Chapter 29: Limit of Casting Star

"Any disciple from the Inner, Middle, or Outer Court who first fully inscribes the Small Star Cluster Pattern shall receive one bottle of Awakening Spirit Pill and three lower-grade Star-Enhancing Pills. The second and third place shall receive six and three Awakening Spirit Pills respectively, and two and one Star-Enhancing Pills respectively."

"Any disciple from the Inner, Middle, or Outer Court who first fully inscribes the Great Star Cluster Pattern shall receive two bottles of Awakening Spirit Pill, one lower-grade Star-Enhancing Pill, and one Calming Golden Core Pill. The second and third place shall receive one and half a bottle of Awakening Spirit Pill respectively, and six and three lower-grade Star-Enhancing Pills respectively." Ning Yuchan said slowly.

The other youths listened to the rewards as if hearing a story, but several youths of noble background—such as Yue Daqi, Lu Xianbing, Zhou Du, Qiao Ruonan, and Luo Geng—suddenly their eyes gleamed with sharp intensity.

The reward for the Small Star Cluster Pattern was manageable; Awakening Spirit Pills were merely conventional herbal elixirs, while Star-Enhancing Pills were true Star Pills, infused with star energy.

But even a single one could be bought for twenty taels of silver.

The key was the Calming Golden Core Pill.

The Calming Golden Core Pill was one of those items with a price but no availability; its official government price was a thousand taels of gold per pill, yet you simply could not buy it.

The reason was tied to the Calming Golden Core Pill’s function.

The Calming Golden Core Pill was an exceedingly rare elixir capable of strengthening and expanding the spirit soul’s power; moreover, it was said that those who consumed it had a ten percent higher chance of successfully casting a Star.

As Ning Yuchan calmly explained the Star-Enhancing Pills and Calming Golden Core Pill to the youths, the entire group erupted in excitement.

Even the three youths studying the jade tablet paused their reading.

"Instructor, I feel the Academy’s rewards, though high, are beyond our reach. I suspect these prizes will ultimately be claimed by the three Inner Court senior brothers," Sha Youtian said boldly.

At once, the earlier excitement among the youths was doused like cold water.

Indeed, no matter how good the reward, it was not for them.

But Ning Yuchan shook her head. "Then what do you think the Academy’s purpose in setting this reward is? If it were truly so, wouldn’t it be simpler to just award it directly to Yue Daqi and the other two?"

Then Ning Yuchan added, "Have you forgotten what Xu Jin and Lu Xianbing said the day before yesterday?"

"If the number of Star Points truly determined everything, what would be the point of cultivation?"

Hearing Ning Yuchan bring this up again, Xu Jin and Lu Xianbing felt slightly embarrassed.

"Star Point count is merely the most fair method, passed down for millennia, to assess cultivation talent. But who can inscribe the Small and Great Star Cluster Patterns in the shortest time depends on personal insight, the strength of the spirit soul, and how wisely one allocates cultivation time."

"Inscribing Star Patterns consumes both spirit soul power and star energy simultaneously, yet during the process, it also moderately strengthens the spirit soul. Once the Star Pattern is successfully inscribed, your body’s upper limit of star energy and your speed of drawing in star energy will multiply, which in turn accelerates your Body Tempering progress."

"How to balance and schedule your cultivation time is up to you," Ning Yuchan said.

Afterward, the youths raised numerous questions one after another, and Ning Yuchan answered each one; Xu Jin listened carefully to every word.

Many of the questions were ones Xu Jin himself had wanted to ask.

At the same time, Ning Yuchan offered a relatively reasonable suggestion.

That was: Body Tempering and Star Pattern Inscription could proceed side by side.

Focusing solely on one aspect was detrimental to cultivation.

Deliberately pushing full effort into Star Pattern Inscription for the sake of the reward was even less advisable.

Haste makes waste.

Inscribing Star Patterns may seem merely about drawing lines, but in truth, it tests the cultivator’s minute control over star energy—including sustained linear output and more.

Xu Jin was a Middle Court disciple; though he ranked last, less than a quarter-hour passed before it was his turn to read the Great Star Cluster Pattern on the jade tablet.

Only parts of the body tempered by star energy could output star energy.

Xu Jin pressed the jade tablet beneath his throat, letting a faint stream of star energy leak out; instantly, a simple Star Pattern appeared in his mind.

It matched exactly the Star Pattern on his chest.

It was the Simplified Star Cluster Pattern.

The next instant, the Simplified Star Cluster Pattern, as if encountering spring, began to sprout and multiply.

Twelve branches emerged from the original simple lines, their ends continuously growing.

Eventually, it formed a half-moon-shaped, lotus-like Star Pattern, then stopped.

Xu Jin understood: this must be the Small Star Cluster Pattern.

After five breaths, the Small Star Cluster Pattern began to grow and change again; its branches and ends multiplied once more, finally forming a complete, hollow, lotus-shaped sphere that rotated slowly.

Exquisitely beautiful!

This was the Great Star Cluster Pattern.

After this complete demonstration, Xu Jin suddenly understood: the Simplified Star Cluster Pattern, the Small Star Cluster Pattern, and the Great Star Cluster Pattern were in fact three distinct stages of the Star Cluster Pattern.

Immediately, Xu Jin formulated his own strategy.

At this stage, focusing on the Great Star Cluster Pattern was useless.

As Ning Yuchan said, reading the jade tablet was limited to one hundred breaths per day; exceeding it risked damaging the spirit soul.

With limited reading time, efficiency must be maximized.

