[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-star-martial-era":3,"chapter-the-star-martial-era-the-star-martial-era-chapter-141":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Star Martial Era",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2274999,4448,"Chapter 141: Blood Star Pact (Requesting Subscriptions)","the-star-martial-era-chapter-141",141,"\u003Cp>Haven't you broken through to the Casting Star Realm yet? That's way too slow!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looks like I won't see you in the Second-Level Combat Realm—I'll wait for you in the Third-Level Combat Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You'd better work hard, or you'll get crushed by me in the Third-Level Combat Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three consecutive starlight messages, all from the Drunken Moon Immortal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin could only say: this woman is truly extravagant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something that could've been said in one starlight message was stretched out into three, like a chat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He originally planned to read and ignore, but remembered how much starlight this wealthy woman had sent him before, so he had to reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait and see—who's crushing whom isn't decided yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin replied, adding a light joke, wondering if the Drunken Moon Immortal would even notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few breaths later, the Drunken Moon Immortal replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Go ahead and brag—all you want. The Star-Refining Realm is nothing like the Mist-Feasting Realm. Hurry up and cultivate—I'm waiting to crush you and get my revenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, the Drunken Moon Immortal, who had directly sent him two hundred starlight coins as a stranger, was absurdly naive—she didn't even catch the joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She wouldn't be playing games, would she?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Jin reconsidered: playing games and pure-mindedness were two different things.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Xu Jin didn't reply again—he entered the Second-Level Combat Realm and checked its ranking list.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Great Sage Equaling Heaven: Casting Star Realm】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Title: Flatland Starlight】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Starlight: 443 strands】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Points: zero】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Rank: 1,214,567】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this rank, the number of participants was far fewer than in the First-Level Combat Realm—just over one million two hundred thousand, only a third of the three million plus in the First-Level Combat Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that was normal. In the current cultivation system, the Casting Star Realm, though treated as a distinct major realm, was merely a transitional stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Geniuses, especially top-tier ones, typically crossed this realm in ten to fifteen days and moved on to the Third-Level Combat Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin scanned the top hundred and even top thousand ranks in the Second-Level Combat Realm but found no familiar names.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former First in the First-Level Combat Realm, Treading Star River, wasn't there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Second, Moon Shadow, who had defeated Xu Jin and immediately broken through without giving him a chance to redeem himself, wasn't there either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one Xu Jin had bullied for a long time, Not Much, wasn't there either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The human training dummy and petite wealthy patron, the Drunken Moon Immortal, wasn't there either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They must have all broken through to the Star-Refining Realm and entered the Third-Level Combat Realm to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking about it, that made perfect sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from Treading Star River and Moon Shadow, Xu Jin had swept the First-Level Combat Realm—his strength needed no explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, several True Disciples weaker than Xu Jin had already broken through to the Star-Refining Realm; it was only natural that these supreme geniuses had done the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin estimated he could break through to the Star-Refining Realm in a short time too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since he was already here, he might as well fight a few matches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially since Xu Jin had a stingy thought: the top three in the First-Level Combat Realm had granted him the title Flatland Starlight, giving him the perk of one free starlight message per day—was there a similar reward in the Second-Level Combat Realm?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If there was, he had to claim it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One free starlight message per day meant one starlight coin per day—365 per year, worth at least thirty thousand silver at least.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Save for ten years, and he'd rival the richest man in a commandery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Xu Jin began his challenges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No suspense—win after win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After ten consecutive victories, his rank surged into the top 100,000.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Jin didn't stop—he kept going.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his cultivation base now in the Casting Star Realm, his maximum number of combat trials in the Combat Realm should have increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin had learned before that geniuses in the Casting Star Realm, especially those who had taken the Spirit-Stabilizing Golden Elixir, could fight at least eight matches in the Second-Level Combat Realm, some even ten or more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Considering he had taken both the Spirit-Stabilizing Golden Elixir and the Spirit-Refining Golden Elixir, plus the Second-Level Soul Essence Pill, and ranked first on the Ascension Staircase—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All these combined, it was perfectly reasonable for Xu Jin to fight up to fifteen matches in a single day within the Second- and Third-Level Combat Realms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It made sense anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maximum consecutive battles in the Second- and Third-Level Combat Realms: fifteen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin updated his safety limit accordingly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He fought five more matches.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still no suspense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His rank surged into the top 50,000.