Star Gathering and Star Net

This Star Light Grass's soul ring had not even reached the so-called age limit for a second soul ring, so absorbing it went quickly.

Xu Mingxi opened his eyes, and the second yellow soul ring above his Star Crown Martial Soul lit up.

A brilliant golden light shot from the Star Crown and pierced straight through a distant tree.

"Mingxi, is this soul ring of yours the assault-type Star Light Ray?"

The First Elder crowded over in concern. His First Soul Skill was this too.

"Yes. My Second Soul Skill, Star Gathering, lets me gather starlight and shoot it out like just now.

As my cultivation improves, the speed, strength, and number of Star Gatherings will all increase.

And most importantly, it seems to have strengthened my connection with starlight."

"What a Star Gathering. A fine name."

Their goal in coming to the Star Dou Great Forest had been perfectly completed.

Naturally, they would not let the two children walk back on their own. The two elders each carried one, and in only a few days, they returned to the Star Crown Sect.

The First Elder also conveniently brought the Starry Tiger along. The sect did not lack that one extra mouth to feed.

Who knew, perhaps some disciple might use it in the future. At worst, they could kill it and eat the meat.

"Sect Master, that is what happened."

"Good. Just as I expected, Star Light Grass can indeed grant the ability to condense starlight.

The only thing beyond my expectations is that it actually came with a Star Light Ray soul skill as a bonus.

Its current power has already surpassed the second soul skills of ordinary soul masters. In the future, as Mingxi's strength increases, the power of this ray will certainly increase as well."

In the main hall, the Sect Master listened to the First Elder's report. Even he had no choice but to sigh at Xu Mingxi's good fortune.

The soul skill Mingxi obtained further proved that the path the Star Ancestor had once envisioned was correct.

Perhaps this was the proper way to cultivate the Star Crown Martial Soul. It was just that most people's sensitivity to the stars was too poor, and someone able to absorb a Star Calling Soul Skill was a rarity seen once in a thousand years.

"First Elder, you must protect this grandson of yours well. He is the future of our Star Crown Sect."

"Like I need you to tell me that."

The two old men, whose ages added together exceeded a hundred and fifty, looked at each other and laughed.

Xu Mingxi's existence made them far too happy.

But Xu Mingxi himself, on the other side, was not so happy.

"Vine Elder, can you put me down now?"

"Wait a moment. Let me take another careful look.

That's not right. You brat, could you really have an affinity with the stars?"

After Xu Mingxi returned to the sect and met his parents, he thought of continuing to cultivate beneath the Starry Tree.

Who would have thought that the moment he circulated his Soul Power, Vine Elder would hoist him up.

"Vine Elder, I really don't know what you're talking about.

I only went and absorbed a second soul ring, that's all."

Vine Elder refused to believe it. He dangled Xu Mingxi and spun him around, but could not see anything unusual at all.

"You little child are way too strange. Your sensitivity to the stars is almost catching up to mine when I first became a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast.

You must know, I am a Star Seeking Vine born bathed in starlight. How could you, a human, possibly be like this?"

Vine Elder could not make sense of it no matter how he thought. After putting Xu Mingxi down, he shrank back into the tree and went off to shut himself away.

The dizzy Xu Mingxi was set on the ground, but he could not stand steady at all and plopped down on his butt.

Damn it, my ass. You Old Deng, if you treat me like this again, I'll use you as my soul ring one day.

Xu Mingxi simply did not get up.

Cultivate, cultivate. Sooner or later, he would use Old Deng as a whip and lash people with him.

The days of cultivating on the mountain were always dull. In the blink of an eye, Xu Mingxi had reached twelve years old, and his strength had also reached the Soul Elder level.

At twelve, Xu Mingxi looked at himself in the mirror. A height of one meter sixty, simple short golden hair, paired with a handsome face—an absolutely proper blond delinquent.

Just half a year ago, at eleven and a half, Xu Mingxi had officially reached rank thirty. He was only one soul ring away from becoming a "Master"-level expert.

This time, he did not wait for Xu Mingguang. His grandfather took him directly to the Star Dou Great Forest.

It had to be said, soul beasts suitable for Xu Mingxi were truly hard to find, let alone ones whose age also matched the requirements.

The grandfather and grandson searched for almost half a year before finally finding the soul beast they needed in a cave.

A Weaving Light Spider that had just reached the level of a Thousand Year Soul Beast.

At first, Xu Mingxi had wanted to train his actual combat ability a little, but who would have thought that the Star Light Ray he shot out would be caught directly by the Weaving Light Spider.

In its hands, the starlight seemed even more nimble than it was in the hands of Xu Mingxi, its original owner.

The ray he had just shot was instantly woven by it into a giant net, which came lunging toward Xu Mingxi.

