Chapter 138

The scene of the Great Chen National Academy's Autumn Examination Secret Realm had already changed.

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao sat alone on a high platform.

Below the high platform were two rows of seats, and many people were already seated. The high-ranking officials of the Great Chen National Academy had all arrived, and even Dean Dong Zhao and Ning Yuchan, who had seen Xu Jin not long ago, were in their seats.

"Reporting to the Grand Master, all relevant personnel have arrived." Following the arrival of the last Vice-Dean, Head Instructor Yu Da said.

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao, who was sitting alone, stood up instantly, his gaze sweeping over the National Academy's Supervisor, the Left and Right Libations, the four Deans, the twelve Vice-Deans, and Dong Zhao, Ning Yuchan, and Yu Da.

These were all the people who knew that Xu Jin was trapped in the Fire Splendor Star Domain.

But Cheng Yuexiao knew very well that this matter had actually already spread.

The rebellion of the Red Scale clan in the Fire Splendor Star Domain had caused the prices of second-tier materials on the market to skyrocket recently; this was not only within Great Chen but also outside Great Chen, and it was no longer a secret.

The fact that the direct disciple Xu Jin was trapped was also no secret.

However, more than ninety percent of people believed that Xu Jin would die in battle in the Fire Splendor Star Domain, including the Deans and Vice-Deans present; most people judged it this way.

Therefore, if the fact that Xu Jin had returned alive was not handled, it would immediately become explosive news.

This matter could not be suppressed.

But in any case, Xu Jin still had to be protected.

Xu Jin had not only quelled the rebellion in the Fire Splendor Star Domain this time but had also disrupted a major event that some people had been preparing for several years.

"I have summoned you all to tell you one thing: the Fire Splendor Star Domain has been quelled."

As soon as Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said this, it was like a thunderbolt, stirring up a thousand waves.

Many high-ranking officials of the Great Chen National Academy below the platform had shocked expressions. One of the four Deans, Kou Jing, stood up directly and asked, "May I ask the Grand Master, who quelled the Fire Splendor Star Domain, and how was it quelled? When was it quelled?"

Others were discussing it heatedly, and a few who reacted quickly had already sent messages out through their Star-Plucking Tokens.

"It was quelled just today."

"The primary credit for quelling the Fire Splendor Star Domain goes to the direct disciple Xu Jin, who was previously trapped in the Fire Splendor Star Domain."

"As for the details of the quelling, a battle report will be submitted to the imperial court in the future. Today, I can also mention a few points to you.

Jinshan Academy has cultivated a good disciple; he is both brave and resourceful. In a situation where he was trapped alone in a desperate domain, after I slew the Red Scale Lord Chi You who was causing trouble in the Fire Splendor Star Domain, with the cooperation of my Spirit-Soul clone, he slew more than ten late-stage Refine Star powerhouses in the Fire Splendor Star Domain, slew dozens of mid-stage and early-stage rebel generals, installed a puppet new king, and regained control of the Fire Splendor Star Domain," Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said.

After speaking, he added, "Of course, I also paid a significant price; the Spirit-Soul clone I left in the Fire Splendor Star Domain was lost."

If Xu Jin were here, he would definitely be shocked.

This Grand Master didn't even blink when lying; these lies were woven one after another.

With Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao saying this, the group of National Academy high-ranking officials, who were originally extremely shocked, all showed expressions of relief.

If it were said that this Xu Jin, after being trapped in the Fire Splendor Star Domain, had single-handedly quelled the Fire Splendor Star Domain, that would be too terrifying—it would be the reappearance of the Grand Master from twenty-some years ago.

He would also be a supreme genius that Great Chen could only produce once in a hundred years; as long as he grew up smoothly, he would definitely be a supreme, dashing figure of Great Chen in the future.

However, having the Grand Master's help when quelling the Fire Splendor Star Domain meant that the Grand Master's clone must have exerted great effort; otherwise, it wouldn't have been lost.

Under these circumstances, Xu Jin's value or talent had to be downgraded; he wouldn't be quite so highly sought after.

But it was only not quite so highly sought after.

His previous first place in the Autumn Examination, especially first place in the Heaven-Ascending Staircase, was a solid achievement.

