Cultivation

Lu Yin's gaze was sharp. Because the injuries sustained from using Wave Palm had not healed, he couldn't break free from the ice's grip. Seeing the ice spreading further, Lu Yin had no choice but to exert force with his legs, using Roaming Step to carry the woman along.

The woman's vision blurred, the scenery shifted, and she was caught off guard, immediately feeling nauseous and wanting to vomit. Lu Yin tore off a piece of her sleeve, and a few extremely cold leaves fell to the ground, quickly freezing.

"I knew there was no way you could use Supernatural Combat Skills. So, you rely on external objects," Lu Yin mocked.

The woman gritted her teeth and glared at Lu Yin. "What did you just do? A battle skill?"

Lu Yin didn't answer. He was contemplating whether to silence her.

Just then, a gust of wind swept across the sky, and Saint of Punishment Zhou Shan flew over.

Lu Yin sighed. It was too late to silence her even if he wanted to.

Seeing Zhou Shan, the woman's expression worsened.

Lu Yin was puzzled. Was this woman not from Xing Camp? Zhou Shan shouldn't let an Earth Rank expert go.

With a whoosh, the air stirred, and Zhou Shan landed. His imposing eyes swept over Lu Yin and the woman, finally landing on the white spaceship. His gaze was filled with uncertainty.

"Someone explain this to me," Zhou Shan said sternly.

Lu Yin thought for a moment and said calmly, "The spaceship landed, and someone inside tried to kill me. But perhaps due to the severe impact, he was no match for me, and I killed him."

Zhou Shan's gaze fixed on Lu Yin, then shifted to the woman. Without rushing to inspect the spaceship, he revealed a smile. "Long time no see. Only one of the Three Great Snow Women came?"

The woman bowed. "Snow Maiden Zhao Yu, greetings, Saint of Punishment."

Lu Yin looked at the woman in surprise. Snow Maiden? He had heard of them. They were experts under Luo Sheng of the Blue Camp from Changbai Mountain in the north. Why was a Snow Maiden in Jinling?

"We haven't seen each other since the Cataclysm. I never expected to meet again under such changed circumstances," Zhou Shan sighed.

Zhao Yu respectfully said, "Luo Sheng sends his congratulations. Xing Camp has dominated Jiangsu Province. Congratulations, Saint of Punishment."

Zhou Shan gave a wry smile. "What's there to congratulate? I can't compare to Luo Sheng. I know how strong the Upper Three Saints are. Not to mention others, you are stronger than all the Commander of Ten Thousands under me."

Zhao Yu chuckled. "You flatter me, Saint of Punishment. I just lost to this Commander of Ten Thousand under you. He is truly powerful."

Zhou Shan looked surprised and pointed at Lu Yin. "Him? I don't know him."

Zhao Yu was surprised. "He's not a Commander of Ten Thousand under you?"

Zhou Shan understood. Zhao Yu had been defeated by Lu Yin. He looked at Lu Yin in astonishment. This person had actually defeated a Snow Maiden. He couldn't tell.

Lu Yin lowered his head, lost in thought. Judging by Zhou Shan's tone, they knew each other before the Cataclysm, and hadn't met since. So, he had witnessed the power of the Upper Three Saints before the Cataclysm. It made sense that the Seven Saints had been cultivating long before the Cataclysm. He had heard rumors that the exploration of Neptune was not fruitless; they had obtained a War Saber and a corpse. It was said that this incident almost triggered a world war, and only when Huaxia compromised and gave other countries some things did it end.

So, the reason the Seven Saints could cultivate was thanks to what they obtained from that corpse.

Lu Yin clenched his fist. His guess was not wrong, and the direction he had been searching was also correct.

The Seven Saints would not know the Body Sculpting Technique. Therefore, if that corpse belonged to a Peerless Expert, there might still be usable Body Sculpting Technique remnants within it. That was his true goal.

Soon, the Xing Camp army arrived, led by a beautiful woman wearing glasses.

Zhou Shan ordered the army to seal off the area and watched as several researchers in white coats explored the spaceship. Then, he looked at Lu Yin. "Young man, what else do you know about this alien?"

Snow Maiden Zhao Yu also looked at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin thought for a moment and said, "I heard him say a few words: academy assessment, Primeval Planet Evolution Trial, mission."

Zhou Shan's eyes flashed. "That's all?"

Lu Yin nodded. "He didn't say much to me, only that he wanted me to be his slave and called us 'savages'."

"'Savages'?" Zhou Shan sneered, looking up at the starry sky. "It seems Earth will soon be in turmoil. Dozens of spaceships have just landed, meaning dozens of aliens. I didn't expect the day of contact with aliens to arrive so soon."

Lu Yin looked at Zhou Shan. He didn't seem surprised.

"Reporting, Saint of Punishment. The spaceship is about to be transported back to Jinling for analysis. The alien died from a shattered heart. According to scans, he should have had a weapon, but we found nothing around," the woman with glasses reported to Zhou Shan.

