Chapter 178: A Big Gift Package from the Teacher

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao listed the fifth-tier and above star patterns that Xu Jin could currently learn.

Basically, all the star patterns Xu Jin had learned so far were on the list.

Great Gathering Star Pattern, Middle-tier Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern, Spiral Star Pattern, Meteor Star Pattern, Flame Explosion Star Pattern; at the same time, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao also provided Xu Jin with two special star patterns he could learn anew.

Thorn Star Pattern and Wandering Fish Star Pattern.

Both of these special star patterns could increase defense to a certain extent; however, the Thorn Star Pattern increased a portion of defensive power while rebounding star power, whereas the Wandering Fish Star Pattern was a very sophisticated unloading star pattern.

If learned, no matter what kind of star power attack, one could slide off a portion of it.

If Xu Jin wanted to learn it, the highest he could learn was the fifth-tier middle-grade Wandering Fish Star Pattern.

The fifth-tier middle-grade Wandering Fish Star Pattern could unload 25% of the attacking star power, which was considered a relatively powerful defensive means.

"Grand Master, I have a question. Previously, Teacher Liu Zhou Qingzhu said that the middle-grade Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern is only possessed by the Ji family of Dachen Wan Yi in the entire Great Chen. Why do you also have a fifth-tier one here?" Xu Jin asked his first doubt.

"Liu Zhou Qingzhu is indeed a good teacher, but she doesn't specialize in fire-type star techniques, so there are some things she hasn't come into contact with yet.

Many years ago, the middle-grade Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern possessed by the Ji family was indeed the strongest middle-grade Fire Source in Great Chen.

But the Ji family is only a family, and the resources they control are ultimately inferior to the National Dao Academy.

Besides, although the Ji family is strong, they are still Great Chen subjects.

Therefore, more than a dozen years ago, I made a secret deal with the Ji family.

The National Dao Academy naturally had a stronger middle-grade Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern. However, the requirements for learning the fifth-tier Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern are quite numerous; not many people in the entire National Dao Academy have learned it, and naturally, very, very few people know about it.

Moreover, every disciple who learns a fifth-tier or above star pattern from the National Dao Academy must accept the restriction imprint of the Nine-Sound Bell."

"Nine-Sound Bell?" Xu Jin was a bit confused.

"This is the National Treasure of our Great Chen! It is also the Town-State Star Artifact of our Great Chen."

While speaking, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao flicked his finger, and a string of small, exquisite bells in cyan and gold colors suddenly appeared between his fingers.

There were nine small bells on the chime, and the feeling each bell gave Xu Jin was different.

Some were very cute, like toys, some had a fierce aura that rushed toward him at a glance, and as for the ninth bell, Xu Jin only took one look and felt a sense of dizziness, as if he were about to fall into it.

The Grand Master flicked his sleeve, and all the anomalies disappeared.

"Since you asked, I'll tell you now: if you choose to learn a fifth-tier or above star pattern from the National Dao Academy, you must be struck with a restriction by the Nine-Sound Bell.

However, this restriction won't have any impact on you.

After the restriction is struck, the star patterns you learn from the National Dao Academy cannot be displayed to anyone in any form without positional permission. That is to say, you can use the star patterns you learn, you can engrave them yourself, but you cannot reproduce them for others.

It's mainly to prevent leakage.

In the future, when your positional rank in the National Dao Academy reaches a certain level, you will have the freedom to teach them," Cheng Yuexiao said.

After finishing, Cheng Yuexiao asked again, "Xu Jin, are you willing to accept the restriction of the Nine-Sound Bell? If you are willing, after accepting the restriction, you can learn fifth-tier and above star patterns; if you are not willing, then..."

"I am definitely willing! With this restriction, the high-tier star patterns of the National Dao Academy cannot be leaked!

Grand Master, do the other Star Palaces also have similar star artifacts or secret techniques?" Xu Jin asked.

"They all have them! Even if they don't, they would exhaust the power of the whole country to come up with one; otherwise, leaking one is equivalent to helping the enemy, and the loss would be huge."

Cheng Yuexiao's words made Xu Jin a bit disappointed.

Xu Jin had previously wanted to capture Shang Xinggong disciples and obtain precious star patterns from them; it seemed this method could be abandoned, and he wouldn't need to think about it in the future.

But the Grand Master's supplementary sentence made Xu Jin's heart stir again.

"It can indeed prevent leakage, but it's not absolute.

Some secret techniques, such as high-tier soul-searching techniques, can still do it," Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said, "However, those who can master and use high-tier soul-searching techniques are very rare; on this point, you don't need to worry too much."

