Mira smiled and said, "That's good. Actually, I wasn't originally supposed to appear in the Da Yu Empire's trial, but unfortunately, the Da Yu Empire's Youth Council was dissolved. I was the one who announced the notice, so I had no choice but to take on this responsibility. After all, the trial can't proceed without someone from the Youth Council present. Don't you agree, General Mardo?"
Xiken Mardo nodded slightly and said calmly, "Miss Mira has worked hard."
Mira smiled faintly and turned her gaze to the light screen. "A decent person. I hope he performs well." With that, she turned and left the monitoring room, leaving behind a faint fragrance.
Only after she left did everyone in the room finally breathe deeply. The pressure earlier had been overwhelming—like a mountain. That woman was terrifying, her strength clearly surpassed anyone present. But she was just a student! Although she came from the Inner Universe, she was still just a student—so how could she be that powerful?
Torre Ona said solemnly, "Mira, a subordinate member of the Universe Youth Council, student of the Sixth Academy of the Starry Sky. She's known as the Scarlet Lotus Demon Archer. I didn't expect her to be this powerful."
Xiken Mardo let out a breath and didn't discuss Mira further. He turned his gaze back to the screen. That young man had been protected by Mira. If he could perform even more outstandingly, perhaps he could gain her support and rise rapidly—a lucky young man.
Saroshu's expression turned gloomy. He had actually been intimidated by a woman. A towering rage surged in his heart.
Torre Ona glanced at him and sneered. So what if you're angry? Do you dare lay a hand on Mira? Never mind her strength—behind her is the Universe Youth Council, with ten monsters seated at the top.
On Earth, outside the capital, Xia Luo left. He didn't say much to Lu Yin and the others, simply walked away on his own. He didn't even fly, just walked across the land, heading toward the roaming corpse tide.
Lu Yin had just looted Lars and another man clean. It had to be said, Lars truly lived up to being the son of the Deputy Minister of Finance—he was loaded. In his Condensed Void Ring, Lu Yin found nearly twelve cubes of star energy crystals, along with various other natural crystals, shocking Granny and the others.
Lars glared at Lu Yin in fury, collapsed on the ground. "You're dead. Everything I own is monitored by the Empire's surveillance system. You're finished. My father definitely already knows. After the trial ends, you'll be judged. I'll make sure you can't live or die peacefully."
Lu Yin smiled faintly. "I look forward to it."
Lars's eyes flickered. A native is just a native. When judgment truly comes, he'll understand what despair means.
"I'm asking you, what was that battle technique you used at the beginning?" Lu Yin stared at Lars and asked.
Lars sneered, "A mere native dares covet the Sky Beast Claw? I don't mind telling you. The Da Yu Empire's Yutang Lineage has passed down a technique of 108 forms called the Sky Beast Claw. I've only mastered five of them. If you've got the guts, go to the Yutang and master all 108 forms. That would shake the starry sky. Do you think you have what it takes?"
Lu Yin looked impressed. "108 forms? And you've only mastered five? Not exactly gifted, huh?"
Lars growled, "I'm Sika's son! I'm a genius! Even people like Gülbach have only mastered less than half. What would a native like you know? That kind of ultimate battle technique isn't something ordinary people can grasp!"
"You mean this one?" Lu Yin raised his hand, his palm transforming into a claw. A beastly roar echoed faintly through the void, and immense pressure spread out, causing the stones nearby to shatter.
In that moment, even Zhang Dingtian and the others felt wary.
Lars gritted his teeth. This bastard had really mastered three forms of the Sky Beast Claw. If he had used all five forms on Lu Yin earlier, would this guy have been able to learn them too? That thought chilled Lars to the bone. This kind of person must be eliminated.
With Lu Yin's help, the capital had captured 25 student participants, including the privileged son Lars, shaking the regional network.
Granny looked at the regional net, counted, and said, "The second batch of trial participants numbers sixty-two. Fifteen of them landed in Huaxia."
Sixty-two people—though far fewer than the first batch, their quality was on a whole different level. Any one of them had peak Seek Realm combat power. Among the Seven Saints, only the top three could fight them—and even then, it wasn't certain they could win. If faced with someone like Lars, even Zhang Dingtian wasn't confident he could win easily. Sometimes battle techniques could make up for a vast difference in strength.
Many battle techniques had power that raw combat values couldn't reflect.
In Northern Europe, amid the constant snow, what had once been a beautiful region in peacetime was now covered in snow and ice. Countless zombies were frozen solid. The entire land was blanketed in white, devoid of blood, like a paradise untouched by violence.
