"Can the Saint of Punishment hold on for three hours?" Qin Xuan glared at the doctor and asked.
The doctor nodded. "Yes."
Soon, the surrounding forces of the Punishment Battalion all retreated.
With no one around, Glannie breathed a sigh of relief. Three hours was just a safe estimate—in reality, she only needed two hours to recover from part of her injuries. Without any cultivators at the Exploration Realm, no one else could stop her.
With that thought, Glannie glanced at Tres, then looked toward Orton. Hm? Wait—where was Orton? Her expression changed. She tried to get up to look, but as soon as she moved, searing pain tore through her body, forcing her to sit back down. No rush. Wait two hours. Even if Orton isn't dead, his injuries must be worse than hers. And there was that Yata guy who dared to strike at her—he needed to be taught a lesson too.
A kilometer away, beneath the rubble, Orton's corpse lay quietly. Lu Yin panted heavily. He was also severely injured, but the most important thing right now was the Body Refinement Technique. Body Refinement could, to a certain extent, heal injuries.
After observing for a while, Lu Yin cut off five of Orton's fingers before finally locating the chip containing the Body Refinement Technique.
"This is it!" Lu Yin was thrilled as he fused the technique into his body. Instantly, searing pain engulfed him. He once again experienced that overwhelming power—his body's cells were reorganizing, refined, and cleansed. A surging force, as if overlooking the starry sky, pulled him—an insignificant ant—beyond the bounds of Earth.
Pfft.
Lu Yin coughed up blood. Cellular remodeling was agonizing, yet also a blessing. He could feel himself evolving, becoming more and more in tune with the starry sky.
An hour passed. Glannie's complexion improved slightly, her injuries visibly recovering. "Give me one more hour and I'll be able to move," she said excitedly. She had no intention of leaving—controlling Jinling would give her bargaining chips to negotiate with stronger forces in the future.
Although the blue zones were somewhat protected, not everyone followed the rules. On ordinary planets, Evolution Trials were manageable, but with the imminent emergence of the Tenth Institute of the Starry Sky, everyone wanted to shine in the trial. This Earth trial was destined to be brutal.
What worried Glannie the most was the arrival of the second wave of trial participants two months later.
This first batch of candidates had been decided long ago, back when news of the Tenth Institute had just broken, so not many joined last-minute. But the second wave would be completely different. Those participants would come specifically for the Tenth Institute. Glannie had no idea who might show up, but she had a bad feeling—there might be monstrous geniuses beyond imagination.
She didn't plan to monopolize Jinling—that was unrealistic. Her goal was to use Jinling to ally with certain individuals in exchange for better trial results. That should be Tres's goal too.
Another half-hour passed. Glannie felt herself recovering further. Just as she was about to get up and look for Orton, a sudden surge of powerful star energy erupted nearby. Glannie was shocked and looked toward the source. What was that?
A kilometer away, the pain in Lu Yin's body gradually faded. He clenched his fist, sensing the power within. Now, he had truly stepped into the world of cultivation, with the slightest qualification to look up at the stars.
Glannie tapped her personal terminal to test the energy level.
Beep beep beep beep...
The beeping continued until a final reading displayed: 1,080. Glannie frowned. 1,080? Just broke through to the Exploration Realm? Who was it? Yata?
Within the rubble a kilometer away, Lu Yin pushed aside the debris and walked out, looking straight at Glannie.
Glannie's eyes widened in surprise, her heart sinking. Her gaze flickered. "You… broke through to the Exploration Realm?"
Lu Yin walked toward her, smiling faintly. "Didn't you just detect it?"
Glannie frowned but softened her tone. "I'm sorry, Yata. I shouldn't have pushed you out to block that attack earlier. But you have to believe me—it was a reflex, not intentional."
Lu Yin stopped about ten meters away, still smiling. "Of course I believe you. You're an elite of the academy, trained through life-and-death experiences. A reflex like that is perfectly natural."
Glannie smiled faintly. "That's good to hear. Yata, Tres and Orton are dead, and that native is gravely injured. From now on, Jinling belongs to us. If we work together, no one can take it from us."
"Well said. But before that, can I borrow something from you?" Lu Yin's smile remained.
Glannie's expression changed slightly, but she forced a smile. "What is it?"
"Nothing much," Lu Yin replied casually. "Just some energy crystals."
Glannie's gaze turned sharp. "What did you say?"