"Since you are willing, then I will perform it."

The next instant, he saw the Grand Master take out the Nine-Sound Bell and flick his finger lightly at the first cyan bell!

Hum!

While the crisp bell sound rang out, a cyan wave of light surged directly from the chime and then fell into Xu Jin's Upper Shang Xinggong.

Inside Xu Jin's Upper Shang Xinggong, cyan ripples swayed, and then they disappeared, as if nothing had happened.

But the Mingji Star Pattern keenly felt that inside the Upper Shang Xinggong, there seemed to be some indescribable constraints.

"Grand Master, I want to know which star patterns here are sixth-tier or above? Are there any seventh-tier or above star patterns?" Xu Jin asked this naturally because of the Grand Master's so-called deduction limit.

Since the Grand Master said he would let Xu Jin choose a star pattern to learn to the deduction limit, then there must be a star pattern that had to be learned to the sixth tier or even higher.

Otherwise, it would be a loss.

Xu Jin had many questions, and Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao didn't find him annoying, answering each one for Xu Jin in detail.

First was the question of seventh-tier star patterns; single-item seventh-tier star patterns had to be comprehended by the individual, and seventh-tier star patterns that could be taught in batches were very rare.

As for the sixth-tier ones available for Xu Jin to choose from, there were only four.

They were the sixth-tier lower-grade Great Gathering Star Pattern, the sixth-tier middle-grade Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern, the sixth-tier middle-grade Spiral Star Pattern, and the sixth-tier lower-grade Meteor Star Pattern.

Only these four star patterns were currently star patterns deduced to the limit.

Four choose one.

To tell the truth, Xu Jin wanted to choose all of them, because each one could significantly improve his combat power.

But after rational analysis, Xu Jin still chose the sixth-tier middle-grade Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern.

For one thing, the Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern improved the power of all of Xu Jin's star techniques, while the other three sixth-tier star patterns were slightly biased.

To maximize the benefits, it had to be the sixth-tier middle-grade Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern.

After choosing this sixth-tier middle-grade Fire Lei Lei Yuanxing Pattern, there was still one fifth-tier star pattern to choose.

There were many options available for the fifth-tier star pattern.

After considering for a long time, Xu Jin narrowed the final range to the Spiral Star Pattern, Meteor Star Pattern, Wandering Fish Star Pattern, and Flame Explosion Star Pattern, these four types.

To tell the truth, Xu Jin wanted to learn all of these star patterns.

If he could learn them all, his strength would definitely improve significantly.

But he could only choose one.

After pondering for a long time, Xu Jin chose the fifth-tier middle-grade Wandering Fish Star Pattern.

After engraving it, all defensive star techniques could be as slippery as a wandering fish, and he could unload 25% of the power.

This was equivalent to a fixed defensive power.

With the Wandering Fish Star Pattern, plus the Rain Curtain Star Pattern, plus the Lei Guang Wings, Xu Jin felt that even if he had to take an attack from a fourth-tier middle-to-late stage powerhouse head-on, it would be fine.

Xu Jin couldn't take away the recording jade tablets for these two star patterns; he learned them on the spot for more than half an hour, and after repeatedly memorizing them, he left.

Just after Xu Jin left the Danxia Academy, the silver-haired and silver-bearded Peng Zongguan appeared silently.

"Is the Palace Master preparing to start cultivating him?" Peng Zongguan asked.

"You could say that, but the merits he made this time are worthy of such rewards," Cheng Yuexiao said.

"Then what about the matter of deducing the Dao in the Star-Plucking Secret Realm?"

"Wait until he accumulates enough Silver Stars," Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said.

"Yes."

"Peng Zongguan, there is one thing I need you to help me handle."

"Palace Master, please give your instructions."

"In these one or two years, keep an eye on lightning-type star patterns; if there are any for auction, you can bid for them; it can be considered as making some preparations for this little guy, so that he can stand on his own feet sooner," Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao said.

"Yes, I will go and give instructions now."

Returning in victory, Xu Jin naturally had to visit his teacher, Liu Zhou Qingzhu.

Xu Jin didn't expect that as soon as they met, Teacher Liu Zhou Qingzhu would give Xu Jin a big surprise.

A super-sized gift package.

Two opportunities to ascend the Heavenly Staircase, five bottles of supreme-grade Refine Star Pills, half a bottle of Long Gui Soul-Forging Pills, and one bottle of Five-Spirit Soul-Calming Pills.

This was sent by Song Ziye, one of the twelve Vice Academic Rectors.

This made Xu Jin exceptionally pleasantly surprised.

This harvest was simply...

