Chapter 134: The Night of the King

On the way to Huojia Department, Xu Jin received another message of concern from Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao.

After briefly explaining to Cheng Yuexiao his current situation—being hunted by elite forces—the Grand Master suddenly asked, “Xu Jin, should I crush Chi Lin’s master Chi You right now? The elite forces chasing you are surely under his command.”

“Killing him would ease your pressure.”

After only a few breaths of thought, Xu Jin refused.

“Grand Master, things are fine as they are. At least I know where my threats are and where they’ll strike. Killing Chi You now would only create complications.”

“Very well. Make your own judgment based on your situation. If you need to kill Chi You, contact me immediately—it’ll take only a few breaths.” Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said.

“Thank you, Grand Master.”

Chi You must not die yet.

As long as Chi You lives, he will continue directing these elite forces to hunt him—at least for now.

On the surface, it appears these elites are chasing Xu Jin, but isn’t Xu Jin leading them by the nose?

If Chi You is killed, the entire Chi Lin tribe will descend into chaos, and Xu Jin might accidentally walk straight into their trap.

Half an hour later, Xu Jin used his Spirit-Scent Star Mark to locate Chi Xiang, who was waiting at the designated spot.

Chi Xiang was clearly startled when Xu Jin suddenly appeared.

In fact, after discovering Chi Xiang’s location, Xu Jin first activated his Stealth Star Art, scanned the surroundings, confirmed no ambushes, and only then approached Chi Xiang.

Xu Jin wasn’t foolish enough to trust a prisoner.

“Has your Chi Lin Heart Armor received any messages?” Xu Jin asked.

“My Divine Envoy, about fifteen minutes ago, the King warned through the Chi Lin Heart that enemy forces from Da Chen are advancing toward Huojia Department and ordered them to rush to their aid,” Chi Xiang said.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

The information was sparse, but the counter-inferences were abundant.

First, Chi Lin’s master Chi You does not monitor the Chi Lin Heart constantly—his alerts have a delay.

For instance, Xu Jin left Huoyuan Department half an hour ago, yet Chi You only issued the warning fifteen minutes ago.

The time lag was now clear.

“Good. Find a hiding spot and wait for my signal.”

After giving the order, Xu Jin rushed toward Huojia Department.

Xu Jin had no fear that Chi Xiang would betray him.

Even if Chi Xiang did send word, the elite forces would still need time to reach Huojia Department.

Upon arriving near Huojia Department, Xu Jin spent half a quarter-hour restoring his Star Force to peak, then stormed in.

Huojia Department clearly had Chi Lin Heart Armors; having received the alert, they were already on high alert.

But it made no difference.

In this age where power resides solely within the individual, unless one possesses arrays or star marks like Da Chen, no one can resist an enemy far exceeding their own strength.

The garrison left behind in Huojia Department was weaker than that of Huoli Department.

There was only one Star Forge Sixth Layer—no underestimation, yet Xu Jin slew him effortlessly.

Though he was Star Forge Sixth Layer, his Star Art proficiency was truly poor.

Then, Xu Jin slaughtered through the entire Huojia Department.

He killed over twenty Star Forge elites and nearly a hundred Cast-Star and Meal-Mist warriors.

The young chief of Huojia Department was stubborn—extremely defiant—so Xu Jin granted his wish.

But the women of the Huojia chief were not so resolute.

Under threat of death, they immediately revealed the location of the chief’s private treasure vault—the entrance was hidden inside a chest.

Quite secretive.

He successfully seized twelve fourth-tier Star Jade Tablets, over a hundred second-tier Star Jade Tablets, and twenty-two third-tier Star Jade Tablets.

The fourth-tier Star Jade Tablets were naturally stored in the Can Dou Platform; the second- and third-tier ones added over thirty strands of starlight to the Can Dou Platform.

Leaving Huojia Department, Xu Jin headed straight for the last of the Five Tribes: Huosong Department.

Less than fifteen minutes into his journey, the Chi Lin Heart Armor he’d seized from the Huojia young chief suddenly trembled.

