Chapter 3

Quiet!

After the nine recitations of the Star-Invoking sacrificial text, Xu Jin, who had been expecting too much, felt his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

Why was there still no movement?

When he came, after his nine recitations of the Star-Invoking sacrificial text, he felt a flash before his eyes, and then the world spun; how come there was no movement at all this time?

The Star-Invoking sacrificial text shouldn't be wrong.

Could it be that there were no so-called Nine Stars of the North Dipper in this world?

That shouldn't be.

If there weren't, how did they send him to this world after he set up the altar and invoked the stars back then?

Could it be that the distance was too far?

What to do if he couldn't go back?

Should he just sit and wait for the attack and die?

Just as Xu Jin was feeling uneasy and his mind was full of distracting thoughts, a sudden change occurred on the River-Watching Terrace.

The Star-Invoking altar on the River-Watching Terrace suddenly became bright in an instant, even piercingly bright.

A certain patch of stars in the sky seemed to shine slightly for a moment.

The Star-Invoking altar was piercingly bright for that moment, and all the brilliance on the Star-Invoking altar seemed to converge into Xu Jin's body.

The next moment, all nine star lamps on the Star-Invoking altar extinguished, and the incense and candles all turned to ash, but what woke Xu Jin up was the jade gui in his hand.

The jade gui, which was slightly cool and moist when held in his hand, suddenly crumbled into ash, giving Xu Jin a big fright and also making Xu Jin open his eyes and look in all directions.

The first moment he opened his eyes, Xu Jin was full of disappointment.

Still on the River-Watching Terrace.

Still in this Jinshan Prefecture city of Yan Province.

Still in this world.

He didn't transmigrate back!

He still had to sit and wait for the attack and wait for death.

Xu Jin, disappointed to the extreme, sat on the ground somewhat decadently.

"This Star-Invoking altar, how could it fail."

Suddenly, Xu Jin, who was disappointed to the extreme, reacted.

The Star-Invoking altar didn't fail.

Xu Jin carefully observed the situation of the Star-Invoking altar; all nine star lamps were extinguished, and the lamp oil, wicks, and even the iron lamp holders had all turned to ash.

The jade gui in his hand had also turned to ash.

If the Star-Invoking had failed, such an anomaly would absolutely not have occurred.

But it didn't transmigrate him back as he had imagined; perhaps it succeeded, but some anomaly must have occurred.

So what happened?

Or rather, what changes occurred?

After Xu Jin carefully observed the Star-Invoking altar on the River-Watching Terrace, he closed his eyes and began to review everything that had just happened.

Reviewing was a magic weapon for Xu Jin's study and work in his past life.

Whether it was progress or regression in exams, or encountering difficulties at work, Xu Jin would close his eyes and review, study the gains and losses, and look for problems.

But this time, just as Xu Jin closed his eyes, the anomaly reappeared.

The Star-Invoking altar appeared.

But it appeared in his mind.

In Xu Jin's mind, a brand new Star-Invoking altar appeared.

In the center of this Star-Invoking altar, there was a jade gui, almost identical to the jade gui that had disappeared and crumbled in Xu Jin's hand earlier.

There was also an altar, but on the altar, there was only one bright and shining star lamp.

"What is this?"

Xu Jin was confused; while puzzled, Xu Jin suddenly discovered that there seemed to be words on the jade gui in the very center of the altar.

With a thought, the handwriting on the jade gui became very clear.

【First-Tier Arena】

【Arena Master: Xu Jin】

【Obtain Star Favor, worship once a day, can obtain a trace of starlight】

【Star Lamp: One】

【Nurturable items: Zero】

【Can ascend tier】

A few lines of small characters, concise and comprehensive, but Xu Jin was still confused.

After setting up the altar and invoking the stars, it didn't let him transmigrate back, but gave him such an arena; what was this?

And it could ascend tiers?

Or was it that after ascending the tier of this arena in the future, there would be a possibility of transmigrating back?

Just as his thoughts were in chaos, a sharp whistle suddenly sounded in the distance; when Xu Jin turned to look, he saw a red firework suddenly explode in the distance, incomparably piercing in the night sky.

Xu Jin was instantly startled.

What had happened?

Just as he was puzzled, red fireworks suddenly exploded one after another in the distance, from far to near, and the exploded red fireworks lined up in a row, actually pointing in the direction where Xu Jin was.

Xu Jin was directly frightened.

He had secretly set up a not-so-successful Star-Invoking ritual, how did it directly trigger such a big commotion?

Had his Star-Invoking altar violated some taboo, or had it attracted the attention of some powerful existence in this world?

This was a world where Star Masters could chase the stars and catch the moon; heaven knows what unknown divine abilities or supernatural powers existed, so it was entirely possible.

The river breeze blew against his face, making Xu Jin's mind clear.

Withdraw first, return to the Dao Academy first.

Even if it was really coming for him, it couldn't just slaughter him the moment they met.

It would have to find some evidence or traces.

Deal with whatever comes.

