When the Deed Was Done, He Brushed Off His Sleeves! The Secrets of the Nine Star Transformations!

Now that Lin Yuan had pinpointed the crux of Luo Feng's cultivation problem, he no longer felt the need to rush.

He was like a patient hunter...

Lying in wait in the shadows, quietly waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He took this mission very seriously because its reward was impossible to refuse. Lin Yuan was a War God, one of the best among the warriors, but he was still far from the top of the pyramid.

Since he had a "system" to back him up, Lin Yuan refused to settle for an ordinary life. He would strive to climb higher, leaping from Earth into the vastness of the universe!

"Planetary Level is only the beginning. Since I've been given a second life and a system, wouldn't it all be for nothing if I didn't stand atop the universe and look down upon all its races?"

Lin Yuan stood behind the one-way glass, his gaze deep and unreadable.

He chose not to disturb Luo Feng just yet.

He knew that when people were wholly focused, they often couldn't take in advice from others.

Only when a person's body and mind had reached the brink of utter exhaustion, and their thoughts briefly went blank, was their subconscious most receptive to outside "suggestions."

Guidance given in that state was worth more than a thousand words.

Time passed, second by second.

The rumbling inside the gravity room never stopped. It wasn't until three hours later that the heart-pounding crashes finally ceased.

Hiss—

The heavy alloy doors slowly slid open.

Luo Feng walked out, his body exhausted.

"Still not working... I clearly have enough strength. Why am I always just a little short of the second layer?"

Luo Feng lowered his head, brows furrowed, replaying every movement he'd made in his mind as he walked.

He moved slowly, completely absorbed in his own world. He didn't even notice the changes in his surroundings.

This was a secluded path leading to the trainee lounge, dimly lit and rarely used.

Just then, a tall figure slowly emerged from the shadows ahead.

Lin Yuan walked at an easy pace, hands in his pockets. His aura was so thoroughly restrained that, at first glance, he seemed like an ordinary person, yet an unmistakable pressure still lingered around him.

It was the natural presence of a being at the peak of High-level War God, or even one with a foot in Planetary Level—a pressure that came from a higher level of life.

Luo Feng, still lost in thought, felt every hair on his body suddenly stand on end.

It was the instinctive intuition he'd honed as a warrior, tempered by life-and-death struggles in the wild!

He instinctively raised his head, and his eyes met Lin Yuan's as the latter approached.

Luo Feng's heart tightened.

The young man before him looked only a few years older than himself, but his eyes were like an ancient well, unfathomable and seeming to absorb all light.

Instinctive respect for the strong told Luo Feng at once that this man was no ordinary person!

He quickly steadied himself, stopped, stepped aside, and respectfully nodded to Lin Yuan.

It was the most basic etiquette trainees of a lower rank showed to powerful warriors of a higher rank in the Training Camp.

Lin Yuan remained composed and gave a slight nod in return.

Then he walked straight past. The distance between them narrowed until they were shoulder to shoulder.

At the instant their figures crossed,

the air seemed to freeze.

Lin Yuan didn't break stride. Looking straight ahead, he spoke in a voice that was neither loud nor soft, as if talking to himself—or merely musing aloud. His words drifted lightly into the air:

"The Nine-Layer Thunder Blade lies in stacking; its foundation lies in drawing in."

His voice wasn't loud, but it entered Luo Feng's ears with perfect clarity.

Luo Feng's pupils contracted sharply.

Then the voice continued, carrying an insight that cut straight to the heart of the matter:

"If you can't rein in your power, how can you stack it? Instead of trying to release it, learn to grip first."

By the time he finished speaking, Lin Yuan had already walked several meters away.

He didn't look back or explain.

Yet those few brief words landed in Luo Feng's ears like a thunderclap, exploding in his mind!

Boom!

Luo Feng froze in place. His whole body shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning.

"Its foundation lies in drawing in... Instead of trying to release it, learn to grip first..."

The words echoed wildly in his mind like an incantation, again and again, battering the walls of his established way of thinking.

He unconsciously raised his sweat-soaked right hand, spread his fingers, then clenched them tight!

Crack!

His knuckles popped.

A sense of understanding unlike anything he'd felt before surged through him.

"That's it! That's exactly it!"

Luo Feng's eyes flew wide, a delighted light blazing in them.

"I kept thinking about how to send my power outward, but I forgot that only a tightly clenched fist can deliver a powerful blow! Only by 'drawing in' the force of the previous layer can I stack the force of the next!"

