Chapter 253: Revenge

The Total Palace of Tianyang Star Palace.

At the center of the Total Palace stood a grand hall soaring into the clouds; within it, pavilions, terraces, towers, and chambers were hidden amid its layout, offering a sense of winding beauty and great luxury.

In some places, what appeared to be a patch of starlight, upon stepping into it, revealed another world entirely.

This was the residence and cultivation ground of the Tianyang Star Jun.

But this was not its greatest feature; its greatest feature was the abundant starlight.

The starlight here was thicker than that of even fifth- or sixth-rank star domains.

Even Elder Wang Kan, upon each visit, felt his entire body grow more comfortable.

"Your Star Jun, all personnel have been deployed as ordered. Additionally, as you commanded, the four disciples of Xumi Palace have been properly attended to."

"But the disciples of Xumi Palace are exceedingly proud; even after accepting gifts, they refuse to cooperate directly, only promising to recount everything they have seen and experienced without adding any personal speculation or judgment."

"They will not undertake any probing actions on our behalf," reported Master Xia Zhong, the Sixth Elder in charge of intelligence, within the grand hall.

"A bunch of hypocrites."

The Tianyang Star Jun sneered, "As long as they recount what they've witnessed, that's enough. I refuse to believe any sect, when faced with such a critical matter, would continue to bury such an unparalleled genius."

"Indeed. Aside from our own, which has always ranked first in the Lougong Battles, no other sect would bury such an unparalleled genius—further concealment would render them useless for cultivation." Elder Wang Kan chuckled.

"Yes, the Lougong Battle! It decides not only the tribute quotas each sect must pay to the Star-Picking Tower over the next three years, but also many divisions of profit in the Star River Battlefield. But what if?" The Tianyang Star Jun smiled, yet his gaze fixed on the two Elders.

Elder Wang Kan and Sixth Elder Xia Zhong immediately understood this was the Star Jun's test.

"Your Majesty, if he still does not appear, there is only one possibility," Wang Kan said.

"Speak."

"This unparalleled genius, who plucked six golden stars, must come from Cangming Star Palace. Only Cangming Star Palace, which has consistently ranked second in the Lougong Battles, possesses the capacity to bear the enormous cost of burying an unparalleled genius for another three years."

"The other two—Da Chen or Zhen'e Star Palace—"

"If they had such an unparalleled genius, they would surely deploy him in this Lougong Battle, to raise their ranking and secure three years of precious development time," Elder Wang Kan said.

Beside him, Sixth Elder Xia Zhong grew anxious.

He too had thought of this, but his slower tongue allowed Elder Wang Kan to speak first.

"Elder Wang is truly brilliant."

The Tianyang Star Jun laughed, "As long as we find this unparalleled genius, it's all worth it. If we wait a few more years, it'll be useless. And it's not for nothing that I let Wei Xu cut deep this time!"

"Your Majesty plans from afar and wins victories before the battle even begins—only Your Majesty is truly brilliant," Sixth Elder Xia Zhong quickly flattered, asserting his presence.

The Tianyang Star Jun laughed again, thoroughly pleased.

"But this Lougong Battle—our first place should be secure, right?" the Tianyang Star Jun asked.

Sixth Elder Xia Zhong hesitated, then nodded. "Your Majesty, we have only one fifth-rank team. All sides are fielding their strongest forces; there's little difference in strength."

"But among fourth-rank teams, our Tianyang Star Palace holds absolute superiority. We alone have two team leaders who've opened Xumi Space and can bring their insignia inside—this alone locks the victory."

"As for third-rank teams, normally our advantage is also substantial. But—"

"But what?" The Tianyang Star Jun turned his head.

Sixth Elder Xia Zhong glanced at Elder Wang Kan.

Then he recounted how Wang Kan's disciple, Zhou Xinghuo, had been defeated repeatedly by Qi Tian Da Sheng within the third-rank combat trial realm.

"To this day, we still haven't uncovered Qi Tian Da Sheng's origins! We only know he's at the ninth level of Star Refining, specializes in fire, wields exceptionally powerful fire star arts, and sounds to be around twenty years old," Sixth Elder Xia Zhong said.

"Qi Tian Da Sheng?"

The Tianyang Star Jun fell silent for several breaths, then slowly said, "No expert grows suddenly stronger. If we hadn't noticed him before, it was merely oversight."

