[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-star-martial-era":3,"chapter-the-star-martial-era-the-star-martial-era-chapter-981":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Star Martial Era",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2275839,4448,"Chapter 981","the-star-martial-era-chapter-981",981,"\u003Cp>Receiving Ning Yuchan’s message, Xu Jin was genuinely pleased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ning Yuchan’s follow-up question made Xu Jin smile wryly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ning Yuchan asked when he had arrived and where he was now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was it convenient? She was coming to find him!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This directness left Xu Jin momentarily speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lying would be inappropriate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Telling the truth outright—saying he’d been here seven or eight days—felt like a betrayal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying he was too busy with affairs to visit her would be plausible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But having sent not a single starlight message? That was hard to justify.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, Xu Jin had planned to go to her directly for a surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He never expected she’d be the one to find him first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Xu Jin was puzzled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How had Ning Yuchan learned of his whereabouts?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, that shouldn’t be possible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Special-Class Merit in the Thousand Star Alliance differed from the Extraordinary Merit in the Tongxuan War Zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Tongxuan War Zone, whoever earned Extraordinary Merit was announced to the entire army, so everyone would know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Thousand Star Alliance, due to the diverse origins of its Emperor-level cultivators, accepted any Emperor who agreed to abide by its rules, allowing entry into the Yuan Domain to cultivate; the True Persons and Star Juniors beneath them had even more complex origins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As both protection and secrecy, the Special-Class Merit in the Thousand Star War Zone was never made public.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After approval, only the recipient, the nominator—the Wufan True Person—and the Garrison Emperor were informed, since verification was required.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only these three knew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin was deeply curious: how had Yuchan found out?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It left him utterly unsure how to reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Yuchan, I just finished a major battle. Where are you now? I’ll come see you in a few days.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Really? I’m training on Miaozhang Star Island under my Master! When you come, let me know ahead of time—I’ll come pick you up.】 Ning Yuchan’s words radiated longing for Xu Jin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Just finished the battle. Still on the Star Realm Fragment. I’ll notify you once I set out.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Good, I’ll wait for you! I miss you!】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words “I miss you” sent a surge of emotion through Xu Jin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuchan was like that—cold and aloof before others, yet utterly warm and passionate in private.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he pondered, Xu Jin suddenly received a starlight message from his Master, Fenghua Emperor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Jin’er, has Yuchan contacted you?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Master, Yuchan just reached out to me. Do you have something for me to attend to?】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Not at all. Earlier, Yuchan sent me a starlight greeting. I casually mentioned you’d already arrived and that you two would reunite soon.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【I’m messaging you now just to remind you.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【That child is deeply filial. Even when not by my side, she greets me every three or five days.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【During festivals, she sends gifts—not expensive, but full of heart.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You must not let her down; take care of your family affairs properly!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Xu Jin felt his head spin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So all this emotional turmoil stemmed from his Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Master had sold him out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced toward Duyue Emperor’s direction, but dared not voice the thought, let alone dwell on it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still, he understood his Master’s meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Master hadn’t said a word, and Xu Jin hadn’t realized Ning Yuchan had quietly done so much behind the scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>【Master, rest assured—I’ll handle it properly! Master, should I prepare a gift for Miaozhang Emperor? How should I prepare it? Please advise.】\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In response to this question, Fenghua Emperor quickly sent Xu Jin a gift list.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the list of gifts other disciples of Miaozhang Emperor had brought when visiting Fenghua Emperor—modest in value, but meaningful in sentiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fenghua Emperor’s implication was that Xu Jin’s gift could be slightly more substantial, since Ning Yuchan trained under Miaozhang Emperor, who had nurtured her well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin understood his Master’s intent perfectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Half a day later, Xu Jin made his decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As in the Tongxuan War Zone, the opportunity to contemplate the Thousand Star Spirit Dome, earned through Special-Class Merit, allowed direct priority access.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Garrison Wufan True Person had scheduled Xu Jin’s time for seven days from now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That is, on the twelfth day of the third month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin planned to visit Yuchan on Miaozhang Star Island three days from now, reunite with her for several days, then go to his Master.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because in a few days, after the ninety-first purple yuan bone vein was refined, his Dao Embryo might naturally transform into a Nascent Soul.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For others, natural transformation into a Nascent Soul posed no problem.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The issue was the Heart Demon Tribulation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin had never forgotten this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His cultivation of the Divine Path would inevitably draw the Heart Demon Tribulation when his Divine Soul reached a major breakthrough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After meeting Ning Yuchan, he would consult his Master about it—see if any special preparations were needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After transforming into a Nascent Soul, once he completed his contemplation of the Thousand Star Spirit Dome, he would imbue the Chaos Cloud Tower with stars, then immediately break through to True Person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under normal circumstances, Xu Jin would become a True Person the moment he emerged from the Thousand Star Spirit Dome.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, the sea would widen—the sky would open!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Jin spent two and a half days converting the gains from this battle into strength, gathering a portion of Star Ruin Yuan Sand for star imbuing, and refining his purple yuan bone veins to the ninety-first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he reached the ninety-first, he immediately stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For as he refined the ninety-first purple yuan bone vein, he sensed a disturbance within his Dao Embryo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was an indescribable tremor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if about to burst free.\u003C\u002Fp>",947,"2026-06-19T23:56:35.933Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8a9fc2ab7d8e4d0b68c1b4b697cec96eded2062cdf9f75b66198352424d84b46","the-star-martial-era-chapter-982","the-star-martial-era-chapter-980",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-star-martial-era-cover.jpg"]