Trial Quest

"My name is Lu Yin, get it right," Lu Yin said.

"Is that your Earth name?" Grannie asked.

Lu Yin didn't answer but instead stared at Grannie. "Log into the Cosmic Network and change Nanjing to blue."

Grannie sneered and ignored him.

Lu Yin sighed. "I don't like using torture, but this is the Punishment Camp. They have ways to make you comply."

Grannie was furious. "These natives will pay for this."

"Before that happens, you'll pay an even more terrifying price," Lu Yin said coldly, staring at Grannie.

Grannie met his gaze but eventually relented. After all, she was just a student. She could be arrogant, cold, and even cruel to Earthlings due to her status. Once that status was stripped away, she was just an ordinary student.

Under Lu Yin's watchful eye, Grannie changed Nanjing to blue on the Earth map in the Cosmic Network.

Lu Yin looked at the map. Part of Earth had already turned blue, indicating those areas were completely controlled by the students. Not all blue areas meant full control; some students might have been forced to change the color under duress, but such cases were rare.

Parts of China, Europe, the Americas, and Africa had turned blue. Lu Yin was particularly concerned about Hubei, which was also blue now.

Lu Yin pondered. Did Liu Shaoge surrender? Or was he killed?

"Tell me, who are the strong ones among the students who arrived?" Lu Yin asked Grannie.

Grannie shook her head. "I don't know. The planetary evolution trial is organized by the Great Yu Empire, with students from various academies. I only know about the first military academy of the empire. Tress should be considered very strong; I don't know about the others."

Lu Yin didn't press further. The real test would come in two months. He was confident he could handle the first batch of students.

Everyone was busy. Lu Yin personally went out to kill the Heaven-level mutated beasts detected by his personal terminal. After five days, the hectic period ended.

Lu Yin called a meeting attended by all the thousand-man commanders, including Luo Yun, who had just returned from the front-line settlement.

Xu San was now completely impressed by Lu Yin. He had just joined the Punishment Camp but had already replaced the Punishment Sage's position. Xu San felt his future was bright.

Lu Yin also appreciated Xu San more and more. Xu San had reached the Earth level, or the Aspiration realm, with Lu Yin's support. As long as he reached the Exploration realm, he would be very valuable.

With Lu Yin's appreciation, Xu San was filled with motivation, determined to become stronger quickly. The more motivated Xu San was, the more Lu Yin appreciated him. Everything was moving towards a bright future.

No one at the meeting dared to oppose Lu Yin. Interfering in a Heaven-level battlefield was proof of his strength. Besides, Lu Yin had already revealed that he had reached the Heaven level. The Heaven level was the strength of the Punishment Sage, which no thousand-man commander could challenge.

As for the two commanders who sided with Grannie, Lu Yin stripped them of their positions and demoted them to soldiers to atone for their crimes.

"Currently, the most important thing is to abandon the front line and focus on expanding the Nanjing settlement," Lu Yin said to the remaining eight thousand-man commanders.

Some hesitated. "The plan to open the route to the capital was the Punishment Sage's basic strategy. Abandoning it might not be good."

The bespectacled woman, Qin Xuan, looked at Lu Yin and said in a serious tone, "I agree. Given Nanjing's current strength, it's not enough to connect to other regions. We need to secure our base before expanding."

Soon after, Feng Hong and others agreed.

Lu Yin stood up. "It's decided. Recall all soldiers from the Punishment Camp and expand westward step by step." With that, Lu Yin left. Before leaving, he said casually, "Find me a detailed map of the solar system."

The others exchanged glances without speaking.

Qin Xuan watched Lu Yin's departing figure, deep in thought. She felt this man was even more domineering than the Punishment Sage and seemed to have designs on Nanjing. The Punishment Sage had only temporarily assigned him management, yet he was overturning the Punishment Sage's strategies. Though she agreed with him, what would happen when the Punishment Sage woke up?

