Seven Saints Prison Camp

The woman looked at Lu Yin helplessly. "Actually, if you'd just asked, I would've helped you. I have people backing me, too."

"No need," Lu Yin replied indifferently.

The woman sighed. "All right. Get in touch anytime. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them for you. I'm off." She smiled at Lu Yin, then turned and left, leaving a trail of fragrance behind her.

Lu Yin closed his eyes again. The woman's arrival had made no difference to him.

In the second half of the night, the alluring woman returned. Looking at Lu Yin, she smiled. "Congratulations. Your trouble is gone."

Lu Yin looked at her in confusion.

"I asked my big brother to step in. Zhang Tong's been caught. My big brother wants you to come and discuss what to do with them."

A glint passed through Lu Yin's eyes. He stood up. "Let's go."

The woman smiled and led the way. They crossed the fire and reached a spot three hundred meters from the group. It was still dangerous there, but at least it wasn't too far away.

When Lu Yin arrived, Zhang Tong—the Evolver who had bullied those women—and more than ten men with him were all kneeling on the ground. In front of them stood a tall man with his hands behind his back.

"Big brother, Lu Yin's here." The alluring woman walked up beside the man and spoke in a coquettish voice.

The man turned and smiled at Lu Yin. "You're Lu Yin?"

Lu Yin nodded.

"My name's Liu Sheng. I'm one of the captains of this group." The man lifted his chin slightly, regarding Lu Yin with an air of arrogance.

"I know," Lu Yin replied indifferently.

Liu Sheng furrowed his brow. He didn't like Lu Yin's attitude. "What do you want to do with these people? They're yours."

Lu Yin looked at Liu Sheng. "What's the catch?"

Liu Sheng's lips curled as he stared intently at Lu Yin. "Let's be frank. I've heard about you, and I've been watching you. You haven't absorbed any Energy Crystals from Mutant Beasts, have you? But you're still incredibly strong. Can you tell me why?"

The alluring woman beside him watched Lu Yin expectantly. Zhang Tong and the other Evolvers kneeling on the ground were staring at him, too.

Lu Yin smiled faintly. "Is that why you brought me here?"

Liu Sheng chuckled and looked at the alluring woman.

She stepped closer and came to Lu Yin's side, blowing softly in his ear. "Big Brother Lu, why don't you tell us? Is it another path to evolution? If you tell us, you'll be telling all of humanity. Everyone will be grateful to you. And I could keep you company, too." As she spoke, she leaned toward Lu Yin.

Lu Yin turned to look at her. "I told you. If you try that again, you die." As the words left his mouth, the iron rod flashed. The alluring woman clutched her throat as blood ran between her fingers and stained her clothes. She fell to the ground in disbelief. She hadn't taken Lu Yin's warning seriously, and she'd never imagined he would dare kill her right in front of Liu Sheng. Liu Sheng was one of the captains, a Human Level expert!

Liu Sheng was stunned, too. He hadn't expected Lu Yin to be so bold.

Lu Yin flicked his iron rod. "You're all a nuisance. You've been keeping an eye on me since this group formed. Let's end it tonight." He charged at Liu Sheng, bringing the rod down over his head.

Liu Sheng was enraged. "You're asking for death!" He drew a rather impressive-looking saber from his waist and raised it to block the iron rod. He thought his strike would not only stop Lu Yin's attack, but also leave him badly wounded. Reality proved the exact opposite. The saber split in two, and the rod's edge carved a wound down to the bone in Liu Sheng's right shoulder.

Liu Sheng couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was a Human Level expert, strong enough to take on many Ordinary Evolvers by himself, yet Lu Yin had defeated him in a single move. How was that possible?

After striking Liu Sheng, Lu Yin didn't pause. He swept the iron rod sideways.

Liu Sheng hurriedly dodged, rolling to the side and flinging the saber's hilt at Lu Yin. Lu Yin knocked it aside with his rod. A blade-like wave of force slashed into the ground, leaving a small crack.

"What are you staring at? All of you, get him! Kill him!" Liu Sheng roared, glaring at Zhang Tong and the others.

