Chapter 149: Meeting in the Minglun Hall (First Update)

Before learning the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern, Xu Jin had not felt the effect of the Crimson Scale Heart.

But when the Star Lamp was fully engaged in cultivating the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern, the effect of the Crimson Scale Heart erupted before Xu Jin.

Xu Jin inscribed this mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern with extraordinary ease.

After only a hundred attempts, he succeeded once.

For the Whale Swallow and Rain Curtain Star Patterns, as well as the Dream Warmth Star Pattern, Xu Jin needed at least two hundred attempts inside the Star Lamp before succeeding once.

For the fifth-rank Whale Swallow Star Pattern, Xu Jin had to cultivate it at least three hundred times inside the Star Lamp before succeeding once, and only after a thousand attempts did he achieve one hundred percent success.

For fourth-rank Star Patterns, one hundred percent success usually came after six or seven hundred attempts.

But for this mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern at the fourth rank, Xu Jin achieved one hundred percent success in fewer than three hundred attempts inside the Star Lamp.

It was the fastest Star Pattern he had ever inscribed.

Faster than the inscription speed of third-rank Star Patterns.

Moreover, during inscription, Xu Jin clearly felt the two Crimson Scale Hearts beneath his Spirit Star flickering, as if responding to him.

With this speed, the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern, which Xu Jin had expected to take a full day to master, was completed in less than half a day.

That same night, he began inscribing the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern directly onto the first Star Halo of the Central Star Palace's Star Core.

Only then did the extraordinary phenomenon of the Crimson Scale Hearts fully manifest.

The instant Xu Jin began inscribing the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern on the Star Core, the two Crimson Scale Hearts in the Upper Star Palace blazed with crimson light, shining intensely.

Xu Jin sensed it and subtly shifted his intent.

The next instant, the two Crimson Scale Hearts appeared inside Xu Jin's Central Star Palace, bathed in crimson radiance, making the inscription process effortless and swift.

Completed in one continuous motion.

A fourth-rank Star Pattern was inscribed completely in less than a hundred breaths.

Almost the moment the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern was completed, the Star Core of Xu Jin's Central Star Palace turned crimson, igniting layers of fiery light that inspired awe.

Seeing this, Xu Jin suddenly smiled.

After so much effort, he had finally transformed from a blank-slate mage into a Fire mage.

Good.

The damage boost from the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern would surely far exceed that of the low-level Fire Source granted by the Fire Spirit Protection.

But Xu Jin also considered a possible combination to further enhance its power.

Now that he had successfully inscribed the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern, if he offered a Fire Spirit Star Core and then chose the low-level Fire Source Protection, would it enhance his Star Art power?

How great would this enhancement be?

If he offered two Fire Spirit Star Cores and chose low-level Fire Source Protection for both, would the effects stack?

And if they did, how much would the power increase?

This needed careful testing.

He thought about it: the third-rank Practice Realm wasn't ideal for testing, because this test required the subject's active cooperation.

Lady Suiyue would be a good candidate.

She was certainly still inside the third-rank Practice Realm; if Xu Jin sent her a Starlight Message, she would surely help.

But this was also a secret—he didn't want outsiders to know.

After considering all options, the Godslayer Battlefield was the most suitable place for testing.

Plenty of enemies, currently facing fifth-stage Starforging foes in the forty-ninth stage, plus elite Starforging mini-bosses—more than enough for testing.

But Xu Jin didn't rush into the Godslayer Battlefield.

Instead, he began his evening practice.

Daily morning and evening practices must never be skipped.

After consuming two One-Vessel Star Refining Pills and one top-grade One-Vessel Star Refining Pill, the Mingji Star Core in Xu Jin's Lower Star Palace was encircled by swirling Star Halos, indicating his cultivation base had reached the peak of Starforging First Stage—he could now inscribe Star Patterns.

After tomorrow's morning practice, he could break through to Starforging Second Stage.

But Xu Jin was pondering two things.

First: how should he inscribe the Star Pattern in his Lower Star Palace?

Currently, Xu Jin has an abundance of Star Patterns: fourth-rank Rain Curtain, fifth-rank Whale Swallow, fourth-rank Willow Fluff, and fourth-rank Shooting Star—four patterns to choose from for his Lower Star Palace.

The first two had already been cultivated to perfection and could be inscribed anytime.

The latter two had not yet been perfected, but would take only one or two more days.

But choosing which to inscribe was a major problem.

Second: he must maximize the gains from the Godslayer Battlefield.

As his teacher Liu Qingzhu had said, rewards from the Godslayer Battlefield could supplement cultivation resources.

But in Xu Jin's view, if truly maximized, the Godslayer Battlefield's rewards wouldn't just supplement cultivation resources—they'd be a massive influx.

This afternoon, Xu Jin only challenged up to the forty-ninth stage of the Godslayer Battlefield—not because he'd reached his limit.

He was far from his limit.

He simply found it tiring, and since his peak Starforging First Stage power still had vast room for growth, he withdrew.