His Forge Star achievement was currently unknown, but with first place in the Autumn Examination, a superior-grade Forge Star should be guaranteed.

Coupled with the battle record of quelling the Fire Splendor Star Domain, it could even compensate for the deficiencies in his family background.

For a time, many Deans and Vice-Deans began to calculate whether they should take this direct disciple Xu Jin under their wing, and if they did, how they could snatch him from others.

"May I ask the Grand Master, since the Fire Splendor Star Domain has been quelled, in whose hands does the peace or control of the Fire Splendor Star Domain lie?

Or rather, who controls the Fire Splendor Star Domain now?" Dean Kou Jing asked again.

As soon as this was said, the entire secret realm became quiet; this was the most critical and core question.

The interests involved here were too enormous.

The benefits obtained from refining and controlling a Star Domain were actually only a part of the wealth; the interests at other levels were what were truly important and truly valued by everyone.

"Xu Jin quelled it, so naturally, the new king is controlled by Xu Jin, and the Red Scale Heart of the Fire Splendor Star Domain is naturally refined and controlled by Xu Jin," Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said.

This point could not be hidden.

Because many subsequent matters would require the cooperation of Xu Jin, the controller.

In an instant, a huge uproar was stirred up.

All kinds of voices rang out.

"Isn't this too unsafe?"

"If someone kills Xu Jin, wouldn't this Fire Splendor Star Domain be lost again?"

"I'm afraid Xu Jin won't be able to hold it."

"Giving a second-tier Star Domain to a Forge Star Realm controller like Xu Jin—isn't that too wasteful?"

All kinds of questioning voices rose one after another, especially from the high-ranking officials who had previously actively organized disciples to prepare to suppress the Fire Splendor Star Domain again; their opinions were the strongest at this moment.

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao tapped the tabletop lightly with his finger. "Twenty-some years ago, I was also in the Forge Star Realm, and I also refined and controlled the Fire Splendor Star Domain!

I could do it, so Xu Jin can too!

This merit was achieved in a desperate situation, in a ten-dead-no-life scenario, by killing the enemy and quelling the rebellion!

This merit is a merit of serving the country with one's body and sacrificing oneself to kill the enemy!

This merit belongs to Xu Jin; it is the foundation of our Great Chen, the root of our Great Chen National Academy!

Unless one day Xu Jin voluntarily passes it on to someone else, or some other accident occurs, the Fire Splendor Star Domain shall forever belong to Xu Jin!

Anyone in our Great Chen National Academy who dares to have designs on Xu Jin, I will personally take action to purge the house. Do you all hear clearly?" Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said softly.

In an instant, the entire Autumn Examination Secret Realm fell into silence once again.

Strength—Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao was able to manage the National Academy not only because of his lineage but also because of his strength.

Twenty-some years ago, he had already stood out!

Not to mention now.

"We respectfully obey the Grand Master's orders!" The group of Great Chen National Academy high-ranking officials, having no other choice, expressed their stance with extremely complex expressions.

Since the Grand Master had stepped forward to protect Xu Jin's control of the Fire Splendor Star Domain, they could only let it go.

It was a pity that this heaven-sent wealth had ultimately fallen to a kid like Xu Jin, who had previously been unknown.

"Grand Master, I have one thing I need to say," Supervisor Chen Liao suddenly spoke.

"Speak."

"Grand Master, our National Academy is naturally of one heart and one mind, advancing and retreating together, but once the news spreads, I'm afraid in the imperial court..." Supervisor Chen Liao said.

"It doesn't matter."

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao waved his hand, stroking his long hair with his right hand and saying softly, "When it comes time to report the merits, I will naturally speak! Inside or outside the imperial court, whoever dares to harm Xu Jin or force Xu Jin because of this, regardless of whether they succeed or not, I will personally take action—and wipe out their entire house!"

The voice was very soft, but it was filled with murderous intent.

All the high-ranking officials of the Great Chen National Academy were struck with awe.

The Grand Master's warning was overflowing with killing intent!

Some even began to suspect and wonder if the Grand Master was going to take Xu Jin as a disciple?

Or if there was some other relationship?

An illegitimate child?

And so on and so forth.

