The Battle of Jinling

Lu Yin had never expected to be able to cultivate this way on Earth. With the Heavenly Star Art doubling his cultivation speed, he absorbed energy far faster than students like Granny. Across the Great Yu Empire, he would probably rank among the best.

Before long, he had used up an entire Star Energy Crystal, and the star energy he had absorbed into his body had increased considerably.

Then Lu Yin crushed another crystal and began absorbing it.

Having enough Star Energy Crystals didn't mean he could cultivate his current realm to its peak. They also contained impurities that had to be condensed away, something only those who cultivated with the Body Sculpting Technique could do.

Those who cultivated by directly absorbing Star Energy Crystals could not remove the impurities until they reached the Integrating Realm. As a result, their energy was weak and their combat strength unstable. They also had to rely on Star Energy Crystals to cultivate, yet the crystals were hard to obtain, creating a vicious cycle. That was how the terms Wandering Soldier and War Slave had come about.

Lu Yin absorbed all five Star Energy Crystals before he finally felt the surging energy within him. He had reached the peak of the Gaze Realm, the equivalent of Earth's peak Earth Rank. He was just one step away from the Probe Realm, and taking that step required the Body Sculpting Technique.

Lu Yin lay on the roof of the villa and rested through the night. The next day, he went straight to Granny. "Let's spar."

Granny was speechless. "You came to spar with me first thing in the morning? I may be a cultivator, but I'm also a woman. What kind of man comes looking for a woman to fight first thing in the morning?"

Lu Yin also felt that it was a little odd, but he was eager to find out how he compared to the academy's elite Probe Realm cultivators. "Then I'll come back this afternoon."

"No need. If you want to fight, let's do it now," Granny said. She hadn't taken Lu Yin seriously at all. If his Wave Palm hadn't been decent, she wouldn't have sought to work with him.

They found an open space and stood ten meters apart. The distant roars of beasts drifted in from both sides, while a faint, bloody smell scattered on the howling wind.

"Make your move. I won't fight back," Granny said coolly, her gaze proud.

Lu Yin clenched his right fist, then relaxed it. The air peeled back like a curtain as he kicked off hard, the shock wave splitting the ground. He shot straight toward Granny and struck out with his palm. This was a pure Wave Palm, delivered with all his strength.

The Wave Palm startled Granny. She had originally intended to block it with one hand, but in the end, she raised both.

Boom!

A shock wave swept past. The immense pressure crushed the ground and shattered it. Lu Yin's palm drove Granny's legs into the earth, leaving a crater several meters across.

Granny was surprised. "That's some impressive power. Even the Probe Realm students at our academy might not be able to deliver such a ferocious palm. If it caught one by surprise, it could kill a Probe Realm cultivator with a combat strength of two thousand or less."

Lu Yin grinned. He really had killed Asta with his Wave Palm, though it hadn't been nearly as powerful then—and Asta hadn't had a combat strength of two thousand, either. "We're not done yet. Again." He struck out with another palm, still using the Wave Palm. Its power was almost the same as the last one, driving Granny a little deeper into the earth.

Granny frowned, her hands numb. "That's enough. Your attacks are useless against me. My combat strength exceeds two thousand, as you should know. Every time combat strength increases by a thousand, the energy intensity changes, and so does one's strength."

"Last palm!" Lu Yin shouted. As he spoke, starlight glimmered faintly across his right hand. A moon revolved around his palm, while the air flowed around its outermost edge just as it did with the Wave Palm. This was the Heavenly Star Palm.

The moment Lu Yin brought down his final palm, Granny's heart raced. Her body vanished in a blur, leaving behind an afterimage. The spot where she had stood was shattered by Lu Yin's palm. The ground within a hundred meters crumbled, and the force blasted in every direction, spreading with a deafening roar. Even the air overhead trembled under the shock wave and warped.

Granny appeared several meters away, staring at the scene in shock. "What was that?"

Lu Yin looked pleased with himself. "My grandfather taught it to me. The Ultimate Wave Palm."

Granny narrowed her eyes. With her experience, she couldn't recognize the Heavenly Star Palm, but if it was a Wave Palm, then its power was far too great. It had even made her feel threatened. "I've heard that the Wave Palm can be stacked. That last palm must have been a double Wave Palm," Granny said gravely.

Lu Yin shrugged. "Maybe. We just call it something different."

Granny looked at Lu Yin without her former arrogance, her gaze now serious and her tone even. "A double Wave Palm puts extreme strain on the body. Even among Probe Realm cultivators, few can achieve it. No one at our academy can. You're impressive. Once you reach the Probe Realm, you'll be able to compete with any elite. You might even get into the empire's highest academy—Yu Tang."

Lu Yin was surprised. "Yu Tang? Me?"

Granny said, "Maybe. With your physical strength, it's not impossible. All right, I'm tired. Let's go." With that, Granny left.

