Chapter 317: Broken Defenses

When Xu Jin last traveled from Da Chen War City to Xingyang War City, he flew there, taking three and a half hours.

But that was at the speed of a normal fourth-rank beginner cultivator.

Roughly less than a hundred meters per second, about seven hundred li per hour—he flew straight there with almost no energy expenditure.

Yet this was far from Xu Jin's maximum speed.

With his Thunder Wings combined with the Starfall Star Pattern, under maximum burst, his speed could exceed 250 meters per second, over 1, 00 li per hour—enough to reach Da Chen War City in just an hour and a half.

But at that speed, the energy drain was enormous, and it was extremely conspicuous.

Even many mid- to late-stage fifth-rank experts couldn't reach this speed.

In public, it was better to stay low-key.

So Xu Jin set out at noon, continuing his slow journey toward Da Chen War City.

At the same time, Xu Jin planned to go fishing.

The past ten days of constant surveillance had left him deeply annoyed.

That old man Ma, who could vanish and move unseen, came daily to observe Xu Jin—each visit lasting at least half an hour, three or four times a day.

Outside Xu Jin's courtyard, at the crossroads, people kept watch without pause.

This made Xu Jin extremely uncomfortable.

Now that he had inscribed four Mingji Star Patterns, his maximum perception range exceeded three hundred meters, making his awareness extraordinarily sharp.

Imagine sleeping and still sensing a pair of eyes watching you from afar—what would that feel like?

It wasn't convenient to act inside Xingyang War City.

Xu Jin wanted to use this outing to go fishing and resolve this nuisance.

Over the past few months, Xu Jin's mindset had undergone a complete transformation.

When he first arrived, he still clung to the old principle of "if others don't bother me, I won't bother them"—a kind of moral purity from his past life.

But after all he'd been through, that was long gone.

If you dare plot against me, I'll make you suffer eternal damnation!

There's no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days—only stealing for a thousand days.

It's worth noting that the Star River Battlefield still had many ordinary people.

First, the everyday needs of cultivators—food, clothing, shelter—required ordinary people to handle them; many owned servants.

Second, it was far easier to grow wealthy on the Star River Battlefield!

In the mortal world, selling alcohol or food might earn you a few or dozens of copper coins at best.

But on the Star River Battlefield, if you didn't make several times the profit, you weren't worth the hardship of leaving your homeland.

Some ordinary people earned in a few years what they could never earn in a lifetime back home.

Of course, opportunity came with risk.

The mortal world was safer.

But on the Star River Battlefield, if you accidentally offended a cultivator in conversation, you wouldn't even know how you died.

Though each war city had laws, case piles were mountains high, and finding the killer was nearly impossible.

The reason was simple: each war city on the Star River Battlefield was built on completely conquered star domains.

Vast land, extremely sparse population.

In places like Xingyang War City, a single city spanned two thousand li in every direction.

Kill someone, flee into the wilderness, or simply move to another war city—who could find you?

So prices on the Star River Battlefield were high for a reason—high risk meant high cost!

Yet people still flocked here.

Besides them, there were also countless miners, convicts, and others.

"Oh? Young Master Qi is leaving?"

Before leaving the war city, Xu Jin met an acquaintance—Hou Yunzhang, captain of the Sword Hero Mercenary Squad.

After buying the mid-rank Star Healing Seal from him, Hou Yunzhang had personally visited to thank him, and naturally, they became friends.

Through repeated interactions, and with Xu Jin's deliberate effort, they became close.

Building a good relationship with him made it easier to gather information about Ning Yuchan.

Whenever Xu Jin mentioned Ning Yuchan, this man would go on endlessly—he was clearly one of her admirers.

"Yes, Brother Hou, I'm heading out to handle some business," Xu Jin said.

Hou Yunzhang nodded, glanced around, saw nothing unusual, and said, "Brother, watch your back when you're out. If anything's wrong, prioritize your life—just shout for old brother me. I'll come if I can."

"Thank you!"

After bowing respectfully, Xu Jin stepped onto the starlight and flew out of Xingyang War City toward Da Chen War City.

Almost the instant Xu Jin took flight, in the Seven Kill Hall's base, Old Ma hurried to find the hall master, Zheng Guan: "Master, that kid's left the city—heading toward Da Chen War City, looks like."

Upon hearing this, Master Zheng Guan leapt to his feet. "Perfect! We've waited over ten days—this fat lamb finally left. But caution is eternal safety—take Old Liu with you, then it's foolproof!"

Old Liu was Zheng Guan's loyal subordinate, with exceptionally solid cultivation—he was only fifth-rank sixth layer, but had repeatedly slain peers in direct combat and even killed outsiders across a lower realm.

Within less than ten breaths, the three of them took to the starlight and swiftly pursued Xu Jin's direction.

Though the land was vast and sparsely populated, travelers flying toward Da Chen War City were occasionally spotted.

The closer they got to Da Chen War City, the more frequent they became.

But most traveled in groups.

