CHAPTER 9 – THE FALLEN STAR AND THE INCOMPETENT LEADER STAR
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Shu Jing smiled and coldly shouted out while the Silver Blade in his hand released a powerful icy blue wind force towards Lin Ying Mei. The wind force transformed into a devastating hurricane that surrounded Lin Ying Mei from all sides with afterimages of sword blades.
But no matter how cunning or unpredictable his attacks were, he still wasn’t able to injure Lin Ying Mei. The Arctic Star Serpent Spear constantly spun around her like an impenetrable wall, bouncing back every single one of Shu Jing’s blade illusions.
This was the first time Shu Jing had entered the Star Knight combat state but it was still not enough to defeat her.
Shu Jing breathed in deeply.
The Majestic Star Lin Chong was definitely impressive. Even his full strength was not enough to put her into a troublesome situation.
“Master, how are you feeling?” Lin Ying Mei asked, full of concern.
“Ying Mei, are you hungry or something? Put some power into it!”
Shu Jing was thrilled. All the cells in his body were being invigorated due to the intense battle, the Star Symbol on his forehead shined even brighter than before, reflecting his mood.
“Your servant understands!”
Lin Ying Mei’s spear once again shot forward.
Seeing her master in high spirits, Lin Ying Mei’s figure transformed into a fearsome shadow resembling a demon from hell. She completely shrunk the ground between them and instantly appeared in front of Shu Jing, her body inches away from the ground. Before the dark aura surrounding her had the chance to disperse, her Arctic Star Serpent Spear had already begun to slash right across.
A flash of light!
The night seemed to have split apart.
Shu Jing wasn’t able to say a word, his face went pale, and his wrist began to tremble under the intense pressure. The only thing he could do was fire with the Silver Blade.
He no longer planned to rely on the power of his energy bullets. Instead, he would focus on its speed advantage to defeat Ying Mei.
Shu Jing’s hands gripped his gun tightly. The icy muzzle flashed like thunder and lightning combined, which created a powerful murderous aura that enveloped Lin Ying Mei’s body.
In the blink of an eye, the shadow was destroyed!
Shu Jing’s body was like an illusion blinking by.
The endless sounds of weapons colliding rang out.
Lin Ying withdrew. Her spear was sent spinning, but she still managed to maintain the spear in an offensive stance. Like her title, her spear was as towering as a mountain, solid and unyielding.
Facing Shu Jing’s strange surprise attack, her face remained calm.
Shu Jing smiled slightly as his blade afterimages headed with lightning speed towards Lin Ying Mei’s chest.
All of this happened in an instant, but with the short distance between them, each moment lasted as long as a lifetime.
At the last second, Shu Jing slightly shifted the direction of his weapon. The shockwave of this attack shot right by Lin Ying Mei, ripping a piece of her clothes.
With his attack piercing through Ling Ying Mei’s clothes, along with the huge inertia force of his movement, Shu Jing crashed into her embrace.
Time seemed to have slowed down.
Lin Ying Mei stared at the chest that was pressed right on top of her as her entire body turned stiff. The strange feelings transmitted by being so close with him eventually jolted her awake.
The moonlight shined down on them, illuminating Lin Ying Mei’s shocked expression.
Shu Jing had demonstrated amazing potential for fighting.
He gasped heavily, his entire body felt like falling apart. He didn’t even have the strength to the pull the trigger of his gun. If Lin Chong had continued to attack him now, the only thing he could do was sit and wait for his death.
As Lin Ying Mei retrieved her Arctic Star Serpent Spear, Shu Jing lost all his remaining strength and fell forward.
“Master!”
Lin Ying Mei called out and quickly stopped his fall with her arms. Seeing his determined expression, even the Majestic Star couldn’t help but to smile slightly.
“Not bad, Master.”
—
After the fight, they continued their journey in search of Relic Blade Sand. Shu Jing sparred with Lin Ying Mei daily. His improvement rate was astonishing, each time they fought Lin Ying Mei was shocked anew.
