Chapter 93: Confiscation and a New Divine Soul Star Pattern (Request Subscription and Monthly Tickets)

Within Jinshan County City, turmoil was raging.

The girl who failed to return home on time yesterday was not just Xu Jin’s younger sister.

Parents who cared nothing for their children’s fate were extremely rare; yesterday, many came to the Zhao residence asking for answers.

They were calmed by the chief steward Zhao Fu, who gave them an explanation and a pound of meat, sending them away happily.

After all, Zhao Bo, the great benefactor of Jinshan County City, was a golden brand.

Under normal circumstances, calming others was effortless.

But last night, Xu Jin killed Zhao Fu, the chief steward of the Zhao residence, and Zhao Weiqing, the head of the Zhao household; the Zhao residence plunged into chaos, leaderless.

Many who had not come yesterday returned today to inquire about their children’s condition; upon hearing that the Zhao residence had suffered a major disaster and even the head of the household was dead, some even believed Zhao the Benefactor himself was dead.

One told ten, ten told a hundred; all parents whose children worked as weavers gathered around the Zhao residence.

Xu’s father, Xu Dajiang, was among them, especially frantic.

Xu Jin had returned yesterday seeking news of his sister Jiang Er, but no word had reached him until this morning; he went to the Dao Academy to look for Xu Jin, only to be told he was absent, then heard of the Zhao residence’s disaster and was terrified.

Fortunately, the government’s organizational capacity was also strong.

At dawn, the county seat and the county commandant received a starlight message from the academy head Dong Zhao via the Star-Picking Edict, surrounding the Zhao residence and guiding these grieving parents to the docks to wait.

When boat after boat of girls were brought ashore, the anxious parents wept with joy.

When Xu Jin carried Jiang Er off the boat, Xu Dajiang was stunned into silence.

He could not even move his legs.

He thought Jiang Er was dead.

Only when he learned she was merely unconscious did he exhale in relief, instantly drenched in sweat.

Xu Jin carried Jiang Er and led his father straight back to the small courtyard of the Dao Academy.

Behind them, laughter, weeping, and heart-rending cries echoed.

After all, over four hundred corpses had been found on Qianye Island.

A few girls, upon waking, had become unrecognizing and mentally broken.

Human joy and sorrow played out in turn here.

In the sky, the academy head Dong Zhao, stepping on starlight, watched this scene, sighing; this was already the limit of his ability.

“Brother Jin, you’re finally here—the Duzhu’s military order commands you to report immediately to the Training Hall upon your return.” At the courtyard gate, Qian Xiaohu waited anxiously.

“Military order?”

Xu Jin was puzzled; what military order could Tian Zhang be giving him now?

But a military order was as firm as a mountain.

Xu Jin immediately placed his younger sister Jiang Er on his bed, instructed his father not to wake her under any circumstance, not to fear she was hungry, and to let her sleep until she awoke naturally; then he donned his Patrol Star Guard commander’s uniform and hurried toward the Training Hall.

At the Training Hall, Xu Jin found all the current Star-Picking disciples present—including Yue Daqi, Lu Xianbing, Yu Guan, Ren Xiaoxiang, Luo Geng—and not a single senior from previous cohorts.

Ning Yuchan, Cui Tianqi, and Luo Geng were also there.

Essentially, all who had participated in the last Great Search for Demons were present.

Suddenly, a streak of bloodlight shot in—it was Duzhu Tian Zhang arriving.

“The wealthy merchant Zhao Bo of Jinshan County City secretly joined the Worship of the Dipper Cult, deceiving over 1,700 girls from Jinshan County to serve as Star Slaves, resulting in over two hundred deaths—his crimes are grave.

By order, confiscate his estate!

All blood relatives of Zhao Bo shall be arrested; any who resist shall be executed!

All Zhao clan kin shall be arrested and interrogated; any who resist shall be executed!

All who worked for Zhao clan enterprises shall be arrested and interrogated to determine involvement in deception; any who resist shall be executed!