Solo travelers like Xu Jin were rare.

Because beyond a certain distance, it became dangerous.

The reason was simple: the reach of the Star Picking Orders.

Each war city had a Star Picking Tower branch.

A one-star Star Picking Order: main tower radius was four hundred li, branch tower two hundred li.

A two-star Star Picking Order: main tower eight hundred li, branch tower four hundred li.

A three-star Star Picking Order: main tower twelve hundred li, branch tower six hundred li.

A four-star Star Picking Order: main tower twenty-four hundred li, branch tower twelve hundred li.

Because upgrading Star Picking Orders was extremely expensive, most were two-star; a few had three-star; four-star and five-star were exceedingly rare.

In the mortal world, every prefecture had a Star Picking Tower branch—so as long as you had a second-rank order and weren't deep in the wilderness, you'd never be out of range.

But on the Star River Battlefield, it was different.

The distance between Da Chen War City and Xingyang War City was five thousand li.

With a two-star order, only the four-hundred-li radius around each city was safe—the four-thousand-li stretch between them was a signal blind zone.

Effectively, a no-man's-land.

Even with a three-star order, the branch towers covered only twelve hundred li between the cities—three thousand eight hundred li remained blind zones.

That three thousand eight hundred li was a danger zone.

Like the no-man's-lands of his past life.

So most cultivators traveled in groups.

This was one fundamental reason why mercenary squads and guilds thrived on the Star River Battlefield—survival through companionship!

To seasoned cultivators, Xu Jin's solo journey looked reckless.

Xu Jin had wanted a companion too, but after all he'd endured, he'd long decided: better alone than with the wrong one.

He had too many secrets—untrustworthy allies were just burdens and trouble.

After flying for an hour at a normal fourth-rank beginner's speed, Xu Jin had covered fourteen hundred li from Xingyang War City—long past the safe zone—but no cultivator had followed him.

He wondered if his fishing attempt had failed.

He pondered: if they weren't going to ambush him, why had they watched him every day?

Just as he wondered, two fifth-rank cultivators suddenly streaked toward him from behind—one of their auras was Zheng Guan's.

This was another advantage of the Mingji Star Pattern: once Xu Jin had sensed someone's aura, he could instantly recognize it. Two breaths later, he detected a third aura.

The third aura was hidden—it was Old Ma's.

"Qi, hand over the Star-Picking Token, the starlight, and all your treasures, and we'll let you live!" Old Liu, a sixth-layer fifth-rank cultivator blocking Xu Jin's path, barked out directly.

Xu Jin expected them to play some trick, but they acted with brutal directness.

As the two fifth-rank cultivators neared within a hundred meters, they instantly accelerated, flanking him and cutting off his path.

"You, the one with the surname Qi—hand over your Star Picking Order, your starlight, and all your treasures, and we'll spare your life!" barked Old Liu, the fifth-rank sixth-layer cultivator blocking his way.

Simultaneously, the auras of Old Liu (fifth-rank sixth-layer) and Zheng Guan (fifth-rank ninth-layer) locked onto Xu Jin.

The instant Old Liu roared, Xu Jin didn't stop—he raised the Fish Curtain Golden Bell and surged forward at full speed toward Old Liu.

Flame light erupted instantly—Xu Jin launched an offensive the very first moment.

In the instant Xu Jin moved, he fully activated the eighth-rank Fire Source Star Glyph, the Crimson Dragon Ring, the fifth-rank below Fire Spirit Heart, and the Offering Star Core.

The moment "die" left Old Liu's lips, a fist-sized purple flame erupted, striking Old Liu—within an instant, it consumed the fifth-rank sixth-layer cultivator.

Even a lion fights a rabbit with full strength.

The instant Xu Jin struck, he pushed his eighth-rank Fire Source Star Pattern, the Crimson Dragon Ring, the fifth-rank Fire Spirit Heart, and the Offering Star Core to their absolute limits.

With all these enhancements, Xu Jin himself was now fourth-rank third-layer, and he'd launched a surprise attack—Old Liu was obliterated in a single instant.

Instant kill!

Behind him, Zheng Guan froze in shock. Hidden in stealth, Old Ma nearly revealed himself from sheer terror.

In that instant, Zheng Guan hesitated.

【101】 Run—or press on?

【102】 If he pressed on, his chances were slim.

【103】 He had no ability to kill Old Liu in one blow—not even with a surprise attack.

But this young fellow before him.

Yet in the next instant, there was no time left for Zheng Guan to think.

Because Xu Jin had already turned and charged toward him.

And it was Xu Jin, fully baring his fangs.

Lei Yi instantly materialized; with a single flap, he was already before Zheng Guan.

Xu Jin did not use his soul attack.

Zheng Guan was the first fifth-rank ninth-layer expert Xu Jin had encountered on the Star River Battlefield.

At this moment, Xu Jin wanted to test himself in direct combat.

Because ever since, whether from the National Academy, the teachings of his several masters, or folk legends, all pointed to one thing.