He threw the bluestone he had picked up into the big river with the fastest speed, and swept the ashes clean with the cloth wrapper.

Believing that under the blowing of the river breeze, everything would disappear in a while.

Before leaving, Xu Jin even stuffed the melon and fruit offerings into his pocket.

Sweet things were rare here, so he would take them back to eat; of course, it was also to leave no traces.

The flames in the city gradually faded, but countless shouts rang out.

Xu Jin even saw dozens of streams of light like meteors shuttling back and forth in the sky.

Not even a few hundred meters later, he saw the Jinshan Prefecture guards wearing official uniforms rushing onto this street, and they discovered him and scolded him.

Xu Jin was terrified.

But he still stopped his footsteps honestly.

He wanted to escape, but with his body that had a congenital illness, how could he outrun this group of Jinshan Prefecture guards?

What's more, in a team of prefecture guards, the team leader must be a Star Martial Artist of the fourth layer of Meal of Mist or above.

He absolutely couldn't outrun them.

But Xu Jin not running didn't mean Xu Jin was sitting and waiting for death.

The few prefecture guards who rushed over first were perhaps wanting to compete for merit, one by one looking fierce, directly pouncing over.

Xu Jin held the Jinshan Dao Academy waist token high at his waist and shouted loudly, "I am Xu Jin, a disciple of the Jinshan Dao Academy!"

Don't look at the fact that you only need to pay fifty taels of silver to participate in the star-pointing at the Jinshan Dao Academy, the threshold doesn't seem very high.

But most of the low-to-mid-level military officers and government office runners in the Jinshan Prefecture guards were from the Jinshan Dao Academy.

Similar to alumni.

This identity was still somewhat useful.

Sure enough, following Xu Jin's shout and the raised Dao Academy waist token, those few fierce prefecture guards stopped abruptly and instead turned to look behind them.

"Team Leader Qu, he says he is a disciple of the Dao Academy."

"Junior brother?" Team Leader Qu Huai in the middle of the squad crossed the distance of over ten meters in just three steps and arrived in front of Xu Jin, looking Xu Jin up and down while his expression turned from cold to a smile, "Which courtyard is junior brother from?"

Xu Jin hurriedly performed the Dao Academy's cupped-fist salute, "Greetings, senior brother; junior brother is a disciple of this year's star-pointing season at the Dao Academy."

"A disciple of this year's star-pointing season?" Qu Huai looked at Xu Jin and immediately understood, his expression turning cold.

A disciple of the star-pointing season actually couldn't be considered a true disciple who had entered the Dao Academy; only successfully pointing the star counted.

But looking at the waist token, he was indeed a genuine Dao Academy disciple, so he couldn't directly turn hostile.

"It's evening class time now, right? Why is junior brother not at evening class and wandering around the city?" This was considered a routine inquiry.

In an instant, many reasons flashed through Xu Jin's mind, but none could withstand investigation and scrutiny, so in the end, he honestly said, "The star-pointing season is coming to an end, I haven't successfully pointed the star, and I was feeling depressed, so I came out to relax."

Looking at Xu Jin, Qu Huai's expression turned completely cold, and he felt somewhat annoyed in his heart.

You, a piece of trash with no hope of pointing the star, how do you have the face to climb up to call him senior brother?

At this point, Qu Huai no longer had any desire to talk to Xu Jin, looking at him with disgust.

"Take him down and send him to the Star-Patrol Guard of the Dao Academy to verify his identity."

After speaking, he left with the majority of the prefecture guards.

When leaving, those few fierce prefecture guards looked at Xu Jin with some envy.

It was a pity that this guy had a Dao Academy waist token; otherwise, a suspect caught on the street like this would have to be squeezed for three taels of oil.

After all, such opportunities for a city-wide search for demons were rare.

While Xu Jin was embarrassed, he was relieved.

Temporarily safe.

Half an hour later, Xu Jin was escorted by two prefecture guards to the Star-Patrol Guard station on the side of the Dao Academy; Cui Tianqi, who had a full beard, received Xu Jin; he was the flag leader of the Star-Patrol Guard, and without doing any screening, he gave Xu Jin a scolding.

"When I teach Star Martial Arts, I have reminded you countless times that whether it's pointing the star, Star Martial Arts, or fighting, you must never give up until the very last moment!

Throughout history, there have been countless people who successfully pointed the star at the very last moment when the star pattern disappeared.

You haven't successfully pointed the star yet, and you're feeling depressed and going out to relax?

How can you be so cowardly?"

Several fingers poked Xu Jin's forehead, directly knocking Xu Jin to the ground, which made Cui Tianqi grit his teeth.

This was too weak and frail, right?

"Ning Jiaotou Cui, I'm sorry!"

This Cui Tianqi was one of the instructors who taught Star Martial Arts to Xu Jin in the Dao Academy, and he had a deep impression of the thin Xu Jin.

"Hurry up and go; there are still several days left until the star-pointing ends; don't give up!"

