Nine Star Burden

“Once the White Ghouls discover that the two leaders have died, it’s likely that they will return to the usual route.” Han Jiangxue smashed the Star Beads and continuously used her Star Technique Barren Wind to push the two of them forward rapidly. “The team of guardians that have received the SOS signal might rush here too. We don’t have much time.”

“That group of people used very extreme means to track the White Ghouls and they wouldn’t care about us for now. I reckon they must have gone to meet the greedy victims crying for help,” said Xia Yan, making Jiang Xiao feel rather relieved.

“That must be as soon as possible, the sooner the better.” Han Jiangxue nudged everyone along while speaking, and they finally made it back onto the route of the White Ghouls’ troops.

It would be very difficult not to leave traces in the snow.

It was especially so for the hundreds of White Ghouls. Hence, the place that they were in was a complete mess.

There were footprints everywhere in the snow forest, along with fallen trees and branches scattered everywhere. Hence, it would be rather easy to find the traces of the White Ghouls.

However, the problem was that there were simply too many White Ghouls in the troop and the route was too wide even though they had already reached the route.

Jiang Xiao suddenly realized a problem and said, “By the way, after the Awakened die, will their Star Beads be left behind?”

“Of course, from the moment you become an Awakened, it means that you have integrated into this grotesque world, and Star Beads will be formed in your skull too.” Han Jiangxue carefully scanned her surroundings to see that it was in a complete mess.

Jiang Xiao’s eyes glistened and he asked, “In that case… do the Star Beads from the brains of the Awakened come with Star Techniques?”

“Hehe.” Xia Yan shook her head and answered, “Theoretically, that’s the case, but humans are different from other species. If we describe creatures of other dimensions as 100% natural juice, humans would be beverages that are mixed with countless additives. If you want to acquire Star Techniques from human Star Beads, it would be impossible to do so.”

Han Jiangxue sighed and nodded. “Humans are not as pure as creatures of other dimensions. From a racial viewpoint, humans do not have the distinctive characteristics of any kind of creatures of other dimensions.”

Xia Yan once again returned to her position and took the lead in scurrying along the route. She explained, “To the White Ghouls, we’re also creatures of other dimensions, but what is the Star Techniques that we carry?”

“Your sister is right. From the perspective of Star Techniques, humans do not have any prominent racial characteristics and do not breed congenital Star Techniques. We can only acquire the Star Techniques of other creatures.

“So, even if an Awakened possesses countless Star Techniques and you absorb the Star Beads of that Awakened, you will definitely return without success. No such situation has happened in history.” Xia Yan shook her head decisively as she spoke.

Han Jiangxue said, “But this is also a good thing. Because it prevents humans from killing each other.”

“It makes sense.” Xia Yan consciously tried to please Han Jiangxue and continuously chimed in. “If humans can absorb the Star Beads in the brains of other humans to obtain Star Techniques, the world would be in complete chaos.”

Jiang Xiao said, “But in theory, the Star Beads of humans do contain Star Technique absorbed when they were alive, but the possibility of absorption is extremely small.”

“It’s not just small, it’s impossible.” Xia Yan suddenly kept her eyes fixed on a certain tree and continued, “Abandon your unrealistic fantasies. This is a conclusion that has been drawn after numerous trial-and-error.”

Han Jiangxue raised her head and saw half an arm.

Looking away, she saw the blood dripping on the snow that was trampled on.

“The corpse has been severed and the arm is the only thing left.” Xia Yan sighed.

Jiang Xiao felt a cold chill in his spine. If Han Jiangxue didn’t order him to lie down and hide but instead led them to escape, would Jiang Xiao have been severed too?

That was not certain. After all, they did not harbor that much resentment against Jiang Xiao’s team.

“Backpack, the military backpack!” Xia Yan stopped in her tracks abruptly and glided on the snow for several meters. She pointed at the military backpack that was sitting on the ground a few meters away.

Jiang Xiao recovered from the shock.

Is it finally time for the exciting moment of collecting someone else’s loots? 

The military backpack was already a little tattered and torn, and the bottles, sleeping bags and food supplies were all strewn across the ground.

Before Jiang Xiao could even collect the items, Han Jiangxue walked forward, opened her coffin and threw the military backpack into it.

“Hurry and leave,” Han Jiangxue said as she began sprinting together with Xia Yan.

Jiang Xiao was speechless.

About walking 300 meters away from that spot, Xia Yan saw blood again.

