Evan Cross endured agony beyond what any ordinary person could bear, slowly absorbing the Stellar Power from a supreme-grade Starstone and gradually converting it within his body into Chaos Energy.
The Stellar Power within a supreme-grade Starstone is incredibly potent. Evan had only used one once before—unless absolutely necessary, he relied on high-grade Starstones, which were usually sufficient.
At this moment, it felt as if Evan had been numbed by the pain wracking his body; standing up was simply impossible.
Once he finished absorbing all the Stellar Power from the supreme-grade Starstone in his hand, the Chaos Energy within his body had already recovered to about fifty percent. It wasn’t that the supreme-grade Starstone contained a hundred times more Stellar Power than a high-grade one.
It was just that the Stellar Power in supreme-grade Starstones was purer and more abundant. Evan then slowly took out high-grade Starstones from his storage ring and continued absorbing.
He had no idea how long he kept absorbing; only when the Chaos Energy in his body was fully saturated did Evan finally prepare to stop.
But Luna, the Sword Spirit, suddenly said, “Keep absorbing. Fill your meridians completely with Chaos Energy—even to the point of rupturing them. Only then will you have a chance to break through to the Fourth Layer of Starforge Body. Otherwise, everything you’ve done so far is meaningless.”
Evan was speechless. After enduring so much torment, he still had to keep absorbing? It felt like his nerves were about to snap, but he could only grit his teeth and continue drawing in Stellar Power.
The Stellar Power entering his body slowly converted into Chaos Energy, which then began to flow through his meridians. Evan had experienced this feeling many times before, especially during his breakthrough to the ninth layer of the Earth Martial Realm.
As time passed, Evan lost track of how many high-grade Starstones he’d absorbed. After breaking through to the ninth layer, his meridians were noticeably wider than before, meaning he needed even more Stellar Power to fill them.
Finally, at a certain moment, Evan felt he could absorb no more. His Earth Star Pellet and meridians were completely saturated; if he forced himself to keep going, his meridians and even the Pellet might rupture. The Pellet itself was indestructible, but the meridians—those would definitely burst.
He remembered Luna’s words: only by letting his meridians rupture could he trigger the breakthrough to the Fourth Layer of the Starforge Body. Resigned, he could only grit his teeth and keep absorbing.
Stellar Power kept pouring in, slowly converting within him. But with saturation reached, it could only force its way deeper into his meridians.
The pain in his meridians grew sharper and sharper. Forcing his own meridians to rupture—maybe only someone as stubborn as Evan would dare to do such a thing.
The longer he absorbed, the worse the agony became. Now Evan had to endure not only the crushing gravity but also the stabbing pain from his meridians—truly misery piled on misery.
But he knew, no matter how much it hurt, he couldn’t let himself pass out. Even if he wanted to, Luna would snap him awake. He didn’t know how much time had passed when suddenly crackling sounds erupted from his meridians.
A pain that tore through his soul exploded—Evan couldn’t help but let out a tortured scream, a cry so raw that it startled Dream Maiden Selena, waiting anxiously outside.
Selena could hear just how much Evan was suffering, but she couldn’t help him. He’d told her on the way here: no matter what happened, she was not to intervene. This breakthrough would be agony, and he had to face it alone.
Selena could only worry in vain, while Evan endured suffering worse than death—more unbearable than anything he’d ever felt.
Once his meridians ruptured, Chaos Energy surged wildly into his muscles and bones, tearing through them in a frenzy of destruction.
His muscles began to split open, fresh blood pouring out. Seeing all that blood, Evan’s heart ached—no amount of eggs could ever replenish it, and now it was just wasted for nothing.
The signs of breakthrough were clear to Evan, but this was just the appetizer. The real, maddening pain was yet to come—the kind that carved itself into your bones.
It felt like his body no longer belonged to him. Every muscle had split, his bones were slowly fracturing. Anyone else would’ve died long ago, but somehow the Starforge Body kept him alive.
Maybe it was this kind of torment that forged such terrifying defense. There’s no gain without pain—that’s the iron law.
Evan couldn’t sit upright anymore; he collapsed straight onto the floor, lying in a pool of his own blood. His clothes were gone, and he lay there motionless, savoring the knife-like agony.
If Selena saw him now, she’d be in tears. With such a tragic cultivation method, she’d never let Evan go through it if she could help it.
Luna, too, was heartbroken. She could do nothing to help; if she lifted the gravity now, the breakthrough would fail or be cut short. She could only watch as Evan, desperate to faint, somehow stayed painfully awake.
Evan felt he didn’t even have the strength to make a sound. This was the first time he’d ever suffered something worse than death.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, but the Chaos Energy in his meridians finally slowed down, and the pain began to ease.
Evan knew the ordeal was nearly over. He wanted to force out a smile, but couldn’t. As time passed, the turbulence of Chaos Energy within him finally faded away.
But now, he had to absorb Stellar Power to truly complete the body-tempering process. Yet he was sprawled on the ground like a dead pig, unable to move at all.
A flash of white light appeared at Evan’s brow—Luna manifested. She arrived at this critical moment, but Evan was too exhausted to even notice her nearly transparent veil.
Had he been able to look, he would’ve seen Luna clad in what looked like nothing at all, her feminine mysteries fully revealed.
Luna took two high-grade Starstones from Evan’s storage ring and placed them in his hand. “Quick, absorb the Stellar Power and let it heal your damaged meridians, muscles, and bones. I’ll hold off the gravity for you.”
A faint white glow shone from Luna’s hand, and Evan instantly felt the crushing gravity disappear. He lay on the ground, slowly absorbing the Stellar Power.
As Stellar Power flowed into his body, it began step by step to repair his ruptured meridians. He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually every meridian was restored.
Then, his bones and muscles were healed in turn. When it was all done, Evan felt a sensation he couldn’t describe—pain was gone, replaced by a lightness and comfort throughout his body.
Evan sat up and saw Luna still shielding him from the pressure above. When he noticed her current attire, Luna was looking right back at him.
Then Luna let out a startled, high-pitched scream...