Xu Jin thanked him and left, but behind him came Cui Tianqi's voice, "Don't run around these days; there are traces of demons in the prefecture, and we are conducting a major search."

Xu Jin turned around to thank him and left, but he was relieved.

So it turned out there were traces of demons in the prefecture, not because of his star-invoking.

Returning to the large dormitory, the other youths were still at evening class, and it was empty and very quiet.

Calming his mood, Xu Jin simply took advantage of this time to study this Arena.

Worship once a day, can obtain a trace of starlight?

How to worship?

In the dormitory, Xu Jin followed the footwork of the previous star-invoking, faced the direction of the Nine Stars of the North Dipper, silently recited the sacrificial text, and bowed once.

No movement.

He went to the open space behind the dormitory.

Bowed a few more times.

Still no movement.

Xu Jin was dumbfounded.

Could it be that this so-called "worship once a day" required setting up a Star-Invoking altar and sacrificing every time to obtain a trace of starlight?

Wouldn't that be fatal?

Trouble wasn't the problem.

The problem was that this incense, jade gui, and oil lamp weren't cheap, and Xu Jin didn't have that much silver to set up another one.

Save up, how long would that take?

This time it was thanks to his old dad Xu Dajiang that he had gathered enough silver.

While frowning, Xu Jin closed his eyes again, and the Arena appeared in his mind again, with one star lamp, bright and shining.

Could it be that he should worship here?

But how could he worship the stars in the arena here?

The moment this thought emerged, in the very center of the Arena, a blurry, extremely vague figure sitting cross-legged suddenly appeared.

Or rather, this figure had actually always existed, but Xu Jin himself hadn't discovered it.

Who was this?

"This seems to be me?" Xu Jin suddenly understood.

The next moment, Xu Jin suddenly had a thought, and this blurry figure sitting cross-legged suddenly stood up, held the jade gui, stood in the altar, and bowed toward the sky.

Suddenly, above the Arena, there was an extra ray of brilliance.

A trace of starlight.

"Worship once a day, obtain a trace of starlight?"

Xu Jin understood somewhat.

But what could this starlight be used for?

Used for cultivation?

This was what Xu Jin thought of first.

But Xu Jin didn't dare to try it blindly at this moment; who knew if any situation would arise.

Outside, they were searching for demons.

The evening class time of the Dao Academy was from the third quarter of the Xu hour to the end of the Zi hour, which was from 7:45 PM to 11:00 PM, a full three hours; with no results from his research, Xu Jin silently tore up the letter left for Xu Dajiang and then lay on the bed.

Failing to transmigrate home, he needed to think carefully about the future of this life.

Or rather, think about how to walk the path of this life.

In less than half an hour, his train of thought was clear.

The first must be to try every possible way to cure the congenital heart disease of this body, survive, and live well.

To survive, the method was actually simple: continue to cultivate, try every possible way to successfully point the star, and see if he could completely cure the congenital disease of this body through cultivation.

If he really couldn't successfully point the star, then Xu Jin could only extend his life through the shallow medical knowledge he had learned in his past life, which would probably be quite miserable.

The second was to earn more silver.

Whether in his past life or this one, repaying kindness is a must.

To earn silver, to properly repay Xu Dajiang, who had been quite good to him in this life, and to properly care for his younger sister Xu Jiang, who was gentle and lovely and took care of him.

To tell the truth, Xu Jiang Er combing Xu Jin's hair was the thing Xu Jin enjoyed most now, and it was the most peaceful moment of his past and present lives.

As for improving the living conditions of this life, that was all incidental.

The third was to figure out the usage of this Arena without exposing it; perhaps this was the key for Xu Jin to gain a foothold in this life.

The clamorous human voices pulled Xu Jin back from his deep thoughts; just as he wanted to bury his head and pretend to sleep, the little brother Qian Xiaohu who slept beside Xu Jin pushed Xu Jin, "Brother Jin, Ning Jiaotou Ning is calling you."

Xu Jin, who was pretending to sleep, turned over and got up, and slapped Qian Xiaohu on the back of the head, "Where did your memory go, you kid? You can't just call her that; that's Ning Jiaotou Ning."

Because Ning Jiaotou Ning was quite strict and would use her iron crutch at every turn, many youths privately called her "Ning the Cripple."

Qian Xiaohu hurriedly apologized with a smile, "Isn't this in private."

"Not even in private!"

"By the way, do you know what Ning Jiaotou Ning is calling me for?" Xu Jin nimbly put on his shoes and got off the bed.

This Qian Xiaohu was only sixteen, his heart was quite good, but he was still young and didn't understand many things; Xu Jin had had attacks several times before, and it was he who fed Xu Jin the medicine.

"I don't know."

Tie Xiaohu shook his head, "Ning Jiaotou Ning said that as long as you can crawl up, have you go find her."

This made Xu Jin somewhat mutter.

Xu Jin had asked for sick leave during the evening class.

It was so late, what did Ning Jiaotou Ning want with him?

Scold him?

While puzzled, Xu Jin nimbly went out.

(End of chapter)