Before the trial, many students only knew that an escapee existed but knew nothing else about them. The mission clearly stated they had to find the escapee on their own. Only now did they learn the escapee's name.
On the third day, above Northern Europe, all the students were shocked by the appearance of a woman.
Huo Xiaoling, heiress of the Huo family of the Great Yu Empire, had long fiery red hair flowing down to her waist and an exquisitely beautiful and serene face, like an elf. In the Great Yu Empire, her status was even above Las's because the Huo family was a massive clan within the empire.
The moment Huo Xiaoling appeared, more than a dozen students hiding around Northern Europe showed up simultaneously. They had been reluctant to reveal themselves due to fear of Qing Yu's strength, but now they dared because Huo Xiaoling was a Fusion Realm powerhouse. Although her cultivation was sealed due to the trial, Fusion Realm was Fusion Realm, incomparable to the Exploration Realm.
Seeing Huo Xiaoling, Qing Yu stood up, eyes shining. "Such a delicate woman, didn't expect such a graceful beauty to appear even in the borderlands. Haha."
Huo Xiaoling looked down. Qing Yu stood casually, behind him were twelve students tied up, looking extremely miserable.
"Seriously injured. Even retaining Fusion Realm power won't help. You can only use your star energy to intimidate. Surrender yourself, Qing Yu," Huo Xiaoling said coldly.
A smirk curled on Qing Yu's lips. "So proud. I like women like you." With that, he stomped the ground, and a metal rod suddenly splintered and shot toward Huo Xiaoling. She frowned and dodged. Behind her, Qing Yu appeared out of nowhere, caught the rod, and swung it back down. The path of the rod was clear, yet Huo Xiaoling felt as if there was nowhere to evade; the entire surrounding sky and earth darkened.
Sensing danger, flames erupted from Huo Xiaoling's body, transforming into a phoenix cry soaring into the clouds, burning everything around and terrifying all who saw it. The snow on the ground instantly melted, and the sky turned red from the flames.
Qing Yu stepped back holding the rod, staring at Huo Xiaoling in surprise, then excitement. "A talent, a fire affinity. Woman, you qualify to follow me."
Huo Xiaoling's eyes were cold as she slowly raised a delicate finger and pointed at Qing Yu. The fiery phoenix soared — "Phoenix Spirit Finger."
Beep beep beep beep—far away, several students glanced at their personal terminals, their faces changing drastically. "Four thousand one hundred combat power."
Qing Yu's mouth twisted into a grin. "Strong enough. This finger can make an ordinary Fusion Realm warrior retreat, but unfortunately, you met me — Qing Yu Baiye." He spun the metal rod, and instantly countless rods appeared, almost blocking the sky and plunging the world into darkness. Then one rod pierced through the fiery phoenix like it would pierce the heavens and struck Huo Xiaoling's shoulder, slamming her into the ground.
With a loud bang, the earth trembled. The melted snow formed a river, and Huo Xiaoling was slammed into it.
Above, Qing Yu held his rod proudly, his gaze sweeping around.
The watching students immediately fled. Even Huo Xiaoling was defeated, so they dared not approach. She was one of the rare Fusion Realm warriors in this trial.
Soon, Huo Xiaoling crawled out, soaked and pale-faced, looking at Qing Yu as he slowly approached. "Baiye, that surname — are you from that family?"
Qing Yu squatted down, extending a finger to hook under Huo Xiaoling's delicate chin, smiling. "You actually know it. Not so ignorant after all. Knowing means you should understand what this surname represents. You're qualified to be my woman. Think about it; I'll take you away from this territory."
Huo Xiaoling brushed off his hand, clutching her shoulder, suppressing the pain as she gasped, "Your wanted notice comes from the Inner Universe. If you're really from that family, who would dare to issue a warrant for you?"
Qing Yu grabbed Huo Xiaoling's long hair and lifted her up. Seeing the anger in her eyes, he said coldly, "Don't get excited. If you break the seal and regain Fusion Realm strength, you'll be out. Don't want to join the Tenth Academy of the Starry Sky?"
Huo Xiaoling's heart sank as the massive star energy enveloping her began to fade.
Qing Yu sneered. "Watch closely, this will all end soon." Then he threw Huo Xiaoling toward the bound students. "Thirteen now. This should be quite substantial."
What Qing Yu said was true — Huo Xiaoling was not just substantial; she was significant. The moment she was captured, Sikem Maldo in the monitoring station almost personally rushed to Earth but was stopped by Mira.
