Half a Month of Rapid Progress

Lin Zhen spent the most peaceful and happy time since coming to Star Fruit Tree in her little nest.

Sometimes he would go hunting Mutated Beast with Su Mingyue and look for Star Crystal nearby. If there were any Mutated Beast that were edible, Lin Zhen would bring them back and cook them into something delicious.

Thanks to their diligent search, they made considerable progress during this period, finding more than a dozen Star Core Crystal, more than a dozen Meteor Crystal, nine Comet Crystal, and even a Planet Crystal at a high place.

Lin Zhen absorbed all the smaller Star Crystal, because Su Mingyue was Level Nine War General, so absorbing them wouldn't have any effect on her.

Su Mingyue absorbed only one Planet Crystal, which improved her Dantian Qi somewhat, but she still hadn't reached the Level Nine Peak. At this stage, she needed to absorb Star Crystal to see a noticeable effect.

With the Comet Crystal left behind by Lin Zhen, he finally reached the Level Four Late Stage, almost at the peak.

In their spare time, the two would spar with each other. When Lin Zhen fought against Su Mingyue, he realized how strong she was. He tried his best but still lost repeatedly. Only when he occasionally got the first move and unleashed the Lightning Long River could he suppress Su Mingyue for a while.

However, Su Mingyue always managed to find a way to retaliate. In their numerous clashes, Lin Zhen's win rate was consistently zero.

Moreover, Lin Zhen discovered that Su Mingyue had an exceptionally strong memory. She could mimic Lin Zhen's moves perfectly after watching them only a few times, truly deserving of the title of genius.

However, Lin Zhen's progress is also obvious. It is becoming increasingly difficult for Su Mingyue to beat him. Every time she wins, Su Mingyue is drenched in sweat. If it is simply a contest of physical strength, she is still a little worse than Lin Zhen.

At this time of year, Lin Zhen's task was to act as a guard, observing whether anyone was approaching, while Su Mingyue would go to the pool to bathe. Lin Zhen was also very dutiful in his vigilance, and although he was quite emotional, he never peeked at her.

At night, the two of them would chat, stargaze, and then each cultivate their own spiritual practices.

Su Mingyue was also very hardworking, and her cultivation time was no less than Lin Zhen's. However, Lin Zhen did not ask her what she was cultivating, as this was a rule among martial artists.

Lin Zhen's progress in absorbing the Star Core was accelerating day by day. He had told Su Mingyue from the beginning that he would have half a month to complete his cultivation, and then the two of them would leave.

The first time Lin Zhen absorbed three hundred strands of Gold Qi, he absorbed five hundred strands the next night, because he gradually became more accustomed to the pain and it was no longer so unbearable.

On the third night, Lin Zhen absorbed eight hundred Dao.

On the fourth day, a full thousand strands of Gold Qi appeared, but that was pretty much the limit.

For the next five or six days, the number of incantations increased by a thousand each day, and the Gold Qi at the Star Core was rapidly decreasing.

Every morning when Lin Zhen was in excruciating pain, Su Mingyue would quietly come over, wipe away Lin Zhen's sweat, sit down beside her, let Lin Zhen's Lin Zhen rest on her soft, jade-like legs, and gently massage Lin Zhen's muscles to relieve the pain.

Her long hair fell loosely, and the girl's fragrance wafted over. Lin Zhen closed her eyes, and the atmosphere around her was warm yet somewhat ambiguous.

At this moment, Su Mingyue's face would also turn slightly red. She knew that this was not good, but seeing Lin Zhen in so much pain always made her feel bad. If this could make Lin Zhen feel better, then she was willing to do it.

This continued for twelve days. On the night of the twelfth day, Lin Zhen finally absorbed the last trace of Gold Qi from the Star Core!

At this moment, his Dantian finally began to change.

To be precise, it was the Dark Star floating in the Dantian that changed!

Above the Dark Star, streams of Gold Qi circulated and merged with Lightning Ions. Because they were both within the Dantian and connected by Dantian Qi, the two did not repel each other and even merged perfectly together.

"Metallic energy Unstoppable and extremely sharp. It can be emitted from the body alone or applied to weapons."

"However, the metallic aura has a drawback: it's not very fast. But now that it's fused with Lightning Ions, this drawback has been overcome. I can try out its effects now."

Lin Zhen opened his eyes. It was midnight. He suddenly raised his hand, his target still the same tree trunk he had failed to reach before!

With a single hand gesture, Lin Zhen's palm crackled with Electric Light, illuminating the swaying shadows of the surrounding trees!

"Go!"

Hundreds of Gold Qi shot out from Lin Zhen's palm, striking the tree trunk in almost a fraction of a second!

"Puff puff puff puff puff!"

A flurry of sawdust flew through the air. In the flash of Electric Light, Lin Zhen saw that the part of the tree trunk that had been hit, an area of about several tens of square centimeters, had been riddled with countless tiny holes.

The Gold Qi pierced through the tree trunk and continued flying forward, piercing through several Leaf before finally disappearing from Lin Zhen's sight.

"Such formidable power! This Gold Qi is truly Unstoppable. Combined with the speed of the Lightning Ions, its destructive power is multiplied."

"To deal with ordinary enemies, I don't even need to use weapons. This Gold Qi sneak attack is enough to kill most opponents."

"This is only in combination with Lightning Ions. If I can comprehend the power of Lightning Photon, then the power of the Gold Qi should be further enhanced."