All Zhao clan servants shall be arrested and interrogated; any who resist shall be executed!

All Zhao clan assets shall be seized; anyone who hides or refuses to surrender property shall be executed!”

Five “executions” made everyone shudder.

“Ning Yuchan shall serve as chief officer of the confiscation; Xu Jin as deputy officer, responsible for seizing all Zhao clan properties within and beyond Jinshan County City.”

“Cui Tianqi leads the team to confiscate Zhao clan properties in Heshui County and Jinsha County.”

“Luo Geng leads the team to confiscate Zhao clan properties in Nanhe.”

“Follow all regulations strictly; any violators shall be punished by military law. Depart!”

At Tian Zhang’s command, several teams set off joyfully; outside the Jinshan Dao Academy, government accountants, legal clerks, and county guards had already waited.

Only after leaving the Jinshan Dao Academy did Xu Jin understand what was happening.

Confiscating an estate was a lucrative assignment.

By regulation, the teams assigned to such missions could keep a portion of the seized assets as compensation, up to twenty percent.

Zhao Bo, the head of the Zhao household, had already been captured alive; how difficult could confiscation be?

Anyone could be sent!

But Duzhu Tian Zhang had deliberately waited for Xu Jin and assigned all spring Star-Picking disciples who had fought in the Great Search for Demons—partly as reward and compensation.

The reason he specifically appointed Ning Yuchan and Xu Jin as chief and deputy officers was to facilitate their taking the largest share.

Moreover, they were assigned the properties within and around the county city—the most profitable portion of the Zhao estate.

Soon, some Patrol Star Guards, accompanied by government accountants, legal clerks, and government office runners, stormed the Zhao residence; Ning Yuchan assigned others to lead squads of county guards straight to Zhao clan properties within the city, sealing them first, then inventorying.

Confiscation posed no difficulty; Xu Jin merely watched.

Yet during the confiscation, Xu Jin suddenly realized that those aligned with Dong Zhao and Tian Zhang never let their own people suffer losses.

The spring Star-Picking disciples had suffered heavy losses in their hasty battle last time; not only were their compensation payments generous, but now they were being further compensated through this operation.

Ning Yuchan and Xu Jin, who had directly fought last night, were immediately appointed chief and deputy officers.

This was truly comforting.

While some were comforted, others were not.

For instance, the deputy academy head Feng Shu.

At midnight last night, Deputy Academy Head Feng Shu suddenly received a starlight message from the supervising officer Cao Chun, inviting him to drink under the moon if he had time.

A baffling invitation.

Feng Shu had initially planned to go, but after thinking, he decided not to.

Who was Cao Chun?

The fourth-ranked man in Jinshan Dao Academy; who was Feng Shu? The second most powerful figure in Jinshan Dao Academy.

If he wanted to drink, shouldn’t Cao Chun have come to invite him?

Logically, with such a rank difference, Cao Chun should have invited him at least half a day in advance, if not three days.

To send a starlight message in the dead of night and summon me immediately—would I rush over? That would be humiliating.

I’m rank two, he’s rank four.

If he truly wanted to drink and talk under the moon, he should have brought good wine to my courtyard himself.

To be summoned now, at this hour, would make me look like a subordinate.

So Feng Shu pretended not to see it and did not go.

He planned to mention it tomorrow, then subtly reprimand Cao Chun to remind him of his place.

But he never imagined that by morning, a massive event had occurred.

Patrol Star Guard teams were departing one after another; warships from the Yanzhou Navy had arrived.

Something major must have happened last night.

Feng Shu suddenly realized that Cao Chun’s invitation to drink was likely a pretext—he had wanted to discuss this very matter.

But he had refused.

The more he thought, the angrier and more anxious he became; Feng Shu went straight to find Cao Chun.

Yet the moment he saw Cao Chun, Feng Shu’s eyes widened in shock, staring fixedly at him: “You—you’ve broken through? When did this happen?”

“Deputy Academy Head Feng, I broke through last night—luck was on my side.”

