Mutation and Pay-to-Win (Seeking Support)

Among Xiūshé City's ten high schools, six newly ascended Star Lord students had fallen in this unexpected incident, leaving six stars as trial grounds.

The Star Lord vassals participating in each trial team had not been notified in advance which trial star they would be teleported to. They had to determine their own location first.

Fang Xiaohan's vassals were clearly quite skilled at this. If they could not immediately ascertain their surroundings, terrain, location, and other information, how could they carry out the best stealth, exploration, and assassination?

Liang Ji saw more than a dozen figures emerge from among Fang Xiaohan's dim, diminutive Shadow Serpentfolk. Together, they raised a jade ruler. Starlight flowed within it, revealing a scale.

A Rune Artifact—the Star Measuring Ruler! It could roughly measure a star's diameter.

However, as it was only a Rune Artifact, it could basically only measure the diameters of First Rank stars and below.

Yet Liang Ji was already deeply astonished. The tools and magical artifacts used by star vassals had to be forged by the vassals themselves within their Natal Star. At most, a Star Lord could provide blueprints for tools and magical artifacts.

The armor, battle-axes, shields, and other equipment used by the Half-Demon Dragonfolk on Dragon Soul Star had all been made from blueprints Liang Ji provided. Only then could the Half-Demon Dragonfolk vassals mine iron ore, draw upon earthfire, and forge them.

But that armor, those battle-axes, shields, and the like were merely ordinary tools, and the Half-Demon Dragonfolk who forged them were only ordinary blacksmiths.

Yet Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk vassals could already manufacture Rune Artifacts. This showed that a Rune Master had already been cultivated among his vassals.

"The gap is even greater than I expected!"

Liang Ji felt somewhat helpless.

At this time, those Shadow Serpentfolk had already measured the star's diameter at roughly between 3,000 and 3,500 kilometers.

That was nearly three times the diameter of Liang Ji's Dragon Soul Star.

"Another pay-to-win player."

Liang Ji cursed inwardly.

Before refining their Natal Stars, Star Lords were merely ordinary people. The differences in their soul power were limited, so their initial Natal Stars were generally about the same size.

Afterward, the best way to expand a Natal Star was to refine Demon Cores or all manner of spiritual treasures into it.

For example, Liang Ji's Dragon Soul Star initially had a diameter of only 333 kilometers. After refining a First Rank Demon Core into it, its diameter increased to 700 kilometers. Only after later refining Five-Element Spirit Seeds such as the Essence of Breathing Soil, Tianyi Jellyfish, and Essence Gold Mother Ore did it grow to its present diameter of 1,086 kilometers.

Yet this trial star's diameter had directly reached over 3,000 kilometers. It had undoubtedly absorbed many spiritual treasures.

But the things that could be refined into a Natal Star to expand its area and origin were resources such as Spirit Roots, Spirit Seeds, and mother ores. They were treasures that Star Coins basically could not buy and could only be purchased with Spirit Stones.

Liang Ji had signed investment contracts with Shan De Lou and Bai Cao Group, receiving an investment of 20,000 Low-grade Spirit Stones. That was only enough for him to complete the most basic Five-Element Foundation Establishment. He did not dare spend the remaining Spirit Stones recklessly, saving them until his vassals had cultivated their bloodline inheritances and skills. Then, according to the needs of those bloodline inheritances and skills, he would purchase the necessary Spirit Roots, Spirit Seeds, and other treasures to refine into his Natal Star.

This trial star had clearly refined many spiritual treasures. Its diameter had nearly been raised to the limit of a First-Order Star.

"Then there's no need to measure any other data. Among these six trial stars, only Chen Yuan of Fifth High School had a Natal Star with a diameter exceeding 3,000 kilometers."

"We've gotten lucky this time. We should be able to harvest quite a few spiritual treasures and Spirit Stones."

Fang Xiaohan's face lit up with joy.

