Starry Sky Tenth Academy

Asta's personal terminal's detection range was unknown to Lu Yin, but it could probably cover a ten-mile radius.

Lu Yin followed the direction indicated by the combat power readings, gradually moving away from the toll station.

As the long-haired Zombie left, the zombie horde that had been agitated by it gradually calmed down, returning to their aimless wandering state, which allowed Xu San and the others to breathe a sigh of relief.

A foul-smelling ditch snaked into the distance. Green eyes occasionally appeared and disappeared in the grass under the dark night.

Lu Yin walked through the grass, glancing at his personal terminal from time to time. The displayed location was right here.

If this long-haired Zombie King wasn't dealt with, it would be very dangerous for the Jinling army to pass through this road in the future. A single intelligent Zombie King could even bring disaster to Jinling.

Crack, crack, crack...

Chewing sounds echoed in Lu Yin's ears. Following the source of the sound, Lu Yin looked down into the ditch. Something dark red flickered there. The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, and moonlight shone down. A flash of red, accompanied by two scarlet eyes.

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. A Flame Crystal? Was this Zombie King consuming Flame Crystals?

Roar!

With a roar, the long-haired Zombie King leaped high, its claw slashing towards Lu Yin. Its arm was dark red, emitting heat.

Lu Yin dodged in surprise. The grass was torn apart by the Zombie King's attack, and a scorched smell filled the air.

The next moment, several Flame Crystals fell from the Zombie King's body, hitting the grass. Instantly, flames ignited, illuminating the land.

Lu Yin used his Roaming Step to circle behind the Zombie King, pulled out the iron rod still stuck in its back, and thrust it fiercely into the back of its head.

The Zombie King froze, then its body trembled and slowly fell. Dark red surged from within its body, and flames consumed the Zombie King from the inside out.

Lu Yin never expected that a Zombie King could develop talents by consuming various Energy Crystals. It was one in a million for humans to gain talents, yet Zombies could simply consume them. Who were the truly evolved, higher life forms? Lu Yin felt a sense of confusion.

The Zombie King was quickly burned to ashes, and the flames around it gradually died down.

Lu Yin walked to the channel where the Zombie King had been consuming Flame Crystals. There was a hole there. Lu Yin turned on his flashlight to illuminate it. All he saw was dark red. "Is this? A Flame Crystal mine?" Lu Yin was shocked, then excited.

Energy Crystals were quite popular in the universe. Whether they were pure Star Energy Crystals or natural Energy Crystals like flame or water, they were all valuable. He hadn't expected to find a Flame Crystal mine here. Although he didn't know how much there was, it was definitely a treasure.

Lu Yin was quite excited. He hadn't expected chasing a Zombie King would lead to such a discovery.

Thinking this, Lu Yin took some, then covered the hole again and made some arrangements to ensure no one would find it. This place, like Xu San, was a treasure. It was capital Lu Yin was setting aside for the future.

Just as Lu Yin was about to leave, something dark red appeared under his foot. He lowered himself and brushed away the dirt, revealing a scarlet vertical eye. It wasn't a real eye, but a scarlet vertical eye made of a peculiar material.

Lu Yin picked up the vertical eye, a chill running down his spine. He turned it over. On the back was a grinning skull, staring directly at him.

The moment he saw the skull, Lu Yin's scalp tingled. He instinctively wanted to throw it away, but he didn't. He put it directly into his Void Ring.

After putting it away, Lu Yin finally came to his senses, his eyes filled with disbelief. What exactly was this thing? Why was it here? It was clearly man-made. Had someone been here? This one item made him feel a chill, and Lu Yin felt he had found something extraordinary.

He let out a breath and quickly left.

Upon returning to the toll station, he found that the zombie horde had retreated significantly, with many still leaving.

It took an hour for the zombie horde to completely disperse.

The area outside the toll station was piled high with corpses, emitting a foul stench that attracted many Mutant Rats, which was quite unsettling.

"Brother Lu, where did you go?" Luo Yun asked reproachfully as soon as she saw Lu Yin.

Lu Yin said calmly, "I found an intelligent Zombie King. The zombie horde was drawn by it."

"What? Really?" Luo Yun exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Yin said to Luo Yun, "Report to Saint of Punishment immediately. The appearance of this kind of Zombie King means that zombies are no longer just about numbers; they can also produce powerful individuals. At least fifty of our soldiers died under that Zombie King tonight."

Luo Yun knew the gravity of the situation and immediately reported it upwards.

"Boss, how are you?" Xu San asked. He wasn't concerned about Lu Yin, but without him, he had no status in Xing Camp.

