Nine Star Burden

Xia Yan led the way while Han Jiangxue and Jiang Xiao stayed in the middle with Pi Keqiu following closely behind. The team of four slowly moved closer towards each other, staying less than one meter apart. They managed to walk painstakingly for almost half an hour and Jiang Xiao finally saw the banner that was hung high and far away.

In this dimensional space where conditions were harsh and humans were scarce, one would undoubtedly be agitated upon sight of the traces of human civilization after treading aimlessly for half an hour.

Jiang Xiao finally knew why Han Jiangxue didn’t make him wake up early in the morning for a workout. He reckoned that he would probably require a ton of physical support during this journey.

The red flag that was made of an unknown material soared high in the sky and emitted a dazzling red glow that seemed to be a lighthouse in the dark night, guiding them home.

Xia Yan stopped in her tracks and turned around. She yelled, “Do you guys need to go in and recover?”

Of course, Jiang Xiao and Pi Keqiu had no say. Hence, they were waiting for Han Jiangxue to make a decision.

Han Jiangxue shook her head and covered her nose and mouth. She answered loudly, “We were here just a few days ago. There shouldn’t be many changes, I believe. Let’s head northwest. There are more humans there and it’d be more suitable for our current team goal.”

Along the way, Jiang Xiao also had some speculations. The team of four had already been walking for half an hour but had yet to see any traces of biological activities in different dimensions. After giving it some careful thought, they reckoned that the guardians had probably already wiped everything out.

Below the red flag was a natural cave that provided human teams with temporary shelter for rest, food resources and information sharing.

They would only meet the creatures of other dimensions after delving deep into the snowfield.

The Northwest route was the relatively common route that the human Awakened took. Although there were plenty of creatures of other dimensions, that did not put the team in danger.

“Okay, let’s speed up, we’re going too slow and my legs are freezing,” Xia Yan exclaimed as she turned around and walked forward.

Jiang Xiao’s heart skipped a beat and he looked at Han Jiangxue inquisitively.

She obviously wouldn’t understand what Jiang Xiao was trying to convey through his gaze since she was wearing the dark blue goggles.

Jiang Xiao said loudly, “Maybe I can warm you guys up, or at least let your blood flow better.”

Han Jiangxue hesitated for a moment before nodding gently, for she thought that it would a great idea for Jiang Xiao to contribute to the team.

At the next moment, a white beam of light was cast on Xia Yan’s body.

Xia Yan stopped in her tracks abruptly and wailed as the chilly wind howled. “Ah~”

Jiang Xiao shivered uncontrollably.

Okay. 

It’s cold.

I must have shivered because of the cold. 

The white beam of light continuously cast down and Han Jiangxue clenched her jaw while trying her best not to make a sound.

However, Pi Keqiu was rather domineering as well and he groaned in a loud and low voice. The image was extremely peculiar.

“Tsk, Xiaopi! Your sister told me long ago that you are an Awakened of the medical caliber. I didn’t expect you to have such a pure mastery of the Star Technique,” Xia Yan exclaimed without looking back.

“Oh.” Jiang Xiao responded politely.

With a derisive look on her face, Xia Yan asked, “I feel so warm now. After this adventure, can I take you back home so that you can warm my feet?”

Jiang Xiao was dumbfounded.

He thought, I’m destined to conquer the world and yet you want me to go home with you to warm your feet?

Have you gotten the wrong idea about me? 

Pi Keqiu glanced at Jiang Xiao quietly with a tinge of envy in his eyes.

Medical-caliber Awakened were too scarce. Jiang Xiao managed to warm him up significantly with just a Brass Quality Medical Star Technique of the lowest grade. If Jiang Xiao could obtain more Medical Star Techniques of a higher quality and grade, he would probably become extremely popular.

Pi Keqiu thought that it would be great if he could recruit Jiang Xiao into his army, for he really hoped that he could have a comrade who had medical Star Techniques.

His simple words changed the atmosphere. 15 minutes later, the howling wind gradually quieted down and everyone arrived at the boundaries of the snow forest.

“Your 11 o’clock,” Xia Yan said suddenly.

Everyone looked in front while walking and saw several unidentified objects lying at the end of the Snow forest.

As the crowd slowly approached that spot, Jiang Xiao finally got a clear view of what it was.

A corpse!

It was not the corpse of a human, but that of a White Ghoul.

