Chapter 850: Standard Answer

Lu Yin initially thought that the Astral Academies were fixed academies, but he quickly realized that they were more like ten battleships that roamed about the universe.

In the past, he had seen an unknown sky in the Skygazing Deck, and at that time, he had seen numerous battleships flying towards an unknown destination.

The ten Astral Academies had actually been built upon ten battleships.

Back then, he had not known where the battleships were headed, but now, he had an answer. They had probably been headed towards the Sixth Mainland, intent on joining the ancient war between the two mainlands.

That ancient war had been the true fight between the two mainlands; Progenitors, and even Envoy-realm powerhouses, were not safe from danger during those battles.

These ancient battleships were all enormous, and each one was comparable to Millions City. Lu Yin had seen more than ten ships in his visions, but now, there were only ten remaining.

These battleships were remnants of an older time.

The Fifth Mainland’s current war with the Sixth Mainland had prompted Astral-9’s appearance, which had been built on the back of the ancient battleship. This truly was a continuation of the ancient war between the two mainlands.

Soon after, Lu Yin asked the Arrow Mountain Elder for permission to temporarily leave the Greatwood Lavazone so that he could visit Astral-9. He wanted to visit Astral-9’s Stargazing Deck, as he wanted to take a closer look at the details of the ancient vision, such as the imprint of the Skybeast Claw upon the battleship.

He also wanted to find out who was the owner of that overwhelming finger.

The students of Astral-9 frequently participated in the border defense, but they had not experienced such an intense war before.

When news of Liu Yin’s near death experiences reached Astral-9, a lot of the students couldn’t wait to join the battlefield and fight against the cultivators from the Sixth Mainland.

Lu Yin asked to enter Astral-9 during the lull in the battle.

Nobody stopped him, as the ten academies were considered a single unit. Their students would occasionally assist each other, and especially so during situations like this border defense.

Moreover, Lu Yin was even more famous than Liu Yin, as other Astral-9 students had told the rest that Lu Yin had saved them during a battle. This had caused many students from Astral-9 to feel grateful towards Lu Yin.

Lu Yin checked his surroundings after arriving at Astral-9’s space station. This was his first time visiting another academy. Although he had tried to visit Astral-7 before, he had accidentally fallen into the hidden space with the golden sea, never making it all the way to Astral-7.

The students all stared at him in awe. Lu Yin had become famous, and he was instantly surrounded the moment he exited the space station.

The students all stared at Lu Yin with fervent eyes.

Lu Yin wasn’t used to such treatment. Although he was used to being treated as someone powerful, he had never been idolized in such a manner before. This effect was compounded by the fact that they kept calling him senior, which made him feel very proud. This was truly the power of youth!

“Senior, your battle with Liu Shaoqiu from the Sword Sect was so exciting! Can you teach us how to fight against swordsmen?”

“Senior, you defeated the Celestial Ice Phoenix from the Astral Beast Domain during the Tournament of the Strongest, but I heard that the Celestial Ice Phoenix turned into a beauty. So just how did you manage to defeat her?”

“Senior, thank you for saving Senior Liu Yin in the Ironblood Lavazone.”

“Senior, thank you for saving Chao Zhi—she’s my goddess.”

…

Lu Yin blinked and turned to the male student who had mentioned that Chao Zhi was his goddess. Lu Yin replied, “I wish you luck.”

The male student grew very excited. “Thank you for your encouragement, senior. We will definitely invite you to our wedding.”

“Seventh Bro, I heard someone say that you defeated a Celestial Ice Phoenix? That’s my future wife! Don’t you dare,” the Ghost Monkey shouted.

Lu Yin ignored the monkey and continued making his way to the Stargazing Deck even while starstruck students crowded all around him.

The Stargazing Deck was the most mysterious location within all of the Astral Academies.

Lu Yin arrived at the Stargazing Deck and saw an enormous amount of rune lines. Then, the Starmaster stood up and looked as though he was about to leave.

Lu Yin was astonished, as Astral-9’s Starmaster was very powerful. He was actually comparable to the assassin from Aegis that Lu Yin had seen earlier in the Greatwood Lavazone, which was very befitting of the tutor for the most mysterious place within the Astral Combat Academies.

Lu Yin wasn’t sure about the strength of the mentors in Astral-10, as he had only seen the surface level of that academy. However, he had seen the Starmaster’s true power when he had been leaving Astral-10.

“I’m Lu Yin. Greetings to the Starmaster of Astral-9.” Lu Yin bowed respectfully.

The Starmaster looked down at Lu Yin. “What’s the matter?”

“I wish to enter the Stargazing Deck,” Lu Yin nervously informed the man, as he wasn’t sure whether or not he would be allowed to do so.

The Starmaster paused. “Students who have graduated are not allowed to enter the Stargazing Deck.’

Lu Yin answered in an anxious tone, “I have not graduated yet. I was still a Limiteer when the Outerverse was cut off from the Innerverse.”

The Starmaster nodded. “Alright, I will make an exception for you. Come in.”

Lu Yin was elated, and he bowed to the Starmaster again. He entered the Stargazing Deck under the eyes of countless students and sat down. He then slowly closed his eyes as he heard the Starmaster’s voice call out, “Feel with your heart. The Stargazing Deck shows you the stars, your gratitude, and your grudges. The world through the ages, the cycle of causality, and a part of the universe that belongs to you.”

