Chapter 1170: Star Shattering Imprint

Zu An was shocked to hear that claim. What did it mean to be able to increase one’s strength tenfold? His greatest advantage was that the Primordial Origin Sutra could strengthen his body and regenerative ability. With the Heaven Devouring Sutra, he could neutralize the attacks of those of higher cultivation than himself. However, his offense was comparatively very lacking.

There had been many times when he couldn't even break through his opponent’s defenses. He could only use the Poisonous Prick and some other skills to make up for his lack of power in those cases. However, those skills all had their own respective weaknesses. They might not necessarily work against the most powerful opponents.

If he could increase his strength tenfold even temporarily, with proper timing, he would have absolute control over the battlefield!

Of course, it was possible for him to achieve a similar effect through Keyboard Come. However, the terrifying rebound meant that if he used that skill, it would be hard for him to keep his life.

Yan Xuehen felt unhappy when she saw the blazing passion in his eyes. The Unshaken Daoist Manual she had just taught him wasn’t inferior to the Star Shattering Imprint, and yet this fellow didn’t seem that interested at all. Didn’t that mean she was inferior to the other woman?

She gave Yun Jianyue a cold look and said, “Stop bragging already. You did not even see the emperor’s face when you carried out that attack on the capital, and yet you were beaten up so badly. You still have the nerve to say such things?”

Yun Jianyue blushed. She was a bit embarrassed for the first time. She shot back, “That’s different! If he didn’t dodge at all and let me attack him, I swear I could blast his brains out!”

“Hah…” Yan Xuehen merely laughed with folded arms, clearly showing disdain.

Yun Jianyue said in annoyance, “Ah Zu, don’t listen to that stone cold woman. The emperor is an Earth Immortal. His cultivation realm isn’t something we can understand. There’s no way he would stand in place and let others hit him anyway. What we need to focus on right now is killing this Scaled Deathworm.”

Seeing that she was getting embarrassed, Zu An obviously wouldn’t be so tactless as to pursue the matter. He replied, “Of course!”

But inwardly, he felt a bit of regret. Even grandmasters like Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen had no confidence in their ability to fight the emperor. What was he supposed to do against the emperor if things really went south?

Yun Jianyue gave Yan Xuehen a resentful look and asked, “What, are you going to just stand here? Are you trying to steal my skill or something?”

“Who would be interested in something like that?” Yan Xuehen sneered and left.

Yu Yanluo gave Zu An a look and told him, “Ah Zu, Sect Master Yun’s reputation throughout these years has been incredible precisely because of this one-of-a-kind technique, allowing her to remain undefeated among her peers. Back then, countless experts from all sorts of different sects arrived under the court’s lead to surround her, yet they were all killed one by one. Blood flowed like streams. Even the emperor himself admired her unparalleled offensive dao. You need to make good use of this chance.”

Zu An replied, “Thank you for the reminder. The dao of art you taught me before is also unmatched and I benefited a lot from that. You need to be careful while I’m learning, too.” Without her art dao, his ‘Face of a Thousand Identities’ wouldn’t have become successful.

Hm? Doesn’t this mean he’s gone down all our paths…

Yu Yanluo blushed, her eyes full of emotion as she looked at him. She had felt somewhat bad when she saw Yan Xuehen and Yun Jianyue pass down such incredible ultimate techniques, having a sense of inferiority and thinking she couldn't do a thing. And yet, he had sensed how she was feeling and said that to comfort her.

He really is a gentle and considerate man… Why do the people of the world think he’s a disrespectful philanderer?

Hmph, they’re all blind!

Her mood immediately became much better. She left while humming a small tune.

…

Yun Jianyue pinched Zu An’s ear when Yu Yanluo left, remarking, “Stupid brat, do you know what kind of situation we’re in? And yet, you’re still flirting with her?”

At the same time, she sighed in amazement. Yu Yanluo really deserved her reputation as the number one beauty. The smile she had shown in that instant really was too shocking. Not even the most charming girls from her Holy Sect could compare!

Zu An cried out in protest. “I was just warning her to be a bit more careful so she wouldn’t get ambushed by those worms.”

