Stellar Energy Crystal

The woman's disgust grew more evident, and she scoffed disdainfully. "The Tenth Court of the Starry Sky isn't something outsiders can meddle with. Even if you are a powerful warrior who can traverse the stars, there are many such beings in the universe."

"Wait, how can I be sure you're not a native?" The woman fixed her gaze on Lu Yin.

Lu Yin raised his hand, and his right palm shook rapidly. The air seemed to be pulled tight like a curtain, then slammed down hard onto the ground, creating a massive crater.

"The Ripple Palm?" The woman stared at Lu Yin in surprise.

Lu Yin smirked. "How about that? Does this prove it?"

The woman's eyes narrowed. The Ripple Palm was not something an ordinary person could master. Although it was a common battle technique, it couldn't be used without a certain level of physical strength. The woman herself couldn't use it, yet this small Seeker realm warrior could. She started to feel a bit wary of Lu Yin.

"Being able to use the Ripple Palm shows you have some value. Help me capture Jinling, and you'll get credit for it," the woman said, her tone softening slightly.

Lu Yin was surprised. "You want to capture Jinling? I heard there's a powerful Enforcer there, a Probe realm expert."

"I know. Orton was defeated by him too. But I'm not that waste Orton. If we join forces, we can suppress that native," the woman said coldly.

"How do you know that a student was defeated by a native?" Lu Yin asked.

The woman replied indifferently, "Before the trial, students from the same academy agree to team up if they land nearby. No one contacted you? Well, you are pretty weak."

Lu Yin felt secretly relieved. It was a good thing he hadn't pretended to be Asta. This woman knew Orton, so she might know Asta too. If Orton had fled north after losing to Zhou Shan to find this woman, why did he go east halfway through?

Lu Yin didn't ask further. The more he asked, the easier it would be to expose himself. Since this woman was looking to team up with him now, it showed she had a conflict with Orton. Orton might have found someone else. Either way, Jinling was in danger.

"Alright, I'll help you. But I need to increase my strength," Lu Yin said.

The woman frowned. "There's no need."

Lu Yin sighed. "Well, I at least need to recover from my injuries."

The woman stared at Lu Yin, then grabbed him and flew towards the gathering area.

Asta's Body Refinement Technique could only be used three times. He used it twice himself, breaking through from an ordinary person to the Seeker realm and then to the Probe realm. The last time, Lu Yin used it to break through to the Seeker realm. To break through to the Probe realm, he needed a new Body Refinement Technique. That's why he needed to get close to this woman. He had to obtain the Body Refinement Technique to break through.

The small gathering area in the county had only about 200,000 survivors, but there were many troops, most of them wearing Enforcer uniforms. These people were likely frontline soldiers under this woman's control.

"The so-called Enforcer in Jinling is quite capable. He has 80,000 evolvers under him, 20,000 of whom are on the front lines trying to establish contact with other regions. Six Seeker-level experts came, and I killed two. One died to a mutant beast, leaving three," the woman introduced as she took Lu Yin to the top of a tall building in the gathering area.

Lu Yin asked, "I still don't know your name."

"Granny," the woman replied flatly.

At that moment, a figure arrived at the top of the building and respectfully said, "Madam, we discovered Enforcer troops thirty kilometers away."

Lu Yin turned and saw the newcomer, his expression changing. The newcomer saw Lu Yin too and looked puzzled. Suddenly, Lu Yin charged at him, using the Ripple Palm to strike his chest before Granny could react. The man spat blood and was thrown off the building, crashing to the ground below, causing an uproar.

Granny glared at Lu Yin. "What are you doing?"

Lu Yin said angrily, "It's him! When I landed in this area, this bastard led people to attack me. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be injured."

Granny's voice was 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 at Granny. "Do you suspect me? Or are you reluctant to lose this native?"

Granny snorted. "Watch your words. I don't care about a mere native, but you can't kill my people at will."

Lu Yin was indifferent. "He's just a native."

