The Dice and the Heavenly Star Art

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yin coughed up a mouthful of blood again. The airwaves around him erupted, overturning the tent and spreading for hundreds of meters. The surveillance cameras outside the tent shattered, and trees were uprooted layer by layer.

This commotion attracted the attention of the Punishment Camp, and two Commanders of Ten Thousand immediately rushed towards Lu Yin's location.

One of them was Feng Hong, and the other was a woman with a charming appearance and eyes full of curiosity.

The two Commanders of Ten Thousand appeared outside the ruins of the tent where Lu Yin lived. Feng Hong asked loudly, "Are you the new Commander of Ten Thousand, Lu Yin?" The evolutionary army behind them remained cautious.

Soon, Lu Yin emerged from the ruins of the tent, his face pale and his steps unsteady. "Apologies for disturbing you both. I am indeed Lu Yin."

Feng Hong and the charming woman looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "Why are you so weak?"

Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I saw Saint of Punishment demonstrate a combat skill earlier and got a bit eager to try it myself. But I failed and ended up injuring myself."

Feng Hong understood and chuckled. "Brother Lu is too impatient. Not everyone can master combat skills, and they can't be figured out in a short time. We Commanders of Ten Thousand in the Punishment Camp all have the opportunity to be personally taught by Saint of Punishment. You don't need to rush."

Lu Yin nodded in agreement. "I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Brother Feng."

Feng Hong waved his hand, showing no trace of the instructor's airs from earlier in the day. "You're welcome. We're all brothers in the Punishment Camp, comrades who will face the apocalypse together and rely on each other. Alright, I'll have someone arrange a new place for you. You should focus on recovering first. By the way, do you need a doctor?"

Lu Yin replied, "No, it's just superficial injuries and fatigue. There's no need to call a doctor."

Feng Hong nodded. "Okay, then we'll be going. Brother Lu, please rest." He then exchanged a look with the charming woman.

The woman nodded, glanced at Lu Yin again, and then left.

Lu Yin followed a soldier to a nearby tent. "I'll take my leave. Commander Lu, if you need anything, just call me." The soldier saluted Lu Yin and retreated.

Lu Yin nodded and entered the tent. His eyes became incredibly excited, mixed with a hint of apprehension and anticipation. Body cultivation was successful. Not only was it successful, but it also brought him immense surprise. Thinking this, Lu Yin raised his hand, and a palm-sized Dice slowly floated out, emitting a faint starlight. It had six sides, just like an ordinary dice, with each side representing a number, totaling six points.

This was a talent, a talent that only a very small number of cultivators could develop after body tempering.

Talents were magical, and no one knew where they came from. Many scholars in the universe believed that talents were the deepest secret of humanity, representing one's ancient origins. However, this was just speculation, and no one could truly research talents.

Lu Yin didn't care about the origin of talents; he cared about the talents themselves.

Before coming to Earth, he had heard countless times about the power of talents. Every cultivator with a talent was a prodigy, sought after by major forces in the universe. The most famous event was that any cultivator with a talent could directly join the Cosmic Youth Council.

Lu Yin gazed at the Dice with burning eyes. Although his talent was, how should he put it, peculiar, its use was the most important thing.

Looking at the Dice floating in the void, Lu Yin gently tapped it. The Dice spun rapidly and then slowly stopped. The numbers on the six faces began to change. The numbers on five of the faces disappeared, leaving only the number on one face, which was exactly--one.

Lu Yin stared at the "one," and its use inexplicably appeared in his mind: it could randomly obtain any item from anyone's Void Ring.

Before Lu Yin could react, the Dice emitted a beam of light that shot into the void and disappeared in an instant, as if opening a passage. Then, a chip fell to the ground. The Dice became dim and lusterless, and then vanished directly.

Lu Yin stared blankly at the chip that had fallen to the ground. This, was this what it helped me steal, no, retrieve?

Lu Yin picked up the chip and examined it. Then, he took out Asta's personal terminal from his Void Ring and inserted the chip. A light screen appeared in front of him, displaying three large characters – Heavenly Star Art.

Lu Yin stared blankly as the screen flickered with images of people, the universe, nebulae, and palm prints. A full half hour passed before the chip, which had been inserted into the personal terminal, automatically destroyed itself, finally snapping Lu Yin back to reality.

Lu Yin was shocked. He knew he had obtained something extraordinary.

Heavenly Star Art was a cultivation technique that absorbed star energy, imitating the movement of stars. Theoretically, the more stars one imitated, the faster the absorption of star energy would become. Although this Heavenly Star Art was only an introductory version, it contained methods for imitating the movement of eight stars. This meant that if Lu Yin successfully cultivated it, his star energy absorption speed would increase eightfold.

