Chapter 10: The Purpose of the Star Lamp

On the way back to the dorm, Xu Jin had already decided how to use the hundred taels of silver.

The goal was clear: he must break through to Meal Mist First Stage by the sixth day, when this year’s Star Pointing Season ended.

From fragments of Ning’s words, Xu Jin understood that the better one’s cultivation talent appeared, the more reward resources one received.

The primary criterion outsiders used to judge cultivation talent was the number of Star Pointing days.

This point could not be changed, so Xu Jin’s focus shifted to the second criterion outsiders used to judge cultivation talent: the time it took to break through to Meal Mist First Stage.

Gaining eligibility to enter the Dao Academy’s Inner Court was only part of it.

The goal was set, but the silver still had to be spent wisely, no waste allowed.

Beyond reaching the goal, he needed to save some silver to improve his family’s dire situation.

In the short term—at least for the next few months—Xu Jin couldn’t earn much silver.

After tidying the dorm and lying down, Xu Jin had worked out his plan.

To ensure the breakthrough, he would add one Awakening Spirit Pill each morning and evening, costing ten taels per day, sixty taels over six days.

For the remaining six days, he needed at least twelve Blood- replenishing Pills and three Foundation-Strengthening Pills; he currently had seven Blood-replenishing Pills and one Foundation-Strengthening Pill, so he planned to buy three more Foundation-Strengthening Pills and seven more Blood-replenishing Pills, keeping a slight surplus.

Only by breaking through to Meal Mist First Stage by the end of the Star Pointing Season could he change the survival conditions for himself and his family.

Inside the dorm, the other boys were already asleep; snores rose and fell, teeth-grinding and flatulence followed one after another, the smell even more delightful.

“Brother Jin, there’s foot-washing water I’ve fetched for you in the wooden tub outside.” Qian Xiaohu, still awake, whispered as Xu Jin returned.

“Mm, good.”

Xu Jin didn’t bother with politeness; he rinsed quickly and went to bed. Seeing Qian Xiaohu still staring wide-eyed, he couldn’t help reminding him.

“If you keep daydreaming like this, it’ll ruin your Star Pointing results tomorrow.”

“Get some sleep. Aim to succeed at Star Pointing tomorrow.” Xu Jin said.

“Brother Jin, do you think I’ll succeed at Star Pointing tomorrow?”

“You’ve worked this hard, paid this much attention, never skipped a day of cultivation, and tomorrow you’ve got Awakening Spirit Pills to help you—if you don’t succeed, who will?” Xu Jin said.

“Really?” Qian Xiaohu’s eyes lit up.

“Really!” Xu Jin’s tone was utterly certain.

“Then I’m at ease.”

Xu Jin’s words seemed to give Qian Xiaohu immense affirmation and confidence; instantly, he relaxed, and within moments, fell into deep sleep.

Xu Jin himself didn’t sleep right away; he reviewed his cultivation process once more.

The most important cultivation insight he’d gained today: the more times he performed the Five Stars Killing Fist consecutively, the better the body-refining effect.

Use up that sliver of starlight in one go.

Theoretically, Xu Jin could perform the Five Stars Killing Fist more than ten times consecutively.

That would be the evening session.

After some thought, Xu Jin decided to use the time on the Can Dou Platform for the evening session.

Performing the Five Stars Killing Fist more than ten times consecutively would still draw astonishment if noticed.

After all, even the top Star Pointing candidate of this stage couldn’t perform the Five Stars Killing Fist ten times in one breath.

But during the evening session, darkness covered everything, lit only by moonlight and torches around the square—visibility was terrible.

You couldn’t see clearly even a few meters away.

Even if someone noticed, they could just say, “You must’ve misseen,” and get away with it.

Thus, Xu Jin could maximize the use of that sliver of starlight on the Can Dou Platform.

Before sleeping, Xu Jin’s mind stirred, and his spirit once again descended onto the Can Dou Platform.

On the Can Dou Platform, only a single sliver of starlight remained.

Xu Jin’s mind sank into the small figure at the platform’s center and tried bowing again—but no starlight fell.

It seemed he had to wait until tomorrow.

Only one sliver of starlight could be obtained per day from the Can Dou Platform.

For now, one sliver seemed plenty, sufficient—but as Xu Jin’s cultivation advanced, it would become too little.

His mind shifted again, focusing on the jade tablet at the very center of the Can Dou Platform.

【First-Stage Can Dou Platform】

【Master: Xu Jin】

【Graced by the Stars: One bow daily grants one sliver of starlight】

【Star Lamp: One】

【Can Nurture: Zero】

【Can Ascend】

Xu Jin felt puzzled—what was the use of this Star Lamp?

And what was “Can Nurture”?

“Can Ascend”?

How did one ascend?

The moment these questions surfaced, another line of small characters appeared on the jade tablet.

【Can Ascend: Requires ten slivers of starlight, nine jade tablets, one hundred jin of refined iron, ten jin of purple copper, one jin of silver, one liang of gold.】

As his mind stirred, the ascension conditions appeared—remarkably mystical, yet delivering a crushing blow to Xu Jin.

The blow of poverty.

Ten slivers of starlight were manageable—save ten days. Nine jade tablets would cost roughly forty to fifty taels. He didn’t know the exact price of refined iron, but estimated at least ten or so taels. The rest, roughly estimated, totaled over one hundred taels.

Broke!

