Chapter 480: Seven Kill Sword Heart

"Senior Brother!"

Ji Ji Hongli, dressed entirely in white, rushed into Xu Jin's arms the moment she saw him, her eyes already swollen and red from crying.

Everything felt so natural.

Xu Jin could think of no words of comfort, only gently patting Ji Ji Hongli's shoulder.

This little girl's father had been stationed far out in the Star Realm since the day Ji Ji Hongli was born; she had been raised and doted on by her grandfather, Ji Bang.

Ji Bang's death struck her hard.

Nearby, Ning Ning Yuchan glanced at Xu Jin once, then lowered her gaze.

Fortunately, Jiang Er, that clever little thing, noticed her brother was in trouble and took Ning Ning Yuchan's arm, chattering away as she led her aside.

Previously, Jiang Er and her father, Xu Dajiang, had been stationed in the fifth-rank Huashih Star Realm under Ji Cheng's command.

When Ji Bang died in battle, Ji Cheng, as his son, was trapped in the Star Realm and unable to come to pay his respects, so he sent only some of his descendants and kin to attend the funeral.

The State Tutor also personally dispatched personnel to meet them.

As a result, Xu Dajiang and Jiang Er were brought along as well.

Now, Xu Jin had returned, and the Hei Wu Kong Learning Hall had been newly established.

Although danger still lingered, as long as one lived within the Guodao Academy, one was safe.

After a full day of busyness, Xu Jin settled his sister and father, and only in the evening did he have time to sit quietly with his master, Kou Jing, and talk.

"The alien technique star-core you gave me last time—I've been studying it recently and have made some progress. But its power is still extremely limited, even weaker than a sixth-rank superior-grade rune."

Kou Jing's greatest interest remained runes.

Ordinary runes could only be forged up to sixth-rank superior grade.

Previously, during his battles in the Star Realm, Xu Jin had seized a seventh-rank star-core containing a sealed technique from an alien envoy and given it to Master Kou Jing for study.

Unexpectedly, he had already made progress.

"Master, what's the main obstacle limiting its power?" Xu Jin asked.

"Primarily, it's the purification of the star-core."

If the purification isn't thorough enough, residual traces of the original owner's aura remain, causing the star-technique sealed within to draw in wildly inconsistent star-energy, severely diminishing its power."

"Currently, I'm researching improved methods to purify star-cores," Kou Jing said.

Hearing this, Xu Jin's mind stirred.

This point was likely the most critical.

The aliens' research in this area far surpasses that of the human race.

Especially those purification beads—they're much easier to cultivate with.

After thinking it over, Xu Jin handed Master Kou Jing the two remaining sixth-rank purification beads he had left over from his own cultivation, asking him to study whether they could lead to a new method of purifying star-cores.

If a superior method of purifying star-cores could be developed, Chen Guo could mass-produce purification beads.

Purification beads could directly enhance cultivation base.

If they could be produced, Chen Guo's elites could later invade the Star Realm and sustain their cultivation through combat.

Kill enemies, continuously raise their cultivation.

At that point, Chen Guo's elites would advance in cultivation far faster.

Including Xu Jin's own cultivation, the pace of improvement would accelerate dramatically.

Upon receiving these cultivable purification beads, Kou Jing immediately became obsessed and wanted to rush off to study them—but Xu Jin forcibly pulled him back.

Xu Jin's time was limited, and opportunities were rare.

So Xu Jin brought Kou Jing and Ning Ning Yuchan to his side, along with Ying Ge and Elder Dong Zhao, Master Liu Zhou Qingzhu, and Peng Lao, and once again activated the Can Dou Lamp Realm, allowing them to contemplate star-runes.

As for Meng Meng Yanhui and the State Tutor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao, Chen Guo's internal affairs were currently a tangled mess; even if Xu Jin had time, they did not.

The reason Xu Jin had brought Master Kou Jing in was to help him master the Fire and Earth star-runes in a short time.

The death of Grandfather Ji Bang had deeply affected Xu Jin.

If Grandfather Ji Bang had learned the Earth star-rune earlier, and if he had accumulated hundreds of Earth Heart Earth Resonances, he might have survived.

So now Xu Jin wanted Master Kou Jing and Ning Ning Yuchan to rapidly comprehend these star-runes.

