CSMCDB - Chapter 53
Chapter 53
Wen Yuncheng slowly exhaled. When she opened her eyes again, she felt a searing heat throughout her entire body. She got up and went through the fist techniques Yan Ling had taught her twice, feeling a sense of comfort wash over her. Moreover, she seemed to have grown a bit taller!
The effect of this Body Tempering Fruit… was truly excellent.
[Yes, after all, your physical constitution was too poor,] 1947 said.
Wen Yuncheng smiled and turned to look at Lin Jinyu. It was just a habitual glance, but she was shocked to find Lin Jinyu's face deathly pale, her energy fluctuating between strong and weak. And at the corner of her mouth, blood was seeping out?!
"What's happening!!"
[What's going on?]
The human and the system cried out in alarm almost simultaneously. Wen Yuncheng hurried over, but she had no idea what was wrong with Lin Jinyu… Could it be cultivation deviation?
[That can't be right. A forced breakthrough, maybe? But Lin Jinyu just broke through to Star Warrior 3.]
Wen Yuncheng's mind went blank. She immediately took out the beginner HP and MP potions she had been rewarded with last time. The MP potion restored Star Power, and the HP potion healed injuries; she was sure they would be useful for Lin Jinyu.
Without a second thought, Wen Yuncheng pinched Lin Jinyu's chin, poured the potions into her mouth, and then carefully wiped the bloodstains from her lips.
What on earth… was happening?
Lin Jinyu had entered her cultivation state as usual. But today, as she absorbed the power of the Stars, she suddenly sensed something was wrong. A crystal-clear white bead had abruptly appeared in her mind.
Lin Jinyu mobilized her Star Power to envelop this sudden intruder. She hadn't been mistaken earlier; she had indeed been bitten by something. The python might have swallowed this object by accident, but it had remained dormant inside its body, never activated. Lin Jinyu didn't know why it had bitten her upon contact, nor why it had suddenly appeared in her mind, but… what was this thing?
Lin Jinyu's intention in mobilizing her Star Power was to isolate the foreign object. However, the moment her Star Power enveloped the bead, it dissolved! A formidable surge of Star Power erupted within her body, and Lin Jinyu spat out a mouthful of blood. Her consciousness seemed to blur as the unfamiliar Star Power violently dispersed her own. She could feel her meridians rupturing from the explosive energy, her bones seemingly being crushed inch by inch. Yet, that same Star Power also contained an immense life force. If not for the unceasing pain, she would have felt as if she hadn't suffered any harm at all.
Lin Jinyu quickly calmed down. Even with the interference of pain, she could still ponder what that bead and the sudden burst of Star Power were. It was likely some kind of fortuitous opportunity, just one that she was currently unable to fully digest.
For a fleeting moment, Lin Jinyu thought of her father's harsh training; otherwise, she might have broken down completely in this situation. She began to try and guide that surge of Star Power. The pain was endurable—after all, if she didn't resolve this, she would die.
Such immense Star Power was naturally perfect for breaking through a cultivation bottleneck. Even though she had only recently reached Star Warrior 3, it was clear she had no other choice under the circumstances.
Again and again, she charged at the bottleneck. The vast Star Power gradually began to merge with her own. Lin Jinyu became completely calm. As she focused on breaking through, the physical and mental agony seemed to vanish entirely.
[Maybe… didn't Lin Jinyu say she seemed to have been injured by something?] 1947 looked at Wen Yuncheng's reddened eyes and guessed, [The giant python might have eaten something. Seeing as Lin Jinyu is breaking through… it should be a fortuitous opportunity.]
"If it were a safe opportunity, Lin Jinyu wouldn't be in this state," Wen Yuncheng said, gritting her teeth.
[There's nothing to be done. She has to get through this on her own. Look, you've been watching for so long… huh.] 1947 was still trying to comfort her when it suddenly noticed that the turbulent Star Power inside Lin Jinyu's body had calmed down. [She's fine! She's fine! She must have succeeded!]
Wen Yuncheng stared blankly, watching as the Star Power within Lin Jinyu stabilized. Her rank had changed from Star Warrior 3 to Star Master 1. The breakthrough… was a success.
Lin Jinyu kept her eyes closed, refining the remaining Star Power to solidify her foundation. It seemed she wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.
Wen Yuncheng sat by Lin Jinyu's side without leaving for even a moment, staying until the early morning. Only then did Lin Jinyu open her eyes. The first thing she saw was Wen Yuncheng staring at her with eager eyes. Wen Yuncheng had clearly been up all night; her eyes were bloodshot, and she looked haggard and fragile.
"Sorry, I didn't know this would happen." Lin Jinyu frowned slightly. "Why don't you get some rest first?"
"Are you really okay? Will there be any side effects? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?"
"No, it was some kind of Star Power entity. It was probably left behind by a deceased senior and was randomly eaten by the giant python, which was never able to digest it." As Lin Jinyu spoke, she was suddenly filled with emotion. "Every time I'm with you, my luck is exceptionally good."
Wen Yuncheng sniffled, ultimately holding back the words that whoever wanted such a dangerous opportunity could have it. She lowered her head and wiped away a tear. The knowledge that Lin Jinyu was truly okay finally put her heart at ease. As her taut nerves relaxed, she was overwhelmed by a wave of drowsiness and exhaustion.
