Dice-Inspired Heavenly Star Technique

Not knowing how much time had passed, Lu Yin spat out another mouthful of blood. A blast of air erupted from his body, toppling the camp and spreading hundreds of meters around. The monitoring devices outside the camp shattered, and layers of trees were uprooted.

This commotion attracted the attention of the XING Battalion, and two captains rushed towards Lu Yin's location. One was Feng Hong, and the other was a charming woman with a curious glint in her eyes.

The two captains arrived outside the ruins of Lu Yin's tent and looked inside. "Is this the new captain, Lu Yin?" Feng Hong shouted, while the troops behind him remained cautious.

Soon, Lu Yin walked out from the wreckage of the tent, his face pale, and his steps unsteady. "Sorry for the disturbance, I am indeed Lu Yin," he said.

Feng Hong and the charming woman were surprised to see Lu Yin's weak state. "Why are you so weak?" Feng Hong asked.

Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I watched Xing Sheng display his battle techniques earlier and got a bit too eager to try them myself, but I failed and got injured in the process."

Feng Hong understood and laughed. "Lu brother, you were too impatient. Battle techniques aren't something everyone can master, and they can't be grasped in a short time. As captains of the XING Battalion, we all have the opportunity to receive Xing Sheng's personal guidance. Don't rush."

Lu Yin nodded in agreement. "I understand now. Thank you, Feng brother, for your guidance."

Feng Hong waved his hand, showing none of the authoritative demeanor he had during the day. "No need to be polite. We are all brothers in the XING Battalion, future comrades facing the apocalypse together. I'll have someone arrange a new place for you to rest. Do you need a doctor?"

Lu Yin declined. "No need. It's just superficial injuries and exhaustion. No need for a doctor."

Feng Hong nodded. "Alright, then we'll be off. Rest well, Lu brother," he said, signaling the charming woman to leave.

The woman nodded, gave Lu Yin one more glance, and left.

A soldier led Lu Yin to a nearby tent. "I'll be leaving now. If you need anything, just call for me," the soldier said, saluting Lu Yin.

Lu Yin nodded and entered the tent, his excitement barely contained, mixed with a bit of trepidation and anticipation. He had succeeded in his body transformation and it had brought him a great surprise. Raising his hand, a hand-sized die slowly appeared, emitting a faint starlight, with six faces, each representing a number from one to six.

This was a talent, something that only a very few cultivators could develop after undergoing body transformation.

Talents were mysterious, and no one knew their origin. Many scholars in the universe believed that talents represented the deepest secrets of humanity, indicating an ancient lineage. However, this was merely a theory, as no one could truly research talents.

Lu Yin didn't care about the origin of talents; he cared about the talent itself.

Before coming to Earth, he had heard countless stories of the power of talents. Every cultivator with a talent was a prodigy, sought after by major forces in the universe. The most famous event was that any talented cultivator could directly join the Universe Youth Council.

Lu Yin's eyes burned as he looked at the die. Although his talent seemed a bit, well, strange, its usefulness was what mattered.

He watched the die float in the air and lightly tapped it. The die spun rapidly before slowly stopping, its six faces changing. Five of the faces' numbers vanished, leaving only one face showing a number—one.

Lu Yin stared at the number one, and a use suddenly appeared in his mind: he could randomly obtain any item from anyone's spatial ring.

Before Lu Yin could react, the die emitted a beam of light that shot into the void and vanished in an instant, as if opening a passage. Then, a chip fell to the ground, and the die dimmed and disappeared.

Lu Yin stared at the chip on the ground. Was this what it had brought back for him?

He picked up the chip, examined it, then took out Asta's personal terminal from his spatial ring and inserted the chip. A light screen appeared, displaying three large characters—Heavenly Star Art.

Lu Yin stared at the screen, which showed human figures, the universe, nebulae, and palm prints. Half an hour passed before the chip self-destructed, snapping Lu Yin out of his daze.

Lu Yin was shocked. He knew he had obtained something extraordinary.

The Heavenly Star Art was a method of cultivating by absorbing star energy, imitating the movements of stars. Theoretically, for every star's movement he imitated, the speed of absorbing star energy would increase. Although this Heavenly Star Art was only at a beginner level, it included methods for imitating the movements of eight stars. This meant that if Lu Yin mastered it, his star energy absorption speed would increase eightfold.