Yun Jianyue said indifferently, “With me and that stone cold woman here, we’d immediately sense it if that strange worm got too close. You should just focus on learning the Star Shattering Imprint.”

Zu An grumbled, “Weren’t you two seriously injured because of the mother worm’s ambush?”

Yun Jianyue’s eyebrows shot up as she exclaimed, “What did you say?”

“Nothing! I said I would be the best student in the entire world!” Zu An replied, immediately straightening his back.

“That’s more like it,” Yun Jianyue said, her demeanor turning strict as she explained, “As the name implies, the Star Shattering Imprint, when cultivated to its peak, can even shatter a star in a single hit.”

Zu An was stunned. He asked, “Is it really that crazy?”

Yun Jianyue’s expression became somewhat unnatural as she replied, “I obviously can’t do it, but that was what the ancestors passed on… Ah! Stop asking questions and listen carefully!”

“Yes, ma’am!” Zu An replied. Seeing that she sounded angry, he didn’t dare to provoke her anymore.

Yun Jianyue continued, “Even though this technique is powerful, it has quite the rebound. You have to keep that in mind, or else it might come back to bite you.”

Zu An nodded. It wouldn’t make sense for such a formidable skill to not have any downsides.

“Even if you cultivate this technique to its highest state, you still won’t be able to use it successfully every time,” Yun Jianyue said.

“What is the success rate?” Zu An asked.

“Only around half,” Yun Jianyue said with a serious expression.

Zu An was stunned, exclaiming, “It’s that high?!” He had thought that it would only have around a ten percent success rate. Fifty percent wasn’t that low at all.

“Is it?” Yun Jianyue sneered. “After all, when two experts meet, life and death are usually decided by the slightest bit of superiority. If your winning blow didn’t succeed, wouldn’t that mean the tides could immediately turn against you?”

Zu An realized that was true. If that kind of situation did happen, he would most likely be killed.

Yun Jianyue continued, “There’s another problem, too. Fifty percent success rate doesn’t mean you’ll succeed if you use it twice. If your luck is bad, you won’t succeed even once when you use it ten times in a row. That’s a lesson we learned by paying the price of blood throughout many generations.”

“I understand. Is it really that random, or is there some kind of mechanism behind it?” Zu An asked. He remembered how statistics teachers in his previous world would ask students to do something like flipping a coin a hundred times and record the results. Then, when the teachers checked the students’ homework, the results that had many heads and tails in a row pretty much all belonged to those who had done their homework properly. The ones that alternated regularly, on the other hand, tended to be made out.

“Is it really random?” Yun Jianyue repeated. She wasn’t too used to the term, but she felt that it made sense. “Correct. It’s more or less like that. That’s why you need to be mentally prepared. You need to think of a way out whenever you plan to use it. That way, you can still salvage the situation if you fail.”

“Then, how long will it take before I can use it again?” Zu An asked while paying close attention.

“This technique’s burden on the body is great. Several hours after using this technique, your condition will worsen,” Yun Jianyue said. “Furthermore, you need a stick of incense’s time before you can use it again. Moreover, you can’t use it more than three times in a single day. Otherwise, your body won’t be able to handle it and will explode.”

“What the hell?!” Zu An exclaimed. Still, he thought that because his body was tougher than most, he should be able to use it a few more times.

“How can something this ridiculous have no price?” Yun Jianyue sneered. “Watch carefully. How much you learn will depend on you.” She began to explain while demonstrating.

All sorts of dao phenomena began to emerge around them. Zu An felt as if he were being dragged into a world filled with slaughter and death. All around them were mountains of corpses and seas of blood; broken weapons were scattered across the ground. Overhead hung a moon… no, a blood moon!

“Is this her domain…” Zu An murmured in shock. Just how many bloody battles would one have to go through to produce such a world?

“Concentrate! Pay close attention!” Yun Jianyue called out in a dignified voice.

Zu An shivered inwardly. He quickly immersed himself, focusing on her as she displayed unrivaled offensive strength. It was as if he were following her as she faced the experts who had surrounded her…