Chapter 20

The initial space lasts for three days. If you want to extend the time using Star Energy Crystals, the cost becomes significant. A fist-sized Star Energy Crystal only adds five seconds, and a cubic Star Energy Crystal is estimated to add only eighty minutes, which is one hour and twenty minutes.

Cultivation, combat techniques, weapon energy supply, dice, time, and so on—Lu Yin found that everything he needed required Star Energy Crystals. His premonition grew stronger that he might have to do some unpleasant things for Star Energy Crystals in the future, like robbing? Perhaps being a space pirate would be a good career.

Lu Yin looked around. He had to stay here for three days, which was quite awkward. It was not enough time to cultivate the Heavenly Star Palm, and there were no Star Energy Crystals to absorb. As for other things? Lu Yin thought for a moment and decided to cultivate a combat technique—the Sky Splitting Palm.

The Sky Splitting Palm is an advanced version of the Vibrating Palm. It is also a common combat technique, but the requirements for the body are far higher than those of the Vibrating Palm. Even among Fusion Realm cultivators, few can use the Sky Splitting Palm because the requirements for the body are too high. This suited Lu Yin perfectly. Without energy, he could only cultivate this, and he was very confident in his body.

Compared to the Vibrating Palm, the Sky Splitting Palm is more powerful, and more importantly, it is a long-range attack, which can make up for Lu Yin's weakness.

Although Lu Yin had not cultivated, he had never stopped training his body. Fortunately, the Vibrating Palm does not require much Star Energy, otherwise, he would not have been able to kill Astar with it.

Although Star Energy permeates the entire universe, each planet has its own ecosystem, which is different from Star Energy. Thus, combat techniques like the Vibrating Palm, which rely on the body, are more valuable. Unfortunately, many people do not see this and pursue powerful combat techniques, not realizing that such techniques are often impossible to use in many situations.

The numbers in the time-stopping space were decreasing. Lu Yin did pull-ups, sweating profusely, and the three days passed quickly.

When the last second ticked away, the scene before Lu Yin changed, and he reappeared in the training room. Everything around him remained the same. Lu Yin quickly checked the time and, as expected, it had not changed. He had trained hard for three days, but only one second had passed.

Lu Yin took a shower and rested well for a day. The next day, he met Granie again.

At this moment, Granie looked at Lu Yin with a mixture of wariness and fear.

"Do you know your duty?" Lu Yin asked casually.

Granie replied in a low voice, "Your guard."

Lu Yin smiled. "Let's go, Xing Sheng should be waking up soon."

Zhou Shan had been in deep treatment. His injuries were far more severe than Granie's. If Lu Yin had not intervened, he would have been killed by Aldon. Before that, he had also been attacked by Tres.

Half a month of treatment had made Zhou Shan visibly thinner.

When Lu Yin brought Granie to the ward, Feng Hong quickly stood up. "Brother Lu, no, Saint Yin, Xing Sheng has woken up."

Lu Yin was helpless. He did not want to be called Saint Yin, especially with the second batch of trial students about to arrive, making him an easy target. But now that Jinling had already called him that, and he had become a Heaven-level powerhouse, he could not refute it.

"I know. You stay outside, I'll go in," Lu Yin said calmly, stepping past Feng Hong and others into the ward.

Feng Hong looked at Granie with caution. This woman was an alien.

Granie did not care about Feng Hong. To be precise, she only cared about Lu Yin. If Lu Yin were not from the stars, it would take her some time to submit due to her dignity.

Inside the ward, besides Zhou Shan, Qin Xuan was also there.

When Qin Xuan saw Lu Yin enter, he became alert and subtly blocked Zhou Shan.

Lu Yin found it amusing. "I just want to talk to Xing Sheng. Do you mind?"

Qin Xuan pondered.

"Qin Xuan, move aside," Zhou Shan's weak voice said.

Qin Xuan hesitated but eventually moved aside and stood to one side.

Lu Yin looked at her. "You go out first."

Qin Xuan's expression changed, and she looked at Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan nodded, signaling her to leave.

Qin Xuan reluctantly left.

"Sorry, she's just too worried about me," Zhou Shan said softly, gesturing for Lu Yin to sit.

Lu Yin sat beside Zhou Shan's bed and smiled. "She's afraid I'll hurt you."