According to the rule he had personally experienced, if Xu Jin now challenged the fifty-first stage, the base reward should be six Dao Merits.

But if he broke through to Starforging Second Stage before challenging again, the base reward would drop slightly to five.

Over one round, that would mean losing fifty-five Dao Merits.

If he challenged another twenty or thirty stages, he'd lose hundreds of Dao Merits.

So Xu Jin planned to challenge the Godslayer Battlefield once more after inscribing the Star Pattern in his Lower Star Palace, before breaking through to Starforging Second Stage, pushing to his absolute limit.

That way, he'd maximize his Dao Merit gains.

But which Star Pattern should he inscribe in his Lower Star Palace?

As a student, asking questions without shame was a good habit.

This time, Xu Jin chose to consult Old Qi.

He sent a long Starlight Message to Old Qi, thousands of miles away, greeting him and explaining his dilemma: listing all four Star Patterns he possessed and asking about his future Star Pattern strategy.

To save money!

No shame in it!

He wasn't some noble scion of a wealthy clan!

Besides, even billionaires weren't all extravagant and wasteful.

Old Qi's reply didn't come immediately.

So Xu Jin chose to ask again.

Though he now called Ning Yuchan "Sister Yuchan," asking her a cultivation question was perfectly normal.

"Xu Jin, in the Starforging Stage, you don't need to overthink Star Pattern inscription, nor should you chase perfection.

If you chase perfection, your power growth will be severely limited.

Theoretically, inscribing Fire Star Patterns on the same Star Core yields the greatest and most efficient power boost.

Many high-rank Star Arts require multiple Star Patterns inscribed on a single Star Core to be mastered.

But in the Starforging Stage, your priority is boosting combat power and survival ability to secure more cultivation resources and future prospects.

Once you condense your Star, your Central Star Palace can hold up to nine Stars—you can slowly pursue perfection with the other eight."

Here, Ning Yuchan paused, "If I were you, my first choice for the Lower Star Palace's Star Core would be a Speed Star Pattern—Speed patterns are powerful for both evasion and offense."

"Then, for your second Star Pattern in the Central Star Palace, choose Rain Curtain! The Rain Curtain Star Pattern offers strong defense and excellent offensive support, significantly enhancing your Star Art power."

Xu Jin spoke with Ning Yuchan for about half an hour, gaining much insight.

He now understood the basic direction for future Star Pattern inscription.

When Xu Jin returned to his cultivation chamber, Old Qi's Starlight Message arrived.

It was also an extremely long message—whether to save Starlight or to answer all his questions at once, he couldn't tell.

Old Qi first described his current state: his injuries were mostly healed and he was safe, but he couldn't return to Xu Jin's side anytime soon.

The main reason was his diminished power.

Old Qi didn't mention his severed arm, only saying that to escape Hu Xuechuan's attack, his sixth-rank Star Artifact, the Star Shatter Hammer, had been utterly destroyed, weakening him.

Direct confrontation with Hu Xuechuan would now be disadvantageous.

So he wouldn't return for now.

But Xu Jin could contact him anytime via Starlight Message.

Regarding Star Pattern inscription, the first half of Old Qi's advice matched Ning Yuchan's.

In the Starforging Stage, you have at most two Star Cores and twenty Star Pattern slots—never chase perfection.

Chasing perfection will drastically slow your combat power growth.

You should maximize combat power and survival ability without creating hidden risks.

Historically, several geniuses from the major Star Palaces—including a few from the Lingji Star Palace—over-pursued perfect Star Pattern combinations, remaining at late Starforging stages with empty slots, resulting in weak power and premature deaths.

Only those who grew into true strength were real geniuses.

Usually, geniuses faced greater risks than ordinary disciples.

Regarding Xu Jin's current Star Pattern options, Qi Shanye also gave advice.

Xu Jin's Central Star Palace is based on the Great Gathering Star Pattern, with immense Star Power; now that he's inscribed the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern, it's his main combat pattern. Later, if he acquires other Fire Star Patterns, he can continue inscribing them. At Starforging Second Stage, he should inscribe the Rain Curtain Star Pattern; at Starforging Third Stage, if no suitable pattern is available, he should inscribe the Whale Swallow Star Pattern.

The Whale Swallow Star Pattern is a strange and wondrous pattern—when timed correctly, it can turn the tide in critical moments.

After Starforging Fifth or Sixth Stage, if two or more slots remain empty in the Central Star Palace, consider adding another mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern.

Although stacking a second mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern on the same Star Core can only increase Fire Star Art power by up to twenty percent, in combat, that difference is immense.

In the Lower Star Palace, Old Qi recommended that Xu Jin engrave as many different types of speed star runes as possible, to form his future speed star core.

The Mingji star rune and speed-type star runes are also an ideal match—anyone who uses them knows.

The Falling Star rune and Willow Fluff rune are mandatory.

But Old Qi strongly advised Xu Jin to engrave one additional Whale Swallow star rune on his Lower Star Palace speed star core.

