Chapter 13: The Most Intense

Xu Jin sank his spirit into the Star Lamp and studied for a long while but could not figure out what “solidifiable” meant.

Helpless, his spirit returned to the Refracting Platform.

On the Refracting Platform, a strand of starlight floated—this strand had been obtained through today’s Refracting Bowing—and the platform still held only one Star Lamp and one jade tablet.

Then where exactly was this “solidifiable” property meant to be solidified?

Xu Jin again sank his spirit into the jade tablet; when his focus settled on the line 【Star Art: Basic Star Shield, Solidifiable】, the Star Lamp suddenly appeared before his eyes, and the “Basic Star Shield” within the Star Art instantly transformed into a speck of starlight, flying into the Star Lamp.

After a flash of radiance across the Star Lamp, a layer of scale-like star patterns suddenly appeared both inside and outside the lamp, shimmering under its brilliant glow.

Is this solidification?

As Xu Jin puzzled over it, he looked again at the jade tablet.

【First-Stage Refracting Platform】

【Master: Xu Jin】

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

【Star Lamp: Solidified Star Art—Basic Star Shield; replaceable in eight days.】

【Cultivable Item: Zero】

【Star Art: Basic Star Shield, Solidified】

【Can Be Upgraded】

The sudden change in the jade tablet’s text instantly made Xu Jin understand: solidification had succeeded.

But what use was there in solidifying this Star Art?

Xu Jin immediately sank his spirit into the Star Lamp to test it.

Less than a minute later, delight appeared on his face—he understood the effect of solidification, at least within the Star Lamp’s training space.

The effect was similar to the perfected state of the Five Stars Killing Fist.

Previously, when Xu Jin practiced the Yin-Yang Form within the Star Lamp, he could always summon a Star Shield.

But currently, his Yin-Yang Form was only just slightly perfected; he needed to complete all three movements before he could seal a Star Shield from his starlight.

Yet after solidifying the Basic Star Shield, he could summon a Star Shield with any gesture.

Just like how Master Cui’s thick beard had demonstrated.

So now, Xu Jin could summon a Star Shield effortlessly within the Star Lamp—what about in reality?

At this thought, his heart began pounding wildly.

Because if this were true, its value was incalculable.

According to Master Cui’s words, he had trained for five or six years to reach his current level, only then able to summon these basic Star Arts at will.

But if Xu Jin could achieve this merely through solidification, then—

At this thought, Xu Jin told Qian Xiaohu, who was still pondering, that he was leaving early—he could hardly wait to test it, to find out whether he could now summon the solidified Star Art in reality.

The Dao Academy was large; behind the dormitories lay a small grove. In his past life, this would have been sacred ground; now it was abandoned, empty, and conveniently suited Xu Jin.

First, Xu Jin practiced the Yin-Yang Form in the grove.

After completing the three movements, as his starlight surged fiercely, on the third movement he successfully sealed a starlight shield over his chest; seeing it, he was overjoyed.

In this world, he had finally unleashed his first basic Star Art—finally possessing a modicum of self-preservation.

This starlight shield barely protected his upper chest and abdomen; it was only because he had not yet broken through to Meal of Mist Level One that he could not, like Master Cui, summon it anywhere on his body or move it at will.

The starlight consumption was also considerable.

When he first sealed the shield, Xu Jin noticed that the starlight of his star pattern had dropped by a quarter; even now, while maintaining it, the starlight continued to drain, albeit slowly.

With his current starlight limit, he could perform the Five Stars Killing Fist just over twice; by this calculation, he could unleash the Basic Star Shield at most four times before his starlight ran out.

Thus, if one strand of starlight drawn from the Refracting Platform could sustain ten rounds of the Five Stars Killing Fist, then one strand could support twenty uses of the Basic Star Shield.

With a subtle thought, the Star Shield summoned by the Killing Fist dissolved; Xu Jin gently guided his spirit toward the Star Lamp—the star patterns on its surface flickered once, instantly drawing starlight from within him, and in an instant, a Star Shield solidified before his chest.

This astonishing speed instantly brought two words to Xu Jin’s mind.

Instant cast!

Xu Jin estimated: even with his slightly perfected Five Stars Killing Fist, to complete the three movements and summon a Star Shield—even at maximum speed—required two or three seconds. Even if the Five Stars Killing Fist were fully perfected, any single movement could summon a Star Shield, but still required time.

About half a second to one second.

Only after the Five Stars Killing Fist reached perfection could one achieve instant cast—thought moves, shield appears.

