Lu Yin spun around and dodged, stumbling back over ten meters. The factory where he had been standing turned into ruins.
The young man soared into the sky, coldly looking down at Lu Yin, his gaze arrogant. "Are you a native of this planet?"
Lu Yin's expression was solemn. A Sky-level powerhouse!
"I'm asking you a question, can't you understand?" the young man snapped, casually slashing with his blade. A visible slash cut through the ground, raising a cloud of dust.
Lu Yin said seriously, "Are you an alien?"
The young man sneered, landing. He checked his watch. "Combat power only eight? Trash... Eight combat power shouldn't be able to dodge my slash." Then, the young man looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "You specialize in body cultivation?"
Lu Yin was puzzled. "Are you an alien?"
The young man frowned. "For you natives, you can call us that. However, we prefer you call us Superiors."
"Superiors?" Lu Yin frowned.
The young man said condescendingly, "Your planet has long been within the surveillance of our Great Yu Empire. To us, you are merely captive natives. We are, of course, Superiors. Alright, tell me, do you specialize in body cultivation, and have you cultivated your body to the Vanguard Realm, perhaps even approaching the Profound Realm ?"
"I don't understand what you mean," Lu Yin replied.
The young man's eyes narrowed. He thought about it; that made sense. How could this native planet know about the division of realms?
His eyes glinted with cold light as he stared at Lu Yin. "Attack me. Let me see your strength."
Lu Yin clenched his fist. "Are you sure?"
The young man sneered. "I, Yasta, am not so easily injured by a native like you. Even if you can hide your combat power, you absolutely cannot reach the Profound Realm. And even if you were in the Profound Realm, you wouldn't be able to compare to me. I will show you what a desperate gap feels like."
Lu Yin drew his iron rod. "Then I'll make my move."
Yasta was arrogant, beckoning with his finger.
The next moment, Lu Yin rapidly charged at Yasta, his iron rod's blade sweeping horizontally, cutting through the air, aimed directly at Yasta's neck.
Yasta easily dodged, his hands casually tucked into his pockets. He taunted, "Planetary evolution truly produces a bunch of savages. Your attacks are sharp and decisive, going straight for the kill. That's good. Only then can iron-blooded warriors be forged."
Lu Yin's iron rod blocked all of Yasta's routes, each strike faster than the last, generating sharp qi currents that cut into the ground, slicing out long, narrow marks.
Yasta was skillful. Suddenly, as Lu Yin's rod came down, he lifted his foot, his combat boot directly blocking the blade. His hands remained in his pockets, and he looked at Lu Yin with cold arrogance. "Combat power three hundred and two. Not bad. It's not easy to reach the Vanguard Realm with just your body. Even our Academy's Profound Realm students wouldn't find it so easy to reach the Vanguard Realm with just their bodies. I appreciate you. I'll give you a chance: follow me, become my slave. I can take you away from this planet and show you a different Starry Sky."
Lu Yin's iron rod was tightly pressed against Yasta's combat boot, his eyes surprised. "A different Starry Sky?"
Yasta said proudly, "Of course. I am an ace student from the Great Yu Empire's First Military Academy, qualified and bold enough to apply for the planetary evolution trial. Once I successfully complete the mission, I can advance to a higher academy. Following me will be your lifelong glory. Of course, it also depends on whether this planet has someone more suitable than you. Just pray you're not too bad, haha." With that, he kicked the iron rod out of Lu Yin's hand.
Lu Yin watched Yasta immersed in his own superior arrogance. His eyes suddenly turned cold. His right hand rapidly trembled, and the air visibly formed ripples, as if being grasped in his palm.
Yasta initially paid no attention, but when he saw it, he looked on in disbelief. "Wave Palm? How can you...?" The next moment, Lu Yin's palm slammed heavily into Yasta's chest. A qi wave spread out, Yasta's white light armor shattered, and a mouthful of blood sprayed out as he was sent flying. In mid-air, Yasta struggled to raise his head, forcibly twisted his body, and drew his short blade, slashing at Lu Yin. Lu Yin charged towards the short blade, his right hand rapidly trembling again.
Yasta gritted his teeth and roared, "You're not a native! You're from the Starry Sky!"
Lu Yin's eyes were cold. He struck out with his palm.
Yasta growled, stabbing his short blade, but hitting nothing. Lu Yin's body disappeared; he had only stabbed an afterimage. "Movement combat technique?" Yasta spat blood. His finger ring melted, forming pieces of battle armor that covered his entire body. With a thud, in the same spot, Yasta was struck again by a palm. This time, a faint cracking sound could be heard.
