The woman looked at Lu Yin helplessly. "Actually, if you just ask, I'll help you. I have connections."
"No need," Lu Yin replied calmly.
The woman sighed. "Alright, contact me anytime. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them for you. I'm leaving now." She smiled at Lu Yin, turned around, and left, leaving a fragrant breeze behind.
Lu Yin closed his eyes again, unfazed by her visit.
In the middle of the night, the beautiful woman returned, smiling at Lu Yin. "Congratulations, the trouble is over."
Lu Yin looked at her, puzzled.
"I asked my elder brother to step in. Zhang Tong has been caught. My brother wants you to come over and discuss how to deal with them," she explained.
Lu Yin's eyes flickered as he got up. "Let's go."
The woman smiled and led the way, passing through the flames to a spot 300 meters away from the camp. Though it was still unsafe, it wasn't too far.
When Lu Yin arrived, Zhang Tong and the other over a dozen evolvers who had bullied the women were all kneeling. In front of them stood a tall man with his hands behind his back.
"Elder brother, Lu Yin is here," the beautiful woman said coquettishly as she approached the man.
The man turned around, smiling at Lu Yin. "You are Lu Yin?"
Lu Yin nodded.
"I am Liu Sheng, one of the leaders of this group," the man said, raising his head slightly and looking at Lu Yin arrogantly.
"I know," Lu Yin replied indifferently.
Liu Sheng frowned; he didn't like Lu Yin's attitude. "What do you plan to do with these people? They're all yours to deal with."
Lu Yin looked at Liu Sheng. "Conditions."
Liu Sheng's lips curled into a smile as he stared at Lu Yin. "Let's be frank. I've heard about you and observed you. You haven't absorbed energy crystals from mutated beasts, yet you're very strong. Can you tell me why?"
The beautiful woman and the kneeling evolvers, including Zhang Tong, all looked at Lu Yin expectantly.
Lu Yin smiled slightly. "Is this why you brought me here?"
Liu Sheng chuckled and glanced at the beautiful woman.
She stepped forward, walking to Lu Yin's side. She blew gently at him and said in a coquettish voice, "Brother Lu, tell us, won't you? Is it another path to evolution? If you tell us, you're telling all humanity, and humanity will be grateful to you. And I... can accompany you." She leaned closer to Lu Yin.
Lu Yin turned to look at her. "I told you, if it happens again, you'll die." As soon as he finished speaking, his iron rod flashed. The woman clutched her neck as blood flowed through her fingers, staining her clothes. She fell to the ground, incredulous. She hadn't taken Lu Yin's words seriously and hadn't expected him to kill her in front of Liu Sheng, one of the leaders and a human-level powerhouse.
Liu Sheng was stunned. He hadn't expected Lu Yin to be so bold.
Lu Yin swung the iron rod. "You've been bothering me since the group was formed. Tonight, it ends." With that, he charged at Liu Sheng, swinging the rod down.
Liu Sheng, enraged, shouted, "You're courting death!" He drew a long knife from his waist, thinking it would not only block Lu Yin's attack but also seriously injure him. However, the knife was cut in two, and the rod left a deep, bone-revealing wound on Liu Sheng's right shoulder.
Liu Sheng couldn't believe it. He was a human-level powerhouse, capable of taking on many ordinary evolvers alone. How could he lose in one move?
Lu Yin didn't stop after injuring Liu Sheng. He swung the rod horizontally.
Liu Sheng quickly dodged, throwing the knife handle at Lu Yin, who deflected it with his rod. The force created a small crack in the ground.
"What are you staring at? Attack him! Kill him!" Liu Sheng shouted at Zhang Tong and the others.
They hesitated but then drew their weapons and charged at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin's gaze turned cold. He flipped the rod and launched himself forward, his legs propelling him with visible shockwaves. He crossed over ten meters in an instant, slashing with the rod. Zhang Tong and the others clutched their chests as blood dripped down. They soon lost consciousness and fell dead.
In that moment, Lu Yin's heart hardened. This was the worst of times, with no constraints, but also the best, as the wicked could be eradicated.
Liu Sheng stared at Lu Yin in disbelief. "Impossible! You... you're an Earth-level powerhouse! A human-level cannot be this strong."
Lu Yin's gaze was icy.
Liu Sheng trembled and knelt. "Lu Yin, no, Master Lu, spare me! I can be your dog. I can kill for you, find women for you. I'll do anything you want."
