I want to tread the heavens

Life in the small courtyard suddenly became as tense as a bowstring.

Since the star chart was finalized, Uncle Rong no longer treated Ling Xiao as a child. Before the morning light pierced the window paper, he knocked on the door, waking Ling Xiao from his meditation. On the stone table in the courtyard, there was no longer hot porridge or steamed buns, but only a stack of thin wooden pieces that Uncle Rong had carved overnight, with diagrams of human meridians, joints, and instruments drawn with charcoal sticks, the strokes rough yet as precise as anatomy.

"On the battlefield, there is no room for benevolence or righteousness, only life and death." Uncle Rong stood with his hands behind his back, the morning dew dampening the hem of his gray shirt. His voice was as deep as an anvil. "You bear the spirit of a fallen star and the power to devour the heavens. In the future, you will not encounter frogs in a well like the Guo family, but elite demons and powerful beings in the starry sky. Fancy spells are no match for a single, fatal blow."

He picked up a piece of wood and pointed his fingertip at the back of the knee: "This is the 'Kneeling Point.' For cultivators who have reached the Foundation Establishment stage, their protective spiritual power is weakest here. A single finger's force can break their defenses." He then traced the wooden piece across the carotid artery, temple, and spinal tuberosity: "If these three points are injured, the cultivator will lose their fighting ability. If the power of a meteorite is concentrated at the fingertip, it can penetrate the nail and enter; those below the Golden Core stage will either die or be crippled."

Ling Xiao focused intently, not daring to miss a single word. Fa Cai curled up under the eaves, feigning sleep, but his ears twitched slightly in sync with Uncle Rong's tone, as if he were also silently reciting.

Professor Rong's teachings are not just about killer moves, but also about strategic thinking.

"When encountering an enemy, first observe their situation." He used charcoal sticks to draw a simple array diagram on the mud. "Three people form a '品' (pin), which can lock in advance and retreat; five people form a '梅' (mei), which can withstand encirclement. If trapped in a heavy encirclement, do not linger in battle. You need to find the array's core—often the location of the master of the array or its spiritual energy hub. The power of meteors is good at sensing; you should use this as your eyes to observe the enemy's strengths and weaknesses."

He also taught Ling Xiao methods of marching and setting up camps, wilderness reconnaissance, poison identification, and even astronomical calculation. These were all life-saving skills honed by the Heavenly Palace guards through blood and fire, and now they were all poured into Ling Xiao's mind. Ling Xiao was already exceptionally quick-witted, and after receiving the inheritance, his mind became even sharper. Often, he would understand half of what Rong Shu said, and he could even draw inferences from one instance to another, asking tricky questions.

"If the enemy traps me with illusionary formations and then corrodes my body with poisonous miasma, what should I do?"

"The illusion array disturbs the mind, and the poisonous miasma harms the body. We should use the power of the meteor shower to guard our spiritual platform and discern the position of the array's eye star; we should move our body upwind of the array's eye and draw the miasma back to devour the enemy's array." Ling Xiao replied swiftly.

Uncle Rong nodded, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes, but his expression remained cold: "Not bad. But what if the array's core is a trap, a bait?"

Ling Xiao was taken aback, pondered for a moment, and then his eyes lit up: "Then let's feign an attack on the array's core, while actually focusing our strength on breaking its auxiliary array nodes, cutting off the flow of spiritual energy, and the illusion array will collapse on its own."

"Good." Uncle Rong's lips curled up almost imperceptibly. "Only by learning actively can one survive."

In the afternoon, when the sun was blazing, Uncle Rong led Ling Xiao to the old locust tree in the courtyard.

"The 'Zhou Tian Xing Chen Body Refining Technique' is the foundation for the Starfall Clan's cultivation." He said solemnly, "Although you have received the source's infusion, making your meridians far stronger than your peers, your foundation is not solid, like a tall building with a shallow foundation. From today onwards, you must draw upon the star power to temper your muscles, bones, and skin every day without interruption."

He instructed Ling Xiao to face upwards with his five centers facing the sky, sensing the faint light of the twin moons (the old Saturn's power was thin, but the twin moons contained a trace of star essence). Ling Xiao followed his instructions and circulated the method. At first, it felt like ants crawling on his skin, but gradually his bones softened and his marrow heated, as if silver needles were pricking his acupoints, causing unbearable soreness and distension, yet he endured it without moving. Uncle Rong would occasionally extend his fingers, touching his shoulders, spine, knees, and other points to correct subtle deviations in the flow of his star power.

"Tempering the body with star power is not about brute force; it must be like weaving a net, dense and pervasive, penetrating every bone. Haste will damage the meridians, while slowness will be ineffective."

