Chapter 244: Transformation (Mid-Autumn Festival Joy)

On the evening of October 27, the Third-Rank Combat Arena.

Xu Jin had just finished two sparring sessions with the Immortal of Drunken Moon when he received another challenge request from Starfire.

Over these past few days, Xu Jin had learned who Starfire was.

Zhou Xinghuo.

The top true disciple of Tianyang Star Hall this year, the strongest in the Star Refining realm, a universally renowned genius of Tianyang Star Hall.

Not a secret—ask anyone and you'll know.

After thinking it over, Xu Jin still accepted Starfire's challenge.

This guy still had real combat value.

Xu Jin felt his combat ability was improving rapidly; if he suppressed his own power to match Starfire's level without changing tactics, he might lose.

He was a good whetstone for improvement.

Inside Tianyang Star Hall, Starfire received the request from the Great Sage and felt anticipation.

For the past few days, different fifth-rank experts had sparred with him daily, feeding him moves and pointing out his combat flaws.

Every day, he was getting beaten.

He'd been beaten more times in these few days than in all of this past year.

But he felt his combat ability was rising rapidly.

He felt he now had a real chance to defeat the Great Sage.

Originally, he planned to wait another three or four days before challenging the Great Sage—by then, his odds of victory would rise above seventy percent.

Now, they were only forty to fifty percent.

But Sixth Elder Xia Zhong, who oversaw Chiying, pressured him urgently, claiming it was Master Wang Kan's order, so he had to schedule the challenge.

He was here on a mission.

Inside the combat arena, as before, after the screen vanished, Zhou Xinghuo didn't rush to end it—he began chatting with the Great Sage.

"Great Sage, how about we change our fighting style today?" Starfire suddenly said.

"Change our style? What do you mean?"

"Your fire-star techniques are too overwhelming. How about we both avoid fire-star techniques and use other star arts instead?" Zhou Xinghuo said, eyes bright with excitement as he looked at Xu Jin.

In the past, Xu Jin might have agreed.

But after surviving an assassination and receiving guidance from Grand Master after Master Kou's breakthrough, Xu Jin had become extremely cautious.

This seemed harmless.

But upon closer thought, it felt like he was gathering key pieces.

Many geniuses excel in fire-star techniques—it's hard to rule out.

But add another element, and the pool of suspects drops sharply.

Besides, fighting with an unfamiliar star art is pointless.

"I only excel in fire." After thinking, Xu Jin refused, flames instantly erupting around him, "Come."

Xu Jin was ready to fight, but Zhou Xinghuo showed no urgency to attack.

He didn't even summon starlight around him, appearing completely relaxed.

"Great Sage, excelling only in fire is dangerous—you'll be easily targeted. Besides, you're not from Tianyang Star Hall, are you? For fire-star techniques, Tianyang ranks first, Cangming second, Zhen'e third, and Da Chen fourth.

You're not from Da Chen—are you from Zhen'e Star Hall?

But Zhen'e Star Hall doesn't have your accent—"

BOOM!

Instantly, Xu Jin's body erupted in fire, appearing right before the chatty Starfire and unleashing an Inferno Blast that shattered him into starlight.

"Fuck!"

Back in Tianyang Star Hall, Zhou Xinghuo, realizing he'd been obliterated by the Great Sage, cursed loudly and gritted his molars.

The Great Sage was too uncouth.

Too disrespectful?

He hadn't even finished speaking, and the Great Sage attacked.

Worse—he hadn't achieved a single goal.

He'd failed Sixth Elder Xia Zhong's mission, and he hadn't even landed a single blow against the Great Sage.

Utterly frustrating.

The next instant, Zhou Xinghuo submitted another challenge request against the Great Sage.

【The Great Sage declined your challenge.】

The starlight notification made Zhou Xinghuo raise an eyebrow—what did this mean?

He submitted another challenge. Again, instantly rejected.

Zhou Xinghuo couldn't help but send a message to the Great Sage.

【Great Sage, what's your meaning? Was sneaking an attack fun? If you've got guts, accept the challenge!】

Seeing the message, Xu Jin gave a strange look.

This guy was so talkative, even with intent, and now he dares to question him?

Should he keep such a person as a friend just to wait for the New Year?

No reply. Xu Jin immediately deleted Starfire from his Star-Picking Tower friend list.

After waiting a long time without a reply, Zhou Xinghuo grew impatient and sent another starlight message—but the reply left him stunned and furious.

【You are not friends with the Great Sage. Cannot send message.】

"Fuck, is he that petty? Just deleted me?"

Zhou Xinghuo was so frustrated he felt like vomiting—and even more enraged.

Unable to send starlight messages, he had only one option: directly challenge the Great Sage inside the Third-Rank Combat Arena.

