It was only natural to lag behind.
After all, they had become Starry-Sky Warriors three months before he did, giving them three extra months to hunt Star Beasts.
And among those who had become Starry-Sky Warriors during the June Joint Exam, who wasn't extraordinarily gifted?
They might even possess some special innate constitution.
Geniuses like that might not be much worse than Lin Yuan.
For ordinary newly advanced warriors, killing Stellar Behemoths consistently might require repeated trials and every ounce of their ingenuity.
But prodigies of this caliber couldn't be measured by ordinary standards. Even if they couldn't kill in a single move like Lin Yuan and Gu Yiyi, they could surely crush their prey with ease and finish them off quickly.
In that case, killing over a hundred Star Beasts in three months wasn't impossible...
"Fall behind one step, and you fall behind at every step."
The little girl Gu Yiyi was rather frustrated too, muttering under her breath.
She had heard a little about the top geniuses in the top ten of the Azure River Regional Rankings.
They were mostly the pride of the various Starry-Sky Martial Academies and martial families in Azure River Satellite City. More than half possessed powerful innate constitutions and couldn't be underestimated.
Now they had seized the initiative and pulled far ahead.
Even with her gifts and talent, catching up would be difficult.
"Then don't compete. Just do your own thing."
Lin Yuan had a good mindset and didn't dwell on it.
"The Azure River Preliminary Selection takes the top hundred and sixty on the rankings. That's all we need to qualify."
"On that basis, there's no fundamental difference between ranking a hundred and sixtieth and ranking first."
Lin Yuan had thought it through thoroughly.
These rankings were merely a screening tool for the preliminary selection.
There was no need to rush. As long as they reached the top hundred and sixty and qualified for the preliminary selection, that counted as a victory.
As for what came afterward...
They would each have to rely on their own abilities!
Afterward, the group officially began their exploration of the Minor Astral Realm.
Although they had said they wouldn't compete, Lin Yuan and Gu Yiyi were both Star-Martial Prodigies, each with their own spirit and pride. How could they truly refrain from competing?
They were already so far behind that they naturally had to give it their all, lest their boat capsize in a gutter and they fail to reach even the top hundred and sixty...
That would make them something of a laughingstock.
You killed a One-Stripe Rank Star Beast—Earth Desolate Bull Beast. Experience +20... Your lifespan increased... You killed a One-Stripe Rank Star Beast—Inferno Starbird. Experience +20... Your lifespan increased... You killed a One-Stripe Rank Star Beast—Blood-Eyed Star Rabbit Beast. Experience +20... Your lifespan increased...
For several days straight, Lin Yuan went into a hunting frenzy.
With the Goddess Luo Squad holding the line, he could cut loose without worrying about danger. He struck again and again, reaping plentiful rewards.
There were enormous fiery birds perched in parasol trees, their bodies clad in tempered, flame-red feathers. Their wings spanned seven or eight meters, and they spat searing flames.
Lin Yuan said nothing. He drew his sword and sundered the heavens!
There were enormous rabbit-shaped Star Beasts standing on two legs, their long ears trailing on the ground and their white fur pristine as snow. Their scarlet eyes fired blood-red beams that pierced the earth.
Lin Yuan said nothing. He drew his sword and sundered the heavens!
There were also terrifying Star Beasts with enormous fangs, like saber-toothed tigers, drawing in the energy of heaven and earth as they ravaged the forests.
Lin Yuan still said nothing. He simply drew his sword and sundered the heavens!
One polished move could carry him across the world.
It wasn't Lin Yuan's fault that he never changed his move. The Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw was simply too useful.
His sword struck in an instant, leaving no chance to dodge.
Its tremendous power could slice apart the toughest Boundary inside a Star Beast. Clean, decisive, and efficient to the utmost.
Naturally, he loved this move, using it frequently and succeeding every time.
In just three days, a full seven Star Beasts had died beneath his Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw, earning him seven Contribution Points and over a hundred experience points.
Of course, it wasn't as though they had encountered no danger—
"Thunder-Origin Dragon Spear!"
With a sharp cry, the girl thrust her golden lightning spear forward. Raging arcs of electricity tore apart the enormous silver-white wolf howling at the sky before her.
Contribution Points +1.
