Lu Yin looked at Zhou Shan. What he said was true; the so-called Seven Saints of China, Sky-level powerhouses, were merely ants in the vast universe. Any random student there possessed Sky-level strength.
Sky-level, in the universe, was called Probing Realm, merely the second step of cultivation. The first step was Observation Realm, meaning just observing like a fledgling bird. He was currently in Observation Realm. After that was Probing Realm, learning to explore the strengthening of the human body. The third step was Fusion Realm, becoming initially powerful, touching the limits of the human body. The fourth step was Extreme Realm, breaking through the human body's limits, capable of traversing the void. Above that were Explorers, who could stroll through the void. Such a level of character was too distant; once they appeared, with a flick of their hand, mountains and rivers could be overturned, and continents could shatter.
And Explorers still couldn't reach the level of being able to create Body Tempering Arts. The path of cultivation was long and vast. It was unlikely for Zhou Shan, a rogue cultivator using energy crystals, to reach the Explorer stage. The more powerful one became, the more one could feel one's own insignificance.
"Ah, why am I telling you all this? Come on, let's go out and see. By now, Zhao Yu should be confronting my Vanguard Commanders," Zhou Shan said with a casual smile, leading Lu Yin out of the conference room.
Lu Yin silently followed, quickly arriving at the square where he had been before. Through the glass, he just happened to see a Vanguard Commander being defeated by Zhao Yu, falling awkwardly to the ground.
Zhao Yu was dressed in combat attire, acting sharply and decisively. Lu Yin had witnessed this long ago. At this moment, she was pressing Feng Hong hard.
Zhou Shan watched from above, shaking his head. "Even among Earth-level, there are strong and weak, and the difference is huge. Zhao Yu can easily defeat my Vanguard Commander without even using combat techniques."
Lu Yin looked down, saying in a deep voice, "Her combat technique is triggered by a type of plant."
Zhou Shan smiled. "Of course. Whether it's Snow Maiden or Saint Luo, their ice palm combat techniques that can freeze the human body all rely on external objects. The human body itself cannot produce such an effect."
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. Cannot produce? Wrong. Powerful cultivation methods, combat techniques, and even talents can change natural phenomena. It's just that Earth hasn't come into contact with them yet. His Heavenly Star Art even mimicked the movement of celestial bodies. No one would believe these things if he told them.
Below, Feng Hong was quickly defeated. Immediately after, two more Vanguard Commanders were defeated, and no one was willing to step up.
Zhao Yu held her head high, scanning the surroundings. "I heard that Figure's Vanguard Commanders are iron-blooded warriors. What's wrong? No one is willing to spar with me?"
Feng Hong and the others looked grim.
Above, Zhou Shan laughed. "The three Snow Maidens under Saint Luo are called invincible among Earth-level. They truly have some skill."
At this moment, Zhao Yu's gaze looked upwards, staring directly at Lu Yin. She extended her hand, beckoning with her finger, displaying a spirited and heroic posture.
Feng Hong and the others looked up in surprise.
Lu Yin's eyebrow twitched. This was a provocation.
Zhou Shan smiled. "It seems you defeated her yesterday, and she's not convinced."
"Yesterday's battle was indecisive," Lu Yin said.
Zhou Shan said, "Then go and have a duel. We can't let Figure's Vanguard lose too much face."
Lu Yin nodded, turned, and left.
In the square, hundreds of evolved humans discussed animatedly. Many evolved humans looked at Zhao Yu with reverence. A woman who could make Figure's Vanguard Commanders afraid to fight was definitely an idol.
Zhao Yu saw Lu Yin coming down, took a deep breath, her eyes serious. She was indeed unconvinced by yesterday's battle. She had originally held the upper hand but was inexplicably defeated. She really wanted to know more about that combat technique.
From a distance, Feng Hong and the others watched Lu Yin slowly approach and couldn't help but say, "Brother Lu, be careful. This woman can use the ice palm combat technique, it's very powerful."
Lu Yin nodded, walking step by step towards Zhao Yu. "Please."
Zhao Yu's eyes were full of fighting spirit. She leaped up, reached out, and pulled out a dagger from somewhere, then rushed forward to attack just like by the crater. The dagger tore through the air, reflecting cold light.
Lu Yin easily dodged. He was completely different today than he was yesterday. Yesterday, he was just a physically strong ordinary person. Today, he was a cultivator, an Observation Realm cultivator.
Lu Yin's dodging was skillful, but it made Feng Hong and the others sweat. Zhao Yu's attack speed became faster and faster; even the dagger carried a frosty aura, making the air appear white and the temperature drop sharply.
