Starry Sky Professional

The sun blazed overhead.

Fang Xing strolled through a city, clad in a floral shirt and wearing a sun hat.

This was Yuan Education City, the largest nurturing hub on Hatchling Star.

As an educational planet, it's not just about high school education.

In fact, Hatchling and similar educational hub planets are most renowned for their expansive bioengineered human breeding and cultivation facilities.

Countless infants are born from nurturing pods every year, then seamlessly integrated into nurseries, kindergartens, and elementary schools where they endlessly grow.

Only those who grow up naturally like this hold untapped potential and endless possibilities.

Yuan Education City, being the largest nurture center on Hatchling Star, embraces a child-friendly street design; nursery schools and elementary schools are seen everywhere.

"Strictly speaking, this is technically 'my' birthplace..."

Fang Xing mused aloud, buying an ice cream from a street vendor and munching on it as he walked.

With the start of summer vacation, he'd embarked on an impromptu journey.

He didn't even buy tickets at the outset, choosing to travel on foot and turning into a 'missing' person for a time.

To outsiders, the official explanation was to evade the hassling by recruiters and investors.

Regarding this, both Lu Guangming and Xia Long were understanding.

After all, some investors, even major corporations, can have a particularly overbearing attitude, demanding favors for merely being the first to arrive.

At this juncture, given Fang Xing's vulnerability, antagonizing any of them is unwise.

It's better to vanish for a while, letting each party present their offers, then selecting the most favorable one!

Yet, knowing Fang Xing's inherently independent nature, enriched by an entire universe of resources at his disposal, he has little interest in accepting investments.

He perceives those coming now as opportunists trying to take advantage of him.

After finishing his ice cream, he altered his appearance once more and headed to a black market, intending to exchange gold for resources to supplement his alternate world.

In the subsequent days...

Magic Gorge.

Famed as a tourist attraction on Hatchling Star, its sky perpetually shimmers with a vibrant glow.

According to official explanations, the disruptions in the magnetic field of Devil's Gorge, alongside the natural spectacles, have crafted an environment with fierce winds and perilous conditions.

Yet, warriors are drawn here, eager for the challenges and physical refinement it offers.

"Passengers, our train is approaching Devil's Gorge Station. Please collect your belongings and disembark in an orderly fashion…"

The gentle voice of an attendant echoed through the carriage.

Wearing sunglasses, Fang Xing gazed at the vast, rugged landscape outside, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Across from him sat a young couple, seemingly middle school students from a natural family, taking this trip as a break after their recent high school entrance exams.

They looked close, like young lovebirds.

'Isn't this considered early romance? Well, whatever…'

Fang Xing turned away, uninterested.

Meanwhile, the young girl was holding a magazine, her face alight with excitement: "Look... someone from our planet ranked third in the Hundred Stars Exam!"

"I know, it's Fang Xing from Maple Leaf City, right? A once-in-a-decade genius… guaranteed a spot in university, maybe even aiming for a top-tier institution," the young boy admitted, tinged with jealousy, though he couldn't find a fault in Fang Xing, so he merely shrugged. "But I think he might opt for a recommendation—at least for a first-tier university... the Hundred Stars Exam is way tougher than the regular exams."

"It's rare to see such talent emerging from our fledgling Eagle Star; he should aim for the top, right? The last person who made it into the Nine Swords Academy was years ago," the girl remarked, slightly regretful.

"I heard Fang Xing was a bioengineered human, it's hard to say… he might just sell out to a corporation," the boy speculated, but even he found it hard to believe a bioengineered human could reach such heights. "Anyway, enough about that. The train's arriving, where do you want to explore first in the canyon? We need to store all electronic devices and plan carefully once we head into the magnetic disturbance zone…"

At that moment, the train came to a steady halt.

Fang Xing stepped out of the carriage, where a robot awaited him on the platform: "Honored Citizen Level 2 Fang Xing, your package has arrived. Please proceed with iris verification…"

Removing his sunglasses, Fang Xing revealed a face that left the disembarking couple in disbelief.

"He's…"

The girl glanced from Fang Xing, verifying his iris, to the photo in the magazine, her expression dazed.

"What's up?"

Just as the boy was about to speak, he watched Fang Xing enter a delivery code, making the robot's chest open to reveal a package.

"Wow… to have federal logistics deliver right to the train station, that requires privileges higher than my dad's… wait, this guy is… Fang Xing?"

He was somewhat dumbfounded.

"Hello there."

Fang Xing gave a smile, picked up his backpack, and walked out of the station.

After displaying his technique, his figure flickered a few times and then vanished at the end of the street.

Although he spent most of his time in disguise, occasionally he needed to leave some proof of his travels behind.

"I suddenly feel like we've been slacking, haven't we..."

The girl gazed at Fang Xing's departing figure, her eyes shining brightly. "Look at him... the number one genius of Chuying Star, and he still remembers to cultivate during summer break..."

"We're not here for a vacation either... At least, we told our parents we're here to train." The boy muttered, his confidence gradually waning.

In truth, he did plan to just have some fun and maybe find a girlfriend...

