Chapter 183: The Grand National Master

At night, when Xu Jin enhanced the mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern on the fourth-rank Zhongxing Palace to a mid-level sixth-rank Fire Source Star Pattern, it was utterly seamless and extremely fluid.

This was undoubtedly closely related to the gains Xu Jin had made over the past two days studying and analyzing Fire Star Patterns in the National Academy's library.

In just fifteen minutes, the sixth-rank mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern—twice as complex as the fourth-rank pattern—was successfully inscribed within the Zhongxing Palace.

The instant the inscription succeeded, Xu Jin was startled to find the mid-level Red-Scale Heart inside the Zhongxing Palace glowing fiercely, restless and pulsing.

Xu Jin's heart stirred; he released his control over the Red-Scale Heart.

The next instant, the mid-level Red-Scale Heart suddenly transformed into a streak of crimson light and leapt into the newly formed sixth-rank mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern.

In an instant, their energies perfectly harmonized.

A magnificent scene unfolded.

The mid-level Red-Scale Heart began to flow within the first star halo, where the Fire Source Star Pattern resided, moving in sync with the swirling starlight.

Upon closer inspection, it resembled the celestial satellites Xu Jin had seen in textbooks from his past life.

The Dajuxing core was the main star; the original several star halos had merely orbited it like rings, but now the added mid-level Red-Scale Heart had merged into this halo ring and began spinning rapidly around the main star.

Xu Jin activated the Mingji Star Pattern and carefully sensed for a while; the confusion on his face gradually turned into a smile.

Xu Jin did not know what had happened.

But it must be a good thing.

Xu Jin sensed that after the mid-level Red-Scale Heart merged into the sixth-rank mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern, both their energies were slowly changing.

And the change was positive.

It felt like mutual nourishment.

But the change was minuscule—only the Mingji Star Pattern could detect it.

This was an unexpected delight.

After thinking it over, Xu Jin directly gripped the Star-Picking Token and entered the God-Slaying Battlefield.

He had to test the power of the sixth-rank mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern.

Theoretically, the power of a sixth-rank mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern should be fifty percent greater than that of a fourth-rank upper-level Fire Source Star Pattern.

A fifty percent power increase was terrifying!

【First Place: Xu Jin, Level 94】

【Second Place: Meng Qingqiu, Level 89】

【Third Place: Ji Hongli, Level 89】

【Fourth Place: Yan Chen, Level 87】

【Fifth Place: Lu Kun, Level 86】

After entering, Xu Jin instinctively glanced at the God-Slaying Battlefield rankings and couldn't help but grin unethically.

He hadn't shown up for seven or eight days, yet none of the other True Disciples had surpassed his rank.

No wonder his teacher Liu Qingzhu was so delighted.

The rankings hadn't changed much; Ji Hongli had risen from fourth to third place.

During their trip to the Purple Wind Star Region, Ji Hongli's group had gained immensely—not to mention the fifth-rank Star Patterns awarded by the National Academy, which could greatly enhance their strength.

The next instant, Xu Jin stormed into Level 94.

Compared to when he challenged this level seven days ago, Xu Jin's cultivation had not changed drastically.

Last time, he was at the peak of Star Refining Third Stage; now he had just broken through to Star Refining Fifth Stage.

In the Star Refining Realm, a one-stage cultivation increase boosts combat power by roughly twenty percent—that was common knowledge.

Beyond that, his apparent strength had not changed much.

At the same time, Xu Jin imposed a restriction on himself.

He would never use mid-level Star Arts in ordinary challenges unless he had first used them before his Inner Demon.

Especially Star Arts granted by the Venerated Star Core.

Previously, the Thunder Star Arts Xu Jin had used before his Inner Demon were only Thunderstep, Thunder Wing, and Thunder Arrow.

Light and shadow shifted; the familiar scene appeared.

The moment the screen vanished, four Star Refining Ninth Stage experts surrounded Xu Jin from all four directions and attacked.

Xu Jin stood still and casually fired eight Fire Arrows.

Xu Jin had come to test how the power of his Fire Star Arts had changed after inscribing the sixth-rank mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern.

Last time he challenged this level, he hadn't inscribed Flame Explosion, so he didn't use it now.

The next instant, Xu Jin froze.

Yes—he himself was stunned by the power.

One-shot kill!

A single Fire Arrow obliterated them.

Originally, Xu Jin had expected that firing two Fire Arrows in succession to eliminate these Star Refining Ninth Stage aliens would indicate a significant power increase.

But unexpectedly, four of the eight Fire Arrows missed.

Because the first four strikes had instantly killed those elite Star Refining Ninth Stage aliens.

Was the power increase of the sixth-rank Fire Source Star Pattern this strong?

