Zhou Shan gave Lu Yin a sideways glance. "It's not just me saying this; it's what everyone agrees on. Bai Xue is known as the most beautiful woman in all of Huaxia, bar none. No celebrity, internet influencer, socialite, or campus belle even comes close to her— not even a finger's worth." At this, Zhou Shan let out a weird laugh. "At first, I didn't believe it either, but after seeing her, I did. This woman was born to be worshiped; calling her a goddess is no exaggeration."
Lu Yin chuckled, "Is it really that exaggerated?"
"A goddess? Such arrogance. Natives are just natives. If you ever meet the Star Gathering Maiden and don't worship her, I'll be surprised," Granny suddenly interrupted sarcastically.
Lu Yin's expression turned cold. "From now on, I don't want to hear the word 'native' come out of your mouth again. Go guard the gate."
Granny snorted but didn't dare to argue. She turned and left.
Zhou Shan felt awkward—talking about women where another woman could overhear wasn't exactly appropriate.
"Brother Zhou, continue," Lu Yin said.
Zhou Shan cleared his throat a few times. "There's really not much to say. Liu Shaoge is handsome, Bai Xue is beautiful, and the two are a perfect match."
"And what about strength?" Lu Yin asked curiously, eyes shining.
Zhou Shan shrugged. "Liu Shaoge and I are both at the Lower Four Saints level. Bai Xue is at the Upper Three Saints. Although rumors say Liu Shaoge is cautious and good at hiding himself, even if he's stronger than me, it wouldn't be by much."
Lu Yin nodded in understanding.
Though Zhou Shan implied he didn't know Liu Shaoge well, Lu Yin could tell he had a good impression of him. The title "Light Saint" was already extremely praiseful. Liu Shaoge presented a perfect image publicly; only those who had died knew the darkness behind him.
Lu Yin had originally thought Liu Shaoge was the only enemy, but if Bai Xue truly had a relationship with him, there might be more enemies.
That's how society works—pull one thread, and the whole body moves. Lu Yin tapped his fingers against the wall, deep in thought.
It wasn't until evening that the beast tide fully receded.
After dark, Lu Yin left Jinling. His supply of flame crystals was running low; he needed to mine some more.
Moonlight poured down, illuminating the cold land. Apart from chilling chewing sounds from the shadows, only the furious howling of the wild wind echoed across the earth.
When Lu Yin arrived near the ravine by the flame crystal mine, he saw a figure standing quietly—a man with short silver hair, looking up at the moonlight with a somewhat confused gaze.
At that moment, Lu Yin's expression changed drastically. Besides the long-haired corpse king, the flame crystals, and the sinister skull eye, this person's presence here—was it coincidence or intentional?
Lu Yin hadn't known anyone was here and hadn't tried to hide his presence, so naturally, the silver-haired man noticed him.
"Who are you?" Lu Yin asked with a serious and wary look. He didn't know this man's strength, but a sense of extreme danger spread through him, making him reluctant to approach. His mind kept returning to the skull eye.
The silver-haired man looked at Lu Yin with a faint smile. Just then, the moonlight was blocked by clouds, plunging the land into darkness.
Suddenly, Lu Yin's scalp tingled. A flash of white light appeared in the dark as Lu Yin activated his Traveling Step, rapidly retreating while striking out with his right palm. Stars appeared on his palm. Under the white light, a pair of cool, clear eyes showed surprise. The white light spun rapidly and collided with Lu Yin's right palm.
Faintly, Lu Yin saw that the white light came from a beautiful butterfly knife, its blade tearing through the air at a speed almost invisible to the naked eye, completely deflecting the power of the Star Palm strike.
With a bang, the air distorted, and both men were pushed back.
The moonlight returned, shining down on them both.
Lu Yin's gaze was grave—this person had blocked the full power of his Star Palm strike.
Opposite him, the silver-haired man looked surprised, then scratched his head. "Uh, sorry, I thought you were a zombie, so I attacked first. My bad, haha."
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, staring at the man, then smiled. "No need for dramatic lines like in novels. I thought you were a zombie too, so I struck first. Luckily, I didn't use full strength—less than half my palm's power. Didn't hurt you, did it?"
The silver-haired man raised an eyebrow. "No way I got hurt. Although I barely used a third of my strength, I can still easily block one of your strikes, haha."