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Xu Jin no longer expected much from the upcoming battles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Battles in the Second-Level Combat Realm would bring no suspense—just win after win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if Moon Shadow returned, Xu Jin had an 80% chance of defeating him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple: compared to the Mist-Feasting Realm, the Casting Star Realm's main change was the casting of stars—star power and quantity multiplied exponentially, with no other changes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Xu Jin had swept the First-Level Combat Realm, he could sweep the Second-Level Combat Realm too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the primary difference in star power lay entirely in star casting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Casting a top-grade star core was already the mark of a world-class genius; Xu Jin, who had cast a super-grade star core, naturally had an overwhelming advantage in star power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not to mention that his dual star palaces had both reached the peak of the Casting Star Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The battles ahead in the Second-Level Combat Realm would bring no suspense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin estimated that under the fifteen-match limit, by tomorrow night, or at most the night after, he would claim the top rank in the Second-Level Combat Realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After leaving the Star-Picking Tower, Xu Jin always performed his morning and evening cultivation routines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since he had no cultivation method to break through to the Star-Refining Realm yet, all he could do was grind star patterns inside the Star Lamp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet before grinding star patterns, Xu Jin took out the Second-Level Soul Essence Pearl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the Grand Preceptor had said that if word of this got out, it would trigger a bloody storm across the cultivation world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Better to use it up quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Otherwise, Ning Yuchan, who sat daily on the roof braving wind and dew, would get her skin all wrinkled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the evening, Ning Yuchan came to warm Yang's Middle Star Palace; after one and a half hours, she left—but circled back and settled on top of Yang's room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Yuchan thought Xu Jin didn't know, but Xu Jin's Mingji Star Pattern sensed her clearly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next instant, Xu Jin calmed his mind and spirit, gripped the Second-Level Soul Essence Pearl, and his Spirit Star in the Upper Star Palace began to rotate, extending a thread of spiritual power to draw from the pearl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the next breath, pure spiritual power surged from the pearl and rushed toward Xu Jin's Spirit Star.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost simultaneously, the sixth layer of halo, still in rudimentary form on Xu Jin's Spirit Star, rapidly filled and completed itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After fifteen minutes, the sixth layer of halo on Xu Jin's Spirit Star shone like a river of stars, slowly circling his Spirit Star.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spirit Star, Star-Refining Sixth Layer Peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few dozen breaths later, as the final thread of spiritual power from the Second-Level Soul Essence Pearl entered, a faint, wispy halo formed around Xu Jin's Spirit Star—Spirit Star, Star-Refining Seventh Layer Early Stage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that same moment, the Second-Level Soul Essence Pearl became utterly empty, turning into a limp, sagging pouch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It resembled the inner membrane of an eggshell, but much thicker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin didn't throw it away—he carefully placed it in a separate bag and stored it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the instruction from Headmaster Dong Zhao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Any object capable of storing spiritual power was extremely rare—treasures, to be preserved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After absorbing this Second-Level Soul Essence Pearl, Xu Jin was certain: the Fire Radiance Star Region incident involved the Worshiping Stars Cult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No other reason—the spiritual power within this pearl was nearly identical to what Xu Jin had absorbed behind the Worshiping Stars Cult statue on Qianye Island.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Almost exactly the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Few organizations in this world could gather large quantities of spiritual power; the Spirit Record Star Palace and the Worshiping Stars Cult were precisely two of them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tomorrow, I should be able to engrave the Dream-Warming Star Pattern.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the three Spirit Star Patterns, the Dream-Warming Star Pattern had progressed the fastest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple: the Dream-Warming Star Pattern was only Fourth-Level Lower, while the Spirit Record Star Palace's Shatter-Devil and Calm-Will Star Patterns were nearly twice as complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>August 22.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin was arguing with his father, Xu Dajiang, over the two thousand silver taels Xu Jin wanted to leave behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dad, keep this silver. You're alone here—keep more on hand, or we won't be at ease,\" Xu Jin urged, but Xu Dajiang refused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why would I keep silver?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Dajiang shoved the banknotes into Jiang Er's hands. \"Poor home, rich journey! Take all the silver—you don't need it. I've got a salary now—five taels a month, over a hundred mu of good farmland, three shops—I eat fish and meat every day and can't finish it all.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your old man now has a salary—five taels of silver a month—and we’ve got over a hundred good mu of land and three shops. I can’t even finish eating fish and meat every day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Got big wings and won't listen anymore, huh?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just take it! If you leave me so much silver, even thieves won't care—but what about widows and stepmothers? They'll be salivating!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take them with you, I said. If you leave me this much silver, even if thieves don’t notice, won’t that young widow and her daughter-in-law be driven mad thinking about it?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, at Jinshan Dao Academy, the new Headmaster Cao Chun, Deputy Headmaster Feng Shu, Supervisor Tian Zhang, and others watched as Dong Zhao, Ning Yuchan, Xu Jin, and Xu Jiang boarded the small starship and bowed farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Dong Zhao activated the starship, it rose swiftly, vanished into the clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Dong Zhao piloted the starship into the sky, it swiftly vanished into the clouds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After exchanging greetings with Xu Dajiang, Cao Chun, and others, Xu Jin returned home, changed into his official robes, and set off for Xu Family Village with two personal guards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he even entered Xu Family Village, the village head and clan elders came out to greet him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every household sent someone to welcome him, and feasts of small wine followed one after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this age, apart from the barbarian tribes, there were three nations—Chen Guo, Chu Guo, and Hong Guo—forming a tripartite standoff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Chen Guo held the largest territory and was under the patronage of Lingji Star Hall, one of the original Four Star Halls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But twenty years ago, Lingji Star Hall was besieged and expelled by Tianyang and Cangming Star Halls; overnight, all Lingji Star Halls within Chen Guo vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former Grand National Master and former Director of the Chen Guo Dao Academy, Pei Gang, sacrificed himself to force the leaders of the two Star Halls to swear the Blood Star Pact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No one knew the exact terms of the Blood Star Pact.