Ye Ge smiled. "Of course not. I just sent them to look around nearby for other students. What, did they ambush you? Don't worry, I'll make sure to teach them a proper lesson."
"No need. They've already paid the price," Granny said coldly.
Lu Yin walked over to Granny and looked at Ye Ge.
Ye Ge wasn't surprised to see Lu Yin at all. "So you're Hidden Saint of Jinling? You must be from the stars, too. Otherwise, Granny wouldn't have teamed up with you."
Lu Yin said evenly, "My name is Asta. I'm a student at Tata Planet Academy, and my grandfather is the principal."
Granny's face twitched. She hated that line. It was the reason she'd let down her guard around this bastard.
Ye Ge paused. "What are you trying to say?"
Lu Yin put on a proud air. "I'm rich. Let my people go, and I can give you plenty of resources."
Ye Ge laughed. "Tata Planet? Never heard of it. I don't care who you are. I only came looking for you because I want to cooperate."
"Cooperate?" Lu Yin said, surprised.
Ye Ge grew serious. "I found a Gale Crystal deposit nearby, but it's occupied by a group of Mutant Beasts. They've all reached Probe Realm, so they're tough to deal with. I need help."
"How much?" Granny asked.
Ye Ge shook his head. "I'm not sure, but conservatively, I'd say several dozen cubic meters."
Granny's eyes burned with excitement. Several dozen cubic meters of Gale Crystals was quite a lot. On most planets, there were only a few cubic meters at most. She wanted to agree, but held her tongue and looked at Lu Yin instead.
Lu Yin said evenly, "I'm rich. I don't care."
Ye Ge stared at him in disbelief. He hadn't expected any student to turn him down. This was several dozen cubic meters of Gale Crystals! Converted into Star Energy Crystals, it would be at least a hundred cubic meters—enough to master a battle technique and speed up one's cultivation to Integrating Realm. It was a considerable haul.
Granny glared at Lu Yin. She wanted to go.
"But even though I'm rich, no one ever complains about having too much money. Fine, we'll come find you in a couple of days. But you're not to touch a single one of my soldiers," Lu Yin added, changing tack.
Ye Ge nodded. "All right. Bring my two junior schoolmates along, then. The more people, the easier the job."
Lu Yin agreed, and Granny immediately ended the call.
"Was Ye Ge the powerhouse those two said was on the same level as Teres?" Lu Yin asked.
Granny nodded. "I've heard of him. He's one of the top three students at Blue Mountain Academy, and he might even be stronger than Teres."
"What's his family background?" Lu Yin asked.
Granny froze. "His family background? I don't know."
A glint appeared in Lu Yin's eyes. He wasn't going there for the Gale Crystals. No matter how many they found, he couldn't exchange them for Star Energy Crystals on Earth. In the end, they might all end up in the hands of the Great Yu Empire. What he needed now was Star Energy Crystals, and Ye Ge should have some.
Yuxiang wasn't far from Jinling. Lu Yin had Granny carry the two Blue Mountain Academy students upside down, and they arrived after just half a day of flying.
Tens of thousands of evolvers from Yuxiang were trapped in a camp, their weapons confiscated and another group of evolvers watching them from all sides.
Lu Yin spotted Feng Hong. The poor Commander of Ten Thousand was hanging from a tree.
A powerful wave of energy surged through the camp. When Lu Yin and Granny arrived, it swept outward and sent the sky trembling.
Lu Yin knew it was Ye Ge's attempt to intimidate them, as well as test his strength.
In fact, this kind of show of force was not only useless but also exposed one's strength. Ye Ge's energy was powerful, even slightly stronger than Teres's, but Lu Yin wasn't bothered. A dog that barked was unlikely to bite. Only the Silver-haired man's kind of lethal approach was truly terrifying.
Granny stepped forward. Energy rippled around her, blocking Ye Ge's wave and twisting the air. A crack appeared in the ground, dividing the camp from Lu Yin and the others.
Feng Hong and several other Commanders of Ten Thousand looked up. When they saw Lu Yin, shame filled their eyes.
Lu Yin paid them no mind. Instead, he watched the man slowly rise into the air. It was Ye Ge.
Clap, clap, clap.
"As expected of the Military Academy's belle. Your strength is impressive, Granny," Ye Ge praised, his greed undisguised.