After the star power circulated for a full cycle, Uncle Rong took out a scroll made of animal hide, dark purple in color, with faint thunder patterns—it was the introductory chapter of the "Nine Heavens Thunder Emperor Scripture" left behind by Ling Zhan.

"This scripture is domineering, primarily for killing and devouring." Uncle Rong's expression was solemn, as if facing an abyss. "The Devouring Heaven Bloodline within you is of the same origin as this scripture. Cultivating it will easily cause your bloodline to become agitated, backfiring on yourself. Therefore, today I will only teach you two techniques: 'Drawing Lightning to Temper the Meridians' and 'Lightning Seal to Suppress the Soul.' The aim is to use the power of thunder to temper the Starfall Body and to use the lightning seal to restrain the toxicity of your bloodline, preventing it from going out of control."

He helped Ling Xiao activate a dormant trace of purple-gold lightning intent within his bloodline, channeling it into his meridians. Instantly, Ling Xiao felt as if struck by lightning; his entire body trembled violently, his meridians throbbed with pain, and purple-gold lightning snaked wildly beneath his skin. Uncle Rong shouted in a low voice, "Guard your spiritual platform! Use stellar power as your vessel, ride the lightning, and do not let the lightning intent take over!"

Ling Xiao gritted his teeth, sweat pouring down his forehead, and used the "Star Body Refining Technique" to guide stellar power to envelop the thunderous intent, slowly circulating it. The pain was like being pierced by ten thousand needles, but at the places where the thunderous intent raged, impurities were refined, and the walls of his meridians became increasingly resilient. After the thunderous intent had circulated for three inches, Uncle Rong instructed him to form the "Thunder Seal" to suppress it, guiding the remaining waves into the dantian's star core for nourishment, and not to be greedy.

"Once the Thunder Seal is formed, there will be a shackle when the bloodline is restless. However, this method is dangerous and should not be used for more than three quarters of an hour each day. Otherwise, the thunder intent will accumulate, the star power will be difficult to control, and the foundation of the Dao will be destroyed." Uncle Rong's warning was as sharp as a knife.

Fa Cai seemed to sense Ling Xiao's pain, leaning closer to gently lick the back of his hand, whimpering softly. Ling Xiao, distracted, stroked Fa Cai's head, and the lightning intent subsided slightly at his will. Uncle Rong's eyes flickered slightly: "The Howling Moon Wolf bloodline seems to help you calm your blood and qi. In the future, you can have Fa Cai by your side during your cultivation."

From then on, Ling Xiao practiced the art of killing and the way of military formations during the day, cultivated his celestial body at dusk, and wielded the power of thunder at night. Starlight flowed through the small courtyard every night, and occasionally the low rumble of thunder could be heard, but fortunately Guo Yun had set up a concealment formation so as not to disturb the outside world.

Uncle Rong was not sitting idly either.

He sat cross-legged by the well, attempting to draw upon the sparse spiritual energy of the old soil to nurture his broken foundation. Although the power of the source pool halted the collapse, it was like glue holding together broken porcelain, requiring painstaking, painstaking repair. He had long forgotten his cultivation techniques, relying solely on instinct to transform spiritual energy into threads, binding the cracks in his foundation like a silkworm spinning silk, slow yet resolute.

Occasionally, a spurt of spiritual energy would cause his old wounds to ache, but he remained unfazed, calmly guiding them back to their proper course. When he had a sudden insight, he would carve his understanding onto wooden tablets and leave them to Ling Xiao. He knew that his return to his peak was a distant dream, yet he was willing to use his remaining body as a candle to illuminate Ling Xiao's path forward.

A month later, Ling Xiao was able to spar with Uncle Rong's wooden sword for over a hundred moves without being defeated. His body tempering with star power was beginning to show results, his skin was faintly glowing with jade-like luster, and he could also condense the thunder seal at will. Suppressing the restlessness of his bloodline was no longer as difficult as before. Fa Cai's injuries were fully healed, his fur was glossy, and when he howled at the moon, the silver light was even purer, seemingly also benefiting from the star thunder energy in the courtyard.

That night, the moonlight was as clear as water. Uncle Rong handed the newly carved wooden tablet to Ling Xiao, on which was drawn a sketch of a starship structure and common ominous signs in the void.

"Crossing the starship is unlike traversing land. Void storms, magnetic turbulence, and star-devouring ancient beasts can all destroy a Nascent Soul." He spoke earnestly, "This is all I can teach you. The rest you must experience for yourself in the sea of ​​stars."

Ling Xiao accepted the wooden piece; it was heavy, carrying seven years of protection and expectations for the rest of his life. He gazed at the moon silently, a faint stellar energy surging in his palm, blending with the moonlight.

Though the old earth and sky may be small, the starry sea in the heart of a young man is already vast.

The road ahead may be thorny, but with a teacher by my side, friends nearby, and the Way in my heart.