Chapter 95: Property Acquisition and the Cowardly Sage

The basic Star Art 'Star Mist', in the heritage of the Lingji Star Palace, is one of the Twelve Golden Chapters of the Lingji Dynasty, also known as the 'Gold-Seeping Chapter'. However, it is not unique to the Lingji Star Palace; other Star Palaces also possess such Star Arts.

Basic Star Arts are basically not unique.

Similarly, the Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern is not unique to the Lingji Star Palace.

The Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern, through the communication and transformation of Star Force, hides one's figure and even aura within the myriad phenomena of the universe; it is called the Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern, and it is quite effective for hiding one's figure.

Likewise, this Star Pattern is not unique to the Lingji Star Palace; many Star Palaces and even the National Academy have it.

But according to Qi Shanye, for the same type of Star Pattern, the source makes a huge difference in power.

As far as the Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern is concerned, the Lingji Star Palace has always been more than a hundred years ahead of other Star Palaces.

It has been updated at least twelve times, while in other Star Palaces, the Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern has only been updated eight generations.

However, the Lingji Star Palace has been locked for twenty years, so it is estimated that the Cangming Star Palace could catch up by at least one generation.

Xu Jin understood this point very clearly.

It's just versioning.

Other Star Palaces' versions might still be the third or fourth generation, while the Lingji Star Palace's is already the fifteenth.

Of course, this does not mean the Lingji Star Palace is ridiculously strong, but rather that each Star Palace and major National Academy has a different focus.

Or perhaps, each genius has a different direction of enlightenment, and the direction of Star Pattern updates is also different.

Basically, there is one characteristic that can be used to judge the grade of a Star Pattern.

That is the number of main trunks and branches of the Star Pattern.

The more main trunks and branches, the higher the grade of the Star Pattern.

Those with three main trunks are usually called first-tier Star Patterns, and those with six main trunks are usually second-tier Star Patterns. The branches have little effect on the grade of the Star Pattern, but they do affect the power of the Star Pattern.

Most of the currently inherited Star Patterns are second-tier or third-tier Star Patterns; fourth-tier Star Patterns are very rare. As for fifth-tier or higher Star Patterns, they are top-secret heritages in any Star Palace or National Academy and are not easily passed on.

Like the Lingji Star Palace's Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern, it has sixteen main trunks and is already a mid-fifth-tier Star Pattern.

The Great Gathering Star Pattern previously passed down by the Jin Shan Academy has a total of ten main trunks and is a mid-third-tier Star Pattern; among Star Force-related Star Patterns, it is considered quite good.

That is why it was divided into three stages for disciples to engrave; if they had directly engraved the complete Great Gathering Star Pattern at the beginning, nine out of ten disciples would have been crippled.

In addition, the Cheng Po Star Pattern and Mingji Star Pattern that Xu Jin learned from Shanye have thirteen and seventeen main trunks, respectively, and are mid-fourth-tier and upper-fifth-tier.

These two types of Star Patterns belong to the most secret of secrets of the Lingji Star Palace; they are not passed on unless one is a core member, a genius, and has passed a loyalty assessment.

Among them, the Cheng Po Star Pattern is different.

Other Star Patterns and Star Arts can be passed on and learned through engraving on jade tablets, but only the Cheng Po Star Pattern must be engraved by a teacher's Divine Soul power entering the body over a long period; self-study is basically impossible.

This is a natural limitation of the Star Pattern's attributes.

This is also the reason why the major Star Palaces could not obtain the Cheng Po Star Pattern heritage even after killing the Lingji Star Palace and forcing it to lock its doors, and it is also why Hu Xuechuan was determined to capture Qi Shanye alive.

As long as he could capture Qi Shanye alive, Hu Xuechuan was confident he could make Qi Shanye talk.

The higher the grade of the Star Pattern, the greater the difficulty of cultivation.

The previous Returning Hidden Star Pattern had fourteen main trunks and was an upper-fourth-tier Star Pattern; Xu Jin spent seven hours livering it inside the Star Lamp before he learned it.

The Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern had sixteen main trunks and was a mid-fifth-tier grade; Xu Jin only spent half an hour livering it inside the Star Lamp before he suddenly realized something.

He was valuing techniques over methods a bit too much.

To a certain extent, the method is the foundation, meaning cultivation is the foundation.

If your cultivation is insufficient, no matter how exquisite the Star Patterns and Star Arts you learn are, they are useless.

Just like in the battle on Chiba Island, Xu Jin's Star Arts were very strong, but his Star Force was very weak, so he struggled when fighting experts in the Refine Star Realm.

Currently, he should still focus on cultivation.

He must improve his cultivation as quickly as possible.

Switch to cultivating the 'Manjin Chapter'.

An hour and a half later, Xu Jin's body-tempering starlight had already covered his forehead.

Xu Jin felt that tonight, he might be able to break through to the sixth layer of Meal of Mist.

At noon, his father and younger sister Jiang Er, who had gone to look for a house, returned, saying they had seen several houses but hadn't decided on any, and wanted Xu Jin to go see them with them in the afternoon.

In the afternoon, when Xu Jin went to look at houses with his father and sister Jiang Er, he couldn't help but cry and laugh.

His father was still accustomed to frugality.

The houses he and Jiang Er had looked at in the morning were all small courtyards with three rooms and one kitchen. Including the courtyard, none of them exceeded 150 square meters.

However, Xu Jin didn't say much.

This habit of frugality wasn't something that could be changed just by saying so.

Besides, if it weren't for his father Xu Dajiang's frugality, where would Xu Jin's star-pointing have come from?

Xu Jin went directly to the real estate agency, specifically wearing his Star Patrol Guard Captain uniform.

Xu Jin knew very well that with a Star Patrol Guard Captain uniform, he didn't need to say anything to avoid a lot of trouble.

As for being cheated or taken advantage of?

Just kidding, if you try to cheat a Star Patrol Guard Captain in Jin Shan County, you probably won't last long!

The Star Patrol Guard wouldn't even need to take action; just a word from him, and the old government office runners would make them wish they were dead.

Before the house raids, those old government office runners all called Xu Jin "my lord" when they saw him; after the raids, having received benefits, their relationship was even closer.

"I want a larger house, with a large courtyard, quiet, and close to the Jin Shan Academy. Can you recommend a few?" As soon as Xu Jin entered the agency, not to mention the agents, the proprietor of the agency came over to serve him personally.

Seeing that Xu Jin was so young, he became even more respectful.

Such a young Star Patrol Guard Captain, whose future limit wouldn't just be a Banner Master, who would dare not be respectful?

Very quickly, the agency proprietor gathered several gold-medal agents and screened six residences for Xu Jin.

In the end, Xu Jin took a fancy to a two-courtyard residence, with a total of thirteen rooms—three main rooms, four side rooms, and six side rooms. In addition to a front courtyard, there was also a back courtyard twenty meters long and twelve meters wide, which could be used for cultivation.

It was also close to the Jin Shan Academy.

"How much silver for this residence?" Xu Jin asked.

"Replying to Master Xu, the current selling price of this residence is exactly 3,900 taels," the agency proprietor said.

His father Xu Dajiang, who was on the side, widened his eyes upon hearing this, but managed to hold it in, not showing any shock.

At any rate, his son was now an official of the Star Patrol Guard; outside, he absolutely could not lose face for his son.

This was his father Xu Dajiang's belief.

"Then what if I buy it?" Xu Jin looked at the proprietor with a smile.

"If Master Xu buys it, naturally there is Master Xu's price."

The agency proprietor bowed and said with a low laugh, "Master Xu, 3,500 taels, I won't earn a single cent, and I won't charge any commission. Besides that, I can arrange for people to clean and tidy it up today. If Master Xu wants to move in, you can move in tomorrow."

"Deal." Xu Jin directly slapped down 3,500 taels and took out an extra 50 taels of silver. "The commission won't be less for you. Also, introduce me to two storefronts, preferably busy ones."

If he wanted his father to live in the county, he had to set up some property for him; otherwise, without a source of silver, his father wouldn't be able to stay.