Granny snorted. "Is this how Blue Mountain Academy treats its guests?"
Ye Ge smiled. "I was rash. I apologize." As he spoke, he looked at Lu Yin, a trace of contempt flashing in his eyes. Lu Yin had only recently broken through to Probe Realm, and his energy wasn't strong enough to catch Ye Ge's attention.
"Could you two let my junior schoolmates go now?" Ye Ge asked Granny. He assumed she was the leader of the pair.
The two captured Blue Mountain Academy students tried to speak when they saw Ye Ge, but their mouths were gagged. They could only keep signaling to warn him how formidable Lu Yin was, but Ye Ge didn't understand.
"Whether we let them go depends on how sincere you are," Granny said coolly.
Ye Ge shrugged. "Fine. Please, let's talk in the camp."
Soon, they were gathered inside the camp.
Ye Ge took out a map and spread it out. He pointed to a mountain a hundred kilometers from Yuxiang. "The Gale Crystals are there, but the place is surrounded by a flock of Mutant Birds. At least five of them are at Probe Realm—the natives call them Heaven-class. The rest are at Gaze Realm, and there are a lot of them."
"What's your plan?" Granny glanced at Lu Yin, then asked Ye Ge.
"With the five of us, we could deal with the flock, but it would be exhausting. I've thought of a way: have these natives draw out the birds, then blow them away with this planet's heavy weapons. Quick and simple."
Lu Yin's eyes turned cold. Granny was startled and hurriedly said, "If you do that, those natives will die too."
Ye Ge smiled. "The natives' lives don't matter. What matters is that this will make things easy for us."
"We can succeed without making these natives sacrifice themselves," Lu Yin said evenly.
Ye Ge looked at Lu Yin with amusement. "Brother Asta, these natives' lives aren't worth caring about. Once the trial is over, the evolvers among them will be sent to the battlefield. Those with cultivation talent might become slaves to some noble student; the pretty ones could become maids. The rest are just cannon fodder, batch after batch. Don't worry about them. In fact, they'd be happier dying here. They might even thank us. Ha ha!"
Lu Yin said nothing. Earth's fate had practically been sealed already. From the moment the trial began, the Great Yu Empire and the Cosmic Youth Council had been watching every person on Earth. Only a tiny number with talent could hope for slightly fairer treatment. Everyone else was cannon fodder. Ye Ge wasn't wrong.
"All right, I've shown you my sincerity. Can I have them back now?" Ye Ge asked Granny.
Granny looked at Lu Yin. He said evenly, "Wait a moment. I have another question."
A trace of hostility flashed in Ye Ge's eyes. "What question?"
Lu Yin looked at Ye Ge. "You're one of Blue Mountain Academy's top students. Why aren't you completing the mission? Why are you staying here instead?"
Ye Ge looked surprised. He glanced at Lu Yin, then at Granny, and laughed. "I forgot. It's only natural that people at your level wouldn't know certain things. Fine, I'll fill you in." He sat down and had someone bring over several cups of tea.
Lu Yin and Granny sat down too, took the tea, and turned their attention to Ye Ge.
Ye Ge took a sip and said solemnly, "Students are divided into three tiers. The first tier includes my two junior schoolmates. Their only purpose in taking part in this trial is to impress certain people. It's basically a chance to polish their credentials. As long as they survive the trial, they'll have a shining accomplishment on their record. The second tier is us."
"Us?" Granny asked in surprise. She had thought that, as one of Blue Mountain Academy's top students, Ye Ge would be in a different tier from her.
Ye Ge nodded. "You, me, and even Teres from your Military Academy are all in this tier. Our goal is to achieve certain results—occupy territory and mark it blue, for example, or discover valuable mineral deposits. Granny, since you landed, has anyone asked you to team up and complete a mission?"
Granny shook her head, her expression grave.
Ye Ge smiled. "There you have it. None of us are qualified. Only one kind of person is: Willow from your academy, and Paris from ours."
"The strongest students in each academy?" Granny asked in surprise.
Ye Ge nodded, his expression serious. "There's no such thing as fairness in this universe. We need to be informed about the trial, but they knew about it long ago. The strongest student from each academy has the others' contact information. They're in their own circle, and we can't reach them. They joined forces before the trial even began, all to complete their mission. Willow isn't in this region, is he?"
Granny's expression turned bitter. "I haven't seen him since the trial began."
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