“Luck was on your side!”

Feng Shu spat out the words through gritted teeth; breaking from Peak Condensing Star to Gathering Dipper was not something luck alone could achieve.

Breaking from Peak Condensing Star to Gathering Dipper was not a major realm with a specific barrier, yet it was extremely difficult.

Because the only condition for this breakthrough was—vast quantities of star power!

Vast quantities of star power—how could that come from mere luck?

Last night, he had surely missed something monumental.

“Did you call me before or after your breakthrough?” Feng Shu demanded urgently.

“After.”

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” Feng Shu was truly furious.

“I only invited you to drink; I thought you didn’t see the message.”

With that, Cao Chun bowed and left.

In truth, Cao Chun’s starlight message to Feng Shu last night had been arranged by Academy Head Dong Zhao—a final test.

He hoped Feng Shu would understand.

If he were willing to abandon unrealistic ambitions and recognize his true position, he would be welcomed into this circle of shared interests.

Unfortunately, he had abandoned himself.

Inside a palace built deep beneath a mountain, a speck of starlight suddenly fell from beyond the heavens, spinning through countless halls and landing upon the altar beneath the temple statue, where it transformed into a small seal.

Upon the altar, including the newly arrived one, two seals now remained.

In the instant the seal fell, a faint starlight figure appeared beside the statue.

Though merely a silhouette, the astonishing aura it emitted instantly awakened every cultivator within and without.

“Your servants humbly welcome the True Person’s arrival.”

The True Person’s phantom of the Worship of the Dipper Sect merely nodded, raised a hand, and the small star-official seal that had just landed on the altar floated into his grasp. With a flick of his divine will, he sought to draw out the divine soul energy stored within the seal.

But as he pulled, he sensed something was wrong.

Too little—so little it was pitiful, less than half a percent.

In the past, he always retained two percent, to allow the next star-official to recast the statue and restore the seal’s power.

Now, less than half a percent remained.

That meant this was still the energy he had injected when he originally bestowed the seal.

Not a single bit of divine soul energy had been returned.

“Who is the Sixth Star-Official of our Vermilion Bird Palace?” asked the phantom of Zhu Que, one of the Four Phases True Persons of the Worship of the Dipper Sect.

“Reporting to the Patriarch, his name is Gu Jianfei; he received the imperial star-official seal only half a year ago,” replied the Vermilion Bird Palace’s overseer.

“Investigate. Find out where he failed and why not a trace of divine power was returned.”

“Logically, the Lingji Star Hall should have been sealed. This situation should never have occurred,” said the Vermilion Bird True Person’s phantom.

“Your servant obeys.”

After giving his orders, the Vermilion Bird True Person’s phantom sighed and picked up the star-official seal, pouring in vast amounts of his own divine soul energy until it reached exactly two percent before stopping.

This star-official appointment was a loss.

A losing deal was no fun.

“Find suitable recipients for these two star-official seals as soon as possible—preferably someone sharp-witted,” said the Vermilion Bird True Person’s phantom.

“Your servant understands. I will arrange it immediately,” replied the Vermilion Bird Palace’s overseer.

With a casual wave, the Vermilion Bird True Person’s phantom summoned a Zhai Xing Token. Within moments, he sent out a starlight message.

“Failed to collect divine soul energy. The item you requested is delayed!”

Only then did the Vermilion Bird True Person’s phantom slowly dissipate.

The richest man in Jinshan County was no fraud.

Ning Yuchan and Xu Jin, overseeing the confiscation of Zhao’s properties inside and outside the county seat, had worked from dawn until dusk—even splitting up—and barely finished.

So far, they had accounted for over 130,000 taels in silver, 30,000 taels in gold, roughly 40,000 taels in jewels and other valuables, fifteen first-rank star weapons worth around 30,000 taels; total liquid assets exceeded 500,000 taels.

According to confessions, Zhao Bo had withdrawn several hundred thousand taels just a month ago—otherwise, the total would have been higher.

