After hearing Lu Yin's words, Zhang Ding Tian and Bai Xue exchanged glances. What he said made sense—if he was also a trial student, he wouldn't do something so thankless.
"I suspect one person," Lu Yin spoke again, staring at Bai Xue, "Liu Shaoge."
Zhang Ding Tian and Bai Xue were surprised. "Why?"
"Hubei, where he is from, is marked blue. You should know what that means," Lu Yin said calmly.
Bai Xue denied it, "My Northeast, including Zhou Shan and Jinling, are all blue too. That doesn't prove anything."
Lu Yin looked at Bai Xue, "You are one of the Upper Three Saints, with the power to kill trial students. Jinling was saved only because of me; otherwise, it would have been controlled by the students. Liu Shaoge is one of the Lower Four Saints, roughly the same level as Zhou Shan. Where does he get the strength to resist those students? Look for yourselves—there is more than one trial student in Hubei."
Bai Xue wanted to argue but found no words. What Lu Yin said was true; Liu Shaoge did not have the strength of an Upper Three Saint and could not stand against those students.
Zhang Ding Tian pondered deeply, then sheathed his blade. "Without evidence, you can't condemn someone. You're like this, and so is Liu Shaoge." Saying that, he left.
Bai Xue glanced at Lu Yin with a complicated expression before walking away.
Granny (Gé Lán Ní) approached Lu Yin's side, puzzled. "Are you really sure it was Liu Shaoge who sent the message?"
"How would I know?" Lu Yin said casually.
Granny blinked. "Then why were you so certain just now?"
Lu Yin gave her a dumbfounded look. "If you don't act certain, how would they believe you? When throwing blame, you have to be steady, ruthless, and accurate. If you don't get that, all your years of learning are wasted." With that, he descended to his residence.
Granny's face darkened. Throwing blame? That bastard is truly despicable.
The anonymous message Granny sent quickly spread through the local network. The many students who had been fiercely fighting in Europe immediately rushed to Tianzhu.
Erd and Haidian hurriedly clarified that they were just passing by and happened to encounter the Tianzhu Hermit, which is why they fought. But no one believed this. More and more students appeared in Tianzhu.
In the following days, Lu Yin watched the local network like watching a peaceful-era movie. Notifications kept appearing—who defeated whom, who died, and so on. Some students from across the ocean in America rushed over but several were eaten by mutated sea beasts. For a time, the notifications never stopped.
Five days later, Erd and Haidian finally cleared their names, confirming the fugitive's belongings were not in Tianzhu. Immediately, many students turned their attention to the capital city.
Lu Yin sighed. What must come will come. Trying to divert attention won't last long. Students daring to join the trial are not fools—Capital City is undoubtedly the most likely place.
Under these circumstances, Erd connected with many students and proposed controlling the capital city, waiting for the fugitive. If the fugitive did not appear within a month, they would all join forces to fight the second batch of trial students.
Many students responded positively to this proposal.
The Tenth Academy of the Starry Sky was about to arrive in the Canglan Territory. It was foreseeable that there would definitely be some supreme experts among the second batch, and the second trial might even be prepared for them. Many students were not confident to face them alone, so Erd's proposal gave them hope.
For a time, many responded.
In Capital City, Zhang Ding Tian and Bai Xue looked grim. They also learned the news and knew the situation was bad. For the next half month or so, Capital City would become a battlefield.
Zhang Ding Tian was strong but even strength has limits. Moreover, he lacked combat techniques. Surrounded, he definitely could not protect the city. Bai Xue was even less capable. Even if the Seven Saints gathered to face many students, it would be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Lu Yin's expression darkened the moment he learned the news. His identity in this trial was as a Earthling. If Capital City was controlled, the effect he hoped to achieve would be greatly reduced. Furthermore, he had no intention of letting the fugitive go. And there were the fugitive's leftover items. In short, Capital City was very important.
"Lu Yin, let's go quickly. Capital City definitely can't hold," Granny urged him anxiously.
Lu Yin's gaze was deep in thought. Currently, the top fighters on Earth were at the level of Zhang Ding Tian and Erd. Zhang Ding Tian was even slightly stronger than Erd. Soon, many students would besiege Capital City. There would be more than one Erd-level powerhouse. To break the deadlock, he had to surpass that level. The only way was to increase his combat strength—at least to Erd's level—to make up the difference in energy intensity and be able to crush them with the Heavenly Star Palm.