Moreover, Xu Jin was thinking further ahead.

The path he was walking now was one of licking blood from the edge of a blade; walking by the river all the time, how could he not get his shoes wet? Maybe one day he would just die.

Set up some property.

Even if Xu Jin really died one day, he would have fewer worries.

"Storefronts?"

The agency proprietor thought for a moment, bowed, and said, "Master Xu, to tell you the truth, storefronts in the county have always been in high demand. Good storefronts are almost never left vacant. I do have a few storefronts in my hands, but I'm afraid they won't catch Master Xu's eye.

However, I have a good lead that should be suitable for Master Xu."

"Hmm, speak."

"Master Xu, didn't the County Government just raid the Zhao family? There are over a hundred sealed storefronts. The Zhao family's storefronts are all top-tier. With your status, Master Xu, getting one or two shouldn't be difficult." The agency proprietor said.

This was indeed a good lead; Xu Jin hadn't thought of it before.

For the next half day, Xu Jin took his father and sister to see the residence in person and went to the government office to handle the procedures.

Along the way, Xu Jin bought three well-located storefronts at the government office, all small storefronts with not much area.

It cost Xu Jin a total of 5,000 taels of silver.

Originally, the government office was going to sell them publicly, but now they were sold directly to Xu Jin at the normal market price.

Xu Jin wasn't someone who didn't know how things worked; he gave out over a hundred taels in tea money to five or six people, saving at least two thousand taels of silver.

Xu Jin didn't intend to let Xu Dajiang manage these three storefronts.

His father had spent most of his life either farming or doing manual labor; doing business in the county wasn't a good choice.

Renting them all out would bring in at least 70 to 80 taels of rent income per month.

Not only was it enough for life in the county, but they could also save up a sum.

With this, the silver in Xu Jin's hands plummeted from 22,000 taels to just over 13,000 taels.

But Xu Jin felt incomparably at ease.

It could be considered solving his worries.

No matter what happened in the future, his father and sister Jiang Er would have a stable source of living.

Even if he really died, with the brothers of the Star Patrol Guard looking after them, there would be no fear of strong taking and forceful seizing.

In the evening, he bought several sets of clothes and shoes for Jiang Er and his father.

It had to be said that no matter where it was, young people's thinking changed the fastest.

In just one afternoon, his sister Jiang Er had already adapted to the changes in the Xu family's situation, and under Xu Jin's deliberate indoctrination several times, her thinking had already changed.

But changing his father, who had been frugal all his life, was not an easy task.

"Jiang Er, this is 1,000 taels of silver. You take it first. Tomorrow, see what's missing in the new house and buy it. Get everything ready; don't save silver. Your brother, I, am not short of silver now," Xu Jin said.

"Hmm, brother, don't worry, I already know what to do."

Xu Dajiang couldn't watch anymore from the side. "Jin'er, it's not easy for you to earn this family business; you still have to be frugal. Otherwise, this family business will be ruined too quickly."

"Dad, with those three storefronts, what are you afraid of! I also have a monthly salary of 50 taels.

Oh, by the way, in a few days, my colleagues might come to the new residence for a housewarming; you all have to hurry up." Xu Jin considered this one plan failing and another arising.

His father's habit of frugality wasn't a golden body; it had weaknesses.

The weakness was the face of this son of his.

Sure enough, upon hearing Xu Jin say this, his father Xu Dajiang became nervous. "Housewarming? So soon?

Then we have to hurry up. Your brother's colleagues are all officials; we can't lose face for your brother!

Jin'er, about when?"

The middle sentence was Xu Dajiang telling Jiang Er, while the last sentence was asking Xu Jin.

"Uh, probably in seven or eight days."

Xu Jin just made up a time.

This was actually something he made up; they had only bought the house today, how could his colleagues know?

At night, inside the Jin Shan Academy.

Xu Jin was cultivating the 'Manjin Chapter'.

An hour and a half later, the starlight had covered his forehead, and another hour later, the starlight had climbed toward the Baihui vital point on the top of his head.

