[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-star-martial-era":3,"chapter-the-star-martial-era-the-star-martial-era-chapter-27":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Star Martial Era",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2274885,4448,"Chapter 27: The Incident","the-star-martial-era-chapter-27",27,"\u003Cp>The security in Juncheng had clearly become much stricter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin, a disciple of the Dao Academy and holding the academy’s waist token, was still questioned about where he came from, where he was going, and what he intended to do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he passed through smoothly, Xu Jin grew uneasy—had something happened?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Five deaths, no matter the victims were ruffians, were major cases anywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Returning to the Dao Academy, Xu Jin followed the gatekeeper’s directions and reported again at the Middle Courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Jinshan Dao Academy covered a vast area, stretching from the southern edge of Juncheng down to the foot of the mountain, composed of over a dozen clusters of buildings of varying sizes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The district within Juncheng was roughly divided into the Martial Training Hall, the Forging Hall, the Herbal Inquiry Hall, the lodging and dining areas, the Star Point Courtyard, and the Patrol Star Guard quarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was said there were also the Beast Taming Hall and the Star Performance Tower inside the mountains.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Throughout the entire academy, except for the Star Point Courtyard, which stood alone, all other disciples were divided into Inner, Middle, and Outer Courts—yet these distinctions only affected privileges and study locations; all lived and ate together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their living conditions were already several times better than when they were in Star Point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take housing: Outer Court shared two to a room, Middle Court had one per room, and Inner Court, the most envied, granted each disciple their own small courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin was assigned to Dorm B-42, the last room in the Middle Court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pushing open the door, dust surged into his face—no one had lived here for some time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was small, barely three meters long and over two meters wide, furnished with nothing but a bed, a bamboo cabinet, a table, and a chair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet Xu Jin was delighted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, he no longer had to sleep each night in a twenty-man dorm reeking of stinking feet and flatulence; finally, he had a relatively private space.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He set down the two bundles of straw paper he’d bought on the road and began sweeping and tidying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One bundle of straw paper cost fifty cash—cheap, but thankfully his father Xu Dajiang wasn’t around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having to pay for toilet paper? His father would’ve whipped him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half an hour later, after cleaning and making up the bed, Xu Jin lay down and sighed in bliss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, it felt comfortable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The feeling of improving one’s living conditions through one’s own effort was truly good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jin-ge, Jin-ge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A voice called from outside—it was Qian Xiaohu, carrying a bundle of packages.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jin-ge, these are meat pies my mother baked, and this is mutton she boiled—I brought them specially for you,” Qian Xiaohu grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin glanced at Qian Xiaohu in surprise. “Damn, your family’s celebrating New Year’s, huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Exactly! My father heard I passed Star Point—he threw a grand feast, invited all relatives and friends, everyone brought generous gifts, and the food was plentiful. Oh, by the way, here’s silver.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Xiaohu handed Xu Jin a money pouch containing five taels of silver. “Jin-ge, thank you for helping me. Without you, I’d never have passed Star Point. From now on, you’re my real elder brother.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I’m your real elder brother, then what’s this?” Xu Jin weighed the pouch, kept over three taels, and returned the rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Qian Xiaohu opened his mouth to protest, but Xu Jin glared. “Blood brothers keep clear accounts. Do you think I’m short by one or two taels?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no, no, of course not.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then focus on your cultivation. Remember, strength is your foundation. By the way, did you skip your morning and evening practice while home?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, not once. Yue Daqi, Lu Xianbing—they’re gifted, yet they train hard. If I don’t push myself, I’m not just stupid—I’m an idiot!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh? Is this fate? You’re just talking about me?” A tall, slender youth in a brand-new training outfit appeared at Xu Jin’s doorway. Seeing Xu Jin’s confusion, he added, “I asked around for your room and came straight here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No, no, I couldn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Lu Xianbing call him “ge,” Xu Jin hurriedly demurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lu Xianbing’s expression turned solemn. He bowed deeply to Xu Jin. “Xu brother, Xu ge, had it not been for your inspiration that day, I never would’ve had the courage to voice my opinion, let alone resist and win an Inner Court slot.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So that was why he’d come. After a round of modest refusals, Lu Xianbing said he’d reserved a table at Xianxia Restaurant to express his gratitude.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin gladly accepted—building connections was essential.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The food at Xianxia Restaurant was top-tier, even in Juncheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in this world, wild game was truly wild, native chickens were truly native, every dish had its true flavor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over the meal, the three learned a little about each other: Xu Jin and Qian Xiaohu were both peasant-born, while Lu Xianbing clearly came from a respectable family—his father was a county official. But since it was their first meeting, Xu Jin didn’t press for details, though he did ask one more question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, Lu brother, Xiao Hu—I noticed Juncheng’s security has tightened dramatically today. Has something major happened?” Xu Jin asked casually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes! The checks entering the city today were brutal,” Qian Xiaohu said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xianbing glanced at the two and lowered his voice. “Demons have been rampant—seven or eight crimes committed overnight. Two occurred within Juncheng last night alone. Zhao Mansion’s third son, the city’s wealthiest merchant, was murdered. Hence the lockdown.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin said nothing, but Qian Xiaohu asked, “Demons should hide, shouldn’t they? Why are they striking so constantly, everywhere?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin silently praised Xiao Hu—he’d voiced exactly what he’d been thinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Demons?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Xianbing chuckled bitterly. “Of the twenty to thirty crimes committed in and around Juncheng these past days, how many were truly the work of demons? Hard to say.