Fusion Ecology Biotechnology

Bai Xue stood with her back to the wind and snow, calmly gazing at the three men. "Students from the stars, your combat skills are impressive."

"Who exactly are you? You can't be a native. It's impossible for a native to crush the three of us. We are all elites from various academies," one of the men exclaimed in disbelief.

Bai Xue's eyes were bright, more radiant than diamonds. "Mark the Northeast in blue. I don't want this place to be disturbed."

The student closed his eyes in pain and resignedly activated his personal terminal. Soon, the area in the Northeast turned blue on the network.

That night, Lu Yin and Granny set off, resting for a while a hundred kilometers north of Nanjing, before continuing their journey northward.

They had now arrived in Wei County, Shandong.

"Huh, the Northeast has turned blue," Granny remarked in surprise.

Lu Yin was perplexed. Had Bai Xue been defeated?

Before Lu Yin could ponder further, a colossal tree appeared in the sky ahead, resembling a willow tree. Its branches stretched over a kilometer, covering the sky over Wei County and even the surrounding roads and villages.

Lu Yin and Granny immediately stopped and instinctively assessed their combat strength.

"4290," they exclaimed. This was the combat strength of a Fusion Realm creature, and the giant mutated tree before them was a Fusion Realm lifeform.

"Avoid it," Lu Yin decisively ordered.

Suddenly, branches shot out from the river below, whipping towards Lu Yin and Granny. Lu Yin pushed Granny aside and dodged himself. The branches struck the sky, tearing through the air with a loud noise.

Granny was terrified. If Lu Yin hadn't pushed her away, she would have been hit by the Fusion Realm creature's attack.

"Avoid it and get past it," Lu Yin shouted.

Countless branches whipped from all directions. Although they were still a considerable distance from the mutated giant tree, they were within its attack range.

At this point, it was difficult to avoid the giant tree. To get around it would take at least ten seconds, which was a conservative estimate. The giant tree wouldn't let them pass easily, especially Granny, who would struggle to avoid it at her speed.

Lu Yin maneuvered through the air, seeing that Granny couldn't hold on. He struck out with a palm, deflecting a branch, and rushed to Granny's side, grabbing her and charging towards the mutated giant tree.

"Are you crazy?" Granny exclaimed in shock. The giant tree loomed closer, its numerous branches like giant pythons. The ground below was littered with white bones, a terrifying sight.

"Look behind you," Lu Yin said in a deep voice.

Granny looked back, her face turning pale. Their retreat was blocked by a wall of green branches, leaving them no way out.

"We're finished. A Fusion Realm creature... We're doomed," Granny said despairingly.

Lu Yin scanned their surroundings coldly. Branches lashed at them repeatedly. Lu Yin dodged skillfully, sometimes using the branches to propel himself forward. He was now less than three kilometers from the giant tree's main body, feeling its immense and terrifying presence more acutely the closer he got. The energy twisted the void, blocking out the sky.

Lu Yin was relieved that he wasn't facing an intelligent creature. The mutated giant tree, though powerful, attacked purely on instinct, allowing him and Granny to survive. But they wouldn't last long at this rate.

Granny took out more than a dozen flame crystals from her Condensing Space Ring and threw them to the ground, igniting flames.

"Are you trying to burn it?" Lu Yin asked, speechless.

"Just trying. Maybe it's afraid of fire," Granny replied bitterly.

It made sense; plants feared fire. But looking at the giant tree before them, setting it ablaze would take a volcanic eruption. Even the flame crystal deposits outside Nanjing wouldn't suffice.

Lu Yin didn't have time to argue with Granny. His eyes focused—was that a person?

Beneath the giant tree, a black figure darted left and right, getting larger. It was a person, like them.

The person was even closer to the giant tree, constantly evading the branches' attacks.

"So strong," Granny said in awe. She couldn't withstand the branches' attacks; without Lu Yin, she would have died. But the person in the distance seemed at ease.

When Lu Yin saw the person clearly, his eyes grew cold. It was the silver-haired man.

