Seeing the hazy pattern on the Earth Star Pellet in his dantian, Evan Chu was stunned—there was actually a dragon's shadow on it.
And the size of this Earth Star Pellet was just too outrageous. Other people's newly formed pellets were only the size of a soybean, but his was as big as an egg—the difference was obvious.
"Stop daydreaming and speed up your absorption of the stellar force! Now is the best time to break through. If you have any questions, save them for later!"
When the Sword Spirit spoke, it was like an imperial decree—Evan Chu had no choice but to obey. He forced himself to calm down and continued absorbing the massive stellar force.
At this moment, the pale blue glow around his body had already faded away. The vast stellar force kept pouring into his body, slowly flowing into the Earth Star Pellet.
He had no idea how much time had passed before the Earth Star Pellet in his dantian finally stopped spinning. Only then did Evan Chu open his eyes and let out a long, heavy breath.
"I wonder what level of the Xuanwu Realm I'm at now. If I ran into that third-level Earth Martial elder from the City Lord's Mansion, I could probably kill him!"
Evan Chu felt his whole body was brimming with power and muttered to himself, completely unaware that the Big Dipper overhead had stopped channeling stellar force down to him.
"After three days of absorbing stellar force, you should now be at the peak of first-level Earth Martial Realm. If you absorb for one more day, you might break through to the second level, but your mental state might not keep up," Luna, the Sword Spirit, said at that moment.
"First-level Earth Martial Realm? What about the seventh, eighth, and ninth levels of the Xuanwu Realm? I just skipped straight into the Earth Martial Realm? How is that even possible?" Evan Chu was as incredulous as seeing a three-year-old beat up a grown man.
"You wouldn't understand even if I explained. Just hurry up and get out—the Starstones on the altar are all used up. Otherwise, you won't be able to leave in a bit."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Evan Chu got up, and immediately felt dizzy and unbearably hungry.
He had no idea how many days he'd spent in the Stellar Cultivation Chamber. He hadn't had a single sip of water, let alone any food—no wonder he was starving now.
He'd rushed in without thinking about any of this. Normally, people only stayed in the Stellar Cultivation Chamber for a single day, so hunger was never an issue.
"I need food! Damn it, I'm so hungry I can barely stand!" Evan Chu rushed to the entrance of the Stellar Cultivation Chamber, pulled out the key Dean Xavier had given him, and opened the stone door.
"Finally out. I wonder how Ruoxi and the others have been these past few days." Walking through the tunnel of the Stellar Cultivation Chamber, Evan Chu couldn't help but think.
As soon as Evan Chu came out, someone was already waiting for him. "Kid, you're even tougher than I thought. You lasted eight days in there and figured out how to stack Starstones in the altar slots—your progress this time must be huge!"
The speaker was, of course, Dean Xavier of Heavenly Dragon Academy. Evan Chu glanced at him and said, "Old man, cut the crap. I know you've already prepared food for me. I'm starving here—if I stick around any longer, Heavenly Dragon Academy might see its first genius starve to death."
Dean Xavier took one look at Evan Chu—his whole body was covered in blood, his clothes were a mess, and it was obvious he'd suffered a lot. But the sharp light in his eyes made it clear he'd improved tremendously.
"Kid, do I owe you or something? You show up and immediately ask me for food? Nope! If you want to eat, go find it yourself!"
"Old man, don't try to fool me—I can already smell the food! I'll excuse myself for now, gotta fill my stomach first!" Evan Chu said, then dashed toward the pavilion.
"How did that kid know I put the food in the pavilion? Can he really smell it from here?" Dean Xavier muttered, watching Evan Chu's retreating figure.
On the stone table in the pavilion were a few simple dishes and several steamed buns. Evan Chu, too hungry to care, devoured everything like a starving wolf. In less than five minutes, he cleaned the table completely.
"That old man is so stingy—serving me this plain food, not even a pot of wine!" Evan Chu grumbled after finishing his meal.
"Kid, don't be so ungrateful. I prepared food three times! The first time was a feast, but you didn't show up, so I ate it myself. The second time was a spread of good dishes too, but you still didn't come out, so Marcus Gongsun and I ate together.
This third time, I didn't want to waste it—if you'd died in there, it would have been a shame. I started preparing three days ago, so didn't you notice a bit of a sour smell?"
Honestly, Evan Chu hadn't noticed any strange smell—he was just too hungry and shoveled the food in. Now that he thought about it, the only thing special about the meal was that it was cold.
"Damn it! You didn't even tell me! Old man, did you do this on purpose?" Evan Chu felt like punching someone, but Dean Xavier was way too strong, so he could only hold back.
"That's right, I did it on purpose! What are you gonna do about it? Who told you to demand so many Starstones from me every month?" Dean Xavier shot Evan Chu a look.
"Fine, you win! One day, old man, you'll regret this. Don't blame me if I don't show you any respect then!" Evan Chu threw out a parting shot as he got ready to leave.
"Wait!"
"What else? Don't tell me you want me to wash the dishes!" Evan Chu asked, clearly annoyed.
"Leave the key behind. There's only one, and if you lose it, that's it." Dean Xavier said, reaching out his hand.
"Stingy! Can't you just make another one? Why are you so worked up over a lousy key?" Evan Chu complained, reluctantly handing over the key.
"This key is forged from ten-thousand-year profound iron and matches the keyhole in the Stellar Cultivation Chamber's stone door perfectly. Nothing else will work, so I can't make another!"
"Hmph! Who cares!" Evan Chu said, leaving without looking back, while Dean Xavier watched his retreating figure with a meaningful smile.
"He really is a genius—lasting eight days without food. Judging by the light in his eyes, he must've reached the Earth Martial Realm."
Evan Chu originally wanted to return to his dorm, but then realized he didn't even know where it was, so he had to go ask Lucy Lu in the Ordinary Class.
On the way, he ran into many students from different classes. They all stared at him like he was a monster, pointing and gossiping.
Evan Chu knew how disheveled he looked, but ignored their gossip completely.
Just then, a few students rushed past him. One of them said, "Hurry up, or you'll miss the show."
"What show?" Evan Chu asked curiously.
"The top student in the Ordinary Class is about to chase after the Fire Spirit Fairy. Looks like they're fighting..." Evan Chu didn't catch the rest, but he did hear 'Fire Spirit Fairy.'
Fire Spirit Fairy... Ruoxi... Damn it! Trying to hit on my wife? Courting death! In a flash, Evan Chu shot past everyone...