Suddenly, the old dog's nose twitched twice, as if it had caught a scent.
The dog's head immediately turned upward, staring at the black-shrouded beam.
Its gaze grew increasingly ferocious.
Before it could bark—
Bang! A flash of icy light shot out from the darkness.
Looking closely, it was a giant sword, several sizes larger than an ordinary longsword.
The old dog was swift, subtly sidestepping, brushing past the giant sword swinging toward it.
Then, leveraging the wall for support, the old dog leapt upward, launching itself toward the beam above at a speed far beyond ordinary dogs.
Just as it was midair—before it could pounce on whoever had hurled the sword up there—
Crash! The green tiles tumbled like a landslide, rolling off the rooftop in unison.
Revealing behind the tiles a sky filled with countless stars.
The starlight instantly filled every inch of the house.
The radiance inevitably bathed the old dog's airborne body.
Fsssht! As the light touched it, the dog's fur instantly blackened, as if scorched by fire.
The burning force even seared the skin beneath its fur into mush.
"Woo!" The old dog howled in pain, falling from midair.
During this, it saw a tall, slender figure leap from the shadowy beam, darting toward the spot where it would land.
The old dog's eyes brimmed with resentment and venom. Its mouth opened, gathering foul, sticky saliva inside.
About to spit it at the youth attacking it.
But the youth moved faster.
"Roar!" A thunderous roar, like a tiger or lion, reverberated from the youth's mouth.
The shockwave solidified, smashing straight into the old dog's body.
Blood spurted from its mouth and nose together; before it could spew the foul saliva, its body crashed hard into the floor.
The youth landed almost at the same moment.
His position was precisely where the giant sword had just hit.
He moved faster than a nimble monkey.
He drew the giant sword from the ground, and under the starlight, slashed at the old dog's waist before it could rise.
Shing! A cold flash.
The old dog's body split in two at the waist.
Even so, the old dog was still alive. Its upper body finally spat out the accumulated foul saliva at the youth.
So close that the youth had no room to dodge.
Critical moment.
Buzz! A golden-yellow circular barrier unfolded in front of the youth just in time.
The shining barrier illuminated the youth's handsome features—those brows and eyes, it was Liou Yuan.
The saliva hit the barrier, which easily deflected it. Liou Yuan wasn't hurt at all.
Without hesitation, his sword struck, severing the old dog's head and upper torso, smashing them to pieces.
With this, the battle ended.
Liou Yuan withdrew his spiritual power from the Yellow Jade Buddhist Beads barrier.
He walked to the old dog's corpse, dead beyond saving.
A ball of black matter slowly emerged from the shattered flesh, and upon touching the starlight, disintegrated into dust.
The black matter left only a single point of light, drifting toward Liou Yuan and absorbed by the Fixed Star Compass in his body.
"This old dog's nose was pretty sharp, huh." Liou Yuan glanced at the pile of ruined flesh at his feet, sneered, then withdrew the Yunwu Prefecture technique.
After using Lion's Roar Spell, Yellow Jade Buddhist Beads, and Yunwu Prefecture in succession, Liou Yuan wasn't even out of breath; his voice remained booming.
But the old dog's spit was too foul—worse than crap that's been stewing in the outhouse for decades.
Now the stench filled every inch of the room. Liou Yuan rubbed his nose and hurried out.
His fight with the Star Evil—from start to finish—had lasted no longer than ten breaths.
But the tumbling tiles made a huge racket, and his Lion's Roar had inevitably woken up the elderly family inside.
The five members of the family stepped from their rooms, wearing thin nightclothes, eyes full of panic as they watched the youth carrying the giant sword stride out.
Before they could scold Liou Yuan—
Bang! The courtyard door was shoved open with brute force from outside.
A grim-faced middle-aged man led a squad of constables into the room, surrounding the old dog's corpse.
"Mr. Xin!" Liou Yuan called softly to the middle-aged man.
Xin Hao sincerely said to Liou Yuan, "Thanks for your hard work, Mr. Liou."
"Mr. Ge and the others are busy on another mission—couldn't spare the hands. Thank goodness for you."
"Don't mention it, Mr. Xin. I'm just here for the bounty. But the place is a mess; you'll need to calm the family down." Liou Yuan grinned, gesturing at the confused family behind him.
"Of course. The magistrate will handle the damages here." Adding to that, Chief Constable Xin said, "As for your share, Mr. Liou—this time you single-handedly slew a Star Evil, I'll get you a good price from Mr. Wei."
"Much appreciated, Mr. Xin." That was exactly what Liou Yuan wanted to hear. He cupped his hands toward Xin Hao, then strode out into the yard.
He was only responsible for killing the old dog; Xin Hao handled the rest.
After killing the old dog, Liou Yuan didn't go home. He shouldered the giant sword and walked straight out of Yanhe City, heading for Virgo Peak.
