The Starry Sky Battle Academy was the most elite institution in the universe. It consisted of ten divisions. Except for the Ninth Division, which was located in the boundless outer universe, the remaining nine divisions were all within the inner universe. However, now, the Tenth Division was set to appear in the Canglan Territory, a region that included the Great Yu Empire.
Lu Yin turned off the screen, eyes flickering. The weight of this information was immense. The Starry Sky Battle Academy held an irresistible allure for countless young people across the universe. Originally, it had nothing to do with him—it was simply too far out of reach. But now, with the Tenth Division entering the Canglan Territory at such a critical juncture, he couldn't help but have thoughts about it.
To gain entry into the Tenth Division of the Starry Sky Academy, one needed more than just talent and strength—they also had to prove themselves through rigorous trials.
And right in front of him was one such trial: the Earth Evolution Trial.
No wonder so many had come to participate in this trial. Asta was probably drawn here by this very news.
Lu Yin felt uneasy. First, he had no idea what task Asta was undertaking. Second, if no student completed the mission within three months, a second wave of trial participants would arrive.
At a time when the Starry Sky Tenth Division was about to emerge, countless people were eager to gain experience and bolster their qualifications—including those from powerful clans and prestigious families. The Earth Evolution Trial was undeniably attractive. The second wave of participants might bring unimaginable brutality to Earth.
Lu Yin grew anxious. Even the first group of trial students were at least Exploration Realm cultivators. The second group might be even stronger, and he might not even be able to protect himself.
With these thoughts, frustration welled up inside him. If he couldn't reach the Exploration Realm within three months, he would become nothing but an ant.
One night passed. The next day, the army moved out once again, heading north.
Lu Yin became more silent. He didn't stay inside the armored vehicle; instead, he lay on the roof.
Hubei, Wucheng, the central area of Huaxia, was now home to over ten million survivors. Despite this, more people arrived every day—because one of the Seven Saints, Light Saint Liu Shaoge, resided here.
After the apocalypse, strange stones appeared around Wucheng—light-infused ores. When cracked, they released light.
Using these stones and his own battle techniques, Liu Shaoge protected the millions of survivors in Wucheng. Hence, he was honored as the Light Saint.
Pillars of light shot into the sky around Wucheng, enclosing the entire city. Because of this, Wucheng was also called the City of Light, or even the City That Never Sleeps.
At the center of Wucheng, a piece of land was lifted high into the sky by the light pillars—this was the Light Saint's domain, often referred to as the City in the Heavens.
Below the City in the Heavens lay the Light Camp, with 100,000 evolutionaries protecting the saint's stronghold and gradually expanding outward.
There were no grand palaces in the City in the Heavens—only a graceful courtyard, open to the stars above.
At that moment, within the courtyard, a handsome, graceful young man stood at the edge, gazing into the distance. He raised his wine cup, took a light sip, and smiled with a strange curve of his lips. He was none other than Liu Shaoge, the Light Saint.
Not far from Liu Shaoge stood another young man. Though not as handsome, his eyes held a proud arrogance. The way he looked at Liu Shaoge was as if he were looking at an ant.
"All of this—especially those light crystals—are valuable resources that could put you ten years ahead of your peers. You're wasting them," said the young man behind Liu Shaoge with displeasure.
Liu Shaoge turned and smiled at him. "Don't say that, Puyi. Everything here belongs to both of us, not just me."
The man named Puyi eased slightly at the words. "Turn off those light pillars. You're squandering resources."
Liu Shaoge nodded. "Alright, as you wish. By the way, about that regional division you mentioned earlier—can you explain it more clearly?"
Puyi replied flatly, "Trials come with unspoken rules. As long as we control a region, we can mark it as a blue zone on the network. Generally, during the early stages of a trial, no one will touch a blue zone—unless they're enemies."
"So you're saying Wucheng is already marked blue?" Liu Shaoge asked.
Puyi nodded. "Of course. You think I'm the only one who made it here in the past few days? These trials are brutal. At the start, people usually avoid life-or-death battles. Besides, each trial student comes with a background. Mine happens to be strong enough, so once I mark a zone, no one dares challenge it."
Liu Shaoge smiled calmly. "I see."
"Enough. Now tell me—what did you find out about the matter I asked you to investigate?" Puyi asked impatiently. He glanced at the light pillars again, his eyes filled with a flash of heartache. "Turn them off quickly. It's such a waste."
