to ask the impossible

Outside Earth, aboard a massive spaceship, Xiken Maldo and his team were focused on a screen displaying the colossal sea turtle.

"General Maldo, a creature with a power level over ten thousand is beyond the scope of a trial. We should capture it," urged Toller Ona. With Jenny Ona still in the capital, if this creature attacked, no one would survive.

Xiken Maldo clenched his fists and looked at Mira.

Mira maintained a calm demeanor, her lips curling into a smile. "Is death so terrifying for the elite youth of the Great Yu Empire?"

Toller Ona's face changed, but he said nothing.

The enormous sea turtle quickly disappeared, and throughout its presence, no one dared make a sound, fearing to attract its attention. Its sheer size was enough to crush everyone without needing to attack.

Lu Yin exhaled in relief. Wait, where was Lulu Mebius?

Looking west again, Lu Yin vaguely saw a green figure rapidly retreating. That crazy woman wasn't chasing the turtle, was she?

Outside the capital, Yan Gang coughed, having been choked by the dust. He finally managed to catch his breath.

Everyone was still reeling from the terror of the sea turtle when Yan Gang spoke, "Qing Yu agreed. We can trade."

"Tell me which one on the intranet is Qing Yu," Lu Yin said flatly.

Yan Gang told him.

Lu Yin immediately contacted Qing Yu.

"Are you Qing Yu?" Lu Yin asked.

In Northern Europe, Qing Yu looked at his terminal, smiling. "Are you the native sitting in the capital who captured dozens of students?"

"I have your item. If you want it, hand over the students you've captured," Lu Yin stated.

"That kid just talked to me. Sure, you can have them. Do you want Huo Xiaoling too? I can give her to you," Qing Yu teased.

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. He knew Yan Gang was running errands for Qing Yu because of Huo Xiaoling. With Lass and Jenny Ona already, he didn't necessarily need Huo Xiaoling, or else Yan Gang would go all out. "Huo Xiaoling is not necessary, but you have too few students there."

Qing Yu's eyes flashed. "Kid, the only reason I'm trading is because I don't want to run around. Do you think you can stop me with just a few of you?"

"Of course not. You've retained your integration stage power. However, you can run, and we can hide the stone. If the trial fails over time, the Great Yu Empire will personally capture you. Can you handle that? I know you want to use the stone to escape. Compared to your life, my terms are quite generous," Lu Yin said.

Qing Yu laughed. "Smart. Yes, I want to use the stone to escape. Fine, I can capture a few more students. There's a batch here, making a total of thirty-two. Is that acceptable?"

"Acceptable."

"Ten days from now, under Hidden Peak in the Tianzhu region, we'll trade," Qing Yu said.

Lu Yin agreed and then hung up. Ten days.

Yan Gang stared intently at Lu Yin.

"You can go to Northern Europe to pick up Huo Xiaoling," Lu Yin said to him.

Yan Gang's eyes brightened. "You should hand Jenny Ona over to me. You don't understand the power of the Ona family."

"Impossible. You can leave now," Lu Yin replied impatiently.

Yan Gang's eyes flashed coldly, but he said nothing more and left directly.

After Yan Gang left, Lu Yin explained the situation to everyone.

"I'll go with you. Qing Yu is the culprit behind Earth's evolution, causing countless deaths. He must pay with his life," Zhang Dingtian said solemnly.

Bai Xue also resolutely stated, "I'm going too."

Lu Yin looked at Granni. "Spread the word: ten days from now, Qing Yu will appear under Hidden Peak in the Tianzhu region."

"You want to use the students to eliminate Qing Yu?" Grace asked.

Lu Yin nodded. "Isn't that your task? Eliminating him completes the trial and benefits you."

"And you? Do you also want revenge for the people of this planet?" Grace asked.

Lu Yin took a deep breath. "The trial is not only for students but also for us. Completing the task can increase our bargaining chips with the Great Yu Empire."

Grace sneered. "Do you really think you can negotiate with the Great Yu Empire? Are you crazy? It's impossible."