Several meteor-like lights crashed into Northern Europe. One of them landed on Otto Island, an island in the Nia Bay of Northern Neuropea. The bay was frozen solid, and for hundreds of kilometers around Otto Island, not a soul could be seen.
A spaceship crashed into Otto Island, creating a cone-shaped crater in the ground. As the hatch opened, a young man walked out and exhaled. His breath froze in midair and fell to the ground as ice.
"Damn random deployment! Where the hell did they toss me? So cold… this has to be the coldest place on this planet!" the young man cursed as he walked out, surveying his surroundings and swearing non-stop.
Opening his personal terminal, the young man's expression changed sharply—combat power was detected just a few kilometers away. He immediately flew into the air and sped off.
Soon, he saw it—in the distance, a lone figure sat on a snowy peak, staring blankly into the sky like an idiot.
The man hovered in the air, looking down. "Hey, where is this place?"
The person below glanced up at him. "Don't know."
The man's eyes narrowed. "What did you say? Don't know? Then why are you here?"
"Hiding from someone," the figure said indifferently.
The man descended and walked behind him. "Your power level isn't weak—2,300. No personal terminal. A native?"
The figure turned around and looked at the man. "Can you do me a favor? Send a message on the local network."
The man was puzzled. "What message?"
A faint smile appeared on the figure's lips. "Say you've seen the fugitive."
"What?" The man was shocked and instantly made a move. In the next moment, his strength was drained, and the figure, who had only shown a power level of 2,300, suddenly erupted with an overwhelming force that crushed him—this was the strength of a Fusion Realm cultivator. His personal terminal blared with alarms.
"Thanks," the figure said calmly and turned to look into the distance.
A few minutes later, Earth's local network exploded with activity. Everyone received a message stating that the fugitive was hiding in Northern Europe and possessed Fusion Realm strength, requesting immediate support.
At first, people didn't believe it. Who would openly broadcast the fugitive's whereabouts during a trial? That's part of the mission. But once the message described the fugitive's appearance in detail, it was confirmed. After all, Erde and others had fought the fugitive in the Mediterranean and could verify it. The news was quickly validated, and many students rushed toward Northern Europe.
In the capital city, Lu Yin and the others were surprised. "The fugitive is hiding in Northern Europe, and his location was publicly revealed? That doesn't sound right."
Granny replied, "Not all students care solely about completing the trial mission. Anything that happens during the trial could impact the final evaluation. For example, someone's defeat or victory might influence the final result. That student probably realized he couldn't defeat the fugitive, so he chose to report the fugitive's location to gain merit. It's not impossible."
Lu Yin looked at Erde. "You fought the fugitive. How strong is he?"
Since Lu Yin captured Lass, Erde had been much more honest. He replied, "Very strong. Even if his power level has weakened, someone who once roamed the stars won't be lacking in technique or control over star energy. There were over a dozen of us students attacking him together, and he instantly killed five before escaping."
"That student said the fugitive has Fusion Realm strength. Is that true?" Granny asked.
Erde answered, "He didn't display it when he fought us—otherwise we wouldn't have dared to get close."
Lu Yin frowned. He felt something was off. How could someone who escaped from the Inner Universe be easily discovered by students and not even notice he was exposed?
"Look, some students are approaching Northern Europe," Granny exclaimed. Everyone turned their attention to the local network.
In Northern Europe, three students arrived—two from the first trial batch and one from the second. The presence of the second-batch student clearly overshadowed the first-batch ones, causing the other two to hesitate.
"Where's the fugitive?" the student shouted.
The other two were also searching, when suddenly, their strength drained and they fell, crashing into the snow. Even the second-batch student collapsed to the ground. Not far away, a man slowly walked toward them. His steps were light, but each one unleashed indescribable pressure, making the three students tremble.
They looked up and saw the man clad in ring armor, towering above them. His eyes were filled with undisguised disdain. His black short hair was streaked with white strands, giving him a strange, ominous appearance.
"Allow me to introduce myself—I'm Qing Yu, the so-called fugitive," the man said with a smile. Then, with a burst of star energy, he knocked all three students unconscious.
"Four—it's still far from enough," Qing Yu murmured, his gaze filled with anticipation as he looked into the distance.
Over the next two days, the local network was in an uproar. No fewer than twelve students were captured by the fugitive, and for the first time, his name was revealed—Qing Yu.