Chu Shan glared at Lu Yin, "This isn't just me saying it, it's universally acknowledged. Bai Xue is hailed as the most beautiful woman in Huaxia, bar none. What celebrities, internet sensations, socialites, or campus queens, none can compare to even her little finger," he said, then added with a strange laugh, "At first, I didn't believe it, but after seeing her, I did. This woman is born to be worshipped; the word 'goddess' doesn't even do her justice."
Lu Yin chuckled, "Is it that exaggerated?"
"Goddess? What big talk. Natives are natives. If you saw a Star-Harvesting Woman, wouldn't you be on your knees?" Granny suddenly interjected, scoffing.
Lu Yin said coldly, "I don't wish to hear the word 'native' from your mouth again. Go guard the perimeter."
Granny snorted, not daring to challenge Lu Yin, and turned to leave.
Chu Shan felt awkward. Discussing women and being overheard by another woman wasn't ideal.
"Continue, Brother Chu," Lu Yin said.
Chu Shan coughed a few times, "Actually, there's not much to say. Liu Shaoka is handsome, Bai Xue is beautiful, they're a perfect match."
"Strength?" Lu Yin asked curiously, his eyes bright.
Chu Shan shrugged, "Both Liu Shaoka and I are among the Lower Four Saints, while Bai Xue is among the Upper Three Saints. Although there are rumors that Liu Shaoka is cautious and good at hiding his strength, even if he's stronger than me, he can't be much stronger."
Lu Yin nodded, indicating understanding.
Chu Shan, in his roundabout way, pretended not to know Liu Shaoka well, but Lu Yin could tell he had a good impression of Liu Shaoka. The title "Saint Light" itself was highly complimentary. Liu Shaoka projected a perfectly flawless image to the outside world. Except for Lu Yin, who was an occasional survivor, only the dead understood Liu Shaoka's dark side.
Originally, Lu Yin considered only Liu Shaoka as an enemy. If Saint Luo Bai Xue was indeed colluding with him, his enemies might increase.
Society was just like that, pulling one string would move the whole body. Lu Yin tapped his fingers on the wall, falling into thought.
It wasn't until dusk that the beast horde completely retreated.
After dark, Lu Yin left Jinling. He didn't have many Flame Crystals left, so he needed to mine some.
Moonlight cascaded down, illuminating the clear, cold ground. Aside from the chilling gnawing sounds coming from the darkness, only the howling wind echoed across this expanse.
When Lu Yin reached the side of the Flame Crystal mine trench, he saw a figure standing silently. It was a man with short, silver hair, gazing up at the moonlight, his eyes somewhat lost.
The moment he saw the man, Lu Yin's expression drastically changed. This location, besides the long-haired Corpse King and the Flame Crystals, also contained that chilling, vertical-eyed skull fragment. Was this person here by coincidence or intentionally?
Lu Yin hadn't known anyone was here, so he hadn't intentionally concealed himself. The silver-haired man naturally noticed him too.
"Who are you?" Lu Yin's eyes were serious, his expression wary. He didn't know this person's strength, but an intense sense of danger permeated the air, making him hesitant to approach this person. That vertical-eyed skull fragment kept lingering in his mind.
The silver-haired man looked at Lu Yin, a faint smile playing on his lips. Coincidentally, at that moment, the moonlight was obscured by clouds, plunging the area into darkness.
In an instant, Lu Yin's scalp tingled. A flash of white light appeared in the darkness. Lu Yin quickly retreated using his Vagrant Step, while simultaneously striking out with his right palm, manifesting the Heavenly Star Palm. As the white light shone, a pair of cold eyes showed surprise. The white light rapidly shifted, colliding with Lu Yin's right hand.
Dimly, Lu Yin clearly saw the white light emanating from a beautiful butterfly knife. The blade tore through the air at a speed indiscernible to the naked eye, completely deflecting the explosive power of the Heavenly Star Palm.
With a thud and a tremor, the air distorted, and both individuals simultaneously retreated.
The moonlight emerged once more, spilling onto the ground and illuminating the two.
Lu Yin's gaze was solemn. This person had blocked a full-power strike from his Heavenly Star Palm.
Across from him, the silver-haired man was surprised, then scratched his head, "Um, sorry, I thought you were a Zombie, so I attacked. My apologies, haha."
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes, staring at the man, then his lips curved into a smile, "No need to be polite, I also thought you were a Zombie, so I attacked. Luckily, I didn't use my full strength, only less than half of my palm power. I didn't injure you, did I?"