But there were also those who understood the Grand Master.

The Grand Master was also doing this for the foundation of the Great Chen National Academy.

If such a great merit, achieved by Xu Jin through life and death, were easily snatched away by others, then the hearts of the people of Great Chen would be completely scattered.

In the future, would any disciples still be willing to sell their lives for the Great Chen National Academy?

Would anyone still sell their lives for Great Chen?

"That's all for today. Relevant news is forbidden to be spread until I report the merits to the imperial court! Those who spread it will be dealt with according to Academy rules." When saying the last few words, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao looked at Supervisor Chen Liao.

"Subordinate obeys." Supervisor Chen Liao stood up, bowed, and swept his gaze coldly over the group of National Academy high-ranking officials, with a hint of warning.

With this, Dong Zhao and Ning Yuchan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

With the Grand Master making such arrangements, Xu Jin's situation was not so dangerous after all.

After some time, when Xu Jin's cultivation improved rapidly and he broke through to the late stage of the Refine Star Realm, it wouldn't be so dangerous.

"Silly girl, what are you crying for? Didn't I come back safe and sound!"

"Still crying, you've cried yourself into a big-faced cat."

Returning home, seeing Xu Jin, his younger sister Jiang Er flew over and hugged Xu Jin, crying non-stop.

"Look at this silly girl. Your brother was just valued by his teachers at the National Academy and went off to cultivate in seclusion. This is a good thing, what are you crying for?" After crying for a long time, Xu Jin's clothes were soaked. His father, Xu Dajiang, couldn't bear it anymore and came over to comfort Jiang Er.

"I just missed my brother." Jiang Er wiped her tears, but she still had a lingering fear.

The emotions of Jiang Er sensed by the Underworld Record Star Pattern were mainly fear and worry, while his father Xu Dajiang's emotions were quite stable.

Xu Jin finally understood: Ning Yuchan's explanation must have deceived his father Xu Dajiang, but it hadn't deceived Jiang Er.

Jiang Er, this girl, had been clever since she was small, and now that she had come into contact with cultivation matters and had her own thoughts, it was very normal.

"Brother, I'll boil some bathwater for you, change into new clothes, and then make you something delicious."

It would have been fine if Jiang Er hadn't reminded him, but once she did, Xu Jin sniffed himself—it really was quite pungent.

"Hurry up and go wash and change clothes, you stink to death!"

"Then why were you hugging me and crying for so long just now!" Xu Jin teased.

"Hmph!"

Counting it up, from the time Xu Jin entered the Fire Splendor Star Domain on August 8th to coming out today, it was already August 20th—a full thirteen days.

After bathing, changing into new clothes, and eating a big meal made by Jiang Er, Xu Jin returned to his room. Seeing that there were no messages on the Star-Plucking Token, he placed the two newly obtained Spirit-Refining Golden Pills into the Star Lamp to nourish them, then fell asleep.

He had also slept in the Fire Splendor Star Domain, and after refining the Red Scale Heart, he had a sense of home there too.

But it couldn't be compared to a real home.

That sense of security from the bottom of his heart made every one of the 480 million pores on Xu Jin's body relax, and the fatigue accumulated from battle surged into his heart.

This sleep lasted a full eight hours.

When he woke up, Xu Jin's Underworld Record Star Pattern sensed Ning Yuchan's presence.

She was sitting cross-legged on the roof not far away.

She must have kept watch all night.

Discovering that Xu Jin had woken up, Ning Yuchan left quickly. At the same time, she didn't forget to send Xu Jin a Star light message: "Xu Jin, rest at home in the morning, and come to the Academy in the afternoon to see the Dean; there are important matters.

If there is danger, send me an urgent message; I will arrive within three to five breaths."

Ning Yuchan thought Xu Jin didn't know she had just left, so this was considered a deliberate Star light message.

Xu Jin naturally wouldn't expose her.

Xu Jin had already kept all of Ning Yuchan's kindness in his heart.

Snatching the Spirit-Refining Golden Pill from Ning Yuchan's hands earlier was actually also because he wanted to help Ning Yuchan within his own capabilities.

Xu Jin had weighed this matter for a long time yesterday.

His initial thought was to lie low, to not help.

