Ye Ge chuckled and said, "Of course not. I just asked them to look around nearby to see if any classmates were around. What, did they ambush you? Don't worry, I'll discipline them properly."
"No need. They've already paid the price," Grannie said coldly.
Lu Yin walked to Grannie's side and looked at Ye Ge.
Ye Ge wasn't surprised at all when he saw Lu Yin. "So you're the Hidden Sage of Jinling? You must be from the stars too, otherwise Grannie wouldn't be working with you."
Lu Yin said calmly, "My name is Yata, a student from Tarta Planet Academy. My grandfather is the principal."
Grannie's face twitched slightly. She hated that sentence. It was because of that line that she had lowered her guard around this bastard.
Ye Ge paused. "What are you trying to say?"
Lu Yin showed a trace of arrogance. "I'm rich. Release my people, and I can offer you plenty of resources."
Ye Ge burst out laughing. "Tarta Planet? Never heard of it. I don't care who you are—I came to find you for cooperation."
"Cooperation?" Lu Yin was surprised.
Ye Ge's expression turned serious. "I found a Gale Crystal mine nearby, but unfortunately, it's occupied by a group of mutated beasts. They've all reached the Exploration Realm and are very hard to deal with. I need backup."
"How much?" Grannie asked.
Ye Ge shook his head. "Not sure, but conservatively, there should be several dozen cubic meters."
Grannie's eyes lit up. Several dozen cubic meters of Gale Crystals was no small amount. On most planets, such crystals were rare, usually only a few cubic meters at most. She wanted to agree, but stopped herself just as the words reached her lips. Instead, she looked toward Lu Yin.
Lu Yin replied calmly, "I'm rich. I don't care."
Ye Ge was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected a student to refuse. This was dozens of cubic meters of Gale Crystals! If converted to Star Energy Crystals, it would be at least over a hundred cubic meters—enough to fully master a battle technique and even accelerate cultivation to the Fusion Realm. It was undeniably a substantial amount of resources.
Grannie glared secretly at Lu Yin. She wanted to go.
"But even though I'm rich, no one ever thinks they have too much money. Fine, we'll meet you in a couple of days—but you're not to touch a single one of my people from the Penal Battalion," Lu Yin added, shifting the topic.
Ye Ge nodded. "Fine. Then I'll bring those two juniors of mine as well. More hands make lighter work."
Lu Yin agreed, and Grannie immediately ended the transmission.
"That Ye Ge—is he the one those two were talking about, the one on the same level as Tres?" Lu Yin asked.
Grannie gave a low grunt in response. "I've heard of his name. One of the top three powerhouses from Blue Mountain Academy. He might even be stronger than Tres."
"What's his background?" Lu Yin asked.
Grannie was stunned. "His background? I don't know."
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. He wasn't going for the Gale Crystals. No matter how many, they couldn't be traded for Star Energy Crystals on Earth. They would eventually fall into the hands of the Grand Yu Empire. What he needed now was Star Energy Crystals—and Ye Ge likely had some.
From Jinling to Yuxiang wasn't far. Lu Yin had Grannie drag those two Blue Mountain Academy students, and after half a day's flight, they arrived.
In Yuxiang, tens of thousands of Evolvers were trapped in a camp. Their weapons had been confiscated, and they were being watched by another group of Evolvers.
Lu Yin spotted Feng Hong, the poor battalion commander, tied up and hanging from a tree.
A powerful energy fluctuation swept through the camp as Lu Yin and Grannie arrived. The sky trembled with the shockwave.
Lu Yin knew this was Ye Ge showing off—testing his own strength, too.
But such a display was not only useless, it exposed one's capabilities. Ye Ge's energy was powerful, even slightly stronger than Tres's, but Lu Yin didn't care. The kind of person to fear was not the one who barked loudly, but the silver-haired man who killed without hesitation.
Grannie stepped forward. The energy around her body surged, blocking Ye Ge's wave and distorting the air. A crack silently split open the ground, perfectly separating the camp from Lu Yin and the others.
Feng Hong and a few other battalion commanders looked up at Lu Yin, shame in their eyes.
Lu Yin paid no attention to the others. His gaze was fixed on the man slowly rising into the air—it was Ye Ge.
Clap clap clap.
"As expected of the Military Academy's flower—Grannie, your strength is truly impressive," Ye Ge praised, his gaze openly filled with greed.
Grannie snorted. "Is this how Blue Mountain Academy treats its top students?"
