Chapter 371 - 304: Abyssal Altar, Rebuilding the Channel (3)
The hopeful gazes of hundreds of millions of the Human Race...
All of it weighed heavily upon the depths of his consciousness.
Like a red-hot branding iron, searing his very Soul until it trembled.
"Main body."
Li Xing’s voice rang out again, clearer than before, and also more... exhausted.
It was not a physical exhaustion, but a weariness from the depths of his Soul, born from shouldering the weight of too many lives.
"I need your help."
Ian didn’t respond immediately. He took a deep breath, allowing his churning emotions to slowly settle.
"Speak."
"The final step of the Star Bloodline..."
A complex map of energy flow transmitted from Li Xing’s consciousness.
It was the key to the bloodline’s ascension to the True Form Tier.
To inscribe one’s own "Star Mark" at the core of the Soul.
This was no simple condensation of Energy.
It involved taking one’s entire understanding of the Gravity Rule, one’s total perception of Star Resonance, one’s complete tracing of the bloodline’s origin...
...compressing it all, refining it, and finally solidifying it into a... Soul Mark.
Once successful, this mark would exist alongside the Soul for eternity.
Even if the physical body were destroyed, as long as the Soul remained, the mark would not dissipate.
It would become the "source" of the bloodline, the "Anchor Point" of the Rule.
It would become... the most precious "gift" for the future return to the main body.
"But I’ve been stuck on this step for ten years, even with the panel’s help."
Li Xing’s voice held a rare trace of confusion.
"Every attempt at inscription triggers a tremor in my Soul."
"It’s not a lack of Energy, but... a conflict between Rules."
"The Star Rule of the Yalan Continent and the Rule from my bloodline’s Inheritance seem to have a subtle difference."
"It’s like two similar locks, but the key is off by a single tooth."
"Forcing it will only break the lock."
Ian was shaken, and he remained silent for a long time.
’Condensing Rule Perception into a Soul Mark... In the Wizard World, that’s something only Level Three Wizards even begin to attempt...’
’My projection has already come this far... How could I not lend a hand?’
Within his Sea of Spirit, the pale gold Crystal Core rotated silently.
Deep within the core, the Seed of the Stars trembled faintly.
The Star Rule Perception of a Level Four Morning Star Wizard flowed forth.
Even though it was only a fragment of his perception, it began to resonate with the map Li Xing had transmitted.
Ian closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking completely into the Link.
"Open your Soul Perception... completely."
Li Xing and he were one and the same; there was not the slightest hesitation.
In an instant,
Ian saw the vast, phantom starry sky deep within Li Xing’s Sea of Spirit.
He saw the incomplete Star Mark at the center of the phantom sky.
He saw the countless, fine cracks in the Rule surrounding the mark.
It was like a piece of exquisite porcelain, shattered with a web of cracks by some invisible Power.
Any more pressure, and it would shatter completely.
"Just as I thought..." Ian murmured.
He controlled his Power of Order Stars, slowly extending it through the Link.
Within his Sea of Spirit, the Rule information from the Seed of the Stars emerged, transforming into countless minuscule silver specks of light that scattered like stardust over the phantom starry sky.
Each speck of dust contained the Wizard World’s understanding of the Star Rule.
An analysis of the essence of Gravity, a grasp of Space-Time Curvature...
The instant these specks of light touched the phantom starry sky...
HUM!
Li Xing’s eyes flew open, his body wracked by a violent tremor.
The nine miniature stars orbiting him came to a halt, then... began to spin in reverse!
The Gravity Field within the grand hall instantly fell into chaos.
Tables and chairs levitated, Stone Slabs cracked, and the very air began to twist and distort.
A look of unprecedented enlightenment dawned on Li Xing’s face.
"So... that’s how it is..."
He muttered to himself, the depths of his pupils reflecting countless flowing silver trajectories.
Those trajectories intertwined, collided, and fused, finally sketching out something brand new in the depths of his Soul...
A complete and flawless Star Mark!
The instant the mark took form,
outside the hall, in the night sky over the Yalan Continent, every single star flared brightly for a moment!
This was no illusion.
Across the entire sky of the Yalan Continent, every visible star,
at that very instant, erupted with unprecedented brilliance.
The light pierced through the gray clouds, showering down upon the Earth.
It showered down on every inch of the Starlight Holy Land, and on the countless people gazing up at the night sky.
"Brother... did you succeed?"
Li Yao’s hand, gripping his sword, trembled slightly. A fervent light erupted from his one good eye.
Inside the hall, Li Xing slowly opened his eyes.
Deep within his pupils, the newborn Star Mark rotated slowly, emitting a Rule Fluctuation as vast as the sea.
His aura... began to surge.
From the Peak of Manifestation, toward that legendary Realm...
He had taken the first step.
「Wisteria Lane, Underground Laboratory」
Ian’s eyes shot open, and he spat a mouthful of blood onto the stone platform.
The dark red bloodstain spread across the silver-white patterns, a shocking sight.
An excruciating, tearing pain shot through his Sea of Spirit.
Guiding the Rule just now had nearly drained him of all his mental energy.
Without the panel’s help, the Rules of a Level Four Morning Star were far beyond his ability to touch.
A slow smile curved the corners of Ian’s mouth.
"It actually worked..."
Though his voice was hoarse, it carried an unconcealable excitement.
The dark vortex at the center of the Abyssal Altar was now spinning at an unprecedented speed.
Deep within the vortex, the image of the Yalan Continent was as clear as a mirror.
He could even "see" the ripples of the Rule surging around Li Xing.
He could "hear" the cheers of hundreds of millions from the Human Race sweeping like a tsunami outside the Star Tower.
He could "feel"... that the originally fragile Link between the two worlds
was stabilizing and strengthening at an astonishing speed, finally... becoming a true bridge.
A bridge spanning the endless Void, connecting two worlds, piercing through the hearts of two stars... a bridge between worlds.
Ian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly straightened up.
His fingertips lightly brushed the edge of the vortex, feeling the ever-strengthening Rule Resonance coming from the other side.
"Next... all that’s left is to wait for your breakthrough, Li Xing."
He murmured to himself, his eyes reflecting the starlight from deep within the vortex.
"For the moment you step into the True Form Tier."
"And bring that perception of a Level Three Wizard... back to me, in its entirety."