Chapter 147: Mid-Tier Fire Source and Willow Catkin Star Pattern (Please subscribe and vote with monthly tickets)

August 27th, Great Chen National Dao Academy.

After finishing his morning lesson, Xu Jin did not rush to get up, but instead took a glance at the Mingji Star Core in his Lower Shang Xinggong.

Around the Mingji Star Core, a dense array of surrounding star patterns had already formed, connecting into a star halo that began to rotate slowly around the core.

Xu Jin estimated that by the end of today's evening lesson, his cultivation base at the Mingji Star Core in the Lower Shang Xinggong would reach the peak of the first layer of Star Refinement, at which point he would be able to engrave star patterns.

Tomorrow, Xu Jin's cultivation base could openly and legitimately break through to the second layer of Star Refinement.

Calculating it, from the afternoon of the 23rd when he began practicing under Liu Zhou Qingzhu to this morning, Xu Jin had practiced for exactly four full days.

The time Liu Zhou Qingzhu estimated for Xu Jin to reach the peak of the first layer of Star Refinement was six to seven days, but with Xu Jin practicing at full throttle over these past two days, his speed far exceeded her estimates.

The main reason was that the elixirs nourished by the Arena were simply too effective.

One First-Nourished Top-Grade Star Refinement Elixir had an effect equivalent to a non-existent Super-Grade Star Refinement Elixir; Xu Jin took one during both his morning and evening lessons.

One First-Nourished Ordinary Star Refinement Elixir had the effect of a top-grade one. At first, he took one for each lesson, but in the last two or three days, to increase his cultivation speed, Xu Jin had been taking two for each lesson.

This meant that for a single morning lesson, Xu Jin had to consume three different Star Refinement Elixirs.

Although the medicinal effect of the third elixir would diminish to less than eighty percent, for Xu Jin, it was still sufficiently good.

One First-Nourished Star Refinement Elixir could add one hundred and fifty points of surrounding starlight to Xu Jin's Middle Shang Xinggong; even if it diminished to eighty percent, it could still add one hundred and twenty points. This effect was top-notch.

It was even better than the effect others got from taking top-grade Star Refinement Elixirs.

It wasn't considered a waste either.

Under these circumstances, after a day and a half, Xu Jin's Middle Shang Xinggong reached the peak of the first layer of Star Refinement.

But breaking through and reaching the peak of the first layer of Star Refinement in two and a half days was truly a bit shocking to announce, so Xu Jin practiced for another day and a half, bringing the Mingji Star Core in his Lower Shang Xinggong to a similar state.

After finishing breakfast, Xu Jin did not go directly to the third-tier star power secret realm to practice as he had in the previous days.

Instead, he headed straight to the Feiyan Academy Hall.

His teacher, Liu Zhou Qingzhu, usually appeared at the Feiyan Academy Hall in the morning to handle affairs and teach students, and was generally not there in the afternoon.

"Jiang Er, take these and distribute them to the junior sisters; everyone should have a share."

Just as Xu Jin entered the Feiyan Academy Hall, he saw a girl with a slouchy posture sleeping against a hall pillar while hugging a large broom, with glistening drool hanging from the corner of her mouth.

Xu Jin shouted, which startled the little girl so much that she jumped, straightened up abruptly, and began sweeping.

Xu Jin saw that the spot she was sweeping was so smooth and shiny it was almost polished, while fallen leaves lay just a meter away.

"It's me!"

Xu Jin called out impatiently. Only then did the groggy Jiang Er lift her head. Seeing it was Xu Jin, she patted her flat little chest. "You scared me to death; I thought it was the senior sisters."

"Senior brother, what is this?" Seeing the large bag of pastries emitting a sweet fragrance in Xu Jin's hand, Jiang Er's eyes lit up, and her chubby face was full of smiles.

"I bought them for you all. Take them and distribute them to the junior sisters; everyone gets a share."

"Alright! I will definitely tell them that you, senior brother, sent them." Jiang Er dropped the broom and rushed toward the back with the two large bags of pastries from the Wanyi Peach Blossom Tower. Soon, cheers could be heard from the backyard.