Zhang Tong and the rest didn't dare hesitate. They drew all kinds of weapons and attacked Lu Yin.

Lu Yin's gaze turned cold. He twisted the iron rod and drove off with both legs. A visible wave of force split the ground as he crossed more than ten meters in an instant. The rod's edge swept across. In the blink of an eye, Zhang Tong and the others were all staring at their chests as blood dripped down. Soon, they lost all sensation and collapsed, dead.

At that moment, Lu Yin's heart was hard as iron. This was the worst of times, a world without restraint—but it was also the best of times. The wicked could be wiped out.

Liu Sheng stared at Lu Yin in a daze. "How is this possible? You—you're an Earth-level Expert! You have to be! No Human Level expert could be this powerful!"

Lu Yin's gaze was icy.

Trembling, Liu Sheng dropped to his knees. "Lu Yin—no, Young Master Lu, let me go! Please, let me go. I can be your dog. I can kill people for you. I can find women for you. I'll do anything you want."

Lu Yin raised his head and gazed up at the starry sky.

Liu Sheng's eyes turned vicious. He suddenly pulled a blade from his clothes and stabbed at Lu Yin. The blade struck cleanly, but the Lu Yin in front of him slowly faded away. It had only been an afterimage.

Liu Sheng's pupils contracted as he stared in disbelief. What was this?

"This is Roaming Step, a combat technique from...the stars," Lu Yin said calmly. The iron rod swept across, and Liu Sheng's head drooped. He died on his knees.

Lu Yin sighed and put away the iron rod, still gazing up at the stars. "I'm only a guest, yet I've made myself the host."

Soon, Lu Yin took the Energy Crystals from Liu Sheng and the others. He brought them close to the ring on his hand, and they suddenly vanished, as if they had never existed.

This was the Void Ring, a precious ring that could store things. Like combat techniques, it had come from the stars.

No one cared that Zhang Tong and the others had disappeared, but Liu Sheng was another matter. He was a captain, and now he'd vanished as well. This caught the attention of the other captains.

But Liu Sheng had hidden his movements because he wanted to seize Lu Yin's method of evolution, so no one came to trouble Lu Yin. Liu Sheng had brought it on himself.

At noon the next day, tens of thousands of people looked toward the distant sky. They had just received word that Saint of Punishment Zhou Shan was on his way.

Not long afterward, a black dot appeared in the distance. Then a man appeared high in the sky. He was powerfully built, over two meters tall, with short hair and a Mountain-splitting Great Axe more than three meters long in his hand. He stood in midair, radiating an imposing presence.

Everyone stared, dumbstruck. Could humans really fly? Was this a Flying Rank Expert? One of the Seven Saints of Huaxia!

With a thunderous boom, Zhou Shan said nothing. He raised a hand and pressed down toward the ground. The resulting wave of force kicked up dust, blowing so hard that tens of thousands of people couldn't open their eyes.

All the Evolvers stared ahead with burning eyes. This was a Heavenly Rank Expert, with enough power to level mountains and divert rivers.

A huge vine wriggled up from underground and swept fiercely toward Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan snorted. The sound exploded in everyone's ears. He then raised his great axe high. The air behind him rippled, forming the faint outline of transparent wings. "Storm Slash!" he shouted. Zhou Shan spun downward with the axe and brought it down hard on the vine.

A world-shaking boom erupted. Huge cracks spread across the ground in every direction, while dust filled the air and streams of force blasted outward. Fortunately, the Evolver captains stood in front of the crowd. Otherwise, those shock waves alone would have caused tremendous casualties among the survivors.

Lu Yin stared intently at the scene. The day before, they had guessed that the vine was Earth-level. But he alone had sensed that it had to be Heavenly Rank. That was why Zhou Shan had gone all out.

A gust of wind swept past. When the dust settled, Zhou Shan stood before everyone with the great axe on his shoulder, radiating power. The vine had been completely pulverized, leaving a vast crater in the ground, filled with green liquid.

Tens of thousands of people gazed up at Zhou Shan in reverence and cheered.

