Age of Evolution

This kind of identifier can detect whether an animal or an object possesses star power.

The five ghosts had already found out how Lin Zhen disappeared, and the Morphing Skill wasn’t such a remarkable secret; they quickly discovered it.

However, Lin Zhen, the bastard, had powerful star power. Even if he became an object right under their noses, those bumpkins on Baiyulan Star wouldn’t be able to find him.

Only this kind of Star Power Identifier could search for anything that had star power. The five ghosts ordered everyone to conduct a dragnet-style search, leaving absolutely no room for Lin Zhen to hide.

Though the residents of Baiyulan Star who were connected to the universe weren’t particularly strong, they were mostly martial artists, with many War God and Star Realm level individuals among them.

They could leap and fly, and with these identifiers that had a coverage range of up to a hundred meters, the search area was vast.

Under the threat of the seven Evil Stars in the arena, Baiyulan Star couldn’t put up any resistance. All residents who were able to walk were equipped with Star Power Identifiers and a massive manhunt was launched across the entire planet.

In the desert, grasslands, mountains, and Gobi, crowds with identifiers searched everywhere. This carpet-like search left no corner unchecked.

Even the rivers were patrolled by divers, and ships sailed across the oceans with identifiers hung on trawl nets, sweeping round after round.

All sorts of flying machines crisscrossed the skies, not missing a single bird, cloud, or raindrop!

The five ghosts wouldn’t believe that Lin Zhen could escape under these circumstances.

As soon as star power was discovered somewhere, Ying Huo and the others would immediately rush over to see if it was Lin Zhen’s transformation.

The grand dragnet operation continued into its twentieth day…

*********

“Mom, Mom! I don’t like this thing. I want to go home!”

A little girl with two braided horns followed behind her mother, holding a Star Power Identifier and pouting unhappily as she walked.

Her mother looked back and said, “Yaya, we’ll go home after we finish sweeping this area and meet up with the people across from us. Listen carefully to your headphones. If you hear a beeping sound, tell Mom where you saw the red dot.”

“Mom, why are we looking for the red dots?”

“Because, Yaya, the red dot is the bad guy, and we can only go home once we find him.”

“But Yaya thinks the people who forced us to come here are the bad guys!”

Her mother’s face changed in alarm, and she quickly covered Yaya’s mouth, “My good girl, you must not say such things. It would be terrible if someone heard.”

Yaya nodded slightly, aware of the severity of the situation; those people surrounding Baiyulan Star looked very fierce.

Moving away from her mother and returning to her designated area, Yaya walked slowly through the grass.

After walking for a short while, a beeping sound suddenly came from her headphones.

Nobody else could hear the sound, and everyone had a visor-like device in front of their eyes showing their exploration range. Yaya immediately saw a red dot right in front of her, very close by.

Yaya squatted down, lowering her head, and looked at the tiny thing in front of her.

It was a little black frog, pitch black with no impurities.

Its eyes were open, seemingly with a galaxy spinning inside, and appeared very mysterious.

This was the source of the star power.

Yaya looked down at the little frog, and the little frog looked up at her. Neither of them moved.

“You’re so ugly! You’re so black you look like a lump of coal.”

Yaya reached out her finger and gently pressed on the little frog. Its body was cold and smooth, like a piece of marble.

“But upon closer inspection, you’re quite cute too, hehe!”

After touching it a couple of times, Yaya hesitated, “They say to report any star power immediately, but if I report you, you might be taken away. What should I do?”

The little frog stuck out its fiery red tongue and gently licked Yaya’s palm as if begging her not to betray it.

Yaya glanced left and right to make sure no one was paying attention, then took a few clumsy steps, and grabbed a handful of mud to build a small house.

“You can live here, and with a house, you won’t have to worry about being found by others.”

Putting the little frog in the house, Yaya clapped her hands together and stood up.

“Big sister’s leaving now, bye little one!”

After saying that, Yaya took small steps and caught up with the crowd following her mom.

“Mom! I did something meaningful today!”

“Really? What did Yaya do?”

“Hehe… That’s my secret…”

*********

The little frog squatted inside the mud house, watching the crowd gradually go further away, and secretly sighed in relief.

This little frog was none other than Lin Zhen. Knowing that he couldn’t leave for the time being, Lin Zhen chose to focus on cultivating. His Dark Star Power was slowly increasing, and his Body Realm was also improving.