Lu Yin said indifferently, "I'll handle the remaining matters and then rest."

"Understood, boss," Xu San replied.

The zombie horde had caused nearly a hundred casualties. While it seemed cruel, everyone was already numb. No one knew how many people had died since Doomsday. Comrades fell one after another, and the soldiers had grown accustomed to it.

Lying on the roof of the toll station, Lu Yin couldn't help but touch his Void Ring. The skull-like vertical eye inside made him uneasy. That material, that feeling, it definitely wasn't from Earth. Did those students bring it down? What kind of students would bring something like this?

Luo Yun leaped onto the roof, her alluring face etched with fatigue. She sat beside Lu Yin. "Saint of Punishment wants us to contact the front lines as soon as possible, preferably to connect to the Capital City line and report this matter to the Capital City."

Lu Yin chuckled, "The Capital City? They probably already know."

"Why do you say that?" Luo Yun asked, surprised.

Lu Yin shook his head. "I don't know, just a guess. If Jinling can have a Zombie King, other places can too."

Luo Yun hugged her knees, gazing blankly into the distance. The dark night sky was unfathomably deep. Looking up, only the moonlight illuminated the sky, but it was soon covered by dark clouds.

"Do you think Earth will ever return to peace?" Luo Yun murmured.

Lu Yin didn't answer. The night made one feel lonely. At this moment, Luo Yun was completely different from her daytime self, but what did it matter? Doomsday wouldn't end just because someone felt lonely and scared. Planetary evolution was a long way off, and the trials had only just begun. Only he knew all this. Perhaps the Seven Saints also knew. Those students were the ones who would determine Earth's fate in the future.

Asta and Aoton were just ordinary students from the Great Yu Empire. Perhaps they were elites, but compared to the truly top-tier academies, they couldn't be considered elites. The elites of top-tier academies all possessed powerful Battle Skills, far beyond these individuals. These so-called trials, they were the main characters.

Thinking of this, Lu Yin touched his Void Ring and looked at Luo Yun. "Go get some rest. I'll be on duty tonight."

Luo Yun nodded and smiled at Lu Yin. "Actually, if you had comforted me just now, maybe something could have happened between us."

Lu Yin smiled and didn't mind. This woman wasn't his type.

Luo Yun left the rooftop, soldiers numbly cleaning up the surroundings, Xu San shouting in the distance.

Lu Yin took out Asta's personal terminal and opened it.

Even though he had removed the GPS device from Asta's personal terminal, he was still uneasy. He hadn't dared to access the cosmic network all this time, but now that he had left Jinling, he could take a look.

A personal terminal was a person's identification. For example, Asta's personal terminal contained all his information, as well as details about his friends, family, and relatives.

Lu Yin opened the personal terminal and connected to the network, only to see a message indicating that the network could not be connected.

Although he had guessed it might happen, Lu Yin was still somewhat disappointed.

These students participating in the planet's Evolution Trial were all registered. Upon death, their personal terminals would be disconnected from the network, signifying that Asta's death had already been discovered.

Lu Yin exhaled and looked up at the starry sky. He wasn't worried about his killing of Asta being exposed. The planet's Evolution Trial was extremely important and supervised by the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. No one was allowed to interfere with the trial. For the Great Yu Empire, Earth, though a native planet that hadn't reached space, was still a part of the Great Yu Empire. This trial was not only for the students but also for the people of Earth.

This was a fair trial. To the Great Yu Empire Youth Council, Lu Yin killing Asta was not surprising; on the contrary, he might even be praised. This was one of the reasons Lu Yin had killed Asta without hesitation. He wanted to get noticed by certain individuals.

Any student entering Earth, apart from communicating with each other, could not contact anyone outside Earth. They could only watch, not speak. This was the trial, a brutal trial where death was commonplace.

Lu Yin looked at the personal terminal screen. There was no useful information. Finally, in a corner, he discovered a few saved notifications from Asta.

"Student Asta, if the mission is not completed within three months, the Council will send in a second batch of trial participants. Please do your best."

"The Cosmic Youth Council has ruled to disband the Great Yu Empire Youth Council. Reorganization time is to be determined."

"The Cosmic Youth Council has ruled for the Starry Sky Tenth Academy to enter the outer universe's Canglan Territory. Wishing you all great martial luck."

A total of three notifications were saved, two of which involved the Cosmic Youth Council.

Lu Yin looked at the screen in surprise. He hadn't expected the Great Yu Empire Youth Council to be disbanded, nor did he expect the Starry Sky Tenth Academy to appear in the Canglan Territory.