Chapter 615: Fated Karma

In the void of the Trial Star Domain, Xu Jin looked around blankly. His Mingji Star Pattern carried his divine sense, sweeping out in all directions, but there was no longer any trace or aura of the Silver Scale Bai Hong.

Xu Jin had finally experienced the terrible feeling that the King of the Eight Desolations, Envoy Ju Zhang, and others had felt when they were tracking him.

Even if you locked onto the direction of the first spatial displacement ripple, by the time you arrived, the target would have long since vanished, and you wouldn't know which direction they had displaced to.

Lost the trail.

Xu Jin was somewhat unwilling to accept this. He swept out his Mingji Star Pattern, continuously sensing the residual spatial fluctuation auras, exploring in all directions, searching for Bai Hong's tracks as if playing a game of chance.

Firstly, Bai Hong was the first alien he had encountered in these past few years who was proficient in spatial star arts.

Secondly, as Xu Jin's cultivation deepened, he had come to understand the differences between star arts.

It could be said that other star arts could be collectively referred to as star arts, whether they were Five Elements star arts or lightning-type star arts, but spatial star arts were simply spatial star arts.

Although the difficulty of spatial star arts was ridiculously high, there were also clear differences in their power levels.

To put it bluntly, if not for spatial star arts, it would have been impossible for Xu Jin to have traversed the Eight Desolations Continent; he would have long since been chased back in disgrace by Envoy Ju Zhang.

Because of this, Xu Jin wanted to obtain the Kongxiang Star Pattern, wanted to obtain more spatial star arts, and even more so, wanted to obtain spatial law star crystals.

And all of this was now tied to this Bai Hong.

Not to mention anything else, just that star art Bai Hong used to escape under his spatial oscillation and spatial blockade was worth learning.

It turned a desperate situation directly into a smooth path.

Because of this, even though Xu Jin knew the chances of searching like this were slim, he still wanted to try his luck.

What if?

If you don't try, how would you know you don't have that luck?

Xu Jin pursued Bai Hong's tracks aimlessly like this, and since more than an hour and a half had passed in the ranking competition, most of the trial spirits had already been killed.

Therefore, in this half-hour of tracking, Xu Jin's points, aside from the time accumulation, had not increased much.

With his points not rising, others' points were still slowly increasing.

Under these circumstances, Xu Jin's ranking continued to slide.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he had fallen out of the top hundred.

After two quarters of an hour, he had fallen behind the two-hundredth place.

Xu Jin was not in a hurry about this ranking.

However, the law enforcer, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren, was so anxious that his heart fire was flaring up.

Just half an hour ago, he had successfully gotten more money from his nephew.

He had only informed his nephew of the two anomalies: that the Heaven and Earth Authority could not sense Xu Jin's location, and that Xu Jin had rushed to 72nd place in the trial ranking within an hour and a half.

That nephew had agreed to his request for more money.

Fifty thousand points.

As long as Xu Jin's ranking remained in the top hundred before the trial ranking ended, his precious nephew would give him fifty thousand points as a reward.

If it was in the top fifty, he would give sixty thousand points.

This was sixty thousand points.

He had worked himself to the bone to come here and act as a law enforcer, and his reward for one time was only two thousand points.

And such a good job, it would be good if he could grab two or three of them a year.

So, with the trial ranking falling, Xu Jin himself was not in a hurry, but Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was anxious.

These trial points and rankings, especially for trial-takers with low cultivation, became harder to improve the later it got.

Because the trial spirits that could provide points had all been killed.

What remained was the internal competition among the trial-takers.

That was the time to compete on strength.

Although Xu Jin's performance in the preliminary and secondary selections had been stunning.

Uncle Youyu Dao Ren did not believe Xu Jin had an advantage in the later stages.

After all, his strength was there, and Xu Jin was clearly a lone wolf, without even anyone he was familiar with to accompany him.

But the current situation was that no matter how anxious Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was, he could only be anxious in vain.

His Heaven and Earth Authority could not sense Xu Jin's aura, so he could not know Xu Jin's location and situation.

And within the Trial Star Domain, communication via the Thousand Star Token was prohibited; all communication methods were prohibited.

If there were any, the Thousand Star Alliance would not blame them.

If the sect or individual behind the other party had star arts or artifact refining levels higher than the entire Thousand Star Alliance, the Thousand Star Alliance would only try every possible way to recruit them.