Chen Yuan of Fifth High School was the student who had rashly refined an unidentified treasure, only to be exploited by a Demon Cultivator from the Myriad Demon Hall. Not only had he died, but he had also dragged down five other Star Lord students with him.

His family was also quite wealthy and well-connected. Otherwise, they could never have obtained that unidentified treasure. And judging by the size and condition of this Natal Star, that point was further confirmed.

"There may be many treasures, but there surely won't be few opponents either."

Liang Ji said gravely.

It was obvious that among the six trial stars, Chen Yuan's was the largest and richest in resources. Of the more than four hundred newly ascended Star Lords participating in the trial from Xiūshé City's ten high schools, the most vassals would certainly have been teleported to this star. They should also be the strongest.

The schools wanted to assess the state of each newly ascended Star Lord's vassals through this trial, so they could formulate training plans for the latter half of the school year. Naturally, they would place Star Lord vassals of similar combat strength together as much as possible, so their true capabilities could be tested.

Liang Ji somewhat suspected that he had been assigned to this largest and best star because he had teamed up with Peng Yue and Fang Xiaohan.

At this time, Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk had already split into small teams and stealthily headed in all directions to investigate.

According to the three of them's division of labor, Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk were responsible for stealth, scouting, and assassination; Liang Ji's Half-Dragonfolk vassals were responsible for frontal assaults; and Peng Yue's Ice Soul Serpentfolk vassals were responsible for long-range support.

Before long, the Shadow Serpentfolk exploring the surroundings sent word back. Less than a hundred li southeast of their location, they had discovered a resource point, where remnants of this star's native vassals were still guarding it.

Although this star's Star Lord had already fallen and the entire star was heading toward death, the vassals, creatures, and other life upon it would also inevitably head toward extinction.

But death and extinction took time. They would gradually decline and perish, rather than be wiped out the instant their Star Lord died.

That was why the Star Lord class students from Xiūshé City's ten high schools entered these stars for trials. It was both to assess the condition of each Star Lord's vassals and to mine the remaining spiritual treasures and Spirit Stones before these stars perished, using them as rewards for the Star Lord students participating in the trial, lest they die and vanish along with the stars in a pointless waste.

When Liang Ji and Peng Yue's vassals joined Fang Xiaohan's Shadow Serpentfolk, they too saw the situation at this resource point.

It was a mountain peak, with multiple medicine fields cultivated around it and large quantities of Spirit Medicine planted within. At the summit stood a palace called Pill Cloud Hall, clearly a place for refining pills.

"Medicine fields and a Pill Room! There must be quite a few Spirit Medicine and Spirit Roots here, as well as inheritances for spirit plant farmers and alchemists."

Liang Ji's face brightened. These were precisely what he lacked.

"We must take it."

At the same time, their arrival alerted the local vassals guarding the medicine fields and Pill Room.

Teams of winged Half-Demon Snake People flew out from all over the mountain and from Pill Cloud Hall. They too carried bows in their hands, their eyes gleaming fiercely as they looked toward them.

"Feathered Serpentfolk!"

Peng Yue looked at the winged serpentfolk in the air, and a trace of desire showed on her face.

Feathered Serpentfolk were vassals that could only be born after a Star Lord refined a Winged Serpent Demon Core into their Natal Star. They were born able to fly, possessed formidable combat power, and most were exceptionally beautiful.

They were undoubtedly very popular vassals. Unfortunately, Winged Serpent Demon Cores were extremely difficult to obtain. A small number was manageable, but cultivating a Natal Star and its vassals later required even more Demon Cores. That doomed them to be a poor choice.

"Unfortunately, these Feathered Serpentfolk have all been contaminated by Demonic Energy."

As Peng Yue spoke, the desire on her face turned to disappointment.

These Feathered Serpentfolk contaminated by Demonic Energy were twisted and mutated in many places. Their feathers had fallen away, while tumors and bone spurs grew from their bodies. Most of the originally beautiful Feathered Serpentfolk had become ugly and grotesque, immediately earning Peng Yue's disdain.

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