Chapter 2: Seven Saints' Formation

The woman looked at Lu Yin helplessly. "Actually, if you just ask, I'll help you. I have people behind me too."

"No need," Lu Yin said indifferently.

The woman sighed. "Alright, contact me anytime. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them for you. I'm leaving." With that, she smiled at Lu Yin, turned, and walked away, leaving behind a faint fragrance.

Lu Yin closed his eyes again; the woman's arrival had no effect on him.

After midnight, the alluring woman returned. She looked at Lu Yin and smiled, saying, "Congratulations, the trouble is gone."

Lu Yin looked at her, puzzled.

The woman said, "I asked my big brother to intervene. Zhang Tong has been captured. My big brother invited you over to discuss how to deal with them."

Lu Yin's eyes flashed. He stood up. "Let's go."

The woman smiled and led the way, passing the bonfires and walking to a spot about 300 meters from the convoy. Although this place was equally unsafe, it wasn't far.

The moment Lu Yin arrived, Zhang Tong—the evolved human who had harassed the girls—and the dozen or so people with him were all kneeling on the ground. In front of them stood a tall, muscular man with his hands behind his back.

"Big brother, Lu Yin has arrived," the alluring woman said sweetly as she walked to the man's side.

The man turned around and smiled at Lu Yin. "You are Lu Yin?"

Lu Yin nodded.

"My name is Liu Sheng. I'm one of the captains of this convoy," the man said, slightly raising his head, looking at Lu Yin with a hint of arrogance.

Lu Yin said indifferently, "I know."

Liu Sheng raised an eyebrow. He didn't like Lu Yin's attitude. "How do you plan to deal with these people? I'll leave it to you."

Lu Yin looked at Liu Sheng. "What's the condition?"

A smirk played on Liu Sheng's lips. He stared at Lu Yin. "A wise man speaks plainly. I've heard about you and observed you. You, should not have absorbed any crystals from mutated beasts, yet you're very strong. Can you tell me why?"

Beside them, the alluring woman also looked at Lu Yin expectantly, as did Zhang Tong and the other kneeling evolved humans. They all stared at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin smiled faintly. "Is that why you brought me here?"

Liu Sheng smiled thinly, looking at the alluring woman.

The woman took a few steps forward, walked to Lu Yin's side, blew a breath into his ear, and said sweetly, "Big Brother Lu, will you tell us? Is it another path of evolution? Telling us means telling all of humanity. All of humanity will be grateful to you, and I can be with you too." As she spoke, she leaned against Lu Yin.

Lu Yin turned his head to look at the alluring woman. "I said, if there's a next time, you die." As his words fell, his iron rod flashed. The alluring woman clutched her neck, blood flowing from her fingers, staining her clothes red. She fell down in disbelief. She hadn't taken Lu Yin's words seriously and never expected Lu Yin would dare to kill her right in front of Liu Sheng. Liu Sheng was one of the captains, a Human-level powerhouse!

Liu Sheng was also stunned; he likewise hadn't expected Lu Yin to be so daring.

Lu Yin swung his iron rod. "You're all annoying. From the moment this convoy was formed, you've been watching me. Tonight, it all ends." With that, he actively charged at Liu Sheng, bringing his iron rod down on his head.

Liu Sheng was enraged. "You seek death!" he roared. He drew a long saber, which looked like a model, from his waist and clashed it against the iron rod. He expected this strike to not only block Lu Yin's attack but also severely injure him. However, the reality was completely opposite to his prediction. His saber was split in two, and the iron rod's blade even left a bone-deep bloody gash on his right shoulder.

This scene left Liu Sheng incredulous. He was a Human-level powerhouse, capable of soloing many ordinary evolved humans. Yet, he was defeated in one move by Lu Yin. How was this possible?

Lu Yin, having wounded Liu Sheng with one strike, didn't stop. His iron rod swept horizontally.

Liu Sheng quickly dodged. He flipped and swung the hilt of his saber at Lu Yin. Lu Yin deflected the hilt with a single strike. The force was like a sharp blade, cutting into the ground and leaving a small fissure.

"What are you looking at? Attack together! Kill him for me!" Liu Sheng roared, glaring furiously at Zhang Tong and the others.