The secret of the Arena Platform must be guarded to the death; absolutely no one must know, and absolutely no one must see any abnormalities.

But the four words Ning Yuchan said to the Grand Master made Xu Jin's heart tremble repeatedly!

"Even if I die, I will have no regrets!"

These four words were very terrifying.

They meant that the things Ning Yuchan was going to do or the places she was going to were very dangerous, and the probability of death was not small.

At that time, Xu Jin asked himself a question—if Ning Yuchan died in battle, would he regret it?

Would he regret the decision to guard the secret and not help Ning Yuchan!

The answer was yes!

And it would be the kind of regret that would make him regret it until he died!

Some things, when they truly happen, no matter how much you regret it, it is useless. In his previous life, Xu Jin had experienced such things.

As the saying goes, "When there are flowers to pluck, pluck them directly; do not wait until there are no flowers and pluck an empty branch."

And as the saying goes, "Under the sad bridge, the spring waves are green; once, a startled swan's shadow was reflected there."

"The tree wants to be still, but the wind will not cease; the child wants to provide for his parents, but they are gone!"

All are thousand-fold regrets, and one only hates that one didn't do it at the time.

Because of this, Xu Jin made up his mind yesterday that he must help.

But he also had to try his best to help within a safe margin.

If this Spirit-Refining Golden Pill was nourished to the third level of essence within the Arena Platform, its medicinal efficacy would be six times that of an ordinary Spirit-Refining Golden Pill.

Ning Yuchan eating one would be equivalent to the effect of eating six.

It would definitely be able to allow her Spirit-Soul to forge a star.

It would also inevitably allow Ning Yuchan's strength to surge, her combat power to improve, her survival ability to improve, and even be conducive to a breakthrough in cultivation.

As for safety, he believed that if Xu Jin found an excuse to give a warning, Ning Yuchan would definitely not talk nonsense.

The degree of danger was very small.

Since the danger could be controlled within a very small range and he could help Ning Yuchan significantly, he had to help.

Just for five words—no regrets in the future!

During breakfast, Xu Jin listened to Jiang Er chattering for nearly an hour; most of the time, she was chatting about how good Ning Yuchan was.

Ever since Xu Jin left, Ning Yuchan would come over every night to nourish Jiang Er's Middle Shang Xinggong, then sleep with Jiang Er, and only leave at dawn.

She would also arrive early during the day.

Occasionally, she would bring disciples of the Academy's Star Patrol Guards, making the neighbors stare in amazement.

Xu Jin understood that Ning Yuchan was using this method to protect Jiang Er and his father.

Especially in the event of the worst-case scenario.

After listening to Jiang Er's nagging, Xu Jin returned to the backyard, finally finding some peace.

The first thing was to sort out his harvest.

The Star Cores harvested in his pouch exceeded two hundred; the Grand Master said he would record them as Academy Merits, and he didn't know how many Academy Merits he could exchange for later.

Then there were the Star Jade Tablets.

The Arena Platform could accommodate Star Jade Tablets, but its capacity was not large.

Currently, after filling the fourth-tier Star Jade Tablets required for the Arena Platform to upgrade to the fourth tier, Xu Jin still had forty-six fourth-tier Cyan Jade Tablets left.

These forty-six fourth-tier Cyan Jade Tablets would be Xu Jin's most important cultivation resources for the next year, which should allow Xu Jin's cultivation to improve at high speed.

As for the third and second-tier Star Jade Tablets, they were all sent into the Arena Platform to be converted into Star light.

The total number of third-tier Star light wisps accumulated above the Arena Platform had already reached as high as 320.

Although it was a lot, there was still a large gap from the 1,000 wisps required for an upgrade, so he still needed to accumulate them well.

Besides this, there was one piece of second-tier Star weapon, the Fire Scale Armor.

It was worth mentioning that after so many days in the Fire Splendor Star Domain, the effect of Xu Jin's Star Lamp nourishing Star weapons had emerged.

Nine days.

Nine days of time could nourish a first-tier Star weapon into a second-tier one.

However, this was the limit.

For the first-tier Star weapon that Xu Jin had placed in the Star Lamp for the nourishment experiment, after it was nourished to the second tier, Xu Jin went and placed it in for nourishment for more than eight days, and there was no change.

