Doomsday's Root Cause

The initial space is three days. To extend the time using Star Energy Crystals, the cost becomes significant. A Star Energy Crystal the size of a fist only adds five seconds, while a cubic meter of Star Energy Crystal might add eighty minutes, which is one hour and twenty minutes.

Cultivation, Battle Skills, weapon energy supply, dice, time, etc. Lu Yin discovered that everything required Star Energy Crystals. His premonition grew stronger; he might have to do some bad things for Star Energy Crystals in the future, like robbery? Perhaps becoming a space pirate would be a good career.

Lu Yin surveyed his surroundings. He had to stay here for three days. This duration was rather awkward; it wasn't enough to cultivate the Heavenly Star Palm, nor were there any Star Energy Crystals to absorb. As for other things? Lu Yin pondered and decided he could only cultivate one Battle Skill: the Void Splitting Palm.

The Void Splitting Palm is an advanced version of the Wave Palm. It's also a common Battle Skill, but it demands far more from the body than the Wave Palm. Even among cultivators in the Integrating Realm, few can use the Void Splitting Palm due to its high physical requirements. This suited Lu Yin perfectly. With no energy, he could only train this. Lu Yin was quite confident in his physical condition.

Compared to the Wave Palm, the Void Splitting Palm's power was greater. More importantly, it was a long-range attack, which could compensate for Lu Yin's weakness.

Although Lu Yin hadn't cultivated formally, he never stopped training his body. Fortunately, the Wave Palm didn't require much Star Energy, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to kill Asta with it back then.

While Star Energy permeates the entire Universe, each planet has its own ecosystem, distinct from Star Energy. Therefore, Battle Skills like the Wave Palm, which rely on the body, are even rarer. Unfortunately, many people overlook this, pursuing only powerful Battle Skills, unaware that such skills are often impossible to execute.

The countdown in the time-frozen space dwindled. Lu Yin pointed a finger upwards, his body rising as he sweated profusely. Three days passed quickly.

When the last second ticked away, the scene before Lu Yin's eyes shifted, and he reappeared in the training room. Everything around him was unchanged. Lu Yin quickly checked the time; indeed, no time had passed. He had trained diligently for three days, yet only one second had elapsed.

Lu Yin took a shower and rested well for a day. The next day, he met Granny again.

At this moment, Granny looked at Lu Yin with apprehension and a hint of fear.

"Do you know your duty?" Lu Yin asked casually.

Granny replied in a low voice, "Your bodyguard."

Lu Yin smiled. "Let's go. Saint of Punishment should be waking up soon."

Zhou Shan had been receiving intensive treatment. His injuries far surpassed Granny's. If Lu Yin hadn't intervened then, he would have been killed by Aoton. Before that, he had also been attacked by Teres.

Half a month of treatment had left Zhou Shan noticeably thinner.

When Lu Yin arrived outside the ward with Granny, Feng Hong quickly stood up. "Brother Lu, no, Hidden Saint, Saint of Punishment is awake."

Lu Yin sighed helplessly. He didn't want to be called Hidden Saint, especially with the second batch of trial students about to descend, making him an easy target. But Jinling had already started calling him that, and he had become a Heavenly Rank Expert. He couldn't refute it anymore.

"Understood. You all stay outside. I'll go in," Lu Yin said calmly, passing Feng Hong and others to enter the ward.

Feng Hong eyed Granny warily. This woman was an alien.

Granny paid Feng Hong no mind. To be precise, besides Lu Yin, she cared about no one. If Lu Yin hadn't come from the starry sky, her pride would have taken longer to subdue.

Inside the ward, besides Zhou Shan, Qin Xuan was also present.

The moment Qin Xuan saw Lu Yin enter, her gaze became vigilant, and she subtly moved to shield Zhou Shan.

Lu Yin found it amusing. "I'm here to speak with Saint of Punishment. You don't mind, do you?"

Qin Xuan hesitated.

"Qin Xuan, move aside," Zhou Shan's weak voice came through.

Qin Xuan hesitated but eventually moved aside, standing to the side.

Lu Yin looked at her. "You should leave first."

Qin Xuan's expression changed, and she looked at Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan nodded, signaling her to leave.

Qin Xuan reluctantly departed.

"I'm sorry, she's too worried about me," Zhou Shan said softly, gesturing for Lu Yin to sit.

Lu Yin sat by Zhou Shan's bedside and smiled. "She's afraid I'll harm you."

Zhou Shan chuckled. "If you wanted to harm me, I wouldn't be alive now. I heard you rejected the Northern Frontline and want to focus on Jinling and the West?"