"Ninth level of Star Refining in third rank?"

"I suspect Qi Tian Da Sheng is very likely the unparalleled genius we've been searching for."

"We'll know for certain after the Lougong Battle."

"Your Star Jun is wise indeed!"

Cangming Star Palace.

The Cangming Star Jun was engaged in a similar conversation with several Elders.

"If this Lougong Battle still fails to reveal the unparalleled genius who plucked six golden stars, there is only one possibility: this genius comes from Tianyang Star Palace."

"Only Tianyang Star Palace possesses the capacity to bear the enormous cost of burying an unparalleled genius for three years," said the Cangming Star Jun.

"If that's true, then for these past months, Tianyang Star Palace has been crying wolf—as always," Elder Sun Xianzu smiled, stroking his beard.

"Don't rush. Everything will be revealed after the Lougong Battle! The key question is—will our ranking be secure?" the Cangming Star Jun asked.

"Your Majesty need not worry. Second place is certain, and even first is possible."

"Previously, our repeated assaults on the third-rank Zifeng and Heihé Star Domains have laid solid groundwork—we should be able to conquer both at once."

"If we succeed, we may seize first place in the Lougong Battle," said Seventh Elder Huang Kejia.

"If we take first, our Cangming Star Palace will ascend another level over the next three years…"

Zhen'e Star Palace.

The Zhen'e Star Jun, clad in green robes, gazed sternly at the Elders below him. "Remember: secure third, strive for second. Even if you strive for second, do not accumulate excessive points."

"Your Majesty, I don't understand. Why not unleash the strength we've accumulated over these years? If we did, we could easily take second, even challenge for first."

"The tribute difference between first and third at the Star-Picking Tower is a full ten percent."

"That ten percent could support millions more of our people."

"With millions more people, how much more material could we harvest?"

"How many more geniuses could we produce?"

"Enough!"

The Zhen'e Star Jun cut off the words of Shou Shan, the massive barbarian Fifth Elder.

This fool's mind…

Only because Shou Shan was exceptionally strong in actual combat did he even qualify as an Elder.

"Just execute the strategy! If you speak another word, shall I swap our positions?" the Zhen'e Star Jun growled coldly.

Shou Shan immediately bowed and apologized.

Yet seeing four of his eight Elders still look bewildered, the Zhen'e Star Jun sighed and added one more explanation.

"Remember Lingji Star Palace—destroyed, its halls sealed, its tower locked. Let this be your lesson!"

There was no help for it—among the barbarians, few had sharp minds.

But there was an advantage.

Easy to manage, few scheming thoughts, utterly loyal.

Give an order, and they charged forward with roaring enthusiasm.

Truly fierce!

Within the third-rank Shahe Star Domain, Xu Jin tossed the newly acquired Earth Shahe Heart directly into his Xumi Space.

Refining would take time; he stored it for now, to refine later when convenient.

One of Xu Jin's key goals in participating in the Lougong Battle was to gather more of the Heavenly Will of third-rank star domains.

For after years of cultivation, Xu Jin had realized that most of one's strength—whether star force or soul force—could eventually be caught up to, given sufficient time, especially below seventh rank.

It was merely a matter of time.

Of course, those who cultivated faster gained higher cultivation earlier and held greater advantage.

But the gap would eventually close, unless one broke through continuously.

Yet one category of hard power naturally carried immense disparities.

Like the Red Scale Heart and Thunder Feather Heart Xu Jin had previously obtained.

These forces, born of the Heavenly Will of a star domain, could be acquired by only the rarest few.

Once acquired, they became permanent enhancements.

For example, Xu Jin's initial-grade Red Scale Heart offered diminishing returns once his cultivation reached sixth rank and above—but it still provided some boost.

Now, however, his initial-grade Red Scale Heart had advanced to mid-grade.

And a mid-grade Red Scale Heart could enhance one's strength by several tenths even at seventh rank.

Once obtained, this advantage could never be surpassed by others.

Because such power could not be acquired through conventional cultivation.

Like Xu Jin—he now dominated third-rank star domains, but once he broke through to fourth rank, he could no longer enter third-rank domains, making it impossible to easily obtain their Heavenly Will.

Xu Jin's cultivation had already reached the peak of third-rank Star Refining Ninth Level. After the Nine-Star Tide, he would choose the right moment to break through.