Xu Jin estimated that the Star Lamp nourishing Star weapons to improve by one tier should be the limit.

This was also very normal.

Elixirs could be nourished and improved to three levels of essence because the rank of the elixir had a great relationship with the energy contained within.

But the rank of a Star weapon mainly depended on the materials.

Therefore, being able to nourish and improve a Star weapon by one tier was already the limit.

Xu Jin had long since placed the Fire Scale Armor into the Star Lamp for nourishment.

If he could nourish the Fire Scale Armor to the third tier, it would be usable.

Besides this, Xu Jin also harvested two third-tier-superior Fire Spirit Star Cores. When he had time later, Xu Jin had to study carefully what use the protection Star Patterns provided by these two third-tier-superior Fire Spirits had.

There was also one Pattern of Patterned Dreams, one copy of the Divine Division Secret Technique, and one second-tier Origin Soul Pearl.

Among these, the one with the greatest value should actually be the Pattern of Patterned Dreams.

Actually, even if Dean Dong Zhao hadn't given a hint, Xu Jin would have chosen the Pattern of Patterned Dreams with high probability.

The reason was very simple: Old Qi had told Xu Jin quite a bit about Spirit-Soul Star Patterns.

He said that in the inheritance of the Lingji Shang Xinggong, there would be subsequent Spirit-Soul defense and Spirit-Soul attack Star Patterns, and once Xu Jin's cultivation reached the level, he could learn to engrave them early to improve his life-saving ability.

Especially the Spirit-Soul attack Star Pattern, which was a sharp weapon for the weak to overcome the strong below the fourth or fifth tier.

Since they were in the Spirit Record Star Palace inheritance, Xu Jin would choose the rather special Pattern of Patterned Dreams nine times out of ten.

The reason he hesitated was that Xu Jin was thinking about another matter at the time.

Old Qi hadn't said what the Spirit-Soul attack Star Pattern of the Lingji Shang Xinggong was; would it be too eye-catching to use?

And the Spirit-Soul attack Star Pattern obtained from the Grand Master here should be safe to use boldly.

That was what Xu Jin was hesitating about at the time.

But since the Dean had given a hint, he had skipped over this point directly.

At this thought, Xu Jin took out the inheritance Jade Tablet of the Lingji Shang Xinggong left by Old Qi.

When he was in the Meal of Mist Realm, he couldn't learn it.

Then, when he was in the Forge Star Realm, could he learn it?

The next instant, Xu Jin's Star power tried to surge into the Lingji Shang Xinggong inheritance Jade Tablet again.

The Star light that had blocked him before didn't appear, allowing Xu Jin's Star power to enter without obstruction. In an instant, two Star Patterns appeared in Xu Jin's mind.

In an instant, Xu Jin was left speechless.

Fortunately, he had listened to Dean Dong Zhao; otherwise, he would be speechless to death right now!

Once his cultivation broke through to the Forge Star Realm, Old Qi directly passed two Spirit-Soul Star Patterns to Xu Jin.

One was the Suppress-Will Star Pattern mentioned by the Grand Master earlier, used for Spirit-Soul defense; the other was the Break-Evil Star Pattern mentioned by the Grand Master.

Just as the Grand Master said, these two Star Patterns were considered general-purpose Star Patterns.

No wonder Dean Dong Zhao would remind Xu Jin to choose the Pattern of Patterned Dreams.

It seemed that the two Spirit-Soul Star Patterns, Suppress-Will and Break-Evil, were not difficult to learn on the market.

However, the two attack and defense Star Patterns of the Lingji Shang Xinggong left by Old Qi were of a very high rank.

The Suppress-Will Star Pattern was actually sixth-tier-mid, and the Break-Evil Star Pattern was sixth-tier-low!

Having seen so many Star Patterns, this was the first time Xu Jin had seen a sixth-tier Star Pattern.

This made Xu Jin secretly rejoice again.

Fortunately, he had chosen the Wenmeng Star Pattern.

If he had chosen the Break-Evil Star Pattern from the Grand Master's side, the rank of the Grand Master's Break-Evil Star Pattern would definitely not be as high as the Lingji Shang Xinggong's.

