"Commander Lin, to be honest, I don't really understand why something like this happened, nor do I get why my cultivation realm is so much higher than theirs. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it?"
"Haha! Well said, that's exactly right. Not only is it not a bad thing, it's actually a good thing! If you can reach Saint Lord Realm within five years, wouldn't you be able to directly participate in..."
At this point, Henry Lin's expression changed suddenly, and he immediately stopped talking, leaving Evan completely confused.
Looks like there are way too many secrets in the Frostbane Dynasty, and in this Star‑River Dominion, only the strong are respected. If your strength is lacking, you really don't count for anything.
"Kid, you keep surprising me more and more. I can almost imagine that if His Majesty the Sacred Emperor saw you, he'd be absolutely delighted! But I'm getting more and more curious—what star did you obtain in the trial world, what type of Stellar Power are you cultivating, and what kind of stellar cultivation art did you get?
All of these things can shape your future development and strength."
Evan understood exactly what Henry Lin meant. In the trial world, the star cultivation art and the star you draw in are all determined by the Heavenly Dao itself; even the Frostbane Dynasty that controls the trial world can't interfere with that.
In other words, right now Henry Lin only knows that Evan came out of the trial world and that he at least possesses one type of Stellar Power. But he still doesn't know exactly which star cultivation art Evan is practicing.
"Oh? Then please, Commander Henry Lin, enlighten me—what's so special about the Stellar Power of the Star‑River Dominion?"
"Alright! Since there's nothing else to do, let me ramble on for a bit."
Evan knew he couldn't afford to reveal his Ninefold Stellar Transformation so easily. Even though this wasn't a secret anymore in Frostbane Divine Palace or to Lord Thunder, the Frostbane Dynasty itself still had no idea.
After learning that the Ninefold Sacred Emperor is the Star‑River's public enemy, hailed as the First Calamity Star, Evan realized he had to keep his cultivation in Ninefold Stellar Transformation and the Ninefold Golden‑Body Codex absolutely secret—at least until he reached Sacred Emperor Realm or was strong enough to face a Sacred Emperor. Until then, this secret had to be guarded at all costs.
Otherwise, if it ever leaked out, Evan would face a calamity that not even a hundred Frostbane Dynasties could withstand!
So before that, Evan had to be extremely cautious. Other than Lord Thunder, there couldn't be a third person in the entire Star‑River Dominion who knew he was cultivating Ninefold Stellar Transformation or possessed the Big Dipper—even the Sacred Emperor of the Frostbane Dynasty couldn't be told.
Henry Lin looked at Evan with a satisfied smile. "Let me start by explaining exactly what Stellar Power is."
Evan perked up and listened closely. He knew that what Henry Lin was about to share wasn't something just anyone got to hear. The only reason Henry was opening up this much was because of Evan's identity as the Third Person. That only made Evan even more eager to learn what Stellar Power truly was.
"Stellar Power, as the name implies, is the energy radiated from the stars themselves. In the vast Star‑River Dominion, there isn't really such a thing as space, land, or sea for the myriad races to live on—there are only countless starfields, and every starfield is itself a star!
Of course, stars are divided into categories—meteors, suns, and planets. In the Star‑River Dominion, three thousand medium‑grade suns are each occupied by a dynasty, and five top‑grade suns are claimed by the Five Holy Lands. As for starstones and star crystals, everyone collects those from smaller, weaker planets.
The positions of the suns are eternally fixed, and their resources are abundant. Every ten thousand years, a new cycle begins and more resources are generated. It's basically an endless supply.
But planets are different. Planets are small wandering stars that drift in from beyond. Once their starstones and star crystals are harvested, they're basically useless. Everything I've described so far is the kind of stars the five races use to cultivate and survive in the Star‑River Dominion.
But there's another kind of star that's different from all the above—those are the ones far beyond the edge of the Star‑River itself. These stars are usually no bigger than a pavilion, and most of them are meteors. They race through the heavens until someone appears who can comprehend their power and absorb it.
There are billions of meteors, countless ones have been absorbed, and even more keep appearing. But among them, truly powerful stars are extremely rare!"
Henry Lin paused here, glancing at Evan as if guessing—which star had he fused with? Was it a Star List star, or just an ordinary one?
"Powerful stars... Commander Lin, could you clarify that for me?" Evan asked earnestly.
"Sure, that's actually pretty easy to explain. Basically, for all the races in the Star‑River, the Stellar Power they cultivate isn't fixed. Whatever meteor happens to fly by at that moment, that's the power they absorb—and that kind of Stellar Power is usually very weak.
And directly absorbing like that, the power is limited—it's actually better to absorb the energy from starstones and star crystals. For example, just three thousand starstones can take a Saint from early to mid stage. That's pretty incredible!
But those methods are just the most basic. The truly powerful cultivators have fused with a star that belongs to them—and it's a named star, one listed on the Star List. With that kind of power, they can summon their star in battle and multiply their strength several times over. That's the stronger path of Stellar Power cultivation."
Evan suddenly understood. "So my junior brother Lei's thunder-element star—he absorbed a star independently, right? Does that make him one of those powerful cultivators?"
Henry Lin shook his head with a smile. "Not yet. He did absorb a thunder-element star, but it's not on the Star List, so he isn't a true top-tier expert. Only by fusing with a named star from the Star List—the Thirty‑Six Heavenly Gang Stars or the Seventy‑Two Earth Fiend Stars—can you reach the top ranks of the Star‑River Dominion!
Ordinary experts usually choose to absorb one or several stars of the same attribute. But even though there are many stars in the heavens, it's extremely hard to find and absorb more than one of the same type. Without tens of thousands of years of accumulation and luck, finding a second suitable star is nearly impossible.
But if you do find one, you'll be practically invincible among peers of your realm!"
At this, Evan fell into deep thought. If he'd mastered all nine elemental laws, did that mean he could absorb the power of any star? That would be... truly heaven‑defying.
"Commander Lin, these named stars—what exactly is the Star List?"
"That's one of the Star‑River Dominion's secrets! Normally, unless you've reached the Saint Sovereign Realm, you aren't qualified to know. But you're different, so I'll tell you a bit more. Named stars refer to the Thirty‑Six Heavenly Gang Stars and the Seventy‑Two Earth Fiend Stars—those are the Star List. And before those, there's a legendary group of ten supreme stars called the Star‑Dragon List!"
Henry Lin's eyes shone with longing as he spoke, but Evan immediately took out the Crimson Demon Star from his Chaos Domain and asked,
"Commander Lin, could you take a look at this star—does it belong on the Star List?"
Evan wondered aloud—since the Crimson Demon Star had a name, did it count? But its name wasn't among the Thirty‑Six Heavenly Gang or the Seventy‑Two Earth Fiend Stars, so what did it qualify as?