Chapter 64: Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters

“The door isn’t locked—come in yourself.”

As Xu Jin approached Ning Yuchan’s courtyard gate, about to knock, her voice rang out; he pushed the door open to find her already seated on a bamboo chair, looking as if she’d expected him all along.

“Speak. I’m listening.”

Ning Yuchan spoke again the moment Xu Jin stepped inside.

Xu Jin grinned sheepishly. “Master, I’m in the middle of cultivation.”

Suddenly, Ning Yuchan frowned, rising in an instant; Xu Jin felt a faint, pleasant fragrance rush toward him as her fingers shot out like lightning, pressing against his neck, her star force surging straight toward the small Star Cluster Mark on his chest.

In an instant, Xu Jin’s body stiffened, frozen in place.

Though his body couldn’t move, the Star Cluster Mark within him, stimulated by this foreign star force, instinctively resisted.

In an instant, the small Star Cluster Mark glowed brightly, and starlight shimmered across his entire body.

Ning Yuchan’s expression turned utterly stunned in that moment.

The star force invading Xu Jin’s body immediately withdrew, and Xu Jin regained control of his movements.

“Master, you—”

Before Xu Jin could complain about the sudden attack, Ning Yuchan asked in astonishment, “Fifth Stage of Meal of Mist—how did you cultivate so fast?”

“Fast? Lately I’ve had plenty of cultivation resources. On my last mission, I earned over a thousand taels of silver, plus a good share of Star-Enhancing Pills and Spirit-Reviving Pills—I used them all. Better to turn them into real power.”

As Xu Jin spoke, he internally sighed.

He’d known his cultivation base couldn’t be hidden.

So earlier, he’d openly displayed his Meal of Mist Fifth Stage before Luo Geng.

The more people knew, the less strange it seemed.

Later, no matter how fast he advanced, others would just accept it as normal.

And as long as he performed well enough, people would naturally explain away his anomalies.

When you’re strong enough, even great scholars will defend your reputation.

Of course, not everything was shown.

His cultivation base couldn’t be concealed—he had to reveal it fully.

But other things—like the Clear Soul Star Mark, the Star-Picking Token, and his ability to instantly cast star arts—must be kept hidden.

Among hundreds of piglets, growing a bit faster is fine—but if a fat pig turns into a golden pig, trouble comes.

Xu Jin’s explanation made Ning Yuchan nod slightly, accepting it.

But what Xu Jin didn’t know was that Ning Yuchan was thinking of something else entirely.

Until this moment, Ning Yuchan was one hundred percent certain: Xu Jin’s talent had been held back by his congenital heart ailment.

Had Xu Jin never had that congenital heart ailment, the top spot in this year’s Star-Pointing would have been his—not Yue Daqi’s.

Yue Daqi succeeded in three days; Ning Yuchan estimated Xu Jin’s true Star-Pointing talent was likely within a single day.

A Star-Pointing talent unseen in decades.

Ning Yuchan felt both joy and excitement.

Fortunately, Xu Jin’s talent had been delayed by his congenital heart ailment—if word had spread that he succeeded in one day during the Star-Pointing Season, the Tianyang Branch Academy would have immediately claimed him using their annual priority selection quota, before even Jinshan Dao Academy could train him.

Because of the Star Palace’s lockout, the Tianyang Star Palace and Cangming Star Palace had fully entered Chen Guo and signed a humiliating, reluctant clause with Chen Guo.

The Priority Selection Quota.

Each branch of the Tianyang and Cangming Star Palaces, at every prefecture and county level, could exercise this privilege once per year.

If either Star Palace identified a genius they wanted, Chen Guo’s Dao Academies—from county to state to central—had to hand them over.

One per year.

But this was devastating for Chen Guo.

It was one of the two Star Palaces’ mechanisms of control over Chen Guo.

“Meal of Mist Fifth Stage—so you’re aiming for Meal of Mist Sixth?” Ning Yuchan sat back down on the bamboo chair and asked.

“Correct, but I have another issue.”

“Then I’ll teach you the first seven chapters of the Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters—it’s a foundational method for star force circulation, the very basis of your future star arts.”

“Essentially, all star force circulation falls within the Nine Golden Chapters,” Ning Yuchan said.

“Actually, you’ve already studied a few chapters.”

“Studied?” Xu Jin frowned in confusion.

“Directly studying the Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters is dry and difficult, severely slowing beginners and wasting precious cultivation time.”

Five thousand years ago, the Star Lord Xuan Ming personally created the Five Stars Killing Fist and simplified the Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters, reducing the time from Meal of Mist to Star Refining from decades to just a few years.”

Since then, countless versions of the Five Stars Killing Fist and the Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters have emerged, but their original creator was Star Lord Xuan Ming—remember that,” Ning Yuchan said.

Then Ning Yuchan demonstrated the first five chapters of the Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters.

For example, the first move, Five Stars Killing Fist: East Harmonizes Yin-Yang, is the Arc Golden Chapter—like drawing arcs with both hands, directing star force to move and collide along curved surfaces to form the Star Art: Star Shield.

The second move, South Ripples the Six Directions, is the Burst Golden Chapter—emphasizing star force collision and explosion to produce the Star Art: Star Flash.

The third move, West Rises Ten Thousand Stones, is the Spring Golden Chapter—projecting star force outward from a single point in all directions, forming the Star Ring.

The fourth move, North Shoots the Wolf Star, is the Shoot Golden Chapter—launching star force from one point to another, forming the Star Arrow.

