Sword Shatters Stars

Chapter 58 The visitor reported heaven-defying martial prowess!

When did she do it?

Ren Xing clearly remembered that the woman didn't make any unusual movements!

Lin Xiufeng recalled the circumstances of their encounter...

It is speculated that when he pointed with his foot, there was a momentary blind spot where his foot blocked his view.

The woman probably flicked some spices or perfume onto the sole of his shoe with her finger.

The martial artist probably wasn't sure at the time; he was just doing it as a precaution to make sure he could find them if he went back.

Lin Xiufeng must leave the rendezvous point to avoid being exposed when Zhao Youyue and Fang Yuan return.

Lin Xiufeng carried Renxing on his back and walked briskly through the woods for a while before turning back towards the main road.

A voice suddenly rang out from the woods: "You think you can just leave after causing trouble?"

Lin Xiufeng stopped, landed firmly, took the broken wolf horn in his hand, gripped it tightly, and looked around warily.

Lin Xiufeng could tell from the voice that the other person was moving around very quickly, clearly speaking while moving at full speed, intentionally showing off their strength.

"Fantian Village forced us to buy and sell, and now they won't let us leave, and I'm the one causing trouble?"

Lin Xiufeng dared not be careless and secretly estimated the opponent's movement speed to see if he could shake him off while carrying Renxing.

It seems...no.

"A Heavenly Warrior shouldn't be unaware of the rules of Heaven's Overthrow, and yet he claims he's not deliberately causing trouble?"

A figure can be vaguely seen under the shadow of the tree.

The sound came from there.

The female warrior stopped moving and speaking.

"This is actually my first time entering a village of the Overturning Heaven Organization. What should I do?"

"Such forced arguments are pointless. Don't you think it's beneath your dignity? State your background—"

"If you want to know me, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

Lin Xiufeng was unsure how martial artists introduced themselves.

"Lu Zirui, one of the top 50 Heavenly Warriors of the Dream Continent's Heavenly Transformation Branch, and the commander of the Central Region's 4th, 5th, and 6th Bases, has a Heavenly Martial Power of the 7th Star Level 4."

Lu Zirui spoke with great pride; being among the top 50 clearly gave him reason to be proud.

But what Lin Xiufeng cared about was the claim of the Heavenly Martial Power Seven Stars Fourth Level...

'The fourth level should be similar to the Heavenly Martial Soul, only consuming the Heavenly Martial Power distributed throughout the body to evolve the physical form...'

'The Seven Stars refer to the Heart of the Lesser Heavenly Martial? Impossible! There are thirteen after the breakthrough…'

Is the number of Lesser Heavenly Martial Hearts not fixed after a breakthrough?

Regardless, it was his turn to speak.

"Lin Xiufeng, an unorganized Heavenly Warrior, with Heavenly Martial Power at the thirteenth star level zero."

"Impossible!" Lu Zirui exclaimed angrily, "I've never heard of an unorganized thirteen-star zero layer!"

"Perhaps the lack of an organization has led to some misunderstanding in my understanding of the number of Heavenly Martial Stars and layers. Doesn't it refer to something similar to the Heavenly Martial Heart, but much smaller? Are the layers different from the Heavenly Martial Soul?"

Lin Xiufeng took the opportunity to learn about the situation.

Lu Zirui suddenly stepped out of the shadows and stared at Lin Xiufei carefully, his gaze falling on the wolf horn in Lin Xiufei's hand. He then looked puzzled.

He clearly hesitated for a moment before saying:

"You're really at the thirteenth-star level zero? How did you reach that level without any organization?"

"A stroke of luck, and I was fortunate." Lin Xiufeng realized that breaking through didn't automatically grant him thirteen Lesser Heavenly Martial Hearts, so he asked in a questioning tone, "May I ask, how many stars does one get when breaking through to Heavenly Martial?"

The woman looked surprised and uncertain. Knowing that she could only ask a question after answering, she said:
"The minimum is no stars, normally two or three stars. How many stars did you have when you broke through?"

"A bit more than normal." Lin Xiufeng noticed that the other party didn't mention any abnormal high-star information, so he didn't reveal his own either.

"How much more?" Lu Zirui continued to press, clearly concerned about the question.

Lin Xiufeng roughly understood that the difficulty of breaking through to the Heavenly Warrior level was likely related to the number of stars after the breakthrough.

According to information obtained from the pharmacy, cultivating the Tanzhong acupoint requires 20 grams of tortoise bone powder and can be completed in four months, described as highly efficient. The bone powder significantly enhances efficiency; without it, it would take twelve months.

