Countless people were stunned. Just a single exchange had resulted in an Enlighter’s death. How was that possible?

No matter if they were human cultivators from the Fifth or Sixth Mainland or androids from the Technocracy, everyone who saw this scene was astonished. In fact, they even momentarily forgot that they were on a battlefield.

Lu Yin had indeed killed Enlighters in the past, but it had always been blatantly obvious that he had relied on foreign objects to do so, such as his gun. This time, however, he had killed an Enlighter in a direct confrontation.

From the perspective of outsiders, Lu Yin had directly exchanged blows with an Enlighter and then crushed them. His universal armor and bracer were both seen as defensive items rather than offensive ones.

Only Lu Yin knew that his bracer allowed him to double his physical strength, and that it was actually his bracer that was the most decisive strike. When he exploded with his full physical might with the bracer, even Sall Phoenix, who was a peak expert with a power level close to 300,000, would be shocked, let alone this cultivator who had just stepped into the Enlighter realm.

To the other defenders, they were naturally suppressed by the Sixth Mainland cultivators. However, that suppression didn’t exist for Lu Yin. In his eyes, this person’s battle strength had not even been comparable to Cai Jianqiang or Aden’s, and he had been one of the weakest Enlighters who Lu Yin had ever met. Even if the Enlighter had an imprint from Elder Autumnfrost, he had still been very weak.

Fortunately, that Enlighter had not been given the chance to use any other methods. If he had been quicker to respond and managed to use his bloodline or a battle technique, then Lu Yin would not have defeated him so easily.

This Enlighter’s death gave Lu Yin 30,000 points worth of military contributions. His contribution was recorded by a very ancient-looking recording device that was considered an inanimate object since it could not connect to any sort of network. It was the technological equivalent to the mopeds used for travel, and neither was able to be influenced by the Technocracy. Any contributions made on Endless Weave’s battlefield were recorded by these devices, and they would be treated as military contributions when the defender left the battlefield.

Lu Yin only paused for a moment before turning back to look for Autumnfrost Qing, but the youth had already escaped.

Not only had Autumnfrost Qing fled, but all of the androids and the cultivators from the Sixth Mainland were also steadily retreating from Lu Yin. The cultivators forming the defensive line did not make an effort to chase after the retreating invaders for too far. Instead, they allowed them to leave.

Lu Yin looked at where Huang San and Yan Xiaojing were retreating, and the two also kept their eyes on Lu Yin, especially Huang San, who had an indescribably complicated look in his eyes.

He had always treated Lu Yin as his benefactor; without Lu Yin, Huang San would have never obtained the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline, and he might not have even qualified to join this invasion. However, it turned out that Lu Yin was actually his enemy, a mortal enemy with whom there was no chance at reconciliation.

Yan Xiaojing looked at Huang San before she dragged him away from the battlefield. “Don’t think about it too much.”

Huang San sighed, glanced at Lu Yin one last time, and then left.

Lu Yin looked across at their end of the defensive line and saw that this battle had left the Ironblood Lavazone filled with countless corpses. The surviving soldiers piled the ruined androids into a trash heap to prevent the Technocracy from reusing them. As for the corpses of the various cultivators, they were all directly cremated.

The corpse of the Enlighter who had been killed by Lu Yin was also burned, but his cosmic ring was given to Lu Yin. Nobody dared to fight over it since Lu Yin had single handedly killed him.

Lu Yin did not stand on ceremony, and he immediately glanced at its contents. He found that the ring was very messy, though it had quite a few items in it. He simply kept everything, though he took note of the fact that the ring only held 40,000 star essence; how poor.

Aden approached. “Your Highness, are you alright?”

Lu Yin grunted in acknowledgement and then looked over at Wendy Yushan, who was standing in the distance. She had not been injured, which made Lu Yin feel relieved.

As they landed back on the black lava that made up the mainland, Liu Yin, Chao Zhi, and Rann were all in a miserable condition. Liu Yin and Chao Zhi were in an especially poor condition since they had been severely injured and needed to receive treatment.

“Haven’t seen you in a while.” Lu Yin smiled at the trio.

Liu Yin smiled bitterly. “You must have found our situation laughable.”

Lu Yin replied, “Hurry up and go treat your wounds.”

Liu Yin nodded, feeling a little depressed.

When Lu Yin had first joined the Council of Astral Academy, the difference between them had not been too great. But at present, the difference between them was too vast, and it caused Liu Yin to despair slightly.

