Chapter 297: The Difference of Star Healing

Who are you?

Xu Jin had just rushed toward the battle zone but hadn't entered when a squad of Patrol Star Guards blocked his path.

Seeing this, Xu Jin wasn't surprised; he immediately channeled Star Power into his waist token, which instantly glowed brightly.

"Xu Jin, true disciple of the State Academy, sent here by order to reinforce!"

After confirming the token was genuine and his stated identity correct, the guard squad immediately cleared the way, bowed in farewell, and pointed toward the County Magistrate's position.

Xu Jin accelerated again; in the next instant, the Gaiyue Sword slashed through empty air, charging and slicing through two third-rank alien foes in a line, then surged toward the County Magistrate's location.

Every time the Star Tide rises, natural disasters and human calamities arrive together.

The so-called natural disaster refers naturally to the aliens pouring out of the Star Gate with the Star Tide, but the human calamity is far more complex.

There are rogue cultivators who loot and profit from the national crisis, enemy spies who sabotage during the chaos, and vengeful schemers who seize the opportunity to destroy.

Even worse, some powerful clans or criminal gangs incite unrest, aid the invaders, assassinate experts, and collaborate with the alien forces to breach the city walls.

Under the Star Tide, cities fall and villages are slaughtered—it's common.

After the battle, who can prove it?

Besides looting and seizing sudden wealth, after the battle one can buy up unclaimed land and property at rock-bottom prices, and trade in slaves en masse.

Even if severe laws are enforced,

every Star Tide, people still risk everything!

One success means a complete, irreversible leap in one's life—or one's family's—social standing.

Every Star Tide reveals humanity's goodness, courage, and perseverance—but also hides immense evil.

Thus, during every Star Tide, martial law is enforced; everywhere becomes a battlefield, and identities must be verified.

Even the Star Picking Tower, originally jointly managed by three parties, is temporarily placed entirely under Chen Guo's control.

This is one reason the Grand Master dared to send Xu Jin into battle.

Once the Star Picking Tower's teleportation is restricted,

even if other Star Palace factions act, the greatest obstacle will be spatial distance—and Xu Jin's greatest safety.

Soon, Xu Jin located the County Magistrate.

The entire county had only two fourth-rank experts, now fighting desperately on the city wall against seven fourth-rank aliens, barely holding on.

Whenever in danger, they would activate a seal token, barely surviving and often inflicting heavy damage on the aliens.

But clearly, manpower was insufficient.

Within and outside the county, Xu Jin sensed over ten fourth-rank aliens.

Without a word, Xu Jin's Thunder Wings flashed to the area with the most aliens, then stood still, fingers dancing like butterflies among flowers.

Each flick sent a chain of lightning bolts crashing down; at the moment of impact, each bolt split into three.

Chain Lightning Bolts.

Below fourth rank, instantly killed.

Fourth-rank aliens required two or three more strikes to be slain.

Chain Lightning Bolts had relatively weaker power.

But they compensated with extreme frequency.

In barely a breath, all aliens within a fifty-meter radius centered on Xu Jin were wiped clean.

Some fourth-rank aliens, still alive but gravely wounded, Xu Jin ignored—they'd be finished off by local experts.

With a flick of his Thunder Wings, Xu Jin lunged within fifty meters of the County Magistrate.

This time, he unleashed Chain Purple Thunder Bolts.

Under Chain Purple Thunder Bolts, even third-rank aliens were obliterated instantly; those below mid-fourth rank died with a single strike.

One Chain Purple Thunder Bolt killed three aliens.

Xu Jin suddenly realized this Chain Star Pattern was extremely practical on the battlefield.

It could even be applied to other Star Arts.

In an instant, the seven fourth-rank aliens attacking the County Magistrate and County Commandant were all slain by Xu Jin.

The County Magistrate and County Commandant were overjoyed!

When first notified of reinforcements, they'd been deeply disappointed to learn only one fourth-rank disciple was sent, assuming the State Academy was short-handed.

But they hadn't expected him to be absurdly strong.

As the two moved forward to pay respects, Xu Jin flashed before them: "Military situation is urgent. My lords, how many aliens have broken out? Where is the main alien force?"

"Roughly over five thousand have broken out.

Divided into three groups: one is besieging the county, the other two are advancing toward Xiaohe Village and Shiba Village, each with over a thousand! The villagers there, I fear—" The County Magistrate and County Commandant's faces darkened with sorrow.