Half an hour later, the starlight around Xu Jin's body converged at the Baihui vital point, and in an instant, an indescribable feeling of smoothness spread throughout his body.

Looking inward, he couldn't see anything.

Xu Jin, who had reacted, moved his Star Force mind, interrupting the operation of the Returning Hidden Star Pattern, and in an instant, his whole body was flashing with starlight.

Sixth layer of Meal of Mist, achieved!

At this moment, Xu Jin felt as light as a swallow, feeling that the Star Force around his body was everywhere and smooth everywhere.

There were many changes.

His eyesight became very strong.

Places that were blurry before could now be seen clearly.

His hearing, sense of smell, and other six senses were all enhanced. The next instant, Xu Jin casually swung a Star Arrow, and the Star Arrow flew out four meters directly.

The distance skyrocketed.

It skyrocketed from three point three meters to four meters.

Of course, this was just a basic improvement; as long as Xu Jin strengthened the mobilization and output of Star Force, the distance would increase significantly.

Breaking through to the sixth layer of Meal of Mist, Xu Jin had nothing to cultivate for the time being in terms of cultivation.

Because Xu Jin didn't know how to cultivate the seventh layer of Meal of Mist, he had to find a time to see Ning Yuchan.

He simply started sinking into the Star Lamp to liver the Concealing Lei Xiangxing Pattern.

"Eh?"

Suddenly, Qi Shanye's surprised voice rang out, and Qi Shanye's figure also emerged from the small courtyard, looking at Xu Jin who was cultivating in the courtyard, Qi Shanye's eyes were full of uncontrollable astonishment.

"You... you brat, how come you have no Star Force aura at all?

You... could it be that you have already cultivated the Returning Hidden Star Pattern?" Qi Shanye stared at Xu Jin, his expression even a bit excited.

Looking at Qi Shanye's excited and surprised expression, Xu Jin knew he had performed too much again.

Mainly, he wasn't too familiar with playing with this Returning Hidden Star Pattern yet. Fortunately, Qi Shanye was his teacher, not an outsider.

"Yes, I successfully engraved it tonight, it only took a while." Xu Jin didn't dare say it was in the morning.

Listening to Xu Jin's affirmative answer, and then sensing the Star Force aura on Xu Jin's body.

Even he, Qi Shanye, had to urge his Divine Soul Star to sense Xu Jin's true cultivation aura; if he didn't urge it, the Xu Jin at this moment in front of him was just like an ordinary person who had never cultivated.

All of this represented that Xu Jin had successfully practiced the Returning Hidden Star Pattern.

In an instant, Qi Shanye had an urge to look up and laugh.

Heaven had not treated him poorly.

He, Qi Shanye, had been hiding and searching for a suitable successor for so many years, and now not only had he found one, but Heaven had also given him a huge surprise.

For the Returning Hidden Star Pattern, Qi Shanye had taken twenty-one days to successfully engrave it back then, which was already a very fast speed within the Lingji Star Palace.

And within the Lingji Star Palace, the fastest record for engraving the Returning Hidden Star Pattern was nine days.

But that was one hundred and twenty years ago, and it was a Returning Hidden Star Pattern with ten main trunks, a third-tier lower grade.

While the one Xu Jin engraved had fourteen main trunks, an upper-fourth-tier Returning Hidden Star Pattern; the difficulty was not comparable.

But how long did Xu Jin take?

One day!

One day!

If this were passed back to the Star Palace, I'm afraid even the Palace Master would be shocked, right?

Having searched for such a talent, not only would the Palace Master record a great merit for old Qi, but he would also have to personally pour him a few bowls of wine, right?

Thinking of the Star Palace, Qi Shanye's expression suddenly dimmed.

It was locked.

He didn't even know if the Palace Master was alive or dead!

"Hahaha, good brat, I didn't expect you to be so fast. I will teach you the usage techniques of the Returning Hidden Star Pattern now.

Whatever cultivation you want to show in front of others, you can show whatever cultivation you want," Qi Shanye laughed.

Inside the first-tier Practice Arena Secret Realm of the Star-Picking Tower, Xu Jin looked at the starlight transmission in front of him, feeling a bit unable to cry or laugh.