This was the first time that she has seen a Star Master being able to integrate with their Star Knight so easily. It was almost as if she and Shu Jing were made for each other.
Since they were pursued by the Deviance Star, they had to reserve some strength while training, which consumed huge amounts of Star Qi. When the time came, they wanted to go into battle at their best condition, with the Star Combat state exciting their blood endlessly.
Ten days later, at night.
A strange event began to occur in the sky. Suddenly, the entire night became blindingly bright while the 108 sacred stars resonated. A single dazzling blue star began to glow intensely, causing the night to turn into day.
Shu Jing and Lin Ying Mei stopped in the middle of their training and looked up.
After the sacred star released the intense blue light, a red dense ray of light shot to the East as the star followed along and began to fall towards the Liangshan Maiden.
A chaotic light path carved its way across the night.
“A Fallen Star!” Lin Ying Mei whispered.
“Fallen Star? Are you saying that a Star Knight has been defeated?” Shu Jing immediately understood what she meant.
Lin Ying Mei nodded calmly “That’s right, when a Star Knight is defeated, their representative sacred star will fall from the sky, and we call this a Fallen Star.”
“Are they dead?” Shu Jing felt some pity about this matter.
“It would be better to say that they have returned home.” Lin Ying Mei maintained her usual expression while staring at the distant Liangshan Maiden. It was impossible to tell what was on her mind.
“I wonder which Star it was.”
“It’s probably Master’s all-time favourite, the Leader Star Song Jiang!” Lin Ying Mei said casually while glancing at Shu Jing.
Shu Jing smiled sheepishly. How could he not detect the faint sour note in Lin Ying Mei’s voice?
“But why would you assume that it is Song Jiang who has fallen?”
Shu Jing was too curious and asked. From Lin Ying Mei’s tone, he could tell she held some disdain towards the legendary leader of the 108 stars. Could it be that the Star Maiden Duels shared a similarity with the classic novel when it comes to Song Jiang’s incompetence? (1)
“Even if it’s just pure fighting potential, she can’t compare with the current great Master.” Lin Ying Mei said flatly.
Shu Jing’s face reddened from embarrassment.
“According to what your servant knows, during every single Star Duel, Leader Star Song Jiang was always the first one to be defeated.”
“Is she really that useless?”
“It can be said that each of us Stars have own specialties, but the Leader Star Song Jiang is the most incompetent of us all.” Lin Ying Mei shook her head.
According to Ying Mei, the Star Knights abilities are divided into martial arts, magic arts and others. Martial arts and Magic arts are the most important powers, since other abilities usually require a powerful Star Master partner in order for them to be useful.
Historically, Song Jiang’s ability have been rated at the lowest. After the Five Great Dynasties era, no Star Master would willingly sign a covenant contract with her.
Lin Ying Mei explained: “Song Jiang lacks combat abilities, yet she sits at the very top of the ranking due to her Star Qi reserve. There is a rule in the Star Duel. Defeat a Star Knight and one shall gain their strength. You can imagine the innate power that resides within the Leader Star. No Star Knight or Star Master would pass on this immensely beneficial “medicine”.
Shu Jing felt even more pity for this Leader Star once he found out about this matter. Her situation is just too similar to Xuanzang’s flesh. (2)
Timely Rain oh Timely Rain (3), will you just be like your nickname and be around to deliver a timely experience boost for your fellow Star Knights?
“Ying Mei, are you also after her power?”
Lin Ying Mei smiled lightly: “Master is looking down on this servant too much. Lin Chong treats people fairly, I don’t have any interest in killing useless weaklings. Of course, if Master orders me to, I will complete the mission without hesitation.”
“Fighting a defenseless enemy is also not something I want to do.”
In this matter, they had common opinions. Shu Jing however quietly thought that it would not be a bad idea if he could end up making a contract with this Timely Rain Song Jiang.