Descent

Zhong Mountain was hollowed out, revealing a vast interior space filled with modern facilities that amazed hundreds of Evolvers.

Squads of Evolver soldiers marched past, carrying standard-issue steel swords, a bizarre blend of modern and ancient.

As Evolvers grew stronger, ordinary firearms became less effective than melee weapons. Coupled with the destruction of many armories, the fact that Xing Camp could equip standard-issue steel swords proved its extraordinary nature.

Lu Yin and the others were escorted onto a massive plaza, surrounded by a ring of Evolver soldiers. Many female soldiers watched them with solemn expressions.

Above the plaza, about ten meters high, was a layer of transparent glass, enclosing another enormous space.

At this moment, near the glass, several men and women were laughing as they looked down.

"I wonder if we'll recruit any useful people this time. Even if they don't reach Human Level, I hope they're not too bad," a middle-aged man grumbled.

"Don't get your hopes up too high. Human Level isn't that easy to reach. The captains of this team who are Human Level have already been assigned by the Saint of Punishment. Neither you nor I got any," a seductive woman beside him complained.

"It's not impossible. It was difficult enough to protect tens of thousands of survivors all the way to Jinling. I have high hopes for these people. Don't take them all for yourselves," another young man said with a smile.

"Dream on. Let's see how Feng Hong arranges it. He's the instructor this time, so he'll definitely take the lion's share," the middle-aged man said.

These men were all Commanders of Ten Thousand from Xing Camp. Xing Camp had 80,000 registered Evolvers. Only those who reached Earth Rank could become a Commander of Ten Thousand. At that rank, one was a true overlord in Jinling, second only to the Saint of Punishment and Zhou Shan.

To the millions of survivors in Jinling, the Saint of Punishment was rarely seen, but a Commander of Ten Thousand was like a god.

"I heard Snow Maiden from Luo Sheng's command is coming to Jinling for a sparring session with us. Who do you plan to send?" the seductive woman suddenly asked, smiling at the men beside her.

The men fell silent, not intending to engage.

The seductive woman chuckled, "Rumor has it Luo Sheng announced Snow Maiden is invincible at Earth Rank. Are you really not going to witness it?"

The men still said nothing.

The seductive woman pursed her lips and smiled, saying no more.

Luo Saint Bai Xue, standing tall on Snow Mountain, founded the Blue Camp. Although ranked among the Seven Saints alongside the Saint of Punishment Zhou Shan, her status was higher than Zhou Shan's.

To outsiders, the Seven Saints of Huaxia appeared to have equal standing. In reality, only a select few knew that the Seven Saints were divided into the Upper Three Saints and the Lower Four Saints. Luo Saint Bai Xue was one of the Upper Three Saints, while Zhou Shan was relegated to the Lower Four Saints.

On the plaza, Evolvers were undergoing examinations. This was primarily because many viruses mutated after the apocalypse, especially zombie viruses, which were difficult to treat. Xing Camp had to ensure all Evolvers were free of viral infection, otherwise, it would be very dangerous.

Soon, it was Lu Yin's turn.

As the nurse prepared to fill out his personal information with the vial of his blood sample placed nearby, Lu Yin's eyes flickered. He exerted force with his legs, and his figure blurred instantly, reappearing normally the next moment. No one saw the change clearly. Only the color of the blood in the sample vial shifted slightly, appearing to carry a hint of purple before quickly returning to normal.

"Lu Yin, is it? Please wait a moment, it will be ready soon," the young nurse said to Lu Yin with a smile.

Lu Yin nodded, "Thank you," and walked to the side.

After a while, all nearly five hundred Evolvers completed their examinations without any issues.

Shortly after, a middle-aged man in a dark military uniform approached. As he drew nearer, a palpable pressure emanated from him, astonishing all the Evolvers.

Crackle

The ground cracked, and a gust of energy swept through, shocking all the Evolvers.

"Earth... Earth Rank! A Heaven-shattering Earth Rank expert!" someone exclaimed. All the Evolvers looked at the middle-aged man with a mixture of fear and admiration.

