The Root of the Apocalypse

The Primeval Space lasted for three days. Using Star Energy Crystals to extend the time again came at a steep cost. A fist-sized Star Energy Crystal only added five seconds, while a cubic meter of them would probably add just eighty minutes—one hour and twenty minutes.

Cultivation, battle techniques, weapon power, the die, time—Lu Yin realized that everything he needed depended on Star Energy Crystals. His premonition grew stronger: perhaps someday he would have to do something shady to get them. Like robbing people? Maybe becoming a space pirate wouldn't be such a bad career.

Lu Yin looked around. He had to spend three days here, an awkward stretch of time. It wasn't nearly enough to cultivate the Heavenly Star Palm, and he had no Star Energy Crystals to absorb. What about something else? After thinking it over, he could only practice one battle technique: the Void Splitting Palm.

The Void Splitting Palm was an advanced version of the Wave Palm. It was also a common battle technique, but its physical requirements were far greater than those of the Wave Palm. Even among Integrating Realm cultivators, few could use it. It demanded too much of the body, which made it perfect for Lu Yin. With no energy to work with, this was all he could practice—and he was quite confident in his physical strength.

The Void Splitting Palm was more powerful than the Wave Palm. More importantly, it was a long-range attack that could make up for Lu Yin's weakness.

Although Lu Yin had never practiced cultivation before, he had never neglected training his body. Fortunately, the Wave Palm did not demand much Star Energy; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to kill Asta with it back then.

Star Energy filled the entire universe, but every planet had its own ecosystem, which was not the same thing as Star Energy. That made body-dependent techniques like the Wave Palm all the more valuable. Unfortunately, many people failed to see that, pursuing only powerful battle techniques. They didn't realize that, in many situations, those techniques couldn't be used at all.

The numbers in the Time Stop Space dwindled. Lu Yin did one-arm pull-ups until he was drenched in sweat, and the three days passed quickly.

When the final second ran out, the scene before Lu Yin changed, and he found himself back in the training room. Nothing around him had changed. He hurriedly checked the time, and sure enough, it hadn't changed. He had trained hard for three days, but only one second had passed.

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

Granny regarded Lu Yin with wariness and a hint of fear.

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

"To guard you," Granny replied quietly.

Lu Yin smiled. "Come on. Saint of Punishment should be waking up soon."

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

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

When Lu Yin brought Granny to the room, Feng Hong quickly stood up. "Brother Lu—no, Hidden Saint. Saint of Punishment is awake."

Lu Yin was helpless. He didn't want people calling him Hidden Saint, especially with the second batch of trial students about to arrive. It would make him an easy target. But the name had already caught on in Jinling, and he had become a Heavenly Rank Expert. There was no point arguing against it.

"Got it. Stay out here. I'll go in," Lu Yin said calmly, walking past Feng Hong and the others into the room.

Feng Hong watched Granny warily. She was an alien.

Granny didn't care about Feng Hong. More accurately, she didn't care about anyone except Lu Yin. If Lu Yin hadn't come from the stars, her pride would have kept her from submitting for some time.

Besides Zhou Shan, Qin Xuan was in the room as well.

The moment Lu Yin walked in, Qin Xuan watched him cautiously, positioning herself in front of Zhou Shan.

Lu Yin found it amusing. "I just want to talk to Saint of Punishment. Do you mind?"

Qin Xuan hesitated.

"Qin Xuan, move aside," Zhou Shan said weakly.

Qin Xuan paused, but eventually stepped aside.

Lu Yin looked at her. "You can go out first."

Qin Xuan's expression shifted as she glanced at Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan nodded, telling her to leave.

Qin Xuan left reluctantly.

"Sorry. She's just worried about me," Zhou Shan said softly, gesturing for Lu Yin to sit.

Lu Yin sat beside Zhou Shan's bed and smiled. "She's afraid I'll hurt you."

Zhou Shan smiled. "If you wanted to hurt me, I wouldn't have made it this far. I heard you rejected the Northern Frontline and want to focus on Jinling and the west?"

Lu Yin nodded, then got up and walked to the window. Looking out at the chaotic city of Jinling, he said calmly, "Six months into the apocalypse, there are more zombies than anything else. But aside from their numbers, they aren't especially dangerous, and they pose little threat to Evolvers. Mutant Beasts are different. The longer this goes on, the stronger they get. The Punitive Army's battle lines are stretched too thin. They could collapse all at once."

