Granny shook her head. "No, the planet where we were originally supposed to undergo our trial was quite far from Earth."
Lu Yin had not expected to receive such information. Earth's evolution had not been brought about by the Great Yu Empire, but had instead originated internally. A fugitive, Neptune... could it have been that corpse?
"What was the fugitive's identity?" Lu Yin asked.
Granny coughed several times. "N-no, I don't know. His identity is top secret. No one knows either his appearance or his name."
"Then how are you going to find him?" Lu Yin asked.
Granny said, "That's the mission. Trial missions can't possibly be simple."
"Even if you find the fugitive, can you students catch him with your strength?" Lu Yin asked curiously.
"He escaped from the Inner Universe to the Outer Universe and was already severely injured. There's no way he could still retain strength above the Integrating Realm. Besides, everything on him was destroyed, and he lost his life-saving measures," Granny replied.
Ten minutes later, Granny was released. Lu Yin had someone take her to bathe and treat her injuries.
Granny did not appear before Lu Yin for an entire day. It was not until the following afternoon that Granny and Lu Yin met again.
Although the half month had been extremely painful for Granny, all her injuries except the one to her right shoulder had healed. This was the power of the universe's special-effect healing medicine.
When they met again, Lu Yin brought Granny to an open stretch of grass on Zhong Mountain. "Aside from your shoulder, you've recovered. How about it? Want to try defeating me and let me have a taste of the pain of being imprisoned?"
Granny glared at Lu Yin resentfully, iron chains still binding her hands and feet.
Lu Yin smiled. "Stop pretending. With your strength, these things can't hold you."
With a clang, Granny broke free of the chains. A bone-piercing pain suddenly shot through her right arm, turning her face pale as she exhaled. "I told you I'd help."
Lu Yin pulled Teres's gun from his waist and tossed it onto the ground. "Without this Energy Gun, you shouldn't have anything to fear, right?"
Granny stared in surprise at the Energy Gun Lu Yin had thrown onto the ground. This gun was Teres's means of preserving his life, and it was powerful enough to threaten a Probe Realm expert. It was also the reason Granny had feared Lu Yin. Yet now, Lu Yin had actually given it up of his own accord?
"Come on. You can try to defeat me. If you win, Jinling is yours, and you can take revenge as well. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" Lu Yin provoked her.
Granny's eyes brightened. She flicked her long hair aside, shifted her body, and charged at Lu Yin. She intended to attack with all her strength. Even with only one hand remaining, she was confident that although she might not be able to defeat this man easily, she could at least fight him to a draw. She was no Probe Realm fledgling.
The instant she closed in on Lu Yin, Granny's feet scraped against the ground and produced sparks. Her left palm swept out, and the sparks condensed. "Flame Palm."
Lu Yin watched Granny's Flame Palm strike toward him and easily dodged it with Roaming Step. He casually threw out a Flame Crystal. "That little bit of flame isn't enough. Come again."
Granny was surprised, but she did not hesitate. Since she had attacked, she would give it her all. The Flame Crystal shattered and produced flames that soared into the sky. Granny crossed through the flames, rotating her left palm. The flames seemed to possess a spirit as they gathered together, then gave birth to even deeper flames in her palm. She slapped her palm toward Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's gaze sharpened. He retreated half a step, raised his right palm, and as his palm struck out, stars appeared. He slammed it against Granny's Flame Palm.
Boom!
Shockwaves cracked the earth, scorching waves surged, and blazing flames swept into the sky before exploding. Countless sparks blossomed.
A powerful shockwave erupted between the two of them. Immediately afterward, Granny spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying, crashing heavily into the ground before spitting out more blood.
Lu Yin had not moved from his original position. His expression had not changed in the slightest.
When he had been in the Gaze Realm, he had already been able to severely injure Teres with Heavenly Star Palm. Now that he and Granny were both in the Probe Realm, their battle power was not far apart. Heavenly Star Palm had grown even stronger, and the reason it had not killed Granny with one strike was that he had shown mercy.
Granny lay limp on the ground, staring at Lu Yin in shock. "How is this possible?"
She knew how powerful this man's one-palm battle technique was. He had defeated her Flame Palm right after breaking through to the Probe Realm, but she had been injured at the time and unable to display her full strength. Just now, however, she had unleashed the Flame Palm with all her strength, yet she had not even been qualified to make this man retreat a single step.
The surrounding prison camp troops hurried over, but Lu Yin shouted and sent them away.
Lu Yin walked step by step to stand before Granny. "Do you still want to resist?"
Blood stained the corner of Granny's mouth, and her beautiful face was deathly pale. "What battle technique was that?"
