Chapter 243: Rain Curtain Golden Bell (Mid-Autumn Festival Joy)

Guodao Academy, Feiyan Learning Hall.

Xu Jin came here specifically to seek guidance from his teacher, Liu Feiyan.

Although the Grand National Master had already provided the subsequent cultivation direction, including the seventh-rank earth-source star pattern, Xu Jin still had to visit Teacher Liu Feiyan.

By coming here, Xu Jin's earth-source star pattern would have a more plausible source.

Of course, the Grand National Master's channel was also legitimate, but if the Grand National Master gave it directly, it would draw too much attention.

Previously, Xu Jin thought he had concealed himself well.

But after witnessing Kou Jing's breakthrough as a Senior Academician, and with the Grand National Master's insight, Xu Jin suddenly became alert.

The present world, in fact, also has big data.

Yet such a divine artifact is held by only a very few.

Now that Kou Jing has broken through, the Grand National Master's official announcement claims it was a seventh-rank fire-source star pattern breakthrough—this should buy some time.

But how long it will last is uncertain.

As the Grand National Master said, if one person in the Chen Guo Guodao Academy breaks through using a seventh-rank fire-source star pattern, it's luck.

If two people both break through using seventh-rank fire-source star patterns, it's an open card.

Many will then conclude that the legendary genius who plucked six golden stars resides in Chen Guo.

If he is, then yes.

If he isn't, still yes!

Then they'll begin screening.

Thus, Xu Jin, the autumn exam champion, will inevitably be the first suspect, the first target.

From this moment on, Xu Jin has become utterly alert.

"You must learn the earth-source star pattern! Moreover, once you break through to fourth-rank Star Condensation, you must also learn the wind-star pattern.

First, the strongest branch of our Chen Guo Guodao Academy is wind-star art; if you later hit a wall breaking through to seventh-rank fire, you can use wind-star art to break through in the shortest possible time.

Second, wind-star art has extremely strong combat capability.

But now, you must strengthen your study of earth-star patterns.

I've found two star patterns for you.

One is the sixth-rank upper earth-source star pattern; the other is the Golden Bell star pattern.

Combining the earth-source star pattern with the Golden Bell star pattern and the Star Shield forms the Golden Bell Shield—the most common and strongest defense in earth-star art. Even ordinary cultivators using fourth- or fifth-rank earth-source star patterns can achieve cross-rank defense.

But you're using the sixth-rank upper earth-source star pattern—you'll be even stronger than ordinary cultivators.

I estimate that once you master it, your Golden Bell Shield, cast with your Ninth Layer Star Refinement cultivation base, can withstand attacks from a mid-fourth-rank Star Condensation cultivator without injury!

Moreover, the Rain Curtain star pattern pairs perfectly with your Golden Bell Shield and can further enhance your defense.

If used well, it might let you withstand an opponent one full realm above you."

Xu Jin had initially come with only a passive attitude, since the Grand National Master had already explained it.

But now, as Liu Qingzhu spoke, he found himself increasingly absorbed.

The Grand National Master had only outlined a broad direction.

Liu Qingzhu, however, designed an entire defensive system tailored to Xu Jin's star patterns.

Then, from the defensive system, she moved directly to Xu Jin's overall combat framework.

The earth-source star pattern can directly form combat power with any basic star art Xu Jin has learned; many other star patterns can also be combined.

For example, the Rain Curtain star pattern is the foundation of the Song family's lineage precisely because it can be used for both offense and defense.

Defense goes without saying; when used offensively, summoning fire curtains or earth walls on the fly can create brilliant tactical synergies in combat.

This lesson lasted nearly half an hour, greatly benefiting Xu Jin.

"The Nine-Star Tide is coming soon. You'll likely fight in it—train hard in the meantime. Ideally, before the Nine-Star Tide arrives, successfully inscribe the sixth-rank upper earth-source star pattern and the Golden Bell star pattern. Then your survivability will greatly increase, and I'll feel much more at ease." At the end, Liu Qingzhu added another warning.

"Teacher, I've remembered."

As Xu Jin was about to bow and take leave, a sudden thought struck him: "Teacher, why are you stuck at the peak of fifth-rank Star Gathering? Is it also a star pattern issue?"

Earlier, when Kou Jing broke through, Xu Jin had quietly aided him; now seeing Liu Qingzhu, he had the same idea.

If it truly was a star pattern problem, perhaps Liu Qingzhu could switch to fire-star patterns.

After some preparation, Xu Jin could assist slightly when Liu Qingzhu broke through—then success would be guaranteed.

"No."

Liu Qingzhu shook her head. "I cannot break through to sixth-rank Cloud Tower. I previously consulted the Grand National Master—he said my accumulation is sufficient, but I lack Divine Soul cultivation.

My current Divine Soul cultivation is at Seventh Layer Star Refinement.

According to the Grand National Master, to break through to sixth-rank Cloud Tower, my Divine Soul cultivation must reach at least Ninth Layer Star Refinement.

