The woman grew increasingly disgusted and deeply disdainful. The Tenth Academy of the Stars was not something outsiders could interfere with—so what if he was a powerhouse who could roam the cosmos? There were plenty of such figures across the universe.
"Wait a minute, how do I know you're not a native?" the woman stared at Lu Yin and said.
Lu Yin raised his hand, and with a rapid vibration of his right palm, the air seemed like a curtain being gripped and slammed down hard onto the ground. Instantly, a massive pit was blasted into the earth.
"Wave Palm?" The woman stared at Lu Yin in surprise.
Lu Yin looked proud. "How about that? Is this proof enough?"
The woman narrowed her eyes. Wave Palm wasn't something just anyone could use. Though it was a common battle technique, without sufficient physical strength, one couldn't unleash it. She herself couldn't use it—and now, a mere Watcher-level cultivator had displayed it. For a moment, she became somewhat wary of Lu Yin.
"Being able to use Wave Palm proves you're somewhat useful. Help me take Jinling, and the merit will include you," the woman said indifferently, her tone softening slightly.
"You want to take Jinling? I heard there's a powerful figure there—a Holy Enforcer—he's at the Explorer level," Lu Yin said in surprise.
"I know. Even Orton lost to him. But I'm not that failure Orton. You and I together can suppress that native," she said coldly.
"How do you know someone already lost to a native?" Lu Yin asked.
She replied casually, "Before the trial began, students from the same academy agreed to team up if they landed near each other. No one contacted you? Right, you're too weak."
Lu Yin secretly felt relieved. Thankfully, he hadn't pretended to be Asta. If this woman knew Orton, she might know Asta too. Since she knew Orton, could it be that Orton had tried to find her after being defeated by Zhou Shan and fleeing north? Then why had he detoured east?
He didn't ask further. The more questions, the easier it was to expose himself. For now, the fact that she was willing to team up meant she was no longer on good terms with Orton—or maybe Orton had found someone else. Either way, Jinling was in danger.
"Alright, I'll help you. But I need to increase my strength," Lu Yin said.
"No need," the woman frowned.
"Then at least let me recover from my injuries," Lu Yin said helplessly.
The woman stared at him for a moment, then grabbed him and flew toward the settlement.
Asta's Molding Technique could only be used three times. He had already used it twice—once to break through to Watcher level, and once more to reach Explorer level. The final use had been taken by Lu Yin to reach Watcher level. To break through again, he needed a new Molding Technique. That's why he was trying to get close to this woman—he needed the technique to advance.
The small settlement in the county had only about two hundred thousand survivors, but a large military presence. Most soldiers wore uniforms of the Penal Battalion—likely frontline troops now under this woman's control.
"That so-called Holy Enforcer in Jinling is decent. He has eighty thousand evolved troops under him, twenty thousand stationed on the front lines to reconnect with other regions. Six Watchers came too—I killed two, one was eaten by a mutant beast, and three remain," the woman explained as she brought Lu Yin to the top of a high-rise building in the settlement.
"I don't even know your name," Lu Yin said.
"Granny," she replied coldly.
At that moment, a figure approached the rooftop and respectfully reported, "Ma'am, we've spotted a Penal Battalion unit thirty kilometers out."
Lu Yin turned his head and instantly recognized the newcomer. His expression changed. The man also saw Lu Yin and looked confused. Suddenly, Lu Yin lunged at him, unleashing a Wave Palm. Before Granny could react, Lu Yin's strike landed squarely on the man's chest. He spat blood and was blasted off the rooftop, crashing heavily to the ground and causing a stir below.
Granny glared at Lu Yin and shouted, "What are you doing?!"
Lu Yin responded angrily, "It's him! The moment I landed here, he led a sneak attack on me. If not for him, I wouldn't have been injured."
Granny's voice turned cold. "When did this happen?"
"The day we arrived," Lu Yin replied without hesitation.
"Where?"
"About a hundred kilometers south," Lu Yin said, then looked directly at her. "You suspect me? Or do you just hate to lose this native?"
Granny snorted. "Watch your words. I don't care about some native, but you don't get to kill my people without reason."
Lu Yin didn't care. "It's just a native."
"But he's still one of mine," Grannie said angrily.
