Chapter 494: The Difficulty of the Ninth Rank and the Loss of Left and Right

December 5th, the envoy's starship fleet arrived at the northernmost edge of Da Chen's Xihai Province, separated from Da Hong's Anzhou by a single mountain; here stood Anshan Pass, a vital transit point between the two nations.

The envoy's party halted here.

"Lord Zhu, why are there no signs of the opposing party?" Xu Jin summoned the protocol officer.

According to the itinerary, Da Hong's welcoming party was supposed to be waiting here upon their arrival at Anshan Pass.

But now, the gates of Anshan Pass were tightly shut.

Not a single person, not even a shadow, could be seen.

"My lord, I've made contact. They say they encountered delays on the road and will arrive shortly—please wait a moment," said the protocol officer, Zhu Zhu Xizhou.

"Delayed within their own territory? What a convenient excuse," Xu Jin sneered.

But he did not anger; with a wave of his hand, he ordered, "Land, make camp here. Hunt small game within a limited radius. Remember—bring me live specimens first. Then wait."

Before departure, the State Tutor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao had warned Xu Jin that while the mission's safety was assured, it would not proceed smoothly.

The reason was simple.

During the last raid on the Lord Tianyang Star Temple's outpost, Da Chen had slain over twenty thousand of its elite, and captured even more.

Among the slain Da Hong elites, most had originated from Da Hong itself.

When news reached Da Hong, public outrage erupted in a storm of resentment.

Yet the Lord Tianyang Star Lord ultimately said nothing, and the matter was suppressed.

But suppression did not erase the anger among the mid-to-high ranks or the populace.

The State Tutor's warning of difficulties likely referred to precisely this.

Meanwhile, State Tutor Cheng Cheng Yuexiao had given Xu Jin two absolute guidelines for conduct.

First: Do not provoke incidents, especially those that could be used as evidence—this is diplomacy; once evidence is found, the Empire's dignity becomes a target for any accusation.

Second: Never fear confrontation; when the other side provokes, never yield—again, this concerns the Empire's dignity.

To Xu Jin, these two guidelines boiled down to two points.

He held no right to initiate aggression.

But he held unlimited right to retaliate.

Thus, with the welcoming envoy absent, Xu Jin waited quietly.

The mountains held abundant wild game; soon, elite Star Patrol soldiers returned with one live animal after another.

Rabbits, pheasants, monkeys, a black bear, and snakes.

All game was lined up and brought before Xu Jin as ordered.

Xu Jin was now activating his Yuan Spirit, channeling the Mingji Star Pattern, meticulously sensing the life rhythms of each animal before him.

In the next instant, with a thought, an invisible, powerless sword intent slashed toward the rabbit before him.

The soldier delivering the rabbit merely saw the envoy's eyes open—and the rabbit died.

No wound, no mark—yet it was dead.

Within the Star Palace, a blade of light had already coalesced.

This was a sword intent formed purely from will, sensing life rhythms—named the Seven Kill Sword Heart.

It was Xu Jin's achievement over this period.

But only the most basic level of the Seven Kill Sword Heart.

As one animal after another was brought before him, Xu Jin continuously activated the Seven Kill Sword Heart, and each animal died.

Some perished in an instant; unfamiliar species required four or five breaths.

Yet during this process, Xu Jin's Seven Kill Sword Heart steadily grew stronger.

Especially the life rhythms of previously unseen species most strengthened the Seven Kill Sword Heart.

After hundreds of animals, Xu Jin's Seven Kill Sword Heart had more than doubled in strength.

Even unfamiliar species could now be sensed clearly within two seconds—sword intent unleashed, death followed.

"It seems my beginner-level Seven Kill Sword Heart is nearly complete."

In the next instant, Xu Jin suddenly felt a thought stir—he pulled out over a hundred previously seized rank badges and called out, "Whoever brings me a live animal not yet seen among these, regardless of size, one specimen per type, earns a fourth-rank badge."

"My lord, truly? Even flying insects and small creatures count?" asked a fourth-rank squad leader of the Star Patrol.

"As long as it's not a repeat, you get one," Xu Jin said, placing over a hundred fourth-rank badges before him.

"Understood—we're off!"

"Remember—do not cross into Da Hong territory," Xu Jin added.

The Star Patrol soldiers accompanying the mission were all at least fourth-rank beginners; yet for most fourth-rank cultivators, fourth-rank badges remained treasures.

Even for fifth-rank cultivators, fourth-rank badges held considerable value.

At worst, they gained a small fortune.

The Star Patrol's regimental commander, Lei Qi, knew Xu Jin's reputation; upon arrival, the Star Patrol's Grand Commander Pei Ze had specifically instructed him to follow Xu Jin's orders and avoid trouble.

Thus, when the chief envoy gave orders, Lei Qi did not object—only reminded them not to cross the border.

Half a quarter-hour later, Star Patrol soldiers began returning to report.

Indeed, the power of the masses was boundless.

Xu Jin had expected at most twenty or thirty different animal species.

But the soldiers returned with over three hundred distinct species.

Dozens of different ant types alone.

Fire ants, black ants, blood ants, flying ants, and more.

