Chapter 1433: Gather! You

Swish—swish—

Xu Jingming and Yue Ying landed at the edge of the square.

Their arrival drew little attention.

After all, the square was crowded with people constantly arriving from all directions.

Only a few glanced at Yue Ying.

They paused briefly at her exceptional beauty and elf-like features, but quickly looked away.

Those who came here were all top performers among the Star Level cultivators of the Star Dome Academy.

Their wills were firm, not easily swayed by external things.

"Haha, boss, you're all here."

Not long after, Lan Yu and Yan Ji arrived, along with Bess from the Oceanic Alien Race.

As for Roy, he was training under the Supreme Sovereign's teacher and would not participate in this Beast Hunt Competition.

"I heard about your last mission from Yan Ji."

"Tsk tsk, one hundred thousand points—I should've joined you."

Bess's face wore an envious expression.

Although she had bonuses from new student and team missions,

her completed missions clearly didn't reach the same completion level as Xu Jingming's group.

She ended up with only sixty thousand points.

"Sure, maybe we'll get a chance together."

Xu Jingming smiled.

The group gathered, and their conversation naturally turned to the upcoming Beast Hunt Competition.

"I heard the God-Slaying Martial Temple and the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance have produced several ruthless talents."

There are even monsters at Star Level who've already mastered Cosmic Upper Primordial Sources—and not just one!"

Lan Yu spoke first, with a touch of awe.

Normally, cultivators only begin to comprehend Cosmic Primordial Sources upon entering the Cosmic Level.

"Our Eternal Star Alliance isn't lacking either—several have mastered primordial sources."

Yan Ji smiled, "But that's just paper strength."

True combat power can only be known after fighting."

In this regard, the God-Slaying Martial Temple and the Cosmic Mercenary Alliance are probably stronger."

"True—the real situation won't be clear until the Beast Hunt Competition begins."

As the group conversed,

suddenly, a distinct energy fluctuation erupted above the square.

This fluctuation did not come from any single powerful individual.

It resembled the air tremors and yuan-energy turbulence caused by a large aircraft breaking through the atmosphere and decelerating for landing.

Conversation halted instantly; many on the square, including Xu Jingming's group, instinctively looked up.

A brilliant ice-blue streak was plunging from the extreme heights above.

It moved at incredible speed, yet slowed abruptly with effortless grace as it neared the square's airspace, hovering steadily.

The light faded, revealing a sleek, elegant, spindle-shaped small aircraft.

The hatch slid open silently.

A tall, slender figure stepped out from the aircraft and stood suspended in midair.

Then she slowly descended to a slightly open area in the center of the square.

In an instant, nearly half the square's attention was drawn to her.

She was a girl.

She appeared young, roughly seventeen or eighteen by human standards.

Yet her height exceeded one meter seventy-five, her proportions perfectly astonishing.

She wore a form-fitting ice-blue battle skirt.

The hem reached just above her knees, revealing two straight, long, Bai Xi legs like jade.

The skirt's material was unique, shimmering faintly with metallic luster and ice-crystal patterns under the light.

It looked light yet radiated unmistakable defensive power.

Her face was nothing short of breathtaking—Lei Wu Guan exquisitely crafted, radiating a naturally cold and beautiful elegance.

Most striking was the aura naturally emanating from her.

It was not a deliberate pressure, but a mysterious resonance as if harmonizing with the surrounding spatial laws.

Cold, sharp, carrying an ultimate edge capable of severing all things.

Merely standing there, she became the center of the square.

An invisible aura spread naturally, causing nearby noisy chatter to subside involuntarily.

"She's here!" Lan Yu's eyes lit up.

"Who?" Xu Jingming asked, puzzled.

Although he had been in the academy for over a year,

he had been busy hunting beasts or staying in the Heaven's Punishment Thunder Realm.

He wasn't particularly familiar with the academy's top cultivators.

"Luo Li! Our academy's Star Peak powerhouse!"

Lan Yu spoke excitedly.

At the same time, low gasps and murmurs had already risen around them.

"It's Luo Li!"

"She really came! She's one of our Star Rank's strongest!"

"She was already at Star Peak a hundred years ago, mastering the fundamental principles of Destruction and Wind—dual fundamental principle cultivator! Now, who knows how strong she is?"

"With her here, our Eternal Star Alliance's performance this time won't be too bad."

"......"

Everyone around was somewhat excited.

No one wanted to come in last.

Luo Li's participation this time had given them a glimmer of hope.

"Hah! Luo Li, you really showed up!"

"If you weren't competing, I wouldn't have come at all!"

Suddenly, a loud laugh rang out.

A streak of crimson fire shot from afar and landed beside Luo Li.

It took the form of a young man around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

The youth stood tall, nearly three meters in height.

His short, fiery red hair burned like flames, each strand standing upright, wild and unrestrained.

His face was handsome, with sharp, defined features.

Most striking were his eyes—his pupils were a rare dual color of crimson and gold!

"It's Chi Huang!"

"He's here too! This is going to be exciting!"

"Chi Huang masters the fundamental principles of Fire and Space! Our Beast Hunt competition's lineup is strong indeed!"

"......"

Another wave of murmurs rose around them, filled with even greater excitement and anticipation.

"Luo Li and Chi Huang—our academy's two strongest Star Rank masters have both arrived."

Lan Yu's tone held a touch of awe. "By the time we reach their level, it'll probably be thousands of years from now."

He was among the top ten in the Genius Competition, yet every student at Star Dome Academy was a prodigy!

Once radiant and renowned, he now felt almost unknown.

"Don't rush. They just entered the academy earlier than us."

"In two thousand years, I'll be stronger than them!"

Yan Ji's spirit was brimming with determination; Yue Ying's beautiful eyes shimmered faintly too.

Clearly, they looked forward to growing stronger in the future.

But beside them, Xu Jingming blinked, saying nothing.

If the demonic beasts of Blood Refining Star were numerous enough, he suspected he wouldn't need long to catch up to their realms.

As the group spoke, a warm yet unmistakably eager voice came from behind:

"Princess Yue Ying, what a coincidence—meeting again."

Everyone turned to see a young man over three meters tall approaching.

He bore a pair of glistening black horns atop his head.

It was Taruo, crown prince of the Etar Clan.

His face wore a smile as gentle as spring breeze, his gaze immediately fixed on Yue Ying.

Yue Ying's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.

But out of politeness, she replied coolly:

"Prince Taruo."

Taruo seemed not to notice Yue Ying's coldness.

Instead, he stepped closer, naturally turning to Lan Yu and the others with a smile:

"These are your friends, Princess? I'm Taruo—pleased to meet you."

He smiled politely, glancing at Lan Yu and the others.

But when his eyes fell on Xu Jingming, he recalled: months ago, it was this man's appearance that caused Yue Ying to abandon him without a word.

The humiliation and the simmering anger from that moment flared instantly in his heart.

Yet the next instant, that anger was replaced by shock from the aura he sensed:

"This aura... you're already Star Rank Sixth Stage?"