The fifth move, Center Sovereign Stabilizes the World, is the Support Golden Chapter—expanding a star force cluster from its center outward, forming the Starlight Dome.

At this moment, Ning Yuchan taught Xu Jin the sixth Golden Chapter of the Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters: the Soak Golden Chapter, named for water’s silent nourishment of all things—star force flows slowly, gently soaking like water pressure, causing no harm, useful for accelerating recovery, but mostly for cultivation, especially of the head. The human body is extremely strong and recovers quickly, so the Five Stars Killing Fist can be used to temper it—but the Six Yang Supreme Head cannot; only the Soak Golden Chapter can.

In addition, Ning Yuchan taught Xu Jin the seventh Golden Chapter of the Step-by-Step Facing the True Nine Golden Chapters: the Repel Golden Chapter.

Slightly opposite to the first Golden Chapter, the Burst Golden Chapter, which explodes outward, the Repel Golden Chapter explodes inward; once mastered, it grants a basic star art: Starflight Step.

This made Xu Jin secretly relieved.

Thank goodness he hadn’t learned Starflight Step in the Star-Picking Tower’s Ten Thousand Stars Hall—ten Star Marks would’ve been a hefty sum.

“Go back and practice diligently. With your talent and comprehension, I estimate you’ll break through to Meal of Mist Sixth Stage in about a month. As for Starflight Step, you shouldn’t need long—once you master it, your combat ability will improve further,” Ning Yuchan said.

“Master Ning, what are the eighth and ninth Golden Chapters? I’ve heard of star arts called Star Bind and Star Blaze—when can I learn them?”

*Snap!*

A fingertip wind exploded against Xu Jin’s forehead, making him clutch his head in pain.

“Greed leads to indigestion!”

“Star arts are tools and methods, but star force is the foundation!”

“Without a strong foundation, no matter how many star arts you learn, they’re useless.”

“Right now, beyond slowly advancing to Meal of Mist Sixth Stage, you should focus primarily on your Great Cluster Star Mark.”

“You’ve already experienced the benefits of the Small Cluster Star Mark, haven’t you?” Ning Yuchan scolded.

“I have—my power doubled.”

“Exactly. After successfully inscribing the Great Cluster Star Mark, though it won’t double your power again, it will at least boost it by fifty percent.”

“Also, the Nine Golden Chapters aren’t limited to just nine chapters.”

“Nine is the ultimate number—do you understand?” Ning Yuchan lectured.

Then, as if casually asking, she added, “By the way, have you inscribed your Great Cluster Star Mark yet? Even if not, it should be close, right?”

“Not even close.”

Xu Jin shook his head like a rattle drum.

Last time, unaware of the situation, he’d reported his success with the Small Cluster Star Mark too quickly, startling the Headmaster—he realized his speed in inscribing the Small Cluster Star Mark was far too advanced.

Xu Jin had decided: even if he succeeded in inscribing the Great Cluster Star Mark, he’d wait several days before reporting it.

Displaying strong cultivation talent is fine—but displaying it too terrifyingly risks turning into an incident.

“By the way, Master Ning, what’s the Star-Picking Token about? I’ve heard some senior brothers say that once you enter the Star-Picking Tower, it divides into many zones?”

“Some even mentioned choosing star names?” Xu Jin dared not ask directly, so he framed it as gossip.

This year’s Star-Pointing Season had produced very few Star-Picking Tokens.

But over sixty percent of the senior brothers still at the academy had obtained one through various means.

So Xu Jin’s question was perfectly normal.

“You need Meal of Mist Sixth Stage to enter—why the rush?” Ning Yuchan gave him a disapproving look.

Though she spoke sharply, she still told Xu Jin much about the Star-Picking Token.

Including details about the various zones within.

Unconsciously, Xu Jin had stayed in Ning Yuchan’s courtyard for nearly half an hour; outside, disciples were already lining up.

Xu Jin was about to ask more when Ning Yuchan frowned. “You’ve asked too many questions today—disciples are waiting outside. Come back tomorrow.”

“Master, one last thing.”

“Speak.”

“Master, the Blade-Whirl Mark you gave me last time was incredibly useful—I relied on it to earn merit.”

“Mm, I know.”

“Both are used up.”

“Mm, so?”

“Well—”

Seeing Ning Yuchan wouldn’t take the initiative, Xu Jin had to boldly ask: “Master, I’ve used them all—can you give me a few more Blade-Whirl Marks? To protect my life.”

This was the truth.

Xu Jin truly wanted a Blade-Whirl Mark for protection.

Though he still had two Dawn Marks, they were of questionable origin—he dared not use them lightly, fearing trouble.

“Give you a few? You make it sound so easy. Do you know how much effort it takes me to make one spinning-blade insignia?” Ning Yuchan sneered. Xu Jin had just this one flaw—he was too bold, too blunt—but somehow, it never made her dislike him.

“Then I’ll buy them. Is that good enough?” Xu Jin said.

“Do you know how much silver people outside are willing to pay for my spinning-blade insignias?”

“How much?”

Ning Yuchan held up four fingers.

In an instant, Xu Jin sucked in a sharp breath.

Four thousand taels!

Damn, that’s expensive!

Using these to blast someone? It’s like throwing silver at them.

But the truth is, silver won’t kill you—these will.

Just as Xu Jin was gasping, Ning Yuchan tossed him two spinning-blade insignias. “Call me Master, and I’ll give you a student price—three thousand taels each. Remember to pay me back later!”

“Alright, fine!”

Xu Jin tucked the insignias away and left, overjoyed.

Too much debt? No problem!

(End of Chapter)