Chapter 162: The Secret Realm of the Autumn Examination

In the secret realm of the Chen Guo National Dao Academy's autumn examination, Grand Master Cheng Yuexue, Du Du Tingyun, the Chen Guo Star Lord of the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong, and Zhang Zhen, the Chen Guo Star Lord of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, gathered together, each accompanied by several subordinates.

"Since both Star Lords have arrived, shall we draw lots to select the star domains? Shall we follow the old rules?" asked Left Libationer Meng Meng Yanhui.

"Agreed."

"Naturally."

Although both Star Lords expressed their agreement, to prevent any accidents, Left Libationer Meng Meng Yanhui still said, "Grand Master, both Star Lords, let me reiterate the rules. The star domains provided by each party must be those that have not yet been conquered or controlled. Otherwise, one million strands of starlight must be provided to the other two parties as compensation. No problems with that, right?"

"Why, do you still not trust us? Let's begin quickly." Zhang Zhen stroked his exquisite handlebar mustache and smiled.

Subsequently, the Chen Guo National Dao Academy, the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong, and the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong each provided three third-tier star domains. After each party confirmed that they were indeed unconquered and uncontrolled star domains, Zhang Zhen, the Chen Guo Star Lord of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, took out nine identical jade tablets and directly used his divine sense to write the names of the nine third-tier star domains into the tablets.

After Star Lords Zhang Zhen and Du Du Tingyun successively placed seals on these nine jade tablets to prevent divine sense prying, each tablet was covered with a thick layer of starlight.

The next instant, the handlebar-mustached Zhang Zhen waved his hand, and the nine jade tablets flew up simultaneously, hanging high in the sky of the National Dao Academy's autumn examination secret realm.

"Grand Master Cheng, please." Du Du Tingyun, wearing a jade dragon hair-binding crown, urged.

Cheng Yuexue glanced at them, casually summoned one of the jade tablets, and then violently broke the seal. After just one look, her eyes dimmed slightly.

Third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain, a star domain provided by the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong.

The Azure Bright Shang Xinggong had attacked it several times before, and they were only a step away from conquering it.

Luck was not very good; the native alien race in this third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain was slightly troublesome.

However, this difficulty was something the disciples of all three factions needed to face together.

Seeing the star domain Cheng Yuexue had drawn, Zhang Zhen and Du Du Tingyun looked at each other again, stroked their mustaches once more, and joy already appeared in their eyes.

Only by drawing a star domain provided by the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong could there be a possibility of executing that little underhanded trick.

But they hadn't expected Cheng Yuexue's luck to be this bad.

It could only be said that destiny was not on her side!

Following the determination of the star domain, Left Libationer Meng Meng Yanhui collected the other eight jade tablets in front of him, violently broke them open one by one, and checked the names of the star domains within.

"Hah, does Libationer Meng not trust us?" Du Du Tingyun's jade crown shook as he sneered.

"Just a formality."

Meng Meng Yanhui checked them one by one, confirmed that the names of the nine provided star domains were all listed, and only then did he stop.

Only engraving the name of one star domain in each jade tablet—this kind of thing had only happened once before, but that one time was enough for Chen Guo to remember it firmly.

"Then please, Star Lord Zhang, provide the map of the Purple Wind Star Domain, and then we will assemble the disciples in the Star-Plucking Tower of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong's Chen Guo main hall before setting off together," Meng Meng Yanhui said.

Zhang Zhen casually flicked a jade tablet from his palm, and he and Du Du Tingyun quickly departed.

After Meng Meng Yanhui used the fastest speed to send this map to the seven disciples via the Star-Plucking Token, he and Grand Master Cheng Yuexue appeared in the quiet room where Xu Jin and the others were assembled.

"Follow me!"

Grand Master Cheng Yuexue waved her large sleeve, starlight descended, and she carried the seven disciples as they soared into the sky.

"I will send the information you need to pay attention to to your Star-Plucking Tokens. Pay close attention."

