For Lu Yin, the most important thing currently was Star Energy crystals, followed by the fugitive. He possessed the Three-Stage Physique Refining Art, which could allow him to undergo a third physique refinement, reaching the Fusion Realm. However, progressing beyond the Fusion Realm would be troublesome.
Normal Physique Refining Arts could only refine the physique three times. Only stronger Physique Refining Arts allowed for a fourth refinement. Even Willow or Bailey would likely not possess such an art; one would have to seek stronger individuals. On Earth, the only hope was the fugitive.
Even though that fugitive might be very powerful, Lu Yin was unsure what methods those four students had. He decided to stir the waters, attracting all the students to contend for him. The more chaotic it was, the more beneficial it would be for the fugitive. Once his third Star Core circulated, no one among the first batch of trial participants would be his match. For now, he needed to buy time.
In a quiet courtyard in the capital, Lu Yin closed the windows, placed Flame Star Crystals around him, and then returned to his room. He spread his hands, and a die slowly materialized.
The die's glow was dim, not yet recovered. Without Star Energy crystals, it would take a long time to recover enough for use, and he didn't want to wait.
Rubbing his hands, Lu Yin's eyes gleamed as he stared at the die. He crushed a cubic Star Energy crystal, which he had painstakingly collected. The surging Star Energy poured into the die, making its purple glow increasingly bright, finally recovering its luster, with hazy star power shimmering around it.
Lu Yin licked his lips, feeling a little unsettled. At this moment, his mood was like that of a gambler. "Come on, give me some luck, let's see what I can roll," he muttered, then Lu Yin poked the die with one finger.
The die quickly spun, its hazy star power incredibly beautiful.
Lu Yin stared with wide eyes. Finally, the die stopped spinning. The pips on five faces disappeared, leaving only one face with — a single pip.
"It's a single pip again!" Lu Yin exclaimed in surprise. A single pip allowed him to randomly obtain an identical item from someone's Spatial Ring. The first time he rolled the die, it was a single pip, and he obtained the Heavenly Star Art and Heavenly Star Palm that allowed him to rise. This was the second time.
Lu Yin watched as the die shot out a beam of light, piercing through the void, as if opening a passage. Then, an object fell to the ground, making a thump.
Lu Yin stared blankly at the ground, in disbelief. This, this, this was a snack?
On the ground lay a beautifully packaged snack bag, quietly. The snack bag was engraved with words Lu Yin didn't understand, probably advertising slogans.
Lu Yin dumbfounded picked up the snack bag, feeling like spitting blood.
He had spent a cubic Star Energy crystal to get such a thing, a snack. Even a broken dagger would have been better!
The glow around the die dimmed, then disappeared.
The room returned to normal, leaving only Lu Yin silently holding a bag of snacks, his heart bleeding. It was too deceiving.
For ten days, Lu Yin had stayed in the capital. It was much quieter here. The zombie tide outside the city had greatly diminished in number since colliding with the beast tide, and more and more evolved humans dared to venture out.
The capital was calm, but Europe was turned upside down.
Ten days ago, Lu Yin had Granny release the news about the fugitive being in the Mediterranean Sea. This news was initially not believed by anyone, but as Erde's whereabouts and those of his companions were exposed, many students came to believe it and rushed to the Mediterranean Sea.
A few days ago, a major battle broke out in the Mediterranean Sea. The surface of the sea was even evaporated. It was rumored that the fugitive possessed Fusion Realm strength, killing several students before escaping. Erde and his companions were all injured.
The strongest teams from the academies were not just Erde's group. Three teams had arrived from Huaxia, two from the Northern Tsar, and two from Europe. Moreover, with such a vast Africa, the number of top-tier student teams was considerable, causing the entire Europe to be turned upside down.
Lu Yin listened to Granny's report with some satisfaction. As long as the fugitive wasn't caught, it was good. His own Star Core circulation simulation was also going smoothly; the third Star Core was vaguely discernible and could be successfully formed in at most half a month. At that time, it would be his turn to act.
The Emergence of the Zombie King
Outside the capital, countless zombies wandered along the roads. Occasionally, zombies would emerge from stores on both sides, chewing on unknown objects.
As countless gunshots rang out, a convoy sped by, crushing the obstructing zombies without slowing down, leaving behind blood and a pungent stench on the ground.
Suddenly, a loud explosion occurred, and a fierce wind inexplicably arose, overturning the convoy. All the evolved humans in the vehicles scrambled out, bewildered by this sudden, strange gust of wind.
"What's going on?" A tall man, brushing dust off himself, yelled with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Captain, an inexplicable gust of wind flipped the vehicles," someone reported.
The man frowned, looking into the distance. The surroundings were calm; where did the fierce wind come from?
Just then, a distant store was sliced in half by an invisible attack. A second later, all the evolved humans stood stunned in place, their upper bodies falling to the ground. They had all been wiped out by an invisible attack.