This was a flaw of the Chi Lin Heart: it could transmit messages to any Chi Lin Heart Armor it had been refined with, but once it transmitted, every refined armor would react.

Xu Jin had already learned the Chi Lin Heart Armor’s message transmission method from Chi Xiang.

In essence, he now possessed the cipher key.

“Da Chen’s enemies have attacked Huosong Department! Chi Dian, what are you doing? Are you letting this enemy wipe out all five of our Chi Lin tribes?” This time, Chi Lin’s master not only sent an alert but also a reprimand.

Three departments had already been slaughtered; the Chi Lin tribe’s strength had been severely crippled.

Chi You even began to doubt: if this continued, could they possibly withstand Da Chen’s celestial troops when the Star Gate reopened in three months?

Or rather, what could they use to stand against them?

At this moment, Chi Dian and his elite forces had not yet reached Huojia Department, but they were close.

Upon receiving this alert, Chi Dian was still pondering strategy, but the Huosong chief, Chi Song, had had enough.

To hell with strategy.

Believing Chi Dian’s words had already cost three tribes their lives—if this continued, the last two would be wiped out too.

Remember, those early- and mid-Stage Star Forge elites were the future backbone and hope of each tribe!

“Go! Don’t head to Huojia—head straight to Huosong!” Chi Dian made his decision. He demanded collective action, but the Huosong chief, Chi Song, refused.

The previous three tribes had been rescued this way.

Result? All arrived too late—and were slaughtered upon arrival.

Clearly, the enemy moved faster, exploiting the time lag.

If they rushed now, they’d still be too late. So Chi Song strongly insisted that several late-Stage Star Forge warriors go ahead to Huosong alone.

Split into two groups.

Only then was there a chance of successful rescue.

After repeated setbacks, Chi Dian had no choice—his previous tactics had been wrong.

He could only obey the Huosong chief, Chi Song.

The Huojia chief had intended to return to his tribe to assess casualties, but Chi Dian blocked him using the King Chi You’s name.

Fifteen minutes later, Xu Jin arrived at Huosong Department. After restoring his Star Force outside, he stormed in.

Before he even killed half of Huosong’s Star Forge elites, five powerful Star Force auras surged into Huosong Department at blinding speed.

The strongest aura was unmistakably Star Forge Eighth Layer.

But the one leading the charge was Huosong’s chief, Chi Song.

Seeing the carnage in his tribe, Chi Song’s eyes turned red with rage. “Damned Da Chen bandits!”

Xu Jin glanced once and understood instantly.

They’d split up.

The elite force hunting him had divided, and now they’d caught up with this time gap.

One Star Forge Eighth Layer, four Star Forge Seventh Layer—unbeatable.

The moment he saw them, Xu Jin instantly activated his Lightning Star Mark and unleashed the Star Step at full power.

One step sent him over a hundred meters flying.

He gave Chi Dian, Chi Song, and the others no chance to encircle him—he broke out of Huosong Department.

“Chase him!”

Chi Dian, Chi Song, Chi Jia, Chi Li, and Chi Yuan naturally gave chase without pause.

They’d tracked this enemy for a full day before finally seeing his true form—they couldn’t let him escape.

Especially Chi Song, Chi Jia, and Chi Li, whose tribes had been slaughtered, were frenzied, pursuing Xu Jin with all their might.

But now, their speed differences became clear.

Chi Dian was fastest—when pushing to his limit, he flashed ninety meters per step; the other four Seventh Layer chiefs averaged seventy to eighty meters—no huge gap.

The gap wasn’t large, but over time, it widened.

After a hundred seconds, the six pursuers formed a straight line.

Xu Jin led, roughly a kilometer ahead of Chi Dian; Chi Dian had already pulled nearly two kilometers ahead of the four Seventh Layer chiefs.

As the chase continued, the distance grew ever greater.

Xu Jin frequently glanced back, calculating distances and timing, seeking an opportunity to kill Chi Dian, the Star Forge Eighth Layer.

If he eliminated this Eighth Layer warrior, his pressure would drop dramatically.