Lu Yin had destroyed the battle scene while searching for Asta's corpse. They couldn't even reconstruct the scene.

Zhou Shan looked at Lu Yin. "Young man, the items on the alien would be helpful for research. Could you please hand them over? Don't worry, they will be returned to you after the research is complete."

Lu Yin pondered for a moment, then drew his short saber. "This is his weapon. I didn't take anything else." As he spoke, Lu Yin deliberately tore open his shirt, letting Zhou Shan and the others see.

All his belongings were stored in the Void Ring. The Void Ring was something Zhou Shan and the others couldn't recognize. They couldn't imagine a ring that could store space, so they naturally wouldn't care.

Zhou Shan took the short saber and with a casual wave, a slash swept across, cutting through the ground. "How sharp. This material is indeed not from Earth."

After speaking, Zhou Shan threw the short saber to the woman with glasses. His sharp gaze swept over Lu Yin. Seeing that he truly had nothing on him, he stepped forward and patted Lu Yin's shoulder, praising him. "To be able to kill an alien and defeat a Snow Maiden, young man, you are very impressive. What's your name? Are you interested in joining Xing Camp and becoming a Commander of Ten Thousand?"

Lu Yin agreed immediately without hesitation. He really had no choice but to agree. Zhou Shan seemed calm, but his suspicion towards him was definitely not gone. Not just him, everyone would suspect if he was hiding something from the alien. In such a situation, they wouldn't let him leave, so it was better to agree readily and avoid conflict.

He couldn't deal with a Heavenly Rank expert like himself right now. If Asta hadn't been too careless, he wouldn't have been killed. Lu Yin was sure that the same method wouldn't work on Zhou Shan, not to mention so many evolved individuals around, and Zhao Yu alone was very strong.

On the other side, Zhao Yu frowned and said to Zhou Shan, "I can't reach Luo Sheng. All communication lines were interrupted the moment the aliens appeared."

Zhou Shan nodded, his expression solemn. "The alien spaceship landing destroyed all communication lines. I will send people to repair them as soon as possible. Don't worry, even if aliens appear in the northeastern Blue Camp, it's fine. Luo Sheng is very strong."

Zhao Yu nodded silently.

Researching the alien spaceship would not be a quick process. Fortunately, the spaceship was not large, and the army successfully transported it back to Jinling in secret.

As for Lu Yin, he was authorized to reside on Zhong Mountain and became the fourteenth Commander of Ten Thousand in Xing Camp.

Xing Camp had eighty thousand troops. He, as a Commander of Ten Thousand, was just a title; he didn't have any troops under him, but Lu Yin didn't care. What he wanted most now was to sculpt his body and become a true cultivator.

At the peak of Zhong Mountain, Zhou Shan looked south. Behind him, the woman with glasses arrived. "Saint of Punishment, the area around the sinkhole has been thoroughly investigated. Nothing is hidden. That person was not lying."

Zhou Shan sighed, "Got it, you can go."

"There's something I need to report. We found traces of a fight around the Sinkhole that were covered up. This Lu Yin might not be as simple as he appears. His strength could be very formidable," the woman with glasses said solemnly.

Zhou Shan chuckled, "I know. He had injuries on his right palm and leg. To still defeat the Snow Maiden under those circumstances, his true strength is peerless among Earth Rank experts. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to kill that alien. Moreover, he doesn't seem to have absorbed any Energy Crystals. This person is quite interesting."

"Do we need to monitor him comprehensively?" the woman with glasses asked.

Zhou Shan shook his head, "There's no need. Humanity should unite as much as possible at this time. Besides, even if he's hiding his strength, what of it? A mere Earth Rank expert can't turn the world upside down."

"Understood."

At the Xing Camp on Zhong Mountain, inside a Commander of Ten Thousand's military tent, Lu Yin sat cross-legged on the bed, slowing his breathing. Ten minutes later, he opened his eyes, his gaze clear. He took out the Body Sculpting Technique from his Void Ring, his eyes filled with fervor. He bit his index finger, and blood welled up. Lu Yin pressed the Body Sculpting Technique onto his injured index finger. Instantly, the Body Sculpting Technique slowly merged into his fingertip and soon disappeared.

Lu Yin waited expectantly, but after a moment, intense pain spread from his fingertip, then throughout his entire body.

Lu Yin's gaze sharpened, and he gritted his teeth, enduring the pain.

The pain surged like a tide, as if tearing his body apart. All the cells within him were reconfiguring, being refined. His skin and blood vessels writhed. Lu Yin felt as if he were being roasted by fire, crushed by an invisible giant hand. This was the power of a Peerless Expert. All Body Sculpting Techniques originated from the hands of Peerless Experts. At this moment, Lu Yin truly felt the greatness of this power.

Pfft

Lu Yin spat out a mouthful of blood. His eyes, gazing into the void, brightened even further. Countless impurities were purged from his body's surface, then incinerated by energy, causing the air around him to distort.