Based on this, it can be inferred that the first level of Heavenly Cultivation Martial Power at the time of breakthrough is at least equivalent to one year of Boneless Powder cultivation after breakthrough. If it is a more difficult acupoint to cultivate, it may take one and a half years, or even two years.
'Accumulating a layer of Heavenly Martial Power doesn't necessarily take less time, so why is Lü Zirui so agitated? Perhaps there's additional Heavenly Martial Power loss during cultivation?'

'She's part of an organization, with a Seven Stars Fourth Level martial arts level. Why only the fourth level?'

'Since there's an organization involved, they should quickly realize that star repair is more efficient...'

'Seven minus four equals three, a normal breakthrough to two or three stars...'

'Does reaching the first star level require a complete physical evolution?'

'If that's the case, having more stars during the breakthrough will be a huge advantage!'

'She was so shocked because she couldn't believe my Heavenly Martial Power of the thirteenth level of the zero layer... I've been exposed...'

Lin Xiufeng secretly blamed himself for being shortchanged by his lack of knowledge about the basics of Heavenly Martial Arts, so he tried to make amends by saying:
"To be honest, I was just bluffing. Actually, I have the strength of an eight-star, third-level martial artist. I was already at the five-star level when I broke through."

Lu Zirui's mood was visibly relaxed, and he said as if he had expected it:

"I knew it! There couldn't possibly be any unorganized Heavenly Martial Power at the thirteenth level zero!"

"Every time a Celestial Warrior cultivates to the next star level, they need to break through to the next level; otherwise, the cultivation of the next star level will require double the Celestial Warrior power."

"Only organized, targeted training of top talents would do this in order to quickly improve specific star-level martial arts skills."

"You were already a five-star Celestial Warrior with outstanding talent when you broke through."

"Although the Overturning Heaven Organization has strict rules, it is also reasonable. As long as you are willing to join Overturning Heaven, we will not hold today's matter against you."

Lin Xiufeng smiled, his eyes filled with excitement.

Even someone as willful as her couldn't help but whisper:

"How could you possibly join the infamous Fantian!"

Lin Xiufeng ignored her and spoke to Lü Zirui:

"It would be great to get into the Heavenly Realm! But I wonder how many Heavenly Martial Artists there are? If I get in, will I be too insignificant, maybe not even making it into the top 1000?"

"What nonsense! There aren't even a thousand Heavenly Warriors in the entire Dream Continent! As long as you truly possess eight-star, third-level Heavenly Martial Power, you're easily in the top fifty! In terms of five-star talent, you're among the top three in the Dream Continent's Heaven-Turning Branch!"

"With my recommendation, I guarantee you'll be promoted directly to the rank of general. A general isn't like a village chief. Above the village chief is the commander, above the commander is the general, and only above that is a general."

Lin Xiufeng quickly clasped his hands in a fist salute and said loudly, "General, you are so powerful! My apologies! May I ask how many Heavenly Martial Artists the Heaven-Turning Organization has?"

"The Tianwu Group deceives newcomers with despicable methods and is the most accomplice to evil, with more than 300 members currently; the three major organizations are about the same, each with nearly 100. There are probably more than 100 or 200 scattered soldiers."

"I've told you so much, it's time to give an answer."

Lu Zirui did not give the exact number, but Lin Xiufeng guessed that there were nearly a hundred with great spirituality, but probably no more than eighty.

Therefore, her ranking in the top 50 is at an intermediate level.

As for the title of "General," Lin Xiufeng had reason to believe that almost every Heavenly Warrior was a General.

The Dream Continent appeared a little over two years ago. According to the records in the Crown's Miscellaneous Notes, the land where the major branches of the Coastal House were located was discovered six years prior.

Although the landmasses where the six branches are located are far smaller than the Dream Continent, they have a considerable number of mutated beasts in the past.

It is clearly illogical that there are so few Celestial Warriors left today.

Unless the conflict between the Heavenly Martial Group and the three major organizations results in the deaths or suppression of a significant number of Heavenly Martial Warriors.

"Thank you for your kind offer, General Lü. However, I have some matters to attend to recently. Once I'm done, I will definitely come to bother you again to discuss the benefits of joining Fantian."

Lin Xiufeng had no interest in turning things upside down, so he resorted to江湖语风语 (slang and derogatory terms).

"If you want to understand, just go back to the village and learn about it properly."

Seeing that Lin Xiufeng did not immediately respond, Lü Zirui added with a smile:
"Whether you join or not is another matter, but now that we know each other, you won't refuse to give me this much face, will you?"

Renxing didn't want to walk into a trap, but Lin Xiufeng suddenly remembered his second brother and grandson Yue...

He realized the meaning behind Lü Zirui's additional words, and thus gladly accepted the invitation.

Lu Zirui was immediately delighted and invited them to return to the village together.

(End of this chapter)