Xu Xiaoyan's face turned serious. All her previous nervousness and shyness vanished in an instant, replaced by a focused expression that bordered on reverence. She held her ice staff high, drawing a graceful arc in the moonlight.
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
It wasn't a figure of speech; they really did light up. Those once gentle eyes now seemed to be filled with starlight, and two golden lights burned deep within their pupils, dazzling and brilliant.
"Stars in the sky, twinkling brightly, forever radiant, bringing peace to Chang'an! Grant me strength, my star wheel."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible on the empty playground. It carried a peculiar rhythm, like chanting an ancient ballad, or perhaps a plea for power from some supreme being.
Tang Wulin was taken aback. He felt that there was something indescribable in this voice, neither a fluctuation of Soul Power nor a pressure of Divine Power, but a deeper and more ancient resonance.
As she softly murmured, the tip of the ice staff suddenly lit up.
Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue looked up at the same time and vaguely saw an inconspicuous pale golden light descend from the sky, piercing through the gaps in the branches and leaves, and landing precisely on her ice staff.
The light was very thin, as thin as a thread, but the energy it contained caused Gu Yue's pupils to contract slightly—it was neither Soul Power nor ordinary elemental power, but the Star Power.
Pure, unrefined, Star Power from beyond the heavens.
Instantly, the tip of the ice staff seemed to light up. A ball of golden light spread out, gradually transforming into a golden halo containing a six-pointed star. The halo slowly rotated, and each edge of the six-pointed star emitted a soft glow, like a geometric pattern carefully drawn by an invisible hand.
The moment the star wheel appeared, Xu Xiaoyan's entire demeanor began to change.
She, who was originally delicate and frail, suddenly became upright. Her back was straight, her shoulders were open, and her chin was slightly raised, as if her whole body had been transformed. Surrounded by starlight, she became noble and elegant, with an aura of unapproachability.
The Yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet also changed. The originally monotonous yellow was now tinged with starlight, turning into a pale gold with a silvery-white luster, as if someone had sprinkled a layer of starlight on the Soul Ring.
A single golden star shone on her forehead, like a jewel set between her brows, becoming her most beautiful adornment.
Xie Xie was stunned. His mouth was agape, his eyes were wide open, and he seemed frozen in place.
Tang Wulin was also stunned. He had seen Xu Xiaoyan's performance on the Spirit Ascension Platform, but at that time he was busy dealing with the Soul Beast and hadn't paid much attention. Now, on the playground, under the light from Gu Yue's palm, he saw the full picture of Xu Xiaoyan's Martial Soul for the first time.
So her Martial Soul... is this strong?
Gu Yue narrowed her eyes. Of course she knew the Star Power. Even in the era of the Dragon God, when ten thousand dragons soared through the sky, the Star Power was one of the most fundamental forces, second only to the elemental Authority left behind by the Dragon God.
Although Xu Xiaoyan's Martial Soul is still very weak, its potential is immeasurable.
Xu Xiaoyan took a deep breath and lightly swung her ice staff.
The magical six-pointed star flew out from the top of the ice staff, spun twice in the air, and then fell straight down, landing precisely at Zhong Shenxiu's feet.
Golden light rose from the ground, enveloping Zhong Shenxiu entirely.
Zhong Shenxiu glanced down at the six-pointed star array beneath his feet, then looked up at Xu Xiaoyan. His expression remained calm, but a different glint appeared in his pale golden vertical pupils—curiosity.
He could feel a strange power spreading up from the soles of his feet, climbing up his legs, and finally converging in his dantian, like an invisible chain, suppressing the speed of his Soul Power circulation.
It's much slower than the pace we used during training this afternoon.
Although Wu Zhangkong was suppressing them this afternoon, it was a pure crushing of speed and skill, which is completely different from this kind of seal that directly affects the circulation of Soul Power.
"This is..." Zhong Shenxiu began, his voice carrying a rare hint of confusion.
Xu Xiaoyan quickly explained, "This is my Star Wheel Chain! It's much more effective at night than during the day. And—" She paused, her voice tinged with excitement, "It's not just a physical restraint, it can also suppress the flow of Soul Power! Even someone with a higher cultivation level than me would be immobilized for at least a second!"
After she finished speaking, she looked at Zhong Shenxiu somewhat nervously.
But Zhong Shenxiu did not move.
He stood there, feeling the binding force emanating from the six-pointed star beneath his feet.
That power was peculiar; it wasn't as domineering as his Holy Light Judgment, nor as sharp as the Sky Light Dragon Spear. Instead, it was a dense, omnipresent feeling of being enveloped, as if one were entangled by countless fine threads.
In some mysterious way, he seemed to have touched upon something.
It was a very vague feeling, like looking at something through a veil; you could sense light on the other side, but couldn't see it clearly.
His brows furrowed slightly, and the Eternal Myriad Dragon Source Art within his body began to operate automatically, with the Light Power flowing through his meridians, attempting to break through this constraint.
But just as the Light Power touched the six-pointed star seal, Zhong Shenxiu suddenly stopped.
He sensed it.
The power flowing within that six-pointed star... is light.
It wasn't the domineering, fiery, and judgmental light of his Radiant King Dragon, but a softer, more enduring, and more ancient light.
That was starlight, light that had traveled billions of miles, journeyed from the depths of the universe, and undergone the dual baptism of time and space.
The light of stars... isn't that light too?
Zhong Shenxiu's Light Gold Vertical Pupils lit up slightly.
The Eternal Myriad Dragon Source Art within his body began to operate in a way never before seen.
It's not confrontation, it's imitation.
He mobilized the Light Power within his body and began to Simulation the starlight flowing within the six-pointed star beneath his feet.
This process was not easy. The frequency and fluctuations of the starlight were completely different from his Radiant King Dragon power, like two different languages. Although both were "light," the pronunciation, grammar, and rhythm were all out of sync.
But Zhong Shenxiu has no shortage of is patience.
His Light Power slowly explored within the six-pointed star, like a person groping forward in the dark, step by step, carefully searching for that frequency.
Then, he found it.
In an instant, the light surrounding Zhong Shenxiu changed.
It wasn't the usual domineering, invincible golden light that made people afraid to look directly at it, but a soft, faint silver-white glow. The light was like the faint starlight twinkling in the night sky, quiet, lingering, and without any aggression, yet possessing a profound depth that penetrated everything.
Xu Xiaoyan was the first to sense the change.
Her body trembled slightly, and her pupils suddenly dilated.
She could feel that she and Zhong Shenxiu were connected in some way. It wasn't a connection of Soul Power, nor a connection of Divine Power, but a more essential and deeper resonance.