But the problem was that at this moment, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was truly anxious.

He did not know what Xu Jin's current situation was, or if he had suffered serious injuries.

But according to the current rate of ranking decline, let alone the top hundred, he wouldn't even be able to maintain the top thousand.

By then, let alone the sixty thousand points after the increase, he was afraid he wouldn't even be able to get the original thirty thousand points.

Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was anxious.

Then he used the clumsiest method.

Using the Heaven and Earth Authority in coordination with sensing secret arts, he formed a perspective similar to the "Eye of Oversight" that Xu Jin had used before.

Each time, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren could overlook a range of about five thousand miles, and then within this five-thousand-mile range, search for Xu Jin's aura.

Many times, clumsy methods were still somewhat useful.

Or rather, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren's luck was a bit better than Xu Jin's.

Xu Jin had searched bitterly for Bai Hong's tracks for half an hour, but had no harvest.

But Uncle Youyu Dao Ren had only used the clumsy method to search for a quarter of an hour before luckily discovering Xu Jin.

Then, the law enforcer Uncle Youyu Dao Ren dared not relax again, continuously locking onto Xu Jin's location through the Heaven and Earth Authority.

During this period, Xu Jin had spatially displaced twice.

Fortunately, the sensing range of the Heaven and Earth Authority was wide enough, so Uncle Youyu Dao Ren did not lose the trail.

But after silently observing Xu Jin for a quarter of an hour, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was so angry that his long eyebrows curled backward, and he wanted to beat someone up.

Because Xu Jin's trial ranking kept falling, he was so anxious that he had twisted off several of his long eyebrows, and his heart fire was almost flaring up.

But this kid was fine; he hadn't suffered serious injuries, and his cultivation aura consumption wasn't large.

But he was just wandering around blindly!

Just wandering around blindly in the Trial Star Domain without doing his proper job.

Clearly, there were obvious star power fluctuations two or three thousand miles away, but this kid wouldn't go over, instead chasing that wisp of residual spatial fluctuation and searching non-stop.

Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was so angry.

In just this short while, his ranking had already fallen to three hundredth place.

After observing the aimlessly wandering Xu Jin for two quarters of an hour using the Heaven and Earth Authority, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Trial-taker Xu Jin, I am the law enforcer for this trial, Tianyang Zhenjun Uncle Youyu. I am now issuing your first warning. Please hurry up and hunt trial spirits to increase your points."

This extremely abrupt voice ringing in his mind made Xu Jin, who was searching for the direction of the residual spatial fluctuations, instantly tighten his expression.

A warning?

The law enforcer was warning him?

Had he violated the trial rules?

But after hearing the content of the warning clearly, Xu Jin was stunned.

He wasn't slacking off, even if he was slacking off.

The ranking result was his own responsibility; could he be wrong for slacking off?

This wasn't a 996 factory for beasts of burden.

This was a killing field where bayonets met red blood; a strategy of shrinking back was adaptable.

Then what was the meaning of this special warning from the law enforcer?

For a moment, Xu Jin couldn't react.

Could there be some other meaning?

It was mainly because in Xu Jin's mind, the law enforcers of the Thousand Star Alliance were high and mighty, with the demeanor of experts.

This space warning him couldn't be because he was bored.

There must be a purpose.

But what was the purpose?

For a moment, Xu Jin stood frozen in place.

Seeing Xu Jin frozen in place, the law enforcer Uncle Youyu Dao Ren became even angrier.

In just these few breaths, his ranking had fallen by two more places.

Could this kid be any stupider?

If it weren't for the points, he wouldn't even want to recommend this kid to his nephew.

This kid looked like he wasn't very smart.

Don't pit your nephew against anyone else again.

But after thinking about it, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren felt he should continue.

Whether I pit him or not, it's already been seven times.

And it was his nephew who was willing.

"Trial-taker Xu Jin, the number of trial spirits released in this trial has less than twenty percent remaining. Please hurry up and hunt them; do not waste time."

The transmission appeared again, making Xu Jin look at the sky involuntarily.

That the law enforcer could monitor the entire Trial Star Domain, Xu Jin understood completely.

But this demeanor of the law enforcer didn't feel like a referee ensuring justice and fairness; instead, it felt like meeting an acquaintance referee when participating in a competition in his previous life.

