Star Lord

Liang Ji's consciousness wandered through the boundless void, like a fish swimming beneath the sea, like a bird flying through the sky. He knew not how much time had passed or how many light-years he had crossed.

Suddenly, he sensed a massive star ahead, drawing him toward it.

In the next instant, his consciousness was like a weary bird returning to its nest, or a comet streaking toward the sun, crashing into the enormous star.

Hmmm!

In his daze, he seemed to hear a dragon's roar.

Liang Ji's eyes flew open. His vision gradually focused, and he took in the scene before him.

He was in a brightly lit classroom, seated at his desk. Floating before him was a bronze mirror that shimmered with starlight. On its gleaming surface, a massive star seemed to turn, then slowly faded from view.

A few lines of information appeared on the bronze mirror.

Star Lord: Liang Ji.

Cultivation: None.

Natal Star: Unnamed.

Star Diameter: 333 kilometers.

Star Composition: Earth (77%), Metal (23%).

Spirit Vein: None.

Vassals: None.

Dao Fruit: None.

As he read the information, his thoughts gradually returned.

He was on Sky Snake Star, in Xiūshé City, at Second High School, Senior Three Class Seven. He was taking part in the ceremony to awaken his Natal Star.

In the primordial universe, across the sea of stars, the path of cultivation had developed for countless years and blossomed into a hundred schools. The Celestial Immortal Path, Earth Immortal Path, Human Immortal Path, Immortal Deity Path, Ghost Immortal Path, Qi Refiner Path, and others each had their own strengths.

But the most orthodox path, and the only one that offered the possibility of transcending the mortal realm and becoming a sage, was the Celestial Immortal Path, also known as the Path of the Star Lord.

To become a Star Lord, the first step was to awaken one's Natal Star.

The Star Lord Alliance, abbreviated as the Star Alliance, possessed a Xiantian Spiritual Treasure called the Celestial Star Array Diagram.

Humans on the Main Stars under the Star Alliance's jurisdiction were granted one free opportunity after turning eighteen. With the Celestial Star Array Diagram's help, they could send their spirits into the starry void, seek out and refine their Natal Stars.

Success made them Star Lords, allowing them to embark on the path of cultivating as Celestial Immortals.

Sky Snake Star was one of the Main Stars under the Star Alliance's jurisdiction. Liang Ji had just used the Starlight Treasure Mirror before him to connect with the Celestial Star Array Diagram and locate and refine his Natal Star.

The information displayed on the Starlight Treasure Mirror was about him and his Natal Star.

Ding!

A clear chime rang out from the front. Liang Ji looked up. At the lectern stood a tall, lean, middle-aged man—his homeroom teacher, surnamed Zhou.

"Three students in our class successfully awakened their Natal Stars this time."

"The rest of you shouldn't lose heart. Becoming a Star Lord isn't the only path to immortality. You can achieve immortality through other paths of cultivation, too."

Then he looked at the only three students in the class who had awakened their Natal Stars, a faint smile on his face. "Peng Yue, Liang Ji, Fang Xiaohan, bring your Starlight Treasure Mirrors and come with me."

Liang Ji and the other two were the ones who had successfully found and refined their Natal Stars. At Teacher Zhou's words, they rose, picked up the bronze mirrors shimmering with starlight, and left their desks.

They followed their homeroom teacher, Teacher Zhou, out of the classroom, with the envious gazes of more than forty classmates on their backs.

From then on, they would walk different roads, and find themselves on different platforms and in different social strata.

They arrived at the school auditorium, where more than a dozen people were already waiting. They were students from other Senior Three classes who had awakened their Natal Stars, along with their homeroom teachers.

When Teacher Zhou arrived with the students, a teacher he knew greeted him. "Old Zhou, three students in your class awakened this time. Not bad!"

"You three, find somewhere to sit for now," Teacher Zhou instructed them, then went over to the teacher who had greeted him. The teachers gathered together, chatting and laughing.