The investment was huge—but what changes would the Can Dou Platform undergo after ascending?

As he pondered, Xu Jin turned his attention again to the 【Can Nurture】 entry, hoping for some hint.

But after a long while, nothing changed. He shifted his focus to the 【Star Lamp】, wondering if he’d find anything.

The instant his mind touched the 【Star Lamp】, his spirit was suddenly pulled into a swirl of flame-light.

Within the flame-light, Xu Jin saw another version of himself, radiant with starlight.

Or rather, the entire flame-light was radiant with starlight.

What was the use of this?

Curious, Xu Jin moved his limbs casually—his movements were incredibly fluid, just like a real body.

But still, he couldn’t find any practical use?

“I wonder if practicing the Five Stars Killing Fist here has any body-refining effect?”

A bold idea suddenly struck Xu Jin—he immediately began practicing.

One round of the Five Stars Killing Fist flowed perfectly.

He performed several rounds in succession, then withdrew his mind and checked his body’s condition—only to be disappointed: no effect.

Practicing the Five Stars Killing Fist inside the Star Lamp had no body-refining effect.

Then what the hell was the Star Lamp for?

Xu Jin felt disappointed. So far, the only useful thing about the Can Dou Platform was the single sliver of starlight obtained through bowing.

This “Can Nurture” and “Star Lamp” seemed useless.

Better sleep first.

Only with a good night’s rest could his spirit power fully recover, allowing him to draw more starlight for cultivation and body-refining tomorrow.

As he thought this, Xu Jin suddenly froze.

Starlight?

Suddenly, Xu Jin understood the purpose of the Star Lamp.

Zero-cost practice.

For example, the Five Stars Killing Fist had been taught to Xu Jin and the other boys two months ago—they’d learned it thoroughly—but it had never produced any body-refining effect.

The reason was simple: without star energy, the Five Stars Killing Fist was no different from the calisthenics of his past life—just a warm-up.

Now that Xu Jin had successfully Star Pointed and possessed star energy within him, practicing the Five Stars Killing Fist with star energy made all the difference—the body-refining effect became obvious.

But the quantity was extremely limited.

Because each round of the Five Stars Killing Fist consumed star energy.

Currently, the star energy Meal Mist cultivators gained during morning and evening sessions was extremely scarce.

Thus, each boy could practice the Five Stars Killing Fist only a limited number of times per day.

The amount of star energy one could obtain determined how many times one could practice the Five Stars Killing Fist.

Most practiced around fifteen times daily.

After mastering it, one round took two or three minutes—half an hour was enough.

To practice more, there was no star energy to support it.

Practicing more was pointless.

But after practicing inside the Star Lamp, Xu Jin realized: the sensation of performing the Five Stars Killing Fist inside the Star Lamp was identical to performing it with star energy—except for the lack of body-refining effect.

Could it improve proficiency?

The only function he could currently identify was this.

Did the Five Stars Killing Fist have a proficiency level or cultivation stage?

Yes!

This answer is definitive.

The instructor who teaches the Five Dou Killing Fist is Cui Tianqi; when he previously taught the technique to the boys, he emphasized that the Five Dou Killing Fist centers on killing and has exceptional practicality.

Although it is merely a low-grade human-tier body-refining star-fist art, if mastered, its practicality surpasses that of a mid-grade human-tier star art.

Yet when teaching the Five Dou Killing Fist back then, apart from Yue Daqi, none of the boys had yet succeeded in igniting their stars.

So when someone asked Instructor Cui Tianqi about the levels of the Five Dou Killing Fist, Cui Tianqi said nothing, only that knowing too much before igniting one’s star would do more harm than good.

Once the star is ignited and star force is cultivated through prolonged practice of the Five Dou Killing Fist, one will naturally come to understand.

Since he could practice the Five Dou Killing Fist without consuming his own star force, Xu Jin did not idle—he sank his spirit into the Star Lamp and focused solely on cultivating the Five Dou Killing Fist.

You know what? Soon, Xu Jin began to gain something unusual.

During daytime practice, the main goal was body refinement; little attention was paid to the Five Dou Killing Fist itself.

But now, practicing the Five Dou Killing Fist inside the Star Lamp, Xu Jin’s focus returned entirely to the technique itself.

Even during practice, he recalled certain key points Instructor Cui had taught.

The Five Dou Killing Fist is not purely slow or fast—each posture varies in speed.

For instance, Instructor Cui had said that in the Yin-Yang posture, the opening must be swift, but the closing must be slow; only slowness ensures endurance.

He had never thought of this before, nor had he ever deeply practiced it.

Now, he finally felt it.

When initiating the Yin-Yang posture, star force surged within him like thunder; at the closing, it abruptly slowed and halted, surging in waves like ocean tides—until faintly, a half-sphere of starlight formed on the Star Lamp’s miniature figure’s surface.

But this starlight shield vanished in an instant.

He could occasionally produce it.

Realizing this mystery, Xu Jin repeatedly practiced the Five Dou Killing Fist inside the Star Lamp, trying to recreate the starlight shield.

Xu Jin felt this might be the key point of the Five Dou Killing Fist!

Only when the midnight drumbeat rang did Xu Jin snap back to awareness, reluctantly withdrawing from the Star Lamp.

He must sleep to restore his spiritual energy; otherwise, tomorrow’s morning cultivation would surely suffer.

(End of Chapter)