Baixue faced away from the wind and snow, calmly looking at the three people. "Students from the starry sky, your combat skills are impressive."
"Who exactly are you? You can't be a native—natives would never overwhelm the three of us. We are all elites from various academies," one of them said in disbelief.
Baixue's eyes were bright and clearer than diamonds. "Please mark the Northeast region as blue. I don't want this place to be disturbed."
The student painfully closed his eyes and obediently activated his personal terminal. Soon, on the network, the Northeast region was changed to blue.
That very night, Luyin set off with Granny. They rested for a while about a hundred kilometers north of Jinling, then continued heading north.
At this moment, they arrived at Wei County, Shandong.
"Huh, the Northeast has turned blue," Granny said in surprise.
Luyin was shocked—had Baixue been defeated?
Before he could think further, a gigantic tree appeared between heaven and earth ahead. It looked like a willow tree with branches stretching over a thousand meters. Countless branches covered the sky, sweeping over the entire Wei County, even covering the surrounding roads and mountain villages.
Luyin and Granny immediately stopped and instinctively sensed the combat power.
"Four thousand two hundred ninety," they exclaimed. This was the power of the Fusion Realm. The giant mutated tree before them was a Fusion Realm creature.
"Around it," Luyin decisively said, wanting to avoid it.
Suddenly, several branches shot out from the river below, striking toward Luyin and Granny. Luyin pushed Granny aside and dodged himself. The branches struck upward, tearing the air and producing a tremendous sound.
Granny was terrified. If Luyin hadn't pushed her away just now, she would have been attacked by the Fusion Realm creature.
"Around it, avoid it!" Luyin shouted.
At that moment, countless branches whipped from all directions. Although they were still a considerable distance from the mutated giant tree, they were already within its attack range.
It was difficult to get around the giant tree now. If they used the tree's attack range as a radius, it would take at least ten seconds to go around it. This was a conservative estimate. The giant tree would never let them pass easily—especially Granny, given her speed.
Luyin maneuvered in mid-air. Seeing Granny was about to give out, he struck out with a palm. The Rift-Splitting Palm deflected the branches, then he quickly rushed to Granny's side, grabbed her, and charged directly toward the mutated giant tree.
"You're crazy!" Granny shouted in alarm. The giant tree loomed closer, numerous branches like giant serpents coiling in the air. On the ground beneath, countless bones lay piled—a terrifying sight.
Luyin's voice was low, "Look behind you."
Granny turned her head and turned pale. Their retreat was blocked by an endless wall of green branches, sealing them in with no way to go back.
"We're done for. A Fusion Realm creature— we're doomed," Granny said sorrowfully.
Luyin's gaze was cold as he scanned the surroundings. Branch after branch whipped at him. He skillfully dodged and occasionally used the branches' momentum to advance a long distance. Now he was less than three thousand meters from the mutated giant tree's main body. The closer he got, the more he felt the monstrous scale and terror of the tree. Its energy distorted the void, blocking out the sun and sky.
Luyin was relieved it wasn't an intelligent creature. Although this mutated giant tree was powerful, its attacks were purely instinctive. This allowed him to survive with Granny for now—but not for long.
Granny took out more than ten fire crystals from her Void Condensation Ring and threw them down. Flames ignited the ground.
Luyin was speechless. "You still want to burn it?"
Granny smiled bitterly, "Let's try. Maybe it's afraid of fire."
That was true—plants fear fire by nature. But looking at this giant tree that covered the sky, setting it ablaze would at least require a volcanic eruption. Even the fire crystal deposits outside Jinling city wouldn't be enough.
Luyin didn't have time to argue with Granny. His gaze suddenly sharpened—what's that? A person?
Underneath the mutated giant tree, a black dot moved back and forth. It grew larger and turned out to be a person, just like Luyin and the others.
That person was even closer to the tree and kept retreating while dodging the tree's branches.
"So strong," Granny said in surprise. She felt she couldn't withstand the tree's attacks; if it weren't for Luyin, she would have died already. But that person over there seemed to handle it effortlessly, very relaxed.
When Luyin clearly saw that person, his expression turned icy—it was the silver-haired man.