But the current distance was still insufficient.

If he turned back to fight, he’d have at most ten seconds.

Ten seconds was too risky.

One misstep, and he’d be surrounded.

If he could stretch the distance between Chi Dian and the four Seventh Layer warriors to over five kilometers, he’d have ample time.

Xu Jin deliberately kept his distance from Chi Dian under a kilometer, while the gap between Chi Dian and the other four Star Forge warriors widened further.

Three thousand meters. Four thousand. The others were nearly out of sight.

Just as Xu Jin believed the chance to kill the Star Forge Eighth Layer was imminent, Chi Dian suddenly slowed.

For an instant, Chi Dian turned back—and saw no trace of the four Seventh Layer chiefs. Cold sweat instantly drenched him.

He felt he had walked into a trap.

After all, the one he was chasing was the Chen Guo demon who had once fought six Star Refining experts alone and slain them all!

Slow down!

Chi Dian slowed without hesitation.

Seeing Chi Dian’s speed plummet, Xu Jin sighed inwardly.

This guy wasn’t stupid—he was alert enough—but Xu Jin had lost his chance to kill him.

In the next instant, Xu Jin unleashed the Star Step at full power; under Chi Dian’s slowed state, he vanished from Chi Dian’s sight in moments.

A few minutes later, four clan chieftains of Star Refining seventh realm caught up and asked Chi Dian how he’d lost the target. Chi Dian lied smoothly: after a clash, he’d been repelled, and the target had fled into the valley ahead, so he’d led the four chieftains after him.

One thing Chi Dian didn’t lie about: Xu Jin’s direction of disappearance was indeed toward the valley ahead.

But Xu Jin had merely made a wide circle and turned back toward Huosong Clan.

Five minutes later, Xu Jin reappeared outside Huosong Clan. This time, he didn’t restore his Star Force—he directly drew three strands of starlight from the Can Dou Platform, restoring his Star Force to peak, then vanished instantly and slipped into Huosong Clan.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin found the location where Huosong Clan’s Liushou elite rested.

These men were seated apart, recovering their Star Force.

In the next instant, Xu Jin launched a sudden attack, instantly killing one Star Refining sixth realm, then before the Chi Lin warriors could react, he slashed down several fifth and fourth realm experts—then fled swiftly before the elite could encircle him.

At once, Huosong Clan ignited wolf smoke to alert their clan leader.

But less than a minute later, Xu Jin reappeared, hidden, launching a surprise strike: he killed another Star Refining sixth realm and severely wounded a second, then vanished again.

Only one Star Refining sixth realm elite remained among the Liushou —now easier to deal with.

What could you do? Xu Jin had both super speed and invisibility.

One minute later, Xu Jin returned again.

Inside the valley, Chi Song, Huosong Clan’s chieftain chasing Xu Jin, stared in shock at the towering wolf smoke rising behind him.

“Our clan is under attack!”

“No! That demon has returned to the clan!”

“Quickly, reinforce!”

Chi Song roared and turned around, charging back.

The other clan chieftains, including Chi Dian, had no choice but to follow.

But anxiety was already etched on their faces.

They’d been chasing at high speed for fifteen minutes—their Star Force was heavily depleted. If they charged back at this pace, how much would they have left?

How much combat power could they still muster?

Each had their own thoughts.

On the way back to Huosong Clan, some chieftains, including Chi Dian, took the chance to restore Star Force; others slowed to conserve energy. Only Huosong Clan’s chieftain, Chi Song, pressed forward at full speed without regard for cost.

Going out, time had passed unnoticed. But returning, Chi Song felt these fifteen minutes stretched endlessly.

When he returned to the clan, chest heaving, he froze.

Corpses lay everywhere!

All the Star Refining sixth, fifth, and fourth realm elites who had been Liushou were dead.

And countless corpses of Huosong Clan warriors littered the ground.

“How could this happen?” “How could this happen? We’ve only been gone for fifteen minutes!”

Shhh!

