"My name is Lu Yin. Don't get it wrong," Lu Yin said.
"Is that your name on Earth?" Grannie asked.
Lu Yin didn't answer. Instead, he stared at Grannie. "Log into the cosmic network and change Jinling to blue."
Grannie sneered and ignored him.
Lu Yin sighed. "To be honest, I'm not fond of using torture. But this is the Punishment Camp—you get it. They have plenty of ways to make you submit."
Grannie grew furious. "These natives will pay the price."
"Before that happens, you'll pay a far more terrifying price," Lu Yin said coldly, fixing his gaze on her.
Grannie locked eyes with Lu Yin, but eventually gave in. After all, she was just a student. When facing Earthlings, she could be arrogant, ruthless, even cruel—because of the difference in status. But once that gap was erased, she was no different from an ordinary student.
In front of Lu Yin, Grannie changed the color of Jinling on Earth's map in the cosmic network to blue.
Lu Yin looked over. A portion of Earth had already turned blue, which meant those areas were completely under the control of these students. Of course, not all of them might have been willingly taken; some students could have been captured and forced to change the colors. But such cases should be rare.
Parts of China had turned blue, as had areas in Europe, the Americas, and Africa. What concerned Lu Yin most was Hubei—it had also turned blue.
Lu Yin pondered. Had Liu Shaoge surrendered? Or had he been killed?
"I'm asking you—among the students who descended, who are the strong ones?" Lu Yin stared at Grannie.
Grannie shook her head. "I don't know. The planetary evolution trial was organized by the Great Yu Empire. The students come from various academies. I only know about the First Military Academy. Tres should count as quite strong. I don't know about the others."
Lu Yin didn't press further. After all, the real trial would come in a bit more than two months. He was confident in dealing with the first wave of students.
Everyone was busy, and Lu Yin personally left Jinling to hunt and kill Heaven-rank mutant beasts detected by individual terminals. After five days, things finally settled down.
Lu Yin convened a meeting. All the Wanfuchang (Unit Commanders) attended, including Luo Yun, who had just returned from the front-line base.
After this return, Xu San was thoroughly convinced by Lu Yin. Having only recently joined the Punishment Camp, Lu Yin had already taken over the Holy One's position. Xu San believed the future looked bright.
And Lu Yin grew more appreciative of Xu San. With Lu Yin's support, Xu San had stepped into the Earth-rank, also known as the Vision Realm. As long as he reached the Exploration Realm, he would become truly valuable.
Because of Lu Yin's favor, Xu San was filled with motivation. He secretly resolved to grow stronger quickly. The more determined he was, the more Lu Yin appreciated him. Everything seemed to be heading toward a promising future.
During the meeting, no one challenged Lu Yin's authority. Just the fact that he had dared to intervene on a Heaven-level battlefield spoke volumes. Moreover, Lu Yin had now openly admitted he had reached the Heaven rank—equivalent to the Holy One's strength—making it impossible for any Unit Commander to oppose him.
As for the two Unit Commanders who had sided with Grannie, Lu Yin stripped them of their positions and demoted them to the ranks, giving them a chance to atone through service.
"Right now, the most important thing is to abandon the front lines and fully expand the Jinling base," Lu Yin told the remaining eight Unit Commanders.
Someone hesitated. "Opening a path to the capital was part of the basic strategy set by the Holy One. Abandoning it might not be a good idea."
The bespectacled woman, Qin Xuan, looked at Lu Yin and said seriously, "I agree. Given Jinling's current strength, we are far from able to connect with other regions. Stabilizing internally must come before external expansion."
Soon after, Feng Hong and others also agreed.
Lu Yin stood up. "Then it's decided. All Punishment Camp soldiers will be recalled. Expand westward and gradually reclaim lost territory." After speaking, he left the meeting room. Before walking out, he added casually, "Get me a star chart of the solar system. The more detailed, the better."
The others at the meeting exchanged glances but said nothing.
Qin Xuan watched Lu Yin's departing back, eyes contemplative. She felt this man was even more domineering than the Holy One. Moreover, he seemed to have designs on Jinling. The Holy One had only asked him to temporarily take charge, yet he had already overturned the Holy One's strategic plans. Although she agreed with the new plan, what would happen when the Holy One awakened?
"Feng Hong, stay by the Holy One's side at all times," Qin Xuan quietly instructed.
Feng Hong was puzzled. "Why?"
Qin Xuan said, "No reason. Just make sure the Holy One is protected." She was worried Lu Yin might make a move against the Holy One and take complete control of Jinling.
Opposite them, Luo Yun watched the two conversing, her eyes flickering.