Zhang Tong and the others dared not hesitate. They drew various weapons and charged at Lu Yin.

Lu Yin's eyes were cold. He twirled his iron rod, and his legs pushed off forcefully. A visible qi wave tore through the ground. His body directly covered a distance of over 10 meters, and the iron rod's blade swept horizontally. In an instant, Zhang Tong and the others all looked at their chests. Blood slowly seeped from their chests. Soon, they lost all sensation, fell to the ground, and died completely.

At this moment, Lu Yin's heart was as hard as iron. This was the worst era, without restraint, yet also the best era, where villains could be eradicated.

Liu Sheng stared blankly at Lu Yin. "How is this possible? You, you, you're an Earth-level powerhouse! You must be an Earth-level powerhouse! Human-level couldn't possibly be this strong!"

Lu Yin's eyes were icy.

Liu Sheng trembled, directly kneeling on the ground. "Lu Yin, no, Young Master Lu, spare me! Please spare me! I can be your dog, I can kill for you, I can find women for you, I can do everything you want!"

Lu Yin looked up at the starry sky.

Liu Sheng's eyes were malicious. He suddenly pulled a hidden blade from his chest and stabbed at Lu Yin. The blade easily struck Lu Yin, but the Lu Yin in front of him slowly faded; it was merely an afterimage.

Liu Sheng's pupils constricted. He looked at this scene in disbelief. What was this?

"This is called Drifting Step, a combat technique. It comes from — the Starry Sky," Lu Yin said indifferently. His iron rod swept past, and Liu Sheng's head slumped. He died kneeling on the ground.

Lu Yin sighed, putting away his iron rod. He still looked at the starry sky. "I am just a guest, also seizing a host."

Soon, Lu Yin took the energy crystals from Liu Sheng and the others. As they approached his ring, suddenly, the energy crystals abruptly vanished, as if they had never existed.

This was a Null Ring, a precious storage ring. Like the combat technique, it also came from the Starry Sky.

Zhang Tong and the others' disappearance went unnoticed, but Liu Sheng was different; he was a captain, and his disappearance today drew the attention of the other captains.

However, because Liu Sheng had intentionally concealed his actions when trying to usurp Lu Yin's evolution method, no one came to bother Lu Yin. In a way, Liu Sheng brought it upon himself.

The next afternoon, the tens of thousands strong convoy looked towards the distant sky. Just moments ago, they had received news that Figure Saint Zhou Shan had arrived.

Not long after, a black dot appeared before everyone's eyes. Then, in the sky, a man appeared. He was powerfully built, over two meters tall, with short hair. In his hand was a three-meter-long mountain-splitting giant axe. He stood majestically in the air, exuding an imposing aura.

Everyone stared blankly at this scene. Can humans truly fly? This was a Sky-level powerhouse? One of China's Seven Saints.

With a roar, Zhou Shan said nothing. He simply reached out and pressed his hand downwards. The air current stirred up dust, blinding the tens of thousands of people.

All the evolved humans looked ahead with fervent eyes. This was a Sky-level powerhouse, a force capable of destroying mountains and rivers.

Underground, the gigantic vine writhed out, fiercely sweeping towards Zhou Shan.

Zhou Shan grunted, his voice echoing in everyone's ears. Then, he raised his giant axe high. The air behind him vibrated, faintly forming translucent wings. "Storm Slash!" he roared, and Zhou Shan's body plummeted with the giant axe, striking powerfully at the vine.

A thunderous explosion resounded. On the ground, huge fissures spread in all directions. Dust flew up, and streaks of qi scattered. Fortunately, the evolved human captains blocked in front, otherwise, these qi currents alone would have caused massive casualties to the survivors.

Lu Yin stared ahead. Yesterday, they had speculated the vine was Earth-level strength. In reality, only he sensed that the vine was definitely Sky-level strength, which was why Zhou Shan unleashed his full power.

A strong wind blew. When the dust settled, what appeared before everyone was Zhou Shan's imposing figure, axe on his shoulder. The gigantic vine had been completely shattered, leaving a massive crater on the ground filled with green liquid.

Tens of thousands of people looked up at Zhou Shan with reverence, letting out cheers.