Of course, even then, some time was needed—perhaps less than 0.1 seconds.

According to Master Cui, even those with exceptional talent required two or three years of hard training to achieve instant cast.

Those with average talent might not achieve it even after five or six years.

Yet Xu Jin, after solidifying the Star Art within the Star Lamp, could already do it.

And replaceable in eight days?

Does that mean only after eight days can he solidify another Star Art?

Xu Jin carefully observed and studied the Basic Star Shield summoned from the solidified Star Art, making his conclusions: the starlight consumed by both shields was identical.

Their size also appeared identical.

But whether it was an illusion or not, Xu Jin felt the solidified shield seemed thicker—would its defensive power be stronger in combat?

He considered testing it, but quickly dismissed the idea.

First, it was inconvenient to find someone to test with; second, his primary goal now was breaking through to Meal of Mist Level One—starlight was extremely precious and must not be wasted.

After all, two Star Shields already consumed the starlight of one full round of the Five Stars Killing Fist.

This was a critical moment—he could not afford to waste starlight frivolously.

After all, a single Awakening Pill costing five taels of silver could only grant him two extra rounds of the Five Stars Killing Fist.

Evening practice was the same as yesterday: after taking one Blood-Replenishing Pill and one Foundation-Strengthening Pill, Xu Jin drew the strand of starlight from the Refracting Platform and performed twelve and a half rounds of the Five Stars Killing Fist—the body-refining effect remained astonishing.

A minor interruption occurred before evening practice: Xu Jin spent half an hour training within the Star Lamp to solve the problem of accidentally summoning a Star Shield during the Yin-Yang Form.

Summoning a Star Shield consumed a quarter of his starlight—too disruptive to body-refining.

Solving this problem on his own under normal circumstances would be extremely difficult, but with the Star Lamp, it was far easier.

Slightly adjusting the speed of his fist movements allowed him to avoid summoning a Star Shield without compromising his body-refining results.

With four days remaining until the end of the Star-Pointing Season, the youths had become extremely diligent.

Whether they had yet succeeded in Star-Pointing or had already succeeded, all the youths were working hard.

Those who had not yet succeeded were frantic—only four days left; they must find a way to succeed in Star-Pointing.

If they failed, their entire lives would be destined for a different path.

Many youths began voluntarily adding extra practice after evening sessions, but Ning Yuchan persuaded them to stop.

Hastiness defeats purpose.

At the final moment, the more desperate one becomes, the less likely one is to succeed in Star-Pointing.

Rather, maintaining a calm mind, with the accumulation of the past two months, still offered a chance of success.

Many understood Ning Yuchan’s reasoning, but few truly listened and acted upon it.

The youths who had succeeded in Star-Pointing were equally focused.

Many were taking elixirs to cultivate.

After all, once Star-Pointing succeeded, their futures—seen by many—would be entirely different, their value elevated, and they could borrow silver or even attract investment.

Those who grasped this point were not merely Xu Jin.

Xu Jin was simply more proactive.

The reason these Star-Pointing-successful youths worked so hard was that after the Star-Pointing Season ended, those wishing to remain at the Dao Academy had three options.

Inner Court, Middle Court, Outer Court.

The differences in treatment among each court were enormous—indeed, entering which court after the Star-Pointing Season meant entering a different social stratum.

The Outer Court was simple: all who succeeded in Star-Pointing could enter.

The Inner Court, needless to say, offered the highest-tier treatment; reportedly, its cultivation resources were more than ten times those of the Middle Court.

But the requirements for entering the Inner Court were rigidly fixed: only those with an “A-Upper” rating gained direct entry.

Success in Star-Pointing within three days meant an “A-Upper” rating.

An “A-Middle” rating meant success within ten days; if one broke through to Meal of Mist Level Five by the end of the Star-Pointing Season, one could also enter the Inner Court directly.

An “A-Lower” rating meant success within thirty days; if one broke through to Meal of Mist Level Five by the season’s end, one might gain entry to the Inner Court.

Thus, Ren Xiaoxiang, Lu Xianbing, and Zhou Du—who succeeded on day twenty-one—were pushing themselves especially hard.

If they entered the Inner Court, their future horizons would be vastly different.

Others, including Xu Jin, were striving to enter the Middle Court.

All Star-Pointing youths understood that after the season ended, the Middle Court and Outer Court would be entirely different worlds.

But one piece of news instantly turned entering the Middle Court into the most fiercely competitive, most “intense” pursuit.

It also doubled the difficulty of Xu Jin’s goal to enter the Middle Court.

(End of Chapter)