The imperial capital, Zhenwu Star, was surrounded by three ring continents. The first ring was the closest to Zhenwu Star, but even so, there was a considerable distance between them. It took a full two hours for this spaceship to arrive.
It had to be known that this was the latest model of spaceship from the Great Yu Empire, with a speed that even surpassed Extreme-realm experts, yet it still took two hours.
To Lu Yin, the space between Zhenwu Star and the first ring was like an ocean that needed to be crossed.
It wasn't just Lu Yin's spaceship heading to the first ring; he saw dozens of other spaceships along the way, but unfortunately, none were as fast as his.
Not everyone could land on the three ring continents. Only those with special permission could enter, as all three rings were important military sites, especially the first ring, which was also the forbidden ground of the Martial Hall.
The spaceship that Crown Prince Duo Lan Wushan gave Lu Yin had clearly been specially authorized and had unimpeded access, even being able to bypass the first ring's landing platform and go directly to the Body Tempering Pool.
"Boss, this is too cool! Look, so many people have to go through inspection. Those people look like nobles of the empire, and even they have to stop for inspection, but we can go straight through. This is the VIP lane!" Xu San exclaimed excitedly.
Lu Yin told him to shut up and glanced at Bronson, who occasionally appeared in the distance.
The moment they passed the landing platform, Bronson appeared. All the officers and soldiers on the platform saluted him. Although he was only the third seat, his status was at least comparable to that of other squad's vice-captains, holding an extremely high position in the Great Yu Empire. This was not brought to him by his Explorer realm, but by his status.
His family had let him inherit the title of the Zishan Clan and enter the Great Yu Empire. Did they also want him to enter the Thirteen Imperial Squads? What about the Great Yu Empire's Youth Council? What exactly did his family want him to do? No one had contacted him until now.
Thinking of these things, Lu Yin felt a bit frustrated.
The first ring continent was circular and surrounded Zhenwu Star. Its diameter was comparable to Zhenwu Star, but its area was far greater. The landscape was wild, with sand and dust filling the sky. Occasionally, tornadoes that connected heaven and earth would roar past, making Xu San's face turn pale.
This was the territory of the Martial Hall, a training ground for its elites, and also where the Martial Hall's army was stationed.
The spaceship always followed its planned safe route and encountered no danger. But just over ten minutes later, a roar shook the sky, causing the air to tear and the ground to crack. The terrifying blast wave nearly overturned the spaceship.
Fortunately, Bronson intervened and stopped it.
Lu Yin was shocked. This was the roar of an Extreme-realm creature. Although not as invincible as an Explorer, it made his heart tremble. It was definitely an Extreme-realm creature. Did the elites of the Martial Hall regularly interact with Extreme-realm creatures? Thinking of Las and Erde, Lu Yin shook his head. Probably not.
"Boss, I feel like Zhenwu Star is safer. Why don't we go back?" Xu San whispered, shivering.
Lu Yin ignored him.
An hour later, the sky gradually darkened. In the distance, a majestic mountain range came into view. The most eye-catching feature was that the center of the mountain range had been hollowed out and enclosed by some unknown transparent metal. Countless soldiers stood majestically in the sky above the mountain range, densely packed and exuding a formidable aura.
This was the Body Tempering Pool of the Martial Hall.
The spaceship landed and was parked. Lu Yin led Xu San inside but was stopped. Even with Bronson's status, he couldn't enter directly; they had to present a certificate.
"Even you can't enter the Martial Hall freely?" Lu Yin asked, curious.
Bronson said, "The Martial Hall is the empire's highest-level academy for reserve elites. Not even His Majesty can interfere. This was an order issued by His Majesty when he first ascended the throne. Your Highness, I cannot interfere with anything that happens inside the Martial Hall, unless Your Highness's life is in danger. I implore Your Highness to take care."
Lu Yin nodded, feeling a bit of admiration for Undying Wu Shan. Granting the younger generation the greatest degree of freedom was a good way to win their hearts.
As soon as he got close to the Body Tempering Pool, Lu Yin heard a low roar filled with extreme pain. His expression changed; it was Zhang Dingtian's voice. Just as he was about to rush in, Bronson spoke up, "The process of re-tempering the body is extremely painful, like having one's body shattered and reconstructed. It not only disperses the energy within the cells but even involves recreating blood. Not being able to endure it means failure. Failure is death."
Lu Yin stopped, calmed down, and walked inside.
The Body Tempering Pool was surrounded by countless troops and guarded by numerous masters of the Martial Hall, including even Star-Wandering experts. This was all because the resources consumed by the Body Tempering Pool were immense. If it weren't for Zhang Dingtian being a Limiteer expert, even if he had defeated the academy's strongest, he wouldn't have been qualified for a re-tempering.