Liu Shaoge smiled as he poured Pu Yi a drink. "There's finally some progress on what you asked me to investigate."
Pu Yi's eyes lit up. "Really? Speak."
Liu Shaoge handed him the cup. "Take a look at this wine."
Pu Yi looked at it suspiciously. At first glance, there was nothing unusual—just ripples spreading through the wine, one after another, again and again, endlessly…
Liu Shaoge smiled and waited for a while before speaking lightly. "Give me your personal terminal."
Pu Yi, his eyes vacant, took off his personal terminal and handed it over to Liu Shaoge.
Not long after, Liu Shaoge closed the terminal and rubbed his head. "This is a problem. The cosmic network has been shut down. So, he realized I was controlling him? Forget it." With that, he put on the terminal again, smiling faintly and lifting his sharp gaze to the sky.
Two days later, the Xing Camp army approached the front lines. If not for the need to repair the communication lines along the way, they would've arrived much sooner.
For the past two nights, Lu Yin had been acting strange, staring blankly at the moon. Luo Yun even suspected he had gone mad.
The convoy suddenly halted. Xu San said to Lu Yin, "Boss, something's off. We haven't seen any survivors since yesterday. Plus, there should be soldiers monitoring the route ahead. We've been moving for nearly a day and haven't seen a single person."
Lu Yin stood up and looked into the distance. "Have the troops stop and rest."
Avoiding the crowd, Lu Yin activated his personal terminal and began scanning for battle power. One kilometer. Two kilometers. All the way up to ten kilometers. He filtered out any power below the Explorer level. Finally, thirty-seven kilometers out, he detected Explorer-level battle power—1,800 in total. That was the detected combat strength.
Lu Yin's expression turned grave. He pulled out a map—exactly thirty-seven kilometers away was an abandoned county town. That town was less than twenty kilometers from the front lines, precisely between their convoy and the battlefield.
Lu Yin ordered the army to camp on-site and then headed north alone. He needed to know whether that Explorer-level power came from mutant beasts or people.
But less than ten kilometers in, Lu Yin realized he didn't need to go any further. Ahead, a unit of Evolvers marched past. Where there were troops, there was a settlement—meaning the Explorer-level strength he detected likely belonged to one of the students sent to Earth.
After a moment of thought, Lu Yin reattached the tracking device to Asta's personal terminal.
At that very moment, several kilometers away, a woman with waist-length hair, dressed in a white battle suit, sensed a change. She glanced at her terminal, snorted coldly, and flew south.
Moments later, a white figure appeared in the sky, hovering high above and looking coldly down at Lu Yin.
"Classmate," she said icily, "this area has already been marked as blue. Please leave."
Lu Yin looked at the girl and his eyes lit up—she was quite pretty. "Hello, classmate. My name is Yata, from the First Military Academy of Tata Planet, in the Great Yu Empire."
"I'm not interested. Leave now," the woman said coldly. Waves of energy rippled from her body, pressing down on him.
Lu Yin quickly replied, "Please don't be hasty. I'm injured and weak. I pose no threat to you. And I can offer you resources—plenty of them."
The woman's eyes remained cold. "A mere Seeker dares join the planetary evolution trial? How did you get in?"
"My grandfather is the principal," Lu Yin said directly, with a proud tone.
The woman looked at him in disgust. "Scram."
Lu Yin immediately took a few Flame Crystals from his void ring and tossed them to her. "Help me survive this trial, and once we're out, I'll give you an entire basket of these."
The woman caught them in surprise, feeling the warm pulse of the Flame Crystals. She descended to the ground. "Where did you get these?"
Lu Yin put on a smug look. "Of course my grandfather gave them to me. He's a powerhouse who walks among the stars. He has more of these than you can imagine."
The woman's eyes narrowed, and a trace of killing intent flickered as she clenched her fist.
Lu Yin stepped back warily, glaring at her. "Don't try anything. Even if no one can interfere with the trial, who dies to whom can still be tracked. You don't want my grandfather coming after you, do you?"
The woman hesitated for a moment, then relaxed her hand. She said coldly, "I'll help you survive and leave this planet, but your trial score won't count."
Lu Yin let out a breath of relief. "That's fine. No matter what, my grandfather can get me into the Tenth Academy of the Skywar Institution. You can have all the credit."