Breaking Into Probe Realm

"Can Saint of Punishment last for three hours?" Qin Xuan glared at the doctor and asked.

The doctor nodded, "Yes."

Soon, the Xing Camp army surrounding them all retreated.

With no one around, Granny leaned back with a sigh of relief. Three hours was just a conservative estimate; she actually only needed two hours to recover some of her injuries. Without a Probe Realm cultivator, the others wouldn't be able to stop her.

Thinking this, Granny glanced at Teres, then looked at Aoton. Huh? Wait, where was Aoton? Granny's expression changed. She tried to get up and look, but the slightest movement sent waves of pain through her entire body. She had no choice but to sit back down. No need to rush, she'd wait two more hours. Even if Aoton wasn't dead, his injuries would definitely be more severe than hers. Right, and that Yata, daring to attack her, he needed to be taught a lesson too.

Beneath the ruins a thousand meters away from Granny, Aoton's corpse lay quietly on the ground. Lu Yin panted heavily. He was also heavily injured, but the most important thing right now was the Body Sculpting Technique. Body Sculpting could heal injuries to a certain extent.

After observing for a while, Lu Yin cut off five of Aoton's fingers before finding the Body Sculpting Technique crystal.

"It's this moment," Lu Yin exclaimed excitedly, integrating the Body Sculpting Technique into his body. Instantly, searing pain engulfed him. He once again experienced that supreme power, all the cells in his body rearranging and refining themselves. The surging might felt like looking down upon the starry sky, lifting him, this tiny ant, out of the world of Earth.

Pfft.

Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. Cell remodeling was painful, yet it was also blissful. He could feel himself evolving, becoming more and more in tune with this starry sky.

An hour passed. Granny's complexion had improved somewhat, her injuries getting better. "Give me another hour, and I'll be able to move," Granny said excitedly. She had no intention of leaving. Controlling Jinling would give her leverage to negotiate with stronger individuals in the future.

Although the blue zone offered some protection, not everyone adhered to those rules. Evolution Trials on ordinary planets were manageable, but with the tenth Courtyard of the Starry Sky about to appear, everyone wanted to shine during the trials. This Earth trial was destined to be brutal.

What worried Granny the most was the arrival of the second batch of trial participants in just over two months.

Their batch of trial participants had been determined long ago. The news of the Tenth Courtyard of the Starry Sky had only just emerged then, and not many people had joined this trial last minute. But the second batch was entirely different. The students in the second batch were coming solely for the Tenth Courtyard of the Starry Sky. Granny didn't know who would appear, but she had a premonition that unimaginable monstrous geniuses might emerge among them.

She didn't intend to monopolize Jinling; that was unrealistic. She hoped to use Jinling to align herself with certain individuals in exchange for better trial results. That was her objective, and likely Teres's as well.

Another half hour passed. Granny felt she had recovered a bit more. Just as she was about to get up and look for Aoton, a surge of powerful Star Energy fluctuations came from not far away. Granny looked in alarm. What was this?

A thousand meters away, the pain within Lu Yin gradually subsided. He clenched his fist, feeling his own strength. Now, he had truly stepped into the cultivation world, possessing a sliver of capital to gaze up at the starry sky.

Granny tapped her personal terminal to test her combat power. Beep, beep, beep. The sound continued, and finally, her combat power displayed 1080. Granny was puzzled. 1080? Had someone just broken through to the Probe Realm? Who? Yata?

Within the ruins a thousand meters away, Lu Yin pushed aside the rubble and emerged, looking towards Granny.

Granny's eyes widened in surprise, her heart sinking. Her gaze flickered. "You... you broke through to the Probe Realm?"

Lu Yin approached Granny step by step, a faint smile on his lips. "Didn't you already detect it?"

Granny frowned, her tone softening. "I'm sorry, Yata. I shouldn't have pushed you out to block the enemy's attack just now, but you have to believe me, it was an instinctive reaction, not intentional."

Lu Yin stopped about ten meters away from Granny and chuckled. "Of course, I believe you. An elite from the academy, having experienced trials of life and death, having such an instinctive reaction is completely normal."

Granny revealed a slight smile. "That's good. Yata, Teres and Aoton are both dead, and this native is also heavily injured. From now on, Jinling is ours. We'll cooperate, and no one can take Jinling away."

"Well said. Before that, could I borrow something from you?" Lu Yin asked Granny with a faint smile.

Granny's expression changed, and she forced a smile. "Borrow what?"

Lu Yin replied, "Nothing much, just some Energy Crystals."

Granny's eyes sharpened. "What did you say?"

Lu Yin stared at Granny and said calmly, "Let's put it this way: hand over your Void Ring."