"No one is allowed to intervene during the trial. This is the decision of the Universe Youth Council. General Maldo, do you intend to openly defy the Council's orders?" Mira said coolly to Sikem Maldo.
Sikem Maldo's expression shifted seriously. "Miss Mira, please forgive me, but Huo Xiaoling is Captain Huo Qingshan's daughter. She can't be harmed."
Mira squinted her eyes. "I know. So what? She can break the seal by herself. Her fate now is her own choice."
Sikem Maldo took a deep breath, looking at Mira.
The two looked at each other.
In the end, Sikem Maldo gave up. In front of the Universe Youth Council, not to mention Huo Qingshan, even the Great Yu Empire was insignificant. The powerful forces that had been destroyed by them were not just one or two. The Great Yu Empire did not want to follow in their footsteps.
Mira's gaze passed over Sikem Maldo and focused on the screen, especially on Qing Yu. The combat technique just now looked very familiar.
The local network had already broadcasted the news of Huo Xiaoling's capture. Immediately, the many students who had been excitedly heading toward Northern Europe stopped in their tracks and gradually gathered.
In the capital city, Erde was shocked. "Huo Xiaoling was even captured? How are we supposed to complete the mission?"
Lu Yin was puzzled. "Huo Xiaoling? Is she very strong?"
Erde nodded, his expression grave. "In terms of combat power, Huo Xiaoling should be the strongest student in this trial because she possesses Fusion Realm strength."
Lu Yin's eyes changed. Fusion Realm.
"Not only Fusion Realm, Huo Xiaoling also has a fire affinity talent. Her father is Huo Qingshan, captain of the Fifth Team of the Thirteen Teams of the Great Yu Empire's imperial court — an extremely powerful warrior who can hunt in the starry sky and whose combat power is enough to overwhelm an ordinary personal terminal. Under such a master's guidance, Huo Xiaoling is an absolute elite among the younger generation of the Great Yu Empire. Unexpectedly, even she was defeated," Erde continued.
Only students like Erde and Granny were shocked by the news of Huo Xiaoling's capture. Although Lu Yin was surprised, it felt somewhat distant to him. Now his focus was on several students gradually approaching.
Before long, three students appeared outside the capital city. They were from the second batch of trial participants, not from Yutang, but elites from other powerful planets, enough to rival or even surpass Erde. Unfortunately, none escaped Lu Yin's hands; all were captured. He had already captured twenty-eight people, a considerable number.
At that moment, two more people arrived outside the capital city — Gulei and Balalo, who had been hiding on the sidelines all along.
Zhang Dingtian was about to act but was stopped by Lu Yin. "What are you here for? Your battle armor will be returned after the trial," Lu Yin shouted.
Gulei's mouth twitched, forcing a faint smile at Lu Yin. "I want to join you."
Lu Yin was puzzled. "What? Join us? What do you mean?"
"Literally, I want to join you," Gulei said, raising her head with an expression that seemed to say: You should be honored that I want to join you.
Lu Yin's gaze deepened. "Why should we take you in?"
Gulei was furious. "What 'take you in'? Can you even speak properly? I said cooperate with you."
"Why should we?" Lu Yin replied flatly, without any novel-style bravado.
Gulei gritted her teeth. "Qing Yu's power has reached Fusion Realm. One or two students can't handle him at all. His things are in the capital city, and he will inevitably return. We join forces to deal with him."
Lu Yin thought for a moment. The woman made a good point. That Qing Yu seemed very difficult to deal with. If he really came back to the capital, it would be troublesome. Having more people meant more security. "Fine, come in. But I warn you, don't try anything funny, or I'll tie you up."
Gulei snorted and entered the capital city with Balalo.
She really had no other intentions. Qing Yu brought too much pressure to all the students. Only by uniting could they fight back. This was also the only way to complete the mission. Many students around Northern Europe had already united. Naturally, she couldn't fight alone. Rather than sharing the rewards with those students, cooperating with the locals was more beneficial.
On the outskirts of the capital city, Sharlo had not gone far but was walking among a tide of corpses. Strangely, the corpses did not attack him, as if they did not sense him.
He had been here for three days without change in expression, spending all that time among the zombies, seemingly observing something.
After a while, Sharlo sighed where he stood. "Sure enough, you can feel their presence. They really are everywhere. What a nuisance."
Far to the south of the capital city, an unknown distance away, a beautiful woman dressed in a green robe with long green hair slowly flew northward. The woman was dressed entirely in green, even her tall boots were green, adorned with exquisite patterns. She gave off a fresh and pure aura.