Late at night, the dark sky was filled with countless stars.
Some shining bright, some a bit more dim, others painting pictures of numerous constellations. In another part of the sky, countless stars were arranged together, forming a spiral of unimaginable proportions.
"It's really beautiful…" Zhang Baichi was lazing around on the roof of his wooden cottage, his hands held behind his head as he stared into the endless night sky.
His expression was calm – indifferent even – and he just watched the stars. A while later, he sighed and closed his eyes. "I still don't get it."
For the past four days, or rather, the past four nights, Zhang Baichi had been laying around on the roof of his cottage and done nothing but stare at the sky.
To reach the Star Stage of the Fractured Star Sword Technique, he had to comprehend Star Intent.
Seeing the stars, understanding them, controlling them, replicating their movements, behaviour, their power… He could do none of that.
'This is crazy… How am I supposed to 'comprehend' the intent behind the stars? They're celestial bodies that have formed naturally. They don't have a mind of their own and they certainly don't have any intentions…' Zhang Baichi complained in his head, frustrated.
"Ah, I knew this was all just gibberish…" He had long understood that he couldn't apply his common sense on this cultivation world, but that didn't mean that he could just ignore anything he knew.
He couldn't just ignore or forget his own knowledge about the stars and just comprehend the stars anew like a cultivator.
Zhang Baichi stared at the night sky again. 'Reaching the Stardust Stage was probably also just a fluke. It's not like my understanding of the stars has changed in any way and I'm just using Sword Qi to leave behind a trail in the air, which happens to look like stars…'
He didn't know how to proceed with this Sword Technique, but he also couldn't cultivate.
When he had tried to do so 4 days ago, the system had warned him that breaking through too fast wasn't good. That he would need to consolidate his foundation, which basically meant waiting for a while before breaking through again.
While that in and of itself wasn't a problem, it also meant that he had nothing to do for the past four days.
During the day, he would go to the training fields and swing his sword until he grew tired of it, then he would laze around at home until he grew tired of it… Finally, he would watch the stars at night and try to comprehend Star Intent until he grew tired of it…
'I'm just a low-level cultivator, so why is my life already so boring? What will I do once I reach the point where I can cultivate for hundreds of years before breaking though? I'll really die of boredom, then…' Zhang Baichi sighed again and again.
He jumped down from the roof and went back inside his cottage to sleep.
The next morning began like any other; A servant brought him food, he stuffed himself, washed up and went to the training fields.
Thankfully, people were leaving him alone since he made such a spectacle a while ago.
They didn't usually interact with him anyways since Ji Jian put him in his sights, but now he was also quite strong, making most people very apprehensive.
Zhang Baichi picked a wooden sword and a place to practise and absentmindedly glanced around. 'They're all so serious about swordsmanship… I kinda feel bad, but there's nothing I can do. The Fractured Star Sword Technique works differently from theirs…'
He swung his sword again and again to warm up, then progressed to going through the motions of the Fractured Star Sword Technique. He didn't use any Qi while training, but still tried to come up with a solution to his current predicament.
'Let's think about it again… Stars are giant celestial bodies an immeasurable distance away from our world planet, whatever this is. They're made of gas and are continuously going through nuclear fusion, but people of this world believe they're just made up of energy.'
'That's not wrong, though, but it's also different. The energy comes from the elements inside the star reacting with each other, so saying its simply energy is barely scratching the surface. They don't understand the underlaying…. Princi…ples…' Zhang Baichi's movements came to a halt, and he stared at the ground.
'Are they, though? The underlaying principles – are they real? Are scientists of Earth in the right here? I mean, both sides are right, but Earth is making it so complicated.' Zhang Baichi mused.
"It's energy. No matter if before or after nuclear fusion, it's always energy. On the most surface level it's just energy, then it gets complicated, and then it's just energy again…. Just energy, haha…" He was muttering like a fool.
His speech got more and more agitated, and his laughter was getting louder. He was repeating the phrases about energy again and again, until the surrounding disciples were throwing him weird looks.
A short moment later, he grew quiet again. Then, he started moving and practised the Fractured Star Sword Technique again.
His movements were the same as ever and he went through the motions one by way in a never-ending flow. It was the same scene the gathered disciples had seen again and again in the fast few days.
But something was different.
No matter how the disciples looked, the motions were the same as before and there was still not a trace of Qi, yet an invisible pressure weighed down on each and every one of them.
Zhang Baichi moved faster and faster, and the pressure on the surrounding people increased with each movement.
Slowly, the faint outline of light gathered along the edge of his sword. It was sharp and contained an utterly devastating power.
The other disciples stared at Zhang Baichi's sword in awe yet felt dread from the sword at the same time.
Inside a cottage by the side of the training field, a middle-aged man with a scar across his face stared at Zhang Baichi with a fervent expression.
He was leaning on a fine wooden cane with intricate decorations and walked with a limp as he left the house. "Sword Qi gathering on its own… This boy is making Sword Qi gather on its own. What an incredible technique. What incredible talent…"
The man walked across the training fields with his cane, shocking the nearby disciples wherever he passed and causing them to bow as soon as they saw him.
Confused, many of the disciples looked at the limping man, but no one dared to speak, as his indifferent expression looked cold and dangerous.
The man was headed straight for Zhang Baichi and his eyes never left the young man. However, his steps suddenly halted, and he looked to the side, his gaze piercing past a number of disciples, who hurriedly lowered their heads with cold sweat flowing down their backs.
"D*mned geezer!", the man cursed after a short silence, then turned around on his heel, unnoticed by Zhang Baichi.
Quite some distance away, Jian Fu looked at the middle-aged man in silence, then smiled in Zhang Baichi's direction. 'Sorry, Old Yu, but the kid has no fate with you.'
He had sent the middle-aged man, who he called Old Yu, a sound transmission, informing him about Zhang Baichi's status and telling him not to get any ideas about the child.
Old Yu returned to his house by the side of the training field, slammed the door shut and sat back down at the table across from a young man that was looking at him with an incredulous expression.
"What's gotten into you, father?" It has been a long time since Yu Hao had seen his father this angry, so he couldn't stop himself from asking. Old Yu had just left the house in the middle of their conversation and returned with a livid expression on his face shortly after.
With a displeased expression, Old Yu looked at his son and spoke in a flat tone. "Hao, do you know that Zhang Baichi kid?"
"Huh? Ah, yes, I do. What about him?" Yu Hao asked, confused. His expression changed as he looked at his father weirdly. Just what did Zhang Baichi have to do with this?
"You're not allowed to lose to him." Old Yu stated, his tone not leaving any room for discussion. Yu Hao looked incredulous. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Don't bother. You're just not allowed to lose, understood?! You'll get disowned if you lose." The middle-aged man grabbed a bottle of pills from the side and swallowed one, then stood up and went into a room in the back, once again leaving Yu Hao alone at the table, dumbfounded.
How had their casual conversation about the work at the Law Enforcement Division and cultivation turned into such a mess? And why would his father mention anything about Zhang Baichi?
"Don't tell me… Is it because we fought that kid with multiple people before? But what's suddenly gotten into him?" Yu Hao stared at the backroom, muttering to himself, completely confused and stumped.