Song Lutong lifted Song Changsheng’s arm and patted his chest. Seeing no serious injuries, he let out a heavy sigh of relief, his face still etched with lingering fear.
"Good heavens, you scared the life out of me in that battle. I thought you were a goner several times, but you somehow managed to pull through. What in the world did you eat today to be so ferocious?"
"We can talk about this later, Uncle Tong. Please, get some men to clean up the battlefield. Grandfather and I need to discuss our next defensive plan."
"Alright, leave it all to me."
After Song Lutong left, Song Xianming and Song Changsheng returned to the Garrison Mansion. Song Changsheng dismissed everyone inside, then closed the door. He looked at Song Xianming, whose face was a little pale, and asked with concern, "Grandfather, how are you?"
"That Back-Armored Barbarian Bear’s final, desperate attack gave me a slight internal injury, that’s all. I’ll be fine after some meditation. But you... is there anything wrong with your body?"
Song Xianming had seen the changes that had occurred in Song Changsheng on his way over, which was why he asked, his heart filled with doubt.
Song Changsheng shook his head and clearly described everything he was feeling.
After hearing his explanation, Song Xianming fell into deep thought.
After a moment, Song Xianming sighed. "Only the Old Ancestor ever consumed this Celestial Star Essence. The vial he took had aged for at least a thousand years. Yours was less than five hundred; its quality is far inferior."
"But the records he left behind mentioned no such miraculous changes. Strange. Truly strange."
Just as the two of them were at a loss, there was a sudden knock on the main door. Song Changsheng scanned the entrance with his Divine Sense and said in confusion, "Why is he here?"
Though he found it strange, he still opened the main door with a wave of his sleeve.
"Brother Zhu, what brings you here?"
Zhu Yiqun had also participated in the fierce battle, and the reek of blood still clung to him. Hearing Song Changsheng’s question, he glanced at Song Xianming and said, "I noticed Elder Song seemed unwell earlier, so I came to see if I could be of any help."
Every Medicinal Chef was also an outstanding Physician. Song Xianming might have been able to fool Song Lutong and the others, but he couldn’t deceive a Tier Three Low-Grade Medicinal Chef like Zhu Yiqun.
"Then I’ll have to trouble you, Master Zhu."
Song Xianming readily extended his wrist. His injuries weren’t actually serious; he was only letting Zhu Yiqun examine him to put Song Changsheng’s mind at ease.
Zhu Yiqun stepped forward to take his pulse. A moment later, he withdrew his hand. "Elder Song’s qi and blood are merely a little unstable. I’ll go prepare a few medicinal meals to help you recuperate. You should be fully recovered in a few days."
"My thanks, Master Zhu," Song Xianming said, nodding with a smile.
"You are too kind, Elder." Zhu Yiqun returned the gesture of respect, then turned to Song Changsheng. "Now, it’s time to talk about your problem."
"Me?" Song Changsheng was baffled. He had sustained plenty of injuries, but they were all minor and had already mostly healed.
Zhu Yiqun rolled his eyes. "Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed something’s wrong with your body. I watched the entire battle from start to finish."
"Well... there have been some inexplicable changes, but..." Song Changsheng turned to look at Song Xianming, uncertain whether he should disclose the matter to Zhu Yiqun.
Song Xianming gave a light cough. "Before the battle, Sheng’Er consumed a dose of Celestial Star Essence that our ancestor happened upon by chance. After he integrated it, some unexpected changes occurred. I was wondering if Master Zhu has any knowledge regarding this?"
"Celestial Star Essence? Whoa, now that’s some incredible luck! To get your hands on something so rare." Zhu Yiqun clicked his tongue in amazement. He didn’t overthink it, simply assuming they had acquired it by a stroke of fortune.
After inquiring about the specific changes, Zhu Yiqun placed his fingers on Song Changsheng’s wrist. His brow quickly furrowed into a tight knot. He kept glancing up at Song Changsheng, which made Song Changsheng’s skin crawl.
"Did you find anything?" Song Changsheng hadn’t been worried before, but now his heart began to pound with unease.
After a long silence, Zhu Yiqun finally withdrew his hand. His expression was grave. "Changsheng, tell me the truth. Have you ever undergone a Star Power infusion?"
At these words, Song Changsheng froze. Before breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm, he had indeed undergone a six-month Star Power infusion in Luoxia City to prepare for the Tuo Province tournament. But this was connected to Luoxia’s Secret, a matter he had told no one about. ’How could Zhu Yiqun possibly know?’