The county might hold, but those two villages—

Xu Jin glanced back at the Star Gate, still glowing in the night sky, continuously pouring out aliens, then declared: "My lords, I'll go save those two villages first. You two head to the Star Gate and block the aliens from scattering. I'll return and seal the Star Gate fully."

Sealing the Star Gate—even with a Star Jade Tablet—requires time.

The County Magistrate and County Commandant exchanged glances, their expressions troubled: "True Disciple Xu, there are still over a thousand aliens inside and outside the county—"

Before Xu Jin arrived, the Grand Master had already informed them of the reinforcement details.

During battle, a stranger suddenly appearing would cause panic among everyone.

"Leave it to me."

Five breaths later, before the two fourth-rankers even reached the Star Gate, they froze in shock.

For in those five breaths, thunder rained down across the county; the fighting aliens fell like dumplings into boiling water—each flash of lightning often brought down three aliens.

Most died horribly.

Even those not killed were instantly crippled.

The city's elite could handle the rest!

The two exchanged glances, stunned—and slightly ashamed.

Both were fourth-rank. Why was the gap so vast?

Together, they couldn't match half of Xu Jin's hand.

But they immediately let go of their shame.

Otherwise, why was Xu Jin a true disciple?

They'd been mere inner-disciples in their day.

Xu Jin had cleared most mid- to late-third-rank aliens from the county in five breaths; the remainder no longer posed a serious threat.

Whoosh—Boom!

The sound of tearing air merged with the thunderous flutter of his Thunder Wings into a strange roar; Xu Jin became a streak of lightning, hurtling toward Xiaohe Village.

As he flew, he directly drew down three strands of Starlight from the Can-Dou Altar, fully restoring his Star Power.

Chain Lightning and Chain Purple Thunder Bolts cleared fields fast—but consumed immense Star Power, even excessive amounts.

In just that short while, one Star Core's power was entirely drained.

Xiaohe Village was only thirty li from Gu'an County; Xu Jin reached it in barely ten breaths at full speed.

The moment he arrived, his eyes bulged in horror.

Over a thousand grotesque, alien forms from the Eight Wildernesses were already savoring their victory.

They were violently blasting the homes of Xiaohe Village with Star Power.

When the Star Tide arrived and the Star Gate descended, the county had issued an alarm.

Prepared villagers had hidden in whatever they deemed safe—now the streets were empty.

But the aliens used brute Star Power to smash everything, then hunted for survivors. Young men and women, and children over ten, were most valuable—all captured, strung together, destined for breeding in their Star Domain.

But the elderly and middle-aged? Now they were the aliens'... food!

In the next instant, Xu Jin saw a sight that made his scalp crawl—a vision he'd never wish to see again.

A towering alien was gnawing on a woman, blood dripping from his mouth.

The key point: the woman was still alive!

This wasn't an isolated case.

Many aliens were doing the same.

Screams, terrified roars, wails, weeping, the gush of blood, the crunch of bones and flesh being bitten apart.

It was no exaggeration to call it hell on earth.

Xu Jin had only heard before that aliens from the Star Domains—especially low-rank ones—loved to eat humans.

They believed the current human race was the most spiritually refined existence; consuming them enhanced wisdom, increased spiritual grace, and brought countless benefits.

But hearing was one thing; seeing it firsthand, Xu Jin finally understood why the Grand Master said that once inside the Star Domains, no matter how many you killed, it was never too much.

Only now did Xu Jin truly comprehend.

Previously, he'd thought Star Domain aliens were roughly like humans and borderland barbarians.

But now, he understood: no.

This was the difference between humanity and beasts.

"Damn it!"

Xu Jin roared in fury, charging straight into the heart of the elite alien army, his Fish Veil Golden Bell shielding him, fingers flicking like lightning.

In an instant, many aliens didn't even know what happened before they were obliterated.

One breath later, the aliens noticed Xu Jin; under their leaders' orders, they howled and charged toward him in formation, launching ranged attacks.

Xu Jin ignored their assaults entirely; each strike landed on his Fish Veil Golden Bell without even ruffling its surface.

Yet his ten fingers kept snapping and striking continuously.

Two breaths later, the alien force collapsed.

An enemy that cannot be killed.

To rush to your death against an enemy who can obliterate two or three of you in the blink of an eye is sheer foolishness!

They began to flee.

But Xu Jin gave them no chance to escape.

These aliens may be fleeing, but if even one or two wandered into a village, that would be a true disaster.

