Chapter 20: Return to the Swallowing Starry Sky

Previous events recap: Jiang Fan arrived in the Devouring Starry Sky world and became Qin Ming. After taking the Marrow Cleansing Pill, his cultivation advanced rapidly, and during the Jiangnan Base City assessment, he nearly reached the level of a senior warrior.

He cultivated for several more days and fully entered the ranks of senior warriors. On May 5th, his consciousness returned to the Great Hong world.

In the Great Hong world, Jiang Fan knew the disaster in the county city would occur on the night following the havoc caused by the Three-Eyed Evil God and the Eight-Legged Demon God. It was also the planned fiftieth day. He told his parents he would seclude himself for two days, prepared fresh water and food, then entered the underground palace where his ancestor cultivated. He settled in one of the stone chambers and slept until dawn. After eating and drinking his fill, he switched worlds, his consciousness descending into the Devouring Starry Sky.

In the Devouring world, daylight streamed in through the window. Qin Ming woke feeling refreshed, opened the window, took a deep breath of the cool air, and felt invigorated.

“May 6th!”

He glanced at the date—it was just as he had expected.

He went into the courtyard, stretched his body, then sat cross-legged with his palms and soles facing upward, and began cultivating genetic primal energy. Qin Ming could clearly sense wisps of cosmic energy entering his body through his palms and the crown of his head, then slowly enhancing his cells from their core.

Life here was, for the time being, uneventful.

Most of his solitary moments were spent cultivating the Profound Dao Diagram. He also occasionally practiced the punching technique and arrow step, and even dabbled in swordsmanship.

At night, Qin Ming took out a Refined Essence Pill from the small space in his mind.

He still had many pills left from the Great Hong world; since they were small, he kept them in his mind's space to aid his cultivation here.

After swallowing one pill, he felt a tremendous surge of progress.

On May 15th, he completed the eighteenth diagram, equivalent to the peak of a senior warrior.

On May 20th, he finished cultivating the nineteenth diagram, marking the start of the third phase of the Profound Dao Diagram. In terms of realms, this was akin to the innate stage in the Great Hong world, corresponding to the War General here.

This was supposed to be a difficult hurdle, but for Qin Ming it posed little obstruction. With the help of the pills, he easily surpassed it.

However, the next stage of cultivation proved much more challenging—though only by comparison.

On June 6th, he successfully cultivated the twenty-second diagram. This was also the day before the university entrance exams.

June 7th, morning.

At the breakfast table—

“Dad, come with me to the training hall later!” Qin Ming said after finishing a bowl of porridge.

“To the training hall?” Qin Yicheng was taken aback.

He knew that since the last assessment, his son only visited the martial hall occasionally, spending most of his time training alone.

Today, with Qin Ming suddenly wanting to go to the hall and asking him to accompany, he stood up abruptly, eyes shining with delight. “Xiao Ming, have you perhaps stepped into the ranks of the War Generals?”

“War General?” His mother, Luo Xia, hesitated for a moment, then declared with utmost certainty, “Xiao Ming is a peerless genius, one in ten thousand—he must have become a War General already!”

“Brother, hurry up and get tested! If you really are a War General, I can walk with my chin held high at school!” Qin Lulu urged.

Qin Ming couldn't help but laugh.

“Come, let's go now!” Qin Yicheng lost all interest in eating, grabbed Qin Ming, and headed out, calling Chief Instructor Wu Tong and notifying Zhou Jing, the martial hall’s director.

In front of the hall, Zhou Jing was already there, holding a large meat bun with a bite taken out of it. Seeing them approach, he was overjoyed. “You really reached that level?”

“Uncle Zhou, it should be about right!” Qin Ming replied with a smile. “Maybe even higher!”

“Hahaha, good, good, very good!” Zhou Jing laughed, swallowing the bun in one gulp and hurriedly said, “Come, let’s test you. If you’re at War General level, Xiao Ming, you’ll have a great opportunity!”

With these words, they went inside.

Wu Tong was already waiting, the machines switched on.

“Let’s begin directly!” Wu Tong said crisply, pointing to the force tester.

Qin Yicheng and Zhou Jing watched expectantly.

Without hesitation, Qin Ming stepped forward and threw a punch!

“The speed and power—almost equal to mine!” Zhou Jing was shocked by the force of the blow. “At least an entry-level War General.”

Qin Yicheng and Wu Tong’s eyes sparkled.

Bang…!

After the impact, a line of numbers appeared on the screen: 12,104 kg!

“The standard for a beginner War General is 8,000 kg; intermediate is 16,000 kg. Xiao Ming’s punch clearly reaches the mid-tier of entry-level War Generals!” Zhou Jing exclaimed in delight. “On May 1st, he was close to senior warrior. Now, just a month later, he’s nearing intermediate War General. A genius—an exceptionally rare cultivation talent. Chief, our hall is going to make a name for itself!”

“We definitely will!” Wu Tong beamed. “Xiao Ming, excellent, truly excellent. Come, let’s measure your speed!”

Without delay, the speed test result soon appeared.

The standard for a beginner War General was 90 meters per second; Qin Ming reached 110 meters per second.

His neural reaction speed was top-tier for a beginner War General.

“Hahaha!” With the results confirmed, Wu Tong laughed heartily, turning to Qin Yicheng. “Old Qin, you’ve got a remarkable son. At this rate, he might reach the rank of War God one day!”

“War God?” Hearing these words, Qin Yicheng was deeply moved.

That was a lofty existence—how many in the world could claim such a title?

Take Jiangnan Base City for example: even Chief Zhuge Tao of the main hall was only a senior War General.

“I’ll contact the chief and try to arrange Xiao Ming’s combat assessment early, so he can get his warrior qualification ahead of time. Otherwise, it’d be a waste of his talent!” Wu Tong said, already dialing the phone. Moments later, he smiled. “The chief is delighted and wants us to come over for a personal evaluation. If Xiao Ming passes, he’ll definitely get his warrior qualification early, and maybe other benefits!”

“Let’s go, follow me!”

The four of them boarded a Jiangnan city train once again.

Today was the university entrance exam, so the train was less crowded.

Arriving at the main hall, Elder Bai personally welcomed them. He was, in effect, the caretaker of the hall.

“Hurry up, the chief has been waiting!” Elder Bai urged cheerfully.

“Thank you for the welcome—this is an honor I’ll boast about for a whole year!” Wu Tong laughed.

“I’m not welcoming you; I’m welcoming our young genius!”

“Elder Bai, your words break my heart!”

Joking and chatting, they went upstairs.

One of the three chief administrators, Zhuge Tao, was already waiting.

After a brief exchange, Zhuge Tao said, “Qin Ming, as I mentioned last time, if you reach War General level before the combat assessment, I’ll apply for your warrior status in advance. Whether you make it is up to you!”

“Yes, Chief!” Without a word, Qin Ming threw a punch.

Thunderous impact; the display showed: 12,212 kg!

Next came the speed test, with results close to those from the Yangzhou hall.

“At eighteen, you’ve reached War General level. In all of Jiangnan Base City, only one or two manage this each year!” Zhuge Tao smiled. “Geniuses deserve special treatment. Please wait a moment; I’ll personally apply to headquarters for you!”

“Thank you, Chief!” Qin Ming was overjoyed—this was exactly what he had hoped for!

Only by obtaining warrior status could he enter the Extreme Martial Hall’s House of Extremes, truly step into the privileged class, and purchase various techniques.

This was the first true step on the path to becoming a strong one!