Zhou Shan soared into the air with the great axe on his shoulder and shouted, "Let's go. We're returning to Jinling. It's safe there."

"Thank you, Saint of Punishment!"

"Long live Saint of Punishment!"

"Saint of Punishment!"

Tens of thousands of people shouted Zhou Shan's name. In this apocalyptic age, they desperately needed heroes. Zhou Shan was a hero, and so were the Seven Saints.

Lu Yin tightened his grip on the iron rod. His strength still wasn't enough to reach Heavenly Rank. As Liu Sheng had said, he hadn't absorbed any Energy Crystals. He intended to follow another path of evolution—the true path to evolution among the stars. He looked up. "It should be soon, right? It should be coming soon."

With Zhou Shan protecting them, the group made good progress. There were certainly creatures in this world far stronger than Zhou Shan, but they were too rare to encounter often.

A day later, the group of tens of thousands arrived in Jinling. Only then did many people finally let go of their burdens and burst into tears.

Jinling had been placed under martial law. A massive earthen wall surrounded the city, and ranks of Evolvers stood silently atop it, watching tens of thousands of survivors enter. Their faces were sorrowful. From the group's departure to its arrival, at least one tenth of its people had been lost. The survivors had made it out of despair.

Lu Yin had visited Jinling in peacetime. Back then, it had been beautiful, with ancient trees lining the streets. Now, it had shrunk considerably. The outer districts had been abandoned, and countless wandering zombies filled the outer city. If Zhou Shan hadn't cleared the way, the group would have had to fight a bloody battle to enter the Jinling Gathering Place.

The survivors would be assigned places to stay by one group of people, while another group took charge of the Evolvers.

There were more than five hundred Evolvers in this group. Compared to the tens of thousands of survivors, that meant one Evolver had to protect nearly a hundred people—a very low ratio. It also showed just how difficult Mutant Beasts were to kill.

It was a pity that zombies had no Energy Crystals in their bodies. Otherwise, there would have been far more Evolvers.

The Prison Camp was an organization created and managed by Saint of Punishment Zhou Shan to oversee Evolvers. Every Evolver in the Jinling Gathering Place had to register at the Prison Camp and undergo tests of their combat strength and physical condition, whether or not they chose to join. Lu Yin and the others were taken there as well.

The Prison Camp wasn't merely a single camp. It was a vast organization occupying Zhong Mountain. According to legend, when it was first established, Jinling had been overrun with zombies and Mutant Beasts. Zhou Shan had led all the Evolvers in spending a month taking Zhong Mountain, and that was only because it had once been a tourist area in Jinling, with few wild Mutant Beasts.

Centered on Zhong Mountain, the Prison Camp had gradually expanded outward, helping the survivors take control of Jinling Gathering Place. It had become one of the largest survivor gathering places in eastern Huaxia.

The Prison Camp on Zhong Mountain stood solemn and imposing. Evolvers nearby looked enviously at the soldiers in uniform serving there. They would be joining them before long.

"It's only been six months, and Saint of Punishment has already created such a massive organization. It's incredible," someone remarked.

Someone nearby immediately agreed. "The apocalypse came, and plenty of people are still hiding away. Saint of Punishment has already established the Prison Camp. He'll definitely rule Huaxia one day."

Many people agreed at once.

Lu Yin walked among the Evolvers, watching the soldiers from the Prison Camp pass by. A glint passed through his eyes. These soldiers were the real thing.

Normally, it would have been impossible for anyone to create an organization like this after the apocalypse, no matter how charismatic they were. Zhou Shan least of all. But the Prison Camp had still come into being for one reason alone: these people were real soldiers. Zhou Shan represented the state.

Huaxia hadn't collapsed after the apocalypse. It had simply stabilized in a different way. Zhou Shan was in the military, and the Seven Saints might be as well. Otherwise, they couldn't have reached Heavenly Rank in just six months.

It was hard to say whether they should be relieved that the apocalypse hadn't completely destroyed communications. Without them, even the state couldn't have stabilized the situation in such a short time.