The silver-haired man's eyebrow twitched, "No, no, why would you injure me? Although I only barely used one-third of my strength, blocking your palm was still more than enough, haha."
Lu Yin looked at his own palm, smiling, "My apologies, I misremembered. I only used one-quarter of my palm power just now. Luckily, I didn't injure you."
The silver-haired man laughed heartily, "Ah, what, I misremembered too. I only used one-fifth of my strength."
"Really? I don't believe it. How about we try again?" Lu Yin challenged.
The silver-haired man quickly waved his hand, "No, I'm an elegant gourmand, I don't fight people. Oh, right, let me ask you a question, what are you doing here?"
Lu Yin said calmly, "Looking for a classmate. My classmate and I agreed to meet here."
The silver-haired man said "Ah," then, "Actually, me too. I remember there's a Jinling nearby, but it's marked blue now. Your classmate didn't do that, did they?"
Lu Yin nodded, "It was her."
The silver-haired man sighed regretfully, "Is that so? I originally wanted to go play there. Alright then, you keep waiting, I'll be going," he said, then turned and left, disappearing quickly.
Lu Yin checked his personal communicator, and only after confirming the silver-haired man had left did he exhale, his expression more serious than ever before. His Heavenly Star Palm had been blocked. This was a full-power strike after he broke through to the Observation Realm. In the moment the ground was plunged into darkness, extreme danger enveloped him. He had no time to hesitate; that palm strike was indeed a full-power one, yet it was still blocked. What was this person's background exactly? Such a strong person had appeared among the first batch of trial participants.
Lu Yin walked to the side of the trench, looking at the location of the Flame Crystal mine. That person had been standing there from the very beginning, and that was also where Lu Yin had found the vertical-eyed skull fragment. This person was very likely the owner of that vertical-eyed skull fragment.
Lu Yin recalled all the symbols he had seen in the universe; none of them included a vertical-eyed skull.
When he first picked it up, Lu Yin had already felt that he might be encountering something terrifying. Now, that feeling was even stronger. Although the silver-haired man had Observation Realm strength, Lu Yin, through that palm-to-palm clash, sensed that this person truly hadn't used his full strength; he was unfathomable.
On the other side, the silver-haired man flew under the moonlight, his expression peculiar. His sure-kill strike had been blocked. "Among the Observation Realm students, there's actually someone who can block that strike of mine. Interesting. I originally thought such people would only appear in the second batch of trial participants, but I didn't expect to find one in the first batch too, haha."
Du Xiang, Su Xing, and Anhui Border.
Since Xing Ying had focused its main forces westward, this area had become Xing Ying's front line. Five Centurions and thirty thousand evolved humans, advancing westward, not only rescued many survivors but also had many evolved humans join them.
Currently, the total number of evolved humans on the Du Xiang front line was approaching forty thousand, and another Centurion had been added.
The overall commander of the front line was Feng Hong, whom Lu Yin also knew.
Initially, everything was stable on the front line. However, today, a figure appeared in the sky, looking down on Du Xiang from above. Tens of thousands of evolved humans looked up.
Jinling, Lu Yin looked at the map. The distance from Jinling to Wucheng was too far, with Anhui province in between. This was a vast province, with countless Zombies, countless mutated beasts, and also evolved humans who dominated their own areas; it was too distant.
To use Xing Ying to clear a path to Wucheng would take months.
Lu Yin pondered. Wucheng was currently marked as blue. Even if they reached Wucheng, they would likely face alien students.
Just then, Luo Yun rushed over, "Saint Yin, news from the front line: Xing Ying has collapsed, everyone is under control, and Feng Hong and the other Centurions have been captured."
Lu Yin was surprised, "Did an alien make a move?"
Luo Yun nodded, saying seriously, "The soldiers who escaped reported that the person who made the move left six characters -- Blue Mountain Academy's Yego."
"Tell Granny to come," Lu Yin said calmly.
Soon, Granny arrived.
"Go, contact Yego through the personal communicator of the Blue Mountain Academy students. He has already taken control of Xing Ying's front line," Lu Yin said calmly.
Granny nodded, took out the two student personal communicators from her Void Ring, and selected a few. In front, a light screen appeared. On the light screen was a young man, smiling as he looked at Granny.
"Miss Granny, long time no see. I didn't expect us to meet in this place. This humble one is Yego, a student of Blue Mountain Academy," the young man said politely.
Granny was puzzled, "You know me?"
Yego smiled and said, "The famous elite beauty of the Empire's First Military Academy, Blue Mountain Academy is not far from your Academy, of course I know you."
"Were those two who ambushed me also arranged by you?" Granny said coldly.