Chapter 26

Bai Xue stood with her back to the wind and snow, calmly looking at the three people. "The student from the stars, your combat skills are quite good."

"Who are you? You can't be a native. Natives can't possibly overwhelm us three. We are all elites from major academies," the man said in disbelief.

Bai Xue's eyes were bright, more crystalline than diamonds. "Please mark the northeast in blue. I don't want this place to be disturbed."

The student closed his eyes in pain and activated his personal terminal. Soon, the northeast region on the network turned blue.

Lu Yin and Grannie set off that evening, resting for a while a hundred kilometers north of Jinling, then continued northward.

At this moment, they had arrived in Weixian County, Shandong.

"Hey, the northeast has turned blue," Grannie said in surprise.

Lu Yin was startled. Was Bai Xue defeated?

Before Lu Yin could think more, a gigantic tree appeared in the sky ahead, looking like a willow tree with branches extending over a kilometer, covering the sky and sweeping over the entire Weixian County, even covering the surrounding roads and villages.

Lu Yin and Grannie immediately stopped and instinctively detected the combat power.

"Four thousand two hundred and ninety," both exclaimed. This was the power of the Fusion Realm, and the mutated giant tree in front of them was a Fusion Realm creature.

"Let's go around it," Lu Yin decided to avoid it.

Suddenly, several branches from the river below lashed out at Lu Yin and Grannie. Lu Yin pushed Grannie away and dodged himself. The branches lashed into the sky, tearing the air and making a loud noise.

Grannie was still shaken. If Lu Yin hadn't pushed her away just now, she would have been attacked by the Fusion Realm creature.

"Go around, avoid it," Lu Yin shouted.

As they spoke, countless branches lashed out from all directions. Despite the considerable distance between them and the mutated giant tree, they were still within its attack range.

At this moment, it was very difficult to go around the giant tree. If the radius of the tree's attack range was considered, it would take at least ten seconds to go around, a conservative estimate. The giant tree wouldn't let them pass smoothly, especially Grannie, whose speed made it hard for her to go around.

Lu Yin dodged in mid-air. Seeing that Grannie was struggling, he struck out with a palm, deflecting the branches with a裂空掌 (Sky-Splitting Palm), and quickly rushed to her side, grabbing her and charging directly toward the mutated giant tree.

"You're crazy," Grannie exclaimed, seeing the giant tree getting closer, with countless branches like giant snakes rising into the sky, and the ground covered with white bones, an extremely terrifying sight.

Lu Yin said coldly, "Look behind us."

Grannie turned back and her face turned pale. Their retreat was blocked by an endless wall of green branches, leaving them no way to retreat.

"We're finished. A Fusion Realm creature, we're dead," Grannie said sadly.

Lu Yin's gaze swept the surroundings coldly. Branch after branch lashed out, and he skillfully dodged, occasionally using the branches to advance a considerable distance. At this moment, he was less than three kilometers from the mutated giant tree. The closer he got, the more he felt the tree's enormity and terror, its energy distorting the void and blocking out the sky.

Lu Yin was glad that he wasn't facing an intelligent creature. Although the mutated giant tree was powerful, its attacks were purely instinctual, which allowed him to keep Grannie safe. However, they wouldn't last long if this continued.

Grannie took out over a dozen fire crystals from her凝空戒 (Sky-Condensing Ring) and threw them, causing flames to rise from the ground.

Lu Yin was speechless. "You want to burn it?"

Grannie said bitterly, "Let's try. Maybe it's afraid of fire."

That made sense. Plants are naturally afraid of fire, but to ignite this sky-blocking giant tree, it would take at least a volcanic eruption. The fire crystals outside Jinling City wouldn't be enough.

Lu Yin didn't have time to argue with Grannie. He focused his gaze and saw something. A person?

Under the mutated giant tree, a black dot darted left and right, growing larger, and it turned out to be a person, just like Lu Yin and Grannie.

That person was even closer to the giant tree, constantly retreating to avoid the branches' attacks.

"Strong," Grannie said in surprise. She knew she couldn't withstand the branches' attacks and would have died if not for Lu Yin, but the person in the distance seemed to handle it with ease.

The moment Lu Yin recognized the person, his gaze turned cold. It was the silver-haired man.

