Smoke pervaded the air around Nanjing as the city settled down into a never-ending battle. A wave of mutants rushed in from the west every few days, and nobody could make heads or tails of the situation.
In the skies, the flying mutant beasts formed groups to attack the assembly grounds in Zhongshan. Jeraldine flew over and lit them up with her Flame Palm, bombarding the skies and sending sparks everywhere to the tune of cheering spectators. Stood on the city walls, Lu Yin was gazing westward. The waves were far too frequent now; was a formidable beast in the vicinity?
"Jeraldine, southwest!" he barked, leaving the girl a little depressed. Here she was, someone from the greater universe being ordered around like a warslave. She had considered disobeying him multiple times, but Lu Yin's icy gaze ensured that she remained wise. Her thoughts ran back to a scene from a few days prior; the morning after visiting Zhou Shan, Lu Yin had proposed a friendly duel. She'd only agreed when he agreed not to use a Shockwave Palm, but the bastard had actually used a Spacerender Palm and nearly crippled her! That incident had angered her so much that she swore to never duel him again.
Of course, she was also shocked by Lu Yin's power. While the Shockwave Palm was not uncommon, the Spacerender Palm was entirely different. She only knew one other person of similar age that could use the technique; the top student in her academy, Veron.
Bang! The remnants of the Flame Palm slammed into the ground, crushing several formidable mutant beasts. Gasping for air up above, Jeraldine found it strange as well. It was normal for this number of mutant beasts to exist in a world undergoing evolution, but it was decidedly abnormal for them to attack humans so consistently. Beasts had primal tendencies, and as long as no one intruded on their territory, they hardly ever came out. This was also a key reason why there were so many survivors, but the beast waves had become far too common of an occurrence now. Her thoughts were interrupted by deafening howls as two more beasts snuck towards her; using the Flame Palm once more, she decimated them in a single strike.
Lu Yin frowned from the city walls. This woman relied too much on her battle techniques, which restricted her development. Her battle ability was halved when she wasn't using the Flame Palm; she was perhaps only slightly above average in her school, a far cry from Terence and perhaps only a little stronger than Orton. However, as he continued to observe her, his gaze suddenly sharpened.
"STOP!" he shouted as he lifted his hand, forming ripples of energy by pressing down on the air. Jeraldine was shocked as she saw the attack flying straight for her but somehow managed to react the right way and stop in an instant. The Spacerender Palm swept past her and landed behind, blowing the air apart and sending a youth crashing to the ground. Lu Yin jumped and flew towards the ambusher, glowering at him on the floor.
Jeraldine heaved a sigh of relief, rejoicing at the sight of Lu Yin. This sneak attack would have landed on her squarely if not for his intervention, and the would-be assassin was a Sentinel as well. The best-case scenario would have been heavy injuries.
There was a giant crack on the earth's surface, and the youth clutched his chest as he stared at Lu Yin in shock, "Spacerender Palm? How's that possible?"
Lu Yin glared at the man, sweeping around the area with his peripheral vision. His gaze suddenly focused as he disappeared towards the beasts with Roving Step.
"RUN!" the youth shouted, but it was too late. Another young man within a beast's abdomen was shocked as Lu Yin's hand grabbed towards him. He grabbed his longsword and slashed out, but a loud explosion rang out as the bare palm shattered the metal with ease. The ground within a dozen meters split open as currents of air whirled outwards, tearing countless beasts to shreds. Lu Yin had just used two strikes to bring down two Sentinels, astonishing Jeraldine in the process.
She was sure that these two were students. Though not from the First Military School, they would not be weaklings if they could participate in this trial. That they had been so easily defeated was a testament to Lu Yin's current strength; his true battle prowess far exceeded his combat level.
The beast wave dissipated quickly once the two students were defeated, informing Lu Yin that they were the source of the problem.
"Where are you from?" Jeraldine barked, still reeling from the near-ambush.
The two stared fearfully at Lu Yin, but did not answer. Lu Yin waved the incoming soldiers away and coldly stared at them, "I'll feed you two to the beasts if you don't speak."
"We're fellow students, no need to be so cruel," one of the males squeaked with a pale face.