But the result only made him more furious.

Instant rejection!

He challenged seven times.

Xu Jin rejected him seven times instantly.

Try again—the system replied: the opponent is not in the Third-Rank Combat Arena.

In an instant, Zhou Xinghuo completely lost his mind.

Frustrated to the point of vomiting blood!

How could someone be like this?!

October 28, External Affairs Hall.

Deputy Hallmaster Ling Mao, having received word early, came out immediately to lead Xu Jin into the inner hall.

Upon meeting, Xu Jin immediately pulled a large pile of talismans from his backpack.

In recent days, Xu Jin had not abandoned expanding his Infinite Space.

Accumulating over time, his Infinite Space had grown to roughly six cubic meters.

About the size of a space two meters high, three meters long, and one meter wide.

For storing small items, it was still very capacious.

But some things still needed concealment, so for daily outings, Xu Jin still carried a small leather backpack to avoid suspicion.

The number of talismans Xu Jin pulled out alone startled Ling Mao—two hundred in total.

But what truly shocked Ling Mao was their rank.

Only twenty were third-rank upper-grade talismans; the rest were all fourth-rank talismans—180 in total.

"Brother, don't tell me you can craft fourth-rank talismans?" Ling Mao exclaimed.

"Brother Ling, I made all of them myself. Master Kou gave me special tutoring—he said I have talent in this area, and I've been lucky: every three attempts yield one successful talisman." Xu Jin said.

"A success rate over thirty percent? You've only been learning for a few days, brother—you're destined to become a Talisman Master."

Ling Mao's shock was genuine.

Many veteran fourth-rank talisman masters in the National Dao Academy had success rates of only sixty percent.

"My teacher taught well." Xu Jin was humble—after all, Master Kou, the Grand Talisman Master, was an excellent shield.

As for Xu Jin's actual success rate, now over ninety-five percent, he wouldn't mention it.

Moreover, the talismans Xu Jin brought to Ling Mao were all substandard.

The top-grade fourth-rank talismans he kept for himself.

"So, brother, what do you plan to do with these?" "Brother Ling, you handle them. I still owe you starlight—this should cover it." Xu Jin said.

"Good!"

Ling Mao nodded firmly, "Blood brothers, clear accounts. Even though we're as close as brothers, the books must balance."

"Of course."

Ling Mao, as Deputy Hallmaster of External Affairs, was sharp in calculations and quickly gave Xu Jin the most reasonable arrangement.

Twenty third-rank upper-grade Inferno Talismans priced at 800 strands of starlight.

Fourth-rank lower-grade Spiral Inferno Talismans and Golden Bell Talismans priced at 200 strands each; Xu Jin brought 125 lower-grade and 55 mid-grade, each mid-grade priced at 250 strands.

Total: 39, 50 strands of starlight.

After calculating, Ling Mao explained further.

With the Nine-Star Tide approaching, all talismans had increased in value.

Before this, the top price for grade-four talismans was usually around a hundred strands of starlight, rarely exceeding three hundred; now, it has reached three hundred fifty strands per talisman.

For grade-four middle-tier talismans, the previous price was around two hundred strands of starlight; now, it has surged directly to two hundred fifty strands.

In the end, Ling Mao directly took a portion of the top-priced talismans to avoid taxation by the Star-Plucking Tower.

The rest were all sold to the Chen Guo Dao Academy, priced in starlight.

After deducting a three percent transaction tax, Xu Jin received seven thousand two hundred twenty-six strands of starlight.

【Dao Merit: 7681 points】

【Starlight: 32124 strands】

Xu Jin, leaving the External Affairs Hall, finally exhaled in relief.

Free of debt, he felt light as air.

Moreover, he now had a modest accumulation of starlight.

Over thirty thousand strands of starlight counted as a considerable fortune.

In his spare time over the next few days, he would carve a few more talismans, then attend the upcoming auction.

At that time, if any grade-six star-core appeared, Xu Jin would buy them all.

Even if he couldn't obtain any related star-art, at the very least, he could use them as killing techniques.

Once detonated, they delivered a full-power strike from a grade-six cultivator.

However, over the next few days, Xu Jin's main goal was to test whether he could produce a grade-five talisman.

In fact, the talismans he had just sold to Ling Mao were not all he had produced these past days.

Over these days, Xu Jin had produced over fifty grade-four superior talismans, all kept back.

After cultivation, their power doubled.

When launched, even a grade-five cultivator might suffer serious injury if careless.

Unfortunately, it's still a bit short of being enough to save one's life.

Xu Jin had already begun attempting to craft grade-five talismans.

