Xu Jin remembered that when they were collecting herbs in the mountains in July, he had slain two Evil People from the Blood God Sect. The flag master, Zhang Yunliang, had said that slaying two Evil People from the Blood God Sect could be recorded as "Small Merit ten," or as a specially acquired bounty.
"Small Merit ten" meant ten points of Taoist Merit.
Xu Jin had risked life and limb to slay two Evil People from the Blood God Sect, just to earn ten points of Taoist Merit, while disciples from the National Taoist Institute could easily earn sixty points by accepting a mission and only needed to record it with a single thought into the Star-picking Order.
This mission was, in any case, not available to the disciples of Jinshan Taoist Institute.
"Brother Jin, you might not know this, but every high-ranking member in our institute, such as the Mountain Master, Vice Mountain Master, Superintendent, Chief Instructor Ning, have all studied at the National Taoist Institute for a period ranging from a year or two to three to five years.
Even the Governor Tian Zhang has studied there.
One could say that without entering the National Taoist Institute, becoming a Star Patrol Guard flag master is the limit in our lifetime."
Lu Xianbing’s words also took Xu Jin by surprise.
The information gap still existed.
This second-generation official had access to much more information.
Without entering the National Taoist Institute, a Star Patrol Guard flag master would be Xu Jin’s lifetime limit?
Was Xu Jin willing to accept that?
Ever since the day he saw Mountain Master Dong Zhao walking atop starlight in the sky, Xu Jin had set a clear goal for himself: In the future, he too wanted to walk on starlight, stroll among the clouds, and even cradle his beloved while treading starlight and wandering through the heavens.
Moreover, Xu Jin harbored some absurd thoughts.
Should the opportunity arise, Xu Jin wanted to attempt the extreme experience above the clouds.
Drinking tea above the clouds held more prestige than in any stream or mountain brook.
There were many other things he wanted to try.
After some thought, Xu Jin looked at Lu Xianbing, "Brother Lu, have you come here with any particular ideas in mind?"
Xu Jin was well aware that although he and Lu Xianbing had a good relationship and mutual fondness, their relationship had not yet reached the level of intimate and inseparable.
Lu Xianbing coming to tell him this news certainly meant he had something in mind.
"Brother Jin, just look at how last year’s autumn Star Pointing’s Senior Brother Wang and others, more than a dozen of them, had been suppressing their Cultivation Levels and diligently practicing their Star Skills, all so that they could be selected for the National Taoist Institute during the autumn exam.
Not just them, but many local Taoist Institutes are witnessing the same phenomenon.
As a result, the competition pressure for us to be selected by the National Taoist Institute is extremely high.
However, I am unwilling to waste half a year waiting for next year’s autumn exam.
Therefore, I have a method for rapidly increasing Combat Power," Lu Xianbing said.
Hearing this, Xu Jin couldn’t help but look at Lu Xianbing in surprise.
A method for rapidly increasing Combat Power?
And Lu Xianbing was willing to share it with him?
"Brother Jin, you know that there is a limit to the number of challenges one can do in a day in the Martial Arts Secret Realm, right?"
"Yes, only about five or six times a day," Xu Jin said.
"That’s our opportunity to improve Combat Power."
A few minutes later, Xu Jin finally understood what Lu Xianbing meant—yet another information gap.
The reason the Martial Arts Secret Realm drained the Divine Soul Power was connected to dying in battle within the realm.
Dying in battle within the Martial Arts Secret Realm would consume a portion of one’s Divine Soul Power.
But if one didn’t die in battle, it was possible to train non-stop within the Secret Realm for 15 minutes, and the supply of Star Power in the Martial Arts Secret Realm was limitless.
In other words, as long as there was a suitable opponent, one could crazily cultivate Star Skills within 15 minutes. As for the exhaustion of Star Power provided by the Martial Arts Secret Realm, as long as one was willing to spend the starlight of the Star Picking Tower, one could immediately replenish full Star Power with no limit to the number of times—all it takes is starlight.
In reality, with Lu Xianbing’s total amount of Star Power, if he were to cultivate Star Skills at full force, he wouldn’t last even 100 breaths, let alone 15 minutes.
As for recovering Star Power with Pills, even with top-grade Star Refilling Pills, after taking them in quick succession three times, the effectiveness of the recovery would only be one-tenth.
However, the Martial Arts Secret Realm was not foolish; such loopholes were not easily exploited.
There had to be battle!
And it had to be a serious battle.
Therefore, Lu Xianbing wanted to cooperate with Xu Jin. The two could practice their Star Skills during a great battle, calling upon their Star Skills to strike each other as hard as they could without hitting vital spots.
Moreover, they needed to coordinate in advance.
One to take the offensive, the other to defend, then switch roles after a while for optimal results.
Combined with Rejuvenation Pills, training Star Skills in the Martial Arts Secret Realm for a day could be equivalent to others’ ten days and half a month of hard work.
An opponent of similar strength, a trustworthy person, also needed to have similar financial abilities, because at the very least, two Rejuvenation Pills would be consumed a day, along with a certain level of Star Skill proficiency, otherwise it wouldn’t work.
Most importantly, sufficient starlight was required.
Among all the current year’s Star Pointing disciples in the institute, only Xu Jin and Lu Xianbing had received a reward of 100 strands of starlight.
With only a few strands of starlight, it wouldn’t last many days of consumption.
After such rigorous filtering, Lu Xianbing found that only Xu Jin was suitable, so he came to find Xu Jin.
Upon hearing the explanation, Xu Jin nodded. The method Lu Xianbing had discovered for cultivating Star Skills within the Martial Arts Secret Realm was somewhat similar to the practice within the Star Lamp.
However, practicing within the Star Lamp had no restrictions, whereas in the Star Picking Tower’s Martial Arts Secret Realm, there were many limitations.
Especially the consumption of Star Power required the use of starlight to replenish it.
According to Lu Xianbing’s estimate, one would need to consume at least fifteen to twenty strands of starlight a day to recover Star Power and sustain cultivation.
That meant at least two thousand taels of Silver per day, and including the cost of Rejuvenation Pills, starting at a minimum of 2200 taels.
This wasn’t just honing one’s Star Skill; it was directly exchanging silver for the progress of Star Skills.
An average person, even if they knew about it, really wouldn’t be able to afford the training.
Xu Jin believed that this method must be known to many, but not all who knew could afford the training.
Not to mention the restrictive conditions, just the daily consumption of starlight wasn’t something just anyone could sustain.
If Xu Jin didn’t have the Can Dou Platform Star Lamp, this would definitely be the best option.
Exchanging silver for an increase in Star Skill mastery was a great deal.
But the problem was that Xu Jin had the Star Lamp, and continuing to expend silver would be a loss.
However, Lu Xianbing had come to him and shared such valuable information; to outright reject didn’t seem quite right.
He could only agree to give it a try first.
"Alright, let’s give it a try."
Seeing Xu Jin’s agreement, Lu Xianbing was elated, "Brother Jin, there is no time to delay. Shall we start now?"
Immediately, Lu Xianbing immersed his thoughts into the Star-picking Order and entered the Martial Arts Secret Realm with Xu Jin to begin their sparring challenge.
But in less than a minute, Lu Xianbing’s face turned as bitter as a chrysanthemum!