The Whale Swallow star rune has very strong auxiliary effects, especially suited to Xu Jin's previous kite-ring tactic.

Old Qi was well aware of and highly praised Xu Jin's former kite-ring tactic.

Old Qi said Xu Jin's previous kite-ring tactic could only be executed by relying on enemies and star cords.

But after engraving the Whale Swallow star rune on the speed star core, Xu Jin could activate the kite-ring tactic anytime, anywhere—he simply needed to will it, and his movement would become far more elusive.

As for what comes after, it depends on what star runes Xu Jin can obtain.

Old Qi's advice differed slightly from Ning Yuchan's.

Xu Jin followed it without hesitation.

He thought about it: tomorrow, his cultivation base must break through to Star Refining Second Layer.

The prerequisite for maximizing Dao Merit gains in the Godslayer Battlefield is never delaying cultivation progress.

Do not halt cultivation just to gain a few more Dao Merits.

Two speed star runes require at least another full day to successfully engrave one.

So Xu Jin chose to first engrave the Whale Swallow star rune in the Lower Star Palace.

Before coming to the Guo Dao Academy, Xu Jin had already practiced the Whale Swallow star rune over a thousand times on the Star Lamp and had long since achieved one hundred percent success.

Engraving it now on the Mingji star core in the Lower Star Palace went smoothly, effortlessly, in one continuous motion.

But clearly, it was not as fluid or seamless as when he engraved the mid-grade Fire Source star rune on the fourth-tier core before.

Especially in time—it took a full quarter-hour to complete.

The instant the Whale Swallow star rune was engraved, an indescribable strangeness spread through his entire body.

As the Whale Swallow star rune activated, Xu Jin felt his whole body covered in vortex funnels—many movements he could never perform before were now effortless.

For example, standing upside down beneath an eave.

Previously, he could only hang upside down from the eave.

Now, Xu Jin was truly, undeniably standing on his feet beneath the eave, upside down.

No attachment was needed—just a slight surge of star power, and the suction generated at his soles allowed him to stand upside down beneath the eave.

Not only that.

Xu Jin soon developed a new technique based on this Whale Swallow star rune.

Prolonged hovering or inverted suspension in midair.

Previously, Xu Jin could only briefly hover.

That was merely using star power in rapid bursts to hover for two or three seconds.

Now, with a stronger surge of star power through the Whale Swallow star rune, any part of his body could generate a powerful star vortex, suspending him in place.

Suddenly, Xu Jin understood why Old Qi said the Whale Swallow star rune was the perfect match for his kite-ring tactic.

Before, he needed to wrap a star cord around the enemy to activate the kite-ring—severely limiting its use.

Now, whenever Xu Jin wished to activate the kite-ring, he could do so instantly—the Whale Swallow star rune's suction created an invisible, unseen arm suspending him.

Moreover, Xu Jin discovered that as he adjusted the amount of star power he input, this invisible arm would lengthen or shorten.

Applied to the kite-ring tactic, this meant Xu Jin, spinning at high speed, could now rise and fall, approach and retreat, slow down and accelerate unpredictably.

The kite-ring tactic became more elusive and far more practical in combat.

Xu Jin estimated many opponents would find it utterly maddening.

The boost in power excited Xu Jin—he longed to rush to the Godslayer Battlefield and push himself to his absolute limit.

But after a full day of intense cultivation, his soul power had dropped to less than one-third.

If he was to reach his limit, he must do so in peak condition.

The next instant, Xu Jin extended his Dream Star Rune—within two seconds, Jiang Er and Ning Yuchan, who had been chatting, fell into deep sleep.

Xu Jin entered Jiang Er's dream again, playing the role of the heroic older brother rescuing his sister.

He allowed Jiang Er's sleeping expression to relax completely.

The effect was still very strong.

Over these past days, Jiang Er had laughed more and smiled more.

The downside: she was growing increasingly attached to Xu Jin.

But being clung to felt good.

On the morning of August 28, inside the Minglun Hall of the Chen Guo Dao Academy, the current duty head of the Minglun Hall, Senior Academician Kou Jing, sat on the main seat; the other three Academicians and twelve Deputy Academicians sat along the left and right sides of the long table.

At the opposite end of the table sat the newly appointed Deputy Supervisor Dong Zhao.

Behind the table, rows of chairs held nearly a hundred instructors and teachers of the Dao Academy.

According to Chen Guo Dao Academy rules, the Minglun Hall convened a teaching meeting every half-month, where the Academicians reviewed the teaching and cultivation progress of each study hall.

The excellent were encouraged; the deficient were criticized.

Each meeting's proceedings were recorded by a designated Deputy Supervisor.

It was a relatively important internal meeting.

At this moment, the duty head of the Minglun Hall, Senior Academician Kou Jing, spoke: "Everyone is present? Then let's begin. The top priority this month is naturally the cultivation progress of the newly promoted True Disciples and Core Disciples—please report first."

At these words, Deputy Academician Liu Qingzhu's expression grew uneasy.

(End of Chapter)