Zhao Yu had left several days ago, heading alone to the northeast. Her boldness earned Lu Yin's admiration, though he considered it unwise.
The Punishment Camp once had 80,000 evolved soldiers. After accounting for losses on the front lines, only 50,000 remained. Once recalled to Jinling, the city's defenses were significantly bolstered. The various unit commanders guarded all directions, rendering Jinling an impregnable fortress.
As the setting sun's afterglow gradually faded, beams of light streaked across the sky, eliminating flying mutant beasts. On the city wall, Lu Yin said solemnly, "If a beast tide or corpse tide is detected, use thermal weapons without hesitation. Don't worry about wastage."
"Yes," two unit commanders responded in unison.
Suddenly, a distant screech rang out. On the ground, hordes of zombies were torn apart into pools of blood. A massive flying mutant beast skimmed low, charging toward Jinling.
Panic ensued. "Attack! Quick, attack!"
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, leaping into the air. In his hand was Orton's sword. With a single slash, the energy unleashed from his Exploration Realm power bore down, pressing the flying mutant beast forcefully to the ground. Its head twisted grotesquely as it let out a mournful cry.
Lu Yin landed, stepping onto the beast's back. He thrust the longsword into its brain. The mutant beast convulsed twice before collapsing, dead.
Countless people watched in shock, then erupted into cheers. Someone started chanting "Saint Yin," and soon, the crowd echoed the title.
Lu Yin's lips twitched. He had no desire to bear the title "Saint." He quickly tried to stop the crowd, but the name "Saint Yin" began to spread.
Around Jinling, few zombies and mutant beasts remained, having been mostly cleared by the Punishment Camp. Following Lu Yin's orders, the camp concentrated its main forces westward. Nearly half the unit commanders advanced to the western front, beginning to open up routes.
Meanwhile, more survivors arrived in Jinling, and naturally, the number of evolved individuals increased.
Soon, half a month passed. Less than seventy days remained until the second batch of trial students would descend.
During this half-month, Lu Yin absorbed some star energy crystals, boosting his combat strength to 1,500. Nearly half a star energy crystal remained.
The primary use of star energy crystals wasn't to accelerate absorption for increasing combat strength, but to train battle techniques, serve as power sources for advanced technological weapons, and rapidly replenish energy during shortages. Typically, practitioners of the Body Sculpting Art rarely absorbed the energy within star energy crystals. Training battle techniques required energy, and battle techniques were the foundation of a strong individual.
Often, powerful battle techniques could multiply one's strength. The higher the measured combat strength, the more others would fear them.
Of course, higher combat strength indicated stronger internal energy, making the same attack more potent. Take Tres, for example. His Wave Palm could contend with Grannie's battle technique. Yet, Tres still reserved a significant portion of star energy crystals to train his battle technique. Unfortunately, he didn't succeed; otherwise, the outcome of the battle half a month ago might have been different.
Lu Yin intended to use the remaining star energy crystals to train the Celestial Palm and conduct an experiment.
Over the past half-month, Grannie had submitted. She proactively requested to see Lu Yin.
Lu Yin showed no mercy to Grannie. Though he didn't resort to torture, he confined her alone in a pitch-dark dungeon. No one spoke to her; no one accompanied her. Though she was fed, the food was poor—mutant rat meat. This half-month marked the darkest period of Grannie's life. She could no longer endure it.
"I... I'm willing to help you. Please, let me go," Grannie said, her face pale, eyes dull, and body emitting a foul odor, pleadingly looking at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin responded coldly, "What can you help me with?"
Grannie replied weakly, "Help you protect Jinling. I'll do whatever you ask. Just let me go. I can't take it anymore."
Lu Yin stared at Grannie. "Tell me, what is your ultimate mission in this trial?"
Grannie's eyes flashed. "You're really not a student? Then how did you enter Earth? This place has long been under the Great Yu Empire's surveillance. It's impossible to enter at will."
Lu Yin turned to leave.
Grannie quickly shouted, "Wait! I'm just curious. I won't ask anymore. I'll tell you. Our mission is to capture a fugitive."
Lu Yin turned back, intrigued. "A fugitive?"
Grannie nodded. "We were notified just a day before the trial. A fugitive had passed through the surveillance net and entered Earth, bringing evolution to the planet. The Empire hadn't originally planned for us to conduct trials here. But since Earth had evolved, the Empire had no choice but to change the location last minute. That's why there was a delay of several months. Otherwise, we would have arrived on Earth months ago."
"Earth's evolution wasn't caused by you?" Lu Yin was surprised.