Lu Yin used Roving Step to charge straight to Munoor's side, punching him square in the stomach. Already injured earlier by Qingyu, the youth was unable to dodge and ended up gasping, giving Lu Yin an opportunity to stuff a pill into his mouth, "Come on."
"You asshole! What did you just give me?" Munoor yelled out in alarm.
"Powerburst!" Lu Yin said as he escaped, not looking back for a moment.
"You son of a bitch! You bastard!" Munoor's expression warped in an instant; he knew just what Powerburst was for. While it would allow him to burst forth with power as a Melder, it would destroy any Sentinel. He felt the terrifying burst of star energy break his seal, and he also saw Qingyu rushing straight for him. His hand thrust out almost automatically in the Skybeast Claw; while he could only use the seventh form as a Sentinel, he could go up to the tenth as a Melder.
Qingyu's irises shrank as he saw the tenth form of the Skybleast Claw, but it was too late to escape. The attack had a hundred-meter radius, so it smashed him into the rock once more.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Munoor bellowed as he was beamed away.
Lu Yin couldn't be bothered with this new enemy. Facing a battered Explorer, he had to strike while the iron was hot. He shot towards the surface and drove his palm down, five consecutive Cosmic Palm strikes focusing on previous injuries as they drove Qingyu deeper and deeper into the mountain. The entire mountain was eventually divided in two as he ran out of star energy, but he still had the Shockwave Palm and Spacerender Palm to utilize. More attacks rained down on Qingyu without pause, each one sending another gush of blood from Qingyu's gaping mouth.
Seeing the bloodlust in Lu Yin's eyes, Qingyu gritted his teeth and bellowed between strikes, "MY WOUNDS ARE TOO HEAVY TO SHOW MY INNATE GIFT. STOP, YOU CAN'T KILL ME! I'M A NIGHTKING, I'M AN AWAKENED NIGHTKING!"
"Go to hell!" Lu Yin raised his right palm, stuffing all his energy into one last Cosmic Palm. However, the strike was only one centimeter from connecting as someone grabbed his wrist, a middle-aged man having appeared out of nowhere with a shocked expression on his face, "What did you just say?"
Qingyu spat out blood as a huge smile spread across his face, "A Nightking. I'm a Nightking."
The middle-aged man's pupils instantly constricted and he looked up at Qingyu's hair. Sure enough, amidst the black and white was an inconspicuous bit of ash-colored hair. His face blanched as he tossed Lu Yin to the side, quickly retrieving a potion from his cosmic ring and feeding it to Qingyu. A nervous expression beset his face in the anticipation of something dreadful.
Torry and Shalosh appeared at the edge of the pit as well, showing similar looks of shock at the sight of that ashen tuft. That was the sign of a Nightking, the royals of the Daynight Clan. Every Nightking was a living calamity in the universe.
Qingyu's status after awakening as a Nightking was incomparable to his previous status as an ordinary Daynight Clan member. He now held one of the most supreme positions within the Daynight Clan, now untouchable not just in the Great Yu Empire, but the entire Frostwave Weave.
Lu Yin's eyes narrowed and he took out a healing potion and consumed it. His entire body was so drained that even his skin had cracked; the attack he'd just received was more than his body could withstand. He had been planning on killing Qingyu and retrieving his formcast model for personal use, but against all expectations, the Great Yu Empire had intervened.
Nightking? This title shocked him, bringing his mind to his attempt to use the Daynight Clan's ancient inheritance stone. He had seen this title at the highest level of the stone slab; the Nightking Lord.
High in the sky, a huge spacecraft appeared and blocked out the sunlight, "Attention all students, the trial has ended. I repeat, the trial has ended. The results of this trial will be announced at your academies."
The students heaved sighs of relief; the trial was finally over, even Veron, Eddy, Raas, and the others. While this wasn't the first trial they had participated in, it was by far the most terrifying one. They had thought they would be unmatched on this planet, but they had actually been kidnapped! Even worse, they had been turned into hostages and left unable to participate in any other way. In the end, even Melders had gotten involved; this simply didn't end as a Sentinel trial.
Liu Shaoge released all of the captured students. Now that Qingyu's awakening had been revealed, they were worthless to him. While they could have been of great use to Lu Yin and the others for negotiating with the Great Yu Empire, they were unfortunately all freed.