"The native alien race of the Purple Wind Star Domain is dominated by the Prince Prince Zi Yi tribe of the Eight Desolations alien race. Their speed is faster than that of ordinary alien races. You must be especially careful to guard against them and avoid encountering Prince Prince Zi Yi tribe members at the Condense Star Realm."

"Prince Prince Zi Yi tribe members at the Condense Star Realm are adept at speed, and the royal family is even more adept at lightning-type star arts. They are a very powerful alien race among the Eight Desolations alien races!"

"However, in the entire Purple Wind Star Domain, there are no more than a hundred alien races at the fourth-tier Condense Star Realm, and most of them are at the early stage of the fourth tier. There are no more than twenty Prince Prince Zi Yi tribe members at the mid-to-late stage of the fourth tier. You must be careful."

"As for the assembly points, there are four high mountains that can serve as temporary assembly points: Thunder Wing Mountain, Purple Wind Gorge, Half-Wing Peak, and Golden Sun Mountain. Their locations are in the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast respectively."

"The intelligence from several years ago was that the Purple Wind Star Domain had already been unified. After you enter, you will be repelled by the star domain's will, and your approximate location will be known to their royal court. It is recommended that you move once every three hours, and the distance moved must exceed one hundred miles."

" "

Ten breaths later, the Grand Master landed with the seven disciples in front of the Star-Plucking Tower of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong's Chen Guo main hall.

Twenty years ago, the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong also built a Star-Plucking Tower in Dachen Wan Yi, but it was of the branch tower specification.

In a region, within a radius of one thousand miles, there can only be one main Star-Plucking Tower. This is the rule of the Star-Plucking Tower.

"Grand Master, you have arrived very quickly. Please." Zhang Zhen came out personally to welcome them, and then led Cheng Yuexue and the group of disciples into this branch of the Star-Plucking Tower.

The Chen Guo National Dao Academy did not obtain a star gate to the third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain, but the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong did, so they had to enter the third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain from the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong's branch tower.

The moment they stepped in, the pupils of Grand Master Cheng Yuexue and Meng Meng Yanhui contracted simultaneously.

Because they saw Tian Lie and Zhang Shuo, the top geniuses of the two major star palaces.

The two major star palaces had really gone all out.

"Tian Lie, a top-grade Forge Star genius of the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong, at the peak of the fifth layer of Refine Star, with extremely strong combat power, adept at fire-type star arts."

"Zhou Yuanguang, according to public information from the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong, is a top-grade Forge Star genius, but it is rumored that he is actually a supreme-grade Forge Star genius, currently at the peak of the fourth layer of Refine Star, and it is said he has already achieved Divine Soul Forge Star."

"Wang Wang Anye, a top-grade Forge Star genius of the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong, at the peak of the fourth layer of Refine Star, adept at lightning-type star arts."

"Zhang Shuo, a supreme-grade Forge Star genius of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, at the peak of the fifth layer of Refine Star, with extremely strong combat power, and his Divine Soul cultivation is rumored to be at the first layer of Refine Star, possibly higher, adept at earth-type star arts."

"Tao Tao Tiancheng, a top-grade Forge Star genius of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, at the peak of the fourth layer of Refine Star, adept at fire-type star arts."

"Yu Guan Ji, a top-grade Forge Star genius of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, at the peak of the fourth layer of Refine Star, adept at water-type star arts."

"He He Yulan, a top-grade Forge Star genius of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, at the peak of the fourth layer of Refine Star, adept at fire-type, and rumored to be even more adept at speed."

Left Libationer Meng Meng Yanhui's efficiency was extremely high. The moment he saw the disciples of the two major star palaces, he sent the simple intelligence on them to Xu Jin and the others.

It could be seen that the National Dao Academy had indeed done a great deal of preparatory work for this battle of selection.

"Everyone, are the rules clear?"

Since they had arrived at the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, Zhang Zhen, the Chen Guo Star Lord of the Azure Bright Shang Xinggong, became the host and took over the proceedings.

The group of disciples naturally nodded.

While nodding, Xu Jin felt slightly uncomfortable.