Especially the Long Gui Soul-Forging Pills; he had felt regretful before that he could only get Divine Refinement Golden Pills from the Grand Master, but he hadn't expected to make up for it now.

This wasn't even the end.

There were an additional eight Long Gui Soul-Forging Pills, which were the bets from the four Academic Rectors.

In this way, he had a full thirteen Long Gui Soul-Forging Pills.

Xu Jin didn't know about the Long Gui Soul-Forging Pills before, but after inquiring about them, he discovered that this elixir basically only appeared at auctions.

The starting price for one pill was 1,000 wisps of starlight.

And this was just the starting price.

Xu Jin had obtained thirteen of them all at once. It could be considered a huge sum of money.

Of course, this was considered concentrated here with Xu Jin; with the family wealth of the four Academic Rectors, throwing out 2,000 wisps of starlight was just a drizzle.

The one who felt the most heartache was Song Ziye, one of the twelve Vice Academic Rectors.

Song Ziye came from a wealthy family and was quite particular about his diet, eating only one meal a day, but only eating dishes produced by the chefs of the Zhaoxing Building.

Originally, the Zhaoxing Building sent eight dishes to Song Ziye's courtyard every day.

Since a few days ago, it had been directly reduced to three dishes.

It was said that this bet had directly caused Song Ziye's family wealth to shrink significantly.

"You don't know, at the Minglun Hall meeting the day before yesterday, Song Ziye's face was black, but he still took out the bet; he can be considered a man!"

"To tell the truth, I was quite worried before, because you went to participate in the Battle of Merit Selection; if your ranking in the Killing God Battlefield was surpassed by those who didn't go, then how would that be counted?

You couldn't challenge, and when you returned, the time had passed.

Who knows if there would be more arguments and shirking, and if it went badly, it would be denied.

But I didn't expect that their disciples were too useless!

You had already participated in the Battle of Merit Selection, and they still couldn't break your record. The highest one, Meng Qingqiu, was stuck at the 88th level and just couldn't pass, and the others were even worse.

Even when you weren't there, it was a steady win!

This time, you have truly brought great face to your teacher!"

While speaking, Liu Zhou Qingzhu directly tossed a jade tablet to Xu Jin, "Here, the fourth-tier upper-grade Great Gathering Star Pattern; this is the greatest benefit I could fight for you. As for the fifth-tier star pattern, due to the rules, I couldn't fight for it.

After you supplement the engraving, it should be able to increase your star power by another 10%.

If there are extra star positions, the Lower Shang Xinggong can also engrave a Great Gathering Star Pattern.

In the future, when you reach the Condense Star Realm, you must think of ways to get a fifth-tier Great Gathering Star Pattern!

Being able to significantly increase star power is the standard configuration for every Star Core!"

Xu Jin could directly feel Liu Zhou Qingzhu's happiness; when she spoke, she was beaming, and her waves were surging.

After chatting with Liu Zhou Qingzhu for a while and asking a few questions about cultivation, Xu Jin left.

Inside the quiet room of the small courtyard, Xu Jin drank a cup of tea brewed by Jiang Er herself, and smelling the fragrance of the tea, his heart gradually calmed down.

He also began to carefully think about his own cultivation path.

Currently, his cultivation in the Lower Shang Xinggong had also reached the peak of the fourth-layer Refine Star Realm and could engrave star patterns.

After engraving the star patterns, Xu Jin could improve his cultivation.

For the next period of time, Xu Jin could improve his cultivation recklessly.

Because with so many rewards as a foundation, no matter how fast Xu Jin's cultivation improved, no one would suspect anything.

In the end, Xu Jin chose to engrave the third-tier upper-grade Great Gathering Star Pattern in the extra star pattern position of the Lower Shang Xinggong.

As for the fourth-tier upper-grade Great Gathering Star Pattern he had just obtained, it would still take some time to successfully engrave.

Originally, the star pattern that should be engraved in the Lower Shang Xinggong at this moment should be the fifth-tier middle-grade Wandering Fish Star Pattern, but Xu Jin had just taken a look, and the fifth-tier star pattern was more than twice as complex as the fourth-tier star pattern; even if he was in the Star Lamp, it would take at least one or two days at the fastest.

In order not to delay his cultivation, Xu Jin chose to engrave the third-tier upper-grade Great Gathering Star Pattern first, and then supplement the engraving later.

Subsequently, Xu Jin sorted out the emblems and elixirs that needed to be nourished.

The emblems had already been nourished.

It was mainly the elixirs, especially the newly obtained Long Gui Soul-Forging Pills, which definitely had to be nourished three times for the effect to be maximized.