Zhou Shan, axe on his shoulder, ascended into the sky and shouted, "Go! Return to Jinling, it's safe there!"

"Thank you, Figure Saint!"

"Long live Figure Saint!"

"Figure Saint!"

...

Tens of thousands of people shouted Zhou Shan's name. In this apocalyptic era, heroes were desperately needed, and Zhou Shan was a hero, the Seven Saints were heroes.

Lu Yin tightened his grip on his iron rod. His current strength hadn't reached Sky-level. As he told Liu Sheng, he hadn't absorbed energy crystals. He was on another path of evolution, the true evolution path of the Starry Sky. Thinking of this, Lu Yin looked up. "Soon, it should be arriving soon."

With Zhou Shan's protection, the convoy's progress was incredibly smooth. This world certainly had creatures far more powerful than Zhou Shan, but those creatures were too rare to encounter often.

A day later, the tens of thousands strong convoy arrived in Jinling. Only at this moment did many people finally let go of their burdens and burst into tears.

Jinling was under martial law. Outside was a massive earthen wall. Along the wall, rows of silent evolved humans watched the tens of thousands of survivors enter, their eyes filled with sorrow. From its departure to its arrival, this convoy had lost at least one-tenth of its population. They had walked out of despair.

Lu Yin had visited Jinling with his annual vacation. Back then, Jinling had beautiful scenery, with ancient trees lining the streets. At this moment, Jinling had shrunk significantly. The outer areas were abandoned, filled with countless wandering Zombies. If not for Zhou Shan clearing the way, they would have had to endure a bloody battle to enter the Jinling base.

Survivors would be arranged by some people, and evolved humans would be arranged by another group.

The evolved humans in this convoy numbered over five hundred. Compared to tens of thousands of survivors, this meant one evolved human protected nearly a hundred people, a very sparse ratio, also proving that mutated creatures were not easy to kill.

It was a pity that Zombies had no energy crystals in their bodies; otherwise, the number of evolved humans would surely be much higher.

Figure's Vanguard, an organization for evolved humans created and managed by Figure Saint Zhou Shan. All evolved humans in the Jinling base, whether they joined or not, had to register at Figure's Vanguard to test their combat strength and physical condition. Lu Yin and his group were being led to Figure's Vanguard.

The so-called Figure's Vanguard was not just a single camp; it was enormous, occupying Jinling's Zhongshan. Legend had it that at the very beginning of its creation, Jinling had countless Zombies and mutated beasts. Zhou Shan led all evolved humans and spent a month to secure Zhongshan. This was because Zhongshan used to be a tourist area in Jinling, so there weren't too many wild mutated beasts.

Figure's Vanguard used Zhongshan as its center, radiating outwards, gradually helping survivors reclaim the Jinling base, becoming one of the largest survivor bases in China's East China region.

Zhongshan's Figure's Vanguard was solemn and imposing. Surrounding evolved humans looked enviously at the Figure's Vanguard soldiers in their unified uniforms. They would also be here in the future.

"It's only been half a year, and Figure Saint has actually established such a massive organization as Figure's Vanguard. It's truly incredible," someone exclaimed.

Someone beside him immediately echoed, "The apocalypse has arrived, and many people are still hiding. Figure Saint has already established Figure's Vanguard; in the future, he will definitely dominate China!"

As soon as these words were spoken, many people immediately agreed.

Lu Yin walked among the evolved humans, observing the Figure's Vanguard soldiers occasionally passing by. His eyes flashed; these soldiers were true soldiers.

Logically speaking, with the arrival of the apocalypse, no one, no matter their charisma, could possibly create such an organization, much less Zhou Shan. Yet, Figure's Vanguard still appeared. There was only one reason: the people here were true military personnel, and Zhou Shan represented the nation.

China had not collapsed due to the apocalypse; it had merely stabilized in a different way. Zhou Shan was a military man, and it was even possible that all seven Saints were, otherwise they couldn't have reached Sky-level in just half a year.

It was uncertain whether it was fortunate or not, but the apocalypse had not caused a complete collapse of communication; otherwise, even the nation would not have been able to stabilize the situation in such a short time.