Jeraldine was disappointed to see that all of their hard work had been for nothing. If Lu Yin had succeeded in killing Qingyu in their fight, he would have been the only person to complete the mission and he would definitely have been a shoe-in for Astral-10. It was really a pity…
Huo Xiaoling was looking over at Lu Yin, still amazed by the earlier battle. If she was to be honest, she was capable of no more than what Lu Yin had displayed even if she used the full extent of her Melder abilities. Qingyu had proven to have a body far stronger than a Melder, and she begrudgingly had to admit that she was not his match. Lu Yin had managed to exhibit such stunning strength while still being a Sentinel. Although the battle had been won with a portion of luck, it was still an astonishing victory. Too bad Qingyu's status was just too far above that of this native.
Bai Xue's eyes held endless sadness and hatred as she stared at Liu Shaoge. Though suffering from terrible injuries, Zhang Dingtian struggled to stand up, his eyes never leaving Qingyu. This criminal had masterminded Earth's Apocalypse that had hurt or killed countless people, but he was now being rescued. He couldn't bring himself to accept this reality.
"Go to the spacecraft. We will give you the best treatment available," Sigmund said. He had been the one to stop Lu Yin's final blow. Qingyu was still coughing blood from his serious injuries. Explorers could travel through space alone because of the protection of their star energy; restricted to a Sentinel's level, Qingyu's defenses were insignificant compared to before. In this weakened state, he had taken on the full brunt of two Melders' attacks, one even having consumed Powerburst. After all that, he had also suffered from Lu Yin's barrage.
Qingyu spat out some blood and lifted his head to smirk at Lu Yin, "You must be so disappointed you couldn't kill me, maggot! Hahahaha!"
Lu Yin's gaze sharpened, while Sigmund sighed to himself. If it was just a normal Daynight Clan member, their death wouldn't have meant a thing. After all, the Daynight Clan was the one that announced Qingyu's criminal status and arrest warrant. However, a Nightking was entirely different; they were the clan's royalty. Not even the rest of the clan dared to discipline a Nightking; only other Nightkings could try Qingyu. There were just too few members of the branch, and each one was considered a treasure of the clan. It was truly unfortunate for all involved that he had awakened during the trial on Earth. If Qingyu was killed within the Great Yu Empire, the entire Empire would be washed with blood and no one would be able to escape. Not even Mira moved to stop Sigmund from interfering, proving just how important Nightkings were. Absolute fairness did not exist anywhere, and this was a perfect example of how unfair the universe could be.
"General Sigmund, that native almost killed me, kill him at once!" Raas bellowed as he ran towards Sigmund.
"Shut your mouth!" The General slapped him so hard that he crashed into the ground.
Shalosh moved in front of Raas and glanced at the ground before looking at Qingyu. He smiled respectfully and asked, "These natives are such a nuisance. Do you need us to get rid of them for you?"
Lu Yin, Zhang Dingtian, and the others froze at these words, glaring at Shalosh. Sigmund waited for Qingyu's response, while Torry's attention was caught as well. Qingyu had suddenly become the most powerful person the moment he'd revealed that he was a Nightking.
Liu Shaoge quietly walked behind Qingyu, standing in a deferential position, but Qingyu wiped the blood from his mouth with his thumb and stared at the scarlet stain. He lifted his head to look at Lu Yin, "No, I'll wait. I will return very soon, and when I do, this planet will cease to exist. Everyone on it will die."
Zhang Dingtian's face turned ice-cold and he clenched his fists tightly. He was overcome with sadness; Qingyu had triggered the Apocalypse that killed countless earthlings. He had killed Wang You and Tong Zhan himself, and caused beast hordes to attack various parts of China to further increase the death toll. Now he was declaring the impending destruction of the entire planet; this truly was the greatest enemy of all earthlings. He silently swore to himself to kill this man in vengeance if ever the opportunity arose in the future.
"How magnanimous of you," Shalosh laughed, "As you wish, then. We will preserve this planet for you."
Qingyu was completely unmoved by Shalosh. After all, Qingyu had once been an Explorer level powerhouse as well and had been far stronger than this man. Lu Yin was the only one that occupied his thoughts; that maggot had managed to defeat him. This mark would mar Qingyu's record for the rest of his life unless he could somehow deal with the situation on his own. However, this was not the time. The most important thing right now was to return the ancient inheritance stone to the clan's ancestral grounds and take his place as a true Nightking.
"Let's go." Qingyu said faintly, flashing Lu Yin an evil smile before continuing, "I will come back very soon, maggot, you can count on it." With that, a beam of light transported him and Liu Shaoge directly into the spaceship.