During every Star Tide, many villages were massacred in exactly this way.

Lei Yi flapped his wings repeatedly as Xu Jin darted back and forth, taking dozens of breaths to slay the farthest-running alien.

Total annihilation!

In less than a hundred breaths, Xu Jin wiped out the entire alien squad of over a thousand.

Looking down at the civilians kowtowing in thanks, yet among them were wounded crying out in pain, Xu Jin hesitated for only a second before streaking toward Shiba Township.

Xu Jin could land, use low-grade Star Essence to heal them, and save several more without issue.

But arriving one second earlier at Shiba Township might save a hundred more!

At this moment, you cannot say the few critically wounded here aren't worth saving—there's no time for weighing options.

All Xu Jin could do was follow his heart and save as many lives as possible.

Compared to Xiaohe Township, Shiba Township was already a true hell on earth.

In Xiaohe Township, fewer than a hundred civilians had truly died.

But in Shiba Township, corpses lay strewn everywhere.

Xu Jin saw over a dozen remains that had been partially devoured.

Xu Jin glared in fury, said nothing, and charged into the aliens with only one word: Kill!

All alien invaders from the Star Realm must die!

A hundred breaths later, the thousand-plus aliens were utterly eradicated.

As Xu Jin swallowed an elixir, he once again drew in twenty strands of Can Dou Tai starlight, fully replenishing the star power drained from his three star cores.

The rescued civilians knelt in a sea of bows, uttering endless words of gratitude.

Suddenly, Xu Jin spotted a teenage girl, her severed leg gushing blood, multiple wounds across her body—the amputation clearly from a bite.

If untreated, this girl would die without doubt.

He glanced toward the county seat, then suddenly dropped down.

He swapped his star core for a fifth-rank Wood Spirit star core, then activated low-grade Star Healing.

Save lives!

The Wood Spirit Palace's authorization document the State Tutor had obtained for Xu Jin was merely a nominal safety permit, meant to prevent him from provoking the Wood Spirit Palace.

During the healing, Xu Jin tested the difference between using his own low-grade Star Healing and activating it via the Star Healing Mother Seal.

In that test, he realized the gap was enormous.

The Star Healing activated by the Mother Seal achieved less than one-third the effect of Xu Jin's own Star Healing.

With his Protection Star Pattern, mid-grade Wood Source, low-grade Star Healing, and a mid-tier Wood Spirit Heart, Xu Jin could heal severe wounds in one breath.

With the Mother Seal's Star Healing, even three attempts failed to heal it.

This instantly made Xu Jin's opinion of the Wood Spirit Palace plummet to rock bottom.

Healing is a skill that can be charged for—but why so many restrictions?

If only a few third-rank experts learned it, how many lives could be saved!

Xu Jin healed over a dozen critically wounded who would have otherwise died, then prepared to stop.

For minor injuries, he had no time to waste.

Time was too precious now.

But just as he paused to leave, a man rushed forward, carrying his wife whom Xu Jin had just saved, and without a word, slammed his head repeatedly against the ground—bang, bang, bang, bang!

His gratitude was beyond words.

In an instant, every family member of those Xu Jin had saved did the same.

A profound, indescribable joy rose in Xu Jin's heart.

In his past life's terms, his brain had instantly flooded with massive dopamine.

It felt wonderful.

Deeply, genuinely wonderful.

Xu Jin felt that at this moment, if he could save these civilians, if he could help them, no sacrifice was too great.

Suddenly, Xu Jin remembered a rescue team from his past life.

During casual chats with friends, many couldn't understand how such a rescue team could be purely charitable.

Could there really be a group that spent their own money on gear and expenses just to save lives?

Now, Xu Jin understood.

There really was.

After saving someone, when the rescued elders or others rushed forward, weeping, banging their heads in thanks—that surge of euphoria was ten times stronger than drinking, boasting, or sleeping with women.

Xu Jin dared say that if anyone else experienced this feeling, it would become their most unforgettable memory.

It might even become the one thing they chased for life.

In this moment, the convergence of raw emotions triggered a transformation no amount of drinking, music, or pleasure could replicate.

It was a joy that arose from within, body and soul unified.

The next instant, Xu Jin resolutely tore himself from this peak of euphoria, waved his hand, and soared into the stars, heading toward Gu'an County.

Only by slaughtering every alien there and sealing the Star Gate would this rescue mission be truly complete!

(End of Chapter)