After some time, Lu Yin once again saw the unfamiliar sky with countless battleships traveling into the distance. The word “Endless” was inscribed on the hull of the first battleship, and as Lu Yin approached the battleship, he could see that the battleship’s surface bore scars, blood, and even corpses. Then, he finally saw the imprint of the Skybeast Claw.

Just as Lu Yin was about to take a closer look at the mark left behind by the Skybeast Claw, a pair of dead eyes suddenly locked onto him, and Lu Yin felt chills run all over his body as everything before his eyes suddenly distorted.

At that same moment, the sky shattered, and a finger crashed down at him.

Boundless rage filled Lu Yin’s heart, but this time, he managed to ignore the finger and continue studying the battleship. The pair of dead eyes had already disappeared, but the finger continued to descend towards him. Then, Lu Yin opened his eyes and saw the Starmaster, who was close by.

His back was soaked with sweat. This time, not only had he seen the battleship and the finger, but he had also seen a pair of dead eyes. Lu Yin had seen those eyes before, as those were the eyes of a corpse king.

Why would he see the eyes of a corpse king in the same scene as that ancient battleship? He couldn’t understand what was going on in that vision.

Lu Yin turned to look at the Starmaster and asked the same question that he had asked when he entered the Stargazing Deck the very first time. “Tutor, what do those words mean? ‘A part of the universe that belongs to me?’ I am clearly looking at an unknown sky in that vision.”

The Starmaster calmly answered, “The Stargazing Deck shows you the world through the ages, and this is a question that only you can answer.”

Lu Yin was speechless, as this was the exact same answer that Astral-10’s Starmaster had given him. Could this be the standard response?

He reluctantly stood up and bowed to the Starmaster before leaving the Stargazing Deck.

From a distance, Astral-9 didn’t have that many rune lines, and it couldn’t even come close to Millions City’s. However, Lu Yin had a feeling that this battleship contained a hidden power that had allowed it to survive the ancient war.

The ten Astral Combat Academies weren’t as simple as they seemed. All of the academies had a Stargazing Deck that allowed one to see into the past and the future. Such a mystical place could only be found in the Astral Combat Academies, and neither Taimo Hal nor the Sea King’s Dome possessed such facilities.

This was also the reason why the Nightking clan hadn’t dared to attack Lu Yin in the past. They had been intimidated by both the Lockbreaker Society and the Astral Combat Academy.

Lu Yin decided that he would not graduate even after the connection between the Innerverse and Outerverse was restored. He had decided that he would never graduate and that he would remain stuck to the Astral Combat Academy for the rest of his life. As long as he never graduated, he would still belong to the Astral Combat Academy, and it would remain as his strongest support.

The Starmaster left to join the border defense, and most of the tutors in Astral-9 left as well.

Lu Yin similarly left Astral-9 and returned to the Greatwood Lavazone.

Astral-9 had officially joined the battlefield, and many tutors and students had also joined the battlefield.

Lu Yin had wanted to take a look at Astral-9’s headmaster, as he was curious about the man’s strength. However, Lu Yin didn't get the chance to see the headmaster, as the man had already left to carry out a counterattack.

Lu Yin was stunned when he heard the news; Astral-9’s headmaster had attacked the enemy all on his own.

Although the Sixth Mainland had suffered some losses, their side still held Ancestor Mojiang and another Imprinter, and that didn’t even take the strength of the mysterious Technocracy into account. Despite all that, Astral-9’s headmaster had still gone forth without any assistance.

On the second day after his assault, the entire region was talking about the headmaster’s accomplishments. He had managed to crush a mechanical fortress, destroying all of the androids and cultivators within the fort.

Lu Yin was amazed, as this meant that Astral-9’s headmaster was at least an Envoy. The man had been sent to the Endless Lavazone of the border.

At this time, there was an Envoy-level powerhouse in every region.

Yen Phoenix was stationed in the Dark Phoenix Lavazone, the Arrow Mountain Elder was in the Greatwood Lavazone, Astral-9’s headmaster was in the Endless Lavazone, Millions City was in the Tri-Platform Lavazone, Astral-9 itself was stationed in the Honor Lavazone, and Yuehua Mavis was at the Ironblood Lavazone. They represented the most powerful forces of the Outerverse, and there were also various powerhouses with power levels of 300,000 to 400,000 supporting them, such as Elder Daggs and Yu Mu.

Although this couldn’t compare to the strength of the Innerverse, the Outerverse was only facing one region of the Sixth Mainland. Their combined strength should be able to withstand the invasion.

A month passed, and now, three years had passed since the Outerverse had first been separated from the Innerverse. The border had enjoyed a month of peace, but the fighting soon resumed with the reappearance of Ancestor Mojiang.

However, this time, there was another person standing alongside Ancestor Mojiang. They were just as strong as the World Imprinter, which caused many of the defenders to despair.

Lu Yin was almost blinded by the amount of rune lines filling the sky, and he immediately thought of Ancestor Autumnfrost. Of the Bloodburn Realm’s three main clans, the Mojiang clan and the Autumnfrost clan were equal in power and influence while the Di clan was the strongest of them all. This indicated that this second powerhouse was most likely Ancestor Autumnfrost.

The arrival of the two World Imprinters caused Yuan Shi to sigh. He finally stopped hiding his power and entered outer space.

A large hole was torn in space, but this hole did not have any rune lines surrounding it.