Who knew how much time had passed? Lu Yin once again spat out a mouthful of blood. A wave of qi exploded from his body, overturning his tent and spreading several hundred meters. The surveillance cameras outside the tent shattered, and trees were toppled layer by layer.
This commotion caught the attention of Figure's Vanguard. Immediately, two Vanguard Commanders rushed towards Lu Yin's location.
One of them was Feng Hong, and the other was an enchanting woman with curious eyes.
The two Vanguard Commanders appeared outside the ruins of Lu Yin's tent, looking inside. "Is that the new Vanguard Commander Lu Yin?" Feng Hong asked loudly, while the evolved army behind him remained cautious.
Soon, Lu Yin walked out of the tent's ruins, his face pale, his steps somewhat shaky. "My apologies for disturbing you two. I am indeed Lu Yin."
Feng Hong and the charming woman looked at Lu Yin in surprise. "Why are you so weak?"
Lu Yin gave a bitter smile. "I saw Figure Saint demonstrating a combat technique earlier, and I felt itchy to try it myself, but I failed and suffered some minor injuries."
Feng Hong understood, smiling. "Brother Lu is too eager. Combat techniques aren't something anyone can control, nor can they be mastered in a short time. Our Vanguard Commanders all have the opportunity to receive personal guidance from Figure Saint. You don't need to rush."
Lu Yin nodded profoundly in agreement. "Understood, thank you, Brother Feng, for the guidance."
Feng Hong waved his hand, completely devoid of the mentor's airs he had during the day. "No need to be polite, we're all brothers in Figure's Vanguard. We'll face the apocalypse together in the future, relying on each other as comrades. Alright, I'll have someone arrange a new place for you. You should rest and recover first. Oh, right, do you need a doctor to come?"
Lu Yin said, "No need. It's just superficial injuries and extreme exhaustion. No need to call a doctor."
Feng Hong nodded. "Good, then we'll be going. Brother Lu, please rest." With that, he winked at the charming woman.
The woman nodded, glanced at Lu Yin again, then left.
Lu Yin followed a soldier into a nearby tent. "I'll take my leave. Commander Lu, just call me if you have any instructions." The soldier saluted Lu Yin and withdrew.
Lu Yin nodded and entered the tent. His eyes became incredibly excited, with a hint of nervousness and anticipation. Body tempering was successful! Not only was it successful, but it also brought him an immense surprise. Thinking this, Lu Yin extended his hand, and a palm-sized die slowly appeared, emitting a hazy starlight. It had six faces, just like a normal die, each face representing a score, totaling six points.
This was a talent, a talent that only a very small number of cultivators could awaken after body tempering.
Talent was miraculous. No one knew where it came from. Many scholars in the universe believed that talent was humanity's deepest secret, representing one's ancient origins. However, this theory was merely speculation, and no one had truly researched talent.
Lu Yin didn't care about the origin of talent. He cared about the talent itself.
Before coming to Earth, he had heard countless times about the power of talents. Every cultivator with a talent was a prodigy, sought after by all major forces in the universe. The most famous event was that any talent-holding cultivator could directly join the Universal Youth Parliament.
Lu Yin's eyes glowed as he looked at the die. Although his talent was a bit... how should he put it, strange, its utility was what mattered most.
Looking at the die floating in the void, Lu Yin gently tapped it. The die spun rapidly, then slowly stopped. Its six faces began to change. Five of the faces' scores directly disappeared, leaving only one score. It was—one point.
Lu Yin stared at the one point. An unexpected function appeared in his mind: it could randomly obtain any item from anyone's Null Ring.
Lu Yin hadn't even reacted yet when the die emitted a beam of light that shot into the void, disappearing in a flash, as if opening a pathway. Then, a star fragment fell to the ground. The die became dim and lifeless, then directly vanished.
Lu Yin stared blankly at the star fragment that had fallen to the ground. This, this was what it helped him steal back, no, retrieve?
Lu Yin picked up the star fragment, examined it, then took out Yasta's personal terminal from his Null Ring. He inserted the star fragment, and a light screen appeared, displaying three large characters: Heavenly Star Art.
Lu Yin stared dazedly at the flashing screen: figures, the universe, nebulae, palm prints. A full half hour passed before the star fragment, originally inserted into the personal terminal, automatically disintegrated, which finally woke Lu Yin.
Lu Yin was shocked. He knew he had obtained something incredibly terrifying.
Heavenly Star Art was a cultivation technique for absorbing Star Energy, mimicking the movement of celestial bodies. Theoretically, for each celestial body mimicked, the speed of absorbing Star Energy would increase by one fold. Although this Heavenly Star Art was only elementary, it contained methods to mimic the movement of eight celestial bodies. In other words, as long as Lu Yin successfully cultivated it, his Star Energy absorption speed would increase by eight times.