"You want to rob me?" Granny shouted.

Lu Yin shrugged. "Don't put it so darkly. I just want to take a look."

Granny stood up, staring intently at Lu Yin. "Yata, don't think that just because Body Sculpting succeeded and healed some of your injuries, you can suppress me. You haven't fully recovered, and besides, I've also healed some of my injuries. If we were to fight, it's hard to say who would win. Don't forget, you've only just reached the Probe Realm, with a mere combat power of 1080."

The corner of Lu Yin's mouth curved. "Is that so? If you truly believed in combat power, would you be talking so much nonsense to me?"

Granny's eyes flickered, but she didn't answer.

Lu Yin continued, "Combat power is just the external influence of individual Star Energy, purely the influence of Star Energy. It doesn't represent true strength. Isn't that the first sentence in the academy textbooks?"

"Wrong. The textbooks just don't want to discourage the civilian students. The stronger the combat power, the higher the individual Star Energy intensity, and the greater the suppression effect on those with lower combat power. Otherwise, why do you think Teres was stronger than me? Our combat powers were nearly double, a difference that no Battle Skill can bridge," Granny said coldly.

Lu Yin took a step forward, approaching Granny again. "Make a move if you're confident."

Granny's eyes turned fierce as she stared at the approaching Lu Yin. She took out a Flame Crystal from her Void Ring and crushed it. Flames erupted into the air. "Flame Palm!" Granny was forced to attack. Even if she could defeat Lu Yin with this palm strike, she would sustain further injuries herself, but there was no other way. Granny had no choice.

Seeing Granny's palm strike, laden with deep flames, Lu Yin raised his hand. The moon revolved around his palm as he unleashed the Heavenly Star Palm without hesitation. The moment their palms met, the moon erupted. Terrifying power surged through the palm strike, completely destroying the flames and sending Granny flying a hundred meters away. Her arm snapped, and she crashed to the ground in disbelief, staring at Lu Yin.

She never imagined Lu Yin could heavily injure her with a single palm strike. What Battle Skill was that? It couldn't possibly be Wave Palm; Wave Palm was no match for Flame Palm. Their combat powers were nearly double apart, a gap that ordinary Battle Skills could hardly bridge.

Lu Yin gazed at his right palm with burning eyes. This was the Heavenly Star Palm. After reaching the Probe Realm, its power had increased again. With a palm strike, stars would appear, and the explosion of stars was enough to crush everything. This was just one star. What about two? Ten? Twenty? Lu Yin didn't dare to imagine the power.

This kind of Battle Skill must never be revealed.

The commotion here attracted Qin Xuan and the others. When the army reappeared, all they saw was Lu Yin standing on the ground.

"Brother Lu?" Feng Hong exclaimed in surprise.

Qin Xuan and the others were also surprised. They had retreated far away during the fight and hadn't seen anything.

Lu Yin said, "Imprison that woman and save Saint of Punishment."

Soon, Granny was taken away by the army, and Zhou Shan was urgently sent to the treatment room by doctors.

"Wait," Zhou Shan's weak voice sounded.

Everyone gathered around.

Zhou Shan looked at Lu Yin. "While I'm being treated, I entrust Jinling to your protection. Please."

Lu Yin nodded, "Don't worry."

"Thank you," Zhou Shan said before promptly losing consciousness.

Today's battle had caused immense losses for Jinling. Lu Yin ordered the army to rebuild the destroyed Jinling Gathering Place and to comfort the survivors, while also commanding Luo Yun and the others to return to Jinling.

Many matters didn't require Lu Yin's personal attention; Xing Camp had its own established procedures. He, however, went to the lowest level of Jinling's prison for Evolvers and saw Granny.

Granny was currently bound by her limbs, with numerous hidden technological weapons surrounding her. Any slight movement from her would result in immediate gunfire.

Lu Yin dismissed the guards and approached Granny. He took her Void Ring, cut her finger, and used the genetic code within her blood to unlock the Void Ring, pouring out all its contents.

Void Rings were extremely precious, and not many could afford one. Asta and Aoton didn't have them, only Granny and Teres did. Lu Yin had already confiscated Teres's Void Ring and obtained many good items from it. Now, it was Granny's turn.

"Who exactly are you?" Granny asked.

Lu Yin chuckled, "What do you think?"

"You must be from the universe, definitely not from Earth," Granny stated with certainty, glaring at Lu Yin through gritted teeth.

Lu Yin nodded, took all the Energy Crystals, and put the rest of her belongings, like her undergarments, back into the Void Ring before returning it to Granny.

Without the genetic code, the Void Ring was useless. He had no reason to steal a useless Void Ring.