Mad Old Man

Sweat soaked through his clothes as Lu Yin stared at the ground, recalling the scene he had just witnessed—the unfamiliar starry sky, the enormous ancient warships, and that jade finger.

"Descend. The Stargazing Tower unveils the past and the present, cause and effect, the cycle of karma, and a piece of the sky that belongs to you," the mentor's voice came again.

Lu Yin raised his head and bowed slightly, his tone respectful, "May I ask, Mentor, does the Stargazing Tower reveal the past and the present? Can it reveal the future?"

The mentor replied calmly, "Everything has a cause and effect. If you find the cause, there will be an effect."

"What does the last sentence mean? What is my piece of the sky? What I saw was an unfamiliar sky," Lu Yin asked.

"Ask yourself. The Stargazing Tower reveals the past and the present, the changes of time. Now go, I won't answer further."

Puzzled, Lu Yin walked down from the Stargazing Tower, his eyes filled with confusion. Everyone sees something different; what does his vision signify? Both his exhausted talent and the Stargazing Tower had shown him that jade finger. Whose finger was it? Why did it want to crush him? And why did he feel such anger?

Upon arriving at the Tenth Academy, the only feeling Lu Yin had now was a sense of insignificance. Invincible in the realm of Seekers? A joke. That was just within the Great Yu Empire. A person's strength is not only reflected in their power at the same level but also in their realm. How many people in the Inner Universe are younger than him but far stronger?

The idea of being invincible at the same level and fair fights is all false. Basil had once said that no one fights by sealing their realm. The realm itself is a part of one's strength, and the same is true for the Battle of the Boundaries. He fought five times and never encountered a Seeker. The realm of the strong does not believe in fairness; it believes in domination.

Lu Yin would never forget the humiliation brought by Wendy Yushan. She didn't even bother to show up herself, looking down from above with disdain, not even giving him a glance.

After contemplating for a while, Lu Yin lifted his head and walked into the teleportation device, directly selecting Rain Observation Platform. He wanted to start from there.

Passing the assessment and directly arriving at Rain Observation Platform was arranged by the Tenth Academy, with a purpose. It might be the beginning of everything.

The rain at the Rain Observation Platform made the world appear dark green. Returning there, Lu Yin suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

He looked around, leaping into the sky. Minutes later, he flew out of the range of a giant tree.

From high above, it was indeed shocking. Big Cannon wasn't wrong. The top of each giant tree had a green stone platform, and these enormous trees formed the Rain Observation Platform of the Tenth Academy.

Lu Yin found a green stone platform about two hours' walk from the teleportation device and sat cross-legged, quietly watching the raindrops fall.

In the Great Yu Empire, on the second ring continent of Zhenyu Star, Zhang Dingtian swung a blade, his slash spanning the sky, cutting down a flying beast.

"Good, you've regained your Seeker strength," a man not far away cheered.

Zhang Dingtian remained calm, looking up at the sky, seeing the first ring continent and Zhenyu Star, and further beyond, the starry sky. By now, Lu Yin should be at the Tenth Academy!

"Brother Zhang, let's have a spar. Let's see how strong your cross-realm combat power is," the man excitedly approached Zhang Dingtian.

Zhang Dingtian retracted his gaze, gripping his long blade. "Alright."

Soon, Zhang Dingtian and the man separated. The man had a Melder's strength while Zhang Dingtian was a Seeker. The outcome was quickly decided.

"Impressive. You've just regained Seeker strength and already have the power of an elite from the Imperial Hall. No wonder even the captain values you," the man praised.

Zhang Dingtian silently cleaned his blade. He was still far from enough.

"By the way, I heard you know Prince Zishan?" the man asked.

Zhang Dingtian nodded silently.

The man was surprised, "Tell me about him. Is Prince Zishan really that talented? Our Great Yu Empire had four people admitted to the Tenth Academy, and Prince Zishan was one of them. It's said he's invincible among Seekers, even defeating Melders from the Imperial Hall."

Zhang Dingtian said in a deep voice, "I don't know."

The man was disappointed, "You're too dense. If you could befriend Prince Zishan, you could walk horizontally in the Great Yu Empire in the future. Let me tell you, before entering the Tenth Academy, Prince Zishan was just a leisure prince, but since he got in, his status has changed. He might even enter the Inner Universe like the Fifth Princess. At that time, he might not even look at our Great Yu Empire."