While the Body Tempering Pool was in use, entry was strictly forbidden. Lu Yin saw Bai Xue and Shi Wuzhang outside the pool.
Bai Xue's eyes lit up when she saw Lu Yin.
"How long has Zhang Dingtian been in there?" Lu Yin asked.
"Several hours," Bai Xue said in a low voice.
"He's been in such pain for several hours?" Lu Yin was surprised.
Bai Xue nodded, her face a little pale.
Lu Yin was impressed. Reconstructing the body, how much pain must that involve, for even a soldier with Zhang Dingtian's willpower to have a hard time enduring it. He glanced at Shi Wuzhang and suddenly wanted to see what this man would be like. He wondered if this frightening Ascetic Monk would even scream.
"Damn it, where is that dog barking from? So annoying..." a disharmonious voice came from not far away.
Lu Yin and the others looked over. It was several young men, their clothes filthy, looking as if they had just returned from training outside. To be able to appear here, they were probably all elites of the Martial Hall, at least at Erde's level.
"What are you looking at, you trash? Wasting the empire's resources. If the resources in the Body Tempering Pool were given to us, we would have reached the Melder realm long ago, you bunch of native wastes," a young man provoked and insulted Lu Yin, looking extremely annoyed.
The other few stared at Bai Xue, their eyes almost popping out. The young man who had just been shouting also saw Bai Xue, his gaze deepening. This woman was truly beautiful.
Bai Xue was disgusted. "If you want resources, go fight for them yourself. We also fought for this opportunity to be re-tempered."
"Oh, quite feisty, aren't you? Fought for it, right? Alright, I'll see what you're made of," one of them, clearly interested in Bai Xue, made the first move. It wasn't to harm her, but to touch her face.
Lu Yin frowned but didn't intervene.
Bai Xue snorted coldly and struck with her palm. The young man's expression was reckless, but his eyes were serious. Those who could join the Martial Hall were not to be trifled with. They naturally knew what being qualified for a re-tempering represented and didn't underestimate her. The probing palm instantly turned into a claw. With a beastly roar, he used the "Heavenly Beast Claw."
Bai Xue's expression changed, but she was not afraid. Her strength was much greater than when she was on Earth. The training on the Willpower was starting to show results. Facing the Heavenly Beast Claw technique, Bai Xue's body flickered and dodged. This was the Roaming Step Lu Yin had taught her. Bai Xue could adapt to 40x gravity better than Shi Wuzhang, and her speed had already surpassed that of an ordinary Seeker.
The Heavenly Beast Claw struck the ground fiercely but didn't cause much damage. Meanwhile, Bai Xue's palm landed on the young man's abdomen. In the next moment, ice spread. The young man was horrified. "Ice-type talent!" Without thinking, he immediately retreated. With a crack, the ice shattered. Suddenly, a figure flashed past the young man and struck towards Bai Xue with a palm.
Lu Yin's pupils shrank. "Despicable!" he shouted, and raised his palm to strike. In his palm, there were clearly five stars.
At the same time, Bronson almost made a move because the newcomer was a Melder-realm expert. But the moment Lu Yin struck, he stopped. In that instant, he felt that Lu Yin was not inferior to the attacking Melder-realm expert, and was perhaps even stronger.
The two palms passed by Bai Xue's side and collided fiercely. In an instant, the air vibrated, and a blast wave formed like a tsunami, sweeping in all directions. Bai Xue, who was closest, was pushed away first, followed by the few Martial Hall students and Shi Wuzhang's group.
The huge blast wave was dispersed in an instant, creating a momentary vacuum on the ground. Lu Yin saw the newcomer clearly: a strange man. At the same time, he also saw the fierce look in the newcomer's eyes as he stared at him. This person's target was not Bai Xue, but him.
A terrifying pressure came over him. The newcomer was a Melder-realm expert, and the power of his Star Energy directly suppressed Lu Yin. The immense force intensified. Lu Yin's eyes sharpened, and the stars in his palm directly detonated. The first three stars detonated to resist the newcomer's palm force. The moment the fourth star detonated, the newcomer's expression changed. His five fingers curved, directly forming a Heavenly Beast Claw to press down. Lu Yin shouted, and the fifth star exploded directly. With a bang, both of them were pushed back.
An arc-shaped blast wave shot out in all directions, causing even the soldiers guarding the Body Tempering Pool to look over.
Lu Yin was pushed back five consecutive steps. Opposite him, the Melder-realm youth was pushed back seven steps, his face filled with horror.
It wasn't just the Melder-realm youth. At this moment, Bronson and even the experts guarding the Body Tempering Pool were all looking at Lu Yin in shock. A Seeker had pushed back a Melder. This was no simple Limiteer-level battle power, not to mention the opponent was an elite of the Martial Hall.
Bai Xue also looked at Lu Yin in shock. He was stronger now.