"Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw!"
The enormous ape-like Star Beast roared loud enough to shake the heavens, pounding his chest with both palms as terrifying waves of power spread outward.
But what greeted him was an invincible sword light, brilliant as a river of stars, spanning heaven and earth.
"Slash..."
The sword light swept past, cleaving the heavens and splitting the earth.
The Gray Ironhide Ape, still roaring in fury a moment ago, abruptly fell silent.
A thin line of blood slowly opened down the center of his forehead. His entire body split in two, the cut perfectly smooth.
You have slain a One-Stripe Rank Common-Rank Star Beast. Experience +20... Your lifespan has increased...
Only after hearing the game's notifications did Lin Yuan breathe a sigh of relief. He briskly stepped forward and collected the Astral Realm Shard, which had likewise been cut in two.
At the same time, he could not help grumbling inwardly.
What a waste...
Every time, I have to cleave apart the "Boundary" inside them, causing more than half their Star Power to dissipate.
There was nothing he could do about it.
Star Beasts were wondrous supernatural beings. They had only one vital core: the "Boundary" within their bodies!
Without shattering that "Boundary," a Star Beast could not be killed.
Yet once the "Boundary" was shattered, all that remained was an Astral Realm Shard that had lost most of its Star Power, its value plummeting.
According to legend, once you break through to the Third Realm of the Stellar Martial Path, you can open a Divine Palace within your body and awaken Divine Sense...
Divine Sense is incredibly wondrous, able to shift between the intangible and the tangible.
In its intangible form, it becomes psychic force, directly attacking the soul within a living being!
Only then can a powerful Divine Sense attack penetrate the "Boundary" inside a Star Beast and slay their soul directly, killing them without damaging their "Boundary" and obtaining a complete "Astral Realm."
A complete "Astral Realm" contained the pure Star Power a Star Beast had refined throughout their lifetime. It was worth far more than Astral Realm Shards—a rare and precious treasure.
Unfortunately, he would have to reach the Third Realm before he could wield Divine Sense...
Lin Yuan shook his head and stopped dwelling on it.
"You're so amazing, Lin Yuan..."
Gu Yiyi could not help feeling envious.
Her Innate Secret Art—Thunder-Origin Dragon Spear—was also immensely powerful, enough to kill these One-Stripe Rank Common-Rank Star Beasts instantly.
But its consumption was too great. It drained not only her Star Power, but also all her stamina.
Basically, after a single thrust, she could no longer fight.
So she had begun restraining herself, using the Thunder-Origin Dragon Spear less frequently. Instead, she fought normally, trading blows with Star Beasts, searching for openings, and slowly wearing them down.
This was also an excellent way to develop practical combat experience.
Most Star-Martial Prodigies progressed step by step in the same way.
Captain Gu had therefore advised Lin Yuan to hone his skills and experience this way too, so he would not find himself at a disadvantage against an enemy his Heaven-Sundering Sword Draw could not handle.
Lin Yuan had politely declined.
At first, she had been quite disappointed, thinking that he had grown arrogant and overconfident after all.
But soon afterward, Lin Yuan proposed asking Junru, whose Swordsmanship realm was the highest in the Goddess Luo Squad, to give him some pointers and spar with him.
And the result of that sparring match made her jaw drop—
"You..."
"Did you start practicing with a sword in your mother's womb?"
After their bout, Junru could no longer smile.
Looking at the innocent young man before her, wearing a somewhat bashful smile, she finally understood that some people in this world would forever lie beyond an ordinary person's comprehension.
When they set aside their Natal Stellar Force and competed in Swordsmanship using only their physical strength, this young man displayed an unbelievable level of ability.
She had practiced Swordsmanship for over a decade, after all. Her progress had accelerated dramatically after becoming a Starry-Sky Warrior. With her battle sword, she had slain countless Star Beasts, and her Swordsmanship had reached the Subtlety Stage, earning her the title "Blood Moon Sword."
Among the First-Realm Warriors of Azure River Satellite City, who did not know Wu Junru, the Goddess Luo Squad's "Blood Moon Sword"?