Just as the girl was rejoicing, an enraged wolf's howl suddenly rang out. Icy killing intent rolled over them, blanketing heaven and earth and chilling them to the heart.
Clop—
An even larger silver-white wolf with a brighter coat slowly emerged from the forest. Fury surged in its narrow eyes, and frost formed beneath each step it took.
Although there was only one Star Pattern on its forehead, that pattern was exceptionally bright, faintly radiating a nebula-like glow.
Its immense fluctuations of Star Power far exceeded those of any Star Beast they had hunted before, placing tremendous pressure on Lin Yuan.
"They're both One-Pattern Star Beasts, so why does this one feel so much stronger?"
Lin Yuan supported Gu Yiyi, who had exhausted herself using the Thunder-Origin Dragon Spear, and stared fixedly at the extraordinary silver-white wolf before them, startled.
"Just as the First Realm for us human Starry-Sky Warriors, the Transcendence Realm, is divided into nine orders according to the amount of Natal Stellar Force we've refined..."
"Star Beasts of the same rank also vary in strength."
At that moment, the women of the Goddess Luo Squad grew slightly solemn.
The tall, mature beauty with an ample bosom stepped forward, blood-red battle sword in hand, and stood in front of Lin Yuan and Gu Yiyi.
Her expression was impassive, her gaze steady.
"The ones you killed before were all the most ordinary One-Pattern Star Beasts. Their internal Boundaries weren't mature yet, and the Star Power they nurtured was relatively meager."
"Reflected in the Star Patterns on their foreheads, that looks like sparse points of starlight. Their power is thin and their strength low, so naturally, you could kill them easily."
She spoke softly, her eyes never leaving the enormous wolf before her.
"This one is different."
"Look at the Star Pattern on its forehead. It's exceptionally bright, with dense Star Power, displaying the phenomenon of densely gathered star clouds."
"That's already the mark of a Lord Grade Star Beast."
"Its strength is roughly equivalent to ours at the fourth order of the Mortal Transcendence Realm or above..."
Lord Grade?
Comparable to a Fourth Order of Mortal Transcendence warrior on humanity's Stellar Martial Path!
Lin Yuan raised his eyebrows.
Four times nine is thirty-six... Someone at the fourth order of Mortal Transcendence had already refined a full thirty-six strands of Natal Stellar Force. That was an entirely different league from the two rookies.
No wonder its Star Power exerted such tremendous pressure on them.
Since that was the case...
Lin Yuan decisively retreated with Gu Yiyi, moving away from the battlefield.
The corners of Wu Junru's mouth lifted, and then her gaze gradually turned icy.
A streak of azure light flashed.
Whoosh—
Streams of Star Power swayed from her body and rose slowly, like a gauzy robe, or blue flames.
At the same time, visible panic appeared on the face of the silver-white wolf, which had been snarling in fury just moments before.
The pressure of the Star Power erupting from the human before it was actually stronger than its own!
"Since you've delivered yourself to our doorstep, you can stay here too..."
Wu Junru wore a gauzy robe of blue flames, the snowy skin of her chest flickering in and out of view, and exuded an immense sense of pressure.
She spoke coldly and raised the blood-red battle sword in her hand.
A murderous aura ten, even a hundred times sharper than before slowly rose.
"Awooo—"
The silver-white wolf was afraid and kept backing away.
Those fluctuations of Star Power pressed down on it so heavily that it didn't even dare turn and flee, terrified that it would be killed in the instant it turned its head.
"Crescent Sky Rush!"
Unfortunately for it, Wu Junru, now fighting at full power, didn't dawdle as she had against the Earth Desolate Bull Beast. Instead, she unleashed her killing move directly.
Swish!
An enormous sweep of Sword Qi dozens of yards long surged outward with overwhelming might.
In a single instant, it cleaved the enormous silver-white wolf in two. Even then, its power wasn't spent. Everything in its path broke apart, shredding every towering tree across more than a hundred meters of forest.
"..."
Lin Yuan watched, dumbfounded.
So this was Sister Junru's true strength?
A One-Pattern Lord-Rank Star Beast at least comparable to the fourth order of Mortal Transcendence, killed instantly with a single sword strike?
Just how many strands of Natal Stellar Force had she refined?
"Terrifying beyond belief..."
Before you continue