It gave Xu Jin a very strange feeling.

It felt like he was helping him. Xu Jin believed that if the Grand Master were the law enforcer, and gave him such a hint as a trial-taker, Xu Jin could be one hundred percent sure that the Grand Master was giving him reminders and help within the scope of his authority.

He was helping him.

But what was the meaning of this law enforcer before him?

Helping him without any relation or reason?

It didn't look like a trap, and there was no hatred or grudge.

This made Xu Jin suddenly recall the extraordinary doubling of difficulty in the third stage of the secondary selection.

This made a trace of fear rise in Xu Jin's heart instantly: could it be that this law enforcer had truly recognized his origin and had a grudge against the inheritance behind the star arts he practiced?

That was why he was deliberately targeting him now.

Seeing Xu Jin not moving, with a confused look, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was so angry.

How could he be so stupid!

Simply rotten wood that cannot be carved!

He had already reminded him; did he have to hang the word "care" on his lips?

But for the sake of the points, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren endured it.

"Trial-taker Xu Jin, you had better hurry up. Two hundred miles directly in front of you, there are two more trial spirits."

The hint entered his ears again, directly making Xu Jin numb.

Damn, is there such a law enforcer?

Directly giving him the location of trial spirits.

In a situation where they were neither old friends nor acquaintances, this location definitely had a pit.

There's a nine-in-ten chance that there's a genius at the mid-to-late Ninth Layer there, waiting to pit him.

Without hesitation, Xu Jin flew in the opposite direction, while shouting to the sky, "I ask the law enforcer not to interfere with my normal trial."

"Bah, you're going to piss me off!"

Above the Trial Black Tower, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren, whose divine sense was immersed in the Trial Star Domain, was so angry.

He wished he could reach in and give Xu Jin a few big slaps to wake this idiot up.

He could do it.

But he couldn't do it.

Because if he did that, he would be discovered by the monitors of the General Alliance, who would sense that he had directly intervened in the trial, violating the law enforcer's code.

At that time, not only would his reward points be deducted.

He would also be punished, and for at least three years, or up to ten years, he wouldn't be able to accept such law enforcement tasks.

Suddenly, Uncle Youyu Dao Ren, who was overlooking Xu Jin from all directions, tightened his expression; in front of where Xu Jin was flying, a trial-taker at the early stage of the ninth tier was flying toward Xu Jin.

This made Uncle Youyu Dao Ren's heart tighten fiercely.

Early ninth tier, don't kill or eliminate this kid.

Then he would truly have come away empty-handed.

"Kid, fifty miles directly in front of you, an early ninth-tier is coming; you had better avoid it immediately."

Xu Jin, who was flying, heard this transmission hint and was stunned.

This law enforcer was reminding him that there was an early ninth-tier ahead?

What exactly did this mean?

Was he helping him?

Almost at the same time, Xu Jin instantly hid his tracks, while preparing for battle; the Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower flew out from his body, turning into a point of starlight hidden in the clouds.

Xu Jin's Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower, although cast layer by layer by Xu Jin himself, had many characteristics that Xu Jin was also researching and discovering step by step.

For example, Xu Jin's Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower could be large or small according to his will.

Because there was no precedent to refer to, Xu Jin didn't know if other people's Heaven and Earth Cloud Towers were like this.

But after Xu Jin researched and deduced it, he felt that his Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower having this situation might be related to him using the strengthened spatial star patterns to cast the cloud tower.

But all of this was just Xu Jin's speculation.

Because of this, Xu Jin planned to deduce more ninth-tier star patterns when casting the last few layers of the Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower.

He would strive to use as many ninth-tier star patterns of different attributes as possible to cast one layer of the cloud tower.

At least one layer.

A breath later, a four-armed alien from the early ninth tier, Mala Zhu, appeared in Xu Jin's field of vision.

Almost simultaneously, the four-armed alien Mala Zhu was extremely vigilant, discovering the anomaly at the first moment; his figure stopped abruptly, and his gaze first locked onto the place where Xu Jin's Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower was hidden.

Boom!

The Five-Colored Five-Elements Thunder Slash blasted out abruptly.

At the same instant, the Void Star Art launched a surprise attack.

Xu Jin launched the surprise attack at the first moment.

Although this early ninth-tier four-armed alien Mala Zhu had discovered the anomaly, Xu Jin's surprise attack was too fast.