"Let's give it a try," Lu Yin shrugged nonchalantly.

Soon, the intranet exploded with news. Qing Yu, in a frenzy, captured more students, causing most students monitoring him in Northern Europe to flee. Simultaneously, the news that Qing Yu would appear under Hidden Peak in the Tianzhu region spread wildly, prompting many students to rush there. Whether the news was true or not, it was worth the extra journey.

Qing Yu's whereabouts were fully exposed, and many students headed to Tianzhu. This would be the final battle of the trial: either the students completed the task, or they failed, prompting the Great Yu Empire to intervene. Only these two outcomes were possible.

Lu Yin retreated again, observing the movement of the stars, hoping to manifest the fourth star.

The Star Palm technique was terrifying, with its power exponentially increasing with each star. Three stars could suppress Ede and rival Lass. Lu Yin guessed that four stars could suppress Mornou and Yan Gang, strong fighters with sealed power. The Celestial Beast Claw and White Night Fist couldn't be enhanced for now, so the only way to increase his combat power was through the Star Palm.

Before that, Lu Yin took a piece of paper, closed his eyes, and recalled a scene from his dream. In his slumber, he dreamt of being crushed by a finger crossing the stars. The feeling was so real, like he was truly being crushed, filling him with infinite rage. That scene was vivid in his memory. He lifted his pen to draw it but couldn't start. The star-piercing finger was clear in his mind, yet he couldn't draw it.

Frustrated, Lu Yin tossed the paper aside. He felt he should be able to draw it but just couldn't. After thinking for a while, he sighed. It was just a dream.

He raised his hand, and a die appeared, with icy threads on the five-point side. This was Bai Xue's talent, which he could borrow. It would disappear after use, and he'd need to roll a five and touch her within ten seconds to use it again.

"An interesting talent," Lu Yin murmured, crushing a cubic star energy crystal for the die to absorb. This time, the die didn't absorb it.

"Reached the limit? It seems I need to wait for a while," Lu Yin thought, dispersing the die and resuming his study of the star map.

This trial was a nightmare for many students. The first batch of trial students fared better; apart from the academy's strongest being captured, ordinary students just aimed to occupy a place and achieve decent results. The second batch was unlucky, with nearly half being captured in both the capital and Northern Europe. This had never happened in the Great Yu Empire's trial history.

This left Xiken Maldo and his team embarrassed.

More importantly, even prominent family children like Lass and Jenny Ona were captured, along with experts from the Yutang family, making Xiken Maldo and his team unable to hold their heads high.

Mira, however, found it entertaining, occasionally offering praise, which sounded like mockery to Xiken Maldo and his team.

"This is a real trial. In many places, trials are just students crushing natives, more like a scripted play. General Maldo, the Great Yu Empire truly lives up to its reputation as a nation of iron and blood," Mira praised.

Xiken Maldo was speechless. This woman had just accused their elite youth of fearing death, and now she was praising them. Wasn't this sarcasm?

"General, we should prepare. In ten days, it will be the final battle. Qing Yu gave ten days to allow students to gather, showing his confidence," Toller Ona said seriously.

"That Lu Yin doesn't understand the terror of Qing Yu's integrated power. There's a ninety percent chance this trial will fail," Shaluo Shu said coldly.

Xiken Maldo watched the screen. Lu Yin's actions were, to them, a death wish. Even if Qing Yu had only probing power left, the strength of the White Night clan wasn't something an ordinary elite could match.

Mira watched the screen, a slight smile on her lips. Integration? No, she was certain Qing Yu wasn't even at integration level, struggling to exert even half of his probing level strength due to his severe injuries. To outsiders, this was akin to integration power. She looked forward to a good show in ten days.

Two days later, Yan Gang found Qing Yu, wanting to take Huo Xiaoling. Qing Yu refused.

"Did you get my item?" Qing Yu taunted.

Yan Gang was furious. "In eight days, you can trade with those natives. Release Huo Xiaoling now."