Who is that person? Granny looked at the silver-haired man, but she had no impression of him at all. A butterfly knife and silver hair are rare traits, yet she couldn't recall him—surely not a local.
"Eh, the blade's dull. No time to sharpen it, so I'll have to manage with about fifty percent of my strength," the silver-haired man said jokingly, glancing at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he looked at his palm. "Dirty hands—only about forty percent strength."
The silver-haired man was speechless. That counted as a reason?
"Classmate, this is our second meeting. Let me introduce myself: I'm Yin," the silver-haired man said to Lu Yin with a sly smile, like a fox.
Lu Yin smiled faintly. "I'm Yata, from the Tata planet. My grandfather is the principal."
Yin was impressed. "The principal, huh? A second-generation student... no, a third-generation student. Congratulations!"
Lu Yin laughed, "Sounds like a top-tier novel. I like your silver hair."
"Hahaha, I like it too. By the way, I have some business to attend to—see you around, classmate Yata," Yin said with that same top-tier novel vibe.
Lu Yin smiled, "See you around, Yin."
Soon, Yin disappeared into the horizon.
Granny flew behind Lu Yin, puzzled. "Which school is he from?"
Lu Yin shook his head. "Don't know. Let's go."
"Wait, you're not taking the energy crystal?" Granny reached out. In her palm was a white crystal about the size of a fingertip, reflecting sunlight. "This kind of energy crystal isn't good for absorption, but it can be used as power for tech weapons. The price is decent since it's from a fusion-realm creature."
Lu Yin didn't bother arguing and took it. "Let's keep moving." Then he flew north with Granny.
Energy crystals from Earth-evolved creatures are considered lower-tier in the universe. Even roaming soldiers who directly absorb energy crystals don't use them—too many impurities hinder cultivation progress and they don't benefit Lu Yin.
The Dice is picky too; it won't absorb lower-tier crystals. Lu Yin planned to stockpile them and sell them later to get star-energy crystals.
Yin flew eastward, stopping after some distance and glanced back with a puzzled look. "What kind of combat skill is that? Breaking through the exploration realm and still able to block me? An unfamiliar skill, but very strong. I have to investigate once I get back."
The apocalypse arrived. In the capital city, countless ordinary people turned into zombies. The national management was wiped out in a massive explosion, leaving the capital leaderless. Fortunately, Zhang Dingtian, leader of the Seven Saints, stepped in to suppress the chaos and disperse the zombies, saving the city. Even so, less than a third of the capital remained intact; the outskirts were overwhelmed by the endless zombie tide.
The capital had too many people and nearly ten million zombies—far exceeding Jinling. Even after more than half a year, Zhang Dingtian and over a hundred thousand evolved fighters in the city still couldn't eliminate the zombies.
The capital was like a giant beast surrounded by countless ants—though it had the power to crush them, it was trapped and couldn't move.
Around the gathering point in the capital, a ten-meter-high reinforced steel wall stood, densely guarded by many evolved fighters, calmly watching the wandering zombie hordes in the distance.
The city gates opened from time to time. Evolved fighters boarded armored vehicles leased from the army to rush out, hoping to collect useful materials outside.
Soon, the gates opened again, and an armored vehicle rushed back inside.
On the steel wall, a centurion frowned. "Didn't that armored vehicle just leave?"
Nearby, another centurion said, "It's normal. They encountered a powerful mutated beast, lost a few men, and returned to regroup."
Near the steel wall, many survivors gathered, ragged and mostly skin and bones from hunger. When the armored vehicle rushed in, they hurried to surround it, but it didn't stop, nearly hitting some people.
Inside the vehicle, Paris's eyes gleamed. "I've only seen these primitive hot weapons in textbooks. Didn't expect to operate one in real life—quite interesting."
Willow smiled, "If you like it, take one back."
Behind them, Bailie's face was serious, staring inside the capital. There, a sharp energy kept emanating, even making him uneasy.
"Willow, who's the strongest in the capital?" Bailie asked. He hadn't cared before, but now felt differently.
Willow said, "A guy named Zhang Dingtian, known as the Mad Blade Huasheng, leader of the Seven Saints."
Bailie's eyes darkened with gravity.
Willow glanced at Bailie. "Don't pay it any mind. The strongest of the Seven Saints on this planet is only at the Exploration Realm, barely surpassing some elite students. Compared to you and me, he's still far behind."