Lu Yin shrugged, "Sorry, I'm an earthling."
"Impossible!" the two shrieked, turning towards Jeraldine. Her silence shocked them further, "How can a native defeat us so easily? He can even use the Spacerender Palm!"
"Alright, less nonsense," Lu Yin barked, "Speak or die."
Around ten minutes later, Lu Yin ordered the two to be imprisoned while he sank into thought. These two had come from the Great Yu Empire's Blue Mountain Academy, which was situated on a planet full of wild beasts. These two had experience taming wild animals, but could only urge weak mutant creatures. As for mounting this sneak attack on Nanjing, they were the same as Jeraldine and wanted to occupy the city. Unlike her, however, they had a powerful backer in Anhui nearby.
Jeraldine was furious, "Why don't you kill them, they were plotting to steal Nanjing."
Lu Yin looked at her, "You can do it if you want."
"Err… I can't bear to do it," she was stunned and turned away
"This trial might not forbid murder, but too many deaths isn't a good look. This is the first time you've tried to act smart with me, it better be the last."
Jeraldine's lips twitched as she watched Lu Yin leave, a sense of pity filling her. She had wanted to make him the main antagonist of this first batch so she could escape control, but that had failed. The scoundrel was smarter than she'd thought.
"Boss, the beast wave has retreated!" Xu San cheered, his eyes glowing.
Lu Yin knew what he was thinking with one glance, "You finished using the energy crystals I gave you?"
Xu San was embarrassed, "Yes, and I've grown much stronger."
"No need to be anxious for a breakthrough, you still don't have the capacity yet. Try your best to immerse yourself in your body's energy and condense it."
"Yes, Boss!" Xu San could feel Lu Yin's concern.
While Lu Yin had initially wanted to get Xu San to the Realm of Sky quickly, he had changed his mind as of late. He didn't want an abundance of impurities to harm Xu San's potential, which would diminish his value. Many powerful entities had their own ways to completely cleanse someone's energy so they could start anew, but that process grew more difficult and expensive as one trained to higher realms. Xu San being in the Realm of Earth was just perfect; while his potential wasn't harmed too much, he could still survive on his own.
After dealing with the aftermath of the beast wave, Lu Yin headed to Zhou Shan's ward. He had given the Executioner some of Jeraldine's medicine, so he had mostly recovered from his injuries.
"What are you planning to do with those two aliens?" Zhou Shan asked.
"I'll keep them locked up for now, they'll be useful later. You can interrogate them if you want, it'll be good to learn more about them."
Zhou Shan nodded, "I hear they come from Anhui?"
"Yeah, which is exactly the direction I'm headed in. Might as well get rid of them."
Zhou Shan was puzzled, "Huh… I'm curious, why do you want to journey west so bad?"
"Want to hear the truth?" Lu Yin looked him in the eye.
"You don't say."
"I'm going to Hubei to look for someone."
"Hubei? A relative?"
Lu Yin laughed, "Kind of."
Zhou Shan nodded, "Alright. You're Nanjing's savior; if you want us to head west, we head west. You can connect with Liu Shaoge in Wucheng and join hands to fight the aliens there."
"The Radiance, huh. What's he like?" Lu Yin's eyes flashed.
"What do you mean 'what's he like'? Strength or personality?"
Lu Yin smiled, "Both."
"I don't know him all that well. Though we've worked together before, it wasn't for long. The Water Sage Bai Xue is the one who'd know him best; they were involved romantically at one point from what I've heard."
Lu Yin's brows furrowed for a moment, "Involved? Are they married?"
"No, but there's something there," Zhou Shan didn't seem to be sure either, but he quickly grinned, "Have you ever seen Bai Xue?"
Lu Yin shook his head.
Zhou Shan looked up at the sky and pointed at the clouds, "She looks just like that."
Looking up as well, Lu Yin was rather lost.
Zhou Shan sighed, "Bai Xue, fresh as a lotus blooming in water, beautiful as a goddess, pretty as a picture. Her looks are absolutely out of this world."
Lu Yin stared at Zhou Shan as if he'd seen a ghost, "Since when do you know how to pontificate?"