The middle-aged man stopped about ten meters away from Lu Yin and the others and announced loudly, "My name is Feng Hong, Commander of Ten Thousand of Xing Camp. I will ask now: anyone among you who is unwilling to join Xing Camp may leave."

Hundreds of Evolvers looked at each other, and then individuals began to step out.

Although Xing Camp was powerful, it required adherence to discipline. Many had never served in the military and it was normal for them to be unwilling to join. Lu Yin was among them.

Nearly two hundred people, almost half, were unwilling to join Xing Camp.

Feng Hong looked at the reluctant Evolvers and said calmly, "By joining Xing Camp, not only will your safety be guaranteed, but you can also bring your families to live near Zhong Mountain. You will receive Energy Crystals every month for cultivation, and you can even learn Battle Skills taught by the Saint of Punishment."

"What are Battle Skills?" someone asked curiously.

Feng Hong said coldly, "They are techniques that can unleash two hundred percent of your power. The Saint of Punishment's Battle Skill is Storm Slash. Few can withstand a single strike from it. You should have seen it."

All the Evolvers' eyes lit up with excitement. Of course, they had seen it – a single strike that annihilated mutated vines, cracked the earth, and changed the wind and clouds. How powerful it was.

"Can we learn Storm Slash?" someone asked hopefully.

Feng Hong replied indifferently, "Anyone can learn it, as long as they gain the Saint of Punishment's approval."

Upon hearing this, the Evolvers who had intended to leave hesitated. They gradually returned to their original positions, and only fewer than fifty people, including Lu Yin, truly decided to leave.

Feng Hong waved his hand, "Take them away."

Soon, nearly fifty Evolvers were led out of Zhong Mountain.

Lu Yin looked back, knowing this place would soon be turbulent.

Outside Zhong Mountain, many survivors and even Evolvers had gathered. When Lu Yin and the others emerged, they were immediately surrounded. "Brother, want to buy property? You can find me, the price is absolutely fair."

"Brother, need a guide? Don't look at me like that. There are too many Zombies and monsters outside Jinling City. Without a guide, you could easily fall into an encirclement."

"Brother, need weapons? Sharp sabers, sturdy spears, we have it all. If you want firearms, we have those too. Buy a few bombs for self-defense."

"Do you have a map?" Lu Yin asked.

A shifty-eyed Evolver immediately scurried over. He first shot a fierce glance around, scaring off his competitors, then cautiously took out a map. "Brother, this map will cost you ten crystals."

Lu Yin raised an eyebrow. "Ten? Are you crazy? A map costs ten Energy Crystals. Do you know one Energy Crystal can allow an ordinary person to evolve?"

The shifty-eyed Evolver whispered, "Brother, this isn't just any map. It details the concentration points of powerful monsters and zombies outside Jinling's outer city. You don't want to be surrounded the moment you step out, do you? This is about your life, and isn't your life worth at least ten crystals?"

Lu Yin chuckled, "Three crystals at most. Not a single one more."

The shifty-eyed Evolver readily agreed, "Deal! Glad to be your friend. Here's the map."

Lu Yin felt like he'd been swindled. It was too easy, but he didn't mind. He reached into his pocket, took out three rice-sized white crystals, and handed them to the Evolver. The shifty-eyed Evolver took the crystals, his eyes gleaming with excitement. He then moved closer to Lu Yin and whispered, "Brother, since you're so generous, I'll give you something. No need to thank me." With that, he stuffed a round pill into Lu Yin's hand and turned to leave.

Lu Yin stared at the pill, his expression odd. He recognized it. It was an aphrodisiac.

After the apocalypse, many plants had mutated, and medicines from peacetime were long obsolete. Drugs made from mutated plants were far more effective. Lu Yin had seen others use this type of aphrodisiac, and its effects were undeniable. However, these pills were precious. If sold, they'd fetch far more than three crystals. Where did this guy get it?

Lu Yin didn't overthink it. He casually tossed the aphrodisiac away, scanned his surroundings, and headed towards the outer city.

Studying the map closely, Lu Yin's gaze swept across it, finally settling on the barren mountains south of the city. "I hope there are some clues here."

