Most of the students in the trial only learnt about the criminal once they accepted the mission, but they knew nothing else. Part of the mission was gathering the information, but even now they only knew his name.

The third day after their arrival, the students of the second batch were shocked by a girl flying through the skies of northern Europe. All of them recognized her waist-length flame-red hair and the delicate features that made her look like a pixie; she was Huo Xiaoling, the heir to one of the most powerful families in the Great Yu Empire. Her appearance brought dozens of scared students out of hiding; while they had been scared of Qingyu’s power, Xiaoling was a Melder herself. Although some of her power had been sealed, Sentinels couldn’t compare.

The girl looked down at the scene below her, watching Qingyu with a dozen students tied up behind him. His eyes gleamed at the sight, “Such a beautiful girl, I didn’t expect such an elegant beauty in the border weaves. Haha!”

“You might still be a Melder, but your injuries won’t allow you to demonstrate your full ability. Your star energy isn’t that great a threat, just surrender now,” she said coldly.

“How arrogant, I like women like this,” Qingyu said with a smirk, stepping forward and smashing his metal rod towards her. She’d barely dodged the first attack before he’d appeared behind her, weapon crashing down. Although the trajectory was clear, Xiaoling felt like there was no way to dodge. Flames soared from her body in response to the threat, burning everything they touched. Everyone watched the battle in shock as the snow melted instantly, the very skies turning red.

Qingyu withdrew his attack and retreated, looking at the girl with first surprise and then excitement, “Innate Gift of Fire. You’re worthy of following me, woman.”

Huo Xiaoling leveled a cold glare in Qingyu’s direction, “Phoenix Pierce!”

Beep! Beep! Beep! A few students in the distance looked at their gadgets, their expressions changing, “4100.”

“Quite powerful, it would be enough to defeat a normal Melder. But your opponent is Qingyu Daynight.” Qingyu grinned, a loud explosion shaking the earth. The melted snow formed a river that crashed into Xiaoling and covered her; before it even faded, his gaze was sweeping across the surroundings.

The students who were watching the battle ran away immediately; Huo Xiaoling was one of the few Melders that were participating in this trial. Now that she had been defeated, they were even more frightened of the criminal. Said Melder soon climbed up from a pit, dripping wet and pale as she stared at the approaching Qingyu, “That surname…”

Qingyu bent down and stretched a finger out to her chin, flashing a smile, “You actually know about my family, seems like you’re not ignorant. Since you do understand what it represents, you’re fit to be my woman. Think about it, I can bring you out of this weave.”

She slapped his hand away and covered her shoulder, gasping in pain, “The order to capture you came from the Innerverse. If you really are from that family, who would dare to capture you?”

He grabbed Huo Xiaoling’s hair and pulled her up, matching her angry gaze with a cold one, “Don’t get too agitated, if you break your seal you’ll be eliminated. Don’t you want to join Astral-10 anymore?”

Her heart sank, and the star energy flickering around her dissipated. Qingyu simply laughed and flung her towards the group of tied-up students, “Just watch, everything will be over soon. Thirteen seems like enough”

He wasn’t wrong; Huo Xiaoling alone was more than enough. Sigmund almost rushed straight to earth from the surveillance station the moment she was captured, only being stopped by Mira.

“No one can interrupt the trial when it is still ongoing, this is a decision made by the Universe Youth Council. General Sigmund, are you planning to defy the decision of the Youth Council?” she asked calmly.

“Forgive me, Miss Mira, but Huo Xuaoling is Captain Huo Qingshan’s daughter; she cannot be injured,” Sigmund answered seriously.

Mira narrowed her eyes, “I know. So what? She can break her seal as well; she chose to be in her current situation.”

Sigmund took a deep breath and matched the glare, but in the end he was the one to step down. The entire Great Yu Empire was nothing in the eyes of the Universe Youth Council, forget Huo Qingshan. The Council had erased many strong powers before, and the Great Yu Empire had no desire to be the next one.

Mira moved her eyes past Sigmund to look at the screen showing Qingyu; the battle technique he’d just used seemed very familiar for some reason.

……

News of Huo Xiaoling’s capture quickly spread across the network, and many of the students rushing towards Europe stopped and gathered together instead. Within Beijing, Eddy was stunned, “Even Xiaoling was caught; how are we supposed to complete this mission?”

“Huo Xiaoling? Is she very powerful?”

“She should have the highest combat level of all the students in the second batch; she’s a Melder.” Watching Lu Yin’s gaze changing at the mention of the word, Eddy continued, “Not just any melder either. She has the innate gift of Flame, and her father Huo Qingshan is the captain of the Fifth Imperial Squadron. He’s an Explorer whose battle level will shatter the average gadget; with his guidance, there was no way for her to not be one of the most powerful elites in the Empire. I can’t believe even she lost.”

Only the trainees like Eddy and Jeraldine were stunned by the news of Huo Xiaoling’s capture. Although Lu Yin was surprised, it was something too distant for him and he retained focus on the few students who were approaching. It didn’t take too long for another trio to appear outside the city; although they weren’t from Yu Academy, they were still elites with powerful backgrounds that matched or even exceeded Eddy. Still, they couldn’t escape from him in the end and were captured, adding to his growing group of hostages that now tallied to 28.

Once the battle ended, Lu Yin stopped Zhang Dingtian from attacking a pair who had been hiding at the sidelines and called out, “Why are you here? I’ll give you the armor back once the trial is over.”

Gerlaine stepped out and showed a hesitant smile, “I want to join you.”

“Join us? What does that mean?” Lu Yin was confused.

“I want to join you, that’s what it means,” she said, staring down her nose like they should be honored by the offer.

Lu Yin considered it and asked, “Why should we take you in?” 

Gerlaine was outraged, “What do you mean by take us in?! We said that we want to work with you!”

“Why would I accept you?”

Gerlane gritted her teeth, “Qingyu is a Melder and one or two students won’t be able to handle him. He left his belongings in this city so he’ll definitely come back; we can join forces to defeat him.”

Lu Yin thought it over and realized she wasn’t wrong; Qingyu was a truly difficult opponent and there were bound to be massive problems when he returned to the capital. Having more bodies around would never hurt, “Fine, come in. But I’ll warn you, try to pull one over on me and I’ll tie you up.”

Gerlaine huffed and entered the city with Balaror. She was actually being honest; Qingyu was too powerful and could only be defeated through a group effort; this was the only way for her to try to complete the mission. Many students had formed an alliance in northern Europe, so she clearly knew she couldn’t work alone anymore. Instead of working with other students participating in the trial and sharing the credit, it would be better for her final results to work with a native.

Outside the capital’s border, Xia Luo was walking amidst a crowd of zombies that were completely docile, as though they didn’t even notice his existence. For three days he’d been observing them with the same expression, but now he released a sigh, “Their auras are truly everywhere. This is going to be troublesome.”

Down south, a pretty girl was flying towards Beijing. Everything about her was colored a fresh green, from her haid and her dress down to her boots that had a delicate floral print on them. It made her give off a sense of life.