In the distance, two figures floated high in the sky—Gules and Bararo, the two who had originally been tracking Erde. They had not teamed up with Erde; as Gules put it, they intended to reap the benefits like fishermen waiting to catch a catch.
"Exhausted, let's land and rest for a bit," Gules said, tossing her long hair, a faint trace of fatigue showing on her beautiful face.
Bararo glanced around. They were over an open grassy field—a farm, lush and green. He liked it.
Beep beep beep beep.
Just as the two touched down, their personal terminals emitted soft beeps. "Huh, 2,100 combat power. There's a student here," Gules said in surprise, looking toward the farm.
Bararo said coolly, "A student? Only 2,100 combat power? Let's go check it out."
Gules nodded and slowly walked toward the farm.
Inside the farm, Lu Yin was troubled.
From entering the "Wang" realm to reaching its peak required only a few star energy crystals. But from the early "Tan" realm to its peak demanded hundreds of times the star energy of the "Wang" realm. He had absorbed about one cubic meter of star energy so far, which had boosted his combat power beyond 2,000. A considerable portion of that energy was filtered out as impurities. To reach the Tan realm peak, he still needed at least four cubic meters of star energy crystals.
Such a vast amount of star energy crystals might be impossible to obtain even by robbing the academy's strongest.
"Looks like I won't be able to reach the Tan realm peak anytime soon. Luckily, surpassing 2,000 combat power is enough," Lu Yin muttered as he recalled Bailey's strength.
At that moment, Gules and Bararo were approaching.
Lu Yin noticed and looked outside the farm, staring at Bararo in surprise. What was this? A plant spirit come to life?
"Come out, whoever's inside!" Gules called out coquettishly, tossing her long hair with a hint of arrogance.
Lu Yin stepped out of the farm, curiously staring at Bararo.
Gules was displeased. "Hey, why are you staring at the guy? I'm the one calling you."
Lu Yin pointed at Bararo. "A plant come to life?"
Hearing this, Bararo's eyebrows rose in anger. "How dare you!" He kicked toward Lu Yin. As a top student of the Greater Universe Empire Space Academy and second only to Gules among their strongest, his combat power reached 2,900. He looked down on Lu Yin's 2,100 combat power.
Lu Yin used his "Flowing Body Step" to dodge, appearing at Bararo's right side. He pressed a hand against Bararo's abdomen, his voice cold: "Robbery."
With that, he unleashed a powerful palm strike. The air distorted like an explosion, violently blasting Bararo away. The "Rift Palm" cracked Bararo's body surface.
Gules' eyes narrowed. Suddenly, a uniquely styled bow and arrow appeared in her hand, aiming at Lu Yin. Thunder rumbled in the void.
In an instant, Lu Yin felt danger. Using the Flowing Body Step to evade, an arrow tore through the air toward the distance. The next moment, the ground shook, thunder crashed into the sky, and a violent shockwave swept the area.
Lu Yin didn't look back because Gules was preparing to fire another arrow at him. He raised a hand to grab Gules. She scoffed disdainfully. Lightning crackled around her body like armor—a defensive suit given to her by her brother. Few at the Tan realm could break through it. But Lu Yin frowned and unleashed his "Star Manifestation" palm. With a loud bang, two stars shattered explosively. The tremendous force barely tore through the lightning, directly striking Gules' true body.
Gules was shocked. She hadn't expected Lu Yin to break through her lightning defense—this was her brother's defensive armor. Few at the Tan realm could shatter it, but the man before her tore it apart. She was thrown back awkwardly and crashed to the ground. Her bow and arrow dropped beside her.
"Don't touch her!" A loud shout came from nearby. Bararo knelt on one knee. Strange green stripes appeared on his body, resembling waves crashing in all directions. The surrounding plants began to writhe. The grass beneath Lu Yin's feet moved as if alive, binding him. Hostile energy filled the surroundings.
Lu Yin was surprised. Star energy burst from his body, shattering the plants. He charged at Bararo, raising a palm strike. Bararo growled low, entwining his arms with weeds to attack Lu Yin. Boom! The shockwave spread, tearing up the earth and raising dust. Bararo was slammed underground by Lu Yin's palm, coughing up blood, his arms twisted irregularly.
"I remember now. You two were also hiding in the capital," Lu Yin said calmly, grabbing Bararo and throwing him toward Gules. His body appeared in front of her.
At the same time, a notification appeared on the local network: "Gules and Bararo have been defeated."
