CHAPTER 66 — The Birth of a Star Core & the Shattering of Limits
The journey out of the secret realm should have been peaceful.
The group had gathered the final herbs. Strengthened their bodies and spirits. Grown closer and more unified than ever before.
But Lin Xuan was not finished with the realm.
As the rift shimmered behind them—unstable and on the verge of collapse—Lin paused.
Bai blinked. "Lin? Something wrong?"
Lin raised his hand slowly.
"No. Something right."
Mu tilted her head. "What are you thinking…?"
Lin didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stepped back toward the rift and placed his palm gently against the vibrating surface.
---
Absorbing the Secret Realm into the Earth World
A soft hum rose from within Lin's dantian as the solar system inside spun faster.
His inner earth—lush, growing, and full of potential—responded to the secret realm's presence like a thirsty field sensing rain.
Lin whispered:
"Let's try something impossible… again."
He allowed the solar system's gravitational pull to open.
The rift trembled.
Golden motes of qi rose from the ground.
Ancient trees rustled violently.
The fallen sect's formations cracked open, releasing the remnants of spiritual rules they once upheld.
Then—
the world moved.
Like a tide pulled back into the ocean, the entire secret realm—its soil, its laws, its residual Saint Qi—rushed toward Lin.
Wen stumbled back. "Lin—Lin, are you—INSANE?!"
Mu shielded her eyes. "He's trying to take the realm!"
Bai exhaled hard. "This is either the smartest thing he's ever done—or a suicidal disaster."
Lin's consciousness burned.
His inner sun flared to life.
His planet—Earth—expanded, swirling with turbulent winds and seas.
The secret realm crashed into it.
And instead of rejecting it…
The Earth fused with it.
Spirit mountains rose.
Ancient sect ruins embedded themselves along new ley lines.
Laws—fragmented, but potent—wove into the fabric of the world.
Qi density multiplied fivefold.
Half-dormant formations awakened as natural wonders.
A world that was once a seed…
became a young realm.
---
Cultivation Breakthrough — Star Core Formation
Lin's eyes snapped open.
His qi surged uncontrollably.
His foundation realm, already pushed beyond conventional limits, ruptured like a bursting dam.
His meridians widened.
His dantian imploded into a single point.
Then ignited.
Inside his consciousness—
a star was born.
Not a golden core.
Not a sphere.
Not a pill.
A burning sun, radiating endless power.
Its light filled his meridians.
Its warmth strengthened his bones.
Its gravity became the anchor of his cultivation.
His body shook violently as a pillar of blazing qi shot skyward.
Wen screamed, "He's advancing too fast—the world can't contain his aura!"
The air shattered.
Mountains trembled.
Clouds dispersed in a spiraling vortex.
Then—
Heaven reacted.
---
Heavenly Tribulation Descends
Lightning roared across the sky.
A swirling storm of purple, blue, and gold arcane bolts crackled overhead.
Mu gasped. "That's not Golden Core lightning—that's… that's higher!"
Wen muttered in shock, "He just formed a core—why is the tribulation stronger than a Nascent Soul trial?!"
Bai pointed at Lin's chest. "His cultivation technique… it's too monstrous."
The heavens agreed.
Thirteen bolts formed.
Not nine.
Not ten.
Thirteen—the number reserved for existence-defying cultivators.
Lin steadied himself.
His divine artifact—disguised as the helmet—emitted brilliant runic light, forming a protective barrier around him.
The first bolt fell.
It shattered the barrier.
The second bolt struck Lin directly.
It scorched his skin.
Burned his meridians.
Electrocuted his muscles.
Lin gritted his teeth.
"More…"
The third bolt tore through him like a cosmic hammer.
The fourth bolt struck with thunderous force.
But as the fifth descended—
Lin's inner sun pulsed outward, releasing radiant waves of qi that swallowed the bolt whole.
Mu whispered, trembling, "He's… he's eating tribulation lightning?"
Bai's jaw hung open. "I want to be like him when I grow up."
By the time the thirteenth bolt fell, Lin stood tall—eyes like two blazing stars.
His wounds healed instantly.
His qi stabilized without resistance.
There was no weakness.
No instability.
No period of consolidation.
His foundation was unshakeable.
His new realm… absolute.
---
Power Breakdown — Cultivation Realm Multipliers
To understand what Lin had become…
Typical Power Multipliers Between Realms
Realm Power Increase
Body Refinement → Qi Condensation ×2
Qi Condensation → Foundation Establishment ×5
Foundation → Golden Core ×10
Golden Core → Nascent Soul ×20
Nascent Soul → Spirit Severing ×50
Spirit Severing → Void Transformation ×100
---
Lin's Power Instead
Due to:
Divine Physique
Celestial Spiritual Veins
Triple Elemental Affinity (Fire, Lightning, Space)
Solar-System Cultivation Method
Upgraded Dantian (Star Core)
Heaven-Defying Fate
Celestial Artifact Fusion
Lin's true multipliers:
Foundation → Star Core = ×100 (instead of ×10)
Dantian capacity = 1000× a normal Golden Core
Qi density = 20× a normal Golden Core
Physical strength = rivals early Spirit Severing realm
Spiritual sense = comparable to mid Nascent Soul cultivator
In short:
**Lin Xuan's raw power dwarfed Golden Core cultivators…
and rivaled even the elites of Nascent Soul before he even reached it.**
And Heaven took notice.
So did Hell.
---
The Demonic Sect Strikes
A ripple of murderous intent tore through the forest.
A shadow swept down from above—an old man in black robes, radiating the stench of corrupted qi.
His eyes widened as he scanned Lin's aura.
"You… you formed THAT?
Impossible. A mortal whelp cannot…!"
He roared.
"I AM AN ELDER OF THE BLOODSHROUD DEMON SECT!
DIE, HEAVEN-DEFIER!"
Lin calmly raised his hand.
His star pulsed.
Lightning gathered.
And in the span of a heartbeat—
he caught the elder's full-force strike with his bare hand.
Wen choked.
Mu froze.
Bai whispered, "Oh hell…"
Lin's voice was emotionless.
"You should not have come alone."
He unleashed a palm strike that detonated like a supernova.
The elder screamed as half his body vaporized, propelled thousands of meters into the forest canopy.
He vanished.
Whether dead or dying didn't matter.
Others were coming.
---
The Group Battles Toward Cloudsky
Lin turned to the group.
"We need to move. Now."
Bai nodded. "Lead the way."
Mu summoned her flame.
Wen drew his sword.
They blasted through waves of demonic cultivators—powerful assassins, corrupted beasts, and cursed constructs—each one stronger than the last.
Lin cleaved mountains apart.
Bai shattered boulders.
Wen's sword flashed like a storm.
Mu's flame refined the battlefield into ash.
And rumors spread like wildfire.
---
The World Reacts
In towns and cities:
"Did you hear?! Cloudsky disciples destroyed a demonic strike force!"
"A golden core prodigy appeared!"
"Some say he refined a celestial pill!"
"No—he fought a Nascent Soul elder with one hand!"
"No, no—he has a dragon!"
Powerhouses of every faction began whispering:
"Find him."
"Recruit him."
"Kill him."
"Shelter him."
"Buy him."
"Marry him!"
"Observe him."
"Report to the kingdom."
"Report to the empire."
"Report to the heavens!"
The world had noticed.
The world would never be the same.
Lin Xuan and his group raced across mountain ridges, cutting through ambush after ambush, pressing toward home—
Cloudsky Sect…
and the next storm waiting for them.
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