Robbery

After hearing Lu Yin, Zhang Ding Tian and Bai Xue exchanged a glance. The man was right. If he were a Trial Taker, he wouldn't do something so thankless.

"I do suspect someone," Lu Yin said again, fixing his gaze on Bai Xue. "Liu Shaoge."

Zhang Ding Tian and Bai Xue were surprised. "Why?"

"Hubei, where he is, has been marked blue. You should know what that means," Lu Yin said calmly.

Bai Xue disagreed. "My Northeast and Zhou Shan's Jinling are both blue. That doesn't prove anything."

Lu Yin looked at Bai Xue. "You're one of the Upper Three Saints. You're strong enough to kill Trial Takers. Jinling was only saved because of me; otherwise, the students would have taken control of it. Liu Shaoge is one of the Lower Four Saints. He's about as strong as Zhou Shan. How could he possibly resist those students? Look for yourselves. There's more than one Trial Taker in Hubei."

Bai Xue wanted to argue, but the words wouldn't come. Lu Yin was right. Liu Shaoge wasn't as strong as the Upper Three Saints and had no way to fight off those students.

Zhang Ding Tian pondered for a moment, then sheathed his sword. "Without evidence, you can't convict someone. That goes for you, and it goes for Liu Shaoge too." With that, he left.

Bai Xue glanced at Lu Yin, then walked away, her expression complicated.

Granny came up beside Lu Yin, looking puzzled. "Did that Liu Shaoge really spread the news?"

"How would I know?" Lu Yin replied casually.

Granny blinked. "Then why did you sound so sure just now?"

Lu Yin looked at Granny as if she were an idiot. "How could they believe me if I didn't sound sure? If you're going to pin the blame on someone, you have to do it decisively, ruthlessly, and accurately. You still don't get that? Did you waste all those years at school?" With that, he descended to his residence.

Granny's face darkened. Pin the blame on someone? That bastard really was despicable.

The message Granny had sent anonymously spread through the regional network. The many students who had been fighting fiercely in Europe immediately rushed to Tian Zhu.

Ede and Heidian hurried to clear their names, saying they'd just happened to pass by and encountered Ku Seng in Tian Zhu, so they'd fought him. But no one believed them, and more and more students arrived in Tian Zhu.

Over the next few days, Lu Yin watched the regional network like a movie from peacetime. Notices appeared one after another: who had been defeated by whom, who had died, and so on. Some students came all the way from the Americas on the other side of the ocean, but several were eaten by Mutant Beasts in the sea. For a while, the notifications on the regional network never stopped.

It wasn't until five days later that Ede and Heidian were finally proven innocent. The fugitive's belongings weren't in Tian Zhu. At once, the students turned their attention to the Capital City.

Lu Yin sighed. What was coming would come eventually. He couldn't keep them looking elsewhere for long. The students who had signed up for the trial weren't stupid. The Capital City was the most likely place.

In the midst of this, Ede contacted the other students and proposed that they take control of the Capital City and wait for the fugitive. If the fugitive didn't show up within a month, they could all join forces to fight the second wave of Trial Takers.

Quite a few students supported the proposal.

Starry Sky Tenth Academy was about to arrive in the Canglan Territory. The second wave of Trial Takers would certainly include Absolute Experts, and it was even possible the trial had been designed specifically for them. The students didn't think they could handle them alone, so Ede's proposal gave them hope.

Many students quickly voiced their support.

In the Capital City, Zhang Ding Tian and Bai Xue looked grim. They'd received the news too and knew the situation was bad. For the next half month or so, the Capital City would become a battlefield.

Zhang Ding Tian was strong, but there was a limit to his strength. What was more, he lacked battle techniques. If they surrounded him, he wouldn't be able to protect the Capital City. As for Bai Xue, she was even less capable. Even if all seven Saints united, they'd be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot against so many students.

Lu Yin's expression also darkened when he heard the news. In this trial, he was a native of Earth. If he let the Capital City fall under their control, the outcome he wanted would be greatly diminished. Besides, he had no intention of letting that fugitive get away, and there were the fugitive's belongings to consider. In short, the Capital City was important.

"Lu Yin, we should leave now. The Capital City won't be able to hold them off," Granny urged.

Lu Yin pondered. Right now, the strongest fighters on Earth were Zhang Ding Tian and someone at Ede's level. Zhang Ding Tian was slightly stronger than Ede, but the students who would soon besiege the Capital City would have more than one fighter at Ede's level. To break the deadlock, he had to surpass that level. The only way was to increase his combat power. At the very least, he needed to raise it to Ede's level, making up for the difference in energy strength so he could overwhelm them with his Heavenly Star Palm.