"He's still my person," Granny said angrily.

Lu Yin sighed. "Fine, fine. I understand. It won't happen again. By the way, the troops thirty kilometers away are mine. Should I bring them here?"

Granny turned away, looking towards Jinling, then checked her personal terminal and ignored him.

Lu Yin looked down at the base of the building, exhaling in relief. The man's name was Li Hongliang. He had been there when Asta was killed and had seen Lu Yin, knowing he was an Earthling and even killed Asta. If Lu Yin hadn't acted, Li Hongliang recognizing him would have caused trouble.

This woman was not Asta. Lu Yin could sense that her strength surpassed Asta's. He might not succeed in a sneak attack, so he decided to wait.

The frontline had collapsed, and Granny's presence had caused the Enforcer's frontline to crumble. Soldiers were either recruited or fled, facing a life-or-death situation. Jinling had been out of contact since that morning, which worried Lu Yin.

He brought nearly ten thousand evolver soldiers, including Luo Yun and Xu San, to the gathering area and sternly warned the two remaining battalion commanders who had sided with Granny. That night, he went to see Granny again.

"What? You want to borrow star energy crystals?" Granny looked at Lu Yin in surprise, her expression strange.

Lu Yin nodded. "Don't worry, however many you lend me, I'll repay tenfold when we return."

Granny sized up Lu Yin. "You have flame crystals but no star energy crystals?"

"I'm out of them," Lu Yin said.

Granny hesitated. Star energy crystals were not like the energy crystals from Earth's mutant beasts. Each planet or ecosystem had its own energy, not entirely the same as star energy, leading to countless cultivation methods. But ultimately, cultivation led to the universe, and star energy crystals contained absorbable star energy.

These energy crystals could be absorbed and cultivated by anyone, usually only produced by ecosystems fused with the universal ecosystem. Currently, Earth could produce flame crystals, ice crystals, and other unique crystals, but not star energy crystals, which these students needed most.

"Don't believe me? Here, I can trade," Lu Yin said.

Granny looked at Lu Yin. "How?"

Lu Yin poured out a pile of flame crystals from his ring. "With these."

Granny's eyes shone as she recalled the exchange rates of various energy crystals in the universe but found no uniform standard. Exchange rates varied by region, and now on Earth, facing Lu Yin's urgent need for star energy crystals, the rates had to be adjusted.

"I can give you five star energy crystals," Granny said flatly.

Lu Yin's eyes widened. "You're too greedy. These flame crystals can be exchanged for at least twenty star energy crystals, and you're only offering five, reducing the price by four times."

"Take it or leave it," Granny said arrogantly.

Lu Yin reluctantly agreed, "Fine, but I have a condition. Let me test the power of my battle technique."

Granny sneered. "Anytime."

Lu Yin took the five thumb-sized transparent star energy crystals and left.

After Lu Yin left, Granny excitedly stored the flame crystals. These unique crystals could enhance the power of battle techniques and were coveted treasures, especially for her since her battle technique required flame crystals. She had struck gold. "Tata Planet? Never heard of it. Could it be a planet that produces these unique minerals?" Granny wondered.

Leaving Granny's place, Lu Yin smirked. Although the exchange rate was unfair, it was a win-win situation. The important thing was that no one on Earth had star energy crystals except these students.

Asta didn't even have a spatial ring and couldn't carry these crystals. Granny's background was much stronger than Asta's, so he might get more from her.

Returning to his dwelling, a dilapidated villa, Lu Yin buried flame crystals around the perimeter to prevent intruders.

In the living room, he cleared out the old furniture and took out a star energy crystal, crushing it. Immediately, the room was filled with surging star energy.

Using the Body Refinement Technique allowed direct absorption of star energy from the void, but the absorption rate depended on the technique. Many powerful forces collected star energy crystals to speed up absorption by releasing star energy in a confined space, enhancing the absorption rate. This was one reason major forces competed for star energy crystals.