Having lost hundreds of strands of Gold Qi at once, the Dark Star within Lin Zhen's body began to rotate. Lin Zhen could clearly feel the Gold Qi regenerating. As long as it wasn't all used up at once, with the Dark Star present, Lin Zhen's Gold Qi would never run out.

After testing the release of Gold Qi, Lin Zhen stood up again and took out his Bright Silver Spear.

With a thought, Gold Qi was injected, and the Bright Silver Spear immediately changed. The original silver spear body turned into a combination of gold and silver, and its strength increased by more than double.

"Very good. My Bright Silver Spear isn't exactly a rare divine weapon, its market value is only thirty million, but with the enhancement of Gold Qi, its power is second only to Star Artifact!"

Lin Zhen had possessed Star Artifact in his previous life. Although it wasn't top-tier, it was still quite good. He certainly knew the importance of a good weapon.

The Bright Silver Spear was only so-so, but after being enhanced by the Gold Qi, although it was still inferior to Star Artifact, it had surpassed any weapon that could be bought on the market.

After testing the Bright Silver Spear, Lin Zhen then infused the Liquid Metal with Gold Qi.

The Liquid Metal was originally silver, but after being infused with Gold Qi, it turned completely golden, and its strength and hardness increased by more than one level, essentially reaching the level of a divine weapon.

In addition to obtaining the powerful weapon of Gold Qi, Lin Zhen's other ability was also enhanced, namely Gravity!

He had previously absorbed a Star Core, Gravity was already very useful, providing Lin Zhen with tremendous assistance in many battles. Now that he has absorbed a second one, its Gravity has immediately doubled.

When Lin Zhen forcefully pulled up a broken, enormous tree trunk, Lin Zhen knew that his Gravity was now powerful enough to deal with ordinary Junior God of War in battle.

The attracted tree was released with a loud thud.

Sensing some movement behind him, Lin Zhen turned around and saw Su Mingyue standing behind him.

Today, Su Mingyue wore a light blue dress, her long hair was gathered to one side of her pink neck, her hands were placed in front of her lower abdomen, and she looked at Lin Zhen with some hesitation.

"Ming Yue, what's wrong? Aren't you practicing your skills?" Lin Zhen asked.

"No, I was watching you practice your skills."

"Ah! You're looking at me. How long have you been staring?"

"I've been watching all night."

Why didn't you call me?

Su Mingyue glanced at Lin Zhen: "Your skills seem to have improved a lot. Have you succeeded in almost everything?"

Lin Zhen nodded with some joy. "Yes, it's basically all done. I've also absorbed the Comet Crystal here. We can finally leave and go find more Star Crystal."

"Congratulations! You said it would take half a month to succeed, but you succeeded in just twelve days."

"Yes, my plan was for half a month, but I've moved it up by three days."

"So, shall we leave here tomorrow morning?" Su Mingyue asked again.

Lin Zhen nodded. He had basically completed everything he needed to do here. He had learned the Lightning Spear River, absorbed the Gold Qi Star Core, strengthened his Gravity, and significantly improved his realm. In fact, after this period of cultivation, his Mental Power had also improved considerably. He had taken a big step forward on the path to the Mid-Stage Golden Realm and was officially beginning his march towards the Golden Stage Late Phase.

Now, compared to when he first entered the Star Fruit Tree, his strength has increased dramatically. He is confident that once he leaves, he will no longer need to hide and will be able to compete with other students, and even some Old Trainee.

If that's the case, why stay here? He and Su Mingyue have explored the surrounding area and can't find any more Star Crystal.

Su Mingyue's expression seemed to dim for a moment, then she raised her head and smiled at Lin Zhen, "It's okay, then call me tomorrow morning to go together."

After saying that, Su Mingyue returned to Lin Zhen's little nest, seemingly to go to sleep.

Lin Zhen paused for a moment, then a knowing smile appeared on her face.

The next morning, Lin Zhen didn't ask Su Mingyue to leave. Instead, he continued to cook delicious food. In the past few days, he had discovered that the flower buds inside the fruit trees were edible, so he specially made a plate of stir-fried dishes. It didn't matter if he didn't have a pot, Liquid Metal could change at any time.

Su Mingyue finished her meal rather unhappily. Lin Zhen still didn't say she was leaving. Instead, she pulled Su Mingyue to stargaze. Even in the daytime, the bushes were dim. Lin Zhen told Su Mingyue many stories, half-jokingly and half-jokingly, which finally made Su Mingyue relax. She seemed to realize that Lin Zhen didn't intend to leave immediately.

Weaving vines to swing on, making delicious food, telling stories—for three days, the two of them didn't practice their skills, but simply lived there, seemingly forgetting everything outside.

On the morning of the fourth day, after Lin Zhen had finished taking a bath, Su Mingyue, on guard, said to Lin Zhen, "Idol, I've had a very happy few days, but we should leave now. We are martial artists, we can't indulge in pleasure."

Lin Zhen gave a wry smile, wondering who was indulging in pleasure.

The two packed their things and prepared to leave.

Su Mingyue looked back at the clear pool of water, her eyes filled with reluctance.

"I think I will definitely come back here. Remember that," Su Mingyue murmured, though it was unclear who she was speaking to.

Today's bonus chapter is the third one, added to the 60 monthly votes for today. Thank you all for your support in getting Hei Tu on the list!