At that point, he would no longer be able to enter third-rank star domains.

So he intended to seize as many third-rank star domain's Heavenly Will as possible now.

There would be no such opportunity again.

Now, he had obtained one—Earth's Shahe Star, representing the Earth Heavenly Will.

But it was not enough.

In the next instant, a small hand formed from Earth star force precisely extracted the fourth-rank Earth Spirit Star Core from the shattered body of the Shahe King.

The Can Dou Platform rotated slightly; Xu Jin tossed the fourth-rank Earth Spirit Star Core inside, offered tribute, glanced at the protective star pattern it granted, then removed it.

His guess was correct: star cores harvested from star domain kings yielded higher-grade protective star patterns.

The first protective star pattern from this fourth-rank Earth Spirit Star Core was mid-grade Earth Source.

Yet the several fifth-rank Earth Spirit Star Cores Xu Jin had obtained from auctions had granted only initial-grade Earth Source patterns.

This was one of Xu Jin's objectives.

One mid-grade Earth Source pattern was worth two or three initial-grade ones.

Xu Jin had an idea: he wanted to collect at least four or five identical star cores—such as Earth Spirit, Fire Spirit, or Thunder Spirit—and at least one mid-tier Earth Source Star Pattern or mid-tier Fire Source Star Pattern.

At the critical moment, he would replace all four with Earth Spirit or Fire Spirit star cores, then choose mid-tier Earth Source or mid-tier Fire Source protection.

Stack four layers of buffs directly.

How much would his Earth or Fire Star Arts be amplified then?

Or, once his Can Dou Platform reached fifth or sixth tier, he could stack five or six such buffs on himself.

Then unleash them with sudden, explosive force—how powerful would that instant burst be?

The sudden drop in power would surely devastate his enemies.

Even cost them their lives.

Below, in Shahe Wangcheng, chaos had erupted.

Fear had engulfed the royal city.

Their king!

The king, whom they revered as a god, had been killed!

Killed by an invading alien race as easily as slaughtering a chicken!

Their faith in power had collapsed on the spot!

Even if the invader had fought their king for a while before defeating him, their faith would not have shattered.

But what had just happened had shattered their faith in power—and stripped them of all courage to resist.

Almost all the aliens were fleeing, desperate to find somewhere safe to hide.

The next instant, Xu Jin's thunderous voice boomed again: "Where is the prince?"

According to prior intelligence, the third-tier Shahe Star Domain still had a prince—the publicly named heir of the Shahe King.

In the second-tier Huoxuan Star Domain, Xu Jin had discovered that the Crimson Scale King's heir also possessed a Crimson Scale Heart.

Did this Shahe Prince have one too?

Of course, this is contingent on finding the Shahe Prince.

No one answered Xu Jin's question.

Even in fear, these aliens would not betray their prince.

He was their Shahe clan's last hope.

But though they kept silent, many involuntarily revealed their prince's location through instinctive reactions.

Inside the palace, a thirty-something fourth-tier first-layer youth, dazed and hollow-eyed, was being dragged by over a dozen guards toward a certain direction; the lead guard was an alien of fourth-tier fifth-layer.

These were the only two fourth-tier aliens left in the palace.

Lei Yi flashed instantly.

He appeared directly before the fourth-tier fifth-layer alien.

The moment he appeared, the alien roared, his heavy hammer instantly transforming into a mountain that crashed toward Xu Jin.

But the next instant, it was swallowed by Xu Jin's Flame Light!

Flame Explosion.

One strike—finished.

"Are you the Shahe Prince?"

As Xu Jin spoke, the other dozen Star Refining guards shouted and charged at him.

Ten fingers shattered!

Nine Veins Divine Sword erupted.

All were slaughtered.

Only the prince remained; the Shahe Prince's expression was filled with terror and fury.

But fear had robbed him of speech.

This enemy was too strong!

"I heard your favorite pastime was slicing flesh from young girls' buttocks and slowly roasting it?"

Xu Jin gazed at the Shahe Prince, speaking slowly; the prince's face gradually paled.

"Three years ago, I heard you roasted seven young women from Chen Guo within two days, claiming their flesh could grant you a new destiny?"

Xu Jin sneered, speaking as he lifted the Shahe Prince with a Star Force hand, then unleashed flames to burn him!

Amid screams, the prince finally broke down.

He soiled himself.