【Cowardly Sage, are you dead?

Still not coming? Do you want me to burn incense and candles for you?

This fairy has already killed her way to the 47th place on the leaderboard. Are you afraid and dare not come?

In the future, just change your name to Cowardly Sage! Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi leaves】

Just after entering the Star-Picking Tower, Xu Jin received a starlight transmission.

Not to mention the content, Xu Jin only had four words—this girl is truly rich!

At least 100 taels of silver per starlight transmission, she really is willing to use it!

Because he didn't come yesterday, Xu Jin's ranking on the first-tier Practice Arena leaderboard had dropped to 4630th, but Xu Jin quickly found Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi's ranking.

【Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi: 27th】

It looked like she had advanced again today.

It seemed this girl was on a winning streak, and it seemed her actual combat ability was also improving all the way.

If Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi, this defeated opponent, could kill her way to 27th, then Xu Jin shouldn't be much worse, right?

Challenge!

After forging the star with Divine Soul power, plus the Great Completion of the Flying Fei Xing Bu, and having gone through several life-and-death blood battles, and now having broken through to the sixth layer of Meal of Mist, Xu Jin's combat power was skyrocketing.

As for to what extent it had skyrocketed, Xu Jin himself didn't know.

Anyway, eight battles and eight consecutive wins.

Up to now, not a single opponent had been able to last more than three seconds in his hands.

And this was still under the condition that Xu Jin was limiting his own strength.

The Divine Soul Star had significantly enhanced Xu Jin's ability to output Star Force at one time, with a maximum output of 40% of his Star Force at once.

Xu Jin estimated that this output volume could even instantly kill an early-stage Refine Star expert.

But if he really used it like this often, it would definitely attract attention.

Experienced experts would discover the abnormality, thereby inferring that Xu Jin had already forged a star with his Divine Soul, and if they associated it with the Lingji Star Palace, it would bring about a disaster.

So when challenging in the Practice Arena, Xu Jin set a requirement for himself, or rather, a prohibition.

In the Practice Arena, he was only allowed to use the most basic Star Arts and absolutely not use Divine Soul power to amplify the power of the Star Arts.

That is to say, Divine Soul power would not intervene in any way; whatever the basic Star Art looked like when executed, that was what it was.

Like the Star Arrow, the maximum distance was twelve feet, which was four meters; the Star Ring could swing out six feet, which was two meters.

As for the Star Shield and Star Light Cover, they didn't look too obvious; only Xu Jin knew that the thickness of the Star Shield and Star Light Cover had doubled compared to before, which meant that the defensive ability had also doubled.

Of course, the Star Force consumption also increased.

This was still the most basic.

If Xu Jin urged Divine Soul power to amplify, it would be completely different.

At the same time, this was also Qi Shanye's suggestion to Xu Jin.

Unless absolutely necessary, do not expose the Divine Soul Star's amplification ability.

If it reached the moment it must be used, it was recommended to kill!

And before growing to a certain extent, it was best not to reveal the Divine Soul Star's amplification ability in front of fifth-tier experts.

Because fifth-tier experts were not lacking in knowledge; they only needed to see it once, and they would likely associate it with the Divine Soul Star.

And before the Refine Star Realm or even the Condense Star Realm, only the Lingji Star Palace could forge a Divine Soul Star.

But even so, Xu Jin's Star Arrow, when fired, was also an instant kill!

One strike was enough to instantly kill.

The same was true for challengers at the seventh layer of Meal of Mist.

This was very normal.

Because for most cultivators at the peak of the seventh layer of Meal of Mist, the attack distance of the Star Arrow was generally eight feet; nine feet was very rare, and ten feet was extremely rare.

Of course, for Xu Jin's Star Arrow, as long as it didn't miss, ordinary people wouldn't be able to judge the distance.

This led to these eight challenges, making Xu Jin feel there was nothing interesting.

Previously, Xu Jin encountered obstacles when challenging, playing various tactics, kite-flying, thrusting, airship tactics, etc. Now, he was almost becoming a stationary mage.

