Forming a Star Point within the body is an extremely long process—you have to first create a Star Mark. Evan Chu knew this perfectly well; there was no rushing it, only slow, steady comprehension.
During the day, Evan carefully inspected his single Star Point—the brightest one of the Big Dipper. He’d borrowed Stellar Power from it once before, and the force was terrifyingly strong, but the backlash was just as severe. That’s why he didn’t dare recklessly draw on Stellar Power again.
To truly master the method of borrowing Stellar Power, he had to fully comprehend the Big-Dipper Seven-Star Array. Evan was a total amateur when it came to formations, so he had Jade, the Emerald Immortal Empress, explain it in detail. Thanks to his sharp talent, he grasped it in no time.
At night, Evan would watch the Big Dipper’s movement in the sky, then extend his divine sense into the starlight, trying to achieve resonance. For now, he could only resonate with the brightest star, since he had a Star Point linked to it inside his body.
Time flew by; before he knew it, Evan had sat atop that mountain for a full century. He’d made some progress—inside him, three Star Marks had already appeared, but it would still take time for them to become Star Points.
Evan kept replaying the moment his first Star Point appeared, trying to transform the other two Star Marks in his body into Star Points as well. If he managed that, he could borrow the power of three stars at once—just imagining how strong that would be was terrifying, and he didn’t dare try it lightly. It might even blow his body apart in an instant.
Another two hundred years passed, and at last, the remaining Star Marks in Evan’s body turned into Star Points. Now, with a single thought, he could resonate with three stars and borrowing Stellar Power became much easier. But he still didn’t dare attempt it—the risk was just too great.
Spending three hundred years to form three Star Points was something Evan could be proud of. No one had come to disturb him, which meant the Immortal Realm was at peace. He kept working to comprehend the remaining stars.
But no matter what he tried, the last four stars gave him zero response—they even seemed to reject him. After failing again and again, Evan finally gave up. "Maybe my cultivation just isn’t enough yet. I guess I’ll have to wait until I ascend to the God Realm before I can figure it out," he muttered helplessly.
Standing up, Evan looked at the spot where he’d been sitting—it had actually sunk a bit, with grass and moss growing all around except for the patch beneath him. He couldn’t help but give a bitter smile.
Stepping out of the formation, Evan took a deep breath, then flashed back to Frostbane Imperial Palace. During this time, his state of mind had grown immensely; if he wanted, he could trigger his God-Tribulation and ascend at any moment. By his calculation, the time was about right—now he’d see how many people would ascend with him.
Yvonne Xuan, Jade, and the other women had managed Frostbane Imperial Palace so well that it was now the undisputed number one sect in the Immortal Realm. Its influence and the power of the surrounding cities had grown dramatically.
"Evan, you’re finally out of seclusion? How do you feel?" Yvonne Xuan asked Evan Chu.
"I think I’ve hit a bottleneck. I didn’t make any progress in the last hundred years, and even if I stayed shut in for another hundred, I doubt I’d break through. Some things just can’t be forced. How about you all? I might ascend to the God Realm soon—are you ready?" Evan asked.
"We’ve been ready for ages. This time, five of us should ascend together—me, Serena, Lynn, Jade, and Selena. Right now, Selena’s actually the strongest; she’s been deliberately suppressing her realm, or she would’ve ascended already," Yvonne replied.
"That strong? Must be the Soul Mushroom’s effect. Has anyone ascended from the lower realm lately?" Evan asked.
"Yep, your sworn brothers have already ascended. Want to see them?" Yvonne said.
At Yvonne’s words, Evan was instantly delighted. "Of course I want to see them! Where are they now?"
"Do you remember Lotus? The auction attendant who served you back then—she’s here at Frostbane Imperial Palace too," Yvonne said.
"Of course I remember. I promised to look after her, but got sidetracked and forgot all about it. It’s great she made it to Frostbane Imperial Palace. Does she have some connection to Zack Zhao and Gus Bullard?" Evan asked.
"Lotus and Zack are newlyweds now—they held their wedding while you were in seclusion. We wanted to tell you, but worried it would disturb your cultivation. You’re not mad at us, right?" Yvonne said.
Evan’s expression changed slightly. "Would blaming you help? Zack found happiness, and I can only be glad for him. Go call them over to see me—including Lotus."
"Jade’s already gone to get them. You look so happy—it’s like you’ve turned into a little kid," Yvonne teased.
Soon, Zack Zhao and Gus Bullard appeared before Evan. Beside Zack stood a woman both familiar and unfamiliar to Evan—her belly was slightly rounded, as if she was pregnant.
"Boss, we finally get to see you! We missed you so much!" Gus Bullard exclaimed, overcome with emotion.
"You two sure took your sweet time ascending to the Immortal Realm—must’ve been slacking off! Tonight, your boss is throwing you a welcome feast to celebrate properly," Evan laughed.
"Boss, I married Lotus without your blessing—are you angry?" Zack Zhao said nervously.
Evan glanced at the two of them and smiled. "Of course not. I’m happy for you. Back then, after Lotus left the auction house, I got caught up in things and forgot about her. Seeing you two married lifts a weight off my heart—I should be thanking you!"
"Thank you for your generosity, Young Master. It’s only thanks to you that I could be with Zack—if not for you, I’d probably be dead. Please accept our bows!" Lotus said earnestly.
Zack and Lotus prepared to bow deeply to Evan, but he wouldn’t allow it—he simply lifted a hand, and the two found themselves unable to move, though they weren’t hurt at all. Evan’s control over his power was now near perfection.
"No need for all that ceremony. Before long, Zack will be a father and I’ll have a nephew—what a wonderful thing! I’ll make sure to toast you both properly later." Evan smiled, then turned to Gus Bullard:
"Old Gus, you should work harder—there are plenty of beautiful women in the Immortal Realm. Want me to have your sisters-in-law arrange a match for you? I’m sure they could pull it off."
"Boss, don’t tease me. Who’d want an old ox like me? No rush, no rush!" Gus Bullard said, embarrassed.
Yvonne grinned, "So you do know how to blush, Gus! It’s easy—just ask Lynn. She used to be Domain Lord of Dream Spirit Sanctuary, so picking out a few beauties would be no problem at all."
"Who’s asking me to pick out girls from Dream Spirit Sanctuary?" Lynn and Serena Frost walked in from outside the hall…