Li Yang’s interest was piqued.
She didn’t care whether something was genuine or a mere imitation.
After all, her master had no interest in it, and in time, she would probably forget about it too.
However, the Star Combat system’s star techniques were indeed fascinating—they were growth-type.
No wonder the Star Combat practitioners looked down on the Star Magic system’s multi-techniques.
Zhong Kun had only mentioned it briefly, but Liyang had already grasped the concept.
For example, her current “Fervor” technique was only of blue quality at its highest potential.
But Lin Zhaoxia’s “Fervor” was different. Right now, she was only using blue-quality star techniques, so it appeared as blue.
However, as Lin Zhaoxia’s realm advanced, the blue technique would evolve—first to purple, then red, then silver, and possibly even gold.
“How convenient,” Li Yang mused.
But then, a thought crossed her mind.
Things couldn’t be that simple.
If Star Combat techniques could evolve so easily just by leveling up, then what was the point of the Star Magic system?
If advancement was that effortless, wouldn’t everyone just flock to Star Combat?
Clearly, there had to be an extremely difficult threshold for these techniques to upgrade.
What intrigued Liyang the most was that if someone had already mastered this combo technique, then… could she learn it too?
“I remember you said…” Li Yang turned to Zhong Kun.
“You’ve watched Lin Zhaoxia’s battle against the cultists?”
Zhong Kun hesitated.
Li Yang looked at him expectantly.
“Can you show it to me?”
Zhong Kun scratched his nose awkwardly.
“That’s… not really appropriate…”
“Is the video classified?”
“No, not exactly.”
“Then why not?”
“Well… Lin Zhaoxia and I are classmates in the same department. Just handing over her battle footage like this feels like selling her out…”
Liyang chuckled.
“You think too highly of me. Do you really believe that just watching her fight once will make me strong enough to defeat her? Didn’t you say it yourself? I’m just an imitation—I could never win against the real deal.”
Zhong Kun still felt that something was off.
Then, Li Yang casually added, “I didn’t realize the Zhong family and the Lin family were so close.”
Zhong Kun: “!”
Close?!
What nonsense!
Their families were bitter rivals!
Most noble families arranged marriages to strengthen alliances, but the Zhong family and the Lin family?
They refused to intermarry, from the elders down to the youngest generation.
Anyone foolish enough to date someone from the Lin family would be shunned within the Zhong household.
And the Lin family was even more ruthless—anyone who married into the Zhong family would be expelled from the Lin lineage altogether.
Li Yang’s casual remark suddenly made Zhong Kun see things differently.
Why should he care about Lin Zhaoxia?
If she lost, that would be fantastic!
Maybe his older brother would have a chance to rise to the top!
Instantly, Zhong Kun made up his mind.
“I’ll send it to you. This video cost me 500 merit points to obtain!”
Liyang: …
Rich people are so annoying.
She didn’t waste any time and started watching the video right there in the private booth.
Since it was already paid for, she intended to enjoy it to the fullest—along with the snacks and drinks.
There was even a projection system in the booth.
Zhong Kun cast the video onto the big screen.
With a deafening boom, the battle began.
Lin Zhaoxia, clad in deep black combat attire, her short dark red hair tied back, revealed her sharp and cold features.
She moved like a shadow, her twin blades flashing with a chilling light.
As she charged into the cultists’ camp, she was like a lone warrior in an empty battlefield—unstoppable.
The first-tier cultists tried to surround her, but Lin Zhaoxia was like a blood moon piercing through the darkness.
Wherever she passed, crimson streaks followed, accompanied by agonized screams.
The star technique “Fervor” engulfed her, drastically boosting her speed and explosive power.
A blood mist surrounded her, leaving behind eerie red afterimages in her wake.
Their leader, a second-tier peak cultivator, roared in fury and lunged at her, wielding two massive iron hammers.
Lin Zhaoxia leaped effortlessly, stepping on one of the hammers mid-air to propel herself forward—straight toward her enemy’s face.
Star Technique—Sky Rend.
Her twin blades, shrouded in dense star energy, slashed through the air as though tearing the heavens apart, creating a gaping rift aimed directly at the cult leader’s head.
The cult leader was no fool.
He twisted his body at the last moment, barely dodging the deadly strike before counterattacking.
But Lin Zhaoxia was faster.
Bathed in the effects of Fervor, she became a dark red blur—strike after strike, her relentless Sky Rend forced the massive cult leader into retreat.
And then—
Star Technique—Execution.
The moment the air was filled with her Sky Rend marks, the moment the words Execution echoed—
Lin Zhaoxia vanished.
In a flash, she reappeared behind the cult leader.
Blood erupted like a fountain.
His severed head rolled to the ground.