Xu Jin had long ago tossed four of them into the Star Lamp for nourishment.

Other positions still had to nourish other elixirs.

The nourishment positions were already insufficient.

The ascent of the Arena was imminent!

At night, Xu Jin stepped directly into the Star-Plucking Secret Realm.

He easily obtained two Copper Stars.

Subsequently, he challenged the Silver Star gatekeeper.

Thirty seconds later, Xu Jin obtained one Silver Star.

Subsequently, Xu Jin challenged the Silver Star-level Heart Demon.

Forty seconds later, Xu Jin obtained another Silver Star.

【Can challenge the Gold Star-level gatekeeper and Gold Star-level Heart Demon; do you wish to challenge?】

Xu Jin took a deep breath and made his decision.

【Challenge】

The next instant, the light and shadow changed, and a blurry figure similar to Xu Jin appeared on the opposite side.

This time, the first thing Xu Jin chose to challenge was the Gold Star-level Heart Demon.

During the previous Copper Star and Silver Star-level challenges, Xu Jin discovered a very interesting thing: the Copper Star and Silver Star-level Heart Demons did not cast any lightning-type star techniques other than Lei Guang Snake.

And when Xu Jin challenged just now, he used all fire-type star techniques.

So Xu Jin reached a conclusion.

The Heart Demon of the Star-Plucking Secret Realm was not that it would know whatever Xu Jin knew, but that it would know whatever abilities Xu Jin had displayed in the secret realms related to the Star-Plucking Building.

What was copied was probably only the star power realm.

Although the third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain he entered and fought in previously was entered through the Star-Plucking Building, it was not a secret realm of the Star-Plucking Building, but a real star domain.

In this way, Xu Jin felt relieved.

It could be considered as exploiting a small bug.

Regardless, he would get a Gold Star first.

The moment the battle started, Xu Jin directly used a Lei Guang Explosion Step, instantly rushing within five meters of the Heart Demon, and the Soul-Breaking he had long prepared was blasted out.

The Soul-Breaking Xu Jin learned was the sixth-tier lower-grade Soul-Breaking from the Lingji Shang Xinggong.

The Soul-Breaking star pattern currently taught by the Great Chen National Dao Academy was at strongest only fourth-tier middle-grade.

And according to Old Qi, even the Soul-Breaking star patterns of the two great Star Palaces would not exceed fourth-tier upper-grade.

It was mainly because divine soul star patterns were too difficult to deduce.

The power could be imagined.

This was also one of the reasons why Xu Jin's Soul-Breaking star pattern repeatedly made contributions in the third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain!

With super-strong divine soul power and a super-strong Soul-Breaking star pattern, it would be difficult not to make contributions!

Xu Jin had also used Soul-Breaking when challenging the Heart Demon previously.

But at that time, his speed was about the same as the Heart Demon's, and even if Soul-Breaking was prepared, there weren't many opportunities to use it.

At this moment, Xu Jin instantly closed in, and the Soul-Breaking arrow instantly blasted into the Heart Demon's Upper Shang Xinggong.

The Heart Demon's divine soul cultivation was also eighth-layer Refine Star Realm, but divine soul secret techniques could not be copied; this was a secret Xu Jin had already discovered.

The next instant, Xu Jin saw the Heart Demon sluggish for a moment, the time was extremely short.

This was the effect of the Soul-Breaking blast.

This time was enough!

Almost simultaneously, Flame Explosion and Lei Guang Rope were blasted out.

Lei Guang Rope to trap the enemy, Flame Explosion to kill the enemy!

This was a set of effective tactical combinations Xu Jin had summarized after constantly fighting with fourth-tier powerhouses in the third-tier Purple Wind Star Domain.

Using it on the Heart Demon at this time was also exceptionally effective!

With one Flame Explosion blasted out, the protective light on the Heart Demon's body directly collapsed.

Starlight exploded under the Heart Demon's feet, as if he wanted to move away.

But he was bound by the Lei Guang Rope.

The next instant, the Heart Demon's Flame Explosion blasted toward Xu Jin.

Xu Jin's figure fluttered like willow catkins, and the moment he dodged, his left hand used Flame Explosion.

His right hand beckoned slightly, and lightning spiraled down like a flood toward the Heart Demon.

Five fingers flicked continuously.

In an extremely short time, Xu Jin directly drained the star power in his Lower Shang Xinggong, blasting out hundreds of Lei Guang Arrows.

The lightning directly submerged the Heart Demon.

The next instant, a message prompt appeared in front of Xu Jin.

【Congratulations on successfully challenging the Gold Star-level Heart Demon, obtaining one Gold Star】

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 179 =====