The three of them went ahead, while others faced attacks at the same time. The short-legged man was directly killed, as the Sky Academy showed no mercy, with dozens of invisible attacks descending around them.
Lu Yin opened his personal terminal and saw one combatant after another disappear.
With the first attack, everyone who wanted to continue the assessment experienced the terror of the Sky Academy. It was an attack indifferent to death, and ordinary people couldn't withstand it.
The same was true on the Path of Integration. In the Great Yu Empire, except for Hues and Charlotte, everyone else failed.
"I give up, I give up, I give up," someone shouted. The first attack was already like this, and the next two would only get stronger. Many people began to give up.
The Path of Exploration was long but had an end. Among the first batch of cultivators taking the assessment, some had already reached the end. They could even see the beam of light connecting the sky and earth in the distance. Just stepping into that beam would mean passing the assessment.
Here, the high temperatures nearly melted the ground.
Several cultivators on the Path of Exploration hid in the shadows of a mountain wall, their mouths dry. They drank water frantically, but soon felt thirsty again.
"I won't give up, I won't give up. I want to enter the Sky Academy, I must get in," a woman muttered to herself, looking firmly at the beam of light in the distance, hope gradually showing in her eyes.
No one wanted to give up at this point. They were the closest to the end. Even if the next two attacks might take their lives, they didn't want to give up.
At this moment, another attack descended from the void. The woman quickly dodged. Though her speed was not as fast as Lu Yin's or Lulu's, it was still impressive, far surpassing the initial level of Lu Yin's Body Evasion Step. She avoided the first attack, but could not dodge the second one. With a scream, she was struck and slammed into the ground.
In the distance, more than a dozen other cultivators met the same fate; none could dodge.
The woman coughed and slowly floated up. One more attack remained. She looked toward the end of the path and suddenly her pupils shrank. A figure appeared at the end, a man who seemed ordinary but whose body faintly glowed, radiating heat, like a sun descending to earth, proudly overlooking everyone.
The man's outer clothing was completely intact. He stood with his hands behind his back, calmly scanning the area, his gaze passing over the woman and many others.
The woman felt a heat wave and looked at him in shock. That person was far stronger than her. Who was he? Someone from the Sky Academy? He must be, otherwise he wouldn't have avoided the attacks. She couldn't believe anyone could dodge the second attack.
Far from the Path of Exploration, Lu Yin and Lulu dodged the second attack again. However, this time it wasn't as easy as the first. The third attack would definitely be unavoidable.
On the other side, Coco was still holding her syringe, apparently planning to endure all three attacks with it.
That syringe was astonishingly tough, withstanding two attacks without a scratch. If the syringe was that tough, then the needle must be as well. No one would want to be treated with such a needle; this girl would never find anyone willing to receive her treatment.
As Lu Yin curiously watched the syringe, the third attack descended. In an instant, Lu Yin knew he couldn't dodge it. The third attack left no trace, making it impossible to avoid. Even using his Heavenly Star Technique, he couldn't see the trajectory. He felt a terrifying force strike him, slamming him heavily into the mountain wall.
Lulu was also struck into the ground.
Coco clung tightly to her syringe, a look of determination on her face, her body directly blasted into the base of the mountain.
In that moment, countless people were killed, countless others eliminated.
At the end of the path, the woman screamed, her face pale as paper, severe pain coursing through her nerves. The third attack was extremely powerful, and she barely withstood it. In front of her, the man who was like a sun was also enduring the attack, the intense heat transforming into a sea of fire, then disappearing in an instant.
The woman knelt on one knee, quickly taking out medicine to treat her injuries, while looking at the man in shock. He had endured the attack too, which meant he was also a participant in the assessment. Why was he standing there instead of moving forward? Why wasn't he passing through?
The man waved his hand, and intense heat surged into the distance. He looked up. "So this is the third attack. It's really fierce. Those who can withstand it are truly capable. Unfortunately, none of you will be joining the Tenth Academy. It is destined to disappear," he said, then glanced at his personal terminal, a smile forming on his lips. "Seven people left? Not bad. In that case, let me bring you the final despair." With that, he took to the air.