The screen froze on Lin Zhaoxia’s slender yet commanding back.
Blood dripped from her twin blades, pooling onto the filthy battlefield floor.
Even though Zhong Kun had watched this countless times, he still couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn! Our Star Combat system’s combo moves are absolutely insane!”
Any lingering thoughts of switching departments instantly disappeared.
Star Combat is the coolest!
This was his childhood dream, his lifelong ambition!
Liyang, however, simply said, “Play it again.”
Zhong Kun: “?”
Before he could react, Li Yang had already connected her phone to the projector and restarted the video.
Then she played it again.
And again.
For two whole hours.
Zhong Kun was exhausted.
“Sister… just watching won’t help you learn it.”
Li Yang remained silent and played it once more.
Zhong Kun sighed.
“Unless your mental power reaches 500 points, you won’t be able to simulate the battle for experience…”
Mental power wasn’t the same as physical strength.
It was exceedingly difficult to raise.
Even a top-tier second-tier psychic cultivator would be considered a genius with 300 mental points.
Advancing through the first and second tiers was easy.
But why did so many people get stuck at the third tier?
Because the mental power bottleneck was the true test.
However—
What Zhong Kun didn’t know was that although Li Yang hadn’t reached 500, her mental power had already hit 400.
Not enough to fully simulate battle—but more than enough to deeply comprehend techniques.
The projection flickered off.
Li Yang closed her eyes for a moment.
She had seen enough.
Tomorrow, she would head to the training grounds.
She would test what she had learned.
The Natural Department was short on money?
Even the wealthiest magnate of Zhongdu, Li Yaowan, extended a sincere invitation to them.
A department that possessed a bizarre treasure like the Tree Tower—could they really struggle with something as trivial as forgetting low-quality star techniques?
Ignorance!
Utter ignorance!
Before the screens, Lin Zhaoxia and Li Yang were placed side by side, forming a natural contrast.
The same set of moves—Lin Zhaoxia executed them seamlessly, powerfully.
Meanwhile, Li Yang imitated them rigidly, mechanically.
Though she managed to slay monsters, it was only because the combination of moves itself was overpowering.
“If I hadn’t watched Lin Zhaoxia, I’d have thought Li Yang was pretty strong.”
“The difference is brutal when you compare them.”
“A substitute will never surpass the original!”
And this was just the beginning.
Once Lin Zhaoxia advanced to the Third Grade and could wield purple-grade star techniques, the gap would widen even further.
The variations in her techniques would grow beyond imagination.
“The Star Combat Department is incredible…”
“Too bad I didn’t get accepted. Boohoo…”
Zhong Kun sighed inwardly.
Only six days left.
No matter how extraordinary Li Yang’s talent was, it would be difficult for her to surpass Lin Zhaoxia in this short period.
But then—what was he expecting?
Did he actually think Li Yang could defeat Lin Zhaoxia?
Impossible.
Li Yang wasn’t just up against Lin Zhaoxia—she might not even surpass Shen Shangchi, Ying Qi, or her own brother.
Ultimately, she had started too late.
The difference between aristocratic disciples and ordinary Starbearers would become glaringly apparent once they began absorbing star power into their bodies.
The gap would widen—immensely.
The Shock of Rapid Growth
Three days before the monthly exam.
Zhong Kun arrived at the combat training room once more.
Just as he was about to spend money on a “playback request,” he saw that someone had already queued up Li Yang’s footage.
And in just three short days—
Zhong Kun was stunned to discover that Li Yang’s mastery of the move set had reached a level of perfection.
“Holy sh*t!” He blurted out.
A senior student from the Star Combat Department beside him chuckled.
“Awesome, right, bro? Li Yang’s learning ability is terrifying. I saw her on the first day—she was still fumbling with star techniques. By the second day, it looked like she had trained for months. And now, on the third day… damn, I can’t even tell she only learned this three days ago!”
On the screen, Li Yang’s entire body was enveloped in a thick, crimson mist of “Fervor.”
Her speed surged to the extreme, her movements like a phantom.
She lunged at the alien plant, flawlessly weaving together Void Slash and Execution, eliminating the Second Grade alien plant in an instant.
“So cool!” someone couldn’t help but exclaim.
Zhong Kun swallowed hard, shifting his gaze toward Lin Zhaoxia. He let out a relieved breath.
“Ahem, Lin Zhaoxia is still stronger…”
The student next to him nodded.
“Of course. Lin Zhaoxia has been training nonstop since she enrolled. But damn, these prodigies are terrifying. Ordinary people wouldn’t grasp this move set even after a year, and they mastered it in just days!”
Zhong Kun fell silent.
He headed toward the front desk and purchased Li Yang’s training footage from the past two days.