Lu Yin nodded. He stood up and walked to the windowsill, looking at the messy Jinling. "It's been half a year since the Doomsday. Zombies are the most numerous, but apart from their numbers, they don't have strong offensive capabilities, causing little harm to Evolvers. Mutant Beasts are different; the longer it takes, the stronger they become. If the Xing Camp's frontline is stretched too thin, it could collapse entirely."

"Precisely because it's only been half a year since the Doomsday that I hope to connect with others as soon as possible and join forces to retake Huaxia. This is also why Zhao Yu ventured to Jinling," Zhou Shan said.

Lu Yin turned back to him. "What's the daily casualty rate in Xing Camp? How much road can they clear? Luo Yun reported to you. A Corpse King appeared on the so-called safe passage you mentioned. Corpse Kings have intelligence, can evolve, and can even develop unique attack methods by consuming strange things. They are not something a Commander of Ten Thousand can contend with. Can you personally go to the frontlines? How far can you go? Can you guarantee that no Heavenly Rank Mutant Beasts will appear?"

Zhou Shan fell silent, a bitter expression on his face. "I know, but I must break through to the Capital City. I want to know what exactly happened back then. Perhaps we can find the root of the Doomsday."

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "The root of the Doomsday?"

Zhou Shan looked at Lu Yin solemnly. "Huaxia brought back a corpse from Neptune back then and obtained some information. It was based on this information that we surpassed everyone else and became the Seven Saints after the Doomsday. But that corpse was problematic. The Science and Technology Institute detected extraordinary substances from it. Those substances could cause cell mutations. I suspect the Doomsday originated from that corpse."

"What happened later?" Lu Yin asked.

Zhou Shan said bitterly, "Those extraordinary substances were beyond the control of the Science and Technology Institute. So, Number One ordered the corpse to be transported away and our seven people to be dispersed to guard various parts of Huaxia. Perhaps Number One had already guessed something at that time, but the Doomsday descended the very day it was transported away."

Lu Yin's gaze was fixed on Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan stared at the ceiling, bewildered. "We don't know what happened. We only know that the world changed drastically in an instant. Researchers from the Science and Technology Institute, Number One, and many others died in a massive explosion. Later, we tried to contact each other in every way possible, but no one knew what had happened. Even Zhang Ding Tian in the Capital City didn't know."

"What about the corpse?" Lu Yin asked urgently. That corpse was what he valued most. It contained the Body Sculpting Technique, and it was possibly the fugitive the student trials were looking for, from the inner universe.

Zhou Shan shook his head. "I don't know. At the scene, there was only a sinkhole filled with lava. All information vanished in that explosion, and what followed was the Doomsday."

Lu Yin turned away. He could tell Zhou Shan wasn't lying. He had tried his best to find that corpse, coming from Hubei to Jinling for it, but even the Seven Saints didn't know its whereabouts. It seemed he needed to visit the Capital City.

"You should rest well. I'll be leaving now," Lu Yin said calmly.

Zhou Shan asked Lu Yin, "Are you leaving Jinling?"

Lu Yin looked at Zhou Shan. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Of course I don't want you to leave. If you stay, Jinling can be protected. I can feel your strength is immense. Even at Earth Rank, you could harm that strongest Alien. Now that you've reached Heaven Rank, your power is definitely above mine. I hope you'll stay. Xing Camp can follow your orders, and even I can follow your orders," Zhou Shan said solemnly.

Lu Yin was surprised. "Why? If I leave, Jinling will still be your domain, and you'll still be the revered Saint of Punishment."

Zhou Shan chuckled bitterly. "Do you think we want this title? The reason I guard Jinling is because Number One gave me the order. I am a soldier. Whether there's glory or not, I will follow orders. The lives of millions in Jinling are more important than anything. I hope you'll stay to protect them."

Lu Yin stared into Zhou Shan's eyes. Zhou Shan met his gaze without flinching.

After a while, Lu Yin nodded. "I... will stay for now." With that, he walked out of the infirmary.

Zhou Shan breathed a sigh of relief and looked out the window. The battle half a month ago was etched into his memory. The so-called Saint of Punishment was nothing but an ant. The pressure of millions of lives was too great. He genuinely hoped Lu Yin would stay. Only by living could there be a future.

Everything he told Lu Yin was top secret, but it was also his sincerity.

As Lu Yin left the infirmary, Qin Xuan hurried in.

Lu Yin nodded to Feng Hong and left with Granny.

Soldier. A heavy word, representing a sense of responsibility. This responsibility was too immense, and Lu Yin didn't want to bear it. He respected Zhou Shan, but that didn't mean he would stay forever to help him.