Back in Zhongshan, Lu Yin informed Zhou Shan that he would be heading to the capital after all, which prompted some confusion, "Why now?"
"I want to find out the truth about the Apocalypse and that corpse," he lied to avoid talk of the mission.
Zhou Shan shook his head, "That explosion turned everything within ten kilometers to dust. We rushed some people there despite the Apocalypse, but we couldn't find anything then. Do you think you'll be able to find anything now?"
"Maybe not, but I'm still going."
Zhou Shan sighed and looked out at Nanjing with a complicated expression, "I have no way to stop you even if I wanted you. But, I wish you could return to Nanjing in case you don't find anything."
"I will," Lu Yin nodded.
Zhou Shan smiled and retrieved a small certificate from his chest pocket, "This is my official certification with the national army, it's my token. Each of the Seven Sages agreed on our tokens before departing; talking to the token's holder is the same as talking to the Sage themselves. Take this to the capital and find Zhang Dingtian, he'll help you."
"Zhang Dingtian? One of the Seven?" Lu Yin hesitated as he did not understand the seven well. Information was broken at best since the Apocalypse, and all his attention had been focused on Liu Shaoge. If he hadn't come to Nanjing, he wouldn't even have known that the Executioner was called Zhou Shan. The only sage he knew in the capital was the Bladesage.
Zhou Shan's face twisted strangely at the mention of Zhang Dingtian, "Lu Yin, I know you're strong enough to beat the aliens right now, but I suggest you don't belittle the Seven Sages. Don't use my power as a gauge, especially for the three High Sages. Zhang Dingtian is our head."
The Head of the Seven Sages? Lu Yin was amazed; that was no ordinary accomplishment.
Zhou Shan continued seriously, "Ever since the corpse was brought back to Earth, China secretly chose from countless people for its inheritance. Us Seven Sages are those who succeeded, and Zhang Dingtian is the strongest of all. His blade can suppress everything; those students are powerful, but no one in the same realm can defeat him, not even the lofty Water Sage. Many call him Bladesage, but his true title is the Frenzied Blade. He's the Sage of China."
Zhou Shan's words brought an image of a single dominant man to Lu Yin's imagination, his sole blade suppressing the entire capital. He asked, "How do you match up against him?"
Zhou Shan forced a smile and put up a single finger, "Besides the other two High Sages, all others can only last a single strike."
Lu Yin's expression changed; the ability to defeat Zhou Shan with one strike was terrifying. the man's true strength exceeded Orton's and Jeraldine's, and he could even give Terence a run for his money. In other words, Zhang Dingtian could defeat people on the same level as Terence with one strike, which would put him on par with school leaders. For such a person to exist on Earth…
Lu Yin presumed his Spacerender Palm or Cosmic Palm could defeat Zhou Shan in one strike as well. So how did he compare to Zhang Dingtian? He shook off the thought and received Zhou Shan's certificate, stowing it away carefully. The Executioner was doing him a huge favor with the hope that he would return to Nanjing, but that desire would only be met with disappointment. His future lay among the stars.
There were still a little under two months before the second batch of trainees arrived. Lu Yin was on a tight timeline if he hoped to confirm the corpse's identity within these two months.
"What? I'm supposed to follow you to the capital? Impossible," Jeraldine cried, rejecting him immediately.
"You don't have any authority to reject me," he replied.
"Didn't you hear Jaeger? Only the school leaders have gone to the capital. Those people are freaks! I've seen Veron crush Terence with my own eyes; even an ambush won't beat him."
"Let me repeat. You don't have the authority to reject me."
Jeraldine pleaded with shock in her eyes, "Yatar— no, Lu Yin— you have no idea what the school leaders represent. Terence was severely wounded by a single palm when he challenged Veron during a school competition. The difference between us is too great!"
"I almost crippled Jaeger with one palm myself."
Jeraldine wanted to report, but she suddenly came to a realization. She had always known herself to be inferior to Terence, but she'd unwittingly dragged down her appraisal of Lu Yin's power because of that thought. Finally considering things, she realized that before her was another freak of nature. Lu Yin had severely wounded Terence even as a Seeker, and inflicted heavy wounds on Jaeger without even using star energy. She took several steps backward and measured him warily, suddenly feeling like this fellow really could match up to the school leaders.