Lu Yin looked up at the stars.
Liu Sheng's eyes turned vicious. He suddenly drew a blade from his sleeve and stabbed at Lu Yin, but the blade passed through an afterimage of Lu Yin, which slowly faded.
Liu Sheng's pupils shrank in shock. What was this?
"That's called Ghost Step, a combat technique from the stars," Lu Yin said coldly. His rod slashed, and Liu Sheng's head dropped, his body kneeling in death.
Lu Yin sighed, put away the rod, and continued gazing at the stars. "I'm just a guest, yet I'm acting like the host."
He quickly took the energy crystals from Liu Sheng and the others and placed them near his ring. The crystals vanished as if they never existed.
This was the Void Ring, a precious storage ring, just like the combat techniques, from the stars.
No one cared about Zhang Tong and the others' disappearance, but Liu Sheng was different. As a leader, his disappearance drew the attention of the other leaders. However, since Liu Sheng had hidden his actions to steal Lu Yin's evolutionary method, no one troubled Lu Yin, which was Liu Sheng's own doing.
The next day at noon, the tens of thousands of people in the group looked towards the sky. They had received news that Saint of Punishment, Zhou Shan, was arriving.
Soon, a black dot appeared in the sky, revealing a towering man over two meters tall with short hair, holding a three-meter-long giant axe. He stood in the air, exuding dominance.
Everyone stared in awe. Could humans really fly? This was a flying-level powerhouse, one of the seven saints of China.
With a roar, Zhou Shan raised his hand, sending a shockwave that blew dust and forced the crowd to shield their eyes.
All the evolvers watched intently. This was a heaven-level powerhouse, with the power to destroy mountains and rivers.
From underground, massive vines shot out, wrapping towards Zhou Shan.
Zhou Shan snorted, the sound booming in everyone's ears. He raised his giant axe high, the air behind him forming faint, transparent wings. "Storm Slash!" he roared, descending with the axe, slashing at the vines.
A deafening explosion followed. The ground cracked and dust flew. The shockwaves spread, but evolver leaders shielded the survivors from the deadly force.
Lu Yin watched closely. They had guessed the vines were at Earth-level, but he felt they were at Heaven-level, explaining Zhou Shan's full-force attack.
As the dust settled, Zhou Shan stood proudly with his axe, the vines obliterated, and a huge pit filled with green liquid.
The crowd cheered for Zhou Shan, shouting his name. In these end times, they needed heroes, and Zhou Shan and the seven saints were those heroes.
Lu Yin gripped his rod. He wasn't at Heaven-level yet. As Liu Sheng said, he hadn't absorbed energy crystals. He was on a different path to evolution, the true path of the stars. He looked up. "It's coming soon."
With Zhou Shan's protection, the group advanced smoothly. There were stronger creatures in the world, but they were rare.
A day later, the group reached Nanjing. Only then did many people break down in tears.
Nanjing was under martial law, surrounded by a massive dirt wall with evolvers watching the survivors enter. The city had shrunk, the outer areas abandoned, filled with wandering zombies. Without Zhou Shan, entering would have been a bloody battle.
Survivors were taken care of, while evolvers were given different arrangements.
The group had over 500 evolvers, a small number compared to the tens of thousands of survivors, proving how hard it was to kill mutated creatures.
If only zombies had energy crystals, there would be many more evolvers.
The camp was established by Zhou Shan to manage evolvers. All evolvers in Nanjing had to register and test their combat power and health.
The camp was vast, centered on Zhongshan, which Zhou Shan and the evolvers had taken a month to clear of zombies and mutated beasts.
The camp radiated out from Zhongshan, helping survivors reclaim Nanjing, making it one of the largest survivor bases in East China.
Zhongshan Camp was solemn and awe-inspiring, with evolvers in uniform moving about. New arrivals looked on with envy.
"Only half a year, and Saint Zhou created this huge organization. Incredible," someone remarked.
Another chimed in, "During the apocalypse, many hid while Saint Zhou established the camp. He will definitely dominate China."
Many agreed.
Lu Yin walked among the evolvers, observing the uniformed soldiers. These were real soldiers.
Despite the apocalypse, China hadn't collapsed. Instead, it had stabilized in a different way, with Zhou Shan representing the military, possibly all the seven saints. This was why the camp existed