Yan Zhen froze for a moment, then realized it was about time. After the Star Plucking Assembly, people from the Heavenly God Clan would arrive to take Zi Xunyi away.
Only about half a month remained. They must have notified her ahead of schedule.
Alas, though he had long known that the day of parting would come, Yan Zhen couldn’t help feeling reluctant and heartbroken as it drew near.
He sat beside Zi Xunyi and gently embraced his pregnant wife, comforting her softly. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine.”
Zi Xunyi leaned weakly against her husband’s chest without saying a word.
In the days that followed, Yan Zhen devoted his time to accompanying her. He even cultivated right there in the Cliffside Small Building.
When Elder Yu Yan noticed this, she summoned him back and warned him that people from the Heavenly God Clan were coming soon to fetch her. For the time being, he shouldn’t get too close to Zi Xunyi.
Yan Zhen offered a few perfunctory words in response before slipping away back to the Cliffside Small Building to stay by his soon-to-depart wife’s side.
Assuming the script held true, the Heavenly God Clan’s arrival would coincide with the day of the Star Plucking Assembly. After Zi Xunyi witnessed his duel with Wen Canglan, she would leave.
Time was running out.
Three days later, the Pre-Assembly Battles of the Star Plucking Assembly commenced. The top 108 experts on the General Star List would set up arenas at their respective society headquarters, opening themselves to challenges from any non-listed students.
These battles lasted seven days. Those who still stood on their Duel Platforms after seven days would successfully defend their arenas and qualify for the Star Plucking Assembly itself, where they could vie for higher spots on the list.
At the headquarters of “Yan Huang”—formerly the territory of Black Horn—the square in front of the gates was ringed by a crowd of students, mostly Mystic Masters but with several Mystic Generals among them.
The General Star List offered only 108 slots, yet the Inner Academy boasted far more Mystic Generals than that—especially toward the end of the academic year, when many Mystic Masters advanced. No one who made it into the Inner Academy was weak; at worst, they might be a bit simple-minded.
Moreover, some Mystic Generals who had fallen off the list would choose to train in seclusion, hiding their trump cards until year’s end for a stunning comeback and greater rewards.
At that moment in the arena, Huangfu Wenqing was clashing with a Three-Star Mystic General who had lain low for some time. In fewer than ten exchanges, she sent him flying with effortless ease.
“Sword Five: Barrier Break?”
The man clutched the bloody hole in his shoulder, his face drained of color. He never imagined that fellow Three-Star Mystic Generals could differ so vastly—or that she had mastered the fifth form of the Nine Swords Technique to such perfection!
“I overestimated myself. Farewell!”
With his strength, he could still target lower-ranked General Star List experts and stand a chance of winning.
The remaining challengers paled at the sight, their resolve wavering.
If even a Three-Star Mystic General had fallen in just a handful of moves, what hope did they One- and Two-Star hopefuls have?
Yan Zhen might only be a One-Star Mystic General, but he had demolished Seven-Star Mystic General Wu Tie back when he himself was merely at the Seven-Star Mystic Master stage. Challenging him was nothing short of masochism.
Yet the Inner Academy was never short of thick-headed brutes. A burly man with a bushy beard, who hardly looked like a student at all, leaped into the arena and jabbed a finger at Yan Zhen. “Kid surnamed Yan! Dare to face this lord in a raw, bare-knuckled brawl—no weapons?”
Yan Zhen glanced at him. A Three-Star Mystic General, clearly having reached the Body Realm Three Realms and nearing the fourth.
“What, too scared?” the brute pressed. “Or do you only know how to beat your enemies by leaning on external toys?”
The onlookers immediately grasped the man’s scheme.
Yan Zhen’s ability to punch above his weight and claim ninth place on the General Star List stemmed entirely from that freakish Flame Sword of his, forged from Extreme Flame somehow. Without it, his strength would plummet.
But would Yan Zhen be fool enough to ditch his sword?
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Yan Zhen stepped calmly into the arena and said coolly, “Did Wen Canglan send you to probe me?”
The brute’s expression faltered, then he let out a mocking chuckle. “This lord just wants to expose your phony strength. Without that Flame Sword, could you have crushed Wu Tie and climbed to ninth on the General Star List?”
“I’ve got no time to play games with trash like you,” Yan Zhen replied coldly. “One move.”
“Hah! One move? Did this lord hear that right? You think you can take me down in one—hngh?”
Yan Zhen vanished from in front of him. A chill ran down the brute’s spine. He whipped around, but Yan Zhen had reappeared at his front—driving a fist wreathed in flames straight into the man’s gut.
Eight Extremes Explosion, Ninth Explosion!
Boom!
The brute’s Mystic Force Armor shattered. His massive frame hurtled backward amid a spray of blood, crashing into the crowd and passing out cold.
Silence fell over the arena.
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing carried clearly. Everyone stared in stunned disbelief.
He’d really taken the guy out in one move?
Yan Zhen at the Mystic Master Realm had already bested Mystic Generals beyond his level. Now as a Mystic General, he was terrifyingly strong—downright unreasonable!
Yan Zhen’s face remained impassive. “Anyone else want to challenge me? Step up.”
The crowd exchanged uneasy glances.
“…”
Moments later, every challenger had slunk away—conveniently carting off the unconscious brute along with them.
For the next seven days, no one else dared disturb them. That was exactly the effect Yan Zhen wanted; he had his wife to accompany and no patience for idle fools.
Seven days later, the Pre-Assembly Battles concluded. The General Star List was largely unchanged, save for a dozen spots at the bottom overtaken by fresh Mystic Generals.
The Pre-Assembly Battles were followed by the formal Star Plucking Assembly, held in the Grand Duel Arena.
The tournament used a bracket system—not random pairings, but the top half of the list matched against the bottom half.
Notably, Gu Tiange had advanced to the Mystic King Realm and withdrawn from the event, leaving 107 competitors.
One contestant would receive a bye each round: the top 53 would face the bottom 53. Successful underdogs would swap rankings with their victims.
Thus, Yan Zhen at ninth drew the sixtieth-ranked opponent. Victory meant retaining his spot and advancing; defeat meant elimination and a ranking swap.
After each round, another bye occurred, pitting the top 26 against the bottom 26 from the survivors.
Since everyone already had a ranking, this format ensured the strongest wouldn’t knock each other out early while the weak dragged on forever—making it fairer overall.
That day dawned under clear skies and a gentle breeze.
The Grand Duel Arena was packed to the rafters. Upon the high dais sat Inner Academy leaders like Vice Dean Wen Qingshan and Elder Yu Yan, while even Outer Academy figures such as Dean Yu Qing and Grand Mentor Shui Bailan had made time to attend the Star Plucking Assembly.
Referee Mentors and medical staff ringed the venue, fully prepared. The General Star List elites had already drawn their lots and now sat in the waiting area, meditating quietly until the referee called their names—then leaping onto the stage.
A single Duel Platform stood at the center, drawing the eyes of tens of thousands.
All eyes upon them: a battle unleashed at full throttle!
Yan Zhen gazed at the projected screen overhead, which displayed the first-round matchups.
Number 9: Bye.
The protagonist’s luck?
Huangfu Wenqing faced the seventieth-ranked fighter—the same Three-Star Mystic General she had dispatched during the Pre-Assembly Battles.
This time, he lasted only five exchanges. Clearly, Huangfu Wenqing wasn’t going all out; at least, per the script, she didn’t know the Nine Swords Technique.
Yan Zhen secretly broke into a sweat. His fiancée’s strength far surpassed the script’s depiction—even he couldn’t quite fathom her depths.