Under the moonlight, the full-power Sky Star Palm was deflected by a beautiful butterfly knife, a scene Lu Yin would never forget. He could severely injure Tres with the Sky Star Palm in the Perception Realm, but when he reached the Exploration Realm and used the full-power Sky Star Palm, it was deflected. Moreover, it wasn't his initiative; it was the other person's killing intent that forced him to use full power. At that moment, he was completely passive and couldn't even gauge his opponent's strength.

"Hey, classmate, we meet again," the silver-haired man said with a smile, his eyes lighting up when he saw Lu Yin.

Grannie was puzzled. Did they know each other?

Lu Yin dodged the branches and said coolly, "What a coincidence."

The silver-haired man skillfully avoided the branches. "Not really. I've been trapped for some time. If you head north, you have a high chance of running into me. Fate, you know."

"Do you know we're heading north?" Lu Yin raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The silver-haired man said matter-of-factly, "Of course. I also know your destination. It must be the capital, right?"

Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, trying to guess who this person was, possibly one of the strongest from a certain academy that Ge mentioned.

"Be careful," Grannie shouted as dozens of branches lashed out from all directions at the silver-haired man. The silver-haired man smiled at Grannie and a beautiful butterfly knife appeared in his right hand. He deflected the branches with a dazzling flourish, and with a light sound, the branches were pierced. The silver-haired man emerged unscathed, turned back to smile at Grannie, and then looked at Lu Yin provocatively.

Lu Yin held Grannie tightly and, with her frightened gaze, raised his palm to strike the attacking branches. As he struck, stars appeared, and with one palm, the branches exploded. Lu Yin emerged unscathed.

"Didn't sleep well last night, used three-tenths of my strength," Lu Yin said coolly.

The silver-haired man smirked. "I used two-tenths."

"Wrong, I used one-tenth," Lu Yin said without backing down.

The silver-haired man huffed. "I used half a tenth."

Grannie was speechless. Were these two competing? At this critical moment?

For some reason, facing the silver-haired man, Lu Yin always felt an indescribable sense of danger, as if the butterfly knife was hanging over his head, ready to fall at any moment. He couldn't help but want to make this person wary, and the only way to do that was to remain unpredictable.

Branches appeared from all directions again, sealing the space.

Lu Yin said coolly to the silver-haired man, "Let's team up. Attack the main body, or this will never end."

The silver-haired man nodded. "I was too tired from playing the past few days. Otherwise, I could have handled it alone."

Lu Yin said coolly, "If we weren't in a hurry, I would have used it to test my palm strength."

The silver-haired man's lips curved, and he stepped on a lashing branch, charging toward the giant tree's main body.

Lu Yin threw Grannie toward the ground where the flames were, saying, "Be careful," and then charged toward the giant tree's main body.

Both were not far from the giant tree's main body and reached it in the blink of an eye.

The Fusion Realm surpasses the Exploration Realm, a significant step in cultivation. Reaching the Fusion Realm proves that one has become initially powerful, touching the limits of the human body. Cultivators will stay in this realm for a long time until they break through the human body's limits to enter the next realm.

Most student elites are in the Exploration Realm, and few reach the Fusion Realm. Students who can fight against a Fusion Realm creature are even rarer. Although the giant tree is not an intelligent creature, it is extremely large and has vast energy. Defeating it is even harder than defeating an ordinary Fusion Realm creature.

The silver-haired man's butterfly knife, glowing white, shot toward the giant tree like a meteor.

Lu Yin used the full-power Sky Star Palm, and faintly, another star began to form. This was the second star, and once formed, its power would increase dramatically.

Both attacked the giant tree's main body almost simultaneously. The butterfly knife and the Sky Star Palm struck the same spot, gradually breaking through the tree's tough surface. Then, with a loud bang, both pierced through the giant tree, rushing out hundreds of meters and hovering in the air, looking back.

The enormous mutated giant tree slowly fell, its countless branches crushing the ground and covering the rivers.

Lu Yin and the silver-haired man turned to look at each other. In the instant of the attack, they both felt the other's strength, more clearly than before.

This person has become even stronger, the thought appeared in both their minds simultaneously.

On the other side, Grannie was the most shocked. Mutated plants are hard to kill because of their strong defense. Although she hadn't fought Willow, she was certain that Willow had no ability to harm this giant tree. The two people, however, managed to do it. They were comparable to, or even surpassed, the strongest in the academy.