If my Divine Soul cultivation reaches Ninth Layer Star Refinement's peak or breaks into fourth-rank Star Condensation, my chance of breaking through to sixth-rank Cloud Tower increases significantly.

But Divine Soul cultivation is difficult to advance; at this rate, I'll need several more years of accumulation before I can break through."

Divine Soul cultivation?

So one key to breaking from fifth to sixth rank is Divine Soul cultivation.

Principal Dong Zhao is also stuck at the peak of fifth rank, unable to break into sixth—likely also a Divine Soul issue.

Xu Jin silently noted this, then left.

There was naturally a way to help Liu Qingzhu—two or three Three-Variant Dragon Turtle Soul-Forging Pills could solve this problem.

Three-Variant Dragon Turtle Soul-Forging Pills were easy to obtain.

But the problem was explaining their origin.

The blood-refining explanation wouldn't fool many.

If too many people knew, it could bring disaster upon Xu Jin.

Once word leaked, not just the major Star Temples, but every expert in the present world would see Xu Jin as a walking elixir.

So he must endure a little longer.

He must wait for the right opportunity, find a way to conceal the pills' effects, then find a method to enhance Liu Qingzhu's Divine Soul and help his teacher break through.

Only when Xu Jin began personally contemplating the seventh-rank lower earth-source star pattern did he understand what the Grand National Master meant when he said he didn't understand.

He truly didn't understand.

Previously, any star pattern—even the sixth-rank upper Divine Soul star pattern—Xu Jin could fully master after one hour of practice inside the Star Lamp, and after three or four hours, he could inscribe it with one hundred percent success.

But this seventh-rank lower earth-source star pattern—he practiced inside the Star Lamp for a full four hours and still failed every single attempt.

Xu Jin finally understood the true meaning of contemplating seventh-rank star patterns.

It was impossible to simply "grind" them out through practice as he had before.

Once he grasped this, he abandoned the idea of achieving everything at once.

Instead, he began grinding the sixth-rank upper earth-source star pattern first.

This time, progress came quickly.

Combined with his prior foundation, he succeeded after only two hours of practice, then successfully inscribed it onto his Central Star Palace.

On the ninth star pattern slot of his Central Star Palace, Xu Jin inscribed the sixth-rank upper earth-source star pattern; on the tenth slot, he inscribed the unranked Golden Bell star pattern.

Afterwards, Xu Jin tested it.

Earth-star art felt fundamentally different.

It was heavy and imposing; when combined with his existing fire-star art and thunder-star art, it became far more diverse and tactics more unpredictable.

For example, the Great Hand Seal—a single-target star art—could be cast with fire or with earth-star power. But the power difference between fire and earth was immense.

Hitting an opponent with an earth-star Great Hand Seal was like being struck by a hammer.

This sparked many novel ideas in Xu Jin.

Could fire-star art and earth-star art be combined?

But for this five-day Star Lamp evolution, Xu Jin devoted it to the Golden Bell Shield.

Following Teacher Liu Qingzhu's instructions, he inscribed the sixth-rank upper earth-source star pattern and the fifth-rank middle Golden Bell star pattern, then combined them with the Rain Curtain star pattern to form the Rain Curtain Golden Bell—a powerful defensive star art.

To test its power, Xu Jin deliberately entered Battle Arena Level 149 to challenge enemies.

Extremely strong!

The defense was truly formidable.

Level 149's alien foes were fourth-rank Star Condensation, fourth layer.

After several attempts, Xu Jin found he could withstand two or three of them simultaneously at full power with the Rain Curtain Golden Bell.

With the sixth-rank upper earth-source star pattern as its base, the Rain Curtain Golden Bell required three fourth-rank Star Condensation, fourth layer aliens to shatter his defense.

Even fourth-rank Star Condensation, fourth layer alien prodigies needed two or three breaths to break through.

Xu Jin was thrilled.

He directly charged through the Battle Arena, pushing all the way to Level 167, shielded by the Rain Curtain Golden Bell.

But he used his authority to hide his ranking.

Still, Level 166 was not Xu Jin's limit.

At Level 166, two fourth-rank Star Condensation, sixth layer alien elites combined their full-power strikes and shattered his Rain Curtain Golden Bell.

Just as Teacher Liu Qingzhu had predicted.

The Rain Curtain Golden Bell truly allows Xu Jin to defend across realms.

With the Rain Curtain Golden Bell, his battlefield survivability has increased dramatically.

Having tasted its benefits, Xu Jin suddenly wanted to further strengthen the Rain Curtain Golden Bell.

Among the star patterns he already had, which one could pair with the Rain Curtain star pattern to enhance the Rain Curtain Golden Bell's defensive power?

Xu Jin sifted through his thoughts and found only one star pattern—the Swimming Fish Star Pattern.

The Swimming Fish Star Pattern itself greatly enhanced Xu Jin's defense; when activated, it directly dissipated over thirty percent of the star force from star techniques.

