Lone Star Strikes, Tian Meng Slips Away

"Was it worth cutting off your path to greatness for just one woman?"

Seeing Bei Bei in such a sorry state, Huang Jinxu could not help murmuring his conclusion aloud.

But he quickly put aside that mocking thought.

He had come this far because he knew what was coming, because he knew what kind of being stood behind it all.

Bei Bei was only a child. How could he resist a Deity's schemes?

What was more, that Deity was not only powerful and influential, but a sly old fox to boot.

"That surge of spiritual power... Sky Dream Ice Silkworm!"

Just as Huang Jinxu thought it was all over and Huo Yuhao would not obtain his extraordinary advantage this time, a powerful surge of spiritual power came from afar.

The spiritual power was immense, though its quality was unremarkable. It also carried an icy attribute.

Only the Million-Year Soul Beast, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, fit that description.

He had appeared now, and Huo Yuhao was nearby.

If he successfully completed his sacrifice, every guess Huang Jinxu had made would be overturned.

But Huang Jinxu had no intention of interfering.

Whatever the outcome, he would get the answer he wanted.

He would simply have to adjust his plans afterward.

"At last, I've found someone with a spiritual..."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was thrilled. A few days earlier, he had sensed someone nearby with a spiritual Martial Soul, but before he could approach, that person had left.

Missing the target he had waited so long for had pained him. He had thought he would never get another chance.

To his surprise, that person had appeared again.

This time, he would not miss his chance, no matter what.

He released his spiritual power, about to make contact with Huo Yuhao.

Just then, despite the clear daylight, a star in the sky flashed with dazzling light.

Daytime Starflash challenged the blazing sun.

A cold, lonely aura spread between heaven and earth as the star flickered. In an instant, the temperature across the area dropped sharply.

As the star shone brilliantly in broad daylight, the black mark on Huang Jinxu's forehead lit up deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

Huang Jinxu could vaguely feel both his cultivation and his understanding advance.

It was like a flood bursting through a dam, impossible to hold back.

In little more than a dozen breaths, he gained the equivalent of a year's arduous cultivation.

Now he truly stood just one step from becoming a rank 98 Super Douluo.

He was confident he would break through within six months. At rank 98, his cultivation would be second only to Dragon God Douluo Mu En's in the present-day Shrek Academy.

Ordinarily, Gluttonous Douluo Xuan Zi should have stood above him. Xuan Zi should have reached rank 98 long ago.

But Huang Jinxu's arrival had thrown everything out of order.

After joining Shrek Academy, Huang Jinxu had worn away the academy's fortune while also restraining those close to him.

His rapid rise had soon caught the attention of Shrek Academy's upper ranks and the Sea God Pavilion Elders.

Whether seized by a sudden whim or impressed by Huang Jinxu's exceptional talent, Xuan Zi had wanted to take him as a disciple. Then disaster struck Xuan Zi.

Though Xuan Zi had never succeeded in taking him as a disciple, he had still been drawn in. As they spent more time together, they grew closer, and the already unreliable Xuan Zi grew unluckier still.

Not only did problems arise every time he took students Soul Hunting, but his own cultivation suffered considerably.

Xuan Zi had only managed to break through to rank 97 recently. There was still a wide gap between his cultivation and Huang Jinxu's.

"Is he going to be caught up in this?"

Sensing the change in himself, Huang Jinxu knew his disciple Huo Yuhao might not get what he wished for this time.

Huo Yuhao did have the Plane Will behind him, bore the powers of fortune and fate, and had an invisible hand guiding events. But now that their fortunes were linked and the Demon Star had exerted its power, things would be entirely different.

The Plane Will's power within Huo Yuhao was weakened by its earlier expenditure, and his fortune had been diminished and disrupted. With the invisible hand behind him not intervening directly, it was of little use against the Heavenly Lone Star's suppression.

This was different from Tang San drawing on fortune to preserve the Tang Sect.

No matter what Tang San did, the total amount of fortune was fixed. He could only transfer part of it from one person to another.

Put simply, it was a way of borrowing fortune.

The total remained unchanged, and it had to be harvested steadily, like a thin stream flowing for years.

The Heavenly Lone Star's suppression was different.

To a certain extent, it harmed others without benefiting its bearer at all.

The Demon Star directly shattered the fortune of any being who drew near him.

It did not absorb or steal their fortune. It simply kept them away by shattering and destroying it.

Like a blazing fire, it burned anything that came close.

Ordinary people had limited fortune. Once theirs was shattered, they might suffer bad luck at best or be injured in any number of accidents at worst.

Those with deep reserves of fortune might be unlucky for a time after theirs was shattered, but it would soon gather again. After all, the Heavenly Lone Star had not taken it from them.

Even so, some fortune was inevitably lost while it scattered and gathered anew.

As for why Huang Jinxu's cultivation rose when he suppressed others despite taking neither their fortune nor any other power, that had to do with the star linked to his Martial Soul.

At his current level, however, he could not travel to where the Heavenly Lone Star lay or investigate its secrets. He would have to become a god first.

As the Heavenly Lone Star exerted its power, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who had already made contact with Huo Yuhao, suddenly stopped.

He sensed a familiar presence approaching.

It was Xiong Jun, ranked sixth among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts.

And from the way things stood, Xiong Jun had clearly found him and was heading straight for him.

Xiong Jun could not stop the sacrifice once it began, but when it ended, the little fellow would never survive an encounter with him. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm might even be captured and taken back.

"Little fellow, when it's time for you to obtain your Second Soul Ring, come to the Star Dou Great Forest. I'll be waiting here."

After leaving Huo Yuhao with those words, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fled into the distance without a moment's hesitation.

He deliberately chose a direction opposite to Huo Yuhao's so the boy would not be caught up in Xiong Jun's pursuit and killed on the spot.