Suddenly, a piercing whistle pierced the air. Chi Song saw a star arrow hurtling toward him—he instinctively punched out, aiming to shatter it.

But what shattered was his right arm!

His entire fist and forearm were obliterated by the star arrow.

“How could a star arrow be this strong?”

As Chi Song was blasted backward, grievously wounded, this thought flashed through his mind—but the next instant, a streak of starlight slammed into his chest, instantly tearing him apart.

Xu Jin’s form materialized—he had finally slain a Star Refining seventh realm and wiped out Huosong Clan’s elite.

He’d consumed thirteen strands of starlight total. Worth it.

Xu Jin glanced behind: in no more than two or three minutes, the three remaining Star Refining seventh and eighth realm experts—including Chi Dian—would arrive.

Should he now try to fight them head-on and kill them?

Or?

After only a few breaths of thought, Xu Jin made his decision—this opportunity was too rare!

Today, he’d kept these late-stage Star Refining experts chasing for so long, forcing them to expend energy nonstop for nearly fifteen minutes—their Star Force must be critically low.

Right now, they were at their weakest.

If he let today pass, with today’s carnage as precedent, it would be nearly impossible to ever separate them or drain their strength again!

He had to strike now, with full force.

It was just a few strands of starlight from the Can Dou Platform.

He’d accumulated plenty recently, and in the Huoxuan Star Region, he’d replenished even more with Star Jade Tablets.

If not now, when?

In the next instant, Xu Jin drew six strands of starlight from the Can Dou Platform into his body—his Star Force instantly returned to peak.

Then, in the shadow of a house near Chi Song’s corpse, Xu Jin vanished, concealed himself, calmed his breath, restored his strength, and waited in silence.

Two minutes later, Chi Dian and the other three arrived almost simultaneously at Huosong Clan, spaced no more than fifty meters apart.

When they saw the ground littered with corpses, they were stunned.

Seeing Chi Song’s body, Chi Dian and the others were visibly terrified.

“How could this happen!”

“How could this happen!” someone cried out in anguish.

“Chi Dian, immediately contact the King! Request reinforcements—we need help!” Chi Jia cried.

Chi Dian looked utterly shell-shocked.

Reinforcements?

The Wang Ting still had many Star Refining experts, but most were below sixth realm.

The Wang Ting had only two sixth realm experts and one seventh realm expert—how could they possibly send reinforcements? Unless they sent Prince Chi Meng—or worse, the King himself!

But would that even make sense?

It made no sense!

A single Chen Guo demon prodigy had turned the entire Huoxuan Star Region upside down, slaughtered them in chaos, and wiped out the elite Star Refining experts of four clans.

When the Star Gate opens in three months, and Chen Guo’s celestial troops arrive—what will they use to stop them?

Mistake!

Suddenly, Chi Dian realized the King might have made a fatal error.

This wasn’t seeking survival anymore—it was destroying the Chi Lin clan!

“No! I’m returning to Huoyuan Clan! I feel this bandit’s next target will be our last remaining Huoyuan Clan!” Huoyuan Clan’s chieftain, Chi Yuan, panicked.

“No!”

Chi Dian refused. “If you go back alone, you’ll be picked off one by one by that demon. We must ask the King for the demon’s location!”

Chi Dian pulled out his Chi Lin Heart Armor, bit his index finger, and dripped blood onto it, then waited with utmost reverence for the Chi Lin Heart’s reply.

But in that very instant, Chi Dian sensed an astonishing surge of Star Force.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out. As Chi Dian instinctively looked up, a lightning bolt as thick as a child’s arm smashed through his protective starlight, shattered his armor, and reduced him to a charred corpse.

Xu Jin’s Thunder Snake, infused with fifty percent of his Zhong Xing Palace Star Force, was no force Chi Dian could resist by accident.

Instantly slain.

“He’s here!”

“Here! Kill him!”

Chi Yuan, Chi Jia, and Chi Li instantly flew into a rage and charged.

But Xu Jin was slippery—he struck Chi Dian with the Thunder Snake and vanished instantly.

Another desperate chase ensued—but after only five li, the three remaining chieftains halted, faces grim.