Everything suddenly became clear!

It was as if the gates to a new world had burst open before him!

The bottleneck that had troubled him for so long finally began to loosen.

"Senior!"

Luo Feng spun around, eager to find the expert's face, thank him in person, and even ask him for more guidance.

But—

All he saw was the empty corridor and the shadows cast by the dim yellow lights.

There wasn't another soul in sight.

Lin Yuan had completed his task and slipped away without a trace.

"Is... is this what a true powerhouse is like?"

Luo Feng stared blankly down the empty corridor, unable to calm the shock in his heart.

He gripped the Blood Shadow Battle Blade tightly and bowed deeply in the direction Lin Yuan had disappeared.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior! Luo Feng... will remember it forever!"

Half an hour later.

High above Hongning Base City,

a sleek, pitch-black King-Level Intelligent Fighter, shaped like a giant black hawk, cut silently through the sky, speeding toward Jiangnan Base City.

The inside of the fighter was luxurious and comfortable.

Lin Yuan sat on a leather sofa, holding a steaming cup of freshly ground coffee. He took a leisurely sip.

Outside the window, the vast urban sprawl blazed with lights, like a galaxy on the ground, racing backward beneath him.

Just then, the familiar mechanical voice rang out in his mind.

[ Ding! ]

[ Mission "Guidance Without a Trace" complete! ]

[ Reward issued: Universe-Level Genetic Origin Energy cultivation method—Nine Star Transformations! ]

Boom!

As the system's voice faded, Lin Yuan felt as if a supernova had exploded in his mind.

A vast, obscure, yet profoundly mysterious stream of information surged straight into the depths of his memory.

It wasn't a simple text or image, but an inheritance engraved directly into his soul.

He seemed to see an endless expanse of stars, countless celestial bodies moving along strange paths, drawing in the energy of the universe, endlessly renewing themselves, eternal and undying.

"So this is... a Universe-Level cultivation method?"

Lin Yuan closed his eyes and carefully pondered it.

By comparison, the Five Hearts Toward Heaven cultivation method, revered as a Supreme Treasure on Earth, was so crude it was like a primary school exercise routine.

The Nine Star Transformations drew the power of the stars into the body, tempering every cell and bringing about a fundamental leap in one's genes!

Hum—

Without Lin Yuan having to guide it, the genetic Origin Force in his body seemed to answer some supreme call and began to circulate.

The Origin Force, which had once flowed like a trickling stream, now surged through his meridians like a roaring river!

Its efficiency... was dozens of times greater!

Crack, crack, crack...

For a moment, he could even feel the solid barrier between War God and Planetary Level. Under the impact of his raging Origin Force, it began to shudder violently, thin cracks appearing across it!

"What an overbearing cultivation method!"

Lin Yuan snapped his eyes open. Stars seemed to flicker in his gaze, and such a dazzling brilliance burst forth that even the lights inside the fighter dimmed in comparison.

He clenched his fist, feeling the power inside him that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.

"Maybe I can raise my strength even further."

Lin Yuan drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to shut himself away and break through right then.

He knew that a warrior's breakthrough required a complete transformation of their physical attributes. Though the barrier had loosened, crossing it entirely would still take time and accumulation.

But...

"Though my martial cultivation can't break through that barrier in the short term, what about my Spiritual Force...?"

Lin Yuan's lips curled into a confident smile.

Spiritual Force was already easier to advance than martial cultivation. Now that he had the heaven-defying Nine Star Transformations, a method capable of nourishing the soul, along with the powerful soul he had forged over two lifetimes—

His Spiritual Force's advancement to Planetary Level was all but certain!

Everything was ready. All that remained was the right moment.

"Luo Feng, this guidance is an investment I'm making in you ahead of time."

Lin Yuan turned to look out at the dark night sky, his gaze seeming to pierce the clouds and reach into a far more distant future.

"We'll probably cross paths many more times, but never again through guidance as simple as today's."

"Next time we meet, it may be on that vast stage called the 'universe.'"

With the Path of the Strongest system and the Nine Star Transformations, Lin Yuan's ambition was no longer confined to a corner of Earth.

He vowed to forge a path to supremacy that would make every race in the universe tremble!

"Back to Jiangnan!"

Lin Yuan set down his coffee and gave the order softly.

He was going to begin his seclusion.