Chapter 521 - 488: Star Skirt Woman: Learned to Read in Just One Year?
Starlight twinkled.
In a star-filled sky that seemed real yet was, in fact, illusory, the constellations began to connect, outlining the form of a woman in a long dress. As they lit up in sequence, a woman emerged, as if sketched into existence by a painter’s brush.
It was the woman in the Star Skirt.
This was the very space where Shi Ming had arrived after traveling from the Scorpion King’s Pyramid to study the Civilization Prologue.
It appeared vast, but it did not actually belong to any part of the Star Sea. It was incredibly distant from any coordinate or planet, a place that could only be entered or exited through special means.
Twelve stone slabs hovered here, emitting the hazy light of civilization.
As if from time immemorial.
The surroundings were utterly silent, as if no other life had ever existed here.
*Hah...*
The woman rubbed her forehead.
’Without a fulcrum, every time I come here, my Spiritual Power is severely overdrawn. It also cost me ten years’ worth of accumulated Wall-Breaking Power.’
The "Giant Scorpion" fulcrum she had left in the Scorpion King’s Pyramid had already dissipated. The other fulcrum, the Lamp of Wishes, was suspected to have "run out of energy," and all contact with it was lost. Now, entering this legacy space required her to pay a considerable price; she could no longer come and go as she pleased.
But right now, it was necessary.
This whole operation, however, had left her thoughts feeling much more sluggish.
’I need to recover for a bit.’
She paused to catch her breath for a second, only to find the surroundings unexpectedly silent. There was no hysterical battle as she had imagined. The little fellow she had forcibly trapped here for over a year wasn’t clamoring for her to hurry up and release him, either.
???
Hm?
’Something’s wrong.’
’Where is he?’
The starry sky of this legacy space seemed real but was an illusion. It looked boundless, but in truth, only the area where the twelve stone slabs were placed could support life. This area was only about one square kilometer. The woman didn’t even need to look up; with a single thought, she could scan every inch of the space with perfect clarity.
The person,
had vanished...
He wasn’t in this space!
The only way to leave this space was to master the Civilization Prologue and use it to speak the pre-set Imperial Decree! Only then could one depart!
’It’s been less than a year and a half since that little fellow arrived in this space. In such a short time, as a mere Legend-rank human, he learned the Civilization Prologue? And found a way to leave?’
Unbelievable!
The woman in the Star Skirt found it hard to believe.
She had previously predicted it would take at least three years, but it had only been a third of that time.
’Mastering the Civilization Prologue in a single year?’
’Could he really be a genius?’
This space was of an extremely high order, making it impossible to use conventional temporal-rewind powers to view past events. But since there was no other way to leave, the woman in the Star Skirt could only surmise that Shi Ming had completed his "literacy" training not long ago and returned to where he came from.
She paced through the starry void.
She hoped to find some trace that could confirm her theory.
But she found nothing.
’Interesting.’
’I’m swamped with other matters. I’ll report back first.’
’After that, I’ll secretly travel to his Star Domain to verify things. I’ll have to avoid being detected by [Kong]... Right, a genius with such aptitude must naturally be recruited under my tutelage. I’ll have to pick a good first-time meeting gift for him. What would be good... ’
’He’s only Legend-rank...’
’What about the Seven-Star Sanctuary?’
’No, no, my disciple naturally deserves the best and most suitable thing.’
’I’ll decide after I meet him and inspect his constitution.’
Starlight shimmered and faded.
The woman’s figure vanished from this legacy space that belonged to no part of the Star Sea.
The space holding the twelve stone slabs returned to its ancient silence.
...
...
...
Shi Ming, of course, was unaware of what had transpired in the legacy space, nor did he know of the Star Skirt woman’s plans.
At this moment, he was like a true nomad, wandering through a tribe’s morning market, observing the local customs and searching for information about the Tomb Star Realm.
Like a new shoot growing next to a withered leaf,
the civilization on this planet was quite young.
Although it had also given birth to intelligent life, the civilization’s development was still in its initial stages. The people lived in tribes, working from sunrise to sunset. They gathered to trade at regular intervals, and the currencies used for these transactions varied. In some places, it was Shell Stones gathered from the seaside; in others, the pelts of prey; and in others still, the teeth of wild beasts.
At the same time, Shi Ming had yet to discover any awakened beings here.
It was as simple as a blank slate.
If not for the many details—like the soil composition and the constellations—confirming that this was indeed an unfamiliar planet in an unfamiliar Star Domain, Shi Ming would have suspected he had traveled back in time five or six thousand years to Earth.
Outside of the Tomb Star Realm, Shi Ming had no intention of revealing the Divine Rune. Thus, the Divine Rune was currently stored away and not on his person. However, he always carried the dark crystal he had picked up on Treasure Star, using it to search for a connection to the Tomb Star Realm.
...
After visiting several tribes, he chanced upon a conversation between two young boys.
"Big brother, look at this big saber I polished myself. Pretty sharp, huh!"
One of the boys swung the Bone Saber in his hand.
It was pieced together from stone and a Bone Blade, bound with coarse hemp rope. The tip and the edge were polished to be very sharp, making it excellent for hunting or fighting, and it could easily pierce the hides of many creatures.