Lu Yin shrugged helplessly. "Alright, alright, I get it. It won't happen again. Oh, by the way, the army thirty kilometers away—they're my people. Should I bring them over?"
Grannie turned around, gazing in the direction of Jinling, then glanced at her personal terminal without responding.
Lu Yin looked down from the rooftop and let out a breath. That man was Li Hongliang. He had witnessed the moment Asta was killed and had seen Lu Yin—he knew Lu Yin was from Earth and had even killed Asta. If Lu Yin hadn't acted just now and allowed Li Hongliang to recognize him, it would've been a big problem.
This woman wasn't Asta. Lu Yin could feel that her strength surpassed his. He might not succeed in a sneak attack—better to wait for the right time.
The frontline was gone. Grannie's presence had collapsed the entire border defense of the Xing Battalion. The soldiers had either been absorbed into her ranks or had fled, barely surviving. Meanwhile, communication with Jinling had been cut off since that morning, which troubled Lu Yin.
He brought Luo Yun, Xu San, and nearly ten thousand evolved soldiers to the base and sternly warned the remaining two battalion leaders who had defected to Grannie. That night, he approached Grannie again.
"What? You want to borrow star energy crystals?" Grannie looked at Lu Yin in surprise, her expression odd.
Lu Yin nodded. "Don't worry, however many you lend me, I'll repay ten times that when we return."
Grannie looked him over. "You have flame crystals but no star energy crystals?"
"I used them all up," Lu Yin replied.
Grannie hesitated. Star energy crystals weren't the same as the energy crystals found in mutated beasts on Earth. Every planet or ecosystem had its own form of energy, not necessarily compatible with star energy. This led to countless cultivation methods, but in the end, everything had to align with the cosmic system. Star energy crystals contained pure, absorbable star energy.
These crystals could be absorbed by anyone for cultivation, and typically only ecosystems fused with the cosmic system could produce them. Earth currently produced flame crystals, ice crystals, and other exotic types, but it couldn't generate star energy crystals—making them incredibly valuable to the academy students.
"You don't trust me? Fine, I'll trade instead," Lu Yin offered.
Grannie raised an eyebrow. "Trade how?"
Lu Yin poured out a pile of flame crystals from his spatial ring.
Grannie's eyes lit up. She mentally reviewed conversion rates for energy crystals across the universe but found no standard—different regions had different exchange values. Now, on Earth and facing someone desperate for star energy crystals, she had full control over the rate.
"I'll give you five star energy crystals," Grannie said calmly.
Lu Yin's eyes widened. "That's robbery! These flame crystals are worth at least twenty star energy crystals—you're giving me just five? That's a quarter of the value!"
"Take it or leave it," Grannie said coldly.
Lu Yin grit his teeth. "Fine, but on one condition—let me test my combat skill."
Grannie was dismissive. "Anytime."
Lu Yin took the five thumb-sized, transparent star energy crystals and turned to leave.
After he left, Grannie happily stashed the flame crystals away. These rare crystals not only aided in cultivating battle techniques but also enhanced their power when used. They were priceless treasures, especially for her—her battle technique specifically required flame crystals. She'd struck it rich. "Tata Planet? Never heard of it. Is it a planet that specializes in this kind of rare mineral?" she wondered.
Leaving Grannie's residence, Lu Yin smiled. Although the exchange rate was a rip-off, it was still something for nothing. More importantly, aside from the students, no one else on Earth had star energy crystals.
Asta didn't even have a spatial ring and couldn't carry such crystals. Grannie's background was clearly better than Asta's. Maybe he could get even more from her.
He returned to his own place—a rundown villa.
Lu Yin buried flame crystals around the perimeter to guard against intruders.
Inside the villa, he waved his hand and cleared out all the broken furniture. Then he took out one of the star energy crystals and crushed it. Instantly, a surge of powerful star energy burst forth, flooding the space.
Using the Body Shaping Technique to cultivate allowed him to absorb the star energy scattered in the void, but the speed of absorption depended on the technique itself. To improve efficiency, many powerful factions collected star energy crystals and released the energy in a confined space—this method significantly boosted absorption speed. It was one of the main reasons why star energy crystals were so fiercely contested.