According to Kou Jing, grade-seven fire-source star-talismans could not be inscribed into talismans; but if a grade-six fire-source star-talisman were inscribed into a grade-five star-jade tablet, even if the star-art's rank was insufficient, it could forcibly elevate the talisman's grade.

Resulting in either a grade-five inferior or grade-five middle-tier talisman.

If successful, even a grade-five middle-tier talisman, once cultivated to double its power, would be terrifying.

That would be Xu Jin's true lifeline.

As for grade-four and grade-five star-jade tablets, Xu Jin still had many on hand.

Previously, within the grade-three Purple Wind Star Zone, Xu Jin had collected over a thousand grade-four and grade-five star-jade tablets.

Thus, inscribing and selling talismans now was nearly cost-free.

Otherwise, he could never have repaid his debts so quickly.

After all, a single grade-four star-jade tablet cost a hundred strands of starlight.

Xu Jin's one hundred eighty grade-four star-jade tablets may have sold for nearly thirty-nine thousand strands of starlight, but their raw material cost alone reached eighteen thousand strands.

This was under perfect success rates.

Veteran grade-four talisman artisans had a success rate of only sixty percent; even then, their profits were not substantial.

For several days straight, Xu Jin lived in extreme fulfillment.

The latest versions of star-talismans obtained from the Lingji Star Temple had all been upgraded to their newest forms.

In addition, Xu Jin learned two secret soul-star arts from the Lingji Star Temple.

The first was called: True Illusion.

It was a grade-six soul-star art.

Composed of six star-talismans: Star Mist, Illusory Intent, Intent Cage, Dampening Desire, Return to Storage, and Concealed Form.

Its primary function was to freely create various illusions, deceiving an opponent's vision and perception.

Xu Jin had already inscribed it onto his third soul-star; this soul-star art should be highly practical.

The second was called: Soul-Slaying.

Soul-Slaying was the strongest soul-star offensive art of the Lingji Star Temple, its signature soul-star killing technique.

Composed of five soul-star talismans.

But Xu Jin had not dared to inscribe it yet.

Because it was too recognizable.

Using it would immediately reveal Xu Jin as a Lingji remnant.

Once used, he must kill the enemy without fail.

Xu Jin felt he lacked the strength to confront either of the two great star-temples for a long time; thus, he absolutely could not casually use the Lingji Star Temple's signature soul-star killing arts.

He would hold off on inscribing it for now.

But he had already begun practicing the related star-talismans within it.

For example, Roar—a group-targeting mental attack—and Dampening Desire, a soul-star talisman that subtly amplifies an opponent's emotions, as well as the core soul-star talisman of Soul-Slaying: Dark Flame.

A soul-fire that specifically damages the soul, yet extremely difficult to master.

However, he had also obtained its training method from the Star-Plucking Tower branch, requiring gradual preparation.

In addition, he had acquired several other highly useful star-talismans.

For instance, the Shadow-Worm Star-Talisman—a formless, invisible soul-tracking technique—that, when combined with Return to Storage, made it nearly impossible for the target to detect its presence.

And the Mark of Confusion, a mental positioning star-talisman capable of locking onto a location within a certain range—also extremely practical!

He had obtained many star-talismans and star-arts from the Star-Plucking Tower branch; without a teacher to guide him, he spent many days studying before gaining any real insight.

To fully digest them and integrate them into himself, forming actual combat power, would require much more time.

With the Nine-Star Tide approaching, Xu Jin felt an inexplicable pressure.

Especially when inscribing the latest version of the grade-six Mingji Star-Talisman, as he activated it, he faintly sensed an ominous threat.

This made Xu Jin even more eager to rapidly enhance his strength.

Regarding talismans, he could now inscribe grade-five inferior talismans and was slowly building a reserve.

But talismans were external tools.

After much thought, Xu Jin decided he must quickly convert his accumulated resources into actual power.

Especially the Gold Star and the Brilliant Star.

Though they appeared priceless, if held unused, they were worthless.

He needed to convert them into power as soon as possible.

Thus, in recent days, Xu Jin had spent increasing time in the Dao Academy's library, preparing for the Yan Dao ritual.

On October 31, Xu Jin appeared in Danxia Palace to pay respects to Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao.

After Grand Master raised a starlight barrier to isolate the interior, Xu Jin said, "Grand Master, I wish to enter the Star-Dome Secret Realm for Yan Dao. Do you still have any Yan Dao time remaining?"

"I have four hours per month; you used one already, the rest I've saved for you."

"You're ready?" Cheng Yuexiao asked.

"I am," Xu Jin nodded.

In the next instant, Cheng Yuexiao seized Xu Jin's hand; a flash of starlight, and they appeared inside the Star-Dome Secret Realm of the main tower of the Chen Guo Star-Plucking Tower.

(End of Chapter)