At the end of the path, there were seven people, including the woman, who had withstood all three attacks. All of them now looked at the man.
The man's smile widened. He raised his head, "My name is Aquino, from the Inner Universe's Fire Domain. No one can pass this path. You will all fail."
The seven were shocked. "Inner Universe's Fire Domain? That behemoth? Why is one of their disciples here?"
The woman trembled. It was someone from the Fire Domain, no wonder he was as hot as a blazing sun. The Fire Domain was a powerful force in the Inner Universe with an incredibly ancient heritage. Why would one of their disciples appear here? And to stop them?
No matter their thoughts, Aquino didn't care. His task was simple: prevent anyone from passing this path. Not just him, but guardians were stationed on all ten paths to ensure that no one would pass, so the Tenth Academy would fail to recruit any students.
In the starry sky, Dolan Yushan's expression changed dramatically, "What? Major forces from the Inner Universe are targeting this assessment? Why are we only hearing about this now?"
Rockaona replied bitterly, "His Majesty just received the news from the Fifth Princess, who learned through Wan Jian Mountain that three major forces from the Inner Universe want to replace the Tenth Academy and gain access to the Trial Realm. So, they sent disciples to take the assessment and guard the endpoints to ensure no one passes."
"Which forces?" Huoqing Mountain asked solemnly.
Rockaona's tone was heavy, "The Fire Domain, the Ross Empire, and the Dacheng Wumeng Dragon Clan."
Dolan Yushan's face turned pale. These three forces were giants in the Inner Universe. Compared to them, the Great Yu Empire was like Earth compared to the Great Yu Empire, completely insignificant.
Huoqing Mountain was shaken, "The Fire Domain… I've experienced its terror in the Inner Universe. If someone from there is here, who in the Outer Universe can pass?"
Jue Lang spoke in a low voice, "The Ross Empire? The one said to have inherited ancient technological civilization?"
"The most terrifying is the Dacheng Wumeng Dragon Clan, a formidable tribe that defected from the Star Beast Territory to the human domain. Any adult Wumeng Dragon is unbeatable," Dolan Yushan said solemnly.
The three forces were like mountains pressing down on everyone. At this moment, not only the Great Yu Empire but many forces in the Outer Universe received the news, and the atmosphere became heavy.
The Tenth Sky Academy was the hope for the rise of the Outer Universe. Yet, it was being targeted by these three forces. They weren't concerned with the Outer Universe itself but with the Tenth Academy, seeing no need to target the Outer Universe otherwise. This made all the forces even more resentful, as their path to advancement was being cut off.
At the end of the ten paths, a beam of light connected the sky and earth. Passing through it meant entering the Tenth Sky Academy.
When the disciples from the three forces appeared, someone in the Tenth Academy spoke up, "Are they so eager to see us disappear?"
"Appearing as assessment participants, we can't expel them."
"They haven't cheated, meeting all requirements."
"Then consider them the toughest part of the assessment. Originally, the difficulty for the Outer Universe was lower, but with them, it now rivals the first nine academies."
"I'm afraid very few, if any, from the Outer Universe will pass."
"Everything is predestined. If the Tenth Academy must exit the stage, then so be it. After all, it's also a prison for us."
On the Path of Exploration, Lu Yin emerged from the rubble of the mountain wall, looking up. The final strike had been extremely powerful, but still within his endurance. He turned to see Lulu emerging from the ground as well. At the base of the mountain, Coco winced in pain but still clutched her syringe as she flew out. Seeing Lu Yin and Lulu unharmed, she looked disappointed, then relieved, "I'm glad you're okay."
Lulu pouted, "You were hoping we'd get hurt, weren't you?"
"No," Coco shook her head immediately, carefully putting away the syringe. She truly wanted them to get hurt so she could give them a shot, but unfortunately...
Lu Yin looked around. After the beast tide, many exotic beasts had gone to the other end of the path, making their journey to the end easier. And after three attacks, there should be few cultivators left for the next assessment. "Let's go. We should be close to the end."