Besides that, one could use some very special methods that normally had no chance to be deployed due to overly stringent conditions. In a small place like Boyang City, it was simply impossible to gather the required materials.
However, seeing as he had plenty of time, Lin Feng decided to stroll around the market, thinking maybe he could chance upon something helpful.
Yet, after making a full round, just as Lin Feng expected, that dogshit luck wasn't going to happen. He thought about leaving, but his gaze got caught by a bizarre box a vendor was selling.
It was just an ordinary rouge box, but the box was finely crafted. What attracted Lin Feng was not the rouge, which he had no use for, but rather that he noticed at a glance there was a hidden compartment in the rouge box containing something.
Lin Feng thought it interesting and approached the vendor. Seeing the price, he paid two hundred silver leaves on the spot and left with the rouge box.
One Gold Pearl was equivalent to a thousand silver leaves, so this amount of money was nothing to Lin Feng.
Even if he was overthinking it and there was no loss, on the contrary, if there really was something valuable, then it would be a sure win without any losses. For a Martial Artist's entire life, what they lacked most was opportunity.
But after only a few steps, he stopped. Standing directly in front of him were a young man and woman, the man's expression cold but with an extraordinary aura, carrying a sword on his back.
The woman had delicate features, with a long skirt trailing on the ground, conversing and laughing with the young man.
"Lin Feng?"
The young woman also spotted Lin Feng, showing an expression of utter surprise, followed immediately by a trace of mockery and disdain in her eyes.
This young lady was none other than Lin Feng's cousin, the Great Elder's granddaughter, Lin Mo'er, who had also communicated with Sixth Grade Star, becoming the talk of the Lin Family and a key figure for grooming. The young man by her side was Lin Zihua.
"Why is this piece of trash here?"
Lin Mo'er's first words were 'piece of trash,' spoken with an extra dose of disgust, as if what she faced was a pile of cow dung.
Lin Feng, however, didn't care at all and wasn't the least bit angry, just faintly smiled: "Cousin Lin Mo'er, before this you were chasing after me and calling 'Brother Lin Feng' more diligently than anyone else. Even if I'm not mistaken, just a few days ago, you even asked me to visit your boudoir late at night. Now how come you're so quick to deny knowing me, to turn your face away faster than a monkey's butt."
"You..."
Hearing Lin Feng mentioning these private matters, Lin Mo'er's cheeks flushed all the way to her ears, she glanced at Lin Zihua beside her, then stomped her feet in a mix of embarrassment and rage, retorting sharply: "Lin Feng, stop spouting nonsense! I admit, before this I did indeed call you 'Brother Lin Feng,' but that was out of basic politeness. Now, I am a Sixth Grade Star genius of the Lin Family, and you, although a young master of the Lin Family, are merely a First Grade Star. It won't be long before you become a young master in name only, a total failure."
Lin Feng simply smiled faintly; Lin Mo'er really was just the same as before. Previously, she was always there tempting Lin Feng, practically wishing he'd bed her so she could mix herself the title of Clan Leader's wife. Now that she thought he had bonded with a First Grade Star, she was quick to sever ties and kick him away as if she never knew Lin Feng, instead showing her fondness for Lin Zihua.
To an ordinary person, such a disparity would probably cause a lump in their chest and misery for quite a while, but Lin Feng just shook his head, too lazy to argue further, and simply lifted his leg to walk away.
From beginning to end, Lin Zihua didn't waste a single word. He was always solitary and arrogant, looking down on everyone. Now that he had connected with an Eighth Grade Star, he was so close to soaring into the sky to bask in the sun if it weren't for his low-profile nature. He couldn't even bother to glance at Lin Feng, as if he considered the latter no more valuable than a pile of worthless cow dung.
"This trash, you don't need to bother with him in the future. If he bothers you, you can come to me."
After Lin Feng had walked a few steps away, Lin Zihua spoke indifferently to Lin Mo'er.
"I know, that useless young master Lin Feng is history. From now on, he is not of our world. By the way, Brother Lin Zihua, the rouge from the merchant ahead looks pretty."
...
Lin Feng naturally heard Lin Zihua's words, but he didn't get angry at all. It was beneath him because, in his eyes, Lin Zihua was a dead man. Not because of his insults, but because of Lin Zihua's actions later on; Lin Zihua was someone Lin Feng must kill in this life.
However, Lin Zihua was indeed formidable in his memories. After connecting with an Eighth Grade Star, his combat power soared. None of the Lin Family members of his generation were a match for him within three moves. After countless hardships, Lin Feng managed to raise his Demon Dragon Star to the level of an Eighth Grade Star but felt that his combat prowess was roughly the same as Lin Zihua's.
By rights, his Demon Dragon Star, being a Dragon-type Star, was one of the stronger types among stars, much stronger than Lin Zihua's Eighth Grade Star, and provided a much more significant boost in combat power. They shouldn't be evenly matched. Lin Feng didn't understand this before, but now it seemed that Lin Zihua must have had some significant opportunity.
Lin Feng pondered and opened the rouge box he had just bought. He flipped to the bottom and opened the compartment there, which indeed contained something—a wax-sealed object that looked like it could be parchment.
"Could it be another treasure map?"
Lin Feng wasn't very excited; he had come across countless opportunities in his past life.
He broke the wax seal, and indeed it was a treasure map, with the location within the largest Demon Beast mountain range in Hu Ben Country, a cave within the Hu Ben mountain range.
Lin Feng mused that this was interesting. He didn't expect such an unexpected gain and decided to keep it. He would explore the Hu Ben mountain range himself in the future. After all, treasure maps could either be real or fake, and some even led to traps or hell; he couldn't afford to rush in blindly.
Returning to the clan, Lin Feng secluded himself, refusing to see anyone, and began his reclusive cultivation life.
"The Star Tower half a month from now is the first critical juncture for my rise in this life. I must obtain the qualification no matter what! I'll focus on cultivation for seven days, and then head straight to the Hu Ben mountain range. I want to see what good stuff this treasure map has."
However, Lin Feng's cultivation was interrupted on the third day by Lin Panghu, who recklessly came charging over, hammering at his door and barging in without invitation, then dragging Lin Feng outside.
"What's going on?"
Lin Feng was completely baffled. He had just broken through to the Seventh Layer as a Martial Apprentice and was preparing to surge forward, only to be rudely interrupted by this fatso.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you not know that today there's a lesson by the Great Elder about 'Star as Soldiers'?"
Lin Panghu glared at him irritably. Lin Feng then remembered that, according to the rules, every clan disciple who successfully participated in the Star Ceremony and connected with a Star is required to attend lessons where a few Elders from the clan would resolve doubts and explain the most basic uses of Stars.