"Can Saint of Punishment hold on for three hours?" Qin Xuan demanded, glaring at the doctor.
The doctor nodded. "Yes."
Soon, the entire army surrounding the area withdrew.
With no one else around, Granny let out a sigh of relief. Three hours was just a safety margin. In reality, she only needed two hours to recover from some of her injuries. Without a Probe Realm cultivator, the others wouldn't be able to stop her either.
As she thought this, Granny glanced at Teres, then looked toward Aoton. Hm? Wait, where was Aoton? Her face changed, and she tried to get up and look around, but even a slight movement sent pain coursing through her body. She had no choice but to sit back down. No need to rush; she could wait two hours. Even if Aoton wasn't dead, his injuries were definitely worse than hers. And there was also that Asta. He'd actually dared to attack her. She'd have to teach him a lesson, too.
Beneath the ruins a thousand meters from Granny, Aoton's body lay motionless on the ground. Lu Yin panted heavily. His injuries were severe too, but the most important thing now was the Body Sculpting Technique. Body sculpting could heal injuries to a certain extent.
After searching for a while, Lu Yin cut off five of Aoton's fingers before he found the Body Sculpting Technique crystal chip.
"Now's my chance." Lu Yin was thrilled. He fused the Body Sculpting Technique into his body, and immediately, agony swept through him. Once more, he experienced that supreme power. Every cell in his body recombined and was refined. A surging force, as if gazing down upon the starry sky, carried him, a tiny ant, beyond the confines of Earth.
Pfft!
Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. The reshaping of his cells was agonizing, yet blissful. He could feel himself evolving, becoming ever more attuned to this stretch of starry sky.
An hour passed. Granny's complexion had improved somewhat, and her injuries were healing. "Give me another hour and I'll be able to move." She was excited. She had no intention of leaving. Controlling Jinling would give her leverage when negotiating with stronger people in the future.
Although the blue zones were protected to some extent, not everyone followed the rules. Evolution Trials on ordinary planets were one thing, but now the Starry Sky Tenth Academy was about to appear. Everyone wanted to stand out in the Trial, and this one on Earth was bound to be brutal.
What worried Granny most was the arrival of the second batch of Trial Takers in a little over two months.
Their batch of Trial Takers had been decided long ago. At the time, news of the Starry Sky Tenth Academy had only just appeared, so few had joined the Trial at the last minute. The second batch would be completely different. Those students would be coming specifically for the Starry Sky Tenth Academy. Granny didn't know who would show up, but she had a feeling that there might be some unimaginable prodigies among them.
She had no intention of monopolizing Jinling; that wasn't realistic. She hoped to use Jinling to win over certain people and secure better results in the Trial. That was her goal—and probably Teres's as well.
Another half hour passed. Granny felt she had recovered a little more. Just as she was about to get up and look for Aoton, a surging wave of star energy suddenly erupted in the distance. Granny stared over in shock. What was that?
A thousand meters away, the pain in Lu Yin's body gradually subsided. He clenched his hand and felt his strength. Now, at last, he had truly set foot on the path of cultivation and gained a sliver of standing from which to gaze up at the starry sky.
Granny tapped her Personal terminal to test the battle power. Beep, beep, beep—the sound rang out repeatedly, and the final reading was 1,080. Granny frowned. 1,080? He'd just broken into the Probe Realm? Who was it? Asta?
Amid the ruins a thousand meters away, Lu Yin pushed aside the rubble and walked out, looking toward Granny.
Granny stared at him in astonishment, her heart sinking as her eyes flickered. "You... broke through to the Probe Realm?"
Lu Yin walked toward Granny, step by step, and smiled faintly. "You already detected it, didn't you?"
Granny frowned and softened her tone. "I'm sorry, Asta. I shouldn't have pushed you out to block the enemy's attack earlier, but you have to believe me. It was instinct. I didn't do it on purpose."
Lu Yin stopped a little over ten meters from Granny and smiled. "Of course I believe you. You're an elite from the Academy, someone who's survived life-and-death trials. That kind of instinct is perfectly normal."
Granny gave him a faint smile. "Good. Asta, Teres and Aoton are both dead, and that native is badly injured. Jinling is ours now. If we work together, no one can take it from us."
"Well said. Before that, could I borrow something from you?" Lu Yin looked at Granny with a faint smile.
Granny's expression shifted, but she forced a smile. "What?"
"Nothing much. Just your Energy Crystals."
Granny's gaze turned sharp. "What did you say?"
Lu Yin stared at Granny and said calmly, "Let me put it this way. Hand over your Void Ring."