Spirit-Soul was the specialty of the Lingji Shang Xinggong, so it was very normal for the Star Pattern rank to be extremely high.

However, the higher the Star Pattern rank, the greater the difficulty of learning it.

Of course, this couldn't stump Xu Jin, who had the Star Lamp Practice Arena.

Especially since only three Star Patterns had been engraved on the Spirit-Soul Star so far, and there were still four empty slots; Xu Jin had things to do for the next few days.

Subsequently, Xu Jin studied the Divine Division Secret Technique for a while.

The Grand Master had checked it, so it could be practiced.

The secret technique not only recorded the cultivation method but also recorded the usage method of the Divine Division.

There were two ways to use the Divine Division: one was a clone, and the other was a substitute for death.

Suddenly, Xu Jin's gaze fell on the substitute-for-death item, and Xu Jin thought of Old Qi, who was fleeing for his life.

"It's been more than ten days; Old Qi should still be alive, he should have shaken off Hu Xuechuan..."

While thinking, Xu Jin couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

He probably hadn't shaken off Hu Xuechuan yet.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for Old Qi to have no news at all.

After thinking about it, Xu Jin sent Old Qi a Star light message.

"Teacher, I have already returned from the Fire Splendor Star Domain and am reporting my results to you. My Middle Shang Xinggong has forged a star of three inches and one, and my Lower Shang Xinggong has also forged a star of three inches!" For Old Qi, Xu Jin had no reservations and told Old Qi the final star-forging result directly.

What surprised Xu Jin was that Old Qi replied in seconds.

"Wah ha ha ha ha, you kid, you wouldn't be deliberately trying to make me happy just to make me have a flash of brilliance before death, right? A supreme-grade star-forging is only two inches and five; you forged three inches and one—this is definitely a super-grade star-forging, the kind that breaks records.

At least I've never heard of it!"

"Teacher, if you think I'm lying to you, then come back and see for yourself."

"You kid, you're asking in a roundabout way! I'll tell you clearly: I'm afraid I won't be able to go back in the short term, and in some time, I might even have to fight Hu Xuechuan to the death again!"

Qi Shanye's words made Xu Jin's heart sink.

He didn't expect Old Qi's situation to be so dangerous.

"No, Teacher, didn't you say last time that after fighting to the death, you would be able to shake off Hu Xuechuan?" Xu Jin was anxious.

"Heh, I underestimated this old thing's determination. He must have a mid-to-high-tier emblem to heal his injuries! I spared no cost to heavily injure him, originally thinking I could win three days of time, at which point I would be able to shake him off.

But in just one day, before my injuries had recovered, this old thing caught up again!

And so, he's been chasing me for a full half-month again," Qi Shanye said.

"Teacher, is there anything I can help with?" Xu Jin asked anxiously.

"You can't help. You cultivate well. If you are a super-grade star-forging, then when you cultivate to the late stage of the Condense Star Realm, you might really have a possibility of helping me. It depends on Heaven, whether I can hold on until that time!" Qi Shanye said.

Xu Jin was silent. "Teacher, if it's convenient, can you tell me about your current situation?"

"Situation? I've mixed into a large, populous city and, borrowing the art of invisibility, am hiding among hundreds of thousands of residents. That grandson Hu Xuechuan knows I'm hiding in this city, but he just can't find me!

Finding one person among hundreds of thousands, even with a rough location, is undoubtedly like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Originally it was extremely secure, but I didn't expect that grandson Hu Xuechuan to have obtained official support!

Right now, he is blockading the city, and like using a sieve, he is relocating residents in batches to screen and search!

I estimate that in at most two or three days, I'll have to fight another bloody battle!" Qi Shanye said.

"Surrounded? Teacher, is it still because the Star-Fixing Disk is locking onto your aura?"

"Of course, otherwise, how could Hu Xuechuan fight to the death to protect that Star-Fixing Disk? If he didn't have that thing, he wouldn't even be able to eat hot shit!"

Suddenly, Xu Jin thought of the Divine Division Secret Technique he had just obtained.

He didn't know if this Divine Division Secret Technique could help Old Qi?

(End of chapter)