With a flash of the Flying Fei Xing Bu, he could sweep over the opponent's head, and before the opponent could react, a Star Arrow or Star Ray would explode their head.

Nothing challenging.

But it felt great!

The feeling of bullying the weak really felt quite great.

Under the eight-game winning streak, Xu Jin's points increased rapidly, and his ranking rose even more rapidly.

【Practice Ranking: 97th】

Eight consecutive wins allowed Xu Jin to directly kill his way into the top 100 of the first-tier Practice Arena.

Challenging the Practice Arena eight times in a row was Xu Jin's previous challenge limit in the Practice Arena.

But today, he felt nothing at all.

Xu Jin felt that with his current Divine Soul power, let alone challenging eight times in a row, even challenging eighty times in a row would be no problem at all!

However, Xu Jin focused on listening to advice.

It didn't matter in life-and-death situations.

But in daily cultivation life, he still had to be cautious.

Ten times!

This was a limit Xu Jin set for himself; at least in the first-tier Practice Arena, the daily challenge limit Xu Jin set for himself was ten times.

Compared to the six-time challenge limit of geniuses like Lu Xianbing, this was already almost double.

Undoubtedly, the remaining two matches were also consecutive wins.

Xu Jin's practice ranking rose another twenty-two places.

【Star Lord: Qi Tian Da Sheng】

【Practice Points: 186】

【Practice Ranking: 75th】

Looking at this rapidly rising ranking, Xu Jin suspected, was it that he had to kill his way into the top ten of the first-tier Practice Arena to encounter an opponent who could truly fight him?

This question should be answered tomorrow.

Suddenly, Xu Jin was looking forward to tomorrow's challenge.

With a thought, Xu Jin was about to exit the Practice Arena, when suddenly, starlight flashed, and two starlight transmissions flew toward Xu Jin rapidly.

"Why don't you reply to the transmission!

Why don't you dare to fight even after coming?

Are you really afraid?"

"Are you really the Cowardly Sage? Only daring to challenge, but not daring to accept my challenge?

Are you still a man?

Can you not be so cowardly?"

At the same time the two starlight transmissions were sent, Xu Jin received Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi's challenge request.

【Qi Tian Da Sheng: Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi has taken the initiative to challenge you. Do you accept?】

【No】

Xu Jin chose to refuse.

The ten-time limit set for today had been reached.

Just after refusing, the starlight transmission came again.

"Cowardly Sage, are you really not a man?

Not replying to the transmission, not daring to come find me, I won't even mention that.

Now, you even refuse my challenge?

Can you not be so cowardly?"

Even though Xu Jin had a good temper, he was still angered by these three starlight transmissions.

But having mixed in forums and various comment sections in his previous life, Xu Jin knew what to do to make Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi even angrier.

Someone like Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi couldn't even match a finger of those real trolls in the comment sections of his previous life.

Subsequently, Zuiyue Zuiyue Xianzi continuously challenged Xu Jin, time and time again, and Xu Jin refused every single time.

Then, without a sound, Xu Jin left the Practice Arena.

【The opponent you challenged has already left the Practice Arena and cannot be challenged】

Inside a palace located on the peak of a high mountain, a young girl suddenly woke up from a couch, and the moment she opened her eyes, her apricot eyes widened, and she fiercely picked up one pillow after another and threw them wildly.

She wished she could smash them.

As if the one she was smashing was Qi Tian Da Sheng!

"Bastard, I'm so angry! Refusing to fight, and not replying to me!"

"Cowardly Sage, don't let me find you!" The girl was so angry that she was gnashing her teeth, her silver teeth clicking!

July 17th, after Xu Jin finished his morning lesson, he planned to go see Ning Yuchan, because he had no subsequent cultivation techniques.

Old Qi had some, but Old Qi said it was better for his Middle Star Palace to focus on the Jin Shan Academy's techniques.

Once the Lingji Star Palace's techniques were revealed, they could invite disaster.

If revealed, then everyone who saw them must be killed!

So, he had to go find Ning Yuchan.

However, before going to see Ning Yuchan, Xu Jin still had one important matter to handle.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 96 =====