She frantically chased after the bloodstains and noticed some intestines along the outermost left edge of the route.

Jiang Xiao’s stomach churned. He was still too inexperienced.

Although he had killed plenty of White Ghouls, he was still rather “gentlemanly” and only chopped their heads off and stabbed them in their faces and in their hearts. He had never sliced through their stomachs at all.

The scene was indeed a little too bloody.

“Over there, half of the body.” Xia Yan seemed to be a cold-blooded animal that had no emotion. When she saw the severed half of the corpse, she even sounded a little excited.

Jiang Xiao wondered to himself with a peculiar expression on his face, What have these two girls experienced before? 

Has collecting corpses become a normal activity for them? 

“People who can confidently barge into this Southeast Route are absolutely not incompetent. Although Star Techniques cannot be extracted from their Star Beads, the Star Power within them are substantial and can help Xia Yan break through the middle of the Nebula Stage.” Han Jiangxue was still concerned about Jiang Xiao and her actions were warm even though her voice was cold.

Oh, so that’s the case. 

Well, that makes sense. Both of them have been stuck in the middle of the Nebula Stage for a long time and they do need a Star Bead that contains strong Star Power to break through the plateau. It’s no wonder they are so excited. 

“There are definitely Star Beads!” Xia Yan scurried towards him and picked up the Awakened’s head before throwing it at Han Jiangxue.

The head was not neatly chopped off in the same way that White Ghouls would usually be beheaded. The neck was still on and there was even a small part of his chest that was bloodied and covered in torn flesh. It looked extremely daunting, and his expression was horrifying.

His eyes were wide open and his expression was full of panic as if it was an indication of what he had experienced moments before his death.

Han Jiangxue waved her hand and the coffin in space opened again. She then threw the severed corpse into it.

“It’s really fortunate that it wasn’t devoured completely,” Xia Yan said excitedly as she continued to sprint along the route.

You will never guess what someone else is thinking. 

The more Jiang Xiao interacted with the two of them, the more he discovered about this terrifying world.

Usually, both Xia Yan and Han Jiangxue were normal people.

Besides, Jiang Xiao even received their care and concern. Although Han Jiangxue was apathetic and Xia Yan was hot-tempered, they both acted reasonably.

However, the way they behaved now gave Jiang Xiao a clear understanding of what the Awakened were like.

Or perhaps, what this dim world was like.

After all, Jiang Xiao had only spent a short amount of time in this peculiar world which he had little exposure to. As an ordinary male who had crossed over from the normal world, his consciousness and principles had yet to align with this world.

“Are you disappointed in me?” Han Jiangxue asked all of a sudden.

Jiang Xiao was so terrified that he shivered, for he had seen the horrifying sight of the corpse just now.

Jiang Xiao kept walking and pondered about it for a while before saying, “If we don’t take it, the team of guardians will. Or the White Ghouls will eat him up.”

“You’re not too bad at comforting yourself.” Han Jiangxue picked up in her tracks and sprinted alongside Jiang Xiao. She continued, “But in essence, we are searching for human bodies to strengthen ourselves.”

“It’s better than letting his corpse stay out here in the wild.” Jiang Xiao seemed to have already figured it out. “We can’t let the White Ghouls take advantage.”

“Hehe.” Han Jiangxue smiled and remained silent.

“Han Jiangxue, what are you trying to say?” Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but ask.

“For the Awakened, it’d be a luxury to have a great beginning and end.” Han Jiangxue turned to look at Jiang Xiao and continued, “I just want to tell you this. Don’t die. Otherwise, you will be beheaded and have your Star Beads taken away from you.

“This world is not beautiful, at least not as beautiful as you think. The Awakened are only glorious on the surface, but every powerful person climbs to the top by trampling on corpses. In Huaxia, powerful national violence control and harsh penalties can deter the crowds.

“The nation is already protecting the Awakened to the greatest extent possible while maintaining social stability.” Han Jiangxue continued softly, “However, in a Dimensional Space, even a team of guardians cannot achieve full-scale supervision and control. The worlds of other dimensions are still considered safe. In the future, we will enter various worlds of other dimensions. I just want you to stay vigilant and get exposed to these earlier. It’s a good thing for you.”

Jiang Xiao licked his lips and nodded quietly.

Today, he witnessed the other side of Han Jiangxue and heard about another side of the world.

This lesson was very real.

After this lesson, Jiang Xiao finally sensed that he had begun to get immersed in this interesting world.