Zhou Shan smiled. "If you wanted to hurt me, I wouldn't be alive now. I heard you rejected the Northern Front and want to focus on Jinling and the West?"

Lu Yin nodded, stood up, and walked to the window, looking at the chaotic Jinling. "It's been half a year since the apocalypse. Zombies are the most numerous, but they lack strong offensive capabilities and do not pose much of a threat to Evolvers. Mutated beasts are different. The longer the time, the stronger the mutated beasts become. The Xing Camp's front line is too long, making it easy for a complete collapse."

"Because it's only been half a year since the apocalypse, I hope to connect with others as soon as possible and work together to reclaim China. This is also why Zhao Yu risked coming to Jinling," Zhou Shan said.

Lu Yin turned to look at him. "How many casualties does the Xing Camp have each day? How much road can you clear? I had Luo Yun report to you. On your so-called safe passage, a Zombie King appeared. Zombie Kings have intelligence, can evolve, and can even develop unique attack methods by consuming special items. They are not comparable to Centurions. Can you go to the front line yourself? How far can you go? Can you guarantee that no Heaven-level mutated beasts will appear?"

Zhou Shan was silent and said bitterly, "I know, but I must connect to the capital. I want to find out what happened back then, perhaps to uncover the root of the apocalypse."

Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. "The root of the apocalypse?"

Zhou Shan looked at Lu Yin seriously. "Back then, China brought back a corpse from Neptune and obtained some information. We used this information to lead everyone, and after the apocalypse, we became the Seven Saints. But there was something wrong with that corpse. The Science Institute detected unusual substances from it, which could cause cellular mutations. I suspect the apocalypse came from that corpse."

"What happened later?" Lu Yin asked.

Zhou Shan said bitterly, "Those unusual substances were beyond the control of the Science Institute. So, Number One ordered the corpse to be moved, and the seven of us were dispersed to protect different regions of China. Perhaps Number One had already guessed something, but on the day of the move, the apocalypse arrived."

Lu Yin's eyes were fixed on Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan looked at the ceiling, confused. "We don't know what happened. We only know that the world changed in an instant. The researchers, Number One, and many others died in a massive explosion. Later, we tried to contact each other, but we didn't know what had happened, even Zhang Ding Tian in the capital didn't know."

"What about the corpse?" Lu Yin asked urgently. He valued the corpse the most, as it contained the Body Shaping Decision and might be the fugitive the students were looking for, from the Inner Universe.

Zhou Shan shook his head. "I don't know. The scene was just a crater filled with lava. All the information was lost in the explosion, and the apocalypse began."

Lu Yin turned away, seeing that Zhou Shan was not lying. He had been searching for the corpse, coming from Hubei to Jinling, but even the Seven Saints did not know where the corpse was. It seemed he should go to the capital.

"You rest well. I'll be leaving," Lu Yin said calmly.

Zhou Shan asked, "Are you leaving Jinling?"

Lu Yin looked at Zhou Shan. "Do you want me to leave?"

"Of course not. If you stay, Jinling can be defended. I can feel your strength is very powerful. You could injure the strongest alien at the Earth level, and now that you have reached the Heaven level, your strength is definitely above mine. I hope you stay. The Xing Camp can follow your orders, and even I can follow your orders," Zhou Shan said seriously.

Lu Yin was surprised. "Why? If I leave, Jinling will still be your domain, and you will still be the revered Xing Sheng."

Zhou Shan laughed bitterly. "Do you think we want this title? I am guarding Jinling because of the order from Number One. I am a soldier, and I will follow orders regardless of whether there is glory or not. The survival of millions in Jinling is more important than anything. I hope you stay to protect them."

Lu Yin stared into Zhou Shan's eyes, and Zhou Shan met his gaze without flinching.

After a while, Lu Yin nodded. "I will stay, for now." He then left the ward.

Zhou Shan sighed in relief, looking out the window. The battle half a month ago had left a deep impression on him. The so-called Xing Sheng was just an ant. The pressure of millions of lives was too great. He sincerely hoped Lu Yin would stay, for only by living could there be a future.

Everything he told Lu Yin was top secret, but it was also his sincerity.

As he left the ward, Qin Xuan hurried in.

Lu Yin nodded to Feng Hong and left with Granie.

"Soldier," a heavy word, representing a sense of responsibility. This responsibility was too great, and Lu Yin did not want to bear it. He respected Zhou Shan, but that did not mean he would stay to help him forever.