Originally, the deaths of these evolved humans were not particularly strange, but over the next few days, more evolved humans were continuously wiped out by invisible attacks, drawing the attention of the Huaxia Military Camp.
When a Terrestrial-level expert from the Huaxia Military Camp was wiped out, Chương Đỉnh Thiên left the capital. That wiped-out Terrestrial-level expert was the top master in the capital, second only to their Heaven-level experts. If he didn't act, no one from the Huaxia Military Camp would dare to.
Zombies on both sides of the road roared and lunged at Zhang Ding Tian. Underground, strange mutated beasts squirmed.
Zhang Ding Tian's expression remained unchanged. With a wave of his hand, a strong energy gale killed all the zombies.
Perhaps sensing Zhang Ding Tian's power, the roadsides became eerily quiet. Zhang Ding Tian walked for a long time without encountering any attacks. After some thought, he put on the Personal Connection Device that Bai Xue had given him. This Personal Connection Device came from Paris. Originally, Zhang Ding Tian disdained using it, but now there was nothing more suitable.
He lightly tapped the Personal Connection Device. Soon, a beeping sound came from the device. Zhang Fing Tian's eyes narrowed as he looked towards the northeast. He raised his blade and directly struck out. A huge slash cut through the ground, sweeping across. There, a figure ran frantically, its left arm injured by the slash, letting out a low growl.
Zhang Ding Tian burst forward. The flat of his blade struck horizontally. The figure turned, revealing a ferocious and terrifying face – it was a Zombie.
With a thud, the Zombie was pinned to the ground by a single strike. Its blood-red eyes emitted a cruel light. It waved its hands, and invisible fierce winds transformed into sharp blades, cutting towards Zhang Ding Tian. Zhang Ding Tian casually waved his hand, dispersing the fierce wind blades. His blade swirled, slicing through, and the Zombie's head rolled into the distance, shattered by the residual impact.
Zhang Ding Tian frowned, looking at the Zombie, his expression strange. In his understanding, zombies were merely failed products of human evolution and should not possess such powerful strength. But this Zombie not only had Terrestrial-level strength, its hands could even conjure fierce winds. This was bizarre.
Zhang Ding Tian quickly returned to the capital and found Diector Lian, explaining the Zombie's situation to him. Diector Lian was shocked, "What did you say? A Zombie has Terrestrial-level strength? And can even conjure fierce winds? Impossible, they are just failed products of human gene mutation."
Zhang Ding Tian said gravely, "The truth is as I've stated."
Diector Lian pondered, his eyes solemn. Currently, the number of zombies on Earth far exceeded that of survivors. If zombies could truly evolve, that would be troublesome. Humanity would not only have to face powerful mutated beasts but also zombies.
More importantly, the ability to conjure fierce winds. This wasn't something that could appear through normal evolution. Currently, they only knew of two individuals who could wield supernatural powers. Even Zhang Ding Tian didn't possess supernatural power. How could a Zombie have this kind of power?
"If one can appear, a second can appear. Isn't Lu Yin from Jinling? Ask him if he's encountered this kind of Zombie," Diector Lian said.
Zhang Ding Tian immediately sent someone to summon Lu Yin and Bai Xue.
When Lu Yin heard that Zhang Ding Tian had encountered a Zombie King, his eyes changed instantly.
"You know?" Zhang Ding Tian stared at Lu Yin, asking.
Lu Yin nodded, explaining the situation with the long-haired Zombie King. He had previously speculated that the capital should know about this, but he hadn't expected them to only encounter it now.
Bai Xue was incredulous, "Swallowing supernatural energy crystals can generate supernatural power? How is that possible? Humans can't even do that."
Lu Yin said gravely, "What I saw was indeed this scene. There's no need for me to lie to you."
Diector Lian's expression was serious as he looked at the three of them. "Actually, we always believed that zombies were the result of failed human evolution, and the truth has shown that most zombies are indeed like that: they can only wander, their combat power is very weak, posing a threat only to ordinary people. But conversely, what if zombies are not a failure, but another path of evolution? Doesn't that make sense?"
Zhang Ding Tian's eyes changed. "Humans can absorb the energy crystals within mutated beasts to become stronger, and zombies, similarly, can, and can even absorb supernatural energy crystals to gain stronger power."
Diector Lian said solemnly, "Until now, no one has witnessed a Zombie swallowing an energy crystal. A mutated beast can often easily tear apart many zombies, and even if severely injured, it can easily escape. Therefore, zombies cannot obtain energy crystals, nor would anyone be willing to give their hard-earned energy crystals to zombies. So, this possibility was excluded from the very beginning. But it doesn't deny that some extremely lucky zombies might obtain energy crystals. If such a possibility truly exists, Earth will undergo a huge change."