"Because it's only been six months since the apocalypse, I want to reconnect with the others as soon as possible and join forces to reclaim China. That's why Zhao Yu risked coming to Jinling," Zhou Shan said.

Lu Yin turned to look at him. "How many soldiers does the Punitive Army lose each day? How far can they clear a path? I had Luo Yun report to you. A Corpse King appeared on the so-called safe route. It has intelligence and can evolve. It can even gain unusual attack methods by consuming strange things. A Commander of Ten Thousand can't match it. Can you go to the front yourself? How far can you get? Can you guarantee there won't be a Heaven-level Mutant Beast?"

Zhou Shan fell silent, then said bitterly, "I know. But I have to reach the Capital City. I want to find out what happened back then. Maybe we can uncover the root of the apocalypse."

Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. "The root of the apocalypse?"

Zhou Shan looked at him solemnly. "Back then, China brought a corpse back from Neptune and obtained some information. That information gave us an advantage over everyone else, and after the apocalypse, we became the Seven Saints. But there was something wrong with the corpse. The Science and Technology Institute detected unusual substances on it. They could cause cells to mutate. I suspect the apocalypse came from that corpse."

"What happened after that?" Lu Yin asked.

Zhou Shan replied bitterly, "Those unusual substances were beyond the Science and Technology Institute's control. So the Number One ordered the corpse moved and sent the seven of us to different regions to protect China. Maybe he had already guessed something by then. But the apocalypse came on the very day the corpse was being moved."

Lu Yin stared intently at Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan gazed at the ceiling, his expression lost. "We don't know what happened. We only know that everything changed in an instant. The Science and Technology Institute's researchers, the Number One, and many others died in a massive explosion. Afterward, we tried every way we could to make contact, but we still couldn't find out what had happened. Even Zhang Ding Tian, who was in the Capital City, didn't know."

"What happened to the corpse?" Lu Yin asked urgently. That corpse mattered most to him. It contained the Body Sculpting Technique, and it might also be the fugitive the trial students were hunting—the one from the Inner Universe.

Zhou Shan shook his head. "I don't know. There was only a huge crater at the scene, filled with magma. All the information disappeared in that explosion. The apocalypse came with it."

Lu Yin turned away. Zhou Shan clearly wasn't lying. He had gone to great lengths to find the corpse, coming from Hubei to Jinling, but even the Seven Saints didn't know where it was. It seemed he would have to visit the Capital City.

"Get some rest. I'm leaving," Lu Yin said calmly.

Zhou Shan asked, "Are you leaving Jinling?"

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

"Of course not. Jinling can only be protected if you stay. I can tell you're very strong. Even as an Earth Rank Expert, you could hurt the strongest alien. Now that you've reached the Heaven rank, you're definitely stronger than me. I want you to stay. The Punitive Army can follow your orders. I can, too," Zhou Shan said solemnly.

Lu Yin was surprised. "Why? If I leave, Jinling will still be yours. You'll still be the revered Saint of Punishment."

Zhou Shan gave a bitter laugh. "Do you think we wanted these titles? I guard Jinling because the Number One ordered me to. I'm a soldier. Whether or not glory still exists, I'll carry out my orders. The lives of the millions in Jinling matter more than anything. I want you to stay and protect them."

Lu Yin met Zhou Shan's gaze. Zhou Shan didn't back down.

After a long while, Lu Yin nodded. "I'll stay for now." With that, he walked out of the room.

Zhou Shan breathed a sigh of relief and looked out the window. The battle half a month ago had left a lasting mark on him. The so-called Saint of Punishment was nothing more than an ant. The pressure of being responsible for millions of lives was immense, and he sincerely hoped Lu Yin would stay. Only by surviving could they have a future.

Everything he had told Lu Yin was top secret, but it was also a show of sincerity.

As Lu Yin left the room, Qin Xuan hurried inside.

Lu Yin nodded to Feng Hong and left with Granny.

"Soldier"—a weighty word, one that stood for responsibility. That responsibility was far too heavy, and Lu Yin had no desire to shoulder it. He respected Zhou Shan, but that didn't mean he would stay and help him forever.