Chapter 377: Circling Wolves (1/2)
Lily Anne considered the question for a moment before then looking at Lu Yin. “When wolves circle, the lambs will still look to the hounds for the protection, even if they will be slaughtered by the hunters later.”
This one sentence clearly explained the state of the Northline Flowzone.
Lu Yin shivered, as the woman had not mentioned the seventeen families a single time, but her simple analogy was so apt that he had instantly understood everything. The other fourteen families would rather seek protection from the three great families than be divided and conquered by the other Flowzones. It was the tragedy of the weak. The universe was filled with such motivations and behavior.
Lu Yin looked away. He now had a much deeper understanding of the situation in the Northline Flowzone, as well as of the purpose of the Northgate Platform Competition—the primary intention was undoubtedly to intimidate neighboring enemies.
“Brother Lu, many experts have been invited to attend the Northgate Platform Competition as witnesses. Allow me to briefly introduce them all to you.”
Lu Yin nodded, as he was somewhat curious to discover who the Blazing Mist Flowzone had sent.
“First, there are the top-class experts. The Beast Tamers Flowzone is the closest to the Northline Flowzone, and they’ve sent a First Grade Hall Expert named Fayde. His power level is 170,000, and he’s not far from becoming an almighty powerhouse.”
“The Blazing Mist Flowzone’s Blaze Realm has sent Poison Flame, whose power level was 160,000 over ten years ago, but his current power level is unknown.”
“The Blazing Mist Flowzone’s Ross Empire is sending Duke Blackhawk over. Like Poison Flame, his last known power level was 160,000, and so, a conservative estimate of his current power level would be around 180,000.”
“The Tempest Flowzone isn’t too far from the Northline Flowzone, and they are sending…”
…
Many experts had been invited to attend the Northgate Platform Competition, and two of the eight Great Flowzones had also sent people over. In total, there would be more than ten experts in attendance when the smaller flowzones, such as the Tempest Flowzone, were taken into account.
These experts were attending as witnesses, and they were not that powerful, as not all of them were even Hunters. The truly notable ones were the Beast Tamers Flowzone’s Fayde and the Blazing Mist Flowzone’s Poison Flame and Duke Blackhawk.
The enemies of the Northline Flowzone were cautious precisely because of these two Flowzones.
The passenger spacecraft was not very fast. It took the vessel five whole days to travel from the transfer planet to the Astral River Tributary Ark, where it finally entered the Northline Flowzone. These five days were the same amount of time that Lu Yin had estimated his trip from San Dios to the Northline Flowzone would take.
To cultivators, time was life. This huge delay caused him to consider procuring a blackhole grade Aurora of his own when he returned.
Lu Yin had not noticed it when he first stepped foot in the Blazing Mist Flowzone, but the deeper in he went into the Innerverse, the firmer the space felt.
He had travelled through the Innerverse before, when Big Sis had taken the whole family on a tour of the Innerverse. He had still been a regular human at that time and hadn’t become a cultivator yet, so he had not felt anything abnormal. His second trip through the Innerverse had been when he had traveled to the border warfront in the Erudite Flowzone. Along the way, the warship had passed through the Blazing Mist Flowzone, but Lu Yin had only crossed through the outer boundary of the Innerverse the entire time, so the difference in how the space felt had not been that apparent. But on this trip to the Northline Flowzone, he could clearly sense the change in the void. The space felt much denser, but it was not a huge difference from what he was accustomed to.
Upon arriving at the Northline Flowzone, Lily Anne started acting as a host for Lu Yin. A luxurious spacecraft belonging to the Lily family was already prepared for them even before they exited the passenger spacecraft. Lu Yin and Lily Anne were immediately taken into the luxurious spacecraft, which then headed towards the Northgate Platform Competition.
“There’s still about ten days until the Northgate Platform Competition starts. I can first take Brother Lu to the Northgate Platform so that you can familiarize yourself with the Northline Flowzone’s customs.”
Lu Yin immediately turned her down. This woman had been flattering him from the first moment they met, and he found it difficult to endure the obsequious schmoozing. He was certain that Lily Anne had some favor that she wanted to ask of him, so he tried his best to limit his interactions with her.
“Brother Lu, why are you so wary of me?” Lily Anne tried to probe into his thoughts.
Lu Yin smiled. “Of course I’m not wary of Miss Lily Anne. It’s just that Astral-10 has arrived in the Northline Flowzone, and I would like to return there first.”
She smiled back in response. “I understand. I must just be too apprehensive. Still, Brother Lu has referred to me by my full name this entire journey, and it feels a bit cold. Aren’t we friends?”
Lu Yin forced another smile onto his face. “Then I’ll call you Miss An’er.”
Lily Anne smiled in tacit approval.
“That’s right! Brother Lu, there’s something that I forgot to tell you.” She then activated her gadget and turned the display on. “When Astral-10 first arrived at the Northline Flowzone, a wave of students from Shangwu Academy went to challenge them, and the challenges haven’t stopped yet, though most of them were defeated.”
Lu Yin looked at the screen, and it was showing Zora’s battle against a stranger, who should be a student from Shangwu Academy. The student wasn’t weak, probably a Limiteer, and he seemed very familiar with the battle techniques that he was using. However, despite all that, he was still defeated by Zora.
Lu Yin felt that there was something different about her. The Windrift Hall had its own style of battle, and it was rather unique. If their disciples touched an opponent with even just a finger, then they would be able to seal off their opponent’s star energy. It was something that Lu Yin would look into if he had the time.
In addition to Zora, Zhao Yilong, Meng Yue, Coco, and the others also battled. Shangwu Academy lived up to its reputation, and many challengers emerged, despite almost all of them losing. There were the occasional victors as well, such as the person who fought against Meng Yue and easily won.
“That’s Northgate Gang, the younger brother of the Northgate family’s young master, Northgate Lie. He’s one of the strongest students in Shangwu Academy.” Lily Anne introduced the standout student to Lu Yin.