Eightfold, what terrifying efficiency! Furthermore, Heavenly Star Art contained a set of combat skills called Heavenly Star Palm, where palm strikes manifested stars, making it incredibly powerful.

Lu Yin put away his personal terminal, his eyes filled with excitement. Heavenly Star Art, he had never even heard of it, but it was undoubtedly terrifying. Possessing such a powerful cultivation technique, it was likely from the Inner Universe.

Lu Yin suppressed his excitement. He hadn't expected his luck to be so incredible. Logically speaking, the probability of the Dice rolling a "one" and randomly obtaining a combat skill or cultivation technique was quite low. Even if this thing had stolen a pair of his underwear, he wouldn't have been surprised. To get such a heaven-defying cultivation technique as Heavenly Star Art on the first try was enough to secure his future.

It was a pity it was only the introductory version.

Lu Yin shook his head and chuckled. He was thinking too much. Such a cultivation technique must be a treasure of a powerful sect, and it was impossible for the entire set to be recorded on a chip. The preservation method must have been extremely strict. The destroyed chip was clearly a newly recorded one, likely stolen from some unlucky person. Obtaining the complete set of cultivation techniques would be extremely difficult.

Lu Yin stopped thinking and walked out of the tent, finding a tree to lie down under. He looked up at the sky, recalling the cultivation method of Heavenly Star Art. Imitating the movement of stars? He would probably have to sleep under the stars forever from now on.

Meanwhile, in the vast depths of the universe, a colossal peak floated slowly, surrounded by dozens of stars. The very top burned with flames, appearing like a cigarette butt from a distance. Every few seconds, it would extinguish and then reignite, sending plumes of smoke across the starry sky, as if wrapping the dark universe in white ribbons.

Inside the giant peak, a roar echoed through the universe, "What did you say? You brat, the cultivation technique is gone? Did you give it to that slut again? Get over here!"

In the dark universe, a young man fled in distress, clutching his backside, looking quite disheveled. "Dad, don't blame me! I didn't! It's really gone! It's like I'm cursed!"

"Brat, do you think your father is an idiot? Who can steal things from under my nose? Get over here!"

"No, Dad, I'm really cursed!"

After a night of fruitless research, Lu Yin, slightly fatigued, entered Zhong Mountain.

On the uppermost level of Zhong Mountain's interior space, a large conference room was filled with many people. The seat at the head of the table was empty.

Lu Yin entered the conference room, and everyone looked at him. Their gazes held curiosity, friendliness, and doubt; in short, all sorts of expressions.

"Brother Lu, sit here," Feng Hong said as soon as he saw Lu Yin.

Lu Yin naturally sat beside him. On his other side was the charming woman he had met the previous night.

Diagonally opposite Lu Yin sat the bespectacled woman he had met once before.

Most of the people present were Commanders of Ten Thousand, along with some researchers.

A moment later, Zhou Shan entered the conference room, his gaze sweeping across the room. It paused on Lu Yin for a moment, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes, before he sat at the head of the table and said with a smile, "Let me introduce everyone, Lu Yin, the new Commander of Ten Thousand."

Lu Yin stood up, nodded to those around him, and sat down again.

Introducing Lu Yin was merely a formality. Afterward, the conference proceeded to discuss various matters, which Lu Yin had no interest in listening to. The meeting finally concluded half an hour later.

Everyone left, and Zhou Shan kept Lu Yin behind alone.

"Lu Yin, yesterday I thought you hadn't cultivated by absorbing energy crystals, and I originally wanted to discuss it with you. It seems you were just depleted of energy yesterday," Zhou Shan said, probing.

Lu Yin nodded and said seriously, "Saint of Punishment, that alien was very strong. Even though he was heavily injured, he wasn't easy to deal with. I had to use all my energy to kill him."

"I can see that. He was a Heavenly-tier powerhouse. It's impressive you could kill him," Zhou Shan chuckled.

Lu Yin smiled without replying.

"I heard you came to the Punishment Camp yesterday but didn't agree to stay. Why?" Zhou Shan asked, looking at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin replied, "I like freedom and can't stand the atmosphere of a military camp."

Zhou Shan nodded and sighed, "Many people think this way. In truth, with the apocalypse here, humanity should unite. We must abandon what needs to be abandoned."

"I understand, Saint of Punishment," Lu Yin replied.

Zhou Shan hummed, "How is your injury?"

"It's nothing. I'll recover quickly."

"That's the good thing about Evolvers; their recovery is strong. Actually, compared to ordinary people, Evolvers are more dangerous. Once you've experienced the taste of power, you'll never want to be weak again. The more you want to be strong, the more you have to fight desperately. Countless people fall on this path, and even I don't know when I'll die," Zhou Shan mused.