As for properties, the numbers were even greater: over a thousand houses, more than 100,000 mu of land, over 500,000 shi of grain, more than thirty workshops and shops, and 140,000 taels in outstanding debts; fixed assets estimated at over two million taels.

This was only the property within and around Jinshan County Seat; additional holdings existed in the other six counties and even beyond Jinshan, including several mines.

But these fixed assets had nothing to do with the confiscation team.

Of course, they wouldn’t all be seized by the state either.

As Ning Yuchan casually mentioned, two percent of the fixed assets would be set aside—most going to the Dao Academy, a small portion to the county office and county guard. Those involved in the confiscation, like Xu Jin, would receive only the liquid assets.

Estimated at 100,000 taels.

This delighted Xu Jin—it was unexpected wealth, and an enormous sum at that.

Even by the old calculation—five percent to the chief officer, split between him and Ning Yuchan—he’d get over 20,000 taels; even if Ning took the larger share, he’d still get 10,000 to 20,000 taels.

But when Ning Yuchan distributed the spoils, the amount stunned Xu Jin.

Far less than he’d imagined.

Only 8,000 taels—this surprised him greatly.

Much less than he’d expected.

But since it was Ning Yuchan distributing, Xu Jin dared not complain; he merely glanced at her—and received a sharp tap on the head.

“You brat, forgot about those three?”

Xu Jin suddenly understood.

Of the 100,000 taels available, giving 20,000 each to the Headmaster, the Supervising Abbot, and the Overseer was perfectly normal—otherwise, how could the subordinates get rich while the superiors starved?

Of the remaining 40,000 taels, 5,000 had already been distributed.

Though “confiscation” sounds simple, in reality, besides the twenty Star-Scouts Xu Jin led, dozens of county clerks, accountants, and over three hundred county guard runners participated.

Otherwise, twenty men couldn’t possibly have handled so much.

Of the remaining 35,000 taels, Xu Jin and Ning Yuchan split sixty percent; the remaining forty percent went to the other twenty Star-Scouts.

In the end, Ning Yuchan received 13,000 taels, Xu Jin received 8,000 taels, and each ordinary Star-Scout got around 500 taels.

It was a windfall indeed.

Thus, Xu Jin’s total silver now exceeded 22,000 taels.

On Qianye Island, Xu Jin had looted corpses, but the Worship of the Dipper Sect’s followers were all penniless—many carried only two or three thousand taels total—though he acquired three star weapons.

Now, Xu Jin still had five idle star weapons—another windfall.

Under cover of night, Xu Jin hurried back to the Dao Academy, heading straight for his small courtyard.

“Brother!”

Jiang Er had awakened. Seeing Xu Jin return, she flung herself into his arms and burst into loud sobs.

She cried as she spoke, and Xu Jin held his sister, listening to her outpouring.

Once she cried and spoke, everything would pass.

After being taken away, Jiang Er had initially been fine—taught the rules—but after one day, when they began forcing her to memorize a prayer chant, she sensed something was wrong.

But Jiang Er was clever; she knew resistance was futile, so she recited with all her might.

Many who resisted or tried to flee were immediately punished and killed—some hanged alive from poles until dead.

Later, they were forced to kneel before the statue, praying for eight hours straight before being allowed to sleep in shifts.

The only advantage was food and drink were plentiful—unlimited.

Until they were finally rescued.

After hearing this, Xu Jin turned to his father, Xu Dajiang, whose expression was uneasy, still shaken.

If Jiang Er had been harmed, he would have spent the rest of his life in regret.

“I should’ve listened to you and gone to the Zhao mansion sooner to get your sister,” Xu Dajiang regretted. “From now on, I’ll listen to you more.” He was, in effect, yielding authority to his son.

Judging by the behavior of Jinshan Dao Academy’s upper echelons, going sooner would have retrieved her.

But Xu Jin had misjudged them—had he known, he’d have realized: with concrete information, Jinshan Dao Academy’s leadership would mobilize entirely.

