Chapter 920: An Unexpected Guest

Aside from Flame Dragon’s Cry, Nie Tian selected two other incantations on that floor.

One was the True Flame Incantation, and the other was Flaming Finger Swords.

Technically, Flaming Finger Swords was an attacking magic, which allowed its users to condense their flame power to the limit, and then unleash it as a fierce weapon.

As its name indicated, once cultivators mastered it, they would be able to turn their fingers into flaming swords, and then shoot extremely condensed flame power from their fingertips like sword lights.

The True Flame Incantation, however, was technically a cultivation method, which allowed its users to channel Heavenflame Essence from the starry sky in order to strengthen their spiritual cores.

Normally, Heavenflame Essence only existed in blazing meteors and Heavenflame Crystals.

It was known that, as a powerful species, Heaven Flame Beasts upgraded their bloodlines by capturing and fusing Heavenflame Essence in the depths of the starry river with themselves.

Aside from them, vermilion birds, flame phoenixes, and flame dragons also had a natural inclination for Heavenflame Essence.

As for Nie Tian, perhaps he wouldn’t have the time and energy to roam the vast starry river to gather Heavenflame Essence.

However, he could purchase Heavenflame Crystals.

From Heavenflame Crystals, he could also gain Heavenflame Essence, channel it into his flame power spiritual core, and practice the True Flame Incantation.

Flame Dragon’s Cry, Flaming Finger Swords, and the True Flame Incantation were all Earth grade spiritual incantations. Nie Tian imprinted them all on his flame power sub-soul so that he wouldn’t have to spend much time learning them himself.

By the time his flame power sub-soul gained an overall understanding of them, he would be able to try to practice them himself.

After gaining these three Earth grade flame power incantations, Nie Tian figured that he wouldn’t pick any more flame power incantations before he fully mastered them.

Therefore, he went to find Tao Jin, and expressed his intent to leave for the floor where wood power incantations were stored.

“Huang Jinnan, a Divine Son of the Five Elements Sect, came for you,” Tao Jin said. “Noble as he is, he came all the way to congratulate you on you finishing the path of stars and becoming the seventh Son of the Stars. I didn’t tell you right away because I saw that you were busy selecting incantations and I didn’t want to interrupt you. He’s waited a day now. So why don’t you go see him first?”

Nie Tian’s expression flickered. “Huang Jinnan?!” 

“He said he fought alongside you in the Shatter Battlefield,” Tao Jin said discretely.

Nie Tian nodded. “Yeah, we met in the Bloody Grave Mountain Range and fought battles together...”

After a moment of pondering, Nie Tian gave up on the idea of selecting records of wood power incantations, and signaled for Tao Jin to show him the way.

“He was arranged to rest in one of our guest residences. I’ll inform him that we’re going to him right now.” With these words, Tao Jin took out a Sound Stone, whispered something into it, and then led Nie Tian out of the Records Pavilion.

Hundreds of disciples who were flying into and out of the Records Pavilion cast curious gazes towards him.

“Follow me.” Tao Jin flew lightly through the huge gate on the ground floor.

Nie Tian cleared his throat, and instead of flying after him with his awkward flying skills, he summoned the Star Boat.

As soon as the Star Boat appeared, almost everyone present realized that he must be the seventh Son of the Stars.

Star Boats were extremely precious air-transportation spiritual tools. Even the elders of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace didn’t have any of their own.

The fact that this unfamiliar-looking man had a Star Boat in his possession proved that he must be a Son of the Stars.

Tao Jin’s expression didn’t change in the slightest as he continued to fly forward at a medium speed. Nie Tian, however, followed along on his Star Boat.

Aside from the Fragmentary Star Palace and four main buildings, there were also a large number of cultivation rooms, battlefields, equipment forging labs, and other designated cultivation-related areas in Fragmentary Star City.

Since a marvelous grand spell formation was unceasingly gathering the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth from its surroundings, the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in the city was nearly ten times richer than in any other region in the Realm of Fragmentary Star.

Therefore, it would be much easier for Qi warriors to practice cultivation and seek breakthroughs in Fragmentary Star City.

The most important thing was that Fragmentary Star City kept channeling star power from the vast starry river, causing bits of starlight to fall out of the heavens day and night.

Because of this, those who practiced star power incantations wouldn’t have to rely on Star Stones to make rapid progress in their cultivation.

Many of the stone palaces and pavilions in Fragmentary Star City had been used to reward those who had made exceptional contributions to the sect.

Those people would not only have the privilege to live in the city themselves, but they could also invite their family and friends to live with them. With the unusually rich spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in Fragmentary Star City, their family and friends would also be able to make rapid advances in cultivation.

Even for disciples of the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace, very few of them could have a palace or pavilion of their own in Fragmentary Star City.

The headquarters of ancient powers like the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace were probably the most secure places there were. It was almost impossible that outsider invasions would happen in these places.