As he watched the gloomy group leave, Lu Yin was able to understand the misery in their hearts. It was just like how he felt unresigned at the difference between him and the Ten Arbiters whenever he saw them. But those feelings were of no use. Just being upset about the difference would not reduce the power gap, and it would only widen it instead.

Lu Yin was still too far behind the Ten Arbiters.

He looked up towards outer space, above the mainland, as this defensive line was completely different from what he had seen in Ironblood Weave.

The Ironblood Weave had multiple defensive bases in the form of the various fortresses, and each one was supported by a sourcebox array. It was rumored that this place also had some sourcebox arrays, but that had only been along the previous defensive line. When the Technocracy had seized half of Endless Weave in the past, the original defensive line had been lost along with the sourcebox arrays. The current defensive line had been established at a much later date.

He stepped on the black lava beneath him, and it smelt very pungent.

“Did you use a new battle technique just now?” Wendy Yushan’s voice rang out, carrying a hint of doubt and curiosity.

Lu Yin nodded as he looked over at her. “The Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation.”

Wendy Yushan nodded, though her expression was still rather indifferent. “It’s a very powerful battle technique. It’s enough to even make Enlighters wary.”

Lu Yin smiled. Just wary?

The more star energy it utilized, the greater the might of this technique, much like how pyrolyte theoretically scaled infinitely. The only shortcoming to it was that he did not have enough cauldron energy. Only by absorbing all of the cauldron energy from one cauldron would he have successfully cultivated one sun. At that point, the power of the Ninesuns Cauldron Transformation would be completely different, and it would undergo a drastic metamorphosis.

The arrival of new reinforcements allowed the troops at the border to heave a heavy sigh of relief. The scene of Lu Yin killing an Enlighter by himself had caused many in the Ironblood Lavazone to well up with anticipation.

***

On the other side of the battlefield, within the Technocracy, there was a giant mechanical fortress floating through space. Close to a million cultivators from the Sixth Mainland had gathered in this place, including Ancestor Mojiang. There were also three other similar fortresses.

Huang San was just about to return to the fortress when he was surrounded by cultivators from the Autumnfrost Family. He was then captured and taken before Autumnfrost Qing with Yan Xiaojing also present.

Autumnfrost Qing’s eyes were cold as he stared at Huang San. “Fat Bro, you dared to collude with someone from the Fifth Mainland.”

Huang San’s eyes went wide, and he shouted, “Autumnfrost Qing, you’re trying to frame me!”

Autumnfrost Qing sneered. “That person was in contact with you two years ago. Do you dare to deny it? And now, we’ve only just arrived in the Technocracy, but we were discovered before we could even launch an attack on them. You must have leaked our plans!”

“Brother Autumnfrost, could there be some misunderstanding here?” Yan Xiaojing tried to intervene.

Autumnfrost Qing waved a hand. “Xiaojing, this matter is none of your business. I am merely capturing a traitor.”

Huang San was furious. “You’re spouting nonsense! Even if I had wanted to snitch, I didn’t have the ability! With my strength, how could I possibly cross over the Technocracy to speak with Deafmute Bro?”

Autumnfrost Qing’s eyes narrowed. “There’s no way to know for sure, as there are too many mysterious methods in the universe. If not for him bribing you, how could you have possibly obtained the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline? That’s one of the invincible bloodlines!”

After the fatty had obtained the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline from the Daosource Sect's ruins, everybody had learned about it, including Autumnfrost Qing. He had long since found the fatty annoying, and now, an excuse for him to take care of this irritant and vent his resentment had suddenly come up

Yan Xiaojing knew that Autumnfrost Qing was purposefully targeting Huang San with this excuse, but she also could not help him. No matter what happened here, it was possible for her to become Autumnfrost Qing’s wife in the future. Thus, she could only feel pity for the fatty. However, she also could not bear to watch him die, so after thinking about it, she hurriedly informed one of her elders.

No matter how much Huang San tried to justify himself, Autumnfrost Qing acted as if he were absolutely certain that he was a traitor. In truth, Autumnfrost Qing had already decided to take care of the fatty. The Huang family was nothing more than a fallen Imprinter family, and the fatty was the only one from their family who had been sent to participate in the battle. Thus, there was no one from his family who could help him.

“What’s going on?” The Yan family’s elder, Yan Cheng, suddenly appeared.

The crowd had not expected an Imprinter to suddenly appear, and they all hurriedly bowed.