Ning Ning Yuchan was fine—she had already studied Earth, and had reached eighth-rank middle in her comprehension.

Kou Jing, though he had obtained the Earth rune, had only just reached seventh-rank after a mere ten days of study, still not at eighth-rank.

As for Xu Jin himself, besides infusing the Seven Kill Ironwood Sword with power, he now also dedicated fixed time each day to contemplating the Seven Kill Sword Heart.

Only by forming the Seven Kill Sword Heart could one cultivate the Seven Kill Sword.

Only then could one cultivate the Killing Star Art and forge the Killing Star Sword.

The Seven Kill lineage taught that the Seven Kill Sword Heart required seeing the great through the small—sensing the subtle rhythms of life in tiny things, until finally perceiving the incredibly hidden life rhythm within the stars themselves, only then could the Seven Kill Sword Heart be fully formed.

This step was extremely difficult.

Yet the Seven Kill lineage also contained a complete cultivation method.

The first step was to sense the life rhythms of humans and various animals.

Because the biological rhythms of humans and animals were the most obvious.

Next came plants.

So for these past few days, Xu Jin had carried a small rabbit in his arms.

Each day, besides cultivation, he activated the Mingji Star Rune to sense the rabbit's life rhythm.

It was a strange sensation.

The rabbit breathed; its heart beat; its blood flowed continuously through its body.

Life operated like an exquisitely precise instrument, coordinating all its functions.

The Seven Kill Sword Heart sought to pinpoint, in an instant, the most critical point—strike once, and all life rhythms would halt.

When one found the life rhythm of a star, a single strike could damage its very essence.

On these small lives, finding that point required only a touch to instantly kill.

This was the true essence of the Seven Kill Sword Heart.

For several days straight, while others cultivated, Xu Jin held the rabbit, continuously contemplating and sensing.

On average, he changed three or four rabbits daily.

Whenever his sensing succeeded, he would lightly extend a finger—no star-energy used, merely a gentle touch.

Then the rabbit would either bite, limp, twist a leg, or become outright disabled.

But the sign of success was: one finger touch, life rhythm severed, vital energy cut off. Clearly, forming the Seven Kill Sword Heart was immensely difficult!

In contrast, the cultivation bases of the masters, and of Ning Ning Yuchan and others, surged forward rapidly under the aid of the Can Dou Lamp Realm.

The dozen or so fourth-rank Divine Soul herbs the State Tutor had given him had all been fully cultivated; they no longer affected Xu Jin, so he distributed them to Kou Jing and Ning Ning Yuchan.

Xu Jin's current cultivation base, Yuan Ling late stage, rendered ordinary fifth-rank Divine Soul herbs useless.

Only cultivated fifth-rank Divine Soul herbs could enhance Yuan Ling cultivation.

On November 12, Ji Bang was buried; aside from close kin required to observe mourning, others had no further obligations.

Xu Jin had originally planned to depart on the 13th to search for his master Qi Qi Shanye in the sixth-rank Star Realm.

But Xu Jin felt he was on the verge of entering the Seven Kill Sword Heart, so he stayed an extra day or two.

On the evening of November 13, as Xu Jin held a rabbit, sensing and contemplating, he suddenly felt something—his finger gently extended, without any star-energy, soft as a whisper.

The rabbit instantly stiffened, and within a moment, lost all vital energy.

Xu Jin was overjoyed.

He immediately summoned another rabbit from the cage, and after twenty-plus breaths, extended his finger again—another death.

Another rabbit—this time, he sensed for over ten breaths.

Soon after, Xu Jin's speed in killing rabbits increased rapidly.

At first, he needed ten or more breaths to sense the rabbit's life rhythm; later, only three or five breaths sufficed.

After killing a hundred rabbits, as soon as a rabbit entered his arms, he sensed its life rhythm and killed it with a single finger.

Xu Jin was overjoyed.

His Seven Kill Sword Heart had finally entered the threshold.

But he was still far from achieving mastery of the Killing Star Art.

This sensing of life rhythms required constant switching of living species, until any living thing could be sensed instantly, killed with a single touch.

Then came plants.

Then came inanimate things—mountains, stones, water, fire.

Finally, the stars.

Each step was harder than the last.

But entering the threshold was already good.

Failing to enter it at all was the true terror.