The Feiyan Academy Hall was actually a large building complex with over twenty large halls and hundreds of smaller rooms; the daily cleaning was done by the disciples in rotation.

Whether it was because he was a direct disciple or for some other reason, the Feiyan Hall had not assigned these chores to Xu Jin.

Xu Jin followed little Jiang Er's suggestion to bring some good food.

Xu Jin originally didn't want to bring any.

How much could these pastries be worth?

The senior and junior sisters who could study at the Feiyan Hall were at least inner-court disciples; even without family support, just by squeezing out one or two points from the Dao merits issued by the Academy, they could live a comfortable life.

But Xu Jin was educated by both Ning Yuchan and Jiang Er at the same time.

Do girls lack that bit of food?

No, they don't.

But they lack this sentiment from you.

Xu Jin looked at Ning Yuchan a few more times right then.

It turned out that Ning Yuchan had liked the snacks he sent back then.

The pastries were left for Jiang Er to prepare; of course, Ning Yuchan's share was not forgotten.

"Second senior sister, here are the pastries prepared for you, from the Peach Blossom Tower! Also, please distribute these others to the senior sisters when you see them." When he met the second senior sister, Tang Chuo, Xu Jin gave out seven more portions of pastries, one of which was extra large.

The so-called senior sisters of the Feiyan Hall were all core disciples Liu Zhou Qingzhu had taken in last year or the year before; there were twelve in total, but only seven were currently at the Feiyan Hall.

"Wow, I happen to be a bit hungry, I'll eat a few pieces first." Second senior sister Tang Chuo knew clearly that the extra-large portion was for her and started devouring them on the spot. By the time Xu Jin walked into the academy hall carrying the last bag of pastries, the second senior sister had already finished nearly half of the forty pieces in that large bag.

Well, being so tall and strong, having a big appetite was normal.

She was also a bit cute when she smiled, though that beard was too out of place!

"Teacher, I brought you a bag of pastries. I don't know if you like them, but you can have a taste." Xu Jin stepped into the hall, bowed to Liu Zhou Qingzhu, put down the pastries, and sat down casually.

The atmosphere inside the Feiyan Academy Hall was just that relaxed.

"Hmm, eh? You've reached the peak of the first layer of Star Refinement?" Liu Zhou Qingzhu, who was processing documents, sensed the change in Xu Jin's aura. She sat up straight and leaned forward slightly, and the heaviness on her chest immediately landed on the desk.

Seeming to feel that this posture was inappropriate with a student present, Liu Zhou Qingzhu, who had just sat up, leaned back again, and the "weapons" were dragged off the desk, bouncing up and down, which made Xu Jin quickly look away.

"Yes, teacher. I reached the peak of the first layer of Star Refinement this morning, so I came to find you, wanting to learn star patterns," Xu Jin said.

"Hmm, I have already prepared the star patterns for you."

Liu Zhou Qingzhu took out a jade tablet directly, placed it in front of the desk, and signaled for Xu Jin to take it.

When Xu Jin stood up to take the jade tablet, because he was standing and Liu Zhou Qingzhu was sitting, even though the neckline of Liu Zhou Qingzhu's clothes wasn't low, Xu Jin still saw a lot of fair skin and deep cleavage.

For an instant, his ears felt a bit hot.

He quickly took the jade tablet and sat back in his seat.

"This is a mid-tier fire source star pattern of the fourth tier, upper grade. Within the entire Dao Academy, it is the mid-tier fire source star pattern with the highest rank. In the entire Great Chen, only the Ji family in Wanyi possesses a fifth-tier fire source star pattern.

With its effect overlapping with your Red Scale Heart, I imagine the power of your fire-element star arts will not be inferior to disciples from the Shang Xinggong," Liu Zhou Qingzhu said.

Xu Jin stood up and thanked her quickly.

"After you successfully engrave it, combined with the Red Scale Heart you have refined, it should greatly increase your combat power! However, do not spread the word, because according to the Academy's rules, one is generally only taught primary fire source star patterns below the fourth tier first, and then taught to upgrade the star patterns slowly.

One reason is to proceed step-by-step, and the other is to test the disciple's character.

In your case, I am giving you everything directly.