Xu Jin was deeply astonished.

After pondering for a while, Xu Jin realized he had overlooked one issue—the mid-level Red-Scale Heart.

When he challenged Level 94 seven or eight days ago, he possessed only two low-level Red-Scale Hearts.

It was only the day after completing the challenge that the Grand National Master visited and gifted Xu Jin one low-level Red-Scale Heart, which he then fused into a mid-level one.

Thus, compared to his state seven or eight days ago, Xu Jin's killing power had increased in three aspects.

His cultivation had risen, boosting combat power by more than twenty percent.

The Star Pattern had been upgraded to a sixth-rank mid-level Fire Source Star Pattern, increasing Fire Star Art damage by fifty percent.

He had gained one low-level Red-Scale Heart, fused into a mid-level one, enhancing Fire Star Arts by at least twenty to thirty percent.

Combined, his Fire Star Art power had doubled.

With this calculation, a single Fire Arrow instantly killing a Star Refining Ninth Stage alien was perfectly normal.

Since he was here, Xu Jin decided to take advantage and clear more levels of the God-Slaying Battlefield.

There were Dao Merit rewards too.

Although each level cleared granted only a dozen or so Dao Merits, sometimes just a few.

But small amounts add up.

Xu Jin never found them too little.

For Star Refining Ninth Stage alien elites, one Fire Arrow could kill them.

The next few levels were extremely simple.

He cleared them all with one-shot kills.

Level 6 added a new Star Refining Ninth Stage alien prodigy—one Fire Arrow couldn't kill him.

Then use two!

Eliminated!

Until Level 100 of the God-Slaying Battlefield, Xu Jin used nothing but Fire Arrows.

Standing motionless, he rapidly fired with all ten fingers, unleashing the Nine Veins Divine Arrow technique in succession, breezing through Level 100 with ease.

Xu Jin was growing increasingly clear and aware of the power of sixth-rank Star Patterns and how profoundly high-rank Star Patterns affected cultivators or factions.

Xu Jin had never paid attention before—or had held a misconception.

He thought the so-called ten percent power increase from high-rank Star Patterns was additive on the base power.

His previous understanding was: if a first-rank lower-level Fire Source Star Pattern had a power of 100, then second-rank lower-level would be 130, third-rank lower-level 160, fourth-rank lower-level 190.

But Xu Jin discovered he was wrong.

This ten percent increase was not additive on the original base power, but compounded upon the previous rank's power.

Thus, if a first-rank lower-level Fire Source Star Pattern had a power of 100, then second-rank would be 133, third-rank 177, fourth-rank 235.

This compounding increase became larger the higher the rank.

Xu Jin estimated that upgrading from a fourth-rank upper-level Fire Source Star Pattern to a sixth-rank mid-level one increased the true power of Fire Star Arts by over seventy percent, nearly eighty percent.

Combined with the other two boosts, such performance was perfectly normal!

After all, among Star Refining disciples, those possessing fifth-rank Star Patterns were rare; how much rarer were those with sixth-rank mid-level Star Patterns?

Without hesitation, Xu Jin continued challenging the God-Slaying Battlefield.

Ordinary Star Refining First Stage aliens posed little threat to him.

This had already been verified in combat during the Third-Rank Purple Wind Star Region.

Especially now, with both his cultivation and Star Patterns enhanced.

Standing in place, firing Fire Arrows, Xu Jin easily reached Level 110.

This once again made him feel the sheer joy of being a stationary mage!

Standing still and annihilating enemies with spells was truly satisfying.

At Level 110, a slight problem emerged.

A Star Refining First Stage peak alien prodigy survived the Fire Arrow and managed to reach Xu Jin's side.

But he only reached Xu Jin's side.

Dangerous?

Impossible!

A Flame Burst!

It exploded into shards.

Notably, after reaching Challenge 101, the base Dao Merit reward increased by ten points directly.

When Xu Jin challenged Challenge 100, the reward was sixty Dao Merit points, with a base of six; theoretically, the base for the next level should have been seven.

But it jumped straight to eighteen!

From Challenge 101 to 110, Xu Jin swept through effortlessly and gained 990 Dao Merit points—also very impressive.

Continue challenging.

The elite alien of Condensed Star Second Rebirth still posed little pressure on Xu Jin.

He swept through effortlessly, but at Challenge 117, he encountered a minor issue—easily resolved with a Flame Burst.

A few minutes later, Xu Jin reached Challenge 120 and earned another 1, 00 Dao Merit points. The reward was still quite good.

Keep challenging!

When challenging Challenge 121, Xu Jin's base Dao Merit reward had risen to twenty-two points.

Without changing his cultivation base, each level up increased the Dao Merit reward by two points.

