"My name is Lu Yin. Don't get it wrong," Lu Yin said.
"Is that the name you had on Earth?" Granny asked.
Lu Yin didn't answer. Instead, he stared at Granny. "Log into the Cosmic Network and change Jinling to blue."
Granny sneered and ignored him.
Lu Yin sighed. "I don't like using torture, but this is the Punishment Camp. You know how it is. They have plenty of ways to make you submit."
"These natives will pay for this," Granny said angrily.
"Before that, you'll pay a much more terrifying price." Lu Yin fixed Granny with a cold stare.
Granny met Lu Yin's gaze, but in the end, she still gave in. When it came down to it, she was only a student. She could be arrogant, cold, and even cruel toward the people of Earth, but that came from the difference in their status. Once that difference was stripped away, she was no different from an ordinary student.
With Lu Yin watching, Granny changed Jinling to blue on the map of Earth in the Cosmic Network.
Lu Yin looked at the map. Part of Earth had already turned blue, which meant those areas were entirely under the students' control. Of course, that wasn't necessarily true everywhere. Some students might have been captured and forced to turn their areas blue, but there probably weren't many cases like that.
Some areas of China had turned blue, as had regions in Europe, the Americas, and even Africa. What concerned Lu Yin most was Hubei. It, too, had turned blue.
Lu Yin fell into thought. Had Liu Shaoge given in? Or had he been killed?
"Tell me, who are the strongest among the students who arrived?" Lu Yin asked, staring at Granny.
Granny shook her head. "I don't know. The planet's Evolution Trial was organized by the Great Yu Empire, and the students came from various academies. I only know about the First Military Academy of the empire. Teres should be pretty strong, but I really don't know about the others."
Lu Yin didn't press her. After all, the real test would come in a little over two months, and he was confident he could handle the first batch of students.
Everyone was busy now. Lu Yin personally left Jinling to kill the heavenly-level Mutant Beasts detected by Personal terminals. It wasn't until five days later that the work finally eased up.
Lu Yin called a meeting, and all the Commanders of Ten Thousand attended, including Luo Yun, who had just returned from a frontline settlement.
After returning, Xu San was thoroughly convinced by Lu Yin. He'd only joined the Punishment Camp a short while ago, yet he had already replaced Saint of Punishment. Xu San felt that his future looked bright.
Lu Yin, too, found himself appreciating Xu San more and more. With Lu Yin's support, Xu San had already reached the Earth level, or the Gaze Realm. Once he reached the Probe Realm, he'd be quite valuable.
Lu Yin's praise filled Xu San with drive. He secretly resolved to grow stronger as quickly as possible. The more driven Xu San became, the more Lu Yin praised him. Everything seemed to be moving toward a bright future.
No one at the meeting dared defy Lu Yin. His willingness to enter a heavenly-level battlefield spoke for itself. What was more, Lu Yin had now admitted that he had reached the heavenly level—the same level as Saint of Punishment. No Commander of Ten Thousand would dare challenge him.
As for the two Commanders of Ten Thousand who had sided with Granny, Lu Yin stripped them of their positions and demoted them to the army, where they would atone for their crimes.
"The most important thing now is to abandon the front line and focus all our efforts on expanding Jinling Gathering Place," Lu Yin said to the remaining eight Commanders of Ten Thousand.
Someone hesitated. "Opening a route to the Capital City was the basic strategy set by Saint of Punishment. It wouldn't be right to abandon it, would it?"
Qin Xuan, the woman with glasses, looked at Lu Yin and said gravely, "I agree. With Jinling's current strength, we can't connect it to other regions. We have to secure our rear before we can face the enemy."
Feng Hong and the others agreed as well.
Lu Yin stood up. "That's settled. All Punishment Camp soldiers will be recalled. We'll expand westward and reclaim lost territory step by step." Then he left. Just before he went, he added calmly, "Find me a star map of the Solar System. The more detailed, the better."
The others exchanged glances but said nothing.
Qin Xuan watched Lu Yin leave, lost in thought. She felt he was even more domineering than Saint of Punishment, and that he seemed to have his eye on Jinling. Saint of Punishment had only asked him to manage things temporarily, yet Lu Yin had overturned his strategy. Although she agreed with Lu Yin, what would Saint of Punishment do if he woke up?
"Feng Hong, stay by Saint of Punishment's side around the clock for the time being," Qin Xuan said quietly.
Feng Hong looked puzzled. "Why?"
"Nothing. Just make sure Saint of Punishment is safe." She was worried Lu Yin might attack Saint of Punishment, kill him, and take complete control of Jinling.
Across from them, Luo Yun watched their exchange, her gaze flickering.
