At night, in Zhongshan, Zi San was sent away. Lu Yin once again went to the big tree outside the military tent, looking up at the sky.
The apocalypse had purified Earth's atmosphere, allowing him to see more stars.
For several days, he had been cultivating the Heavenly Star Technique, but imitating the movement of stars was not so easy. Lu Yin originally had no clue, but today, upon touching Zhou Shan's sword marks, he vaguely felt the power of his battle with Aodhan. With a sudden realization, his eyes fixed on the night sky.
As time passed, the surrounding雜音 gradually disappeared. The stars his pupils saw also gradually faded, leaving only a bright moon emitting brilliant light.
This beam of light illuminated the night sky, and also illuminated Lu Yin, making nothing else exist in his eyes.
Lu Yin unconsciously stretched out his hand. Ripples formed in the air. Energy, as if visible to the naked eye, was sucked into his body. In his palm, a star shimmered faintly—it was the moon, rotating around his palm. Palm manifests a star, this was—Heavenly Star Palm.
Lu Yin's body swayed. He awoke, looking in shock at the star in his palm. At this moment, he could feel how terrifying the power of this star was. Even without a comparison, Lu Yin felt that this palm strike of his might even shock Zhou Shan.
Lu Yin casually dispersed the star, feeling the surging and powerful Star Energy within his body. This was energy he absorbed, unrestricted by energy crystals, absorbed anytime, anywhere. Moreover, his absorption speed was twice as fast as those like Yasta. This was the Heavenly Star Technique; he had finally achieved entry level.
The moment Lu Yin dispersed the star in his palm, Zhou Shan suddenly opened his eyes. In that instant, he felt a momentary palpitation, but immediately after, he felt nothing again. "Was it an illusion? It seems today's battle was too exhausting."
The next day, Lu Yin received a notification. Figure Saint Zhou Shan personally ordered him to assist the northern frontline.
The northern frontline was a battlefield where Jinling was trying to open a path to the northern capital. Zhou Shan had always wanted to connect Jinling with the capital, and then link up with the other six saints, to jointly reclaim China. The idea was good, but it was too difficult. A small path alone had taken several months, and not even a tenth of the journey had been cleared. Communication lines had long since been cut.
The frontline was very important to Zhou Shan. No matter how difficult it was, his focus was on the frontline. Nearly half of Figure's Vanguard's fourteen commanders were on the frontline, showing Zhou Shan's determination to connect with the capital.
This time, the ones heading to the frontline were Lu Yin, Kang Dafeng, and Luo Yun. Luo Yun was a very charming Vanguard Commander. She had always been curious about Lu Yin.
Leading an army of over ten thousand, Lu Yin and his group left Jinling and set off for the north.
"It's more accurate to say we're repairing the road than assisting the frontline," Luo Yun said wearily.
The army of over ten thousand had been traveling for a day, resting very little. No wonder Luo Yun was complaining.
The road was bumpy, and they occasionally had to repair vehicles, plus paving the road, so their progress was slow.
Inside another armored vehicle, Lu Yin closed his eyes to rest, occasionally looking up at the sky, at the dazzling sunlight. He wondered if he could simulate the sun's orbital trajectory. Once successful, his Star Energy absorption speed would double. Today, he felt he was not far from the Probing Realm.
However, simulating the sun was not easy. Perhaps he should start with Earth first, and not necessarily look at the starry sky. He could also look for videos of star systems from the peaceful era.
Simulating the movement of stars was about finding that feeling of conforming to the universe's operation. Lu Yin tried it without interruption.
Passing by a city, both sides were burning with flames. Zombies wandered around, occasionally attacking the convoy, only to be swept away by the army's gunfire.
"You guys be more restrained, there's only so much precious ammunition," Kang Dafeng scolded. Immediately, the frequency of gunfire significantly decreased.
Inside the armored vehicle, Zi San sneered, "The longer the apocalypse lasts, the less useful hot weapons become. If we don't use them now, when will we? After a while, these guns will be worse than scrap metal."
Lu Yin looked out the window. More and more zombies were gathering. He frowned. "Pass down the order, speed up. Don't get surrounded by the tide of zombies in the city; it's a waste of time."
"Understood, Boss," Zi San replied and got out of the armored vehicle.
Soon, the convoy's speed increased.
Lu Yin's defeat of Zhao Yu had given him a very high status among the Vanguard Commanders. Kang Dafeng and Luo Yun dared not contradict him.
Speaking of Zhao Yu, Lu Yin genuinely admired her. She dared to travel alone through dangerous areas and safely reached Jinling. Not everyone had such courage.
Not long after, the convoy stopped. The road ahead was destroyed and being urgently repaired.
Lu Yin closed his eyes, his fingers tapping in the air, occasionally moving, imitating the orbital trajectories of stars.
Suddenly, with a loud shout, Kang Dafeng attacked, killing zombies, cursing loudly.