Because in the dozens of breaths since he entered, Xu Jin discovered that the seven star palace disciples opposite were all staring at him with wolf-like gazes.

Especially the gazes of Tian Lie and Zhang Shuo, the top geniuses pointed out by Libationer Meng, were even more like they wanted to eat him alive—excited and ferocious!

After receiving an affirmative answer, Zhang Zhen looked at Grand Master Cheng Yuexue, "Grand Master, then let's activate the star artifacts."

While speaking, Du Du Tingyun, the Chen Guo Star Lord of the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong, took out a roulette-style star artifact, casually wiped it to erase the aura on it, and then handed it to Grand Master Cheng Yuexue, saying, "Old rules, the Grand Master will activate it while we supervise, how about that?"

"Naturally." Grand Master Cheng Yuexue took the Six-Harmony Golden Wheel, and then the fourteen disciples from both sides successively dripped a drop of fresh blood in sequence. A golden light flew out from the Six-Harmony Golden Wheel and merged into the bodies of the fourteen disciples.

"After the star palace disciples slay two alien races at the ninth layer of Refine Star, every hour, they will receive a push notification of the corresponding National Dao Academy disciple's location," Zhang Zhen shouted.

"Prepare to enter," Grand Master Cheng Yuexue said.

"Let me reiterate: each person can only carry two star weapons. Emblems and star artifacts of the fourth tier and above cannot be brought in, nor can they be brought in!"

"There is no limit on elixirs, but each person can only carry five emblems below the fourth tier," Left Libationer Meng Meng Yanhui emphasized again.

The next instant, the star palace disciples stepped one by one toward the star gate of the third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain.

But in the few steps he took toward the star gate, the divine sense and star power of the Grand Master and Meng Meng Yanhui had already scanned his body seven or eight times to prevent him from bringing in more emblems and affecting fairness.

One after another, the star palace disciples entered under the inspection of the Grand Master and Meng Meng Yanhui.

When it was the turn of the National Dao Academy disciples to enter, Star Lords Du Du Tingyun and Zhang Zhen began to use their super-strong divine sense and star power to explore and inspect the National Dao Academy disciples inside and out.

Before Xu Jin stepped into the star gate, he felt that he had been checked by their divine sense at least ten times. Only after there were no problems did he step into the star gate.

As for the fourth-tier star artifact, Falling Star, obtained earlier, Xu Jin had already put it away.

But Xu Jin also had his own little secret; this time entering the star domain, he planned to conduct a small experiment.

Therefore, before stepping into the star gate, Xu Jin was slightly nervous, fearing that something might be discovered.

But until Xu Jin stepped into the star gate, the two Star Lords did not show any reaction.

This made Xu Jin happy; the experiment was a success.

The Arena of Battle was more powerful and mysterious than Xu Jin had imagined.

Last time when he went to the second-tier star domain, it was Xu Jin's first time stepping into a star domain, and he had honestly put down all his super-tier emblems.

This time, Xu Jin wanted to give it a try.

Even if he couldn't bring them in, or if they were discovered, with the Grand Master by his side, a single word would solve it, and he could just hand them over.

But what Xu Jin hadn't expected was that the things hidden inside the Arena of Battle were not discovered by the two Star Lords, and even when passing through the star gate, the star gate did not have any reaction.

Next, it would depend on whether the super-tier things in the Arena of Battle could be taken out after falling into the third-tier star domain.

The next instant, the starlight in front of Xu Jin changed, and the whistling of a wild wind already rang in his ears.

In front of him was an endless dense forest. The moment Xu Jin landed, the Mingji Star Pattern in his lower star palace suddenly flickered continuously.

He saw that not far away, a team of alien races was looking at Xu Jin in astonishment, and the leader was a Prince Prince Zi Yi alien.

Seventh layer of Refine Star!

Just one look, and that Prince Prince Zi Yi alien roared, leading dozens of subordinates to charge toward Xu Jin.

Xu Jin, however, was not panicked at all.