Thinking this, Lu Yin said in a low voice to Granny, "You stay in Capital City. I'll be back in a few days." Then he flew up into the sky.
Granny gritted her teeth. She wasn't stupid—stay in the capital city to wait for death?
Just as Lu Yin was about to fly away from the capital, Bai Xue blocked him. "You're going to run away?" Bai Xue questioned him.
Lu Yin said in a deep voice, "I'll be back before the students attack the capital."
"Why should I believe you?" Bai Xue said, her beautiful face full of contempt for Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was indifferent. "There's no need for you to believe me. You can't stop me. Or do you want to have a life-or-death battle with me before the students start fighting?"
Bai Xue clenched her fist.
"Let him go," Zhang Ding Tian's voice sounded, but he did not show himself.
Bai Xue had no choice and landed in the capital.
Lu Yin took a long look at the capital city, then flew away.
Not long after leaving the capital, Lu Yin looked at his personal terminal. "The closest one is you," he said, then suddenly rushed westward.
After Lu Yin left, Granny also left. She wasn't Lu Yin's servant. If Lu Yin hadn't been watching her, she would have slipped away long ago. This was a good opportunity.
However, the idea was beautiful but impossible to realize. Granny was sadly stopped by Bai Xue.
"Who do you think you are to stop me?" Granny shouted angrily.
Bai Xue stared coldly at her. "Because you are Lu Yin's woman. He left, so you must stay."
"Who's his woman? Don't talk nonsense!" Granny angrily retorted.
Bai Xue was helpless toward Lu Yin but dealing with Granny was easy. In no time, she froze Granny and threw her into Lu Yin's residence. Granny stayed frozen for a long while before thawing out.
"Damn Lu Yin, damn Ice Girl, damn native, so unreasonable!" Granny cursed, furious.
In Shanxi, the closest place to the capital, there had been no Seven Saints guarding it at first. So now the strongest there was only Earth-level. Despite this, Shanxi still gathered a group of Evolvers in Tong City, becoming one of the largest gathering places in Shanxi.
Lasser was a very cheerful person and also easily satisfied. Although he was the strongest in the Gairu Academy of the Great Universe Empire—ranked just below the top—he had no ambition to complete any mission. He only wanted to occupy a territory and mine properly, earn some credit, and report back. He had no intention of stirring up trouble.
During the two-month safety period, Lasser lived happily. From the beginning of his arrival, as a Tinkerer—or rather, a Heavenly-level powerhouse—he occupied Tong City, becoming the city's guardian god, enjoying countless worshippers. Occasionally, he helped the poor survivors fight monsters. Most of the time, he was very comfortable. Especially recently, he discovered a rare mineral deposit that could greatly boost his record. Thinking of this made Lasser very happy.
Facing the sunlight, sipping a little wine, Lasser squinted his eyes and hummed a song from his hometown. "This kind of primitive planet is still the best—fresh air, simple folk customs, no surveillance, do whatever I want, occasionally find some precious ore and make a little money, sizzling, this life is perfect, hahaha."
After enjoying the moment, Lasser curled his fingers, and two beautiful young girls approached. One rubbed his shoulders, the other massaged his legs and poured him wine. Lasser exhaled with satisfaction. "Nice."
Just as Lasser raised the wine cup to his lips, sunlight above was blocked. Frowning, Lasser looked up. A young man of ordinary appearance was hovering in midair, looking at him. Hmm? A Tinkerer?
Lasser's face turned serious. He waved the two clearly frightened girls away and stared coldly at the man. "Who are you?"
"Robbery," the man said in two words.
Lasser was stunned. "What? Say that again?"
The man was, of course, Lu Yin. There was only one way for him to quickly increase his strength—absorb star energy as fast as possible. Robbery was the fastest way. "I said, robbery."
Lasser laughed angrily. "Kid, you're also a trial student, so blind? Do you know who I am just to try to rob me? Let me tell you, I—"
Before he could finish, a terrible pain burst in his abdomen. His body was blasted with immense force, flying and crashing into the ground, creating a huge, deep pit.
Inside the pit, Lasser coughed a few times, spat out a mouthful of blood, face pale, and looked up. "That was… the Rift Sky Palm? Damn, where did such a freak come from?"