Chapter 713: Source Star and Forbidden Star

The stars shift and the heavens turn.

Time flies swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of years had passed...

Source Star.

Screech!

A cerulean spacecraft, its rear spewing brilliant flames, slowly docked at the spaceport.

As the hatch opened, a stream of human martial artists stepped down.

Most had youthful faces, yet every gesture radiated power—even the little girls effortlessly carried hundreds of jin in luggage without strain.

These were the “New Humans” of the interstellar age; even an ordinary person equaled a seventh- or eighth-grade martial artist of the old era.

If they trained martial arts further, the results were terrifying.

“Wow… this is really humanity’s ancestral star—Source Star?”

A boy with freckles on his face marveled: “All my years of studying and training, passing the Blue Star Academy entrance exam… it was worth it.”

Indeed, they were all exam candidates from other planets, now coming to Source Star for university.

“They say tens of thousands of years ago, Source Star was still in a feudal era…

where Void Realm martial artists were rare…”

A pale-skinned, bookish girl beside him spoke: “Above Void Realm, the Tower Ascension Realm was exceedingly rare; those who could survive in the cosmos—Cosmic Realm—didn’t exist at all. Later, the Eastern and Western continents unified, founding the Alliance’s first ‘Blue Star Academy.’ After tens of thousands of years of cultivation, the great master ‘Ximen Naidu’ ascended twelve towers and broke through into the Cosmic Realm—the Alliance’s greatest leader, the first Cosmic Realm martial artist!”

“Even now, Cosmic Realm masters are extraordinary. When will I become one like that?”

“I don’t ask for much—just graduating from university and breaking into the Ninth Grade, then reaching the Super Grade Void Realm would satisfy me.”

By now, the Alliance’s martial path had evolved: ancient nine-grade martial arts, even the First Grade Immortal Realm, were merely foundational stages.

Void Realm martial artists were barely considered minor experts on a planet; Tower Ascension Realm martial artists were decent experts.

After ascending twelve levels of the Tower Ascension Realm, one could break through into the Cosmic Realm.

Cosmic Realm martial artists could survive in the cosmos with their physical bodies, crossing the void—among the Alliance today, they were still top-tier experts.

“If I become a Cosmic Realm master, I can join the military and seek revenge against those scum of the Forbidden Star Federation.”

A brown-haired boy, barely one meter fifty tall, clenched his fists.

At the mention of “Forbidden Star Federation,” all the youths fell silent.

As if they’d heard of some great demon king.

“Our Source Star Alliance and the Forbidden Star Federation both originated from Source Star, but the Forbidden Star Federation is controlled by a group of ‘End Existences.’ They colonize countless life-bearing planets, using the cruelest methods to breed humans and martial artists… then harvest them in waves. What an evil crime!”

The bookish girl’s hands trembled as she spoke.

“The End Existences can extend their lives by devouring vast numbers of lives… this is the root of their breeding policy.”

A boy analyzed: “But research proves that even if one becomes an ‘End,’ the body may be immortal, yet the soul still decays… thus, most End Existences remain active for a time before falling into slumber. This is the Alliance’s greatest fortune—otherwise, if all End Existences awoke simultaneously, especially the ‘Ancients’ uniting to launch a blood sacrifice… it would be a civilization-ending disaster.”

“Hmph! We of the Alliance will never bow to those End Existences… even in death, we will never become their nourishment.”

The short boy gritted his teeth: “Since elementary school, we’ve all been forced to practice ‘Life-Defiling Poison Body Art’—making it hard for the End Existences to benefit from us… those vile Forbidden Star Federation members even ban the circulation of this art, branding anyone who cultivates or spreads it as a heinous criminal… it’s they who are truly guilty!”

“Exactly! Our Source Star Alliance will surely defeat the Federation!”

A heroic voice rang out.

All students looked up to see an intelligent warcraft landing.

The warcraft was painted entirely cerulean, surrounded by a hazy aura.

A martial artist clad in golden armor descended from it: “I am Bond, your instructor at Blue Star Academy. Welcome, new students. You may board my intelligent warcraft to campus—it will take only five minutes…”

“Yes, Instructor Bond.”

The students hurried aboard, their movements sharp and disciplined, like soldiers.

There was no choice: due to the conflict between the Source Star Alliance and the Forbidden Star Federation, all higher education institutions in the Alliance were effectively military academies, operating under militarized discipline.

Should the frontlines suffer defeat, the entire population would immediately enter a state of universal conscription—and not a single Alliance citizen would refuse, for they knew: if the Alliance fell, they would become the End Existences’ next meal.

Five minutes later, the warcraft halted atop a vast, immense island.

