Self-Production and Self-Sale

Legend has it that three hundred years ago, when the Secret Realm of Star Gazing was first discovered by humans, the environment inside was far more treacherous than it is now.

Within the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, meteors fell at all hours, their power immense enough to blast a Seventh-Rank warrior into ashes.

This was also the origin of the name "Star Gazing"—back then, in that secret realm, you truly could watch a meteor shower together.

Such a perilous secret realm made it impossible to investigate its interior.

At that time, one of humanity's top nine Ninth-Rank warriors, the Order Judge Zhang San, made his move!

Legend has it that Zhang San entered martial arts through books. For the first forty years of his life, he never cultivated any martial knowledge, devoting himself entirely to study. At forty, he had an epiphany and advanced to Ninth Rank in three steps, becoming one of the most top-tier warriors!

His brush tip pointed straight at the piled clouds, judging men, judging gods, judging immortals!

With a single stroke, Zhang San directly reconstructed the order within the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. The falling meteors transformed into a sky full of Star Light scattering across the land, no longer possessing destructive power.

Just as Zhang San was about to further reshape the Secret Realm of Star Gazing, he suddenly stopped his brush and fell silent, then withdrew, no longer concerning himself with the matter.

Only when someone asked did Zhang San sigh and speak, saying that the Secret Realm of Star Gazing was not actually a secret realm, but a massive prison.

If he altered the secret realm's contents any further, he might release whatever was imprisoned inside.

After finishing her story, Leng Tianjiao raised her eyes again to look at the Star Devouring Bug and added.

"It's said that originally there were no living beings in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing. The Star Devouring Bugs only appeared after the meteors 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 original meteors must have been aimed at the prisoner inside.

And the Star Devouring Bugs lived by consuming Star Light...

"Are the Star Devouring Bugs the work of whatever is suppressed inside the Secret Realm of Star Gazing?" Zhu Ping'an made a bold guess.

"I think so too. The current situation... I'm afraid whatever's locked inside is about to come out." Leng Tianjiao's expression remained calm, but worry was unavoidable in the depths of her eyes.

That was something that even a Ninth-Rank warrior, the so-called Order Judge Zhang San, feared. If it broke free, none of them would likely survive—no, perhaps the entire city of Green City would be reduced to ruins.

In truth, Leng Tianjiao's heart was extremely anxious at this moment, but staying by Zhu Ping'an's side inexplicably made her feel a bit more at ease.

"Zhu Ping'an..."

"Ping'an Ge~"

Just as Leng Tianjiao was about to say something to Zhu Ping'an, a coquettish voice interrupted her.

Yan Shubing ran over quickly, tear stains still on her face, and threw herself directly into Zhu Ping'an's arms.

"Ping'an Ge, I'm so scared. What's happening in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing? Boohoo."

Yan Shubing acted spoiled in Zhu Ping'an's embrace. She had already looked for Ye Qingxian, but he was injured, and she learned from him that Zhu Ping'an was the one who hurt him. After comforting Ye Qingxian for a while, she came straight over under the pretext of standing up for him.

Weighing the pros and cons, it was clear that Zhu Ping'an could protect her better at the moment, so Yan Shubing didn't mind being hugged like this anymore.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely protect you." Zhu Ping'an gently rubbed Yan Shubing's head, gazing at her with deep affection, his heart as steady as an old dog.

Come on—the male lead, the female lead, and him, the Second Male Lead, were all here. Could this Secret Realm of Star Gazing really turn the world upside down?

Watching this scene, Leng Tianjiao's fair little hands clenched tightly together, her knuckles turning white.

She didn't know why, but seeing Zhu Ping'an and Yan Shubing so intimate made her vaguely uncomfortable.

Zhu Ping'an's actions were also deliberately performed for Leng Tianjiao's sake. If you keep fawning over your goddess, she won't think any higher of you. But the moment you suddenly turn to fawn over another woman—one inferior to your goddess—your goddess will inevitably feel unsettled. Humans are strange creatures like that.

"I'm leaving first."

Leng Tianjiao's pride wouldn't allow her to lose composure, so she turned and walked away directly.

Just then, the ground suddenly trembled. The earth shook and the mountains swayed, violent tremors sending many people tumbling to the ground.

A crack split open at the top of the slope, and everyone realized that this wasn't a slope at all—it was clearly a Great Tomb!

The Great Tomb split open with a gap, and a Humanoid Creature bound by several Iron Chains rose from the bottom of the tomb.

This Humanoid Creature was about three meters tall, its body covered in black scales that gleamed with cold light under the starlight. Its muscles bulged and knotted, like a giant lizard that had just taken human form, exuding a bloodthirsty aura.

Everyone was suffocated by the pressure radiating from the Humanoid Creature. This was not something they, mere First-Rank Warriors, could handle.

Even if each of them had extraordinary talent, they were still only First-Rank Warriors!

"At last... I see the light of day again..."

The Humanoid Creature opened its eyes—a pair of blood-red vertical pupils, filled with an eerie strangeness, staring straight at the Star Curtain above.

Perhaps because the years of sealing had been too long, even its speech was somewhat halting.

"Starry Sky Ancient Saint, you lost. Once I step out of here, I'll show your Human Race what true cruelty means!"

The Humanoid Creature roared up at the sky, venting the pent-up fury of who knew how many years of imprisonment. Then it lowered its gaze to the many College Entrance Examination candidates.

"Only a hundred or so humans? That's enough, though. Enough to restore one percent of my strength."

"My children and grandchildren, come!"

As soon as the words fell, the surrounding Star Devouring Bugs surged like a river of fish, desperately swarming toward the Humanoid Creature, burrowing into its body without stop.

As the Star Devouring Bugs kept drilling in, the Iron Chains binding the Humanoid Creature began to lose their starlight radiance. When they went completely dim, they would shatter entirely.

A chill ran through the crowd. So the Star Devouring Bugs were the children and grandchildren that had escaped from this monster?

Zhu Ping'an also felt a wave of revulsion.

"Holy shit, how many times has this monster secretly jerked off in the Secret Realm of Star Gazing to spawn this many sons and grandsons? Even if you did jerk them out, do you have to eat them back in? Self-production and self-consumption, right?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of those around turned somewhat strange. Even the Humanoid Creature, who was in the middle of absorbing the Star Devouring Bugs, couldn't help but freeze for a moment.

Jerk them out yourself, eat them back yourself, self-production and self-consumption.

Once everyone connected those three keywords to that Humanoid Creature, they suddenly felt it wasn't so terrifying anymore—it was even a bit absurd.

The Humanoid Creature's vertical pupils, carrying murderous intent, locked onto Zhu Ping'an. Then, with a hint of shock and uncertainty, it asked, "You... why do you have the aura of the Starry Sky Ancient Saint on you? What relation are you to him?"

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