Eight times! What terrifying efficiency! And within the Heavenly Star Art, there was also a combat technique called Heavenly Star Palm. A palm strike that manifested celestial bodies, incredibly powerful.
Lu Yin put away his personal terminal, his eyes excited. Heavenly Star Art! He had never even heard of it, but it was absolutely terrifying. Having such a powerful cultivation technique, it must have come from the inner universe.
Lu Yin suppressed his excitement. He hadn't expected his luck to be so heaven-defying. Logically, the die landing on one point meant the probability of getting a combat technique or cultivation method was extremely small. Even if it had stolen a pair of underwear for him, he wouldn't have been surprised. Yet, the first time, he obtained a heaven-defying cultivation technique like Heavenly Star Art. This technique alone was enough to shape his future.
Too bad it was only elementary.
Lu Yin shook his head and chuckled. He was overthinking. This kind of cultivation technique must be the treasure of a powerful force's sect. It was impossible for the complete set to be engraved on a star fragment. The preservation method was extremely strict. The disintegrated star fragment was obviously just newly engraved. It must have been stolen from some unlucky guy. It would be very, very difficult to obtain the complete set of cultivation techniques.
Lu Yin stopped thinking further. He walked out of the tent, found a tree, lay down on it, looked up at the sky, and recalled the cultivation method of Heavenly Star Art. Mimicking celestial bodies? He guessed he would be sleeping under the starry sky forever from now on.
At the same time, deep within the vast universe, a colossal, towering mountain slowly floated, surrounded by dozens of stars. At its very top, raging flames burned, looking like a cigarette butt from afar. Every few seconds, it would extinguish once, then reignite, and towering smoke would burn across the starry sky, as if adorning the dark universe with a white silk belt.
Inside the colossal mountain, a roar echoed throughout the universe. "What did you say? You little brat, the cultivation method is gone?! Did you give it to that stinky woman again?! Get your ass over here right now!"
In the dark universe, a young man ran out, feeling wronged, clutching his butt. He was quite disheveled. "Dad, don't accuse me! I didn't! It really disappeared! It's haunted!"
"You little brat, do you think your dad's a fool? Who can steal something from me without my knowing?! Get your ass over here right now!"
"No, Dad! It's really haunted!"
...
After a night, Lu Yin hadn't researched anything. Slightly fatigued, he walked into Zhongshan.
On the uppermost floor of Zhongshan's interior, a large conference room was already filled with people. The main seat at the head of the table was empty.
Lu Yin walked into the conference room. Everyone looked at him, their gazes ranging from curious to friendly to questioning. In short, all kinds of looks.
"Brother Lu, sit here," Feng Hong said first when he saw Lu Yin.
Lu Yin naturally sat beside him. On the other side was the charming woman he had met last night.
And in the corner opposite Lu Yin, was the woman with glasses he had seen once before.
Most of the people sitting here were Vanguard Commanders, along with some researchers.
A short while later, Zhou Shan walked into the conference room. His gaze swept around, pausing on Lu Yin, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. Then he sat at the head of the table, smiling. "Let me introduce everyone, Lu Yin, our new Vanguard Commander."
Lu Yin stood up, nodded to the people around him, and sat back down.
Introducing Lu Yin was just a formality. Next, the meeting discussed various matters, which Lu Yin completely tuned out until the meeting concluded half an hour later.
Everyone left, but Zhou Shan kept Lu Yin back alone.
"Lu Yin, yesterday I thought you hadn't cultivated by absorbing energy crystals, and I originally wanted to discuss it with you. It seems you had exhausted all your energy yesterday," Zhou Shan said, probing Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded, saying seriously, "Figure Saint, that alien was very strong. Even severely injured, he wasn't so easy to deal with. I also expended all my energy to kill him."
"I can tell. He was a Sky-level powerhouse. It's a miracle you could kill him," Zhou Shan said with a smile.
Lu Yin smiled but didn't reply.
"I heard you were at Figure's Vanguard yesterday but didn't agree to stay. Why?" Zhou Shan asked, looking at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin said, "I like freedom. I can't stand the military atmosphere."
Zhou Shan nodded, sighing. "Many people have that thought. Actually, with the apocalypse, humanity should unite. What can be overlooked should be overlooked."
"I understand, Figure Saint," Lu Yin replied.
Zhou Shan hummed. "How are your injuries?"
"They're fine, they'll recover quickly."
"That's the good thing about evolved humans; their recovery ability is strong. Actually, compared to ordinary people, evolved humans are more dangerous. Once they experience the taste of power, they'll never want to be weak again. The more they want to be powerful, the more they'll risk their lives. Countless people fall on this path, and even I don't know when I'll die," Zhou Shan said with emotion.