Xu Jin hadn’t expected Jinshan Dao Academy’s leadership to be so bold.

They marched troops directly into another county’s jurisdiction without notifying superiors—and succeeded.

All one could say—was gutsy!

“Father, I want you and Jiang Er to move into the city, near the Dao Academy—it’ll be safer,” Xu Jin said, holding Jiang Er and speaking to his father.

“I suppose I could, now that this happened I’ve come to my senses—but the city’s expenses, rent, and—”

“Father, go buy a house tomorrow. I know what you mean—I’ll buy a profitable property too, so you’ll have steady monthly income and rest easy.”

Before Xu Dajiang could speak further, Xu Jin slapped down five thousand taels in silver notes—leaving his father utterly stunned.

In his life, when had he ever seen so many silver notes?

That evening, Xu Jin arranged for his sister and father to sleep in his own small courtyard, while he found an empty one to rest in.

There were many vacant courtyards within Jinshan Dao Academy.

Qi Shanye hadn’t arrived yet. Seeing no one around, Xu Jin impatiently tested his newfound strength.

First, Star Arrow.

Shhh!

He fired a Star Arrow—swift as lightning—but then he was disappointed.

The improvement wasn’t great.

Previously, it flew seven chi; now it flew one zhang—ten chi, roughly three and a third meters.

An increase of about forty percent.

Theoretically, that was significant.

But last night, his divine soul energy hadn’t merely doubled—it had multiplied dozens of times.

Transforming the ethereal Chengpo Star Mark from illusion to reality, forging stars, reaching full forging, then advancing to Refining Star Third Stage—how many times had he multiplied? Xu Jin couldn’t calculate it, but dozens of times was certain.

Yet his actual combat power from star techniques had increased by only forty percent.

It was truly disappointing.

He then tested other star techniques: Star Ring, Starlight Shield, Star Shield, Star Ray, and Flying Star Step—all showed roughly forty percent improvement.

With Flying Star Step and Pursuing Star Boots at full mastery, his leap had been nearly forty meters; now it was nearly sixty meters—just under.

The increase was substantial, but far smaller than Xu Jin had imagined.

“Are you disappointed by this increase?” Suddenly, Qi Shanye’s voice reached him. As Xu Jin stood, Qi Shanye appeared before him.

“Master, I am disappointed. I feel my divine soul energy increased dozens of times, yet my combat power—”

“You’ve got the wrong focus.”

“Wrong focus?” Xu Jin frowned.

“The strength of your divine soul, beyond boosting base combat power, has two primary effects: first, it dramatically accelerates your cultivation speed. Try cultivating your Manjin Scripture now,” said Qi Shanye.

“Alright.”

In the next instant, Xu Jin sat cross-legged, focused his mind, and instantly summoned all his star energy toward his head, forming immense star pressure to slowly refine it.

But barely had it begun when Xu Jin suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head—two streams of blood shot from his nostrils, and blood spurted from all seven orifices: nose, eyes, ears, and mouth.

Xu Jin was terrified and immediately stopped.

“You, can’t you increase gradually, little by little? Are you trying to kill yourself?” Qi Shanye was drenched in sweat—he hadn’t expected Xu Jin to be so reckless.

Then Qi Shanye immediately realized where the problem lay: Xu Jin hadn’t grasped the weight of a Soul-Star at the Third Level of Star Refinement.

“Let me put it this way—let alone Third Level, most Fourth Level, even Fifth Level cultivators have never forged a Soul-Star! Only an extremely rare few Fifth Level cultivators might gain the opportunity to forge one.

And most Sixth Level cultivators barely reach the threshold of forging a Soul-Star.

Only an extremely small number of Sixth Level cultivators can push their Soul-Star to or beyond the Early Stage of Star Refinement,” said Qi Shanye.

Xu Jin was stunned.

He had assumed that while Soul-Star forging was rare, Third or Fourth Level experts certainly possessed them—never imagining that only Fifth Level experts began to commonly achieve it.

