also a few other feelings that he could not quite put into words.

Dana rolled her eyes. “It’s already been a few years, but you’re still the same. Don’t worry, Sis will take care of you, hmph!”

She then made her way over towards the dance floor where she proceeded to crazily twist her body about.

Ian felt helpless. He rubbed his head and then walked out of the bar. After thinking for a moment, he donned his universal armor, having decided to head out for a stroll.

There were many planets in this region of the universe that were completely vacant. Without any water or oxygen and often with deadly gases pervading the air, these planets felt more like some kind of strange hell. Ian had seen too many places like this.

Over the span of several years, he had gone from being the top student in the Imperial Military Academy to a seasoned mercenary. Sometimes, he even thought that if he had possessed such battle experience back in that trial on Earth, he wouldn’t have lost to the Royal Regent!

He walked across the scorching dark red surface and looked off into the distance. There was a giant, fiery tornado that connected the sky and the ground, and it snarled as it whirled over.

From behind, Qi Jin appeared and casually waved a hand. The tornado was torn apart, and the powerful gale from the captain’s hand had already sent the lava on the ground flying away.

“Still not used to this?” Qi Jin asked Ian.

Ian smiled. “Just feel a little stifled.”

Qi Jin commented, “Mercenaries and troops are different, with soldiers having scattered combat. Although mercenaries have richer battle experience, they have no discipline, which is the complete opposite of the education that you received.”

Ian mentioned, “The discipline of our mercenaries is pretty decent.”

Qi Jin patted Ian’s shoulder. “I’ve watched your performance these past few years, and you were a top student in military affairs. It’s a waste for you to stay here in a mercenary group. I’ll find some time to speak to Shalosh—it’s time to send you to the Thirteen Imperial Squadrons.”

Ian’s eyes lit up, but when he thought of Dana, his emotions became all tangled. He did not want to separate from that splendid big sister of his.

Dana had already become an integral part of his life, and he lowered his head to ponder his situation. Suddenly, his gaze trembled as he stared at the ground in shock. There was a strange mark right where he was staring.

This mark… He bent down and carefully blew the surrounding ash away before studying the mark intensely. After a while, he turned around to check in all directions. It seemed as though he had discovered something.

Qi Jin felt that something was strange, but he did not give it much thought. During Ian’s years as a part of the mercenaries, although he hadn’t made any great contributions during conflicts and battles, he had provided some pretty good suggestions at times, especially in situations against multiple enemies. Many of his suggestions could lead to extraordinary effects, which amply demonstrated his military talent.