No matter how vicious and unrestrained they were, they wouldn’t dare to touch Fragmentary Star City.

Since Nie Tian had just arrived, and since the grand elder hadn’t returned yet to issue him an identity medallion, he hadn’t been assigned an official residence.

With Tao Jin in the front, the two of them flew past a lofty stone pavilion. Many of the windows were open, so people stuck their heads out to examine Nie Tian with unfriendly looks in their eyes.

They started to discuss aloud among themselves, as if they weren’t afraid at all that he would overhear them.

“So that’s the seventh Son of the Stars?”

“He’s only at the late Worldly realm... It took him far too long to finish the path of stars, right? It seems that he’s just a lucky man.”

“Compared to our master, he’s not even worth mentioning.”

The stone pavilion they were in dwarfed all of the other stone pavilions around it.

Tao Jin looked over his shoulder at them and let out a cold snort.

Nie Tian approached him from behind on his Star Boat, and asked, “Who are they?”

“They’re lackeys of the sixth Son of the Stars, Sikong Cuo,” Tao Jin explained in a soft voice. “Like you, Sikong Cuo also passed the Heaven Gate trial and became a Son of the Stars. The domain he came from was violent and turbulent. The fact that he survived the bloodbath in the Heaven Gate trial and eventually became a Son of the Stars was rather impressive.

“Also, it took him a much shorter time to finish the path of stars and arrive in our headquarters.

“All of his lackeys are ruthless figures whose hands are covered in blood. If it weren’t for Sikong Cuo, they probably wouldn’t even have a place to stay in this starry river.”

Nie Tian was taken aback. “Even lackeys of the Sons of the Stars are allowed to move into Fragmentary Star City?”

Tao Jin nodded. “That’s right. Once a Son of the Stars’ status is confirmed, he will be assigned a stone pavilion in Fragmentary Star City. Since the Sons of the Stars enjoy lofty statuses in our sect, the stone pavilions that are assigned to them all have inter-domain teleportation portals within them, so they won’t have to use our sect’s public teleportation portals to travel among different domains.”

Nie Tian’s eyes lit up as he suddenly started to look forward to the time when he had his own residence in Fragmentary Star City like Sikong Cuo did.

As for Sikong Cuo’s lackeys’ mocking words, he simply pretended that he didn’t hear them.

After pondering for a while, Tao Jin said, “There’s something you’d better know. Eventually, you Sons of the Stars are going to compete for the position of the Lord of the Stars. So even though they seem to get along with each other, hidden frictions actually happen all the time.”

Nie Tian, who didn’t have an innocent mind, nodded. “I understand.”

Tao Jin continued. “Of course, the Sons of the Stars normally won’t tear off their friendly masks and get into open fights with each other. After all, our sect wouldn’t allow something like that to happen. But it’s pretty common for the Sons of the Stars’ subordinates to come into conflict with each other.

“Normally speaking, the Sons of the Stars themselves will stay out of such conflicts, since showing the strength of their subordinates is, in a sense, showing their own strength.”

Nie Tian clasped his hands. “Thank you for telling me this.”

Tao Jin let out a low sigh. “You’ll learn more as you spend more time in our sect. Our sect is a colossus where fish and dragons mix together.” (Idiom: mixed with good and bad people)  

As they spoke, Tao Jin soon brought Nie Tian to the guest residences.

The Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace’s guest residences were open to those who had close connections to them, or figures like Huang Jinnan, who enjoyed lofty statuses.

“I’ll wait outside.” With these words, Tao Jin pointed at one of the guest residences. “Huang Jinnan is in that residence.”

The guest residence he pointed to had ornamental rocks, waters, and different kinds of plants in its courtyard, which was quiet and tasteful.

Just as Nie Tian stepped through the gate, Huang Jinnan’s broad laugh echoed out. “Congratulations, Nie Tian! I told you that I’d come here and congratulate you in person when you made it to your headquarters and officially became a Son of the Stars!”

Upon entering the courtyard, Nie Tian saw Huang Jinnan, as well as a handful of Qi warriors who exuded immense spiritual auras.

All of them were standing behind Huang Jinnan as if they were his subordinates. To Nie Tian’s surprise, three of them were at the Saint domain.

Huang Jinnan laughed heartily.

The men who stood respectfully behind him fixed Nie Tian with curious, measuring gazes.

After running his eyes up and down Huang Jinnan, Nie Tian’s expression flickered as he asked, “Have you broken through into the Soul realm?”

“Hahaha, I was pretty lucky,” Huang Jinnan said with a relaxed expression. “I made the breakthrough soon after returning from the Shatter Battlefield.”

With these words, he lifted his hand, signaling his subordinates to leave him and Nie Tian alone.  After they left, he said, “Nie Tian, I heard that Yan Zhan from your sect went to the Domain of the Falling Stars to investigate everything about you. There isn’t a problem with your identity, is there?”