Chapter 99: One Palm (1/2)

“Who is it?!” Ayker was furious, and he glanced at his gadget to see a combat level of 3,000. This opponent was a peak Sentinel, but that meant nothing; nearly everyone capable of participating in the Astral Combat Academy assessment was at this point; the numbers weren’t all that important. Not too far away, he saw a male with reddish skin charging over, arms sparking to form a flaming spear as they brushed against each other.

“Fireforge scum!” Ayker screamed and engaged in battle, but it took less than half a minute for him to be struck by the spear. His abdomen was charred by the flames.

“This is the price that the Great Yu Empire has to pay for humiliating Young Master Feng,” the man snickered, pulling the spear out and dropping a lifeless body to the ground.

This scene repeated in quite a few places. The people from the Fireforge Planet seemed to know exactly when the Great Yu Empire landed, and anyone that descended during this period of time was considered an enemy. The young person who’d been leading the group looked at the body that was gradually getting colder and spat at him, “Yan Zheng will exact vengeance for his older brother.”

Another crash rang out and sent heat waves his way. Yan Zheng glanced westward and smirked cruelly, flying off in that direction. A pod had formed a conical pit in the ground only moments earlier, and a youth opened the hatch and disembarked. Yan Zheng saw this new target and rubbed his hands together without second thought, thrusting a flaming spear at the young man.

The person in question looked up, his eyes glinting. “Desolate Palm!” His palm turned an earthen color and smashed into the spear, sending shockwaves in all directions as the spear cracked inch by inch. Yan Zheng was shocked and his pupils shrank as he felt a sharp pain in his chest; the youth had sent him flying with one move.

The opponent didn’t even look at the result as he flew off, leaving Yan Zheng to spit out a second mouthful of blood as he crashed into a cliff. He nearly died from that one attack, barely able to speak amid all the coughing, “Who are you?”

“You’re not dead yet?” The youth was surprised, but didn’t stop his departure. “My name is Meng Yue. If you’ve got the skills, you can come look for your vengeance.”

Yan Zheng knelt down in pain. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before two of his subordinates came over. They were astounded, “Young Master, who managed to wound you?”

He did not answer, simply drinking a healing potion. Soon enough, two more arrived and surrounded him. Some time later, he opened his eyes and panted. That attack hadn’t just destroyed his battle technique, but also left him seriously injured. It felt like his life had been sucked out of him. Desolate Palm? Why did that sound familiar?

“Check that pod and see if there’s anything special on it,” he said frailly.

Yan Zheng’s expression quickly changed. The Vastdearth Sect was an immense organization that possessed land quite the distance from the Frostwave Weave. This Desolate Palm that had been able to injure him in one blow, a youth named Men Yue… Right, that was the young lord of the Vastdearth Sect!

It was only now that Yan Zheng knew who he’d been dealing with—the genius of the Vastdearth Sect, a lunatic who had remained a Sentinel for a long time for the sake of fully exploring the realm’s capabilities. That man had once been invited to join the Outerverse Youth Council, but had rejected the position. He was a Sentinel capable of defeating Melders with innate gifts; a pure monster. No wonder he was so powerful.

Yan Zheng sighed. Revenge was impossible when it came to people like this. If he saw Meng Yue again, he was better off avoiding him. He turned to his subordinates, “Where are the other two?”

One of them hesitated and looked grim, “They’re dead.”

“How?!” Yan Zheng was furious.

“One of them was killed by a mutant beast here, and the other died at the hands of a cultivator from the Empire.”

Yan Zheng clenched his fists, “Who was it?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before.”

There was nothing Yan Zheng could do in this situation. He’d been too narrow-minded. This was the trial for Astral-10 that had gathered countless geniuses. The Fireforge Planet could do as it liked on the Frostwave Weave, but that did not extend to their neighbors. “Let’s rest a little; we’ll avenge them after we enter the Academy.”

These people heaved a sigh of relief and could not help but celebrate inside. They were afraid of the young master’s quick temper and the trouble that would bring. There were far too many monsters here.

……

Elsewhere, Lu Yin met up with Lulu who’d landed nearby.