A second after he was hit, the battle armor covered his entire body, but it was too late. His heart was completely shattered. His body crashed beside the spaceship in the crater, blood flowing from its hull.
Lu Yin knelt on one knee, gasping for breath. The blood vessels in his right hand had burst, and his face was contorted in pain.
Wave Palm was not something he could currently execute. If it weren't to kill Yasta, he wouldn't risk crippling his arm to use it. Fortunately, the ambush was successful. He had waited a long time for this moment.
In that brief instant, he had used Wave Palm twice and Drifting Step once. His body was violently shaking, already overloaded.
He slowly walked to Yasta's corpse, watching the battle armor covering his body slowly disappear, turning back into a ring.
Lu Yin removed the ring and put it into his pocket. This was a ring-armor, a protective gear used by many cultivators in the Starry Sky. Yasta's ring-armor was only the lowest grade, but it was sufficient to defend against attacks from Sky-level powerhouses.
Aside from the ring-armor, Yasta's wrist had a combat power testing personal terminal, which contained all his information, including his location.
Lu Yin removed the personal terminal, skillfully dismantled the tracking device, and put it into his Null Ring. Finally, he scanned Yasta, his eyes flickering, finally settling on Yasta's right hand's second knuckle. He directly chopped it off, and a star fragment fell out of the blood.
"It's here, as expected!" Lu Yin was overjoyed. He picked up the star fragment. The reason he ambushed Yasta, the reason he hadn't absorbed energy crystals to become an evolved human, was to wait for this item.
The Body Tempering Art. A star fragment formed from a superpower's own energy. Anyone who integrates it into their body can stimulate cells, cleanse the body, allow the body to break through its limits, and directly absorb universal energy for cultivation. This is the most effective cultivation method recognized by the universe.
As for cultivating by absorbing energy crystals, it's merely a lower-grade cultivation method. It cannot directly absorb universal energy through the body, not only requiring the constant search for energy crystals but also making it very difficult to break through limits.
Such cultivators are called Roaming Soldiers in the universe. Many even refer to them as Battle Slaves.
And in the universe, the energy that can be directly absorbed is called Star Energy
. The energy crystals in mutated beasts are also a form of condensed Star Energy, but they are too impure and mixed, making direct absorption more harmful than beneficial.
Lu Yin came from the Starry Sky. To legitimize his identity, he did not cultivate through the Body Tempering Art before arriving on Earth, completely placing himself in the perspective of an ordinary person. Today, on this planet, he had nothing to fear. In a planetary evolution trial, anything was possible.
In the universe, anyone who cultivates through the Body Tempering Art must register, otherwise, it is illegal. But in a planetary evolution trial, what is obtained is one's own. This is a rule agreed upon by the Great Yu Empire's youth assessment system; no one can violate it.
"This person is only in the Profound Realm. This means this Body Tempering Art has been used twice already. There's one more chance. What a pity, I still need to keep searching," Lu Yin muttered to himself. He tossed Yasta into the spaceship and turned to leave.
Suddenly, a shadow eclipsed the sunlight. Someone was attacking him from behind.
Lu Yin's body shifted sideways, avoiding the attack. He spun around and swung a leg, colliding with the assailant with a thud. An Earth-level powerhouse, Lu Yin reacted immediately, retreating a few steps.
The assailant also retreated a few steps, then looked up. A delicate face came into view for Lu Yin. It was a woman.
"Why did you attack me?" Lu Yin's tone was icy. Even though he didn't feel any killing intent from this woman, an attack was an attack, and it was a sneak attack.
The woman glanced at the spaceship, then stared at Lu Yin. "I saw you throw that alien's body into the spaceship. Who are you? Why did you kill the alien? What do you know?"
Lu Yin sneered, "Why should I tell you?"
The woman said coldly, "I'll make you tell me." With that, she drew a dagger from behind her back and leaped at Lu Yin. The dagger sliced through the air, emitting flashes of cold light.
Lu Yin nimbly dodged. Before him, the woman's speed was not slow. Her dagger danced, tearing through the air, emitting shrill whistling sounds. Every strike was aimed at Lu Yin's vital points.
Lu Yin, through the cold glint, seized the opportunity and grabbed the woman's wrist. His other hand reached for her abdomen. The woman frowned, stomped her feet, releasing the dagger, and clashed her palm against Lu Yin's. The air suddenly dropped in temperature. Lu Yin's eyes narrowed. His palm was freezing. "Combat technique?"
"You're not my opponent. Speak!" the woman whispered, and the temperature dropped further.