Tian Shu Wu Wang Lu

As the sun climbed to its zenith, dappled sunlight filtered through the forest. Lin Ye still had no intention of venturing deeper into the secret realm, maintaining the rhythm of a deliveryman making orders along his route. He looked left and right, and when he came across a few decent-looking star-patterned grasses, he casually picked them and tossed them into his storage bag.

Having practiced with the porcupine at the Spirit Spring, I've honed my control over the power of the Star Pivot to a much smoother level. Now I'm in top form, my steps light yet unhurried, swaying leisurely as if I were taking a stroll in my own neighborhood.

The Star Ember on its shoulder was full of energy, its sapphire eyes darting around, golden flames flickering on its forehead, and tiny starlight gently flowing around it. Although it had not yet developed intelligence, it could keenly sense the aura of the surrounding spirit beasts. When it encountered any slightly hostile creatures, it would quietly release a trace of its star spirit pressure, scaring away any small beasts that tried to approach and sending them scurrying into the bushes. It was practically a walking "spirit beast deterrent."

"Little guy, you're even more dedicated than I am." Lin Ye chuckled, reaching out to stroke Xing Jin's fluffy downy fur. His fingertips touched that warm, snow-white ball of fur, and he felt a tenderness in his heart.

Who would have thought that this seemingly adorable little spirit fox actually possessed the bloodline of the ancient Star Spirit Celestial Fox? Even a casual scattering of its aura was enough to send a host of spirit beasts fleeing in terror. Lin Ye knew that with this little fellow by his side, the dangers on the outskirts of the secret realm were practically negligible. On the contrary, he could slow down with peace of mind and hone his skills.

Just as the man and the fox were leisurely preparing to "scout out" the orchard ahead, which seemed to have a denser concentration of star energy, a series of deliberately lowered footsteps suddenly came from behind them, carrying a sinister arrogance.

Lin Ye paused, thinking to himself: They're here.

He didn't turn around, but turned slightly to the side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw three figures emerge from behind the tree and stand steadily in front of him at the intersection. They were the three veteran inner disciples who had been scrambling around by Xing Jin earlier and had been easily pushed back by him.

The three men wore expressions of anger and embarrassment. The leader of the disciples still had a swollen and red mouth, and his eyes were full of resentment. Clearly, he had not suffered any losses and had come back specifically to seek revenge.

"Kid, you sure know how to navigate, you've got us all cornered!" the leading disciple gritted his teeth, his tone arrogant. "You got away earlier, now let's see where you hide!"

The two disciples beside him also unleashed their star power, surrounding Lin Ye with unfriendly expressions, completely blocking his escape route.

Lin Ye slowly turned around, his expression still calm, but there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"I didn't want to cause trouble, but you insisted on coming to my door." His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable tenacity. "Since you don't know what's good for you, then don't blame me for being impolite."

"You're welcome? I'd like to see how you can be impolite!" The leading disciple sneered and made the first move.

He formed hand seals, his body surging with star power, and a pale blue star power longsword materialized, whistling through the air as it slashed fiercely down towards Lin Ye's waist. The move was cunning, clearly intended to cripple Lin Ye's storage bag, leaving him empty-handed.

The other two disciples followed closely behind. One of them unleashed several star whips, while the other brandished a short blade and launched a surprise attack from the side. The three of them worked together seamlessly, clearly intending to outnumber the enemy and force Lin Ye into a desperate situation.

The atmosphere around them instantly became tense, and the swaying shadows of the trees were filled with a chilling aura.

If it were any other newly recruited disciple, facing the combined attack of three veteran inner disciples, they would probably have panicked and been forced into retreat.

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed, but instead of panicking, he smiled calmly.

His purpose in entering the secret realm was to hone his combat skills, and he could take advantage of these three people to test his cultivation progress.

"Well done!"

Instead of retreating, Lin Ye advanced, his feet lightly stepping forward. The power of the Star Pivot flowed through his movements, making him as light as a leaf. He instantly sidestepped, barely avoiding the slash of the long blade. The blade grazed his clothes, creating a gust of wind that sent the surrounding leaves fluttering down.

"Such fast movement!" The three disciples were all stunned, clearly not expecting Lin Ye to be so fast.

But they did not hesitate, and their attack became even more rapid. The star whip coiled around Lin Ye's limbs like a venomous snake, while the short blade pierced straight for his heart.

Lin Ye's eyes narrowed slightly, and the power of the Star Pivot within his body surged at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow, yet with unparalleled precision. He raised his hand and gently flicked it, his fingertips tracing the Star Whip. Seemingly casual, yet precisely touching the node of the Star Whip, a soft "snap" was heard, and the Star Whip instantly disintegrated, turning into countless stardust fragments.

Immediately afterwards, he sidestepped the short blade, and at the same time, he lightly stomped his foot on the ground, and a steady and solid star power suddenly surged out, hitting the disciple who had unleashed the short blade right in the chest.

"Bang!"

The disciple groaned and staggered back several steps, a dull pain shooting through his chest, his star power thrown into disarray.

The other two disciples, seeing this, showed a hint of fear in their eyes, but they still refused to give up and continued to attack Lin Ye fiercely.