Zhang Dingtian's eyes sharpened, gripping his long blade firmly. He would also leave the Great Yu Empire, seeking revenge on Qingyu and Liu Shaoge, he vowed.

Also on the second ring continent, Bai Xue panted, her eyes fixed ahead, her body suddenly disappearing and reappearing several meters away.

"No, no, no, too slow. It's not air flash, it's a turtle crawl," Taoxiang complained, sitting on a peach tree, swinging her legs and munching on snacks.

Bai Xue gritted her teeth, sweat beading on her forehead.

"Faster, faster. Air flash is my specialty. As my personal secretary, you must master it, moving faster while using your innate gift."

On Zhenyu Star, outside the Imperial Palace, the courtiers walked out. It should have been a normal day, but today was different. All the courtiers avoided the eleventh team captain, the Blind Monk, not just because of him, but also because of the Shiwu Staff he carried. Its appearance made people wary of approaching.

In the distant starry sky, aboard a gigantic spaceship, Xu San stared out the window, feeling increasingly distant from Zhenyu Star, wanting to cry. He was leaving, heading to the Seventh Domain to meet Captain Patson. He didn't know when he'd return to Zhenyu Star. Boss, I miss you.

At the Tenth Academy's Rain Observation Platform, Lu Yin had been sitting for five days. For five days, he hadn't moved, just watching the raindrops.

From the initial raindrops, he now saw them as a curtain connecting heaven and earth. Watching the water was no longer just water. Unconsciously, his internal star energy mimicked the rain, materializing around him and turning into rain.

In a blink, ten more days passed.

He had sat at the Rain Observation Platform for fifteen days, quietly watching. His star energy indeed changed, Lu Yin could feel it, but it was too slow. He was sure that if he sat there for a year, his control over star energy would far surpass the present, but he couldn't wait that long.

Lu Yin admitted he wasn't a patient person. Otherwise, he wouldn't have robbed trial takers for star crystals in the past. He needed to find a way.

Exhaling, he stretched his limbs, "I haven't rolled the dice in a long time. It's time for a roll, but I don't have enough star crystals. It's not worth it."

As he pondered, the dark green sky suddenly rumbled, and the raindrops halted. An unimaginably vast pressure swept across, pinning Lu Yin to the ground, making him cough blood. The terrifying star energy, visible to the naked eye, crushed the giant tree he was on and bore down on him.

Lu Yin's pupils contracted sharply. He was going to die; he couldn't resist.

"Headmaster, stop!" A shout rang out. Just as Lu Yin felt he was about to be crushed into blood, the terrifying force vanished. In the sky, a ragged old man laughed wildly as he ran by, "You reap what you sow. Hahaha, you reap what you sow..."

Lu Yin stared dumbfounded at the sky as the crazed old man ran past, his mind throbbing, and he fainted.

The moment he passed out, mysterious runes appeared on his back, forming a lock shape that glowed before disappearing.

A middle-aged man stepped out of the void, appearing behind Lu Yin. He looked at Lu Yin in surprise, "Was that a seal? This kid has a seal placed on him. What kind of seal is it? I've never seen it before. Strange, I can't even decipher it. Interesting."

The crazed old man had destroyed dozens of giant trees and disappeared.

Lu Yin was quite unlucky; he was among the destroyed. If it weren't for the Rain Observation Mentor, he would have died.

A day and a night passed before he woke up.

His head throbbed. Lu Yin opened his eyes, his vision blurry, feeling raindrops on his hand. This was the Rain Observation Platform. What had happened to him?

"You're awake," a weathered voice spoke from behind.

Lu Yin turned to see a middle-aged man, quite ordinary. But he recognized the voice—it was the Rain Observation Mentor.

"Are you the Mentor?" Lu Yin asked, his voice hoarse.

The middle-aged man looked at Lu Yin with a peculiar gaze, "My name is Guan Yu. You can call me Mentor Guan Yu."

"Yes, Mentor Guan Yu," Lu Yin said respectfully.

Guan Yu looked at him, "Do you remember what happened?"

Lu Yin frowned, thinking for a moment. His expression changed as he looked around, seeing the destroyed giant trees extending far into the distance, "There was a crazy old man."

Guan Yu sighed, "Forget it."

Lu Yin nodded without asking more. Before fainting, he vaguely heard the word "Headmaster." Could that old man have been the Headmaster of the Tenth Academy?

Guan Yu raised his hand and tossed Lu Yin a crystal chip, saying lightly, "This is for you."