Before engraving the mid-tier Fire Source Star Pattern of the sixth rank, Xu Jin had already slain genuine Condensed Star Third Rebirth experts within the Zi Feng Star Region.

The aliens spawned by the God of Killing Battlefield possessed only eighty to ninety percent of the true combat power of aliens in the real star regions.

With this advantage, Xu Jin dispatched them with ease.

He still opened with Fire Arrows; if that failed, he followed up with a Flame Burst.

Surrounding attacks? Nonexistent!

Rain of Fire was the best Star Art to break through surrounding attacks.

At Challenge 127, seven aliens surrounded him; Xu Jin wiped out six with one Rain of Fire, and finished the last one with a Flame Burst.

Challenge 127—though he still felt far from his limit.

Xu Jin felt his current limit might allow him to reach Challenge 140 or even beyond 150.

But this challenge level was already becoming conspicuous; Xu Jin wondered whether he should continue to Challenge 128.

Should this round of challenges end here?

Suddenly, Xu Jin's Star-Picking Token vibrated violently.

Three rapid pulses.

An urgent Starlight Message?

This puzzled Xu Jin.

Urgent Starlight Messages must be checked, as they might carry military orders.

Reluctantly pausing his challenge, Xu Jin sank his mind into the token and discovered it was a Starlight Message from Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao.

"Enough. Stop challenging for now."

Xu Jin: "??"

Xu Jin suddenly smiled. His concerns had been right—this had drawn Grand Master's attention.

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao sent another Starlight Message: "Even if you have more strength left, don't fight anymore.

If you keep going, you'll draw too much attention!

Do you want to attract the collective notice of the Three Star Palaces?"

Suddenly, Xu Jin sensed a faint undertone in Grand Master's message.

It carried a hint of resentment.

Xu Jin began to understand: if he kept fighting, he'd draw too much attention—he'd be too conspicuous.

Xu Jin had now reached Challenge 127 in the God of Killing Battlefield, which corresponded to fourth-rank Condensed Star Third Rebirth.

His current cultivation was only Star Refining Fifth Rebirth.

If he kept going, it would be terrifying.

"Uh, sorry, Grand Master. I was just considering whether to continue myself—since the Dao Merit rewards kept increasing, I pushed through this far. I'll stop now."

"You still have strength left?"

Inside Danxia Palace, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao pressed his hand to his forehead.

He had assumed Xu Jin was challenging the God of Killing Battlefield to hone his combat skills—but never imagined he was doing it solely to accumulate more Dao Merit.

What a mess.

He had been trying every means to suppress Xu Jin's rising fame, even wishing to bury him out of sight.

And now, just as he was worrying, Xu Jin nearly pulled off a massive spectacle!

Challenge 127—thankfully, still acceptable.

Within the range of true top-tier genius ability.

"A bit."

"Do not challenge the God of Killing Battlefield again until you break through to Star Refining Eighth Rebirth."

"Break through to Star Refining Sixth Rebirth as fast as possible—within two days, and then announce it loudly so as many people as possible know."

After sending two Starlight Messages, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao feared Xu Jin still didn't grasp the situation and sent another.

"This is a military order!"

"Uh, disciple obeys!"

Xu Jin felt utterly helpless—what kind of situation was this?

Even challenging the God of Killing Battlefield had caused trouble.

But Xu Jin understood: Grand Master meant well—he had to obey.

He'd need to be more careful in this regard going forward.

【Xu Jin received 5, 00 Dao Merit gifted by Cheng Yuexiao. After Danxia Tower deducted taxes, your Dao Merit increased by 4, 00 points.】

【Dao Merit: 35112】

"This is compensation. Don't challenge again."

Xu Jin received several notifications, and finally, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao sent a Starlight Message to explain.

This made Xu Jin cover his mouth and laugh.

Grand Master feared Xu Jin couldn't resist the temptation of Dao Merit and had just gifted him a massive sum.

"Rest assured, Grand Master—I won't set foot in the God of Killing Battlefield again until I reach Star Refining Eighth Rebirth." Xu Jin quickly pledged.

But after making the promise, Xu Jin began to ponder.

Since the God of Killing Battlefield was off-limits, he'd go to the Third-Rank Training Realm and fight a few more battles.

It had been a long time since he'd visited the Training Realm.

Previously, he hadn't gone because he felt his cultivation and combat power were too low—he'd only get beaten. He'd wait until he improved before challenging the rankings.

As for honing combat skills, the God of Killing Battlefield was sufficient.

Now, the God of Killing Battlefield was forbidden.

He had no choice but to enter the Training Realm.

Xu Jin believed his current strength would easily secure him a top-one-thousand ranking in the Third-Rank Training Realm.

Top one hundred? Probably no problem.