"You're robbing me?" Granny shouted.
Lu Yin shrugged. "Don't make it sound so sinister. I just want to take a look."
Granny stood and glared at Lu Yin, her expression fierce. "Asta, don't think that Body Sculpting has healed some of your injuries and that you can overpower me. You haven't fully recovered, and I've healed some of my injuries too. It's still anyone's guess who would win if we fought. And don't forget, you've only just reached the Probe Realm. Your battle power is a mere 1,080."
Lu Yin's lips curled. "Really? If you truly believed in battle power, would you be wasting so many words on me?"
Granny's eyes flickered, but she didn't answer.
Lu Yin continued, "Battle power only measures the outward impact of an individual's star energy. It's nothing more than the effect of star energy; it can't represent one's true strength. That's the very first thing they teach in the Academy textbooks, isn't it?"
"Wrong. The textbooks say that so they don't discourage students from ordinary backgrounds. The higher your battle power, the greater the strength of your star energy, and the more you can suppress those with lower battle power. Otherwise, why do you think Teres is stronger than me? Your battle power is almost twice mine. No ordinary battle technique can make up for that gap," Granny said coldly.
Lu Yin took another step toward Granny. "Then attack me, if you're confident."
Granny glared at Lu Yin as he advanced, then took out a Flame Crystal from her Void Ring and crushed it. Flames surged into the air. "Flame Palm!" Forced to fight, Granny knew that even if she defeated Lu Yin with this strike, she would injure herself again. But she had no choice.
As Granny's palm struck toward him, deep flames gathered in her palm. Lu Yin raised his hand. The moon revolved around his palm as he unleashed the Heaven Star Palm without hesitation. At the moment of impact, the moon erupted. Its terrifying force followed the power of his palm and completely destroyed the flames, sending Granny flying a hundred meters. Her arm broke, and she crashed to the ground in a sorry heap, staring at Lu Yin in disbelief.
She had never imagined that Lu Yin could grievously injure her with a single palm strike. What kind of battle technique was that? It couldn't possibly be Wave Palm. Wave Palm was no match for Flame Palm. Their battle power was almost twice apart; ordinary battle techniques couldn't bridge that gap.
Lu Yin gazed at his right palm, his eyes burning. This was the Heaven Star Palm. After reaching the Probe Realm, its power had risen again. With one palm strike, a star appeared; when it exploded, it was enough to crush everything. And that was only one star. What if there were two? Ten? Twenty? Just how powerful would it be? Lu Yin didn't dare imagine it.
He absolutely couldn't let anyone find out about this battle technique.
The commotion drew Qin Xuan and the others over. When the army returned, all they saw was Lu Yin standing on the ground.
"Brother Lu?" Feng Hong exclaimed in surprise.
Qin Xuan and the others were equally astonished. They had retreated far away during the battle and hadn't seen what happened.
Lu Yin said, "Lock that woman up, and get Saint of Punishment medical treatment."
Soon, the soldiers escorted Granny away, while doctors urgently took Zhou Shan to the treatment room.
"Wait," Zhou Shan said weakly.
Everyone gathered around.
Zhou Shan looked at Lu Yin. "While I'm being treated, Jinling is in your hands. I'm counting on you."
Lu Yin nodded. "Don't worry."
"Thank you," Zhou Shan said, then immediately passed out.
The battle had cost Jinling dearly. Lu Yin ordered the army to rebuild the Jinling Gathering Place and comfort the survivors. He also ordered Luo Yun and the others to return to Jinling.
There were many matters Lu Yin didn't need to worry about; the Punishment Camp had its own procedures. He went to the lowest level of the prison where Jinling held its evolvers and found Granny.
Granny was bound at all four limbs. Hidden technological weapons were positioned around her, ready to fire at the slightest sign of movement.
Lu Yin dismissed the guards, walked up to Granny, took her Void Ring, and cut her finger. He used the genetic code in her blood to unlock the Void Ring, then poured out everything inside.
Void Rings were extremely valuable, and few could afford them. Asta and Aoton didn't have one; only Granny and Teres did. Lu Yin had taken Teres's Void Ring and gotten quite a few good things from it. Now it was Granny's turn.
"Who are you, really?" Granny asked.
Lu Yin smiled. "Who do you think?"
"You must be from the universe. You're definitely not from Earth," Granny said with conviction, gritting her teeth as she glared at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded and took all the Energy Crystals. He put the other things, like her underwear, into the Void Ring, then returned it to Granny.
Without the genetic code, the Void Ring was useless to him. There was no point in stealing a useless ring.
Before you continue