Far away, Erde was stunned. "Gules was defeated?"
On the grass, Gules glared at Lu Yin. "You are that interstellar pirate."
Lu Yin frowned. "Don't say nonsense. I'm a good person."
"Bullshit!" Gules snapped angrily, using crude language.
Lu Yin was amused. "A beauty swearing so smoothly, quite the temper."
Gules snorted.
Bararo stared at Lu Yin. "Kid, a warning—don't touch her. Her brother is Gurbah, one of the strongest young warriors of the Greater Universe Empire. If you dare hurt her, there will be no place for you in the entire universe."
Lu Yin pursed his lips. "I said I'm a good person; I don't hurt others." As he spoke, he snatched Gules' Space Condensation Ring, wiped some blood from the corner of her mouth, opened the ring, and began searching for star energy crystals.
Gules and Bararo stared blankly at the scene. This—a good person? His movements were too skilled, obviously well-practiced!
"Hey, don't mess around! Take whatever you want, just don't rummage through my stuff. You can't touch a girl's things!" Gules shouted and kicked Lu Yin repeatedly.
Lu Yin rolled his eyes. "A bunch of useless junk." Suddenly, his eyes lit up and his breathing quickened. What did he see? A pile of star energy crystals—at least two cubic meters. He looked at Gules in surprise. "You're rich."
Gules gritted her teeth, her face turning red with anger. "You bastard."
Lu Yin tossed the Space Condensation Ring back to Gules and began searching Bararo's ring.
Bararo was quiet. This guy was just robbing them, not killing them—that was fine.
Though Bararo's Space Condensation Ring had fewer star energy crystals than Gules', it wasn't much less. Together, they had about two cubic meters of star energy crystals—real wealthy folks!
Lu Yin was very satisfied. "You're good people. Maybe we'll meet again." Saying that, he prepared to leave.
Gules shouted, "Bastard, leave your name!"
"Call me Seventh Brother," Lu Yin waved his hand and started to ascend.
Gules, furious, suddenly had an idea. "Wait! Want more star energy crystals?"
Lu Yin, already halfway in the air, immediately landed upon hearing this and looked at Gules. "What do you mean?"
Gules smiled slyly. "Follow us. I'll take you to rob some more."
Lu Yin was surprised.
Bararo twitched his face. Here we go again. Gules' never-lose nature was kicking in. This woman was good in many ways but refused to suffer losses. If she ever took a loss, she'd make sure someone else took the fall. She'd never be the biggest loser.
Lu Yin looked at Gules oddly. "You want to take me robbing? Do I look like an idiot?"
Gules snorted. "Believe it or not, you don't have a personal terminal, so you can't find other students. Those students will attack the capital in seven days at most. How lucky do you think you'll be finding a few in seven days? I'll lead the way—every time we meet one, we get 'em."
Lu Yin sneered. "What if you lead me into a trap?"
Gules lifted her chin proudly. "I'm Gules—I'm not that kind of person. Ask around—who doesn't know about Gules' character and credit at the Space Academy? My brother is Gurbah. Would I hurt you?"
Bararo was speechless.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. With his current strength, even if he fell into an ambush, he could escape. "Fine, you lead. But I'm confiscating your Space Condensation Ring. I'll return it after we're done."
Gules gritted her teeth. "Fine."
Half an hour later, the three flew northward. In the sky, Lu Yin said, "I've been wanting to ask—Is that guy a plant spirit come to life?"
Bararo was angry. "I was born on a pure plant planet. Everyone on my planet is like that. Got a problem?"
Lu Yin was amazed. "The universe is really vast. There are all kinds of people."
Bararo turned his head away. This bastard sounded like he was insulting him.
Gules rolled her eyes. "That's nothing. You've met Bailey, right? People on their third gravity planet are at most 1.6 meters tall, usually 1.2. He's considered tall, rich, and handsome. Other planets have people with scales covering their bodies, four arms, tens of meters tall, and all kinds of strange forms."
"Aren't you a Starfield student?" Bararo suddenly asked suspiciously, eyeing Lu Yin.
Lu Yin said, "Of course not. I'm from Earth."
Gules and Bararo's eyes widened. Their hearts filled with humiliation—they'd been robbed by a native.
Half an hour later, Gules excitedly said, "They're coming! Two students."
Lu Yin got excited and glanced at Gules, who was even more excited than him. "Hey, bastard, tell me how we're dividing this."