Xu Jin accepted them all—any new, non-repeating species earned a reward.

His fourth-rank badges were merely gathering dust—mostly seized loot—and better to distribute them now.

Xu Jin's beginner-level Seven Kill Sword Heart rapidly neared completion under these conditions.

After nearly half an hour, any new animal brought forth died instantly.

According to the Seven Kill lineage, the beginner-level Seven Kill Sword Heart was now fully accomplished.

In future, should he encounter animals with unfamiliar life rhythms, he could sense them slowly to further strengthen it.

Now, he could proceed to the next stage of the Seven Kill Sword Heart: sensing life rhythms in beings with life but no flesh.

Xu Jin found a patch of wild azaleas on the slope and casually activated his Seven Kill Sword Heart to test.

The azaleas showed no reaction.

"Then let's begin with these."

In the next instant, star force surged—he uprooted over a hundred azalea plants within a ten-meter radius, soil and all, and transported them directly onto the starship.

Then, holding a single vivid red azalea in his arms, Xu Jin began sensing its life rhythm according to the Seven Kill lineage's method.

At first, it felt profoundly obscure.

Indeed, plant life rhythms were many times harder to sense than animal ones.

Xu Jin had already formed a beginner-level Seven Kill Sword Heart, yet this felt far more difficult than when he first sensed animal rhythms.

He had taken eight days to enter the beginner level of the Seven Kill Sword Heart.

But with this obscurity, the intermediate level would take far more than eighty days.

Yet Xu Jin was not in the least rushed.

His patience was now immense.

According to the Seven Kill True Person's lineage, the original Seven Kill True Person had entered the Seven Kill Sword Heart in one month, achieved beginner-level completion in one year, yet spent three full years on the intermediate level.

Now, Xu Jin had completed the beginner level in under a month.

Even if the intermediate level took one or two years, what did it matter?

Moreover, Xu Jin felt he wouldn't need it.

For he realized his speed in the Seven Kill Sword Heart wasn't due to talent—but the Mingji Star Pattern.

The Mingji Star Pattern had multiplied his perception and sensing ability.

That was the true reason for his rapid progress. Suddenly, Xu Jin's mind stirred.

If so, why not push further at once?

In the next instant, Xu Jin summoned the protocol officer Zhu Zhu Xizhou, the regimental commander Lei Qi, and the vice-envoy Ning Ning Yuchan.

"When the welcoming party arrives, notify me—I'm going to Dalin County in Xihai Province to attend to some matters nearby."

Xu Jin's authority as chief envoy was well known to Zhu Zhu Xizhou and Lei Qi—they dared not oppose.

In the next instant, Xu Jin vanished in a streak of lightning.

A hundred breaths later, he appeared in Dalin County, five hundred li away.

Starlight descended; Xu Jin stepped into the Star Dome Realm of the Dalin County branch of Zhaixing Tower.

Instantly, he activated the December Star Dome Realm's meditation time; as the Can Dou Lamp Domain opened, he directly triggered the eighth-rank-below Mingji Star Pattern and began contemplation and deduction.

Xu Jin did not immediately summon the Golden Star or Can Star—he wished to attempt deduction on his own.

Three hours later, Xu Jin slowly opened his eyes.

In three hours, he had deduced one branch of the eighth-rank-below Mingji Star Pattern, pushing it toward eighth-rank-mid.

At this pace, without using the Golden Star or Can Star, relying solely on Zhaixing Tower's Star Dome meditation time, it would take over fifty hours to reach eighth-rank-mid.

At four hours per month, that meant over a year.

If he focused entirely, doing nothing else day and night, Xu Jin estimated that with his current level, he could forcibly push the Mingji Star Pattern from eighth-rank-below to eighth-rank-mid in no more than three months.

If he calmed his mind and did nothing but stare at the Mingji Star Pattern all day, Xu Jin estimated that, at his current level, it would take at most three months to push the Mingji Star Pattern from Eighth Rank Lower to Eighth Rank Middle.

This speed is enough to be proud of.

Keep in mind that even the most elite eighth-rank experts, like National Teacher Cheng Cheng Yuexiao—with extraordinary talent and ample accumulation—require at least ten years to elevate a single eighth-rank star pattern by one minor tier.

Even under the condition of secluding oneself solely to deduce star patterns, doing nothing else.

Xu Jin's speed is downright monstrous.

Among these factors, besides the enhancement from the Star Dome Secret Realm, the cosmic laws of the Can Dou Lamp Domain's celestial stars also play a crucial role.

But the most important factor is the vast accumulation of star pattern deduction experience Xu Jin has gathered over the past year and more.

Xu Jin is certain that the combined deduction experience of all five known eighth-rank peak experts in the current world still falls short of his own.

The next instant, Xu Jin directly activated a Canxing star and began deducing the Mingji Star Pattern at the eighth-rank level, aided by the Star Dome Secret Realm's enlightenment time and the Can Dou Lamp Domain's blessings.

But this time, before activating the Canxing star, Xu Jin first used its property to elevate one minor tier, directly raising the Mingji Star Pattern from below eighth-rank to eighth-rank middle.