Under the moonlight, the fully-powered Heavenly Star Palm was countered by a beautiful butterfly knife. This scene was something Lu Yin would never forget in his lifetime. He had severely injured Teles with the Heavenly Star Palm in the Sight Realm, and when he unleashed the fully-powered Heavenly Star Palm in the Exploration Realm, it was unexpectedly neutralized. Moreover, it wasn't his initiative—he had been forced to use full power because of the opponent's murderous intent. At that moment, he was completely passive and couldn't even grasp his opponent's true strength.
"Yo, classmate, we meet again," the silver-haired man's eyes lit up when he saw Lu Yin, greeting him with a smile.
Granny was puzzled. Did they know each other?
Lu Yin dodged the whipping branches and said lightly, "What a coincidence."
The silver-haired man nimbly avoided the branches and said, "Not a coincidence. I've been trapped here for some time. If you're heading north, there's a high chance you'll run into me. Fate, huh?"
"You know we're heading north?" Lu Yin raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"Of course. I even know your destination—it must be the capital city, right?" the silver-haired man replied matter-of-factly.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, guessing who this person might be. Could he be the strongest from a certain academy that Ge mentioned?
"Watch out!" Granny shouted as dozens of branches whipped at the silver-haired man from all directions. The silver-haired man smiled kindly at Granny. Suddenly, a beautiful butterfly knife mysteriously appeared in his right hand. With a dazzling flourish, he slashed directly at the branches. With a soft "whoosh," the branches were pierced, and the silver-haired man emerged unharmed. He glanced back and smiled at Granny again, then looked at Lu Yin with a teasing challenge.
Lu Yin held Granny tightly. Under her fearful gaze, he raised his palm to strike the incoming branches. Stars appeared on his palm. With one strike, the branches shattered. Lu Yin also emerged unscathed.
"Didn't sleep well last night, only used thirty percent power," Lu Yin said casually.
The silver-haired man curled the corner of his mouth, "I used twenty percent."
"Wrong, I only used ten percent," Lu Yin retorted without backing down.
The silver-haired man snorted, "I used five percent."
Granny was speechless. Were these two competing right now? At such a critical moment?
For some reason, facing the silver-haired man, Lu Yin always felt an inexplicable sense of crisis, as if that butterfly knife was hanging overhead ready to fall at any moment. Unconsciously, he wanted this person to be cautious—only by not fully understanding him could he avoid reckless moves.
Branches suddenly appeared again from all directions, sealing off the space.
Lu Yin said calmly to the silver-haired man, "Let's team up and attack the main body, or this will never end."
The silver-haired man nodded. "I've been playing too hard the past few days; otherwise, I could handle this alone."
"If I weren't in a hurry, I'd want to test my palm power on it," Lu Yin said calmly.
The silver-haired man smiled and stepped on a whipping branch, charging toward the giant tree's main body.
Lu Yin threw Granny toward the ground's flames. "Be careful." Then he also rushed toward the giant tree's main body.
They were not far from the tree's main body—just a blink away.
The Fusion Realm surpasses the Exploration Realm and is an important milestone in cultivation. Reaching the Fusion Realm means one has become initially powerful, touching human limits. Cultivators at this stage often stay for a long time until they break through the limits to enter the next realm.
Most elite students are at the Exploration Realm; few reach the Fusion Realm. Even fewer students at the Exploration Realm can fight Fusion Realm creatures. Though the giant tree isn't an intelligent being, it's enormous and holds immense energy. Defeating it is harder than defeating an ordinary Fusion Realm creature.
The silver-haired man's butterfly knife gleamed with white light, turning into a meteor as it charged toward the tree.
Lu Yin unleashed his Heavenly Star Palm at full power. Dimly, a second star form began to take shape. Once formed, its power would surge again.
Almost simultaneously, their attacks struck the giant tree's main body. The tree's solid surface gradually cracked. Then with a loud bang, they pierced through the tree, flying hundreds of meters out and hovering in midair, looking back.
The enormous mutated giant tree slowly collapsed. Countless branches crashed down, crushing the earth and covering the rivers.
Lu Yin and the silver-haired man looked at each other. At the moment of their attack, they both sensed the other's strength more clearly than before.
This person had become stronger. This thought appeared simultaneously in both their minds.
Meanwhile, Granny was the most shocked. Mutated plants were hard to kill because of their strong defense. Although she had never fought Willow, she was certain Willow had no ability to harm this giant tree. Yet these two could. They were comparable to, or even stronger than, the strongest academy elites.