The square's ground shattered. Zhao Yu swung her dagger, like a whirlwind, blocking Lu Yin from all directions. Streams of qi scattered, piercing walls and making many evolved humans gasp for breath.
Lu Yin stared at Zhao Yu, then suddenly extended his hand. Their figures intertwined, and he moved with effortless grace. In his hand, was a dagger emitting a cold aura.
Everyone held their breath, silently watching the scene. There, Zhao Yu was stunned. Her hand was empty; the dagger had been snatched.
Feng Hong and the others were surprised, then elated. "Well done, Brother Lu!"
"Brother Lu is amazing!"
...
Lu Yin turned to face Zhao Yu, the dagger in his hand twirled, then he casually threw it back to Zhao Yu. "Do you want to continue?"
Zhao Yu stared at Lu Yin. "How did you do that?"
Lu Yin shrugged. "Eyesight, hand speed. You can't do without either."
Nonsense. This word popped into everyone's mind.
Zhao Yu said with a complicated expression, "You win. To take my dagger without a scratch, no one in Earth-level should be your opponent. You are very strong."
Lu Yin chuckled. These people's vision was too narrow. These fledglings in the Observation Realm who didn't even have proper combat techniques were at the bottom of all major academies in the universe. How could they be qualified to say such things? But Zhao Yu was right; Lu Yin was confident that no one in the Observation Realm should be his opponent.
Zhao Yu collected her dagger with some disappointment. At this moment, she realized Lu Yin was different from yesterday. "You, were you out of energy yesterday?"
Lu Yin didn't explain. He turned and walked away. He wanted to go out and explore. The desolate mountains didn't have what he was looking for; perhaps it was hidden elsewhere.
Zhao Yu watched Lu Yin leave. She really wanted to ask about the combat technique from yesterday, but combat techniques were personal, and she couldn't bring herself to ask.
Feng Hong and the others were somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected the newly joined Vanguard Commander to be so formidable. The rumors that he killed the alien must be true. One must know that the alien was a Sky-level powerhouse, albeit a heavily injured one.
Lu Yin became a Vanguard Commander. Although he had no real power, Figure's Vanguard still assigned him a hundred soldiers for his command.
Leaving Zhongshan, Lu Yin waved his hand. Behind him, a young evolved soldier stepped forward. "Commander, your orders?"
Lu Yin said indifferently, "Do you know where the former hot weapon depot of Jinling is?"
The soldier replied, "Northwest direction."
Lu Yin took out a map. "Mark it for me."
The soldier took out a pen and drew a circle on the map.
Lu Yin looked at it. "You can go back. I'll go by myself."
The soldier said awkwardly, "Commander, the arsenal was destroyed at the beginning of the apocalypse. Some remaining hot weapons have been transferred. If you need any, you can apply to Figure Saint."
Lu Yin nodded. "Alright, got it. You can go back." With that, Lu Yin walked alone towards the northwest.
These soldiers were given to him by Figure's Vanguard, partly for his command, partly to monitor him. Lu Yin had no intention of hiding his whereabouts. What he was looking for was hidden very meticulously. Blindly searching would be useless; it would only alert others. But now that he was openly searching, his Earth-level strength wouldn't cause too much alarm, and perhaps he could find it.
Lu Yin's guess was not wrong. As soon as he left, someone reported to Zhou Shan.
Zhou Shan's eyes narrowed. "Arsenal? Why is he looking for that place?"
The woman with glasses walked over, pushing up her glasses. "The arsenal has been destroyed. He's probably not looking for hot weapons, but I'm not sure what exactly he's looking for."
"Let him be. We have no secrets here," Zhou Shan smiled, not caring.
Jinling centered around Zhongshan, radiating outwards. The closer to Zhongshan, the better the geographical location, and the safer it was.
This city no longer had the planning of peaceful times. On the streets, in flowerbeds, and even in river channels, people lived, blindly enduring day after day in fear.
Conversely, some people lived very happily. Their moral bottom line had collapsed, and they did whatever they wanted. Along the way, Lu Yin saw many evolved humans bullying survivors. Even if Figure's Vanguard soldiers wanted to intervene, they couldn't always be in time.
This was the state of this world. For Earth, everything today was uncertain, but Lu Yin knew that this was evolution, one civilization evolving towards another, and the price would be considerable.
The sky was gloomy. Soon, heavy rain poured down, washing the ground. Red blood mixed with various garbage spread with the rain.
Lu Yin found a restaurant that looked relatively clean and sat down. The entrance of the restaurant was filled with squatting survivors. Whenever the restaurant brought out food scraps, they would be frantically snatched.
"Get out, get away! Remember to wash the buckets clean and return them, otherwise, next time we'll change the group for cleaning!" the restaurant waiter shouted loudly, clearly an evolved human.