According to the Seven Kill lineage, if one failed to enter the Seven Kill Sword Heart within three years, one should abandon the Killing Star Art and switch to the Harmonizing Star Art.

Xu Jin was delighted at entering the Seven Kill Sword Heart, but the students of the Hei Wu Kong Learning Hall—Da Niu, Ji Fei, Lou Young Lady, and others—stared at the mountain of rabbit corpses and grimaced.

They had eaten rabbit for seven or eight straight days, three or four per day—they were nearly sick of it.

Now there were over a hundred more—how long would they have to eat them?

On November 14, this period of secluded cultivation officially ended.

Master Kou Jing had reached eighth-rank middle in his comprehension of the Earth star-rune; Ning Ning Yuchan had reached eighth-rank upper.

With these two star-runes granting special power, if they accumulated enough, even against eighth-rank opponents, they would have a chance to survive and escape.

With Xu Jin's help, Ying Ge successfully condensed his Nascent Soul.

After this long period of quiet cultivation, his combat power surged further.

Though his cultivation base was only Fifth Realm, Fourth Layer, Xu Jin estimated that Ying Ge could now challenge and defeat an opponent one full realm higher without issue.

With the accumulated special forces of Golden Elephant Eighth Realm and Earth Elephant Eighth Realm, he could unleash a killing blow even against Seventh Realm opponents.

In the future, overseeing the Hei Wu Kong Hall would pose no problem whatsoever.

As for the three disciples he trained, Mo Daniu's cultivation base naturally led far ahead, while Ji Fei and Lou Young Lady had, within these mere Qiba days, had their Spirit Soul cultivation pushed by Xu Jin past Sixth Layer of Star Refining.

By the time they take the Autumn Examination, their Spirit Soul cultivation will surely reach Ninth Layer of Star Refining.

If such an increase still fails to secure them the top rank in the Autumn Examination, Xu Jin would have nothing more to say.

Ning Ning Yuchan's advancement was even greater.

The latest Break-Spirit, Mingji, and Great Star Cluster Patterns had all been taught to Ning Ning Yuchan, though fully internalizing them as her own combat power would still require a little more time.

His younger sister Jiang Er had reached Third Realm, Star Refining Fourth Layer, and was on the verge of breaking into Fifth Layer.

Her Spirit Soul cultivation had long ago been boosted by Xu Jin to Fourth Realm.

Her cultivation increase was modest, but every step was solid and grounded.

But something even more astonishing lay elsewhere.

His younger sister Jiang Er had already accumulated eight Golden Stars and four Brilliant Stars.

With her Spirit Soul cultivation so far ahead, challenging others would not be difficult.

This was also why Jiang Er's cultivation had been rising more slowly lately.

Xu Jin did not intend to let Jiang Er use these many Golden and Brilliant Stars yet.

He would wait until her cultivation broke into Fourth Realm and her understanding and research into Star Patterns reached a sufficient level—otherwise, it would be a waste.

Before leaving, Xu Jin arranged for his younger sister Jiang Er to enter the Imperial Road Academy's Library.

For the next one or two years, Jiang Er must immerse herself there, studying the senior's research and deduction manuscripts on the Star Pattern.

Only after absorbing all of the senior's experience could she begin her own accumulation and deduction of Star Patterns.

As for the sudden continuous increase of Golden Stars in the Star-Picking Realm, it had not caused much shock.

First, since the Two Palaces had appeared this past year, the number of Golden Stars in the Star-Picking Realm had consistently risen.

Second, recent events in the world had been turbulent.

Third, after Jiang Er obtained her Brilliant Stars, she had, under Xu Jin's guidance, concealed her information—her Golden Stars had only increased by two, so the impact was minimal.

It had not triggered the troubles Xu Jin had faced before.

But then again, even if it had now, he no longer cared!

On November 15, after arranging affairs in the Hei Wu Kong Hall, Xu Jin informed the Grand Master and immediately stepped onto the stars, leaving Wan Yi City.

Five hundred li from Wan Yi City, in a desolate place, Xu Jin directly opened the Seven Kill Star Domain gate and entered the Seven Kill Star Domain.

He then appeared inside his own homemade treasure vault.

Finally, he had time to inventory the spoils from the great battle.

Xu Jin was still very interested in the mountain-like wealth of the Grand Elder Sun Sun Xianzu!

(End of Chapter)