That is, the warriors of the Star River Battlefield possessed greater combat power than cultivators of the current world.

Many powerful figures from the current world returned from training on the Star River Battlefield with dramatically enhanced strength.

At this moment, Xu Jin wanted to use Zheng Guan to test his own strength.

In the same instant, Zheng Guan and the hidden Lao Ma were urgently communicating.

"Lao Ma, this kid is pretending to be weak, but he doesn't know you're here! Our only chance to win is for me to hold him frontally while you strike from ambush—land one fatal blow!"

"This kid, judging by his performance, is definitely the fattest of lambs!" Zheng Guan whispered.

"Got it!" The hidden Lao Ma made his decision.

The next instant, blue and earth-yellow starlight surged upward and slammed toward Xu Jin.

Xu Jin did not rush to counterattack; instead, he blocked with the Fish Curtain Golden Bell.

A single strike sent heavy ripples across Xu Jin's Fish Curtain Golden Bell!

After two strikes, fine cracks began to appear on the Fish Curtain Golden Bell!

This stunned Xu Jin.

Zheng Guan, this fifth-rank ninth-layer expert, was indeed strong.

During previous battles in the star realm, many sixth-rank early-stage alien foes had less offensive power than Zheng Guan.

Xu Jin was stunned.

But Zheng Guan was nearly paralyzed with shock.

What the hell kind of monster is this!

He was a seasoned fifth-rank ninth-layer expert, having honed his star constellations for over a decade—two full strikes, and he hadn't even broken through the defense!

He hadn't even broken through the defense of this young kid!

Zheng Guan himself had just shattered his own confidence.

The fourth-rank ninth-layer Lao Ma, who had been sneaking up to ambush Xu Jin, also shattered his confidence.

Is this ambush even useful?

The boss couldn't even break the defense.

Even if I sneak up and land the hit, it'll just be scratching the surface!

In an instant, Lao Ma realized one thing—he had misjudged completely.

This man before him might truly have an extraordinary background, merely dressed plainly.

Instinctively, he wanted to flee immediately.

But in that same instant, a purple flame suddenly blasted forth, instantly incinerating his starlight defense—his bones and flesh turned to ash in an instant.

He didn't even struggle—he was instantly obliterated.

Watching the ashes fall directly from the void, Zheng Guan's scalp went numb; his gaze at Xu Jin was like he'd seen a ghost.

He had spotted the hidden Lao Ma—and casually blasted him to death!

How strong was this man?

What kind of background did he have?

"Attack me with all your strength! If you can even scratch me, I'll spare your life today!" Xu Jin said.

Hearing this, Zheng Guan felt a sense of utter absurdity.

In the past, he was the one playing with lambs!

Now he was being toyed with by a lamb!

Instinctively, he turned and fled.

He couldn't win in combat—surely his speed could outpace this fourth-rank early-stage freak?

The next instant, Lei Yi flashed; with a thunderclap, Xu Jin blocked Zheng Guan's path—he nearly slammed into him headfirst.

"Last chance! Attack me with all your strength!" Xu Jin roared.

In the next instant, Zheng Guan let out a humiliating roar and launched a frenzied, all-out assault on Xu Jin.

He poured out every last ounce of strength, unleashing every killing technique and secret art.

Behind him, the silhouette of a star core appeared—clearly, he had pushed himself to the absolute limit!

Whether for a chance at survival or a slim hope of killing Xu Jin, he had no choice but to do this.

Xu Jin, meanwhile, calmly assessed him.

This fifth-rank ninth-layer Zheng Guan had combat power far exceeding that of fifth-rank ninth-layer aliens—his star arts inflicted damage two to three times greater than any fifth-rank ninth-layer expert Xu Jin had ever seen.

With the Fish Curtain Golden Bell's current level, three strikes would bring it to the brink of shattering.

But Xu Jin stood on solid ground—that changed everything.

If Xu Jin used the Flower-Transplant Star Art once in between, the Fish Curtain Golden Bell would fully recover.

Zheng Guan raged for a full quarter-hour—yet Xu Jin remained unscathed.

Zheng Guan was nearly driven mad!

It felt unreal, like a hallucination!

He had slain sixth-rank second-layer alien experts before!

Yet now—

"Worthless!"

A cold rebuke rang out; the Break-Spirit strike erupted. As blood spurted from Zheng Guan's nose and mouth, Xu Jin instantly reduced him to ash.

Then Xu Jin began clearing the battlefield.

The fourth-rank Lao Ma had been completely incinerated—nothing remained.

The fifth-rank sixth-layer one had only two fourth-rank rune badges, a few vials of elixirs, and a dozen fourth-rank star jade tablets—pathetic.

The next instant, Xu Jin activated the Vajra Star Pattern and suddenly sensed something; he slowly drew out Zheng Guan's Vajra space and emptied its contents.

Looking at the small pile of star jade tablets and elixir vials, he felt a flicker of interest.

Finally, someone who wasn't a pauper!

(End of Chapter)