Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Chapter 158 Destruction and Reconstruction

Lin Chen lay prone on the city wall, watching the figure wielding a sword. His consciousness was blurred; the world before him swayed, blurred, and distorted. Sounds became distant and unreal, as if faintly transmitted through a thick wall. But he could feel the Star Martial Core in his dantian vibrating. The vibration wasn't a steady operation, but a near-frenzied, near-limit-reaching pulsation, like a ignited star, like an engine about to explode.

Under the pressure of life and death, the originally stable barrier of the early stage of the Transformation Realm began to loosen. It wasn't a slow loosening, but rather like ice being struck by a giant hammer, cracks spreading outwards from the center with a crackling sound. Stellar energy surged wildly within his body, not by his own initiative, but by his body's self-preservation, an instinct, a burning potential.

The core of the Star Martial Body trembled violently. The Star Qi began to condense, compress, and undergo a qualitative change. It transformed from a gaseous state to a liquid state, from thin to thick, from light to heavy. The silvery-white Qi gathered into a river within the dantian, the river swirling, condensing, and sublimating.

The barrier of his dantian shattered. It wasn't a slow cracking, but a sudden, devastating collapse, like a dam breached by a flood. His stellar energy more than doubled, transforming into a more condensed, silvery-white liquid energy that flowed slowly within his dantian, like a tranquil Milky Way. Mid-stage of the Transformation Realm.

Lin Chen opened his eyes. The double images, distortions, and shaking of the world before him disappeared. Everything became incredibly clear, so clear that he could see every single hair on every ferocious beast, every twisted line on the evil mask, and the tiny notch on the blade of Li Kuangdao.

He stood up.

A dazzling silver light erupted from his body, and stellar energy soared into the sky. A silvery-white beam of light shot from the city wall into the night sky, piercing through the pervasive evil mist. Wherever the beam passed, the evil energy melted away instantly, like snow meeting the blazing sun. The ferocious beasts climbing the city wall, illuminated by the light, let out terrified cries and retreated hastily, trampling each other. The soldiers on the city wall were blinded by the light, but they sensed it—the aura emanating from Lin Chen was several times stronger than before, so strong that it dissipated most of their fear, so strong that their hands gripping their weapons no longer trembled.

Lin Chen leaped into the air. This time, he wasn't slapped back by the evil disciple. He broke through the oppressive evil power, shattered the invisible wall, and reached the same height as the evil disciple. The light on the Star Sword was several times stronger than before; the silvery-white sword rainbow was no longer a thin line, but a dazzling star, its light intense and its aura majestic.

The fifth move of the Star Sword Technique – Star Annihilation.

This sword strike wasn't something he deliberately unleashed; it was a natural manifestation of his breakthrough, guided by his inner energy. The sword light transformed into a star—not a phantom, not an image, but a real, perfectly condensed star, containing both destruction and new life. The star wasn't large, only the size of a fist, but its density, weight, and radiance were immense. It flew towards the evil followers, its speed not fast, but unstoppable.

The evil man was engaged in fierce combat with Li Kuangdao, his attention entirely focused on Li Kuangdao's blade. He had no idea that Lin Chen would break through during the battle, let alone that Lin Chen, after his breakthrough, could unleash such a powerful sword strike. He sensed the approaching star, felt the aura that threatened his life. He wanted to dodge, but Li Kuangdao's blade was already upon him.

He chose to block Li Kuangdao's blade. The starlight sword light struck his shoulder.

Crack—the protective barrier of evil energy shattered instantly, like glass struck by a heavy hammer. The sword light pierced his shoulder, exiting through his back, bringing with it a spray of black blood. The blood splattered in the air, hissing and corroding, before landing on the ground, creating small pits.

"What?!" The evil man was both shocked and furious, his body swaying several times in the air, almost falling from mid-air. He clutched his injured shoulder, black blood gushing uncontrollably from between his fingers. He looked down at the wound, then up at Lin Chen, his eyes behind the bronze mask filled with disbelief. "You actually broke through your cultivation level in battle!"

Li Kuangdao didn't give him a chance to speak further. He brought his machete down with all his might, the blade brimming with all the anger, resentment, and defiance he had accumulated over the past thirty years on the border. The blade sliced ​​through the villain's right arm, severing it cleanly and decisively at the shoulder joint, without the slightest hesitation.

The severed arm plummeted from the sky, landing amidst a horde of ferocious beasts below the city wall. The beasts paused for a moment, then pounced on it, tearing at the arm still stained with black blood, scrambling and biting at each other. The evil man let out a piercing scream, clutching his wound, where the flesh writhed and black blood gushed forth.

"I'm going to kill you all!" His voice was sharp and frantic, but he didn't charge. He turned, transforming into a black shadow, clutching his severed arm, and fled into the depths of the forest. He was incredibly fast, as fast as lightning, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

With their leader gone, the beast horde was left leaderless. The beasts, controlled by the Soul-Controlling Gu, stood bewildered beneath the city walls, the light in their crimson eyes gradually dimming, like lights being turned off. Some turned and ran back, some stood frozen in place, and some began attacking their own kind—the hatred and hostility from different species that had been suppressed by the Soul-Controlling Gu erupted in full force at this moment.

"Open the city gates! All troops, attack!" Chen Feng's voice came from the city tower.

The city gates roared open, and Leng Feng was the first to rush out. His battle blade swept across, slaying a dazed fourth-tier beast; the dark red runes on the blade stood out starkly in the night. Behind him followed hundreds of elite cavalry, their hooves shattering the pre-dawn darkness as they carved a bloody path through the beast horde.

Lin Chen stood atop the city wall, gazing at the battlefield bathed in the morning sun. In the distance, the first rays of sunlight peeked over the eastern mountain ridge, painting the sky a pale gold. The sunlight fell upon the city walls, upon the weary, wounded soldiers who still refused to fall, upon the battlefield below strewn with corpses, and upon the retreating horde of ferocious beasts in the distance.

He took a deep breath, feeling the surging stellar energy within his body. The energy coursed through his meridians, several times thicker and more refined than before. He raised his hand and casually waved it; a wisp of stellar energy shot out, striking a boulder outside the city wall. A small hole, about the thickness of a finger, appeared on the surface of the boulder, its edges smooth as a mirror.

The power gained from the breakthrough gave him greater confidence in the upcoming decisive battle. But an even greater challenge lay ahead—although the Void Breaking Realm evil disciple had lost an arm and suffered a significant loss in cultivation, he was still not someone they could easily deal with. The three-day standoff had only just begun.

Lin Chen sheathed his sword, the sound of the Star Sword sliding into its scabbard was deep and smooth, like a satisfied sigh.

He looked north. The forest gradually revealed its outline in the morning light, no longer the terrifying red sea in the darkness, but an ordinary forest—with trees, rocks, mist, and birdsong.

But there was no relaxation in his eyes, only a deeper, more determined light. The three-day commitment had only just begun.