Eightfold. What a terrifying efficiency. Additionally, the Heavenly Star Art contained a set of combat techniques called the Heavenly Star Palm, which manifested stars upon striking, immensely powerful.

Lu Yin put away his personal terminal, his eyes alight with excitement. He had never heard of the Heavenly Star Art before, but it was undoubtedly immensely powerful, possibly from the inner universe.

Suppressing his excitement, Lu Yin never expected his luck to be so incredible. Statistically, the chance of obtaining a combat technique or cultivation method was quite small. He wouldn't have been surprised if the die had brought back something as trivial as underwear. Yet, on his first attempt, he obtained the Heavenly Star Art, a game-changing method.

Unfortunately, it was only the beginner level.

Lu Yin shook his head, amused at his own greed. This kind of method was likely the core treasure of a powerful faction, and it was impossible for the entire method to be recorded on a single chip. The destruction of the chip suggested it had been freshly recorded, probably stolen from some unfortunate person. Obtaining the complete method would be exceedingly difficult.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Lu Yin walked out of the tent, found a tree to lie on, and looked up at the sky, recalling the Heavenly Star Art's cultivation methods. Star movements, huh? He'd probably have to camp under the stars forever.

Meanwhile, in the vast depths of the universe, a colossal floating peak encircled by dozens of stars emitted a flame at its summit. From a distance, it looked like the tip of a burning cigarette, with the flame extinguishing and reigniting every few seconds. The burning smoke wrapped the dark universe in white ribbons.

Inside the peak, a roar echoed, spreading through the universe. "What did you say? You brat, the technique is missing? Did you give it to that wretched woman again? Get over here!"

In the dark universe, a young man fled, covering his buttocks, looking rather miserable. "Dad, don't falsely accuse me! I didn't do it! It's really missing! This is insane!"

"You brat, you think your old man is an idiot? Who could steal anything under my nose? Get over here!"

"No, Dad! It's really gone! I swear!"

…

After a night of fruitless research, Lu Yin, slightly weary, entered the interior of Zhongshan.

At the topmost level of Zhongshan's vast internal space was a large conference room filled with people, the foremost seat vacant.

Lu Yin entered the conference room, drawing everyone's attention. There were curious, friendly, and skeptical looks—all kinds of gazes.

"Lu brother, sit here," Feng Hong called out to Lu Yin as soon as he saw him.

Lu Yin naturally sat next to Feng Hong, with the charming woman from last night on the other side.

Across from Lu Yin sat the bespectacled woman he had seen before.

Most of the people here were captains, along with some researchers.

Soon, Zhou Shan entered the conference room. His gaze swept over everyone, pausing on Lu Yin with a hint of confusion before he took the foremost seat and smiled. "Let me introduce you all to Lu Yin, our new captain."

Lu Yin stood up, nodded to the surrounding people, and then sat down again.

Introducing Lu Yin was just a formality. The meeting proceeded with discussions of various matters that Lu Yin had no interest in. Half an hour later, the meeting ended.

As everyone left, Zhou Shan asked Lu Yin to stay behind.

"Lu Yin, yesterday I thought you hadn't absorbed any energy crystals for cultivation and wanted to discuss it with you. But it seems you were just exhausted from using up all your energy," Zhou Shan probed.

Lu Yin nodded seriously and replied, "Xing Sheng, that alien was very strong. Despite being heavily injured, he wasn't easy to deal with. I used up all my energy to kill him."

"I can see that. He was a heavenly-level expert. It's impressive you managed to kill him," Zhou Shan smiled.

Lu Yin smiled back but said nothing.

"I heard you visited the XING Battalion yesterday but didn't agree to stay. Why?" Zhou Shan asked, looking at Lu Yin.

"I like my freedom and can't stand the atmosphere of the military," Lu Yin replied.

Zhou Shan nodded, sighing. "Many people think like that. But in these apocalyptic times, humanity should unite and give up what can be given up."

"I understand, Xing Sheng," Lu Yin answered.

Zhou Shan nodded. "How are your injuries?"

"No problem. I'll recover soon."

"That's the advantage of being an Evolver—rapid recovery. Compared to ordinary people, Evolvers are more dangerous. Having tasted power, they never want to be weak again. The more they want to become stronger, the harder they fight, and many perish on this path. Even I don