On the top floor of Zhong Mountain's internal space, a vast conference room was filled with people. The seat at the head of the table was empty. In the first seat to the left sat a man with a scar on his face, wearing a military uniform. In the first seat to the right sat a beautiful young woman wearing glasses. Most of the people present were Commanders of Ten Thousand from Xing Camp.

After a while, Zhou Shan strode into the conference room and naturally took the seat at the head of the table. He scanned everyone, finally looking at the young woman with glasses. "How's the plan coming along?"

The young woman pushed up her glasses. "Preliminary estimates suggest it will take at least two months to expand the Jinling settlement. Combat personnel losses could reach two to three thousand. If we aim to incorporate the entire territory of Jinling from peacetime into the settlement, the losses will increase threefold."

Zhou Shan frowned. "The settlement must expand. The northward advance has been relatively smooth; we'll connect with the Capital City in a few months. Once the entire country is connected, recovering our territory will be much easier. We cannot fall behind; we cannot be laughed at."

"Saint of Punishment, we just received news that Tian Zhu has produced a Heaven Rank expert, Ku Seng," the scarred man suddenly said.

Everyone erupted in shock. There were only seven Heaven Rank experts in all of Huaxia, a testament to how difficult it was to reach that level. They hadn't expected Tian Zhu to produce one.

Zhou Shan's gaze sharpened. "Ku Seng? Investigate his background. Logically, no one else should be able to break through to Heaven Rank within a year."

"Understood."

"Anything else?" Zhou Shan continued to ask.

As the scarred man gestured for another Evolver to speak, the Evolver suddenly stared blankly out the window. The others followed suit, all gazing out with vacant eyes.

Zhou Shan abruptly turned and looked out the window, his pupils constricting.

Dozens of meteors were streaking across the sky, leaving long trails of fire as they tore through the atmosphere. One of these meteors was heading towards Jinling, eventually crashing south of the Jinling settlement, causing the ground to shake.

At that moment, countless survivors and Evolvers witnessed the spectacle. The meteors in the sky were as brilliant as fireworks, vanishing in an instant.

Outside Jinling, Lu Yin, who was following the map towards the barren mountains south of the city, also saw it. At that very moment, the meteor that had landed outside Jinling was not far from him.

Furious air currents swept across the sky, dispersing the clouds, and the earth cracked inch by inch.

Lu Yin kicked away a steel frame that was hurtling towards him and fixed his gaze southward. After a moment of thought, he quickly rushed forward.

Inside Jinling, Zhou Shan took to the air, intending to rush south, but he was stopped. "Saint of Punishment, countless zombies are attacking the city walls."

Zhou Shan's gaze shifted eastward. A dense mass of zombies swarmed into view. Jinling City had been sealed off, and many survivors were still trapped outside, crying out in despair.

Zhou Shan, wielding the Mountain-splitting Great Axe, flew out of the city. With a single swing, he cleaved the earth, cutting down countless zombies. "Open the city gates and let them in! I will guard them."

South of Jinling City, at the meteor's impact site, dust and smoke billowed into the sky. A massive crater, spanning a thousand meters in radius and shaped like a cone, had formed. At the bottom lay a white sphere, two meters in diameter, emitting white smoke, with the air around it visibly distorted.

Lu Yin approached the crater, hiding in a derelict factory nearby. Peering through a wooden board at the white sphere, his expression changed. Although he had suspected it, its actual appearance caught him off guard. "I didn't expect it to arrive earlier than I predicted. A Spaceship."

With a soft hiss, the white Spaceship's hatch opened. A hand emerged, paused, and then a young man stepped out from the ship. He had short hair, wore white light armor, and his feet were clad in combat boots. He slowly walked out of the Spaceship, looked up at the sky, stretched, and grumbled, "So tired. A trial is a trial, but choosing such a remote location and making us fly here ourselves? Disgusting."

After speaking, the young man took a short knife from the ship, then retrieved something resembling a wristwatch and put it on his left wrist. He tapped it, and a series of beeps echoed. The young man's gaze sharpened as he looked in Lu Yin's direction. "Who's there?" he said, leaping forward and drawing his short knife. With a horizontal slash, a massive energy blade cut through the air, bisecting the factory.