Zhao Yu had left several days earlier, heading northeast alone. Lu Yin admired the woman's courage, but thought it unwise.
The Punishment Camp had once had eighty thousand evolvers. After subtracting those lost on the front line, only fifty thousand remained. Once they were all called back to Jinling, its defenses grew much stronger. The Commanders of Ten Thousand guarded every direction, making Jinling impregnable.
The last rays of sunset gradually faded. Streaks of light flashed through the sky as they took out flying Mutant Beasts. On the city wall, Lu Yin said gravely, "If you spot a beast tide or a zombie horde, you can use heavy weapons. Don't worry about wasting ammunition."
"Yes, sir," two Commanders of Ten Thousand replied.
Suddenly, a cry rang out in the distance. Across the ground, groups of zombies were torn apart into bloody pulp as a huge flying Mutant Beast swooped low toward Jinling.
Everyone panicked. "Attack! Hurry!"
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and leaped into the air. In his hand was Aoton's sword. He swung it once, and a slash powered by Probe Realm energy crashed down, slamming the flying Mutant Beast into the ground. Its head twisted grotesquely as it let out a mournful cry.
Lu Yin landed and planted a foot on the beast's back. He drove his sword into its skull. The Mutant Beast shuddered twice, then fell still, dead.
Countless people watched in shock. Then cheers erupted. Someone started shouting, "Hidden Saint!" and soon countless voices were calling out Hidden Saint.
Lu Yin's mouth twitched. He didn't want to be called a saint, so he hurriedly tried to stop them. But the name Hidden Saint gradually spread.
There weren't many zombies or Mutant Beasts around Jinling; the Punishment Camp had cleared out most of them. After Lu Yin issued the order, the Punishment Camp concentrated its main forces in the west. Nearly half the Commanders of Ten Thousand moved to the western front to open up a route.
More and more survivors arrived in Jinling, and naturally, more and more of them were evolvers.
Before long, half a month had passed, and fewer than seventy days remained before the second batch of trial students arrived.
During those two weeks, Lu Yin absorbed some Star Energy Crystals, raising his battle power to 1,500. He still had nearly half of the crystals left.
The main purpose of Star Energy Crystals wasn't to speed up absorption and raise battle power. They were used to practice combat techniques, power advanced technological weapons, and replenish energy quickly when supplies ran low. Practitioners of the Body Sculpting Technique rarely absorbed the energy in Star Energy Crystals. Combat techniques required energy to practice, and combat techniques were the foundation of a powerhouse.
Powerful combat techniques could often multiply a person's strength. The higher someone's measured battle power, the more easily others were intimidated.
Of course, higher battle power also meant greater energy reserves in the body, so the same attack could naturally produce a stronger effect. Take Teres, for example. He could use Wave Palm to clash head-on with Granny's combat technique, but he had still saved a considerable number of Star Energy Crystals to practice his combat technique. Unfortunately, he hadn't succeeded. Otherwise, the battle half a month ago would have ended differently.
Lu Yin wanted to use the remaining Star Energy Crystals to practice Heavenly Star Palm and try something else.
After half a month, Granny finally gave in and asked to see Lu Yin.
Lu Yin showed Granny no mercy. He hadn't tortured her, but he had locked her alone in a lightless dungeon. No one spoke to her or kept her company. Although she was given food, it was terrible—nothing but Mutant Rat meat. These had been the darkest days of Granny's life, and at last, she couldn't take it anymore.
"I... I'm willing to help you. You... let me go." Granny's face was pale, her eyes dull, and a foul odor clung to her. She looked at Lu Yin pleadingly.
"How can you help me?" Lu Yin asked indifferently.
Granny said weakly, "I can help you protect Jinling. I'll do anything you ask. Let me go. I can't take this anymore."
Lu Yin stared at Granny. "Tell me, what's the final objective of your trial?"
Granny's eyes flickered. "You really aren't a student? Then how did you get to Earth? It's been under the Great Yu Empire's surveillance for a long time. No one could just come here."
Lu Yin turned and started to leave.
Granny hurriedly called out, "Wait! I was just curious. I won't ask anymore. I'll tell you. Our mission is to hunt down a fugitive."
Lu Yin turned around, intrigued. "A fugitive?"
Granny nodded. "We were only notified the day before the trial began. A fugitive passed through the surveillance network and entered Earth, bringing evolution to the planet. The empire hadn't originally planned to send us to this planet for the trial, but Earth had already evolved. The empire had no choice but to change the location at the last minute, which delayed us by several months. Otherwise, we should have arrived on Earth months ago."
"Earth's evolution wasn't caused by you?" Lu Yin asked in surprise.
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