Two black dots flew over from the distance at this moment, both males. As they descended quickly, Eddy grew excited, "Senior Raas, I'm here! Senior Raas!"
"What are you shouting for? Who is it?" Lu Yin smacked him in the back of the head.
The youth glared back, "Your death! Senior Raas is an expert from Yu Academy, you aren't his match. Release me now, and I'll ask him to be lenient."
Yu Academy? Lu Yin's gaze turned heavier as he looked back at the two new arrivals. That was home to the Empire's true elites, an institution that groomed the best of the best.
Outside the capital, the man who had descended first was still measuring his surroundings from his original spot. Floating in the sky as they observed Lu Yin and the rest, one of the newcomers stepped forward, "Actually getting captured by natives, Eddy. You're a stain on Yu Academy's reputation. So useless!"
Eddy's expression immediately turned ugly, but he gritted his teeth and lowered his head. The other man waved his hand and looked down calmly, "Who captured him? Let everyone go, and I'll spare your life."
"He's your senior?" Lu Yin asked in the city.
Eddy grew excited, "Yes, Senior Raas is no average expert either. His father is the Vice Treasurer of the Great Yu Empire! Lord Sicar has gathered many battle techniques for him; across all of Yu Academy, he's second only to the Melders."
Lu Yin's eyes gleamed, "Vice Treasurer? His family must be loaded."
Eddy stared blankly. That wasn't the point! However, Lu Yin continued to stare longingly at Raas; he still had a huge deficit of star crystals, only earning eight cubes in total off all the students. Could this Raas give him a surprise? As for the power that Eddy had mentioned, Lu Yin was not too concerned. While his senses screamed danger at the first guy, this Raas gave off a much milder impression.
"That guy feels different..." Zhang Dingtian suddenly said, prompting Lu Yin to look back at the first arrival whose aura had completely faded into the average Joe. There wasn't even the slightest feeling of danger anymore; that had evaporated the moment Raas and the others had approached.
Raas frowned up above, "What, are you not going to release them? Or do you think you're actually capable of protecting this place?"
"Senior Raas, the criminal seems to have left something in this city. As long as we control this place, he'll definitely return!" Eddy shouted. His defeat and the arrival of the second batch of trainees had completely crushed any dreams he had held of completing the mission; he stood to gain more if he could make Raas owe him a favor, and it could even give him some backing for the future.
Raas's eyes gleamed and he smiled, "Is that so? Looks like my luck isn't bad; I happened to land somewhere good."
At this point, the man behind Raas looked around and saw the spacecraft on the ground nearby. He whispered something that prompted Raas to look over, "Hello, Friend, why don't we introduce ourselves? I'm Raas."
Down below, the man picked up some mud and sniffed it, "Blood."
Raas's face sank, "Friend, let's get to know each other, I'm the son of the Great Yu Empire's Vice Treasurer Sicar."
The man stood up and looked at Raas in the sky above, smiling faintly, "I'm Xia Luo, parentage unknown. I don't dare to interact with those above my station."
Raas frowned, Xia Luo? He hadn't heard of such a name before.
Lu Yin turned to Zhang Dingtian, "Don't let them keep talking. If they establish a common goal, we'll be in trouble. I'll go after Raas, you keep an eye on Xia Luo."
Zhang Dingtian nodded and gripped his blade, while Eddy looked at Lu Yin like he was the devil. Forget power, Raas's background alone was enough to terrify all the other students. This guy was insane!
However, Lu Yin looked upwards and knew that this was merely the beginning that he had been awaiting for so long. Still in thought, he blasted into the skies towards his target, the air distorting like the horrified onlookers' faces as he struck out with a palm. Puzzled over Xia Luo's identity, Raas had never expected Lu Yin to make a move against him.
"The audacity to attack Master Raas!" the man behind Raas stepped forward in a rage, a bestial roar shaking the sky as his hand formed a claw. Lu Yin felt for a moment that the claw covered the entire sky; it was similar to Eddy's Beast King Punch, but much more formidable.