Xu Jin disdainfully tossed him to the ground, then ripped out his star core alive.

A pity.

Due to his cultivation level, it was only low-tier Earth Source.

Grand Master Cheng Yuexiao had explained the origin of the Shahe Star Domain's domain marker.

During the Star Tide three years ago, the Shahe Star Domain's star gate descended upon a remote county in the Western Sea Province of Chen Guo; by the time Chen Guo's experts arrived, chaos had already spread.

In that battle, over ten thousand civilians died.

But the worst was this Shahe Prince—he roasted seven Chen Guo girls alive and declared that all current human flesh contained heavenly favor; consuming it could break the star domain's shackles.

Grand Master sent two fifth-tier experts to hunt him down, but he escaped!

So this time, when Chen Guo's Dao Academy disciples invaded the Shahe Star Domain, it was not an invasion—it was revenge.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin smashed the nearly ashed Shahe Prince with a punch.

As flame light scattered, a brilliant yellow-gold starlight suddenly appeared, instantly trying to flee.

Xu Jin's soul force surged in, trapping it!

Another low-tier Shahe Heart—a low-tier Earth Star Consciousness.

Two now.

If he collected one more, he could fuse them into a mid-tier Earth Star Consciousness.

But it was the limit: obtaining two low-tier Earth Star Consciousnesses from a single star domain was the maximum.

Afterwards, Xu Jin began wandering through the royal court, searching for the royal treasury.

Simultaneously, he sent orders via the Crimson Scale Armor to Ji Hongli and others, instructing them to converge at full speed toward this location.

During the assault on the third-tier Zifeng Star Domain, Xu Jin had acquired much but could not carry it all—most had to be abandoned.

Now, Xu Jin had opened his Numinous Space; though its capacity was only six or seven cubic meters, it could hold plenty.

With Wen Meng's aid, locating the Shahe royal treasury was easy.

Fifteen minutes later, he found it.

He smashed it open with brute force.

It offered no great surprise.

Over three thousand third-tier Star Jade Tablets, over two hundred fourth-tier Star Jade Tablets, twenty-one fifth-tier Star Jade Tablets.

Plus numerous forging materials.

Xu Jin directly threw the third- and fourth-tier Star Jade Tablets into his Can Dou Platform, converting them into fourth-tier starlight—yielding 350 strands.

Preparing for the Can Dou Platform's upgrade to fifth tier.

He threw the fifth-tier Star Jade Tablets directly into his Numinous Space.

These were precious; storing more meant he could later craft fifth-tier Star Patterns to sell—pure profit once his cultivation rose.

He took only a small amount of the other forging materials.

Six or seven cubic meters of Numinous Space could hold many small items, but not enough for these ores and metals.

Still, he took whatever he could—once outside, he'd hand them over to Grand Master for disposal.

A contribution to Chen Guo.

After finishing all this, half an hour had passed.

Suddenly, Xu Jin's Mingji Star Pattern spun violently.

Four fourth-tier, ninth-layer qi signatures were rapidly approaching.

"Wow, Senior Brother, you're incredible! We haven't even moved, and you've wiped out all the city's experts!" Ji Hongli rushed over, gazing at Xu Jin with awe, her eyes practically sparkling.

"Your next mission is yours! But don't be careless—according to my intel, the Shahe Star Domain still holds at least twenty more fourth-tier experts.

Over the next few days, find an alien to install as a puppet, seize control of their soul, and within six days, fully conquer the third-tier Shahe Star Domain!

If you succeed, it will be a great achievement!" Xu Jin said.

"Senior Brother, rest assured—the elite have all been dealt with by you. This is child's play; we'll complete it without fail," Wang Jiugao assured.

"Good!"

After giving a few more instructions, Xu Jin handed Ji Hongli, Wang Jiugao, and the other two all the fourth-tier Star Patterns Grand Master had entrusted to him.

Then, Xu Jin pulled out a timing Jade Tablet, sank his mind into it, and faintly sensed a direction—the star gate opened by the Numinous Palace heir Dai Guanwen should lie there.

The next instant, Xu Jin shot off like lightning.

He had to hurry.

Just the Shahe Star Domain had already consumed half his day.

Behind him, Ji Hongli, Wang Jiugao, Niu Ju, and Yin Mingzhang's eyes held nothing but admiration and awe.

(End of Chapter)