When Huang San saw Yan Cheng, he quickly repeated his story of everything that had happened.

Yan Cheng’s eyes sharpened and swept past Autumnfrost Qing, though he did not blame the youth either. “This matter is indeed strange, but it’s highly unlikely for him to have leaked any information. After all, the distance is too great.”

"Senior, there’s still the Daosource Sect’s ruins,” Autumnfrost Qing reminded the Imprinter.

Huang San bellowed, “You’re spouting nonsense! Ever since that place became a battlefield for the Realmlings and Ten Arbiters, I never went back!”

“If it wasn’t you, then how could the Fifth Mainland have discovered us?” Autumnfrost Qing asked coldly.

“You’re asking me, but who should I ask? It’s just that you couldn’t beat him, so you’re trying to vent your anger on me! You’re nothing but trash!” The fatty was furious.

Autumnfrost Qing flew into a rage. “You dare to insult me? Just die!”

He prepared to make a move.

Yan Cheng moved between the two youths and restrained Autumnfrost Qing. He then looked at the fatty with a hint of complicated emotions. “The Huang family and my Yan family have a deep relationship, and I trust that you did not betray the Sixth Mainland. However, it’s also true that you are acquainted with someone from the Fifth Mainland, and therefore, there is indeed a possibility of betrayal.”

The fatty’s face went pale.

“This is my decision: for the moment, you won’t return to the battlefield. Instead, you will stay behind to be investigated. Rest assured. If you have done no wrong, I will proclaim your innocence,” Yan Cheng said slowly.

The fatty was helpless. “I’ll respect Ancestor’s decision.”

Autumnfrost Qing was not satisfied with this outcome and still wanted to say something.

Yan Cheng continued, “Right, regarding your arrangement with Xiaojing, have you had any thoughts?”

The fatty heard this, and his expression changed abruptly. When he looked at Yan Cheng and saw the remorse in the Imprinter’s eyes, the youth’s face paled. He finally realized that this was his true objective: the Yan family had always wanted to break free from their marriage contract with the Huang family, and they were suffering from the fact that this promise had already been made, leaving them without any way of easily removing it. At this moment, they were forcing Huang San to cancel the marriage contract.

Yan Xiaojing also understood this point, and as she looked at the fatty with a pitiful expression, the remorse in her heart grew even stronger.

Autumnfrost Qing was pleased; so this was Yan Cheng’s objective. The Imprinter was planning on openly helping the fatty and saving his life. However, that would come in exchange for annulling the marriage contract.

Autumnfrost Qing smiled and arrogantly looked down at the fatty. This person from a fallen Imprinter's family had dared to compete with him over a girl. This fatty truly did not know his place. So what if he had the Sky-Eater Pig bloodline? It did not have a sufficiently high concentration. Even if it was complete, it would still be useless if it did not mature, and the fatty would suffer an early death sooner rather than later.

The fatty laughed at himself miserably before looking back at Yan Xiaojing with great reluctance. His eyes were red as he closed them and sucked in a sharp breath. “Very well. I, Huang San, as the heir to the Huang family, cancel my marriage contract with the Yan family. This cancelation will take effect immediately, and may the heavens punish me if I go back on my word.”

Yan Xiaojing’s heart trembled. Even though she did not like the fatty, at this moment, she felt that the situation was quite unbearable. Perhaps this moment would become a debt that would need to be repaid later on.

Autumnfrost Qing’s lips curled upwards, and he laughed heartily.

Yan Cheng sighed, and he looked at the fatty with a complex light in his eyes. He then gently patted Huang San’s shoulder and said, “Rest assured, I will not allow others to slander you. As long as I’m alive, I promise that you will safely return to the Bloodburn Realm.”

This was Yan Cheng’s way of offering an apology.

Huang San bent at the waist, turned around, and left with a bleak expression, not even sparing a glance for Yan Xiaojing.

Yan Xiaojing’s gaze was full of pity. She wanted to say something, but she could not speak up.

In fact, for this battle, Huang San had not even been listed among the recruited youths. Rather, he had tagged along of his own volition despite knowing that he would be targeted by Autumnfrost Qing. Despite everything, Huang San had come with the invasion forces for Yan Xiaojing, and it would be a lie to say that she had not been moved by his determination. Back when they had entered the Daosource Sect's ruins, there were many times when the fatty had risked himself for her sake without any regard for his own safety.

This was his affection, but they could not be together. This was fate.