"Hmph, if I didn't show you some real strength, you'd think your big sister Junru had wasted all these years!"
Seeing the irrepressible surprise on Lin Yuan's face, Wu Junru remained composed on the surface, but inwardly, she was positively giddy.
At last, she had held her head high for once.
My aptitude might not match you monstrous geniuses, but I've eaten a few more years' worth of meals and put in a few more years of training.
Wasn't it just killing something with one sword strike?
Easy as pie~
"Big sister Junru, you're amazing~"
Seeing Wu Junru claim such a commanding victory, the other members of the Goddess Luo Squad cheered joyfully in their lilting voices.
Clearly, they felt the same way.
Those two youngsters had dealt their confidence such a blow earlier that they had lost their composure a little. Now, at last, these "veterans" had salvaged a bit of their dignity.
"Wow, big sister Junru, you're so strong."
Gu Yiyi was clever, too. At the sight, she immediately put on an adoring expression, her eyes shining.
Lin Yuan chimed in repeatedly beside her, fighting back his laughter.
Their combination of effusive compliments left the tall, mature beauty positively blooming with delight, her body shaking like a flowering branch. That glimpse of snowy white was especially imposing, nearly dazzling the innocent boy into a stupor.
Gu Shuangshuang silently watched her teammates laughing and joking without stopping them. This was how people grew close, through one exchange after another.
Lin Yuan also took the opportunity to coax some information out of Junru about how Star Beasts were divided by strength within the same rank—
In short, look at their Star Patterns!
Star Patterns were the outward projections of the "Boundary," the most important thing within a Star Beast's body, making them the most accurate measure.
One Star Pattern meant the first realm, two meant the second realm... and so on. Simple and straightforward.
Within the same rank, their star-pattern phenomena further divided them into Common-Rank Star Beasts, Lord Grade, and the most powerful King Grade!
Most Common-Rank Star Beasts had dim Star Patterns, displaying only the phenomenon of "scattered starlight." These were the most common.
A small number of Star Beasts with outstanding talent and aptitude had bright Star Patterns resembling "dense clusters of nebulae." These were Lord Grade.
As for those with the very finest talent and bloodlines among their peers, even with only one Star Pattern, their Star Power already surged tremendously. The star-pattern phenomena they projected were incomparably brilliant, reaching the level of "radiant as a river of stars."
Those were King-Rank Star Beasts, the strongest within their rank!
Star Beast kings were exceedingly rare, peerless geniuses among their kind with terrifying combat strength. Even against a Star Beast king of one-stripe rank, anyone lacking the strength of ninth-tier transcendence had no hope of fighting it.
Of course, when facing a Starry-Sky Warrior of the second realm, even a King Grade One-Pattern Star Beast would have to flee in panic.
After all, the enormous gap between major realms was there, and it was not easily crossed...
Still, even if they could only reign supreme within their own rank, that was impressive enough. They were beyond the reach of ordinary warriors.
"A one-pattern Lord-Rank Star Beast is worth much more than those Common-Rank Star Beasts. It counts for two Contribution Points..."
"And if we gather its materials, those can fetch a high price, too."
Wu Junru and the others had already gone over to harvest the precious materials from the enormous silver-white wolf.
A Star Beast's total value far exceeded that of an ordinary fierce beast.
Besides Contribution Points, a Star Beast of one-stripe rank yielded flesh, fangs, hide, and even Astral Realm Shards.
Any single one was worth millions, and materials from a Lord-Rank Star Beast could be worth even more.
"Astral Realm Shards have value, too?"
Lin Yuan looked at the blue Star Core fragments shattered by that sword strike, feeling curious.
They're smashed to bits and scattered everywhere. What could they still be used for?
"Astral Realm Shards are good stuff."
Gu Shuangshuang immediately smiled.
"The Astral Realm is the most essential treasure nurtured within a Star Beast. It contains the Star Power the beast has absorbed and refined day and night since its birth."
"Even though it's shattered, and most of the Star Power inside has dissipated, leaving less than a tenth, the Star Core itself is formed from condensed Star Power. Some pure Star Power can still be extracted from it."
"The Stellar Force Potions currently on the market—the most popular and cost-effective way for Starry-Sky Warriors to speed up their refinement of natal stellar force—use Astral Realm Shards as their main ingredient!"
Stellar Force Potions?
Lin Yuan's eyes lit up. He knew about those.
They were cultivation resources similar to starflow pulp, capable of greatly accelerating a Starry-Sky Warrior's refinement of natal stellar force.
Though they lacked the miraculous effects of the heavenly treasure "starflow pulp," a single drop of which contained an entire strand of Star Power.
They could still greatly shorten the time a Starry-Sky Warrior needed to refine natal stellar force. Refining a single strand might originally take two months.
With a Stellar Force Potion, it might take only one month, cutting the time in half.
More importantly, Stellar Force Potions had been developed by Human Civilization and could be supplied reliably, meeting the cultivation needs of most warriors...
Provided you had the money!
"In the Star-Martial Marketplace, one Stellar Force Potion is priced at ten million Azure Coins, equivalent to ten Contribution Points."
That was hardly cheap. After all, Stellar Force Potions were a long-term resource. The Mortal Transcendence Realm required nine times nine, eighty-one strands of natal stellar force. If someone relied on Stellar Force Potions to accelerate the refinement of every strand, the cost would be astronomical.
At that thought, Lin Yuan could not help looking at the few Astral Realm Shards in his hand—his spoils from the seven Star Beasts he had slain.
The main ingredient in those famous Stellar Force Potions is actually these Astral Realm Shards?
Since Astral Realm Shards are formed from condensed Star Power, could I skip the potion stage and directly absorb the Star Power remaining inside them?
He could not help wondering.
"That's impossible."
Gu Shuangshuang seemed to have seen through Lin Yuan's thoughts and spoke up.
"Astral Realm Shards are different from an intact 'Astral Realm.' Almost all the flowing Star Power has dissipated. What remains is the solid Astral Realm formed through the Star Beast's refinement over countless days and nights!"
"It can't be absorbed directly at all. Only by processing it into Stellar Force Potions through special methods can it be used."
"That's common knowledge."
Captain Gu explained patiently, but Lin Yuan remained noncommittal.
That's your common knowledge, not mine.
Just because you can't do it...
Doesn't mean I can't!
Lin Yuan's confidence was not blind. It came from something he had actually felt—
Just moments ago, when he held the Astral Realm Shards.
A strange feeling had suddenly risen from within his body, something like longing, an urge to eat!
That had given him a vague understanding—
Could I perhaps break into these incredibly sturdy Astral Realm Shards and directly absorb the residual Star Power inside?
At that thought, Lin Yuan quietly put away the Star Power fragments, revealing nothing in front of the others.
Inside, however, he was exceptionally excited.
His eyes gleamed!
At the same time, he instantly understood why he was so special.
My eleventh talent trait—"Swallowing the Starry Sky"!
"You can extract pure cosmic starry-sky energy from any extreme environment..."
The talent trait's description stated it perfectly clearly.
He could extract cosmic starry-sky energy from any extreme environment!
Let alone a few little Astral Realm Shards!
I've struck it rich, struck it rich...
Lin Yuan was utterly thrilled.
He knew very well what this meant!
No complicated processing, no passing through anyone else's hands, and no middlemen pocketing the difference...
Directly absorbing the pure Star Power contained within Astral Realm Shards!
This would greatly accelerate his refinement of natal stellar force, without requiring him to spend a fortune on Stellar Force Potions!
His rate of growth would also far surpass anyone else's!
Astral Realm Shards...
These are the cultivation resources that can help me the most right now...
Before you continue