"Grandpa, save me."

In the end, Xu Mingxi and his grandfather went on an absolute rampage together and took down the Weaving Light Spider.

As the purple soul ring drifted above the Star Crown, Xu Mingxi opened his eyes.

Without his grandfather needing to say a word, Xu Mingxi's third soul ring lit up, and starlight shifted through different forms in his hands.

One moment it was a ray, the next a giant net, then a shield.

The Third Soul Skill the Weaving Light Spider had brought Xu Mingxi was called Star Net.

At the same time, it improved his control over starlight, allowing him to manipulate starlight into some simple forms.

Seemingly affected by the Weaving Light Spider's soul ring, the starlight net Xu Mingxi wove now had the same toughness as a spiderweb.

After absorbing the Weaving Light Spider's soul ring, Xu Mingxi's Soul Power directly reached rank thirty-two, which could barely be counted as having some ability to protect himself.

Moreover, according to the Star Crown Sect's rules, soul masters who reached the age of twelve had to go out and train on their own.

Because Xu Mingxi had been obtaining his soul ring, he had already been delayed for a while. Xu Mingguang had set out as early as half a year ago.

So, as soon as Xu Mingxi returned to the sect and finished settling in, he came to the Sect Master Hall.

"Grandpa Sect Master, where did Brother Mingguang go? Am I going with him too?"

"Mingxi, you're here. Come, sit down. According to the sect's training rules, you have to train on your own.

Your Brother Mingguang is in Star Luo City now. A while ago, he even sent a letter saying his Soul Power had broken through to rank twenty-eight."

"Really? That's great. In another half a year or so, Brother Mingguang should be able to reach rank thirty too."

"More or less. Never mind him. As for you, Mingxi, it's about time you went out to train as well."

True powerhouses could not be raised in a greenhouse. Xu Mingxi understood that principle.

He had come this time precisely to ask the sect master about going out to train.

"Then Grandpa Sect Master, where am I going to train?"

The sect master thought for a while. Star Crown Sect disciples usually went to the various academies, but which academy to choose was the problem.

The two Royal Academies could not be chosen. The Star Crown Sect could not get swept into the conflict between the Two Great Empires.

Spirit Hall and the elemental academies were not good choices either; they simply were not suited to the Star Crown Martial Soul.

In his heart, the sect master still had a bit of goodwill toward Spirit Hall. Back when he had trained outside, he had even gone to Spirit Hall to collect a subsidy.

It was just that the current Spirit Hall was somewhat chaotic. That Acting Pope was no wise man.

Immediately afterward, the sect master saw the name of a special academy.

Canghui Academy, an academy with considerable experience in cultivating owners of gemstone-type tool martial souls. The Star Crown Sect had once had several members go there to study as well.

Furthermore, the kingdom near Canghui Academy had countless intricate ties with the Star Crown Sect.

"Mingxi, what do you think of this Canghui Academy?"

Huh? Looking at the academy name the sect master pointed out before him, Xu Mingxi was a little stunned.

Canghui Academy—wasn't that the minor villain? It seemed the students who took part in the Soul Master Competition had all been turned into idiots by Tang San, right?

"Sect Master, then I'll go to this academy."

"Good. In the sect, your Uncle Fangzhuo once studied at Canghui and knows the current principal. When the time comes, he'll take you there."

The sect master had another purpose in asking Xu Fangzhuo to take him there: he wanted him to discuss something with the principal.

They had to avoid Xu Mingxi's bone-age test upon enrollment and change his age to seventeen.

A twelve-year-old Soul Elder was still far too conspicuous.

Xu Fangzhuo was currently fifty-nine years old, a rank sixty-five control-system Battle Soul Emperor, and he and the current Canghui Academy Principal were good friends who had once participated in the national Soul Master Competition together.

The sect master believed he could absolutely handle Mingxi's enrollment properly.

"Mm-hm. Then Sect Master, I'll head back first. Tomorrow, I'll go find Uncle Fangzhuo."

"Good. Be careful on the road."

The sect master looked wistfully at Xu Mingxi as he walked out. If he could, he truly did not want to let Mingxi go.

But for Xu Mingxi's growth, he still hardened his heart and let him go out to make his way in the world.

That said, he still had to take some precautions. The sect master had someone summon the Second Elder over.

"Second Elder, I'll entrust Mingxi's safety to you."

"Sect Master, don't worry. With me here, absolutely no one can harm little Mingxi."

The Second Elder had that confidence. The current her was a rank ninety-one control-system Titled Douluo, with soul rings of two yellow, two purple, and five black.

Over these six years, the sect's elders had not made no progress at all. Most had risen by one or two ranks, and the Second Elder had even broken through her bottleneck and directly reached Titled Douluo.

Wishing everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a reunited family.