Lu Yin watched Granny walk away and raised his hand to look at it. The spar had been one thing, but more importantly, he had wanted to see if he could defeat her. That woman had reacted quickly and dodged with a footwork technique at the critical moment. No wonder she was an academy elite.

But he wasn't bad, either. The moment she dodged, he had drawn in the power of the Heavenly Star Palm. If she thought that had been the full extent of his strength, she would be disappointed.

Lu Yin couldn't get in touch with Jinling, so he told Luo Yun and the others to stay at the gathering place. Granny didn't care about Luo Yun and the others, which saved Lu Yin from having to explain.

After two days, however, Luo Yun came to see Lu Yin.

"Brother Lu, how long are we going to stay here?" Luo Yun asked, keeping her eyes on Lu Yin. She had learned from the two frontline Commanders of Ten Thousand that this was a frontline supply station, but something still felt off. People here often talked about Heavenly Rank Experts. Where would such experts come from?

Lu Yin replied, "Don't ask too many questions. I'll give you an answer in a few days."

Luo Yun was about to ask again, but her expression suddenly changed as she looked up at the sky. Lu Yin turned around. Granny descended with a worried look. "Come on. Aoton and the others have gone to Jinling."

Lu Yin was startled. He grabbed Granny's arm, and she carried him into the air toward Jinling.

Luo Yun was surprised. If she hadn't been mistaken, the armor that woman wore was exactly like that of the extraterrestrials who had attacked Jinling some time ago.

Xu San walked over nearby, equally surprised.

Air currents swept across the sky as Granny flew toward Jinling at top speed. But with Lu Yin in tow, she couldn't go very fast.

"How do you know Aoton went to Jinling?" Lu Yin asked.

Granny said coldly, "That's none of your business. Remember, when we reach Jinling, be ready to adapt to the situation. Our goal is to seize Jinling. Aoton definitely didn't go alone, and his accomplices won't be weak. Be careful."

Lu Yin's expression turned grave. Since Aoton had dared to abandon Granny, that meant the people he had chosen were certainly stronger than her. Based on his estimates, Asta's combat strength was around fifteen hundred, while Aoton's might have been close to two thousand. Granny exceeded two thousand, so whoever had teamed up with Aoton must have had a combat strength far above two thousand—and there might be more than one of them.

He hoped Zhou Shan could hold on. Lu Yin looked south.

Half an hour later, Granny brought Lu Yin rapidly toward Jinling. High above the city, two figures hovered. One was Aoton, whose Ring Armor was shattered across a large section of his body. Beside him stood a Young Man with his hands behind his back and a proud look in his eyes.

All the survivors in Jinling looked up at the sky in fear. Two Heavenly Rank Experts?

Zhong Mountain sounded a piercing alarm. Zhou Shan rose into the air and stopped a hundred meters from Aoton and the other man. His expression was grave. "You again?"

Aoton sneered. "You must regret not killing me last time."

Zhou Shan narrowed his eyes. "I certainly do."

"Hmph. You'll never get another chance. This is my senior, Teres," Aoton said proudly.

Zhou Shan looked at the man beside Aoton. Feeling the energy waves radiating from Teres, his heart sank. This man was far stronger than Aoton.

Teres looked at Zhou Shan and said arrogantly, "I didn't expect there to be someone like you among the natives. I can help you reach the stars. Follow me."

"Senior Teres, there's no need to waste words on him. Natives like this are stubborn. He won't agree," Aoton said.

Teres shot Aoton a cold glance. "When I'm speaking, it's not your place to interrupt."

Aoton hurriedly acknowledged him, then glared angrily at Zhou Shan, hatred flashing in his eyes.

Zhou Shan gripped his giant axe and said coldly, "There's no way I'll follow you. You extraterrestrials want to seize Jinling, don't you? Defeat me first." As he spoke, Zhou Shan flew toward the northern part of Jinling. He didn't want to fight above the city.

Unfortunately, he wasn't the one who got to decide. Zhou Shan had flown less than a thousand meters when Aoton slashed toward Zhong Mountain. A blade-like strike sheared off part of the mountain, bringing countless screams with it.

"You're asking for death!" Zhou Shan roared, swinging his axe at Aoton.

Aoton sneered and attacked with his sword.

A few minutes later, Granny grabbed Lu Yin and arrived in Jinling. At a glance, she saw Zhong Mountain in ruins and the Jinling Gathering Place filled with screams. Countless people were fleeing Outside the City. Several cracks split open in the earth, swallowing everything, while energy shook through the air and destroyed countless buildings.

Even the clouds high overhead had been scattered.

Inside Jinling, Zhou Shan spat out a mouthful of blood. He leaned heavily on his giant axe and glared up at the sky.

Teres and Aoton looked down coldly. "Not bad. You'd rank among the top fifteen at the military academy. Too bad you ran into me," Teres said impassively.