Chapter 452: Choice and the Star Fall Awakening Art

Gao Jie Ming's gaze settled on the Star Fall Witch, still in a state of exhilaration, her soul halo rippling faintly with excitement.

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck his mind, and he instantly understood the true meaning behind Master Clark's earlier words.

Master Clark said Star Fall "might not make it in time for this war" not because she couldn't rebuild her body or restore her combat power within eighty years.

The real issue was that, after obtaining this cultivation agreement, Norlen Workshop's rational decision-makers could never again permit her to personally step into such a dangerous, life-or-death conflict between factions.

Though Martial Arts Students who secured a Level-Two cultivation agreement were rare geniuses, among Norlen Workshop's hundreds of Norlen Academies, each intake still produced seven or eight such talents.

They were future talent reserves worth protecting—but not irreplaceable.

But a Level-One cultivation agreement…

Gao Jie Ming silently calculated: since Norlen Workshop's founding, across the territories of Norlen Workshop, the adjacent Tower of Annihilation, and the Chaos Cult—three ancient rivals entangled for countless millennia—the Star Fall Witch was likely the very first recipient.

No, given the revolutionary nature of her research, she was almost certainly the first.

This was no longer merely Norlen Workshop's treasure—it was a strategic asset flagged by the highest echelons of the Star Ring Federation as "potentially driving a civilizational leap."

To send such a being into the battlefield, to participate in a high-intensity Wushi war of uncertain outcome, where death could come at any moment?

From the most rational perspective of self-interest, this would be unforgivable stupidity.

She must remain in the safest rear, fully focused on refining her theories and advancing research into living plane Wushi ization.

The long-term benefits and strategic value she could deliver far exceeded any minor role she might play on the battlefield.

Even if Norlen Workshop Buxing lost this three-way conflict and suffered devastating damage.

As long as Star Fall and her research endured, the Workshop retained its core "seed" and "trump card"—the very foundation for future resurgence.

This logic applied equally at the level of the Star Ring Federation.

Realizing this, the heavy weight Gao Jie Ming had felt about the impending Wushi war eased slightly.

At this moment, the Star Fall Witch seemed to have finally calmed from the overwhelming shock of receiving the Level-One agreement.

Her soul's radiance stabilized, though her eyes gleamed brighter than ever before.

Seeing this, Gao Jie Ming rose to take his leave: "Senior, though I came here to attend your promotion celebration, given your current condition and the state of the 'plane' below, the formal festivities will have to be postponed."

"So I'll take my leave now. Once everything is settled and your body has recovered, we'll properly celebrate you."

Sister Wei Ao Ao also nodded, her expression returning to its usual calm: "Yes, since the most dangerous phase is over and you now have the Federation's full support, we shouldn't linger. Master just said we must return to prepare for the coming 'commotion.'"

Master Clark drained the last sip of his hot drink, set down the cup, paused thoughtfully, then spoke: "I'll stay."

All three turned their gazes toward him.

Master Clark's tone was matter-of-fact: "I'm deeply interested in this new living plane."

He looked at the Star Fall Witch. "If you don't object, I'd like to remain here as the first teacher to this 'little one,' guiding its initial contact with Wushi knowledge and observing and recording its growth data as a prototype of a living plane Wushi."

Gao Jie Ming and Sister Wei Ao Ao both showed a flicker of surprise, then immediately understood.

A living plane was an extraordinarily gifted, peculiar sentient lifeform; its growth process, thought patterns, and power evolution held unparalleled appeal for any Wushi seeking to push the boundaries of knowledge.

Had they not each faced pressing war-related pressures demanding their attention, they too might have been tempted to stay and witness firsthand how this unprecedented "miracle" unfolded.

Gao Jie Ming's thoughts shifted slightly, and he glanced again at his own master.

He recalled how, on the Flame Frost Plane, Master Clark had shown extraordinary interest in the naturally born living plane "Flame Frost Will," collecting vast amounts of data.

Now, facing this artificially catalyzed, potentially even more potent newborn plane, it was only natural for his master to show even greater interest.

Perhaps his master's deeper research lay in the realms of "life," "spirituality," or related laws?

But the thought passed quickly, unexamined.

His master's research was vast and profound—beyond Gao Jie Ming's current comprehension.

When the Star Fall Witch heard Master Kelake was willing to stay as the Enlightenment teacher of the "Star Fall Plane," her first reaction was joy—this was an extraordinary blessing!

With this sixth-rank peak Grand Wushi personally instructing her, Little Green would gain the most solid foundation possible.

Yet immediately, she felt a pang of sadness at the thought of her friend and junior leaving.