Lu Yin stared at her and said flatly, "Let me put it this way—hand over your Condensed Void Ring."
"You're robbing me?" Glannie shouted.
Lu Yin shrugged. "Don't make it sound so dark. I just want to take a look."
Granny stood up and glared at Lu Yin, speaking harshly. "Yata, don't think that just because the Body Refinement Technique healed some of your injuries, you can suppress me. You haven't fully recovered, and I've healed part of my wounds too. If we really fight, who wins and who loses is still uncertain. Don't forget—you've only just reached the Exploration Realm, and your battle power is only 1080."
Lu Yin smiled faintly. "Really? If you truly believed in battle power, would you be talking so much nonsense?"
Granny's eyes flickered, and she didn't respond.
Lu Yin continued, "Battle power only represents the external effect of individual star energy—it's merely an influence measurement. It doesn't represent true strength. That's the first line in our academy textbook, isn't it?"
"Wrong. That line is only there to avoid discouraging civilian students. The higher your battle power, the stronger your individual star energy, and the more you can suppress those with weaker battle power. Otherwise, why do you think Tres was stronger than me? Your battle power and mine differ by nearly a full tier. That gap isn't something mere techniques can make up for," Granny said coldly.
Lu Yin stepped forward again, closing the distance. "Then make your move—if you're confident."
Granny's eyes turned vicious as she stared at Lu Yin approaching step by step. She took out a flame crystal from her void ring and crushed it—flames erupted into the air. "Flame Palm!" Forced to act, Granny struck. Even if she defeated Lu Yin, she'd be injured again—but she had no choice.
As the flame-coated palm struck forward, Lu Yin raised his hand. A moon spun around his palm—he unleashed Heavenly Star Palm without hesitation. At the moment of impact, the moon exploded. The terrifying force completely crushed the flames and blasted Granny back over a hundred meters. Her arm fractured, and she crashed to the ground in a sorry state, staring at Lu Yin in disbelief.
She never expected Lu Yin to severely injure her with a single palm. What kind of technique was that? It couldn't possibly be the Wave Palm—that wouldn't rival her Flame Palm. Their battle power differed by almost a full level. A normal technique couldn't bridge such a gap.
Lu Yin stared at his right palm with burning intensity. This was the Heavenly Star Palm. After reaching the Exploration Realm, its power rose again. When unleashed, stars appeared. The star's explosion crushed everything. And that was only one star. If he used two? Ten? Twenty? How powerful would that be? Lu Yin couldn't even imagine it.
This technique must never be revealed.
The commotion drew Qin Xuan and the others. When the troops returned, all they saw was Lu Yin standing alone on the battlefield.
"Brother Lu?" Feng Hong called out in surprise.
Qin Xuan and the others were all shocked—they had withdrawn far during the fight and saw nothing.
Lu Yin said, "Detain that woman and treat Xing Sheng."
Very soon, Granny was taken away by the military, and Zhou Shan was rushed to the medical bay for emergency treatment.
"Wait…" Zhou Shan's weak voice rang out.
Everyone gathered around.
Zhou Shan looked at Lu Yin. "While I'm recovering, Jinling is under your protection. Please."
Lu Yin nodded. "Don't worry."
"Thank you," Zhou Shan said softly before falling unconscious.
This battle had brought heavy losses to Jinling. Lu Yin ordered the troops to rebuild the destroyed gathering point and comfort the survivors. He also instructed Luo Yun and others to return to Jinling.
There were many things Lu Yin didn't need to handle personally—Xing Camp had its own procedures. He headed to the lowest level of the prison where the evolved beings were held and came face-to-face with Granny.
At this moment, Granny's limbs were restrained, surrounded by hidden technological weapons ready to fire at any sign of movement.
Lu Yin dismissed the guards, approached Granny, and removed her void ring. He pricked her finger, using the blood's genetic code to unlock the ring, and dumped out its contents.
Void rings were extremely valuable—few could afford them. Neither Asta nor Orton had one. Only Granny and Tres did. Lu Yin had already taken Tres' ring and gained many good items. Now it was Granny's turn.
"Who exactly are you?" Granny asked.
Lu Yin smiled. "What do you think?"
"You must be from the universe. There's no way you're from Earth," Granny growled, glaring at him.
Lu Yin nodded, taking all the energy crystals and returning the rest—including her inner garments—into the void ring, which he then handed back to her.
Without the genetic code, a void ring was useless. He had no reason to keep a useless ring.