Xingchen Everlasting

"So, Gu Yue, you're taking part in an assessment?" Xu Xiaoyan cried out in surprise.

After escorting Xu Xiaoyan to meet up with Yun Chen, Gu Yue had not hurried to leave. That so-called assessment mission would not be difficult for her to complete if she revealed her true abilities. However, in order to better integrate into human society, Gu Yue had set what she considered a reasonable limit for herself. With only the strength she could wield within that limit, completing the assessment mission Leng Yaozhu had assigned her would still be somewhat difficult.

However, the talent Gu Yue had displayed, especially her so-called Elemental Controller martial soul, had greatly interested Leng Yaozhu. Thus, in Leng Yaozhu's eyes, even if Gu Yue failed to complete the entire assessment, she would still be willing to take this child in.

But the three of them inside the Spirit Ascension Platform knew none of this. Xu Xiaoyan in particular, after hearing Gu Yue's words, became worried that what had happened earlier might affect Gu Yue's assessment.

"It's fine. My assessment isn't very difficult," Gu Yue said. Seeing Xu Xiaoyan's anxious expression, she instinctively offered some reassurance.

"Brother, how about we help Gu Yue?" Xu Xiaoyan turned to Yun Chen.

Seeing the pleading look in her eyes, Yun Chen naturally would not refuse. He nodded. "Then let's move together for now. But Xiao Yan, you can't keep hiding in the back. You need to contribute too."

"I know," Xu Xiaoyan said softly. "But my martial soul can only display its full power at night. It's still daytime in the Spirit Pagoda, so my soul skill's effect is very weak."

Hearing this, Gu Yue recalled the information she had seen in her memories regarding Xu Xiaoyan's mutated martial soul: at night, it could draw upon the power of the stars and transform into a peculiar martial soul of another form. This piqued her interest as well.

However, Yun Chen fell into thought at that moment. After pondering for a while, he finally spoke. "Actually, there's something I don't quite understand."

"Xiao Yan, your martial soul mutated because of the power of the stars. So at night, you can borrow that power to reveal the form of the Star Staff and grant your first soul skill Absolute Establishment. But you can't do that during the day. Yet aren't the sun, moon, and stars always there?" Yun Chen said.

Those words left Xu Xiaoyan slightly stunned.

On the Douluo Continent of the Third Era, technology had already developed to a certain level. The concept of planets had also become deeply rooted in people's minds. The sun, moon, and stars in the sky were no longer distant, unreachable concepts as they had once been; researchers had uncovered the truth behind them.

What Yun Chen found strange was that the sun, moon, and stars were clearly always present, so why could Xu Xiaoyan only sense the power of the stars at night?

"Is that so?" Xu Xiaoyan looked at Yun Chen blankly. Since she could not sense the stars during the day, she had never considered such things at all. She had simply believed that her martial soul had a limitation and could only unleash its full power beneath the night sky.

But just as Yun Chen had said, the sun, moon, and stars were everlasting. They had always hung high in the heavens; their existence should not become imperceptible merely because day turned into night.

"From an objective perspective, during the day, the stars' radiance is obscured by the blazing sunlight. That's why you can't sense them," Yun Chen attempted to explain.

"But in truth, those stars you can see at night still exist during the day. In that case, your Star Staff should be able to borrow the stars' power during the day as well. Xiao Yan, why not give it a try? Even if it fails, it's no big deal, right?" Yun Chen said.

Xu Xiaoyan nodded gently. Though she could not fully understand Yun Chen's words, she felt that they made sense. So she slowly closed her eyes, clasped the Star Wheel Ice Staff in both hands, and carefully sensed the energy permeating her surroundings.

Unfortunately, after trying, Xu Xiaoyan shook her head in disappointment. "No. I can't sense the stars' presence."

"Don't be disappointed. This is the Spirit Ascension Platform, after all—a simulated environment. We can try again after we get out. Maybe it'll work then?" Yun Chen rubbed Xu Xiaoyan's head, consoling the dejected little girl.

What Yun Chen had said about Xu Xiaoyan's martial soul and the stars left Gu Yue somewhat stunned. In the memories she had seen, Yun Chen had been someone engrossed in cultivation. Though he could not be called a crude brute, he had never shown any particularly deep study of theoretical knowledge.

Yet the theories he had just described were not something one could speak of without a certain degree of research and learning, were they? Was this person really so well-rounded?

What made Gu Yue even more uncomfortable, however, was the strange feeling growing in her heart. Watching Yun Chen and Xu Xiaoyan interact made her feel uneasy. But Gu Yue, having severed the emotions she had learned from humans, did not know the source of that feeling, and so she became somewhat agitated.

"Gu Yue, let's go." At some point, Yun Chen had already finished comforting Xu Xiaoyan. The two called Gu Yue over and headed deeper into the Spirit Ascension Platform.

"This forest is so beautiful. It's a pity that there are no real forests left on the continent anymore," Xu Xiaoyan remarked wistfully.

"Even if there were forests, you wouldn't be able to stroll through them so leisurely. The great forests recorded throughout the continent's history were all gathering places for Spirit Beasts. A rookie like you wouldn't even be enough to fill a Spirit Beast's stomach," Yun Chen teased.

"Nonsense! I'm not some rookie!" Xu Xiaoyan glared at Yun Chen indignantly. "Besides, if I don't attack them, why would they bite me?"

Hearing Xu Xiaoyan's words, Yun Chen burst out laughing.

"If you don't attack them, why wouldn't they bite you?" Yun Chen said with a smile. "To the Spirit Beasts, humans were once nothing more than food. Only after humans awakened their martial souls and became capable of cultivation did they truly gain room to survive on the continent. From then on, Spirit Beasts became an indispensable part of the human cultivation system."

"In such an antagonistic relationship, the two races accumulated an irreconcilable hatred over countless years. And Spirit Beasts, limited by their years of growth, could not fully match human soul masters in strength. Not to mention that human intelligence was something Spirit Beasts did not possess. Thus, through their long struggle, Spirit Beasts gradually declined and became what they are today," Yun Chen said.

His words drew Gu Yue's attention. She frowned tightly and asked coldly, "So you think Spirit Beasts deserve to end up in their current state?"

As soon as she said that, Yun Chen's heart tightened. He had gotten carried away talking with Xu Xiaoyan and completely forgotten that beside him was the silent half of the Silver Dragon King!