Lu Yin looked at his palm and laughed. "Sorry, I miscalculated—just used a quarter of my palm's power. Lucky I didn't hurt you."
The silver-haired man laughed loudly, "Well, actually, I misremembered—I only used a fifth of my strength."
"Is that so? I don't buy it. Want to try again?" Lu Yin challenged.
The silver-haired man quickly waved his hand. "No thanks, I'm an elegant gourmet, never get into fights. By the way, can I ask you something? What are you doing here?"
Lu Yin replied calmly, "Looking for a classmate. I arranged to meet them here."
The silver-haired man said, "Oh, me too. I remember there's a Jinling nearby, but it's marked in blue. Could it be your classmate who did that?"
Lu Yin nodded, "Yes, it's her."
The silver-haired man sighed, "I see. I was thinking of having some fun, but forget it. You keep waiting then." With that, he turned and left, quickly disappearing.
Lu Yin glanced at his personal terminal, and only after confirming the silver-haired man had left did he exhale. His expression was more serious than ever. His Star Palm had been blocked—this was his full-power strike after breaking through the Exploration Realm. When the earth went dark, an extreme crisis engulfed him. He had no time to hesitate; that palm strike was indeed all-out, yet it was stopped. Who exactly was this person? To have such a strong individual among the first batch of trial candidates was astonishing.
Lu Yin walked to the edge of the ravine, staring at the flame crystal mine. That person had been standing there from the start. This place was where Lu Yin found the skull with the vertical eye—this man was very likely the owner of that skull eye.
Lu Yin recalled all the symbols he had seen in the universe—there was no skull vertical eye among them.
When he picked it up, he already felt it was something extraordinary. Now, that feeling was even stronger. Although the silver-haired man was at Exploration Realm strength, from their palm clash Lu Yin sensed the man hadn't used his full power—it was unfathomable.
Elsewhere, the silver-haired man flew under the moonlight, his expression strange. His killing strike had been blocked. "Someone among the Exploration Realm students can actually block my strike? Interesting. I thought only the second batch of trial candidates would have people like this. Didn't expect the first batch to have one too. Heh."
Yuxiang, the border area of Su Province and Anhui.
Since the Penal Camp concentrated its main forces westward, this place had become the front line, permanently stationed with five Wanfu Commanders and thirty thousand evolved beings. Heading west, they had saved many survivors and added many evolved beings.
Now, the total number of evolved beings on the Yuxiang front line was close to forty thousand, and another Wanfu Commander had been added.
The front line's overall commander was Feng Hong, the only one Lu Yin was familiar with.
Originally, everything on the front line was stable. However, one day, a figure appeared high above, hovering over Yuxiang, looking down. Tens of thousands of evolved beings looked up in awe.
Back in Jinling, Lu Yin studied the map. The distance from Jinling to Wucheng was too far, with Anhui province in between. It was a whole province, full of zombies, mutated beasts, and evolved beings dominating their territories—too distant.
Trying to open a path from the Penal Camp to Wucheng would take at least a few months.
Lu Yin pondered. Wucheng was currently marked in blue. Even if they took Wucheng, they might be facing alien students.
At that moment, Luo Yun hurried over. "Yin Sheng, news from the front line: the Penal Camp has been defeated, everyone is under control, and Wanfu Commanders like Feng Hong have been captured."
Lu Yin was surprised. "Aliens got involved?"
Luo Yun nodded seriously. "The soldiers who escaped reported the attackers left six words—'Blue Mountain Academy also Ge.'"
"Have Granny come over," Lu Yin said calmly.
Soon, Granny arrived.
"Contact also Ge through the personal terminal of Blue Mountain Academy students. He controls the Penal Camp front line," Lu Yin instructed calmly.
Granny nodded, took out the two students' personal terminals from her Condensation Space Ring, tapped a few times, and a light screen appeared. On the screen was a young man smiling at Granny.
"Miss Granny, long time no see. Didn't expect to meet under these circumstances. I am also Ge, a student of Blue Mountain Academy," the young man said politely.
Granny looked puzzled. "You know me?"
Also Ge smiled. "The empire's top military academy's famous elite beauty. Blue Mountain Academy isn't far from your academy, of course I know you."
"Did you arrange those two to ambush me too?" Granny said coldly.