That reputation had been forged through genuine slaughter.
Yet now, the illustrious Blood Moon Sword, facing a newcomer who had only just broken through, without either of them using Star Power, had actually...
Been suppressed?
She was not the only one shocked by this result.
Everyone in the Goddess Luo Squad found it unbelievable.
"I have just a tiny bit of talent for Swordsmanship..."
Lin Yuan smiled bashfully, cautiously raising his right hand and making a gesture to indicate just how tiny.
A tiny bit of talent?
All the women fell silent.
More like a billion tiny bits!
The Subtlety Stage of Swordsmanship was a realm that even many high-level Starry-Sky Warriors in the Mortal Transcendence Realm could only dream of reaching.
Although every member of the Goddess Luo Squad was Silver-White Three-Star, only Wu Junru and another young woman named Su Ningxue had reached the Micro-Insight Realm.
The others were still struggling to refine their skills at the Mastery Stage...
"Your Swordsmanship... has already reached Perfect Grade?"
Captain Gu could not help asking outright.
Perfect Grade?
At those words, the women's expressions changed drastically once again.
They stared at Lin Yuan as though he were a monster.
What kind of peerless Sword Dao prodigy is he...?
We've trained hard for over a decade and still can't even touch the threshold of the Subtlety Stage, yet your Swordsmanship has already reached perfection just days after your breakthrough?
"Luck. Just luck."
Their burning gazes made Lin Yuan's scalp prickle. He forced a smile, sounding far from confident.
It looks like I've revealed a little too much. I'd better hold back more next time.
Still, he had not lied. His Swordsmanship had indeed only recently reached perfection.
"..."
After receiving Lin Yuan's confirmation, even Captain Gu was speechless.
Naturally, she had recognized it because her saber skills had also reached Perfect Grade.
But was there any room to compare the two?
She, Gu Shuangshuang, was a full-fledged Second Realm Starry-Sky Warrior. She had roamed the Astral Realm for decades, endured countless bloody battles, and consumed untold resources before finally scraping through to perfection in her saber skills.
And Lin Yuan?
What resources did he have? How long had he even practiced?
Had he truly relied on talent alone?
Perhaps his Special Constitution leans toward the Sword Dao...
That was the only consolation Gu Shuangshuang could offer herself.
And in truth, her guess was not wrong.
Was it not precisely the Talent Trait "Swordsmanship Mastery" that allowed Lin Yuan's Sword Dao to advance in leaps and bounds, covering a thousand miles in a single day?
With his original aptitude, he would have reached the Mastery Stage at best...
After that little interlude, Gu Shuangshuang never again brought up having Lin Yuan hone his skills.
What was there left to hone?
His Swordsmanship had already reached perfection. Could further practice possibly take him another step beyond it?
Perfection, perfection—what did perfection mean?
This realm was already the limit for the vast majority of people. In a certain sense, it represented absolute completion, with no room left to advance.
To break past that limit and go further required Unity of Heaven and Humanity, one's skill approaching the Dao itself!
That was another domain altogether...
And after inadvertently revealing his Perfect Grade Swordsmanship, Lin Yuan's image grew even more imposing in the hearts of the Goddess Luo Squad's women.
His outstanding cultivation talent was one thing, but even his technical realm—the hardest thing to improve—far surpassed theirs.
That spoke volumes.
He was a truly invincible Star-Martial Prodigy, not even on the same level as them!
Lin Yuan was happy with this as well, because after his Swordsmanship reached Perfect Grade, his hunting speed had increased yet again—
The Subtlety Stage of Swordsmanship grants twice the power.
But perfection in Swordsmanship...
Grants a full four times the power!
Fourfold power.
His original strength of one hundred thousand jin could erupt with the force of four hundred thousand jin!
His original strength of two hundred thousand jin now became eight hundred thousand jin!
Such divine strength was already enough to clash head-on with Star Beasts without falling behind.
No wonder Starry-Sky Warriors generally place such importance on their technical realms...
Such an enormous improvement is truly unbelievable.
Before you continue