Bailie ignored Willow. Among the three of them, only he sensed that sharp, almost intangible energy—seemingly far away, yet strangely close.
The armored vehicle barreled forward recklessly, ignoring the soldiers' warnings and charging toward the southern part of the city—that was where the massive explosion had occurred.
The explosion site in the south had long been sealed off, guarded by a centurion.
As soon as the armored vehicle appeared, it was immediately blocked, but Paris excitedly drove straight through.
"How dare you!" a shout rang out. A ground-level centurion leapt high and attacked the armored vehicle.
Willow looked up and casually snapped his fingers. A powerful gust tore through the air, striking the centurion and severely wounding him, causing him to collapse. The surrounding soldiers were shocked.
The armored vehicle stopped. Bailie and the other two stepped out and looked toward a crater filled with flowing red-hot lava, the air above it distorted.
"This is the place. A massive explosion brought evolution to this planet, but that corpse is gone," Willow said solemnly.
Bailie's gaze darkened in thought. The crater was filled with lava, so even if there were clues, they'd be incinerated. They couldn't get any information from here. "Looks like we have to find the ruler of the capital city—the leader of the Seven Saints."
Willow smiled faintly. "I'll go get him."
Bailie was about to speak when suddenly his gaze sharpened, and he looked up. At the same moment, Willow and Paris also looked up. Without anyone noticing, a man was standing silently in the sky, coldly staring at them.
Seeing this, Bailie's eyes narrowed and his expression became unusually grave.
"When did this person appear?" Paris asked in surprise.
High above, the man held a knife in his right hand and slowly descended.
The surrounding soldiers all saluted in unison. "Greetings, Huasheng."
The three were surprised. This man was Zhang Dingtian?
"Everyone, fall back," Zhang Dingtian said calmly. The surrounding soldiers immediately retreated in an orderly fashion.
The three studied Zhang Dingtian carefully. He looked ordinary, not very muscular, without obvious scars. Nothing special at first glance. But there was one thing: this man gave off a very domineering aura. The three couldn't explain it, but just from his presence—and perhaps the knife—they felt his overpowering nature.
"Are you from the starry sky?" Zhang Dingtian asked calmly, looking at the three.
Willow stepped forward a few paces. "Yes, we come from the starry sky and have questions for you."
Zhang Dingtian's gaze passed over Willow and landed on Bailie. "Leave the capital city. Do not set foot here again."
Bailie narrowed his eyes.
Willow was angry. This man was ignoring him. "I have questions for you. Didn't you hear me?"
Zhang Dingtian glanced at Willow. "Before you leave, as punishment for disturbing the capital, each of you will receive one slash from me." Without waiting for their reply, he raised his hand and slashed—his first blade aimed at Willow.
Beep beep beep beep
Paris's personal terminal suddenly sounded loudly. She looked down, her expression changing drastically. "Willow, be careful. He's a cross-boundary expert."
Willow's face changed. The seemingly ordinary slash in front of him suddenly became terrifying. Everything in the world disappeared from his sight—his eyes locked only on that knife, drawing closer and closer. His pupils contracted, and he raised his palm. "Sky-Splitting Palm!" he roared. The air rippled, forming a shockwave that blasted forward.
Zhang Dingtian's slash was cut off mid-air, stopped by the Sky-Splitting Palm. The strong pressure suddenly exploded and spread around, shattering the ground. Paris gasped and quickly retreated. The violent pressure surged skyward, dispersing the clouds and stirring the lava in the nearby crater.
In the distance, countless soldiers watched in awe. Every time Huasheng struck, it was always so breathtaking.
Willow gritted his teeth, staring in disbelief at Zhang Dingtian only a few meters away—a native. How could a mere native be so strong? A cross-boundary expert—such a monster among natives.
Behind him, Bailie struck out, punching toward Zhang Dingtian.
Zhang Dingtian's eyes sharpened. His long knife swept horizontally, the back of the blade cutting into Bailie's fist wind. A curved shockwave shot out, destroying distant ruins and tearing the earth apart. The roaring wave of energy surged violently. Willow was forced back immediately, coughing up blood. Bailie was pushed back by the force, while Zhang Dingtian remained still, maintaining his slashing stance. His gaze shifted to Paris, and the blade twisted again as he launched another slash.