"Feng Hong, stay by the Punishment Sage's side and don't leave," Qin Xuan whispered to Feng Hong.

"Why?" Feng Hong asked, puzzled.

"Just protect the Punishment Sage," Qin Xuan said, worried that Lu Yin might harm the Punishment Sage to take control of Nanjing.

Luo Yun, across from them, watched their conversation with a thoughtful look.

Zhao Yu had left days ago, heading to the northeast alone. Her courage impressed Lu Yin, but it was unwise.

The Punishment Camp had once had eighty thousand evolvers. After the losses at the front line, only fifty thousand remained. With everyone recalled to Nanjing, its defenses were greatly enhanced. The thousand-man commanders guarded different parts of Nanjing, making it impregnable.

As the sunset faded, beams of light flashed in the sky, destroying flying mutated beasts. On the city wall, Lu Yin said solemnly, "If you spot a beast tide or zombie horde, use thermal weapons. Don't worry about wasting them."

"Yes," two thousand-man commanders responded.

Suddenly, a screech sounded in the distance. Zombies were torn apart, and a massive flying mutated beast flew low, heading for Nanjing.

Everyone panicked. "Attack! Quickly, attack!"

Lu Yin squinted, leaping into the air with Oden's sword in hand. A slash of Exploration-level energy struck the flying beast, forcing it to the ground with its head twisted in pain.

Lu Yin landed, stabbing the sword into the beast's brain, killing it.

Countless people watched in awe before erupting into cheers. Someone started shouting "Saint Yin," and soon, everyone was chanting it.

Lu Yin grimaced at the title, not wanting to be called a saint. He quickly stopped them, but the name spread.

There weren't many zombies or mutated beasts around Nanjing. Most had been cleared by the Punishment Camp. Following Lu Yin's orders, the camp concentrated its forces westward, with nearly half the thousand-man commanders opening up a western route.

More and more survivors arrived in Nanjing, including evolvers.

Soon, half a month had passed, with less than seventy days until the second batch of students arrived.

During this time, Lu Yin absorbed some star energy crystals, increasing his combat power to 1,500 while retaining nearly half the crystals.

Star energy crystals are primarily used to train battle techniques and power advanced technology, not just to quickly increase combat power. Strong battle techniques are the foundation of a strong person.

Powerful techniques can significantly boost strength, making a high combat power score intimidating.

High combat power means stronger internal energy, making attacks more effective. Tress's wave palm could rival Grannie's technique, but he had retained some star energy crystals to train his techniques. If successful, the battle's outcome could have been different.

Lu Yin wanted to use the remaining crystals to train his Heavenly Star Palm and attempt something new.

During these fifteen days, Grannie had given in. She requested to see Lu Yin.

Lu Yin was not merciful. Though he didn't torture her, he kept her in a dark, isolated cell with poor food, mostly mutated rat meat. These were the darkest days of her life, and she finally broke.

"I... I'm willing to help you. Just let me go," Grannie said, pale and pleading.

Lu Yin coldly asked, "What can you help me with?"

"We can protect Nanjing together. I'll do whatever you want. Just let me go," Grannie said weakly.

Lu Yin stared at her. "What is your final task for this trial?"

Grannie's eyes flickered. "You're really not a student? Then how did you get to Earth? It's been under the Great Yu Empire's surveillance. It's impossible to enter freely."

Lu Yin turned to leave.

Grannie shouted, "Wait! I'm just curious. I won't ask anymore. Our task is to capture a fugitive."

"A fugitive?" Lu Yin asked, curious.

Grannie nodded. "We were notified the day before the trial. A fugitive crossed the surveillance net and entered Earth, bringing evolution to the planet. The empire hadn't planned for us to trial here, but Earth had already evolved, forcing the empire to change the location, causing months of delay. Otherwise, we would have arrived months ago."

"Earth's evolution wasn't caused by you?" Lu Yin was surprised.