Lin Ye thought to himself: Perfect, let's practice more and get used to the proper way to exert force.

While skillfully dodging the attacks of the three, he slowly honed his control over the power of the Star Pivot in the exchanges. Sometimes he would gently brush away their moves, and sometimes he would lightly push away their power. With each move, he precisely controlled the force, so that he would neither hurt them nor cause them any trouble.

In just a few breaths, the three disciples were completely outmaneuvered by Lin Ye, suffering several light pushes, their star power becoming increasingly chaotic, and their breathing becoming more and more rapid.

Just then, a sinister glint flashed in the eyes of the leading disciple, who suddenly abandoned the frontal attack and instead pounced on Xingjin on Lin Ye's shoulder.

"Little fox, I'll catch you first!"

He knew that Lin Ye was able to deal with it so easily mostly because of this seemingly harmless little fox.

Once Xingjin is captured, Lin Ye will be thrown into chaos, and then he will be at Lin Ye's mercy.

This attack was swift and ruthless, completely disregarding the rules among fellow disciples and displaying despicable methods.

Lin Ye's eyes suddenly turned cold.

He could tolerate the three of them vying for the opportunity, but he could never tolerate them harming Xingjin.

In his past life, he delivered food and saw too many bastards bullying the weak, and he hated such behavior the most.

After transmigrating, Xingjin became his closest companion, a family member who accompanied him from a menial servant in the mortal realm all the way to the inner sect, and no one could touch him.

"Dare to touch it? You're asking for death!"

Lin Ye let out a low shout, and the power of the Star Pivot around him was no longer held back. It surged instantly and transformed into a condensed Star Power Barrier, blocking Xing Jin in front of him.

The leading disciple was thrown back as if he had crashed into an invisible wall of bronze and iron, landing heavily on the ground, spitting out blood, and his life force instantly waned.

At the same time, Star Ember on his shoulder was also alerted.

It was originally perched on Lin Ye's shoulder, quietly watching its master fight. But when it saw someone rushing over to hurt it, a fierce glint flashed in its sapphire eyes, and the golden flame-shaped star pattern on its forehead suddenly lit up. The tiny starlight around its body instantly surged, transforming into a snow-white afterimage.

Instead of pouncing to bite, it used the bloodline advantage of the ancient star spirit fox to unleash a star spirit pressure far exceeding that of before.

This oppressive aura was so tangible that it instantly enveloped the three disciples, causing them to stiffen, halt the flow of their star power, and even making it difficult to breathe.

The three men were deathly pale, their eyes filled with terror.

They finally realized that this seemingly cute little fox was not an ordinary spirit beast at all, but a top-tier spirit beast with a noble bloodline! And they had actually dared to attack such a being before!

"This...this is...the aura of the Star Spirit Celestial Fox?!" The leading disciple's voice trembled, his face filled with disbelief.

The Star Spirit Celestial Fox is an ancient, reclusive spirit beast with noble blood and terrifying power. Even before it is fully awakened, it is still beyond the ability of these Star Condensation Realm disciples to contend with.

Lin Ye slowly stepped forward, his star power receding, leaving only a faint aura of the Star Pivot, and calmly looked at the three of them.

"Now, do you think I'd still be afraid of you?"

The three disciples were ashen-faced, all traces of their previous arrogance gone. They knew they had bitten off more than they could chew; if they didn't leave now, they might lose their lives.

"I'm...I'm sorry, we were blind. We'll leave now, we'll leave now!" The leading disciple struggled to his feet, apologizing repeatedly, his voice filled with fear.

The three of them scrambled and stumbled, not daring to linger for a moment, and then turned and darted into the depths of the forest, disappearing from sight in a short while.

Lin Ye watched their hurried retreating figures, breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned to look at Xing Jin on his shoulder, his eyes full of tenderness.

"Thank you, little one."

Xingjin nuzzled his cheek, his sapphire eyes filled with arrogance, and the star pattern on his forehead flickered slightly, as if to say: What's the big deal? It's nothing.

Lin Ye chuckled and reached out to rub its little head.

This fight, though seemingly easy, gave him a completely new understanding of the power of the Star Pivot. Before, his meditation and arduous training only allowed him to understand the application of power on paper, but actual combat made him truly understand that the strength of Star Power does not lie in how fiercely it is unleashed, but in how precisely it is controlled.

He looked down at his palm and could clearly feel that, after the battle just now, the power of the Star Pivot was flowing more smoothly in his body, and the Star Pivot in his dantian was becoming more rounded and solid. There was a hidden power ready to be released, but he kept it firmly suppressed and it did not easily overflow.

He still didn't deliberately try to break through his cultivation level; he simply let things take their natural course, slowly digesting and absorbing the tempering he had gained from the fight.

Xingjin perched on his shoulder, pointed with his little paw in the direction the three disciples had fled, and chirped softly, as if warning them not to come back.

Lin Ye nodded: "Don't worry, with you here, they won't dare to come again."

The man and the fox continued walking towards the orchard ahead.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled golden rays that fell on the figures in the forest and on the snow-white downy fur of Xingjin, shimmering with tiny starlight.