Lu Yin impatiently glanced at him, paying no mind.
Zi San exclaimed, "As expected of a Vanguard Commander, those zombies were scared away directly."
"Tell Kang Dafeng to come back and continue moving. There are too many zombies to kill them all," Lu Yin said, his tone growing colder.
Zi San nodded. He was about to get out of the car again, but then turned back helplessly. "Boss, Kang Dafeng chased the zombies into that abandoned building."
Lu Yin looked up, watched for a moment, then got out of the armored vehicle, his expression solemn.
"Boss, what's wrong?" Zi San asked.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. "No sound."
Zi San thought for a moment. "That's right, there's no sound of fighting in that building."
"Brother Lu, where did Kang Dafeng go?" Luo Yun walked over and asked at this moment.
Lu Yin said in a deep voice, "You stay here. I'll go check." With that, he pulled out an iron rod and walked towards the abandoned building.
Yasta's short dagger was still in Jinling. Lu Yin never expected Figure's Vanguard to return it to him, and he refused Zhou Shan's offer of a steel knife, choosing to use an iron rod instead.
Outside the abandoned building, flames burned, making it appear eerily gloomy even under the sun.
Lu Yin slowly entered the building, only to see Kang Dafeng's saber, but Kang Dafeng himself was nowhere to be seen.
Lu Yin stepped further into the building, taking out Yasta's personal connector from his Null Realm. He selected a few, measuring combat power. He saw an arrow on the connector pointing to the right-back, and a number appeared—nine hundred.
Lu Yin's body suddenly moved sideways. White silk threads pierced the air, violently striking the wall, leaving huge cracks.
Lu Yin looked closely. It was a giant mutated spider, with six pairs of crimson eyes that were extremely chilling. There was also a blood-stained piece of cloth near its mouth, from Figure's Vanguard.
Lu Yin sighed. Kang Dafeng was dead, eaten by this mutated spider. He was still too late.
The mutated spider had 900 combat power, equivalent to a peak Earth-level. Kang Dafeng had only just stepped into the Earth-level, so he was naturally no match.
Lu Yin gripped the iron rod. His body lunged forward forcefully. The iron rod swept across. The mutated spider's eight legs sprang up, attempting to dodge, but in the next instant, Lu Yin's body disappeared, reappearing behind the spider. The iron rod chopped down, directly severing the mutated spider's body. Undigested Kang Dafeng fell out of its belly.
This scene was disgusting. Lu Yin frowned, turned around, and left.
Returning to the convoy, Lu Yin ordered Zi San to announce that no one was allowed to leave the convoy without permission. Violators would be expelled from Figure's Vanguard.
"Kang Dafeng, really dead?" Luo Yun trembled.
Lu Yin said indifferently, "You can go look at the building. His body hasn't been digested yet; you can vaguely recognize it."
Luo Yun's face turned pale. A dignified Vanguard Commander died just like that, without a sound. If Lu Yin hadn't intervened, Kang Dafeng would have been completely digested by the spider. This was the cruel apocalypse; even a Vanguard Commander couldn't protect himself.
Zi San also turned pale. He immediately got into the armored vehicle, determined never to leave Lu Yin's side.
Luo Yun also climbed into Lu Yin's armored vehicle, not planning to leave.
Lu Yin was speechless. "As long as you don't leave the convoy, nothing will happen."
Luo Yun glared at Lu Yin. "Easy for you to say. Who knows what other mutated creatures are in this world? It's safer by your side."
Lu Yin ignored Luo Yun, ordering the convoy to continue moving.
"Boss, should we report to Jinling? After all, a Vanguard Commander's death is no small matter," Zi San asked.
Lu Yin said indifferently, "No hurry. We'll talk about it when we reach the frontline. We're not even sure if we'll survive to reach the frontline."
These words scared Zi San even more, making his face turn paler.
Luo Yun licked her lips, unconsciously moving closer to Lu Yin.
"It's not that bad, is it? We should be able to reach the frontline safely," Zi San reassured himself.
Lu Yin looked out the window as the convoy slowly advanced.
"But then again, Kang Dafeng was too unlucky. He actually chased those zombies into that building; otherwise, he wouldn't have died," Zi San muttered to himself. He felt that only by talking more could he feel safe.
Unintentional words, but intentional hearing. His words made Lu Yin suddenly look up. "What did you say? Repeat that?"
Zi San was stunned and said, "I said Kang Dafeng was too unlucky. He actually chased those zombies into that building; otherwise, he wouldn't have died."
Lu Yin's eyes flickered. Chasing, zombies, building. No, that's not right. Even though zombies have no consciousness, they have instincts and can avoid danger. That mutated spider was clearly very dangerous. Zombies shouldn't approach it, yet they still fled into that building. Why? After more than half a year in the apocalypse, Lu Yin had experienced many dangers and understood zombies very well. Even if they feared Kang Dafeng, they wouldn't run towards a more dangerous creature.