Chapter 509: The Firs (2/2)
Lu Yin did not know when the pyrolyte ore beneath the mountain range would be depleted, but he did not believe for a single moment that those major powers would allow this pyrolyte reservoir to be mined away like this. He had a feeling that there was an intense battle brewing on the horizon.
There was basically no more star essence to be found in the Outerverse. Things had reached the point where only the warehouses of enormous organizations or the Mavis Bank still possessed any. None of the Innerverse powers had had a smooth time gathering star essence with the sole exception of the Ross Empire. They had started making their moves a month ago, and they had managed to gather a rather considerable amount of star essence as their harvests totaled nearly 10,000 star essence.
This was a rather staggering figure. For the Outerverse, one star essence was already something that was rarely seen, not to mention 10,000, which had been gathered from Northcastle Weave as well as the surrounding weaves.
This enormous amount of star essence had been successfully used to create a second layer of skin for one person, who was an Explorer named Ke Yi from the Dire Barbarian Clan. Although he was not on the Top 100 Rankings, that was simply because the Dire Barbarian Clan did not want their successful disciples to attract extra attention . According to Avery, Ke Yi’s true strength could place him within the top eightieth on the rankings.
If they were considering pure strength, then the Ross Empire might not have been willing to hand over the star essence to the Dire Barbarian Clan after using so much effort to gather them. After all, Lu Yin had not been disadvantaged even against Faceless during the Sea King’s son-in-law selection. This showed that Ke Yi might not actually be Lu Yin’s match.
However, Ke Yi’s task was to probe, not fight. He had an innate gift that heightened his sense of hearing, and it also allowed him to perceive a person’s physical strength as well as the fluctuations of their star energy.
It was precisely because of this that the Dire Barbarian Clan’s Lei Long had convinced Scholar Newmoon to allow Ke Yi to act first so that they could determine Lu Yin’s true strength. Then, they would be able to decide who to send next. They had come up with this plan so as to not waste their stock of star essence, as they needed to ensure that the second person they sent down was someone who could completely defeat Lu Yin.
Of course, Ke Yi himself was not weak, and he could even lead the Dire Barbarian Clan, Ross Empire, and Blaze Realm to seize either Pyrolyte Mountain, Pyrolyte Lake, or Pyrolyte Plain if he wanted.
The Dire Barbarian Clan did not bother concealing Ke Yi’s circumstances, as they would not be able to hide it even if they wanted to. He would definitely appear on Planet Pyrolyte, and that appearance would instantly attract the attention of the various powers.
Hence, the Dire Barbarian Clan had generously revealed Ke Yi’s information. So it was under many watchful eyes that Ke Yi took a personal spacecraft down to Planet Pyrolyte.
On the mountain range, Hai Qiqi cried out, “Someone’s coming!”
Northgate Gang, Ah Fan, and the others all looked up in unison, as it had been some time since someone landed at this mountain range. Now that someone had appeared, the defenders looked worried. Had some organization already found a way to let an Explorer safely visit Planet Pyrolyte? It was probably the Ross Empire.
Lu Yin calmly watched the spacecraft crash into the ground, and shockwaves burst out in all directions as a massive crater appeared in the dark-red ground.
As the smoke cleared, a rather ugly-looking man slowly rose into the sky and began moving towards the mountain range. He stared directly at Lu Yin, not hiding his Explorer realm aura at all. The undulations caused Northgate Gang and the others’ eyes to twitch. It turned out that an Explorer had really come down to the planet’s surface.
The price that had to be paid to send an Explorer down to Planet Pyrolyte was not small, so every Explorer who was sent down would not be weak.
Hai Qiqi glared at him without shame, and she pointed at Ke Yi while shouting in an exaggerated fashion, “That’s too ugly! Lu Yin, he’s even uglier than you!”
Lu Yin sighed, as Hai Qiqi’s venomous tongue was something that could not be changed, and she would lash out the moment she encountered anyone new. Lu Yin had already grown accustomed to it, so he didn’t even bother with the girl. Instead, he slowly rose up to directly face Ke Yi.
In outer space, above the planet, everyone stared at the confrontation as Ke Yi’s information was transmitted to the various powers as fast as possible. No one had thought that the Dire Barbarian Clan had hidden such a person so well. Ke Yi was even able to match up to people in the top eighty of the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that he was one of the top Explorer powerhouses. It was no wonder why the Ross Empire had been willing to use all their gathered star essence on him.
Ke Yi rose higher into the skies and stared at Lu Yin while his ears moved. He was attentively listening to the sounds of Lu Yin’s body: the vibration of his muscles, the rumbling of his heart, and the flow of his blood. All these sounds were transmitted to Ke Yi in an incomprehensible fashion, but they all worked together to allow him to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the person in front of him.
Lu Yin was not careless either, and his eyes filled with star energy as he looked at Ke Yi. At that instant, many rune lines filled his vision, astounding Lu Yin. The number of runes that this person possessed were considerable, and he clearly surpassed someone at the tail-end of the Top 100 Rankings like Northgate Lie, and he would likely even be a match for the Faceless Man. This person was an expert, and Lu Yin subconsciously shifted the Fatesand from around his heart and left arm, unsealing a great portion of his physical strength.
And Ke Yi’s face became even more solemn, as he had just heard something incredible.
He had not thought much of this mission at first, as he could rival the top eighty of the Top 100 Rankings, which meant that he could easily crush Limiteers, even if they were considered unrivaled Limiteers. But at this moment, Ke Yi truly understood how freakishly strong this unequaled Limiteer was. This youth’s physical strength was a little too exaggerated. In the entire Dire Barbarian Clan’s younger generation, only Avery was stronger than Lu Yin, as even Ke Yi himself was far physically weaker than this person. Not just that, but he had also heard a noise that he could not comprehend.
He had listened to many people before, and among them were Explorers, Cruisers, and even Hunters. However, not a single one of them had been as complicated as the person currently before him. Ke Yi did not know how to describe this sound, but it was very complex, and he could not even hope to understand it.
The mountain range fell silent as everyone watched this strange scene, with neither Ke Yi nor Lu Yin acting. Hai Qiqi was the first person to break the silence. “Hey! You two haven’t taken a fancy to each other, right?”
Ke Yi’s gaze quivered, and his ears moved again as he stared closely at Lu Yin. His mouth did not move. Instead, he used star energy to make the air vibrate and create sound. This was done to prevent the ambient pyrolyte from entering his body through his mouth and nose. Not only could Ke Yi not speak, he could not breathe either. “You know my objective: clear out!”
Lu Yin raised his right arm and clenched a fist. “Come and make me.”
“Seventh Bro, this guy’s not weak,” the monkey reminded him.