...

"Hey there, would you like a tourist map?"

Outside Devil's Gorge, there was a bustling street.

Fang Xing approached a newspaper stand and casually bought a tourist map.

The map mainly introduced Devil's Gorge.

"If you're not here for tourism, but to hone martial arts, you have to enter from the mouth of the gorge... Within ten thousand meters is the limit for martial artists of the first three realms. From ten thousand to thirty thousand meters, it's the limit for those at the Courage Realm... Beyond thirty thousand meters, only high-level masters can venture in."

Fang Xing entered a store, bought some off-road gear, and with a hiking backpack, he stepped into the massive gorge entrance.

Once inside the gorge, he felt a difference.

His electronic devices seemed to be hit by some interference and immediately fell into chaos.

"Hmm? Is this the fierce wind of the gorge?"

He murmured, somewhat disdainfully.

Compared to the elixirs of the cultivation world, this kind of external tempering was still slightly lacking.

Perhaps deeper inside, the effects might strengthen, but in terms of efficiency, it remained considerably limited.

To speed up martial arts training, the best method was still to find shortcuts!

Whir, whir!

Fang Xing moved swiftly, his feet barely touching the ground as he raced into the canyon.

Along the way, he passed numerous martial artists, their expressions hardened from rigorous training, each taking advantage of the gale to temper their bodies.

Fang Xing paid them no heed, bypassing them all without a glance.

The further he ventured into the depths of the canyon, the scarcer the presence of others became.

One thousand five hundred meters!

One thousand eight hundred meters!

Ten thousand meters!

Twenty thousand meters!

"Is this the limit for a martial artist at the Gallantry Realm?"

Amidst the vast yellow sands, Fang Xing gazed at the marker indicating thirty thousand meters in the distance. He promptly found a cave set into the cliffside and entered.

Three seconds later, a flash of silver light illuminated the cave, and he vanished without a trace.

…

Qinglin Market.

High-grade Cave Residence.

It had been some time since Fang Xing last visited, and upon returning, he found his once pristine cave residence transformed into a veritable playground for demonic beasts.

Notably, traces of a burrowing creature had disrupted his basement, turning his surveillance system into disarray.

The surface above was in no better condition.

Particularly disheartening was the state of his cherished hot spring and plum blossom grove, both now in utter disarray. Many plum trees lay haphazardly, while a shadowy figure frolicked unabated in the hot spring.

"Glug!"

From the basement emerged Fang Xing, prompting a series of bubbles to rise from the hot spring, followed by a grotesque fish.

This creature bore a resemblance to a giant salamander, its head akin to an otter, but its body was entirely sheathed in dark green scales.

"Waaah!"

The creature clambered out of the spring, its weeping cries echoing like those of a wailing infant. Suddenly, it opened its massive maw, unleashing a torrent of heavy, ominous black water spheres at Fang Xing!

"This mere second-tier beast..." Fang Xing's form flickered as he appeared beside the giant salamander, a flash of azure light glinting from his sword.

With a swift movement, the beast's head soared into the air.

Moments later, the enticing aroma of roasted meat filled the courtyard.

"Awoo!"

Chewing on the roasted meat, Fang Xing listened to the distant howls of numerous beasts, his expression gradually darkening.

In the past, the cultivators of the market town could barely maintain a balance with the beasts.

But with many cultivators having left, that balance has been shattered!

These beasts aren't mere animals; some are quite intelligent!

He even wondered if he was now the only human left in the market town.

'It seems it's time to leave. Such a pity—this place had excellent spirit energy...'

Fang Xing could still eat his roasted meat in peace for now, thanks to the power of his talismans, which concealed the unusualness of his home.

But his stock of talismans would eventually run out, and there was nowhere to buy more.

He finished the beast meat in a few quick bites, feeling the powerful essence being absorbed in his abdomen, a satisfied expression on his face as he casually opened the package he received at the train station.

With a ripping sound, a silver metallic box emerged from the package. After punching in the code, the lid opened automatically, releasing a wave of cold air.

Inside the silver box was a single tube of azure blood, stored in a test tube and emitting gentle starlight.

"K'unpeng blood!"

Fang Xing murmured. This was a far superior supplement for his Dragon Elephant Technique than the 'Whale Elephant Ointment'.

Even with his current Level 2 citizen status, he could only buy one dose.

"There's still some boiling blood left. With k'unpeng blood... At least, I can advance the Dragon Elephant Technique further..."

Taking a deep breath, Fang Xing began planning his martial arts training for the summer break.

With a rare two-month window of free time, he intended to delve deeper into this world's potential.

“There are still some Concealment Talismans and Odor-Removing Talismans left... The spiritual energy in this cave can still be utilized for a while.”

“It's a pity I can't set up formations. Otherwise, with one in place, I could stay here much longer...”

Even though Fang Xing had attained the realm of the Fearless Spirit in martial arts and awakened a unique mental power, he remained a complete novice in the diverse arts of cultivation. Understanding their essence was beyond his reach, let alone the art of arranging formations.

]

(End of Chapter)