Over these months, Liou Yuan had assessed—cultivating at Virgo Peak was a third faster than training in the city.
So, when there was no danger, Virgo Peak was always Liou Yuan's first choice for cultivation.
Liou Yuan was no longer an unknown beginner; some city guards had heard tales of him.
Passing through the gate, the guards didn't even slightly try to stop him.
With many folks watching respectfully, Liou Yuan strode across the city moat.
Only when he couldn't hear the water anymore did Liou Yuan leisurely reach into his robes and pull out a lustrous white elixir.
It was the Micro-Star Elixir, used to aid cultivation.
The reward given by Fixed Star Compass for slaying this Star Evil tonight.
The scent from the Micro-Star Elixir drifted to his nose. Liou Yuan's eyes sparkled in the night. He murmured, "Three months—it's finally a payday."
In three months, Liou Yuan had used the Fixed Star Compass three times.
His luck seemed spent; twice in a row, he found no spiritual objects, nor discovered any Star Evils.
Only on the third try, did he sense the old dog's presence.
Which led to the scene just now.
Before making a move, to avoid unnecessary trouble, he'd gone first to Chief Constable Xin.
It's good to have people on the inside. He simply killed the Star Evil—the rest, someone else would clean up.
Liou Yuan dared to take action solo for two reasons.
First, the Auspicious Star shift was ongoing. Star Evil's power was suppressed, especially under the starlight; they could only unleash a fraction—maybe twenty or thirty percent—of their strength.
Second, Liou Yuan had, over the past three months, finally broken through to the late stage of First Mansion in the Five Mansions Star Gazing Breathing Skill, condensing twenty strands of spiritual Qi in his body. His cultivation realm had reached Qi Cultivation Second Layer.
The power of Yunwu Prefecture was greater, and he could now handle the consumption from Lion's Roar Spell and Yellow Jade Buddhist Beads.
Killing a Star Evil at full strength might make Liou Yuan hesitate.
Killing a weakened Star Evil? Piece of cake.
"Heh, Micro-Star Elixir. With this pill, achieving First Mansion Perfection should be a snap." Liou Yuan chuckled, carefully placing the Micro-Star Elixir into a bottle.
Then he strode up Virgo Peak.
He spent half an hour recovering the spiritual power expended in battle.
The rest of the time, he forged his cultivation beneath the starlight.
After a night—
Liou Yuan opened his eyes, which had been closed tight until dawn.
He reached into his robes and poured out the Micro-Star Elixir he'd gotten last night.
After a night's baptism by star-power, Liou Yuan's Five Mansions and spiritual power were both peaking—it was the perfect time to take the Micro-Star Elixir.
His plan was simple: use the pill's power to raise his cultivation skill from late First Mansion to First Mansion Perfection.
Reaching the realm mentioned in Liou Zhen's letter.
"Even if I don't succeed today, with this pill, I'll be close enough."
He held the pill to his nose and inhaled its fragrance, feeling the scent in his lungs. Liou Yuan grinned, then tilted his head back and swallowed it.
Swoosh! Star-force surged with the pill into his stomach, erupting from his digestive mansion.
Liou Yuan lay down again, face up.
He activated Yunwu Prefecture, circulating the starlight following the Breathing Skill in his organs.
Fueled by the Micro-Star Elixir, the spiritual power in Liou Yuan's Five Mansions climbed slowly but steadily.
Twenty-one strands, twenty-two strands, twenty-three strands…
Half a day later, when the last trace of the pill's power had been absorbed—
Liou Yuan had gained seven more strands of spiritual power.
Twenty-seven in total.
"Just a bit more—I can feel it." Liou Yuan emerged from cultivation, savoring the fullness brought by the spiritual power; his eyes glowed with anticipation.
He hadn't managed to break through to First Mansion Perfection purely with the Micro-Star Elixir— but he wasn't far off.
"First Mansion Perfection should be thirty strands of spiritual power," Liou Yuan silently guessed.
If that was right, then he was just three strands away from the boundary.
Liou Yuan calculated how long it would take him to reach thirty strands: "One month! Maybe less!"
That month was under the Evil Star shift, when Liou Yuan could only cultivate on rooftops.
If Auspicious Stars came around, and he trained at Virgo Peak every day, it might only take twenty days.
"There's still half a year left in Liou Zhen's three-year agreement—hah, I'll finish ahead of time."
The boulder in Liou Yuan's chest finally rolled away. He rose leisurely from his cultivation spot, stretching his stiff hips and spine, walking to the cliff's edge, and gazing down at Yanhe City bathed in midday sunlight.
The river ran swiftly past the city walls.
Inside and outside the city, distant merchant caravans entered the gates from time to time.
The city was bustling.
Liou Yuan looked at the lively streets, murmuring to himself, "Half a year more, and I'll finally see my good brother again."