The island was nearly half the size of a continent, teeming with terrifying alien beasts.

At its center stood a academy, its cerulean energy shield opening to allow the intelligent warcraft to dock smoothly on the landing pad.

“This is… Blue Star Academy?”

The short student, who hated the Forbidden Star Federation most, stepped down and saw row upon row of the latest intelligent warcraft.

In the distance stood dozens of towering white marble statues, each a hundred meters tall.

Their expressions ranged from stern to solemn—twelve in total.

“Those are… the Twelve Greats of Blue Star Academy! Ximen Naidu is among them.”

The bookish girl gazed in awe: “I’ve seen their images countless times in the records, but seeing them in person still feels overwhelming…”

“Bloodletter Kuni, Lord of Azure Clouds Fengbo… both famed Cosmic Realm masters.”

A boy beside her counted them off: “And of course, the Primordial War God—Ximen Naidu… and the oldest of all, the founding dean of Blue Star Academy—the ‘Martial Madman.’ They say he was only Tower Ascension Realm, and died of illness not long after founding the academy… yet without doubt, he laid the foundation for the unification of the Eastern and Western continents and the operation of Blue Star Academy. His contributions to True Martial Sciences were pivotal—bridging past and future.”

“Now, I’ll take you on a tour of the academy. First, pay homage to the Twelve Statues… this is an ancient tradition.”

Bond smiled: “It’s said… these great beings left opportunities within their statues, bestowing them upon you, the younger generation. Come along now…”

He led the way; the new students followed obediently.

Blue Star Academy was crowded, especially along the main avenue where the Twelve Statues stood, teeming with all manner of humanoid beings.

Some had four arms; others were covered in black fur with tails behind their backs…

“These are your seniors. The stranger their appearance, the more alien beasts they’ve hunted, and the greater their chance of awakening the True Martial Sacred Body. Some have even awakened partial manifestations of the Twelve Aspects, passing these dominant genes to their descendants—forming distinct human branches, like the Four-Armed Clan, the Sai-Ape Clan…”

Bond explained to the new students.

These new students came from different planets; some had undergone cosmic radiation, giving them bodily mutations as well.

Pointed ears or a third eye on the forehead—common enough.

The short boy overheard two new students whispering: “There’s a rumor outside… the stranger you look, the sooner you die. To awaken Aspects, you must eat powerful alien beast meat. The beasts outside Blue Star Academy are extremely strong—even rivaling Void Realm and Tower Ascension Realm. Don’t go hunting unless you’re strong enough.”

“Alright, let’s begin with the first statue—‘The Great Macaul.’ He was the thirty-seventh dean of Blue Star Academy, who once served…”

Bond led them before the statue of an old man.

The bookish girl chuckled softly and turned to the short boy: “Hi, I’m Liu Ruxu… what’s your name?”

“Vic.”

The short boy replied: “Aren’t you listening to the instructor?”

“I’m sick of this. I’ve memorized every detail backward and forward… besides…”

Liu Ruxu leaned close to Vic, lowering her voice: “Do you really believe there’s any opportunity here? Even if there once was, Blue Star Academy has operated for tens of thousands of years—what geniuses haven’t been found? It’s all been mined dry by now.”

“Then why still hold this ceremony?”

Vic was slightly startled.

“This ‘deception’ is a tradition—senior students or parents collude to trick us, a little joke to teach us early about the cruelty of society,” Liu Ruxu smiled lightly. “Many schools have this custom, don’t they?”

“No… I heard that’s a kindergarten-level vulgar habit,” Vic’s face darkened.

At this moment, they had followed Instructor Bond to the final statue.

“The Oldest, the Founding Dean, the Peacebringer—Master Wu Kuangtu.”

Bond smiled: “I don’t need to introduce him—his deeds are known to all of you.”

Vic followed the crowd and reached out to touch the statue.

‘This statue’s material clearly can’t have lasted tens of thousands of years—it’s been refurbished countless times…’

‘If there was any opportunity, it would’ve been taken long ago.’

After touching it, he became even more certain.

But just then, Vic glanced accidentally—and his eyes met the statue’s radiant gaze.

His head instantly rang, and he felt dizzy.

Fortunately, the sensation came quickly and vanished just as fast…

Vic felt puzzled, but soon underwent his enrollment physical exam, which showed perfect health—no issues at all—and he let it go.

Late night.

In the dormitory.

Vic, seated in meditation to resist sleep, suddenly found his consciousness transported to another space.

Around him, everything was gray and misty; stone steps stretched endlessly upward, as if leading to a god’s palace.

At the very top, a pair of eyes—weathered by eons yet pure as a child’s—looked down.