Of course, if you find it difficult to engrave, you can also come to me to learn the third-tier primary fire source star pattern first," Liu Zhou Qingzhu said.

"If it is truly difficult, I will come to find you, teacher." Xu Jin thanked her again. This point alone proved that he had chosen the right teacher in Liu Zhou Qingzhu.

The Dao Academy had rules for teaching star patterns; it was always done step-by-step and would not be taught all at once, but increased slowly based on one's performance and improvement in strength.

This was friendly to ordinary disciples, but for someone like Xu Jin, the restrictions were a bit too great.

"Do you have any other questions?"

"Teacher, regarding the star patterns related to movement techniques you mentioned before, could you teach them to me in advance? I want to review and familiarize myself with them early so that when my cultivation base is sufficient, I can engrave them as soon as possible," Xu Jin said.

"You may!"

Liu Zhou Qingzhu considered it and said, "Xu Jin, when it comes to movement techniques, if I claim to be second in the Dao Academy, no one dares to claim to be first. At the same cultivation level, my speed is invincible.

However, my movement star patterns have two sources: one is the National Dao Academy, and the other is our Liu family's.

The National Dao Academy's fourth-tier upper-grade Meteor Star Pattern focuses mainly on speed bursts.

While our Liu family's is called the Willow Catkin Star Pattern, which balances speed with the flexibility and trickiness of movement techniques. Its rank is quite high; below the sixth tier, it is our Liu family's ancestral movement technique and also the foundation of our clan.

Currently, I can teach you the fourth-tier upper-grade Willow Catkin Star Pattern!

But if you want to learn our Liu family's Willow Catkin Star Pattern below the sixth tier, it is not possible yet. You must wait until you achieve certain accomplishments, and then I can persuade the clan leader to teach you our Liu family's Willow Catkin Star Pattern below the sixth tier," Liu Zhou Qingzhu said.

"Achieve certain accomplishments? May I ask, teacher, what kind of accomplishments are required?" Xu Jin asked.

"That depends on your relative performance! For example, in a few months, if you can still be the champion of this year's direct disciples, or in the Building Tribute Battle two months from now, if you can break into the top ten, our clan leader will also look at you differently.

Things like that; as long as your performance is sufficiently brilliant, I will be able to persuade our clan leader to teach you our Liu family's secret Willow Catkin Star Pattern below the sixth tier," Liu Zhou Qingzhu said.

"I understand! Teacher, I would like to ask, what is the specific manifestation of the gap in star pattern ranks?" Xu Jin asked.

"It is, of course, the power of the star arts."

"Basically, for every small rank, the gap is ten percent of the power.

For example, for the same person, the gap in star art power between learning a fourth-tier upper-grade mid-tier fire source star pattern and a third-tier upper-grade primary fire source star pattern is thirty percent!

This gap in power becomes more terrifying the higher the cultivation base!

Once you reach the sixth or seventh tier and above, a gap of three small ranks in star pattern grade can potentially lead to a gap that allows for instant kills," Liu Zhou Qingzhu said.

Xu Jin understood this point.

It's the base; the larger the base, the larger the gap in the later stages.

"Which one do you want to learn? As before, your talent is there, so I will teach you the top-tier star patterns related to it directly, rather than teaching you low-tier ones first and then testing you before letting you learn new ones," Liu Zhou Qingzhu asked.

After thinking about it, Xu Jin felt that both of these star patterns were quite suitable for him.

But the National Dao Academy's Meteor Star Pattern focused mainly on speed and bursts; this star pattern was likely better suited for saving one's life.

While the Liu family's Willow Catkin Star Pattern balanced speed with the agility and trickiness of movement techniques, it would be more useful in actual combat.

Naturally, he had to learn the one more useful in actual combat first.

Moreover, the Willow Catkin Star Pattern currently taught to Xu Jin was fourth-tier upper-grade, but there were even higher-tier star patterns with stronger growth potential.

Xu Jin originally wanted to choose the Willow Catkin Star Pattern, but just as the words were about to leave his mouth, he suddenly asked boldly, "Teacher, I want to learn both the Meteor and Willow Catkin star patterns. Can you teach me both?"