By memorizing only the transformation from the Simplified Star Cluster Pattern to the Small Star Cluster Pattern, theoretical efficiency could be doubled.

Then, as the jade tablet’s content shifted from the Small Star Cluster Pattern toward the Great Star Cluster Pattern, Xu Jin pulled the tablet away from his skin, cut off star energy, reapplied it, and reinitiated input—another cycle of Star Pattern evolution began.

Again, it began from the Simplified Star Cluster Pattern evolving into the Small Star Cluster Pattern.

"Huh? Look at Xu Jin—why is he interrupting his reading so frequently? Is he encountering an obstacle?" Liu Ji, who had been watching Xu Jin closely, suddenly nudged the youth beside him.

Instantly, many youths, including Luo Geng, noticed Xu Jin’s unusual behavior.

But none warned him; they simply watched in silence.

On the day of Xu Jin’s Star Point Assessment, he had stolen the spotlight and leapt into the Middle Court; many youths still harbored thoughts about him. Zhou Du of the Middle Court also noticed, especially the reactions of the Outer Court youths, which drew his particular attention.

Zhou Du also hoped Xu Jin had encountered an obstacle.

If anyone hated Xu Jin most, besides Luo Geng, it was probably Zhou Du.

A perfectly good Inner Court disciple, now dragged down to the Middle Court because of Xu Jin’s antics.

Though he said nothing aloud, his heart surely harbored resentment.

But the next instant, Zhou Du’s expression froze; he couldn’t help slapping his thigh hard.

"Damn it! Why didn’t I think of that!"

Drawing everyone’s attention, Zhou Du suddenly realized Xu Jin’s intention.

His face filled with regret.

The Outer Court youths, including Luo Geng, looked on, utterly confused.

Zhou Du had read the jade tablet in full each time, but within the hundred breaths, he’d only managed four cycles, barely remembering the Small Star Cluster Pattern, missing all the details—he’d have to continue tomorrow.

But Zhou Du now understood: Xu Jin’s interrupted reading method likely exploited the pauses to observe only the transition from Simplified to Small Star Cluster Pattern.

He could observe at least eight times, achieving far better memory retention.

In fact, within the hundred breaths, Xu Jin had observed nine cycles.

By the fifth cycle, Xu Jin had found an even faster memorization method.

First memorize the main trunk’s transformation, then the details of the branches.

After nine cycles, he had memorized the pattern largely, especially the main trunk’s changes, which were crystal clear.

But when the hundred breaths ended, Xu Jin felt a slight headache—his spirit soul power had been overtaxed.

The first lesson in the Middle Court consumed the entire morning.

Most of the time was spent waiting in line to read the Great Star Cluster Pattern.

Yet during the waits, Ning Yuchan had told the youths much about their future cultivation, especially crucial matters.

Every disciple’s first goal was Meal of Mist, Fifth Level; after reaching Meal of Mist, Sixth Level, the first major hurdle would be overcoming it.

Because Meal of Mist, Sixth Level tempers the head.

Too light: ineffective. Too heavy: injures the brain.

Some would remain stuck at Meal of Mist, Sixth Level for a long time.

If they broke through to Meal of Mist, Seventh Level, every disciple would face the first great barrier on their cultivation path.

Star Casting.

Only after Star Casting could they learn more powerful Star Patterns and deeper Star Arts.

Perhaps fearing to burden the disciples, Ning Yuchan did not elaborate.

She mentioned only one deadline.

Regardless of Inner, Middle, or Outer Court status, any disciple who fails to cast a Star within two years will be expelled.

After class came mealtime.

During the meal, Xu Jin felt truly justified for entering the Middle Court.

Disciples from all three courts dined in the same hall; staple food was unlimited. Inner Court disciples received three meat dishes and one vegetable with their badge; Middle Court disciples received two meat dishes and one vegetable; Outer Court disciples received one meat dish and one vegetable.

Of course, one meat and one vegetable was enough to fill the stomach, and there was meat—but entering the Middle Court meant three dishes, and Xu Jin was quite satisfied.

After the meal, Xu Jin hurried back to his private room, swallowed an Awakening Spirit Pill, and began attempting to inscribe the Small Star Cluster Pattern on the basis of the Simplified Star Cluster Pattern on his chest.

He hadn’t realized how difficult it was until he tried.

Harder than embroidery by more than tenfold.

Controlling stable star energy output was secondary.

The crucial part was using star energy to draw a complete loop of a single pattern in one continuous motion.

Only when one pattern’s loop was correctly drawn could star energy be made to circulate within it, gradually increasing pressure to complete the inscription.

Xu Jin had memorized clearly from the morning lesson: the main trunk of the pattern increased from three lines to six, and the branches from six to twelve.

Yet for just the first pattern, Xu Jin spent half an hour before successfully forming a correct Star Pattern loop.

Barely had he begun imprinting when a loss of control shattered the newly formed loop—he had to start over.

But before ten minutes passed, his head began to ache.

His spirit soul power was overexerted; even the Awakening Spirit Pill he’d just taken had been fully consumed.

"This is truly exhausting."

"Under these conditions, even if one focused solely on inscribing Star Patterns, it would take at least ten days or half a month to succeed. If one tried to cultivate and inscribe simultaneously, it might take a month—let alone the Great Star Cluster Pattern."

As he pondered, Xu Jin suddenly thought of the Star Lantern.

The Star Lantern could simulate combat—could one attempt to inscribe Star Patterns within it?

With this thought, Xu Jin stirred his spirit and immediately sank into the Can Dou Platform.

(End of Chapter)