“We chased like this before—and Chi Song and Chi Dian died. If we chase further, we’ll…” Chi Li said bleakly.

This ghostly enemy filled them with dread!

They couldn’t catch him, couldn’t detect him, couldn’t defeat him—and he could instantly kill a Star Refining eighth realm. How could they fight?

This battle was unwinnable!

“To the Wang Ting—we must go to the Wang Ting!

There, we’ll stay by the King’s side. With his power, we’ll surely be able to kill this monster!” Chi Li suggested.

“It’s our only choice. After we calm the Huosong Clan’s people, we leave.”

Shhh!

Just as the three prepared to depart, Xu Jin struck again—suddenly, one blow severely wounded Chi Li.

This time, Xu Jin abandoned guerrilla tactics—he chose direct confrontation.

If these men reached the Chi Lin Wang Ting and joined forces with its remaining elite, they’d become an even harder nut for Xu Jin to crack.

So they had to be killed now.

After ambushing and wounding one, Xu Jin stood alone against three Star Refining seventh realm experts—though difficult, he still had a chance.

Especially, Xu Jin had ample star force.

Just one minute into the intense battle, Chi Yuan showed signs of star force depletion.

After a day of forced march, there was almost no time to recover star force, especially after arriving at Huo Song Division, where star force was consumed at high speed with no chance to replenish.

Soon after the great battle began, his star force ran out.

That’s why Chi Yuan was the first to be killed.

But Xu Jin also paid a price—he blocked Chi Jia’s two attacks with his second-rank star weapon arm guards.

The second-rank star weapon on his left arm shattered on the spot.

But the tide of battle turned then.

Chi Yuan was killed, Chi Li was severely wounded; only Chi Jia remained. He held out for less than a minute. When the wounded Chi Li turned to flee, Chi Jia cursed him—and Xu Jin cut him down.

The wounded Chi Li had barely opened his mouth to beg for mercy when Xu Jin slew him.

Enemies of seventh-rank Star Refining who could threaten Xu Jin’s safety must not be left alive.

Seeing that he had finally slain this group of late-stage Star Refining elites, Xu Jin finally exhaled in relief.

Budebushuo ， Candoutaizhenshiqunzhanliqi 。

Without the starlight support from the Candou Platform, Xu Jin would have faced several times greater difficulty in killing these few.

Today, he had only consumed less than twenty strands of starlight from the Candou Platform.

Worth it!

And at that moment, the Chi Lin Xin Jia armor, into which Chi Dian had dripped blood—including the one in Xu Jin’s arms—began to pulse rapidly at different rhythms and shift colors.

“The Da Chen bandits are in Huo Yuan Division. Eliminate them at all costs.”

Xu Jin sneered and began his habitual looting, extracting star cores from the bodies of the Star Refining.

These star cores would count as battle merits and Dao merits upon return.

Most Star Refining of the Chi Lin clan were penniless.

But these clan leaders and Chi Dian all carried several pieces of Star Jade Gui.

Probably for restoring star force.

Star Jade Gui restore star force slowly, but their contained star force is vast.

The clan leaders and Chi Dian carried premium-grade fourth-rank Star Jade Gui—each had two or three, totaling twelve found.

This delighted Xu Jin greatly.

After gathering the thirty-six fourth-rank Star Jade Gui needed to upgrade the Candou Platform, he still had four left over.

That was pure profit.

He found twenty third-rank Star Jade Gui and tossed them all into the Candou Platform, converting them into starlight to offset the earlier battle’s consumption.

Two hours later, Xu Jin found another ten fourth-rank Star Jade Gui and over a hundred second- and third-rank Star Jade Gui in the Huo Yuan Division leader’s private treasury, adding over twenty more strands of starlight to his Candou Platform.

Overall, the number of starlight strands on Xu Jin’s Candou Platform had increased today.

After intense consumption, it rose from eighty strands to one hundred forty.

Each strand was an absolute pillar of Xu Jin’s confidence.