Thinking this over, Lu Yin said gravely to Granny, "Stay in the Capital City. I'll be back in a few days." Then he flew into the sky.

Granny gritted her teeth. She wasn't stupid. Was she supposed to stay in the Capital City and wait to die?

Lu Yin was about to fly away from the Capital City when Bai Xue stopped him. "Are you running away?" she demanded.

"I'll be back before the students attack the Capital City," Lu Yin said solemnly.

"What makes you think I should believe you?" Bai Xue asked, her beautiful face full of contempt.

Lu Yin's expression was indifferent. "I don't need you to believe me. You can't stop me anyway. Or do you want to settle things with me before we fight the students?"

Bai Xue clenched her fist.

"Let him go," Zhang Ding Tian's voice called out. He didn't appear.

Bai Xue had no choice but to descend into the Capital City.

Lu Yin gave the Capital City a long look, then flew away.

Not long after leaving the Capital City, Lu Yin looked at his Personal terminal. "You're the closest one." Then he shot west.

After Lu Yin left, Granny also went. She wasn't Lu Yin's servant, and if he hadn't been keeping an eye on her, she would've slipped away long ago. Now was the perfect opportunity.

But although it was a lovely thought, she couldn't put it into practice. To her dismay, Bai Xue stopped her.

"What gives you the right to stop me?" Granny snapped.

Bai Xue stared at her coldly. "The fact that you're Lu Yin's woman. He's gone, so you have to stay."

"Who's his woman? Don't make things up!" Granny snapped.

Bai Xue might have been helpless against Lu Yin, but dealing with Granny was easy. In no time, she had frozen her and tossed her into Lu Yin's residence. Granny didn't thaw out until quite a while later.

"Damn Lu Yin, damn ice woman, damn natives! You're all unreasonable!" Granny cursed, furious.

Shanxi was the closest province to the Capital City. None of the seven Saints had been stationed there, so the strongest person in Shanxi was only at the Earthly level. Even so, a group of evolvers had gathered in Tong City, making it one of the largest settlements in Shanxi.

Lasser was an optimistic man who was easily satisfied. Although he was the strongest person in Gailu Academy of the Great Yu Empire—second only to its top expert—he had no ambition to complete his mission. He just wanted to claim some territory, mine in peace, and turn in a passable result. He had no desire to stir up trouble.

Lasser had enjoyed the two-month safe period. From the moment he arrived, he'd taken over Tong City as a Probe Realm—no, as a Heavenly Rank Expert—and become its protector, worshipped by countless people. Every now and then, he helped the poor survivors fight off some monsters, but most of the time he lived in comfort. Especially after discovering a remarkable mineral deposit recently, he'd found something that would boost his score quite a bit. Just thinking about it made Lasser happy.

Basking in the sun and sipping wine, Lasser narrowed his eyes and hummed a song from home. "This is the life. Primeval Planet really is great: fresh air, simple folk, no one watching me. I can do whatever I want. Every now and then, I find a precious mineral deposit to pad my record. Tsk, what a perfect life! Hahahaha!"

After enjoying himself for a while, Lasser crooked a finger. Two beautiful young women came over. One massaged his shoulders while the other pounded his legs and poured him wine. Lasser let out a breath. "That's the stuff."

Just as Lasser lifted his wineglass to his lips, a shadow fell over him, blocking the sunlight. He frowned and looked up. A young man with an ordinary face was hovering in the air, looking down at him. Hm? Probe Realm?

Lasser's expression turned serious. He waved the two visibly frightened girls away and stared coldly at the man. "Who are you?"

"Robbery," the man said.

Lasser stared blankly at him. "Um, what did you say? Say that again."

The man was, of course, Lu Yin. If he wanted to grow stronger as quickly as possible, he had only one option: absorb star energy as fast as he could. And robbery was the quickest way. "I said, robbery."

Lasser was amused. "Kid, you look like a Trial Taker too. What's wrong with your eyes? You know who I am? And you think you can rob me? Let me tell you, I—" Before Lasser could finish, a sharp pain tore through his abdomen. The terrifying force sent him flying, and he slammed into the ground, leaving a massive crater.

At the bottom of the crater, Lasser coughed a few times and spat out a mouthful of blood. His face pale, he looked up. "Was that... the Void Splitting Palm? What the hell? Where did this monster come from?"