Everyone was stunned. That was Erde—an exceptionally strong warrior who had been specially admitted to the Astral Hall, recognized by all as the strongest among them, and someone capable of fighting evenly against Zhang Dingtian—yet he was crippled by a single palm strike.
Zhang Dingtian was equally shocked. This person had become much stronger than before; even he hadn't been confident about blocking that palm strike.
Lu Yin looked at his right palm—his third star had just activated, and it seemed unexpectedly powerful.
The Heavenly Star Palm was not just a simple star explosion attack. Each star explosion added cumulative damage, so the three-star Heavenly Star Palm far surpassed the two-star version.
Lu Yin had once speculated that when the third star activated, he might be comparable to Zhang Dingtian. But now he knew he wasn't just comparable—he had surpassed Zhang Dingtian.
In the distance, a student stared in shock at his personal terminal: "Three, 3,700 combat power—Transcendent Realm power level."
All the students felt chills down their spines. Transcendent Realm warriors were absolute prodigies, only attained by the universe's most gifted. Now, this border planet had two such warriors, and next to them was a gifted cultivator. Was this really an ordinary planet?
Granny was stunned. That bastard had actually become so powerful.
Lu Yin clenched his fist, scanned all the students with a smile, and suddenly charged toward one of them.
That student was also among the academy's strongest. Seeing Lu Yin rush over terrified him so much that he didn't even try to resist and immediately tried to flee. Unfortunately, Lu Yin grabbed his shoulder, crushed his ring armor with a palm press, and with a low growl, "Stay still," Lu Yin punched the student on the forehead, knocking him out cold. Then he continued rushing at other students.
The scene was bizarre—Lu Yin was like a lion charging into a flock of sheep. The Heavenly Star Palm made him invincible. Many students' attacks were useless against him, and the armor protected him tightly, leaving the students helpless.
After Lu Yin knocked out eight students, everyone scattered in panic. No one wanted to play anymore. They couldn't hit him, couldn't defend themselves—what was the point?
Haidian tried to escape immediately but was caught by the ever-watchful Baixue.
"Get lost, woman!" Haidian roared angrily. He didn't want to be knocked out. He knew the bastard must have a purpose knocking out students. Recalling the fates of Bailie and Willow, Haidian gasped coldly. That bastard wasn't trying to kidnap all the trial students, was he?
With a swoosh, as Haidian broke through the ice to escape, a terrifying slash cut across the ground, stopping him dead in his tracks. Ahead, Zhang Dingtian held a long knife and stared coldly at Haidian. "Did I let you leave?"
Haidian froze for a moment, then a sharp pain exploded in the back of his head, and he lost consciousness.
Baixue withdrew her hand, her eyes showing slight excitement—as if she found this very satisfying.
Zhang Dingtian stared at Baixue, dumbfounded. It was the first time he'd seen her use a blunt strike. He had to admit, Lu Yin's actions were quite provocative.
Farther away, Guleis and Balalu stared blankly at the city ruins, their faces twitching. "Am I seeing things, or is that shameless bastard capturing students?"
Balalu smiled bitterly, "You're not seeing things. He really is capturing students—prestigious trial students, elites from star academies—rounded up like rabbits. This might be the first time in trial history."
In every trial before, students acted like gods high above others, only competing with themselves. But now, even the strongest among them were captured one by one, terrified like rabbits. Fewer than five managed to escape.
When the city calmed down, besides the ruined streets, nineteen knocked-out students lay pitifully on the ground.
Lu Yin wiped his sweat, exhausted. Finally done. The few who escaped were too fast—masters of footwork and battle skills. He couldn't catch them, so he gave up.
"There are nineteen here, plus Bailie and Willow, that's twenty-one. Huh, Zhou Shan even brought those two from Blue Mountain Academy? That makes twenty-three students—not a small number," Lu Yin counted as he efficiently searched through them one by one.
Zhang Dingtian and Baixue watched in silence; his actions were too practiced.
Erde wasn't knocked out, just severely injured. Seeing this scene, his eyes widened. "You're that starry sky thief."
Lu Yin glanced at him. "Don't say nonsense. These are spoils of war. I can't just fight for nothing."
Erde was furious.
At that moment, Granny also came out to help Lu Yin handle the spoils.