But the Swimming Fish Star Pattern was merely attached to Xu Jin's skin surface.

That meant it could only activate after star force struck his body.

Could it be combined with the Rain Curtain Golden Bell?

He thought of it, and immediately tried.

Xu Jin directly used his Star Lamp to evolve it.

Earth Source Star Pattern, Golden Bell Star Pattern, Rain Curtain Star Pattern, Swimming Fish Star Pattern—he placed each of the four star patterns into one of the four Star Lamps.

【Evolve】

Then Xu Jin sat quietly, watching the starlight from the four lamps flicker and merge together.

Xu Jin had a feeling—it would succeed.

Based on his previous experiences evolving star techniques, the more similar the star patterns' star essence, the higher the success rate; the less related they were, the greater the chance of failure.

After fifteen minutes, the brilliant starlight swirling above the Can Dou Platform suddenly split apart—one cluster of starlight shot violently into Xu Jin's mind, flooding it with all the evolved information.

The next instant, Xu Jin's expression brightened.

Success!

The Earth Source Star Pattern, Golden Bell Star Pattern, Rain Curtain Star Pattern, and Swimming Fish Star Pattern had evolved into a new defensive star technique.

Just as Xu Jin had envisioned, the Swimming Fish Star Pattern clung to the outside of the Golden Bell, adding an extra layer of defense.

Greatly increasing the Golden Bell's protective power.

And it wasn't just that.

If Xu Jin's Golden Bell was shattered, the Swimming Fish Star Pattern still attached to his body would still activate.

This meant the Swimming Fish Star Pattern now served a dual function.

Immediately, Xu Jin plunged back into the Godslayer Battlefield, Stage 168, to test its actual power.

The result thrilled him.

Previously, under the combined strike of two fourth-rank Star Condensation Level Six alien elites, Xu Jin's Golden Bell would shatter.

Now, it held through the third strike before breaking—defense had improved dramatically!

Xu Jin's sense of security skyrocketed.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin temporarily solidified this new star technique onto his second Star Lamp.

He named this new, powerful defensive star technique: Fish Curtain Golden Bell.

Currently, the star technique solidified on his first Star Lamp was Invisibility, on the second was Fish Curtain Golden Bell, and on the third was Soul-Shaking Golden Lotus.

Though Fish Curtain Golden Bell differed from Rain Curtain Golden Bell by only one character, its defensive power had multiplied exponentially!

Even so, Xu Jin still felt unsatisfied.

Powerful defensive star techniques truly brought immense security.

Then how could he further enhance Fish Curtain Golden Bell's defense?

The only direction was—Earth Source Star Pattern.

If Xu Jin could comprehend Earth Source Star Pattern below seventh rank, his defense would increase by at least ten percent.

Ten percent defense might sound small, but in combat, its effect was enormous!

If Xu Jin later used his Golden Star to elevate the Earth Source Star Pattern to seventh-rank upper tier, his defense would become astonishing!

Thinking of the Golden Star, Xu Jin felt the time had come.

He hadn't yet challenged the Golden Star level of Star Condensation Level Nine.

With a thought, he gripped the Star Picking Token and entered the Star Picking Secret Realm.

【Challenge Golden Star-level Heart Demon?】

【Challenge】

The next instant, light and shadow shifted—the battle began.

Xu Jin wanted to test whether the Heart Demon could learn Fish Curtain Golden Bell—or break his own.

The answers came quickly.

The Heart Demon could use Fish Curtain Golden Bell, but its power was slightly weaker than Xu Jin's.

Then came a strange sight: the Heart Demon couldn't break Xu Jin's defense, yet Xu Jin could barely break the Heart Demon's.

After several breaths, Xu Jin unleashed a Soul-Shaking Golden Lotus, shattering the Golden Star-level Heart Demon's defense.

Spiral Flame Explosion rained down continuously!

Annihilated!

Eleventh Golden Star secured.

Even the Golden Star-level Heart Demon had been so easy.

Then the Golden Star-level guardian would be even easier.

Even a Golden Star-level guardian with cultivation aura at fourth-rank Star Condensation Level Nine needed two strikes to break Xu Jin's Fish Curtain Golden Bell!

That time was enough for Xu Jin to kill the Golden Star-level guardian two or three times over!

Twelfth Golden Star secured!

Without hesitation, Xu Jin continued challenging the Brilliant Star.

His main reliance? Fish Curtain Golden Bell.

This challenge, Xu Jin didn't even use his self-created soul technique, Dreamstart—relying solely on Fish Curtain Golden Bell, Soul-Shaking Golden Lotus, and his movement skills, he effortlessly slaughtered the Golden Star-level Heart Demon and Golden Star-level guardian.

This was the easiest Brilliant Star challenge Xu Jin had ever faced since entering the Star Picking Secret Realm.

Fourth Brilliant Star secured.

(End of Chapter)