Seeing Song Changsheng’s silence, Zhu Yiqun was about seventy percent sure. He didn’t press the issue, however, instead continuing his explanation. "Because you underwent that infusion, your constitution was already different from an ordinary person’s. You had a natural affinity for starlight—it was just too faint for you to have noticed."
"But now, you have also absorbed and integrated the Celestial Star Essence, which is refined from the very quintessence of Starlight Power. The interaction between the two has caused your constitution to undergo a complete and utter transformation."
Hearing this, Song Changsheng began to vaguely grasp the implication, but he was still uncertain. "Are you saying..."
Zhu Yiqun suddenly slapped his thigh and shot to his feet. He pointed at Song Changsheng with a look of comic grief and indignation. "You! Why is your luck so ridiculously good?! How could you stumble into something with such an infinitesimally low probability? This is a Spirit Body! An Acquired Star Body! Song Changsheng, you’ve hit the ultimate jackpot!"
Staring at the spittle-flying Zhu Yiqun, Song Changsheng felt his brain short-circuit.
"An Acquired Star Body? What does that mean?"
Seeing his clueless expression, Zhu Yiqun felt like he was having a heart attack. He flopped back into his chair, took several ragged breaths, and then explained through gritted teeth: "It means exactly what it sounds like."
"You should know that the Spirit Bodies of this world are divided into two types: Innate and Acquired."
"Innate Spirit Bodies are something you’re born with, straight from your mother’s womb. Acquired Spirit Bodies, on the other hand, are formed through a series of fortunate encounters and coincidences."
"The Star Power infusion is one method of creating an Acquired Star Body, but the success rate is abysmally low. Ten thousand people could die trying and you might not see a single success."
"And clearly, you didn’t succeed."
"But no, you just had to have the most insane luck, get your hands on Celestial Star Essence, and integrate it so perfectly that you actually managed to forge an Acquired Star Body."
"It may be Acquired, but it’s still a Spirit Body! Song Changsheng, oh, Song Changsheng... If I thought I stood a chance against you, I’d beat you up right now! How can anyone be this infuriating?!"
Zhu Yiqun’s emotions were in turmoil. If Song Xianming hadn’t been there, he would have started swearing.
He was born with an unusual constitution and a massive appetite. The more he ate, the faster his Cultivation increased. It was because of this unique talent that Moo Zhexian had taken him as a disciple and passed down the Heaven-Devouring Technique.
He had lived up to expectations, forging a Devouring Dao Foundation upon reaching Qi Refining Great Perfection. That was why he wasn’t surprised or envious to learn that Song Changsheng possessed a Dao Foundation of the Great Dao—because he had a special one, too.
He had been stuffing himself for years, all in the hopes of eating his way to an Acquired Devouring Body. To think that after all this time and effort, Song Changsheng had beaten him to the punch. How could he possibly remain calm?
Seeing the look of utter despair on Zhu Yiqun’s face, Song Changsheng was momentarily at a loss for words. He never imagined such a wonderful stroke of luck would simply fall into his lap.
Just as Zhu Yiqun had said, an Acquired Spirit Body was still a Spirit Body—a fortuitous opportunity that countless people could only dream of obtaining.
"But... it’s not definitely a Spirit Body, is it? I haven’t been tested on a Spirit Testing Platform. How can you be so sure?" Song Changsheng asked weakly.
Zhu Yiqun shot him a sideways glance before turning away, his eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling. "You’ll know whether it’s real or not once night falls..."
’I don’t want to explain anymore,’ he thought. ’I’m so tired. I just want to watch the world burn.’
When night fell, Song Changsheng instantly understood what Zhu Yiqun had meant.
Whenever he stood beneath the open sky, a hazy layer of brilliant light would envelop him, following him like a second skin.
The most immediate advantage of the Star Body was the ability to draw upon starlight for cultivation, with an efficiency comparable to a Celestial Spirit Root. While an Acquired Spirit Body was slightly less effective, it still surpassed an ordinary Abnormal Spirit Root. For Song Changsheng, this was an undeniable and enormous improvement.
Furthermore, as he continued to unlock the potential of his Spirit Body, the benefits Song Changsheng would reap would only grow...
PS: Hey everyone, this isn’t some random power-up I just gave the protagonist, lol. The foreshadowing was laid a long time ago. The same goes for the Celestial Star Essence; it was mentioned way back that Vast Mist Peak perennially gathers starlight, making its Star Power extremely dense and giving birth to many Spirit Medicines that absorb it (for example, the Star Tempering Fruit and the Star Soul Grass from Chapter 178 of the last volume).
This is the protagonist’s ticket to a bigger stage. Please be gentle with your comments, *whimper whimper*~