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But from that day on, the leaders of Tianyang and Cangming Star Halls departed simultaneously, and soon after, the empires of Chu and Hong withdrew their troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crisis of Chen Guo’s imminent collapse, caused by the sealing of Lingji Star Hall, was thus lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Chen Guo paid a heavy price in the aftermath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally possessing eight provinces and one county, Chen Guo ultimately ceded two border provinces to Chu and Hong respectively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was also at this time that Tianyang and Cangming Star Halls moved into Chen Guo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The selection process began then as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new Grand National Master, Cheng Yuexiao, assumed office twenty years ago, striving to reverse Chen Guo’s decline—but progress was extremely difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside the Star Vessel, Xu Jin asked countless questions like a curious child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Yuchan and Dong Zhao answered every question fully, allowing Xu Jin to learn much.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Er, meanwhile, blinked her big eyes, listening intently to what she understood and what she didn’t.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Chen Guo’s official system, civil and military ranks were identical; both the court and the Dao Academy used the same hierarchy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nine-rank system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Starting from the ninth rank and ending at the first rank, there were nine ranks and eighteen grades; above the first rank lay the super-rank, which was more complex—high positions merged with noble titles, and the noble titles were: Xun, Zi, Hou, Bo, Gong, and Wang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, promotions within the court and those within the Dao Academy differed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Court promotions depended primarily on performance evaluations, but Dao Academy promotions required both performance and cultivation base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because of this, Dao Academy disciples were appointed one rank higher upon assignment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simply joining the Dao Academy’s Star Patrol Guard meant one was already an official, holding the rank of ninth rank junior; the squad leader of the Star Patrol Guard was ninth rank senior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deputy squad leader of the Star Patrol Guard held the rank of eighth rank junior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Yuchan’s position as chief instructor carried the rank of seventh rank senior; this evaluation raised her one rank to sixth rank senior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The headmaster’s rank in the Dao Academy was higher: originally, the headmaster’s position was eighth rank junior internally; even with a normal two-rank promotion, one would only reach the position of deputy director of the provincial Dao Academy, fourth rank junior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, because of Xu Jin, the headmaster received a three-rank leap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, according to the Dao Academy’s plan, Headmaster Dong Zhao could have directly assumed the position of director of the Yanzhou Provincial Dao Academy, governing a region alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Headmaster Dong Zhao chose to return to the central Dao Academy, forsaking the opportunity others would fight to the death for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Notably, the former director of the Yanzhou Provincial Dao Academy, Lu Chenfeng, received a C-lower evaluation in the autumn assessment and was immediately demoted one rank, then exiled to the Star River Battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must restore his original rank on the Star River Battlefield and earn at least three major merits before he may return!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This punishment was extremely severe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Restoring his original rank on the Star River Battlefield would not be difficult for Lu Chenfeng; the battlefield offered rich merits, and even merely waiting three to five years would restore his rank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But earning three major merits was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It required personally going to the front lines to kill enemy chieftains and barbarian leaders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With good fortune, he might achieve it in one or two years—or ten or eight; with bad fortune, he would remain on the Star River Battlefield forever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, though Chen Guo’s court remained stagnant, the Chen Guo Dao Academy under Grand National Master Cheng Yuexiao’s diligent governance was thriving, with clear rewards and punishments!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the journey, they chatted enthusiastically and marveled at the sights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Star Vessel flew at an altitude of roughly two thousand meters, offering a magnificent view of Chen Guo’s mountains and rivers from above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Er, who had never traveled far before and was now experiencing the full luxury of riding a Star Vessel, blushed with excitement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two and a half hours later, as the Star Vessel entered the airspace above a flat plain surrounded by mountains on three sides, it began to undergo repeated inspections by fifth-rank experts—signaling that their destination, Wan Yi, the capital of Chen Guo, had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At noon on August 22, Xu Jin’s party landed directly on a massive platform crowded with star vessels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Chen Guo Dao Academy had arrived!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Xu Jin, the first thing upon reporting is to visit the External Affairs Hall to replace your token,” Headmaster Dong Zhao reminded him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xu Jin nodded, the Star-Picking Token trembled slightly; as soon as he sank his mind into it and saw the sender’s name, he instantly rejoiced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Qi’s starlight message had finally arrived!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2707,"2026-06-19T23:56:29.689Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4b49a4bd80fe29d9cb6ecf04e08e0c4afd436bc0713ffbff45d16500c97997ee","the-star-martial-era-chapter-142","the-star-martial-era-chapter-140",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-star-martial-era-cover.jpg"]