Liang Ji and the other two exchanged glances. Fang Xiaohan smiled. "Let's sit over there."

She pointed to a row of seats. Liang Ji and Peng Yue had no objections, and they sat down.

Of the three, Peng Yue was a cool, reserved girl, and Liang Ji was steady and thoughtful. Neither was talkative. Fang Xiaohan was the only one who chatted a little, saying that they were classmates and should look out for one another from now on.

Liang Ji observed the auditorium. The students who had arrived earlier were also gathered in their own groups. Some groups had just one person, while the largest had no more than four. They had all awakened their Natal Stars, and would likely be classmates in the same class for the coming school year.

Many people were secretly sizing up the others.

He turned his gaze to the front of the auditorium. Above the dais hung a portrait. At first glance, it showed an elderly man with white hair and the rosy complexion of a youth. But looking closer, Liang Ji saw that the man's features were indistinct, as if impossible to make out or remember.

Liang Ji knew it was a portrait of the Sky Snake Sage.

Sky Snake Star was the Sky Snake Sage's Natal Star. After the Sky Snake Sage transcended and ascended to sagehood, the Sky Snake Star he left behind became one of the human Main Stars under the Star Alliance's jurisdiction.

Over the next ten minutes or so, more than a dozen students who had awakened their Natal Stars arrived, bringing the number of students in the auditorium to over thirty.

As far as he knew, Xiūshé City's Second High School had twelve Senior Three classes, each with about forty students, for a total of around five hundred. Yet only a little over thirty students had awakened their Natal Stars this time—a rate of less than one in ten.

And that rate had already been raised as high as possible after countless years of development in the Star Alliance's world.

One of the teachers who had been talking stepped forward and tapped the chime on the dais. Its clear ring drew everyone's attention.

"All right, the students from all twelve Senior Three classes who awakened their Natal Stars this school year have arrived. Everyone, quiet down and take your seats. Let's welcome the principal."

Starlight appeared on the dais and condensed into a figure: an imposing elderly man whose gaze swept over the students like a torch, bearing down on them.

"Another Star Lord Class has been formed. This time, thirty-four students awakened their Natal Stars. Excellent!"

"First, I want to congratulate you on embarking on a road that reaches straight to the heavens. If you remain serious and work hard, every one of you will have a chance to ascend and become a sage."

"Second, I want you to understand that Star Lords possess more than glory, power, benefits, and a promising future. They must also bear the greatest responsibilities, burdens, and dangers—and even make sacrifices!"

The principal spoke for half an hour, talking about honor and responsibility. It was mostly the same old speech. Everyone in the audience looked attentive, but their minds had wandered God knew where.

When he finished, he turned to the side of the dais. "Teacher Du, I'll leave things to you now."

"Yes, Principal."

Teacher Du was the one who had rung the chime earlier, a kind-faced, stout middle-aged man. He bowed to the principal and walked up onto the dais.

The principal, formed from condensed starlight, dissolved into starlight and vanished.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Du Chengze. I will be responsible for teaching our school's Star Lord Class over the coming school year."

"Today is the day you awakened your Natal Stars, so I won't keep you any longer. You should head home and share your joy with your families."

"You'll have seven days off. Rest well during that time and strengthen your connection with your Natal Stars."

"Come back to school in seven days. The school will provide each of you with a first-order Void Monster Demon Core to help your Natal Star cultivate a First-Order Spiritual Vein and nurture its star vassals."

"Of course, if any of you aren't satisfied with the Demon Cores the school provides, your families can buy a suitable one themselves."

"But be absolutely careful. The Void Monster's Demon Core will be fused into your Natal Star, so this is of the utmost importance! Be sure to buy a Demon Core of verified origin through a legitimate source."

"Never casually fuse any Demon Core of unknown origin into your Natal Star!"

"Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it could even put your life in danger, and then it'll be too late for regrets."