"Go rest. I'll keep watch here," Lin Jinyu said comfortingly. Wen Yuncheng's subtle movement of wiping away her tears had not escaped her eyes. Lin Jinyu knew Wen Yuncheng must have been worried all night, but she herself hadn't anticipated this and couldn't have made any guarantees.
In that moment, the joy of advancing to Star Master seemed less intense.
She was actually a Star Master now.
Lin Jinyu watched as Wen Yuncheng, her nose red, lay down in her sleeping bag. It wasn't until Wen Yuncheng was sound asleep that she raised her hand to look at her already healed wound. Who could have imagined that coming here to find a spirit fruit, merely intending to collect the corpse of a Star Lord-level demonic beast, could lead to such an opportunity?
It seemed that as long as she was with Wen Yuncheng, she would encounter such opportunities. The last time it was the cave, and this time it was the bead.
What moved Lin Jinyu even more was that Wen Yuncheng showed not a hint of jealousy or dissatisfaction. For her, there was only wholehearted care and worry, as well as joy for her advancement. …To think there was such a person in the world.
For what felt like the hundredth time, Lin Jinyu had this thought again.
A dear friend? Lin Jinyu thought of what Qiu Fei had said: a partner with whom you could fight side-by-side, entrust your back, and even entrust your life… Looking at the sleeping Wen Yuncheng, Lin Jinyu wondered, did Wen Yuncheng consider her a dear friend?
The Beast Tide didn't officially end until late November.
On the day of their return journey, Wen Yuncheng had reached level 29, just a step away from level 30. Meanwhile, Lin Jinyu had completely familiarized herself with her abilities as a Star Master 1 and was working toward Star Master 2.
Host: Wen Yuncheng
Race: Human
Age: 16
Class: Mechanical Master
Level: 29
Experience: 15205/16000
Points: 1267
When Qiu Fei saw Lin Jinyu in town, she almost couldn't believe her eyes. She had guessed that Lin Jinyu might break through to Star Warrior 3 during the Beast Tide, but she never would have imagined that she would leap straight to Star Master 1! It was simply incredible, unheard of!
Of course, after hearing Lin Jinyu's calm account of the "opportunity," Qiu Fei felt a wave of lingering fear. If any other junior had encountered that bead and had that massive amount of Star Power explode inside their body during cultivation, they would have been scared out of their wits. Who would have thought to control it and advance? It would have been extremely lucky just to avoid exploding and dying.
Yan Ling, on the other hand, ruffled Wen Yuncheng's hair and asked her if she had gained anything. Wen Yuncheng replied that she was probably about to advance to Star Master 1 as well. Yan Ling encouraged her, "That's perfect. When you get back, have a sparring match with Yao Mu. It'll help you advance faster."
To this, Wen Yuncheng could only smile and agree.
With this year's Beast Tide over, they had to prepare for the Academy Exchange Tournament. As two of Star Academy's most outstanding students, Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu were bound to attract a great deal of attention. This was especially true for Wen Yuncheng. Even though the imperial family had suppressed the news, those with connections could still find out the real reason for the Third Prince's confinement and would naturally pay more attention to this junior.
Although Wen Yuncheng was now at Star Academy, under Yan Ling's care, and would likely have ties to the Star Auction House in the future, so what? The auction house's business didn't conflict with the interests of some families or sects, and many people were still inclined to try and win Wen Yuncheng over.
As for Lin Jinyu, while she was also exceptionally talented, she was destined to be the next Sect Master of the Flowing Cloud Sect. Those other powers naturally wouldn't focus their attention on her. After all, no matter how outstanding she was, she could never be one of their own.
"Fight seriously with Yao Mu. Don't use things like turrets and guardians. Focus on studying attacks and dodging them. Your physical fitness has improved a lot, but you still need to keep working hard." Yan Ling said, "This continent is vast, with many different powers. The Imperial Capital is the center, and it's very peaceful in its vicinity, but other places are not. If you were to leave the Imperial Capital one day, you might very well be attacked."
"Like with the Third Prince?"
"…The incident with the Third Prince was a children's squabble. I'm talking about the kind that wants to take your life." Yan Ling was a little speechless. She continued, "Where there are righteous factions, there are naturally evil cults. There are also some dark forces on the continent. They hide in the corners, occasionally stirring up trouble and causing tragedies to make their presence known, as disgusting as rats."
"Isn't the Empire always trying to eliminate them?" Wen Yuncheng had, of course, heard of such things, but she had never encountered them—after all, Holy Star City was a small place, the outskirts of the Demonic Beast Great Forest were heavily guarded by the Empire, and the Imperial Capital was the central region. She had always lived in safe places.
"Who knows? They can never be completely wiped out." Yan Ling scoffed. At the border between black and white, there were always gray areas. She patted Wen Yuncheng's shoulder and said, "The Academy Exchange Tournament is being held at Breeze Academy this time. On someone else's turf, you always have to be more careful and vigilant."
"I understand. I'll be careful." Wen Yuncheng agreed, and was then pushed by Yan Ling to go and get some rest. After all… Yan Ling had already arranged a sparring match for her with Yao Mu.
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