This was only possible because it was Liu Zhou Qingzhu; if it were the atmosphere at the University Rectifier Fang Shinan's place, Xu Jin would never have dared to ask so boldly.

If he asked, he would be reprimanded!

Hearing this, Liu Zhou Qingzhu laughed.

"You brat, you really are a bit greedy.

Naturally, you can.

Since I have already mentioned these star patterns in front of you, sooner or later they will be given to you, so it makes no difference to give them to you a bit earlier. But there is one thing I must tell you." Liu Zhou Qingzhu's expression became serious.

This lecture lasted for a full half-hour, and it could be considered a formal lesson.

She spoke about the precautions for engraving star patterns.

First, the engraving of star patterns is a systematic and structured matter.

Many high-level star arts are combinations of multiple star patterns.

On the same star core, the more relevant the engraved star patterns are, the stronger the power of the related star arts.

Liu Zhou Qingzhu gave Xu Jin a practical example: for instance, if Xu Jin's Middle Shang Xinggong star core were entirely engraved with fire-element related star patterns, then this star core of Xu Jin's could be called a Fire Core.

The star arts combined from the star power and star patterns within this star core would have the greatest power.

But if two or three speed star patterns were inserted into this star core, then this star pattern would essentially become a hodgepodge.

In the short term, there might be some improvement in strength, but in the long term, this star core would essentially be ruined.

Because once you break through to the Condense Star Realm, the Middle Shang Xinggong alone can condense nine star cores, with ten star patterns per core, which is equivalent to nine sets of star patterns.

Complete sets naturally have greater power.

Even with the combination of star patterns within two or three star cores, one could early on unleash star arts with extremely strong power of the sixth or even seventh tier.

This point must be planned well in advance.

Otherwise, it would be ruined.

At that time, if you want to re-refine it, there is only one path: waste your cultivation and start over, the cost of which is extremely huge.

Therefore, Liu Zhou Qingzhu suggested that the speed star patterns Xu Jin wanted to learn could be engraved on the Lower Shang Xinggong, which could also form a system of its own.

After listening, Xu Jin thanked Liu Zhou Qingzhu again; if it weren't for Liu Zhou Qingzhu's special reminder, Xu Jin would truly have had the possibility of ruining his cultivation.

"Hmm, your cultivation base is improving so fast, is the Star Refinement Elixir I gave you for this month running out?" Liu Zhou Qingzhu asked.

"It's almost out, but I still have some Dao merits, which can support me for a few more days," Xu Jin replied.

"The path of cultivation lies in perseverance, accumulating over time!

You don't need to take the rapid improvement of others to heart!

The further you go, the more it relies on talent!

With your talent, although you don't have family support behind you, you still have a chance to catch up with them in the middle and later stages." Before saying goodbye, Liu Zhou Qingzhu gave Xu Jin some psychological comfort, fearing that Xu Jin would not be able to adapt due to the shortage of cultivation resources in the later stages.

"Thank you, teacher, I understand."

"Hmm, once you have learned the mid-tier fire source star pattern, when you have time, you can go and explore the Dao Academy's Killing God Battlefield, and then you can try Star Picking," Liu Zhou Qingzhu said.

"Killing God Battlefield, Star Picking?" Xu Jin was a bit puzzled.

"The Killing God Battlefield is a secret realm created by our Great Chen National Dao Academy for disciples to improve their actual combat capabilities. There are rewards for clearing levels. With your strength, exploring the Killing God Battlefield should allow you to obtain a portion of Dao merit rewards, which will happen to fill the gap in your cultivation resources," Liu Zhou Qingzhu said.

"As for Star Picking, it is a challenge that has existed for thousands of years since the Star Picking Tower came into existence. You will know once you go!

If you have the opportunity to pick multiple silver stars or even gold stars, it will be of great benefit to your future. If you accumulate to a certain degree, it might even allow you to obtain some rewards beyond the current world!

Of course, picking a gold star is too difficult.

But even if you pick a few copper stars or silver stars, you can exchange them for starlight to fill the gap in your cultivation resources!

When you have time, go and try it!

At the very least, it can improve your actual combat capabilities."

A few minutes later, Xu Jin, who had thoroughly inquired about these two places, left the Feiyan Academy Hall!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 148 =====