Legend had it that three hundred years ago, when the Secret Realm of Star Gazing had just been discovered by humanity, its environment was far more perilous than it was now.
Meteorites rained down at every moment within the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, with enough force to blast a Seventh Rank Martial Artist to smithereens.
That was where the realm's name came from. Back then, in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, you really could take someone to watch a meteor shower.
Such a perilous secret realm was impossible to explore.
At the time, one of humanity's most powerful Ninth-Rank Warriors, Order Judge Zhang San, stepped in!
Legend had it that Zhang San had entered the martial path through literature. For the first forty years of his life, he had never studied any martial arts, devoting himself entirely to reading. Then, at the age of forty, he experienced an Epiphany overnight, reached the Ninth Rank in three steps, and became one of the most powerful warriors!
His brush pointed straight to the clouds, judging man, god, and immortal alike!
With a single stroke, Zhang San directly reshaped the order within the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. The falling meteorites turned into a sky full of Star Light that sprinkled across the land, no longer carrying such destructive power.
Just as Zhang San was about to further alter the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, he suddenly stopped writing and fell silent. Then he left, never involving himself in the realm again.
It wasn't until someone asked him about it that Zhang San sighed and explained that the Secret Realm of Star Gazing wasn't actually a secret realm, but a gigantic prison.
If anyone tampered with the realm any further, they might release whatever was imprisoned inside.
After Leng Tianjiao finished speaking, she raised her eyes to look at the Star Devouring Bug and added,
"It's said that there were originally no living creatures in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. The Star Devouring Bugs only appeared after the meteorites turned into Star Light."
Zhu Ping'an fell into deep thought. If the legend was true and the Secret Realm of Star Gazing was a prison, then the meteorites must originally have been aimed at the prisoners inside.
And the Star Devouring Bugs fed on Star Light...
"Were the Star Devouring Bugs the work of whatever's being suppressed in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing?" Zhu Ping'an made a bold guess.
"I think so too. Given what's happening now... I'm afraid whatever's locked up in there is about to get out." Leng Tianjiao's expression remained calm, though worry still flickered in her eyes.
That was something even Zhang San, a Ninth-Rank Warrior known as the Order Judge, had feared. If it broke free, none of them would survive. No, perhaps the whole of Green City would be reduced to ruins.
Leng Tianjiao was actually extremely anxious, but staying beside Zhu Ping'an somehow made her feel a little more at ease.
"Zhu Ping'an..."
"Ping'an Ge~"
Just as Leng Tianjiao was about to say something to Zhu Ping'an, a sugary voice interrupted her.
Yan Shubing hurried over, tear stains still at the corners of her eyes, and threw herself straight into Zhu Ping'an's arms.
"Ping'an Ge, I'm so scared. What on earth is happening in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing? Boohoo..."
Yan Shubing acted coy in Zhu Ping'an's embrace. She had already gone to find Ye Qingxian, but he was injured, and she had learned from him that Zhu Ping'an was the one who had hurt him. So after comforting Ye Qingxian, she had come straight over under the pretense of standing up for him.
After weighing her options, it was obvious that Zhu Ping'an was better able to protect her right now. So Yan Shubing didn't mind being hugged for a moment.
"Don't worry. I'll protect you." Zhu Ping'an gently rubbed Yan Shubing's head and gazed at her with deep affection, his heart as steady as an old dog.
As if! The male lead, the female lead, and him, the Second Male Lead, were all here. How could this Secret Realm of Star Gazing possibly turn the world upside down?
Watching them, Leng Tianjiao clenched her pale hands until her knuckles turned white.
She didn't know what was wrong with her. Seeing Zhu Ping'an and Yan Shubing so intimate made her feel vaguely uncomfortable.
Zhu Ping'an had done it on purpose, just so Leng Tianjiao would see. You could fawn over your goddess all you wanted, and she still wouldn't think any more of you. But if one day you suddenly turned around and fawned over another woman—and that woman wasn't even as good as your goddess—your goddess would certainly feel uncomfortable. Human beings were just such strange creatures.
"I'm leaving."
Leng Tianjiao's pride wouldn't let her lose her composure, so she turned and walked away.
Just then, the ground began to tremble. The earth rocked, and the violent shaking sent many people tumbling to the ground.
A crack split open at the top of the slope. Only then did everyone realize that this wasn't a slope at all. It was a Great Tomb!
A crack had opened in the Great Tomb, and a Humanoid Creature bound by several Iron Chains rose from its depths.
The Humanoid Creature stood about three meters tall, its entire body covered in black scales that gleamed coldly beneath the starlight. Its muscles were knotted and bulging, making it look like a gigantic lizard that had just turned into human form. A bloodthirsty aura emanated from it.
The aura emanating from the Humanoid Creature left everyone feeling suffocated. It was far beyond anything they, a bunch of First-Rank Warriors, could handle.
Even though every one of them had exceptional talent, they were still only First-Rank Warriors!
"I've finally... seen the light of day again..."
The Humanoid Creature opened its eyes. They were blood-red, vertical pupils, filled with an eerie menace, and they stared fixedly at the Star Curtain above.
Perhaps it had been sealed away for too long; even its speech was halting.
"Starry Sky Ancient Saint, you lost. Once I step out of here, I'll show your Human Race what true cruelty is!"
The Humanoid Creature roared at the sky, venting the fury it had built up over who knew how many years of imprisonment. Then it lowered its eyes and looked at the many College Entrance Examination candidates.
"Only a little over a hundred members of the Human Race? That'll do. It's enough to restore one percent of my strength."
"My children and grandchildren, come!"
As soon as the words left its mouth, the nearby Star Devouring Bugs surged toward the Humanoid Creature like fish crossing a river, rushing desperately to burrow into its body.
As the Star Devouring Bugs kept burrowing inside, the Iron Chains binding the Humanoid Creature gradually lost their stellar glow. Once they faded completely, they would shatter.
Everyone shuddered. So the Star Devouring Bugs had come from that monster—they were its children and grandchildren?
Zhu Ping'an shivered too.
"Holy crap, how many times did this monster secretly jerk off in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing to produce so many children and grandchildren? And now that they're out, it's eating them? Making them and eating them itself—that's some serious home production and consumption!"
At those words, the expressions of everyone around him turned strange. Even the Humanoid Creature, busy absorbing the Star Devouring Bugs, couldn't help but freeze for a moment.
It made them itself, then ate them itself—home production and consumption.
Once everyone associated those three key words with the Humanoid Creature, it suddenly didn't seem so terrifying anymore. In fact, it seemed kind of absurd.
The Humanoid Creature's murderous vertical pupils locked onto Zhu Ping'an. Then, with some uncertainty, it asked,
"Why... do you have the aura of the Starry Sky Ancient Saint? What are you to him?"
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