Soon after, Qi Shanye explained the reason to Xu Jin.

Aside from the unique lineage of Lingji Star Temple, cultivators from other Star Temples and Dao Academies typically could only enhance their Soul Force and forge a Soul-Star after breaking through to Fifth Level, the Polarity Gathering stage.

Of course, this was merely the conventional method.

Below Fifth Level, there were no active methods to cultivate Soul Force.

But this did not mean Lingji Star Temple was invincible.

On the contrary, cultivating Soul Force from the very beginning was Lingji Star Temple’s weakness.

Among Lingji Star Temple disciples, those like Xu Jin with such rare opportunities were one in ten thousand.

Soul Force advancement was extremely slow.

Because they had to devote immense energy to cultivating Soul Force, their Star Force cultivation also progressed slowly.

Only after over a decade of accumulated Soul Force cultivation could they begin to reap benefits—and possibly achieve a sudden breakthrough.

Afterwards, under Qi Shanye’s guidance, Xu Jin began slowly increasing the Star Pressure and intensifying his Manjin Chapter cultivation.

He stopped whenever he felt headache or discomfort.

Half an hour later, Xu Jin was astonished by his progress.

Previously, one hour of cultivation had only increased his Body Tempering progress by about one centimeter in his Canxia Sixth Level Manjin Chapter.

But today, in just half an hour, he gained two centimeters—his cultivation speed had increased by at least fourfold.

And this was still without Xu Jin pushing himself to full capacity.

If he used full strength, he didn’t know how many times faster his cultivation speed might become—sixfold? Tenfold?

Perhaps he could break through to Canxia Sixth Level tonight alone.

But even without full strength, Xu Jin estimated he’d reach Canxia Sixth Level by tomorrow night at the latest.

This cultivation speed was truly

the first major benefit of forging a Soul-Star—and Xu Jin had experienced it.

Then Qi Shanye taught Xu Jin the second major benefit.

“Regarding the enhancement of Star Art potency by Soul Force, beyond the basic boost, the greatest change is the increased volume of control.

In short, the reason your previous Star Arrows could only achieve such power was not only due to the Star Art itself, but also because of the total amount of Star Force you could channel at once.

Every time you broke through—whether in cultivation base or Soul Force—it was because the total Star Force you could channel in a single use increased, thus raising its potency.

Now, your Soul Force has increased hundreds of times over; theoretically, the potency you can channel has also increased hundreds of times.

Try this now: don’t rush to fire the Star Art. First, use your mind to draw in as much Star Force as possible, then release it.” said Qi Shanye.

“Understood.”

In the next instant, Xu Jin focused entirely—suddenly, vast amounts of Star Force surged toward his right palm, which flashed brilliantly with starlight.

When he felt the peak, he directed his mind—and instantly, a Star Arrow shot from his fingertip.

Shhh!

A piercing sound rang out; the Star Arrow streaked into the sky like a meteor.

Xu Jin, meanwhile, felt an instinctive emptiness.

It felt like he’d fired empty.

“About forty meters. The potency is already equivalent to that of a Mid-Stage Star Refinement attack,” Qi Shanye commented.

Hearing this, Xu Jin’s heart pounded.

Did this mean his strike now had the power to severely wound—or even kill—a Mid-Stage Star Refinement cultivator?

But high lethality meant high cost.

That single strike had drained forty percent of Xu Jin’s total Star Force.

At his current level, he could fire such an attack at most twice.

But Xu Jin liked it.

His old Star Arrows had been like scratching an itch against Mid-Stage Star Refinement cultivators—ten hits did nothing. Now, one strike was enough!

“Got it?” Qi Shanye smiled.

“Thank you, Master, for your guidance,” Xu Jin said.

“I’m your Master.”

Qi Shanye waved his hand cheerfully. “Since your Soul-Star is forged and you’ve reached Third Level Star Refinement, you can now inscribe new Star Glyphs.

Tonight, I’ll teach you a new Soul-Star Glyph.”

(End of Chapter)