Ye Ge smiled. "I was being reckless. My apologies." As he spoke, his eyes turned toward Lu Yin, a flicker of contempt flashing through them. Lu Yin had only recently broken through to the Explorer realm, and his energy wasn't strong, so Ye Ge didn't pay him any mind.
"So, will you be releasing my two junior schoolmates?" Ye Ge asked, looking at Grannie, assuming she was the one in charge between the two.
The two captured students from Blue Mountain Academy tried to speak, but their mouths were sealed. All they could do was frantically make eye gestures, trying to warn Ye Ge about Lu Yin's strength—but Ye Ge didn't understand them.
"Whether or not we release them depends on your sincerity," Grannie said coolly.
Ye Ge shrugged. "Very well then, let's talk in the camp."
Before long, they entered the camp.
Ye Ge spread out a map and pointed to a mountain about 100 kilometers outside Yuxiang. "The Gale Crystal is there, but it's surrounded by a flock of mutated birds. Among them are at least five with Explorer-level strength—what the natives call Heaven-grade. There are also many with Sentinel-level power."
"What's your plan?" Grannie glanced at Lu Yin, then asked Ye Ge.
Ye Ge replied, "The five of us can handle the birds, but it'll be exhausting. I've thought of another way—we can get the natives to lure the birds out, then blast them with this planet's hot weapons. Clean and efficient."
Hearing this, Lu Yin's expression turned cold. Grannie was shocked and quickly said, "If we do that, those natives will surely die."
Ye Ge chuckled. "The lives of the natives don't matter. What's important is that it'll be easy for us."
"Even without sending the natives to die, we could still succeed," Lu Yin said calmly.
Ye Ge laughed and looked at Lu Yin. "Brother Yata, the lives of these natives aren't worth caring about. Once the trial is over, any native Evolvers will be sent to the battlefield. Those with talent might become slaves to some noble students, the pretty ones might be selected as attendants, and the rest are just cannon fodder. Honestly, dying here might even be a blessing for them. They might thank us for it! Hahaha!"
Lu Yin said nothing. The fate of Earth had already been sealed. From the moment the trial began, every Earthling was under the scrutiny of the Da Yu Empire and the Interstellar Youth Council. Only a select few with talent could expect even slightly fair treatment—the rest were indeed just cannon fodder. Ye Ge wasn't wrong.
"Well, I've shown my sincerity. Can you release them now?" Ye Ge asked, looking at Grannie.
Grannie looked at Lu Yin, who said lightly, "Wait a bit longer. I have one more question."
A flicker of coldness appeared in Ye Ge's eyes. "What question?"
Lu Yin stared at him. "You're considered one of the top elites at Blue Mountain Academy. Why aren't you out completing missions, and instead staying here?"
Ye Ge looked surprised. He glanced at Lu Yin, then at Grannie, and chuckled. "I forgot—people at your level normally don't get access to certain information. Fine, let me enlighten you." As he spoke, Ye Ge sat down and gestured for someone to bring tea.
Lu Yin and Grannie also sat, accepted their tea, and looked at Ye Ge.
After sipping his tea, Ye Ge spoke in a serious tone, "Among the students, there are three tiers. The first tier is students like my two junior schoolmates. Their goal in the trial is simply to perform well and impress others. It's like getting a golden certificate—if they survive, it will be a highlight in their future."
"The second tier is us."
"Us?" Grannie was surprised. She didn't think someone like Ye Ge, a top expert from Blue Mountain Academy, would be on the same tier as her.
Ye Ge nodded. "You, me, and even that Tres from your Military Academy—all of us are in this tier. Our goal is to achieve tangible results—occupy territory, mark areas blue, discover valuable resources, and so on. Grannie, since you landed, has anyone asked you to team up and complete a mission?"
Grannie shook her head, her expression turning serious.
Ye Ge smiled. "Exactly. That's because we're not qualified. Only one kind of person is—the strongest students in each academy. For your academy, that's Willow. For mine, it's Paris."
"The top elites of each academy?" Grannie asked, surprised.
Ye Ge nodded solemnly. "There is no fairness in this universe. We need to be notified of the trial, but they knew long before. Every academy's strongest student has direct contact with the others. That's their circle—we don't have access. Before the trial even began, they were already forming alliances to complete the missions. Willow isn't in this region, right?"
Grannie's gaze turned bitter. "I haven't seen him since the trial began."