A cautious Lu Yin activated the Cosmic Palm with two stars, a powerful explosion rocking the skies as the two attacks met. Invisible force buffeted the ground as the man was sent flying a hundred meters away, coughing up blood upon landing and staring at Lu Yin in shock. He was at the same level as Eddy; while a full-powered Cosmic Palm could ruin him, two stars would still be enough to cause injury.
"No wonder you captured Eddy, you actually have some power!" Raas said in delight, his hand forming a similar attack. However, this time the actual image of a giant claw appeared in the sky, like something was reaching down from the heavens to strike. Lu Yin's gaze changed as he considered that this attack had grown stronger and stronger from Eddy to that man to Raas. All the while, it still retained the same origin.
Below, Xia Luo's eyes brightened, "Yu Academy's top technique, the Skybeast Claw. Although he's only grasped five of the 108 forms, that is enough to crush most Sentinels. Really not bad."
Behind Lu Yin, Zhang Dingtian, Bai Xue, Jeraldine, and the rest went wide-eyed in shock. This was privileged information even within the Great Yu Empire. However, those gazes changed when a third star joined Lu Yin's palm to meet the attack, the simultaneous explosions keeping it at bay. Raas was stunned by the force as the phantom claw was shattered, his gaze narrowing as he disappeared from the spot. Lu Yin used the Roving Step to follow.
The crowd watched as both combatants flickered out and back in a moment later, Lu Yin striking out with another palm attack that scared Raas. His Skybeast Claw had already been shattered and left him unable to defend himself, so he dodged to the side and crushed a wind crystal. The index finger of his left hand twisted as a gray tornado was sent towards Lu Yin; the Darkwind Finger was his strongest battle technique, and his father had paid a heavy price to acquire it.
Lu Yin's body froze up and he felt a strong sense of danger. This was an icy gloom that chilled him to the bone, feeling like it could freeze even star energy itself, but his expression turned cold and he used the Cosmic Art to manifest the three stars around his body. The tornado weakened as it drew closer to his body, leaving Raas shocked when he dodged.
Lu Yin used the movement to appear right in front of Raas and place his palm at the abdomen, activating the Spacerender Palm. Raas didn't even have the time to don his ring armor before enormous force slammed him into the ground. Raas's companion yelled and charged over with a sneaky claw, but another activation of the Cosmic Art slowed it down until Lu Yin could see every tiny movement of the battle technique in detail. Dodging with the Roving Step, his right hand formed the same claw and he raised it to attack, much to the bewilderment of the onlookers as the man crashed down with a mangled shoulder.
Eddy stared blankly at the scene. What had he just witnessed? This man had somehow used Yu Academy's top battle technique, limited to only a handful even within the academy. Just how?
It wasn't just Eddy; everyone present was shocked including Lu Yin himself! He had defeated Eddy earlier in the day and also captured numerous students. Though he had the protection provided by Gerlaine's armor, he had still received multiple injuries from the countless attacks he had endured. It was only after he had activated his Cosmic Art in order to regain some star energy that he had accidentally discovered another use for it; not only could it increase his rate of absorption, but it could also form a defensive forcefield around his body that weakened incoming attacks. Up to this point, Lu Yin had thought that this was the strongest aspect of his Cosmic Art, but he now realized that he still didn't understand it in its entirety. The Cosmic Art didn't just protect him from enemy attacks; it also exposed them to him in their entirety so he could learn them if he so wished. This was something he had never even dreamed was possible!
He clenched his fists in delight. He had known from the very start that Cosmic Art was something unique and special, but he had truly underestimated it all along. Not only was it a unique technique, it was truly something that shouldn't even exist! This was a skill that could mimic the ways of the universe itself, and was extraordinarily powerful.
Xia Luo looked on from the ground in astonishment as well, "Interesting."