Lin Zhen could even transform into sand or plants, which would make it even harder for him to be discovered. However, there was a downside to sand and plants: they couldn’t move. If someone came searching, it would be too conspicuous to change into something else.

So Lin Zhen decided to transform into an animal instead, so he could sneak away when someone came searching.

Not too big or too small, Lin Zhen finally chose to become a black frog, inconspicuous.

Yet, after becoming a frog, the sensation of hiding in the mud got worse. In addition to cultivation, it took him a while to notice the approaching crowd.

This crowd formed a search circle, and it was only when they closed in that they could end their search. There were people searching in the sky, too, and they were using a Star Power Identifier with a diameter of 100 meters, leaving no place for Lin Zhen to hide above ground or underground.

That’s when a little girl named Yaya came in front of him.

Lin Zhen was prepared: if this little girl reported his location, he would immediately kill everyone here and quickly find another place to hide.

But unless it was absolutely necessary, Lin Zhen didn’t want to do that. The chance of being exposed was too high, and it would be easy for the Five Ghosts and Ying Huo to catch up with him, potentially being captured.

Furthermore, Lin Zhen didn’t want to kill ordinary people – they were just innocent victims.

But to his surprise, this little girl called Yaya didn’t report him and even built a mud hut for him.

Watching Yaya bounce away, Lin Zhen breathed a deep sigh of relief.

If he could survive this ordeal, he would give Yaya a future – a limitless, bright future.

***********

After this search, Lin Zhen spent three quiet months.

After all, searching for a planet is no easy task. With people searching in other places after this area, they wouldn’t return in a short time.

So Lin Zhen stayed peacefully on this prairie, living as a small green frog, but never stopping his cultivation.

In the third month, under the impetus of the Heart of Plants and Trees, Lin Zhen’s Dark Star finally made another breakthrough and reached the Late Stage of the Mesozoic Era.

This promotion brought Lin Zhen an additional 1200 Star Power.

After the 1200 increase in his main body’s Star Power, it had reached 9000!

His clone’s power also improved, with Star Power reaching 7000.

Under the condition of Star Energy Transfer, Lin Zhen’s total power had reached 16,000!

With this Star Power value, Lin Zhen was basically on par with the Five Ghosts or Ying Huo. In a one-on-one battle, he believed he could win. However, against two opponents, he wasn’t confident.

So Lin Zhen didn’t make any rash moves. If he appeared, he needed to have an absolute advantage; otherwise, it would be suicide, as his enemies were not limited to just the Five Ghosts and Ying Huo.

His main body’s power kept on slowly rising, working towards the Late Black Hole Stage. Only after his main body’s power advanced would Lin Zhen have the confidence to leave Baiyulan Star.

After three months of living this way, Lin Zhen knew he couldn’t stay in this open area any longer.

The Five Ghosts and their companions were losing patience. They no longer believed in the strength of Baiyulan Star’s residents and started bringing people from the Star System Arena.

The power of the seven Evil Stars was immeasurable. They controlled the entire 68th War Zone’s Star System Arena, making it extremely easy for them to find assistance.

This time, hundreds of millions of Star System Stage Strong Ones came!

Among them, there were over 10,000 powerful figures like Xuan Jiang with Star Power exceeding 10,000!

Every powerful figure with over 10,000 Star Power commanded a team of 10,000 Star System Stages. There were 10,000 such teams, and another large-scale search began on Baiyulan Star!

Seeing this lineup, Lin Zhen knew he had to change his hiding method.

“To hide perfectly, I need to become an even smaller object. As long as it’s not dust or microorganisms, I can change into any small thing.”

“Living organisms are too risky and will be the focus of the search; I can’t change into those anymore. But too small non-living things can’t move, which is also a drawback. What non-living thing can move?”

Lin Zhen’s gaze fell on a big river in the distance.

Nalan River was the largest river on Baiyulan Star, traversing the continent and flowing into the ocean.

“That’s it! I can transform into a grain of sand among the countless sands in Nalan River. The water will carry me without needing to move, and it won’t be easy to detect.”

“Even if someone discovers a faint Star Power here, it won’t be an easy task for them to find me among the countless grains of sand. Moreover, they have to be careful of my counterattack.”

Lin Zhen made up his mind, left his mud hut, and hopped towards the distant Nalan River.