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What about the government office?” Xu Jin asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Jinshan Prefecture is too large. All personnel have been dispatched to hunt the real demons. Most of our Dao Academy’s, Tianyang Branch’s, and Cangming Branch’s Patrol Star Guards have been sent out. Now petty criminals are using the demon excuse to commit crimes—but the government office is empty,” Lu Xianbing whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Xu Jin and Qian Xiaohu grow solemn, Lu Xianbing added, “But rumors say they’re nearly pinning down the demons’ range. Once they do, it’ll be the experts from each branch’s turn. As long as you stay inside the academy, you’ll be safe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Xu Jin finally exhaled in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city’s lockdown wasn’t because of his actions last night—it was because crimes had occurred in Juncheng too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he returned at night, evening practice couldn’t be skipped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Today, Xu Jin had bought twenty Blood-Replenishing Pills, ten Foundation-Strengthening Pills, and twenty Mind-Clarifying Pills at the Elixir Hall, spending 210 taels of silver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He must break through to Meal-Cloud Second Stage as quickly as possible to gain some self-defense capability.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside Deng Hu’s courtyard in the Warehouse Alley by the West Wharf, a young man in a short tunic with a blue headband anxiously waited.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone who lived by the wharf knew: anyone with a blue headband was a member of the Tianhe Gang—no one dared provoke them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This young man, Jiang Sheng, knocked again. “Hu-ge, Hu-ge, it’s Jiang Sheng.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Sheng had come that morning, but Deng Hu’s door had been bolted from inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he hadn’t knocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deng Hu often drank or chased women until midnight and slept until noon—it was normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But by afternoon, he usually emerged to handle affairs—why was his door still bolted?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, he’d come to deliver the clan chief’s order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he failed to deliver it, Hu-ge, Deng Hu, the clan chief’s own nephew, would be fine—but he’d be finished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hu-ge, Hu-ge!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After pounding for a long time and seeing the main room door was also shut, Jiang Sheng gritted his teeth and scaled the wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as he entered the courtyard, the stench hit him like a blow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was fucking reeking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The entire yard swarmed with green-headed flies!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something was wrong!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carefully pushing open the door, Jiang Sheng immediately collapsed beside it, vomiting violently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The stench came from five corpses, unknown fluids, and swarms of insects, ants, rats, and flies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this summer heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still retching, Jiang Sheng ran toward the Tianhe Gang’s headquarters.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Tianhe Gang, living off the water, naturally operated along the river—but its main hall was inside Juncheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet he found neither Clan Chief Deng Longshu nor the other two clan chiefs, nor even the gang boss Zhou Ji.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After asking around, he learned they’d gone to the East Wharf.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Sheng gulped down some cold water and sprinted to the East Wharf, where he found Clan Chief Deng Longshu and Boss Zhou Ji in Qian Qi’s residence—surrounded by corpses and pools of red and white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Sheng vomited again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pathetic little worm!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deng Longshu cursed immediately. This boy was his errand-runner—usually sharp and observant—why had he come here to embarrass him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the scene was gruesome, could he really vomit in front of the boss?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when Jiang Sheng spoke, Deng Longshu’s face changed instantly—he seized Jiang Sheng by the collar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re sure?” Deng Hu was his own nephew—and the only male heir of the Deng family this generation, the one meant to carry on the lineage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I… I think not,” Jiang Sheng was dazed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“East Wharf’s hit, West Wharf’s hit—someone’s targeting us. Let’s go see together,” said Zhou Ji, the Tianhe Gang boss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fifteen minutes later, the Tianhe Gang’s senior members arrived at Deng Hu’s courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After only a few seconds, Boss Zhou Ji declared, “He wasn’t killed inside the house.” As he spoke, the group moved into the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Ji suddenly rushed outside, eyes sharp, quickly locating the initial death sites of Deng Hu and his ruffians—though all traces had been washed away, Xu Jin’s hasty cleanup left behind a few fragments of flesh and bone, which Zhou Ji pinched up with his fingertips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The killer is a cultivator, but his cultivation base is weak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“His star force is faint—no higher than Meal-Cloud Fifth Stage.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After further inspection and flipping through the ruffians’ corpses, Zhou Ji suddenly said, “There were two killers. The second had no star force—he killed purely with brute strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?” Deng Longshu’s expression twisted instantly into a snarl.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go, check if anyone lives nearby. Ask them.” Zhou Ji ordered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, several Tianhe Gang members returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Boss, the closest neighbor says he heard noises.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What noises?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Spare me! Xue-ye, spare me!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A man surnamed Xue?\" Zhou Ji frowned. \"Any other clues?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By the way, Boss, last night I came to talk to Brother Hu, and when I left, it was already evening—I saw an old man and a young one enter Brother Hu’s courtyard.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An old man and a young one?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deng Longshu’s eyes instantly widened—this matched the Boss’s judgment that the killers were two people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you know them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Sheng shook his head. \"I don’t know them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before he finished speaking, Deng Longshu kicked him, \"Then what the hell did you just say?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Xiang, if I see them again, I’ll recognize them at a glance!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hmm. Walk around the city these days. If you spot anything, report it immediately.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tianhe Gang’s Boss Zhou Ji made his decision, then added, \"Pack me a few pieces of the corpse—keep them frozen. I’ll need them.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not long after, Boss Zhou Ji and the other two Xiangzhu left, but Xiangzhu Deng Longshu waved his hand and led his men toward the courtyard next to the warehouse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Xiang, where are we going?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where are we going?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To kill that family!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it, they screamed for mercy and still didn’t come to help!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They heard something happened and didn’t even report it—who else should I kill but them!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon after, screams erupted from the courtyard next to the warehouse!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1996,"2026-06-19T23:56:29.689Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","711def7e528de4a643288a4a8ada285e5a347b2eb552b978f758cec4bff316f3","the-star-martial-era-chapter-28","the-star-martial-era-chapter-26",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-star-martial-era-cover.jpg"]