Lu Yin didn't blame her; she was also a trial student. Not helping fight in the city was already good enough.
The battle was tiring. Although Lu Yin's armor absorbed much damage, his internal organs still suffered shock and needed rest. Zhang Dingtian and Baixue were even worse off—neither wanted to move. Zhou Shan and Wu Sheng were badly injured, and Lu Yin had Granny treat them before they were taken back to the city by the Huaying Evolutionary Corps for emergency treatment.
The entire Huaying Evolutionary Corps mobilized to clean up the ruins.
Two hours later, all the knocked-out students gradually woke up, only to find themselves tied together, glaring at Lu Yin in anger.
Especially after realizing they had been robbed, their fury was so intense it made them cough up blood.
"You're the starry sky thief, the one who robbed Ian!" someone shouted.
Ian was standing right beside him. "Hey, don't use me as an example, it's embarrassing."
"It's definitely you who robbed Ian, and now you dare to rob us too, you bandit, you outlaw!" another voice yelled.
Ian was speechless.
Lu Yin sneered, stepped in front of them, raised his palm, and many students were startled, quickly falling silent.
Lu Yin withdrew his hand and was about to say something to Zhang Dingtian and the others when his eyes suddenly narrowed as he looked up at the sky. At the same time, countless people across Earth looked up. Meteors streaked across the sky.
One meteor after another crossed the horizon.
Lu Yin was shocked. This was the arrival of the second group of trial participants.
"How can it be so early?" Lu Yin asked puzzledly, looking at Granny.
Granny said, "The second group rarely appears during the trials; I don't know either."
"It should be counted from the moment the notification was received," Baixue came over, her expression serious.
Zhang Dingtian gazed at the high sky, his eyes narrowing. He saw three meteors flying toward them.
Lu Yin immediately shouted, "Take all these people back to the capital city, quickly!"
Soon, a loud explosion sounded from afar. Inside the capital city, countless survivors were terrified. The despair they faced today rivaled that of doomsday. Not only were dozens of Heavenly-level warriors fighting fiercely, but now meteorites were also falling. Was humanity truly at its end?
The steel city walls crumbled into ruins. Lu Yin and the others stood on the debris, watching a meteorite crash down just a few thousand meters from the city's gathering area. They could even see an alien spaceship surrounded by flames.
Boom!
The ground trembled again. Huge cracks spread toward the city. Zhang Dingtian casually waved his hand, tearing the earth apart with his energy to block the cracks.
In the next moment, a scorching heat wave swept through, carrying endless dust that blanketed the city. Everyone felt the pressure descend.
Soon, when the dust cleared, what appeared before everyone was a small circular spaceship, three meters in diameter, identical to the one Yasta had before. It was a single-person spacecraft.
The ground was blasted into a huge conical crater.
More explosions sounded in the distance.
Lu Yin narrowed his eyes. Three meteors had fallen, all arriving at once. This was the second group of trial participants, heading straight for the Starry Sky Tenth Academy—those eager to achieve results in the trial.
Erde, captured nearby, stared fixedly at the spaceship, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Come on, let these natives witness what a prodigy really is, what true strength looks like."
Click.
The hatch of the circular spaceship opened. Hot steam billowed out as a hand reached out, gripping the edge of the ship. Then, a figure emerged, stepping into the sunlight and lifting his head.
Before everyone stood a handsome man, his gaze carrying a faint smile.
The man floated down gently after exiting the ship and stepped onto the ground. He didn't look at Lu Yin or the others but instead scanned the surroundings, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Seeing the man, Lu Yin's eyes narrowed sharply. Danger—extreme danger. This person gave him a very threatening feeling. He glanced down at his personal terminal: combat power 3,000, peak Transcendent Realm. Clearly the same level of power, so why did this man feel so dangerous?
It wasn't just Lu Yin. Zhang Dingtian, Baixue, Granny, and even Erde all felt an intense sense of danger the moment they saw the man. This gentle-looking man seemed to hide an overwhelming pressure that made it hard to breathe.
"Who is he?" Lu Yin tapped Erde's head and asked.
Erde stared blankly at the man, shook his head, and said in confusion, "I don't know."
Lu Yin squinted. The man still hadn't looked at them, completely ignoring their presence. Was this arrogance silently etched into his bones, indescribable?