He did not expect to see three corpses on his first visit and encounter creatures of other dimensions.

Xia Yan took the lead and walked towards the frozen White Ghouls. She squatted down, opened her mouth and bit off the glove that she was wearing. She then stuck one hand into the snow and touched the frozen blood.

“The head of the corpse has not been cut. This is probably the prey of other exploration teams who couldn’t collect the loot in time.” While speaking, Xia Yan whipped out a dagger directly from her waist and began to sever the head of the White Ghoul’s corpse skillfully.

Although Xia Yan made it very clear that the two corpses of the White Ghouls were the prey of other teams, her actions told them that she was prepared to remove their fur.

As the wind and snow dissipated, Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but lift his goggles and quickly walked towards her. He then lowered his head and started observing the magical creatures of other dimensions.

They had thick white fur which definitely kept them warm.

Their corpses were about 170cm in length and they were rather broad. They also had fangs, claws, and large feet.

There were no messy strands of hairs on their bodies and their fur was very beautiful, but they had dark faces, slightly sunken noses, and were absolutely hideous. They looked inexplicably peculiar too.

“Fortunately, there’s still a Star Bead.” Xia Yan grabbed a blood-stained star bead from the White Ghoul’s head and flung it at Jiang Xiao. “This is for you.”

“Ah.” Jiang Xiao was still scrutinizing the White Ghoul and feeling flustered about the abrupt scene. He hurriedly grabbed the blood-stained Star Bead and a series of information poured into his mind.

–

White Ghoul Star Bead (Brass Quality)

Star Technique:

1. Green Glow: Strongly strikes the enemy and increases damage to the targeted spot, adds a slight recoil effect. (Brass Quality, Upgradeable)

2. Endurance: Passive Star Technique, Increases self-defense abilities (Brass Quality, Upgradeable)

Would you like to absorb it together?

–

“Xia Yan, I’m sure you know he only has nine star slots,” Han Jiangxue said hesitantly.

Xia Yan smiled and waved her hands indifferently. “Didn’t you already give him three White Ghoul Star Beads?”

Han Jiangxue answered, “That was when he did not show the potential of becoming a Medical Awakened.”

Xia Yan stopped smiling and said, “I know he has very few star slots, but in Beijiang Land, White Ghoul Star Beads are the best for basic Star Techniques, be it passive or not. These Star Techniques will be the ones that Xiaopi uses the most frequently in his future educational pursuits and combat endeavors.”

Han Jiangxue didn’t respond and remained silent instead. She certainly hoped that Jiang Xiao’s star slots would be filled with high-quality Star Techniques.

However, Xia Yan made a very reasonable point. Although the Star Technique of White Ghouls were of the lowest grade, Brass Quality, they were extremely practical.

Green Glow, in particular, was simply an essential Star Technique for training and actual combat.

The land of Huaxia was vast, but at least in Beijiang, generations of people graduated from school and made it to the society where they thrived using Green Glow.

That included the three other members of the team. Be it the talented Xia Yan, Han Jiangxue, or the soldier Pi Keqiu, two of their individual star slots contained White Ghoul Star Beads and were embellished with “Green Glow” and “Endurance”.

“In the next three years of high school and four years of college life, Xiaopi will probably be exposed to White Ghouls the most amongst all the creatures of other dimensions. Just like you and I, he has to accept it even if he doesn’t want to. After all, we need White Ghoul Star Beads to increase the upper limit of Star Power and make up for the losses.” Xia Yan looked at the silent Han Jiangxue while explaining in a simple and concise manner.

“This is indeed the most cost-effective skill during the growth process.” Han Jiangxue sighed and shook her head, knowing that Jiang Xiao had the potential to absorb Medical Star Techniques. She did have a change in mentality and she wished that Jiang Xiao’s remaining eight star slots would be filled with Medical Star Techniques of Silver or Gold Quality.

However, humans had to grow, and more importantly, survive. Generations of people from Beijiang had proved through their actions that the Brass Quality Star Technique “Green Glow” was undoubtedly dominant.

Han Jiangxue was still fretting over the fact that Jiang Xiao only had eight star slots left.

However, Jiang Xiao’s energy was flowing in his hand and emitting a white glow.

In the constellation diagram of the Big Dipper, the second star was also lit up.

Quality did not matter to Jiang Xiao!

The important thing was… nothing mattered!

He thought, Even if the Brass Quality is stubborn, I can raise it to the diamond level too!