Then she suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said: "Wait! Hold on a moment!"

Her soul-body shot off with a whoosh, leaving only a streak of light.

Not long after, she rushed back, hovering with a mana terminal cradled in her hands, fingers flying across its surface.

Soon, Gao Jie Ming, Sister Wei Ao Ao, and Master Clark's mana terminals all received a notification.

Gao Jie Ming opened his terminal with mild confusion—the screen immediately projected a staggeringly complex, exquisitely intricate three-dimensional Wushu model.

Countless tiny runes, like stars, were embedded within multidimensional energy circuits, layered and nested in endless cycles, radiating a strange, gentle sense of "vitality" and "enlightenment."

Even as a static model, it gave the impression of being on the verge of "coming alive."

"This is…" Gao Jie Ming carefully examined the model's structural details.

Sister Wei Ao Ao, having spent more time with her friend, was more familiar with Star Fall's research style and rune preferences.

After gazing intently for a moment, her eyes lit with understanding as she looked up at Star Fall: "This is… the core Wushu you used to activate the plane?"

"Yes!" The Star Fall Witch nodded vigorously, her face glowing with pride and shared joy. "I named it 'Star Fall Awakening Art 1.0'! It's the central achievement of a series I developed independently after deeply studying the 'Imaginary Element' properties Gao Jie Ming provided, combined with my own understanding of spiritual laws!"

She explained: "Its effect is to grant clear spiritual awareness to objects lacking consciousness—or possessing chaotic consciousness—without relying on 'Imaginary Elements,' through specific energy resonance and information injection."

"Of course, the strength and direction of that awareness depend on the target's baseline, the complexity of the injected information, and the energy intensity. If the corresponding array is scaled large enough and the energy supply sufficiently vast, theoretically, it could be used to catalyze plane activation!"

"But this is merely the crudest initial version—if scaled too large, the risk of runaway Spacetime rises dramatically, so for now, avoid attempting plane activation entirely."

Gao Jie Ming stared at the exquisitely crafted "Star Fall Awakening Art" model on the screen, marveling inwardly.

He wasn't surprised that the Star Fall Witch could reverse-engineer from his provided spiritual energy (Imaginary Element) sample a technique achieving "awakening" without spiritual energy.

After all, absorbing the strengths of other civilizations to strengthen oneself was the very foundation of Wushi civilization.

They need not fully comprehend the underlying principles of spiritual energy as an alien force; as long as they could record all observable "structural changes" in matter, energy, and information caused by that energy when triggering a phenomenon—and then replicate those structural changes within the Wushi system—they could achieve similar or identical effects!

This was a pragmatic technological approach based on phenomenon observation and structural imitation.

First achieve "functional," then gradually uncover "why it works."

When Star Fall eventually fully grasped the deeper principles behind these "structural changes," her "Awakening Art" would be truly complete.

At that point, perhaps—as envisioned—she could awaken all things with a mere gesture, birthing an army composed of living planes!

"This is my thank-you gift," the Star Fall Witch said, looking at the three of them earnestly. "The Federation's first batch of aid funds and resources haven't been approved yet—I'm broke, with only this research left. I can only repay your risk in coming to assist me with knowledge. I hope you won't find it inadequate."

Gao Jie Ming and the other two exchanged glances, each seeing satisfaction in the others' eyes.

This gift carried immense weight.

For Sister Wei Ao Ao, this Wushu model involving spirituality and creation might offer entirely new insights and inspiration for her research into the Pain Law or alchemical innovation.

For Master Clark, the model itself contained Star Fall's unique understanding of spiritual laws—combined with his observations of living planes, its value was incalculable.

For Gao Jie Ming, the significance of this gift was especially profound.

Though the "Star Fall Awakening Art" was a spiritual-energy-free imitation, its model itself revealed, in reverse, the most fundamental, core "structural changes" in matter and energy triggered by spiritual energy during the activation of "spirituality" and catalysis of "life"!

Studying this model deeply meant analyzing, from a completely new perspective, the microscopic mechanisms by which spiritual energy acted upon "spirituality."

This would provide immeasurable assistance in deepening his mastery of the spiritual energy law—particularly in exploring its applications in high-end fields like "life creation" and "consciousness awakening."

If fully understood, it might drastically shorten the time required for him to raise his spiritual energy law mastery to 100%.

"This gift is extremely precious. Thank you, Senior," Gao Jie Ming bowed solemnly to the Star Fall Witch.

Sister Wei Ao Ao and Master Clark both gave slight nods, expressing recognition and gratitude.

(End of Chapter)