As he watched, his breath hitched.
Her growth—was too evident.
Her learning ability—was too terrifying.
How was this even possible?
Zhong Kun could think of only one possibility:
“She must have been personally mentored by the Half-Step Supreme!”
Comparing the videos, the difference was stark. On the first day, she was unfamiliar.
On the second, she was skilled.
By the third—she had achieved mastery.
And every night, after returning to the Agriculture Department for rest, she would experience a drastic improvement the next day.
What was in the Agriculture Department?
A Half-Step Supreme.
The answer was obvious.
Li Yang’s rapid progress must have been due to secret training sessions with the master at night!
“Damn it! I want a Half-Step Supreme teacher too!”
The more prestigious one’s background, the more they understood the value of a Half-Step Supreme.
Ordinary people had never seen high-realm Starbearers in action.
Even if they knew they were powerful, they couldn’t fathom how powerful.
But aristocratic disciples—who had grown up surrounded by legends and miracles—understood all too well.
Their reverence for Grandmasters far surpassed that of commoners.
Below Seventh Grade, one was still human.
Above Seventh Grade, one was akin to a god.
And an Eighth Grade pinnacle Half-Step Supreme—was an existence beyond gods!
Burning Through Lifespan.
Li Yang had been too busy to even see her teacher, let alone receive personal guidance.
Not that she needed it.
Struggling to increase star technique experience?
Burn lifespan.
Bottleneck in physique?
Burn lifespan.
Mental strength not improving?
Burn lifespan.
If there was a problem, the answer was always the same: burn lifespan.
On the first night, her teacher, Si Kui, had only given her one piece of advice:
“Memorize ‘The Silent Nature Sutra’ word for word. Heart techniques are not to be rushed. Commit it to memory first—comprehension will come later.”
Li Yang had asked curiously,
“Teacher, I heard the Star Combat Department tempers their heart techniques through battle?”
Si Kui replied,
“Heart techniques differ. So do cultivation methods. We follow the principle of going with the flow. Use it when necessary, but never force it when it is not.”
Li Yang barely understood but didn’t ask further.
“Too much greed leads to choking. Just do as the teacher says and memorize it first.”
A Mysterious Dream.
Six days flew by.
The 5,000 contribution points Li Yang borrowed were completely spent—well, technically, she needed only 4,500, but she had killed so many monsters that she got “charged” an extra 500.
She had barely managed to accumulate 5,800 years of lifespan.
In those days:
500 years went into maxing out her physique.
1,000 years elevated three star techniques to the third tier.
500 years improved her star weapon proficiency.
And lastly, 3,000 years were poured into mental strength—the hardest stat to improve.
Just like that, her 5,800-year fortune dwindled to 800.
Out of curiosity, she attempted,
“Spend ten years enhancing ‘The Silent Nature Sutra’.”
The system did not audibly scoff at her, but its words reeked of mockery:
【Your meager talent is unworthy of such an advanced heart technique. Forcefully cultivating it will only lead to mutual ruin. Your mental strength has been reduced by 10 points.】
Li Yang:
“… Excuse me??”
The system had grown bold—it wasn’t just failing to improve, it was actively reducing her stats!
She had expected ‘The Silent Nature Sutra’ to be high-grade, but she hadn’t thought it would reject her so thoroughly!
Mental strength was too hard to raise.
On average, it took 30 years per point.
To recover that 10-point loss, she’d need 300 years.
She couldn’t afford to burn more lifespan for now.
“Fine! Let’s see if this ‘bitter melon’ still tastes bitter once I have more lifespan!”
Tomorrow was the monthly exam.
She had done everything she could. Now, it was time to perform.
“Six thousand years…” Li Yang grumbled internally.
“Who in their right mind spends six thousand years at Second Grade?”
A dream of snow and time.
That night, Li Yang fell asleep while staring at The Silent Nature Sutra.
She dreamed.
It had been a long time since she last dreamed, yet she knew she was dreaming.
She walked across a mirror-like ice surface, surrounded by mist.
A delicate fragrance filled the air—cold and pure, yet carrying a faint sweetness.
Then, through the mist, she saw him.
A man dressed in flowing, layered white robes, standing like a blooming snow lotus.
His long, silvery-white hair cascaded like a waterfall, merging into his ethereal attire.
His face remained obscured by the mist, revealing only a slender, jade-like neck and a hint of his collarbone.
He spoke, his voice as weightless as snow falling on ice:
“Daoist friend…”
The alarm clock’s shrill ring jolted Li Yang awake.
She sat up in bed, feeling strangely… empty.
She hadn’t even seen his face.
Then—
【+20 years lifespan.】
Li Yang: “???”
Where had that come from?