Mid Star Rank

On the beach, the sunlight was bright and warm. Little Nora sat on a prayer mat, cultivating with a deeply wronged expression. It couldn't understand why Big Bro was the one who had resolved to strive hard, yet it was the one stuck dutifully cultivating. As for Yu Xian, he was lying on a chair to the side, asleep—after all, basking in the sun was his method of growing stronger, and he didn't need to cultivate at all. Besides, he wasn't truly sleeping; he was studying his power of True Self. When it came to depth of bonds, there was no question that the bond between him and his aunt, Su Zhuo, was the deepest. After all, Su Zhuo had frequently kept him company ever since he was born. A bond forged over more than a decade was undeniably profound. The problem was that he didn't want to drag Su Zhuo into any trouble. He hoped she could remain safe and sound, free to pursue whatever she wished, so forming a pact with her was entirely out of the question. As for the second person, that was undoubtedly his best friend, Zhang Shou. However, his power of True Self seemed rather peculiar, requiring a fusion to unleash its true effects. For instance, his bond with Little Nora had an initial form of a golden rope; only after they merged could it transform into Adamantine Feathers or an Adamantine Feather Saber. Yet he had absolutely, positively no desire whatsoever to merge with Zhang Shou. Just the thought of it made him want to vomit. A man merging with another man—the visual was simply too gay for him to even fathom. Especially now. From all his working out, Zhang Shou was an out-and-out musclehead. Meanwhile, because Yu Xian was a vampire, his aesthetic was that of a pretty boy. A musclehead and a pretty boy... Merging? Yeah, better forget it! Aside from those two, third in line was Nora. Nora had already woken up the day before yesterday and returned home. She wanted to persuade her mother; once she received her mother's blessing, she would come back and never leave him again. Yu Xian had originally wanted to go with her, but Nora knew full well that her mother despised people constantly involved in violence and slaughter, so she had refused. Although Yu Xian had saved Nora's mother, in the woman's eyes, he was no different from Edward, and she believed Nora would only face more danger by staying with him. She was grateful for Yu Xian saving her life, but as a mother, she vehemently opposed Nora being together with him. Precisely because Nora understood this, she chose to face her mother alone. "Big Bro, I'm hungry." Just as Yu Xian was wondering what form his bond with Nora would take, Little Nora opened its eyes, its stomach rumbling loudly. Cultivating the *Glazed Rebirth Method* required massive amounts of energy. Without a full belly, how could it have the strength to cultivate? Speechless, Yu Xian looked at Little Nora and said with an aching head, "But you've only been cultivating for fifteen minutes." "Big Bro, you know I've been eating less lately," Little Nora replied, aggrieved. Yu Xian sighed helplessly. Coincidentally, today he had stored enough energy to unlock Little Nora's second bloodline ability, so it was about time to give the little guy a boost in strength anyway. He stood up. "Then let's activate your bloodline power first, and then we'll go get something to eat." "Yay!" Little Nora leaped up immediately. Seeing its smiling face, Yu Xian couldn't help but chuckle as well. Indeed, around Little Nora, it was truly hard to feel down. The little fellow was practically a bundle of sunshine. Next, the two of them merged. Yu Xian channeled the energy stored within his body into Little Nora's bloodline, and in an instant, Little Nora's strength surged rapidly. Back when its "Adamantine Feathers" talent had been awakened, Little Nora had effectively gained a fraction of Star-rank capability, boosting its combat strength to 30. Now, with a new talent awakened, its combat strength swiftly jumped from 30 to 60. Little Nora's new innate ability was named "Garuda Golden Flame." It was a type of flame that countered dragon breath: as long as a Garuda and a dragon were of the same rank, the golden flame would definitely suppress dragon breath, consistently triumphing in any clash between the two flames. Of course, "dragon clan" here referred strictly to dragons from the same cosmological world as the Garudas. Discrepancies existed across different worlds, and certain dragons that defied ordinary bounds were not included. For example, the prisoner Ao Hai, a Dark Gate Dragonman whom Yu Xian had encountered in the Land of Glory within the Golden Gate—the Dark Gate Dragons he represented were clearly not dragons countered by Garudas; they could probably swallow a Garuda in a single bite. In truth, Yu Xian didn't care much whether Little Nora's specific abilities were powerful or not. Bloodline abilities were merely surface manifestations; what was truly awakened was Little Nora's capacity to contain energy. Yu Xian's own True Crimson Power and Primordial Pure Blood contained a wild assortment of miscellaneous abilities. However, when fighting Star-rank opponents, many of those abilities lacked sufficient rank, unable to even breach the enemy's defenses in the short term. At most, they could cause minor disturbances, and there were countless interchangeable alternatives; Yu Xian generally stuck to the one or two he was accustomed to using. Naturally, that did not mean such abilities were useless. The more abilities one possessed, the fewer weaknesses one had, so the more, the better. One might choose not to use them, but one could never afford to lack them. That was Yu Xian's attitude toward all abilities. Once they separated from their merged state, Little Nora opened its beak immediately and spat out a jet of golden flame. Then it laughed gleefully, "Hahahaha, I can breathe fire! I never have to eat raw meat again!" Eight years. A full eight years. As a member of the Garuda clan, Little Nora was born with inherited memories and naturally disliked raw meat, yet in the past, it had neither hands nor the ability to breathe fire, forced to swallow its food raw. Back then, how desperately it had longed for hands and fire-breathing abilities! Although there was no longer any need for it to cook its own food now, obtaining the Garuda Golden Flame still filled it with immense delight. It was probably like a middle-aged adult buying a toy they had dreamed of as a child, making up for an old regret—a true fulfillment of a long-held dream. Yu Xian watched Little Nora with a faint smile; he understood that feeling all too well. When he had flown for the first time, he had been just as thrilled as Little Nora. After all, humans naturally yearned for the sensation of soaring freely through the sky, and when he finally gained that ability, the feeling was utterly marvelous. Unforgettable for a lifetime... so to speak. Even though flying was no longer anything special to Yu Xian now, whenever he recalled the thrill of his first flight, a surge of joy still welled up inside him. A self-made billionaire looking back on how they earned their first pot of gold probably felt much the same way. Yu Xian ran some calculations and realized that in complete fusion form, he now possessed the combat power of the mid Star Rank. After merging with Nora, his combat power rose to 300, while Nora's individual combat power also climbed to 50. Little Nora's combat power was now 60, and Little Huangquan's was 100. Once all of them merged together, their combat power reached 510—unquestionably solid mid Star Rank strength. Of course, if dealing with a Star Rank who had ascended via Star Divine Artifacts, by the middle stage they would already possess five Star Divine Artifacts, and their strength would gradually outstrip those who had advanced normally. Thus, in an actual battle, much would depend on the types of Star Divine Artifacts the opponent wielded and their combat experience. Under normal circumstances, however, Yu Xian was unlikely to clash with Star-rank powerhouses. As could be seen from the situation in Crescent Bay, Star-rank figures were already prominent regional overlords; without sufficiently substantial interests at stake, they rarely engaged in conflict with peers of the same rank. Everyone was striving to cultivate and grow stronger, aiming to break through to the Li Rank or even the System Rank. Aside from a few mentally deranged eccentrics, the remaining Star Ranks valued peace above all, preferring to build good relations whenever possible rather than brawl. For instance, Shui Yuetian's attitude largely represented the Sea Clan's stance toward him.