Lu Yin had never used his full force against Jeraldine, and she simply could not guess his true power level. However, what he'd already displayed was enough to amaze her.
"We leave for the capital tonight," Lu Yin left, not giving her another chance to refuse. Jeraldine was helpless; the universe had so many territories with countless institutions, and even the Great Yu Empire had many schools. The so-called training mission was not for people on her level, but here she was getting dragged into the highest echelons of power.
...
The vast Taihang Mountains of the Hebei Province were covered in a bloody mist that spread from horizon to horizon, dyeing the mountain stream red. The stinging odor of the bloody river attracted more and more mutant beasts, but their roars soon turned into howls of anguish as they were slaughtered. A short man was bathing in the middle of the river, exposing many scars and scabs on his sturdy back.
Up on shore, another man and a woman were silently measuring, "There won't be any more beasts on this mountain if you keep playing around."
The short man glanced ashore, "There are two Melder beasts that I haven't provoked yet. We'll slaughter them before we leave."
"It's time to head to the capital," the woman refuted, "That's our greatest chance to find the criminal; it's very likely that the corpse these people brought back from Neptune is our target."
A cold glint passed through the short man's eyes, "Veron, where are the other two teams?"
The man ashore was Veron, the strongest student of the First Military School. The woman was Borise, the strongest of Blue Mountain Academy. At their head was Parlie of the Third Gravitas Planet. This trio was the elite group Jaeger had talked about.
"I believe Gerlaine's team is in the grasslands north of the capital. Eddy should be in Shanxi, not far from the capital."
Parlie walked onto the riverbank, a wave of energy drying him off in an instant, "Let's go to the capital, then."
The trio left behind a pile of slaughtered mutants in their wake, with a large number of Sentinels in their midst.
...
The endless grass in Northern China was swaying in the wind, looking like green waves dancing under the sunlight from a bird's-eye view. It was exceptionally charming, prompting one young woman to stretch both hands and shout, "So this is how the grasslands smell. Sooo fresh!"
A two-meter-tall green-skinned man glanced at her from nearby, speaking in a low voice, "If you think this shit smells fresh, you're crazy."
"What did you say, Balaror?" the woman stared at him furiously.
The green-skinned Balaror quickly smiled, "Nothing much, it smells pleasant."
"Well, at least you're tactful," she smiled, "Let's head towards the capital. I heard this planet's people retrieved a corpse from another primitive planet, it should be the criminal."
"Alright," Balaror agreed, raising his head as the endless grass ahead of him parted abruptly like it was alive.
...
Two people in black clothing were slowly walking through Shanxi, crossing an endless yellow plain. Strange beasts were constantly rushing out of the ground before vanishing again, prompting a frosty gaze from a man with a scaly face. The yellow soil turned incomparably dry with every step he took, as though the little water it had was sucked away in an instant. All the soil a hundred meters behind him had basically turned to dust, with any mutants that had wandered nearby dried into leather.
"I don't like this place. We should have landed in the ocean."
"No other choice, we have to come to the capital to complete our mission. I know you were born at the bottom of the ocean, but try to endure it a little more. We'll be able to leave soon."
"I've already sacrificed so much. I'll kill whoever dares to stop me from completing this mission. Even if all the natives from this planet must die, so be it."
"Of course, no one can stop us."
...
In the northeast, ice and snow formed a white blanket covering heaven and earth. A pair of red boots was trudging through the endless sea of white, giving way to a face that was absolutely beautiful. The woman's eyes were bright as stars, almost able to melt the frozen land; this was Bai Xue, the Water Sage, and the surroundings were her Blue Camp.
Three figures were crouched in front of Bai Xue in the snow, their expressions distorted from extreme pain. It took great difficulty for one of them to raise his head and stare at the gorgeous beauty with absolute horror, eking out through trembling lips, "You, just a native… How are you so strong?"
Bai Xue watched the three of them calmly, "You're students from the greater universe, huh? Not bad."
"Who are you? You can't be a native, a native can't beat three academy elites!" one of them said in disbelief.
Bai Xue's eyes gleamed brighter than diamonds as she ignored them, "Please mark the northeast blue, I don't want to be disturbed."
That student closed his eyes in pain and activated his watch. Moments later, the northeast turned blue on the map.