Eddy was thrown into prison that night, substituting for Raas who was a noble’s son. Many students had already contacted him regarding the latter, indicating their willingness to pay for his freedom. Lu Yin had rejected them all; the youth’s value in negotiations would be worth far more than resources or crystals.
Raas was thrown violently on the floor, not far from where the Chinese cultivators were rebuilding the walls. Seeing a familiar face walking around nearby, he called out to her, “Gerlaine? What are you doing here?”
The girl beamed, “I’m sorry, Senior Raas. I was captured too.”
“Hold on, are you backing this bastard?” he grew furious; this stupid girl was obviously lying through her teeth. How did she seem captured in any way? “No wonder he dared to kidnap me, the nerve. Don’t think you’ll be fine just because of your brother’s protection; my father will deal with you.”
Gerlaine blinked innocently with her large eyes, “Please don’t accuse me of things like that, Senior Raas, I don’t control these natives. You can ask the others if you don’t believe me, I was robbed by him as well.”
Raas simply couldn’t believe that a mere native dared to act against him. Although the youth was surprisingly powerful, even innate gifts weren’t worth that much without a certain amount of backing.
“Another is approaching!” Jeraldine suddenly called out, drawing Lu Yin’s attention to a shadow flitting across the sky. The newcomer came to a halt right above Beijing, staring down at him.
Raas was delighted by the sight, “Senior Munoor, here! Senior Munoor!”
Gerlaine’s expression changed, “How has he come too?”
“You know him?” Lu Yin was curious.
“Munoor, an elite even in Yu Academy. He was once my brother’s rival; even though he’s been surpassed long ago, he’s still one of the few Melders in the school.”
Everyone’s mood sank upon the mention of the word Melder. They knew that there were bound to be Melder-level powerhouses among the second batch of trainees; Huo Xiaoling was one. However, such experts were rare and nobody had expected one to appear here so quickly.
Munoor’s eyes gleamed as he saw the wounded Raas down below. So long as he could save this junior of his, Lord Sicar would be grateful to him and make his future in the Empire less worrisome. His energy waves suddenly dispersed the clouds and pressed downwards, striking fear into the survivors below, “Let go of him, native!”
Raas was elated, but Lu Yin frowned and moved forward to initiate. While the opponent was a Melder when at full power, he was confident in victory against one whose star energy was sealed. However, Zhang Dingtian walked out with a solemn gaze, “Let me handle this.”
A glint flashed across Lu Yin’s eyes. Zhang Dingtian had hardly stepped out since the battle a few days ago, leaving him to defeat and capture all the incoming students. Jeraldine, Gerlaine, and the rest had all been focused on him, and even Eddy and the rest had quickly forgotten about the Bladesage, but this was the Head of the Seven Sages, a realmbreaker. Beijing’s original guardian had endured leaving the city in another’s hands for a long time, but now that he had recovered from his injuries, he wanted to battle for the capital himself.
Worry filled Bai Xue’s gaze as she stared at Zhang Dingtian; these aliens had powerful battle techniques, and were much more adept at using their energy. Zhang Dingtian could likely deal with average students of Yu Academy, but this was an elite.
Raas shrugged it off, feeling like it wasn’t even worth his time watching the battle. At least Lu Yin would be a show, but this other native now wanted to challenge a Melder’s strength. Even sealed to a peak Sentinel, that would be impossible.
“Be careful,” Lu Yin eventually nodded, and Zhang Dingtian’s eyes gleamed as he picked up his sword and rose into the sky. Gerlaine watched intently; Raas and group didn’t know that Lu Yin wasn’t actually the largest threat the first batch of trainees had faced. This was the realmbreaker who had initially defended the capital with his lone blade; even she had to escape.
“Get lost,” Munoor said after a single glance, sending a surge of star energy with a wave of his hand. Unlike the energy that would come from a normal Sentinel, this was condensed into a single point, showcasing a subconscious mastery that was the true indication of a Melder’s control.