The Void Space Star Art arrived first, and the moment terrifying starlight fluctuations erupted above his head, the Five Elements Thunder Slash, carrying a majestic soul force, crashed into Mara Zhu's body.

With the Void Space Star Art leading the way, even a genius like Mara Zhu saw his protective starlight shattered layer by layer under the impact of the Five Elements Thunder Slash, not to mention the majestic soul attack contained within, which caused his Dao Embryo to tremble for an instant.

But even so, he only had his starlight shattered and took Xu Jin's continuous surprise attacks.

But at the same instant, Mala Zhu felt the top of his head go dark.

Xu Jin's Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower, which looked like a heavenly palace, had already suppressed down on him.

Various star arts also blasted wildly from inside the Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower toward Mala Zhu, who was covered and suppressed at the bottom of the tower.

Mala Zhu was terrified.

The four arms brought by his racial talent coiled up and protected the top of his head, giving him a moment of vitality.

Taking advantage of this moment, Mala Zhu immediately activated the Thousand Star Token and directly teleported away.

The moment the Thousand Star Token's teleportation activated, Mala Zhu's physical body had already been blasted into tatters, and his Dao Embryo escaped.

Under the shroud of the Thousand Star Token's starlight, Mala Zhu's Dao Embryo vanished into thin air.

At this moment, Mala Zhu's heart was filled with hatred, but he didn't even see who the enemy was.

He only remembered three characteristics: lightning-type star art, spatial star art, and a terrifying strange tower!

The Heaven and Earth Cloud Tower was put away, and Xu Jin happily cleaned up the tattered physical body of this early ninth-tier Mala Zhu.

Most of it was tattered, with no gain.

Only the ninth-tier star core, Xu Jin harvested a full twenty-five.

Simultaneously appearing was a starlight hint from the Thousand Star Token.

It was a hint that Xu Jin had obtained one-tenth of Mala Zhu's points, one hundred and thirty-four points.

This made Xu Jin pleasantly surprised.

This Mala Zhu's points were only slightly lower than his own.

But with this wave added, Xu Jin's points surged.

In an instant, Xu Jin's points surged from over three hundredth place to over eightieth place.

Outside the Trial Black Tower, the law enforcer Uncle Youyu Dao Ren was stunned.

The scene of the exchange just now shocked him again.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his heart: more money!

Must get his nephew to pay more!

This combat power was too fierce.

A sixth-tier ninth-layer killing an early ninth-tier genius, although there was a suspicion of a surprise attack under his hint.

But you let a wolf surprise attack a fierce tiger and see if it can succeed.

As long as his nephew gets this kid into his hands, it will be a huge profit.

At the same time, Xu Jin was also a bit confused.

It was true!

This law enforcer seemed to be truly helping him.

He was giving him warnings.

And not pitting him!

What was this?

Without any relation or reason?

Could it be that the inheritance related to the star arts he was currently displaying had some history with this law enforcer?

Since the goodwill was verified, Xu Jin still maintained a sense of vigilance, but he naturally thought in a good direction.

A few breaths later, Xu Jin, who had no results from his thinking, simply stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, this law enforcer was watching him.

Just ask if he had questions.

"Lord Law Enforcer, are you helping me?" Xu Jin asked softly, looking at the sky.

Uncle Youyu, who was still pleasantly surprised, naturally heard this sentence from Xu Jin.

As a True Person Uncle Youyu who was skilled at investment and bluffing, he naturally wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by.

He could foresee that if this Xu Jin were smoothly taken in as a disciple by his nephew, it would be hard to say whether he could inherit his mantle—that was too far off.

But he would surely shine brilliantly in the future.

Establishing a good connection early on was still necessary.

"Good lad, you've finally opened your eyes and understood! You know I'm helping you, not harming you," Daoist Uncle Youyu transmitted his voice.

"Why?" Xu Jin asked, puzzled.

"Our karmic connection is fated," Daoist Uncle Youyu said, feigning profundity.

Inside the Trial Star Domain, Xu Jin frowned slightly; it seemed this could be explained, especially in the eyes of experts, because what they saw might be further and more extensive.

"Is that so? Then, Law Enforcer, since our karmic connection is fated, could you help me with another small favor?" Xu Jin asked suddenly.

(End of chapter)