Under the moonlight, the man's full-strength Starry Sky Palm was deflected by a beautiful butterfly knife. Lu Yin would never forget that scene. He could severely injure Tres in the Exploration Realm with his Starry Sky Palm, but when using his full strength in the Probe Realm, it was deflected. And it wasn't even his initiative; the opponent's killing intent forced him to strike full force. In that moment, he was completely passive, unable to gauge his opponent's depth.

"Yo, classmate, we meet again," the silver-haired man greeted with a bright smile.

Granny was puzzled. Did they know each other?

Lu Yin dodged a branch and replied coolly, "What a coincidence."

"Not really. I've been trapped here for a while. If you headed north, you'd likely run into me. Fate, I guess," the silver-haired man said, still smiling.

"You knew we were heading north?" Lu Yin asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Of course. I also know your destination—Beijing, right?" the silver-haired man said naturally.

Lu Yin squinted, wondering who this person was. Was he the strongest from one of the academies that Yugo mentioned?

"Watch out," Granny screamed. Dozens of branches lashed towards the silver-haired man from all directions. He smiled kindly at Granny, and a beautiful butterfly knife appeared in his right hand. With a swift motion, it cut through the branches, leaving him unscathed. He turned back to smile at Granny again, then provocatively looked at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin held Granny tightly. In Granny's terrified gaze, he struck the attacking branch with his palm. A star appeared as his palm struck, shattering the branch. Lu Yin emerged unscathed.

"Didn't sleep well last night, used three parts of my strength," Lu Yin said calmly.

The silver-haired man smirked, "I used two parts."

"Got it wrong, I used one part," Lu Yin retorted without backing down.

The silver-haired man sneered, "I used half a part."

Granny was speechless. Were they competing at a time like this?

For some reason, Lu Yin felt an inexplicable sense of crisis facing the silver-haired man. It was like the butterfly knife was always hanging over his head, ready to fall. Instinctively, he wanted to make this person wary, knowing that only unpredictability would prevent a rash move.

Countless branches appeared again, closing in on them.

Lu Yin said to the silver-haired man, "Let's join forces and attack the main body. Otherwise, this will never end."

The silver-haired man nodded, "I've been too tired to deal with it alone recently."

"If I weren't in a hurry, I'd like to test my palm strength on it," Lu Yin said flatly.

The silver-haired man smirked, stepping on a branch and charging towards the giant tree's main body.

Lu Yin threw Granny towards the ground where the flames were. "Be careful," he said before charging at the giant tree's main body.

They both reached the tree's main body in a flash.

The Fusion Realm surpassed the Probe Realm, marking an important step in cultivation. Reaching the Fusion Realm meant one had begun to touch human limits. Cultivators at this stage would stay here for a long time, only breaking through to the next stage upon surpassing these limits.

Most elite students were in the Probe Realm, with few reaching the Fusion Realm. Even fewer could fight Fusion Realm creatures while still in the Probe Realm. Although the giant tree wasn't intelligent, its immense size and vast energy made defeating it harder than ordinary Fusion Realm creatures.

The silver-haired man's butterfly knife gleamed white, transforming into a shooting star aimed at the giant tree.

Lu Yin unleashed his full-strength Starry Sky Palm. A second star's embryonic form appeared, promising a power boost once fully formed.

Both struck the giant tree's main body simultaneously. The sturdy surface gradually cracked, then exploded. They burst through the tree, flying hundreds of meters before stopping to look back.

The colossal mutated giant tree slowly toppled, its countless branches crashing down and crushing the earth, even covering the river.

Lu Yin and the silver-haired man turned to face each other. In that instant, they sensed each other's strength more clearly than before.

**This person has grown stronger,** they both thought simultaneously.

On the ground, Granny was the most shocked. Mutated plants were difficult to avoid, let alone kill, due to their strong defenses. Though she hadn't fought Willow, she was certain Willow couldn't harm this giant tree. Yet, those two had managed it. They were comparable to, if not stronger than, the strongest academy elites.