Zhang Dingtian narrowed his eyes and his blade swept out, the strike tearing apart the energy surge and continuing towards Munoor. Although he had initially disregarded Zhang Dingtian, Munoor’s expression changed and he raised his hand to crush the strike with a claw, “Interesting… A mere native has strength comparable to a member of Yu Academy. No, this is even better than an average student. Are you a realmbreaker?”
Zhang Dingtian responded to Munoor’s surprise by lifting his blade and attacking again, but this attack, too, was shattered. The Bladesage was a realmbreaker more powerful than Eddy, someone even equal to Raas, but his attacks were nothing to a sealed Melder. Although his power had been sealed, Munoor still retained his battle techniques and energy control; they simply weren’t in the same league.
BANG! Munoor’s probing palm turned into a claw once more, pummeling the edge of the blade with a loud explosion. The weapon cracked even as the remnant force traveled up Zhang Dingtian’s arm, shredding his sleeve. Still, even this was a miracle of sorts; the blow would have shattered the blade and seriously injured him if he hadn’t diverted some of the force.
The Bladesage spat out some blood and retreated, but lifted his sword once more and howled. His body suddenly vanished into a phantom, astonishing Lu Yin, “Roving Step?”
There were two Zhang Dingtians? Everyone stared blankly at the sky, while Raas looked on with his jaw hanging down. A mere native was fighting Munoor head-on, even despite the use of the SkybeastClaw? How was it possible for him to be this powerful? How did this backward planet have an actual realmbreaker?
Up in the sky, Munnoor’s expression froze before he erased the phantom with a wave of his hand. He whirled around and swept his leg out, releasing a violent tornado that warped the air and sent out shockwaves that fractured the ground.
Zhang Dingtian appeared by his side and struck down with his blade in full view of everyone, filling the hearts of countless onlookers with hope. Gerlaine and the rest finally witnessed the true power of a realmbreaker—it seemed like the Bladesage could even defeat Munoor—but the man himself narrowed his eyes as he felt no resistance to the slash. His sword moved behind his back out of sheer reflex, but it shattered loudly as a horrifying force sent him crashing down to the ground below.
Everyone fell silent as Munoor reappeared in the skies, now with a gloomy face. A lowly native had forced him to use both the Skybeast Claw and his movement techniques! It was unthinkable.
People looked out from the city to where the dust billowed into the sky, and Gerlaine released a deep breath. This was the natural way of things; if a native could actually defeat someone like Munoor, her view of the world would turn upside down. A native could not defy the natural order no matter what! She turned to Lu Yin, “It’s your turn.”
“It’s not over,” Lu Yin pointed out of the city.
“Do you want him to die? There’s no way that native can defeat Munoor, he can’t even injure him!”
Lu Yin squinted, “I really don’t like the term ‘native’.”
“Hmph,” she turned away.
Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng rushed over, looking out of the city with worry written all over their faces. Bai Xue clenched both fists tightly as a threatening chill radiated from her body, drawing Raas’s attention. He had already been smitten by her face and planned to take her back to serve him, but realized she was far beyond what he’d first expected. Frost? An innate gift? What was this planet? Realmbreakers, innate gifts, freaks of power, it had everything!
As the dust cleared, everyone could see Zhang Dingtian gripping his broken blade. He was covered in wounds from top to bottom, but was still standing and his gaze was focused as he looked at the skies and slowly rose up.
“Unyielding,” Munoor raised an eyebrow, “What’s your name?”
“Zhang Dingtian.”
“Follow me, Zhang Dingtian. You’re qualified to join Yu Academy, I’ll bring you there.”
“Not interested,” Zhang Dingtian answered coldly, clenching his broken blade.
Munoor laughed, “You want to fight me with this broken blade? Listen to me, the wall between us cannot be breached. Nothing awaits you but failure.”
“That might not be the case. Dingtian, here’s a gift,” Lu Yin shouted, throwing Gerlaine’s ring armor over. Zhang Dingtian caught it instinctively, but then looked back with a puzzled expression. Lu Yin explained, “Your battle wasn’t fair to begin with; he’s a Melder, you’re just a Sentinel. Don’t be that rigid.”
The Bladesage’s eyes flashed and he equipped the ring armor, covering his body with flickering lightning in an instant.