Inside Danxia Academy, Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao, upon seeing Xu Jin's reply, pressed his hand to his forehead. "Peng Lao, keep a close eye on this kid—he nearly caused a major incident."

"Look, he says he still has strength left. Given his previous pace of breaking through, he could've reached Challenge 135—or even beyond 145."

If that happened, Xu Jin would become a prime suspect among the Three Star Palaces for the Golden Star."

Some Star Palaces might even take action.

But this level is still acceptable!

"All Three Star Palaces have disciples who challenge the God of Killing Battlefield six or seven levels above their own." Cheng Yuexiao chuckled bitterly.

"We forgot to warn him, and we underestimated his strength. I suspect the power he showed before wasn't even his peak." Director Peng said.

"Exactly. Otherwise, even if he upgraded his Fire Source Star Pattern to mid-sixth rank, he wouldn't be this strong—clearing a challenge in three or four breaths? That's outright domination!"

"I wasn't this powerful back then!" Cheng Yuexiao said.

"True. When Master challenged these milestone levels, he got beaten over and over again!" Director Peng looked nostalgic.

"Who says that? I once cleared them in one go!" Cheng Yuexiao glared.

In Meng Qingqiu's quiet chamber, Meng Qingqiu, having just failed Challenge 89 of the God of Killing Battlefield, stared at Xu Jin's skyrocketing rank and sighed.

Challenge 127!

She was only at 89.

How had the gap grown so wide?

Lu Kun was equally stunned.

He was the first to notice—and his face turned grim.

Previously, Lu Kun thought Xu Jin was a pebble he could kick aside. Later, when Xu Jin became a disciple of Master Fang Xuezheng, Lu Kun thought him a small mound—easily surpassed with the Master's help.

Then, when Xu Jin surged to Challenge 94 in the God of Killing Battlefield, Lu Kun thought him a small hill—worthy of a slight upward glance.

But still within reach!

With effort, he could still surpass him!

But now, seeing Xu Jin's Challenge 127 ranking, Lu Kun suddenly felt a crushing sense of helplessness.

It felt like gazing up at a towering mountain!

He's reached the peak of Star Refinement Fifth Layer, and the Lower Star Palace's Star Refinement Second Layer progress is decent—but he's still stuck at Level 87.

Xu Jin has already reached Level 127, facing seven elite aliens in a group assault at Fourth Layer, Star Refinement Third Level.

How long will it take him to reach this level?

Is Star Refinement Eighth Layer even possible?

After thinking it over, Lu Kun shook his head—no chance at all!

What about Star Refinement Ninth Layer?

At Star Refinement Ninth Layer, there might be a chance.

But the problem is, Xu Jin is only at Star Refinement Fifth Layer—by the time he reaches Ninth Layer, how immensely powerful will he have become!

Suddenly, Lu Kun felt a wave of despair.

How could he ever surpass him?

Heartbreaking!

Yan Chen came to the God-Slaying Battlefield only after receiving Lu Kun's message.

After seeing Xu Jin's astonishing Rank 127, Yan Chen fell silent for a long while, then quietly turned and headed for the Star-Picking Square.

He immediately purchased one hundred hours of Fourth-Layer Star Force Meditation Realm training time!

Hard training!

Hard training!

Hard training!

In comparison, Ji Hongli was slow to react.

She was only informed by her teacher, Song Ziye.

"Hongli, you must work harder. Look at Xu Jin's God-Slaying Battlefield rank—Level 127. Your Rank 88 is making your teacher look foolish. I'm too embarrassed to attend the next Minglun Hall meeting." This was the Starlight Message Song Ziye sent to Ji Hongli.

"Yes, Master, I understand. I'll train hard, train hard, I'll push myself!"

Ji Hongli sent back a Starlight Message to her teacher, then instantly entered the God-Slaying Battlefield, glanced twice, saw Xu Jin's Rank 127, and jumped up in delight.

The next instant, Ji Hongli bounced excitedly toward her grandfather Ji Bang's study.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, look! Xu Jin's God-Slaying Battlefield rank went up again, went up again!"

Unable to bear Ji Hongli's shaking, Ji Bang sent his mind through the Star-Picking Talisman into the God-Slaying Battlefield, took one look, and his pupils shrank!

Star Refinement Fifth Layer cultivation base—and he's reached Level 127 in the God-Slaying Battlefield?

What does this mean?

This potential…

Suddenly, Ji Bang smiled at his granddaughter, Ji Hongli.

This granddaughter—she's a lucky star.

Only because of her persistence did he give Xu Jin proper attention and prepare a Fourth-Layer Star Artifact.

Originally, he'd planned to give him some insignia or token.

Now it seemed even a Fourth-Layer Star Artifact might not be enough to express his gratitude!

(End of Chapter)