Xu Jin stopped attacking and found a safer spot, ate his fill, and immediately fell into deep sleep.

Today’s prolonged combat, back-to-back battles, had drained his soul force immensely and left him mentally exhausted!

As Xu Jin slept soundly, Chi You, the Lord of the Chi Lin Court, lay awake in restless fear all night.

Gone!

The elite forces sent out had lost contact!

Not only had they all lost contact, but among the four divisions, only Huo Yuan Division could still be reached—the others were completely silent.

This filled Chi You with terror.

He wanted to send out troops to investigate, but he knew well—if his elite force had truly been annihilated, what use would sending out these remaining early-stage Star Refining troops be?

For a time, Chi You was trapped in torment.

“Meng, I hope Chi Meng can break through to Star Refining ninth rank soon!” This was Chi You’s only hope.

August 13th, afternoon—this was the fifth day Xu Jin had appeared in the Huo Xuan Star Region.

At this moment, Xu Jin stood ten li outside the Chi Lin Court.

That morning, Xu Jin went straight to Huo Yuan Division, slaughtered its Star Refining elites and some cast-star warriors who dared resist, looted thoroughly, then followed the map to arrive outside the Chi Lin Court.

Now, Xu Jin was no longer in a hurry.

He had already gathered all the basic intelligence on the Chi Lin Court.

Under Lord Chi You stood one Star Refining seventh-rank, one sixth-rank, three fifth-rank, eight fourth-rank, and over forty early-stage Star Refining.

The court’s defensive strength was still formidable.

Moreover, Xu Jin did not know whether the court harbored hidden forces, so he did not rush to attack.

Instead, he settled down ten li outside the court to cultivate diligently.

Chi You, the Lord of Chi Lin, certainly knew Xu Jin had arrived near the court.

Ever since Xu Jin reached the court’s perimeter, the Chi Lin Court had shut its gates tightly, the atmosphere grown extremely tense, even ordinary warriors and clan members barred from entering or leaving.

One and a half days later, the star core in Xu Jin’s Zhong Xing Palace glowed brilliantly, perfectly round and radiant like a star—the hallmark of Cast-Star peak.

Last night, Xu Jin launched a surprise attack on the court, slaying the Star Refining seventh-rank expert and over ten early-stage Chi Lin warriors, throwing the entire Chi Lin Court into panic.

He also uncovered another crucial piece of intelligence.

Hidden within the Chi Lin Court was another Star Refining eighth-rank expert—the Prince Chi Meng.

And Prince Chi Meng could break through to Star Refining ninth rank at any moment.

This was a grave threat.

Today was the seventh day Xu Jin had entered the Huo Xuan Star Region.

By day, Xu Jin continued his arduous cultivation, pushing until nearly midnight.

The star core in his Xia Xing Palace also rapidly broke through to Cast-Star mid-stage.

Xu Jin sank his mind into the Zhai Xing Token: “Grand Preceptor, are you there?”

“Here.”

Instant reply.

This instant reply from the Grand Preceptor warmed Xu Jin and gave him security—this response speed was far more reliable than his ex-girlfriend’s in his past life.

“Grand Preceptor, I’m going to probe the Chi Lin Court again. If necessary, I’ll need you to step in and eliminate the Chi Lin Lord—timing must be precise.”

“Alright, I’ll be ready for your command,” Grand Preceptor Cheng Yuexiao chuckled.

“Cough, Grand Preceptor, you flatter me—I wouldn’t dare command you!” Xu Jin said.

Hearing this, Grand Preceptor Cheng Yuexiao smiled lightly. “Xu Jin, I still say this: I trust your strategic judgment, or else you wouldn’t have achieved success in the Huo Xuan Star Region. But if you encounter any situation you can’t handle, withdraw immediately.

Given your current state, I believe you can safely hold out until the Star Gate reopens—no need to risk it!”

“Grand Preceptor, rest assured—I understand.”

With that, Xu Jin rose to his feet and gazed at the Chi Lin Court in the night.

Tonight, he would slay the Lord!

Let’s see if the Prince shows himself!

(End of Chapter)