Lu Yin sneered. "Triple—Wave Palm."
"How is that possible? That wasn't Wave Palm at all," Granny said weakly.
Lu Yin smiled as he picked up the Energy Gun. "Haven't you heard the legend? A powerhouse once shattered the stars with Hundredfold Wave Palm. Defeating you with Triple Wave Palm was effortless."
Granny remained immersed in shock and disbelief. Someone she had once been able to suppress with ease had now turned around and defeated her effortlessly, making it difficult for her to accept.
"Go heal yourself. From now on, you're my personal bodyguard." Lu Yin gave Granny a beaming look before turning and leaving.
Granny smiled bitterly and spat out more blood. No wonder that bastard had me attack him. He wanted to subdue me.
After returning to his residence, Lu Yin was filled with excitement. Although his battle power was only 1,500, with Heavenly Star Palm, even Teres would not be his match if he went all out. He finally had the capital to protect himself.
Lu Yin had Xu San guard the outside and announced that he was entering seclusion.
Inside the sealed training room in Zhong Mountain, he took out a Star Energy Crystal and crushed it directly. He did not absorb it, however, and instead took out the die.
Ever since he had used it last time, the die had remained dim and lusterless. Lu Yin had observed it several times afterward and discovered that its radiance was gradually recovering, but at an extremely slow pace. He had therefore guessed that it might need star energy.
The instant the die was taken out, the star energy filling the training room surged toward it and was absorbed. The dim radiance on its surface gradually recovered. Lu Yin took out Star Energy Crystals one after another, and the radiance on the die's surface continued to recover. Finally, when only the last Star Energy Crystal remained, it returned to the state it had been in when it first appeared.
It was shrouded in a hazy starlight.
Lu Yin wiped his forehead. This thing's demand for star energy was far too great. After calculating, he realized that the Star Energy Crystals stored by Granny and Teres, together with the star energy it had absorbed while recovering over all these days, amounted to nearly half a cubic unit if converted into Star Energy Crystals. This did not even include the burst of energy it had received when he broke through to the Probe Realm. If all of that were included, it might require an entire cubic unit of Star Energy Crystals.
One had to know that the Star Energy Crystals Teres had brought for the trial were already his limit. Even a wealthy student could not obtain a cubic unit of Star Energy Crystals, demonstrating how precious they were. Every use of this thing consumed a cubic unit of Star Energy Crystals.
Lu Yin felt that he might become very poor in the future. He had to find a way to make a fortune, or he would not even be able to afford to use it.
He would never give up on the die. Its first use had given him the heaven-defying technique Heavenly Star Art. Who knew what it might bring him in the future? Most importantly, it had no side effects, and no one knew he had stolen it—no, taken it. To countless people, this thing was practically a cheat.
Forget one cubic unit of star energy—even ten cubic units or a hundred cubic units, he would still use it. At worst, he would rob someone.
Lu Yin watched the die float in midair, swallowed, and rubbed his hands together. "Come on. The moment to reveal my luck has arrived. I hope you give me something good this time." As he spoke, Lu Yin reverently reached out and lightly tapped the die. The die immediately spun rapidly. In the end, the numbers on five faces disappeared, leaving only one face—four.
"Four points?" Lu Yin asked doubtfully. Before he could think further, the environment around him changed drastically. The training room vanished, and Zhong Mountain vanished. What he saw was an endless gray-white space without an end. Above him was darkness stretching infinitely into the distance, while beneath his feet was a seemingly extremely sturdy floor made of an unknown material. Behind him, a set of numbers slowly changed: 259200, 259199, 259198...
The purpose of this space inexplicably appeared in Lu Yin's mind. This was—the Time Stop Space.
Lu Yin was stunned. It was practically supernatural. Time Stop? He had only heard that name in legends. His die actually had such a function? Four points meant he could stay in the Time Stop Space for three days. The numbers behind him were the seconds. In other words, even if he stayed here until the final second, no time would pass in the outside world.
Watching the numbers slowly change, Lu Yin exhaled. Was my talent a little too terrifying?
He shook his head and cast aside his distracting thoughts. He raised his hand, and the die appeared again, but this time it had once more become dim and lusterless.
Lu Yin now understood why using this thing consumed so much star energy. At this moment, he felt that the amount consumed might actually be small compared to the space he had obtained.
Lu Yin took out the last Star Energy Crystal and tossed it toward the set of numbers. The Star Energy Crystal immediately transformed into a streak of light and vanished, while the numbers increased by five seconds. Lu Yin's face twitched. Five seconds? Wasn't that far too little? He was speechless.
Before you continue