Only then did he begin employing Gao Jie Yan Dao to deduce the Mingji Star Pattern at eighth-rank upper.

With Gao Jie Yan Dao paving the way and multiple blessings amplifying his efforts, Xu Jin's deduction progress was astonishing.

Just over two tenses, before the Gao Jie Yan Dao duration expired, he had advanced the eighth-rank middle Mingji Star Pattern to eighth-rank upper.

But the deduction did not stop.

Xu Jin wanted to test whether, under Gao Jie Yan Dao, he could push the star pattern from eighth-rank upper to ninth-rank lower.

This was Xu Jin's first attempt to push a star pattern toward the ninth-rank.

Yet the outcome took Xu Jin by surprise.

When he began deducing, the Gao Jie Yan Dao duration had not ended, nor had he fallen out of it—but the sensation it gave him was simply two words: chaos!

All the insights granted by Gao Jie Yan Dao suddenly became chaotic as he pushed toward the ninth-rank.

After a long while, Xu Jin finally realized.

And he roughly understood.

The patterns of star patterns below ninth-rank can all be expressed, displayed, and even summarized in language.

But star patterns above ninth-rank have reached a level that can only be intuitively perceived.

This is roughly why breaking into ninth-rank is so difficult.

With half an hour remaining in the Star Dome Secret Realm's enlightenment time, Xu Jin continued contemplating the Mingji Star Pattern.

Half an hour of deduction yielded almost nothing.

He had barely completed one-thousandth of a single branch of the ninth-rank lower Mingji Star Pattern.

And not even fully completed at that.

This was Xu Jin's first direct encounter with the terrifying difficulty of ninth-rank star patterns.

At the same time, he gained clearer insight into his four Divine Dao True Intentions.

Half a tense later, Xu Jin returned to the diplomatic encampment carrying several thousand jin of wine and meat ordered from Daling County City.

The protocol officer Zhu Zhu Xizhou, who came to greet him, looked grim.

"My lord, they haven't arrived yet."

"Did they say anything?"

"No, only that they're coming soon," said Zhu Zhu Xizhou.

Clearly, this was a show of force.

"No matter. We wait. Brothers, I've brought wine and meat—tonight, feast to your heart's content." Xu Jin smiled, pulling out the several thousand jin of wine and meat and placing them in the camp.

Instantly, the Xunxing Guards erupted in cheers.

The scent of wine, the aroma of meat, the flickering flames, laughter and joy rose together, blazing into a single blaze.

The happiness of ordinary people is usually just this:

A single feast, a single night of wine and meat, is enough to bring joy.

Meanwhile, Xu Jin quietly picked up a single azalea blossom and activated the eighth-rank upper Mingji Star Pattern again, beginning to sense the rhythm of life.

It was still obscure, but far clearer than before.

"Indeed, my judgment was correct! The Mingji Star Pattern is the perfect complement to cultivating the Seven Kill Sword Heart."

Previously, Xu Jin had vaguely sensed his mid-level Seven Kill Sword Heart would take eighty days to fully settle in his heart.

Now, he felt that under normal conditions, it would take only twenty days.

Even less than twenty days.

This Mingji Star Pattern was worth every moment of deduction.

Just as the diplomatic encampment had opened its banquet, laughter and the scent of wine and meat intertwining in the air, Anshan Pass suddenly blazed with light, and its tightly locked gates swung wide open.

A force of over two thousand men marched out from within Anshan Pass, advancing toward the diplomatic delegation.

Within moments, Protocol Officer Zhu Zhu Xizhou and Military Marquis Lei Qi arrived to report.

Zhu Zhu Xizhou's face wore a bitter smile. "My lord, the reception party from Emperor Da Hong has arrived! They say the delegation must immediately pack its belongings and, under their escort, pass through the pass before setting up camp."

"These bastards have been hiding inside Anshan Pass all along, just dragging us out," said Military Marquis Lei Qi.

"Now that we've just started our reward banquet and the soldiers are in high spirits, they show up with their 'welcome' to disrupt us—clearly trying to ruin our feast."

"No problem."

Xu Jin waved his hand and told Protocol Officer Zhu Zhu Xizhou, "Go tell them we'll break camp immediately—it'll take about half an hour. Ask them to wait."

Zhu Zhu Xizhou bowed and left.

But Military Marquis Lei Qi was indignant. "My lord, half an hour is too tight! Even if we start organizing and breaking camp right now, half an hour is barely enough."

"And the brothers have only just begun eating and drinking."

"Why the rush?"

Xu Jin glanced at Lei Qi. "Did I say to break camp?"

Lei Qi stared, stunned. "But didn't you just tell Master Zhu to reply that it would take half an hour?"

"Look, you dropped the 'about' from what I said."

Lei Qi was baffled, not understanding.

Beside him, Deputy Envoy Ning Ning Yuchan smiled. "Marquis Lei, keep the brothers feasting as normal—carry on exactly as before. Even slow things down a bit, but control the alcohol intake."

"But—"

Only then did Lei Qi grasp the meaning and bow to leave.

Xu Jin, meanwhile, glanced at the reception party standing in formation outside the camp, and smiled.

This is only the beginning.

(End of Chapter)