Two star-fire ropes burning with raging flames rotated rapidly, probing out like poisonous dragons, and in an instant, they entangled and bound this seventh-layer Refine Star expert.

The next instant, Xu Jin wanted to blast him to death with a fire arrow.

But what surprised Xu Jin was that the moment this seventh-layer Refine Star Prince Prince Zi Yi alien was bound by the star-fire rope, he couldn't help but let out a miserable scream.

During the scream, the area covered by the star-fire rope was directly burned through, and in the blink of an eye, white bones were burned out, and in the blink of an eye, he was incinerated.

He was directly burned to death.

This power gave Xu Jin a big fright.

Subsequently, he took a step out, the star-fire ring swept out, and most of the alien races at the early stage of Refine Star were directly killed in seconds.

Even those who were not killed in seconds were burned to serious injury by the flames.

There were two other alien races who reacted and wanted to run, but they were directly blasted to death by Xu Jin with star arrows.

He searched them, but there was nothing valuable. The seventh-layer Refine Star Prince Prince Zi Yi alien was directly burned to ashes, but the star core was preserved.

A mid-grade Forge Star Prince Prince Zi Yi alien, whose strength was not considered strong, but at least he was at the seventh layer of Refine Star, yet he was directly incinerated by the flames.

Before this, in the Killing God Battlefield, such a thing had never happened.

In the end, Xu Jin attributed it to the change in the power of the mid-tier Red Scale Heart he had just obtained.

When the three low-tier Red Scale Hearts merged into one mid-tier Red Scale Heart, Xu Jin felt something was different, but he didn't know exactly where the change was.

Now it seemed that the power of the flames had been greatly improved.

Teacher Liuzhou Qingzhu had said that one low-tier Red Scale Heart was equivalent to the superposition of a low-tier fire source and a low-tier fire-image star pattern.

Previously, Xu Jin did not know the specific role of the fire-image star pattern.

Later, he took time to specifically ask Liuzhou Qingzhu.

The fire-image star pattern is an extremely rare type of star pattern. Currently, it is known that only the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong has it; it is a secret star pattern of the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong, not passed on unless one is a peerless genius.

Because of this, its specific power is not too clear, but it is definitely the most precious star pattern among fire-type star patterns.

The Chen Guo National Dao Academy had made speculations about the power of the fire-image star pattern. It is roughly speculated that its power has two aspects: first, it improves fire-type star power affinity, and after the fifth tier, it can improve the power of mid-to-high-tier fire-type star arts to a certain extent.

Second, it improves the power of all fire-type star arts, but the specific improvement range is unknown, starting from a minimum of 10% and potentially up to 50%.

Because the Chen Guo National Dao Academy does not have the fire-image star pattern, everything is just speculative data obtained after fighting with a small number of elite geniuses in the Profound Heaven Shang Xinggong.

Therefore, even Teacher Liuzhou Qingzhu could only give Xu Jin such a slightly vague answer.

But Xu Jin, at this moment, had deeply experienced the power of the fire-image star pattern.

No, it should be the power of the mid-tier fire-image star pattern. (Note: fourth to sixth-tier star patterns are mid-tier star patterns.)

Because what Xu Jin possesses at this time is a mid-tier Red Scale Heart, the effect of the fire-image star pattern obtained is likely a mid-tier fire-image star pattern.

It's just that the improvement in fire-type power is much stronger than Xu Jin imagined.

Unfortunately, the mid-tier Red Scale Heart only superimposes effects similar to a mid-tier fire source and a mid-tier fire-image star pattern, rather than directly engraving a mid-tier fire-image star pattern.

Otherwise, if Xu Jin could record it, he would be a top-tier great contributor to the National Dao Academy.

Thinking about it, it's impossible. If it were possible, the Grand Master, having obtained the Red Scale Heart for so many years, would have recorded it long ago.

In the lower star palace, the Mingji Star Pattern returned to calm, representing temporary safety.

Xu Jin also quickly sank his mind into the Red Scale Heart to sense the locations of the other six fellow disciples.

A few breaths later, his brow furrowed!

Why could he only sense four people?

(End of chapter)