Chapter 12

When Tang Zheng returned to the small courtyard, his stomach was already growling with hunger.

Upon returning, he saw that the courtyard was already lit up, and Tang Xiaotang was waiting there with a food box.

Tang Xiaotang still had her high ponytail, and she occasionally flicked her hair. Her movements were not very ladylike and even carried a roughness that didn't belong to a girl her age.

"Mr. Tang." However, her attitude towards Tang Zheng remained respectful, as it should be towards a scholar.

"Hey, Xiaotang." Tang Zheng responded.

A girl who grew up in a chaotic place like Wulong Town might have a bit more roughness, but she also had less coquettishness. At least, Tang Zheng's dinner was always delivered by Tang Xiaotang herself, and she cleaned the room, except for the bedroom, which Tang Zheng insisted on cleaning himself.

Although Tang Xiaotang might not recognize the Flower King from the luxurious and decadent world, it wasn't good for the Tang Family Castle to be harboring the flowers of their archrivals, the Yinlan Manor.

Usually, Tang Xiaotang would leave after delivering the dinner, but today she had something to say, so she stayed.

While Tang Zheng was eating, Tang Xiaotang began to speak: "Most of the brothers and sisters have returned. Father has already hired the best theater troupe in Wulong Town to hold a welcoming banquet for you tomorrow night. You can also get to know everyone in the Tang Family Castle!"

"Okay." Tang Zheng nodded vaguely while eating his dinner.

"Hehe, by the way," Tang Xiaotang suddenly covered her mouth, as if sharing a secret, and asked in a low voice, "How is your study of the 'Star Attraction Formula' going?"

"Pretty good, I just gathered the first thread of star power today." Tang Zheng didn't think it was a secret and chatted casually with Tang Xiaotang.

"Really?..." Tang Xiaotang suddenly stood up, "Did you learn the 'Star Attraction Formula' before?"

"No." Tang Zheng shook his head. Two weeks ago, he was still in another world; where would he have learned the 'Star Attraction Formula'?

"How could you complete the nine layers of star tide and generate the first thread of star power so quickly!" Tang Xiaotang didn't believe it was his first time learning, "You... you've only been practicing for a few days!"

"Then am I very impressive?" Tang Zheng had a "come and worship me" smile on his face.

Tang Xiaotang was actually a bit admiring at first, but seeing his smile, all her positive emotions instantly turned into the urge to hit him.

Of course, out of respect for his teacher, Tang Xiaotang didn't do it.

But she wouldn't let Tang Zheng get too cocky and said, "Actually, it's not that great! Fenghua is much more impressive than you!"

"Fenghua?" Tang Zheng paused with his chopsticks, "Meng Fenghua?"

"Hey, you know her?" Tang Xiaotang asked.

"Yeah, I know her. She teaches those kids in the初级练武场 (初级练武场 means '初级' (beginner) + '练武场' (training ground), so it can be translated as 'beginner training ground'). We've met a few times."

"No wonder you can learn the 'Star Attraction Formula' so quickly. It must be because you got guidance from Sister Fenghua!" Tang Xiaotang automatically assumed that was the reason for Tang Zheng's quick progress, "Sister Fenghua's mastery of the 'Star Attraction Formula' is so high that even in Wulong Town, Wuyue Mountain, and Longding Mountain, she can rank in the top three."

"Oh?" Tang Zheng didn't explain that he had only met Meng Fenghua today and had a fight with her, "Her 'Star Attraction Formula' is that good? Why?"

"Because..." Tang Xiaotang's eyes flickered slightly, "This is a long story."

"Take your time. I have nothing to do tonight anyway." Tang Zheng finished his dinner and wiped his mouth with a smile.

"Damn!" Tang Xiaotang swiped at him, "Don't you even ask if I have anything to do tonight?"

...

In fact, Tang Xiaotang did have something to do tonight.

At fifteen, in Tang Zheng's world, it was still the age of middle school, but in this world, especially in a place like Wulong Town, fifteen was already the age when one had to take on many family responsibilities.

Not to mention, the welcoming banquet tomorrow, the dishes, seating arrangements, and dancers, most of the work was on her. She still had a lot to do.

But she stayed without a word—though it might make her busy until midnight.

"Sister Fenghua is a true genius." Tang Xiaotang sighed as she began to speak.

Such a lively and fiery girl, a sigh would make even God feel sorry for her.

"Sister Fenghua is a direct descendant of the Xuantian Yin Yue Sect, possessing a very rare powerful star constellation—Nine Heavens Mystic Lady. A powerful star constellation can naturally light up a life palace, but Sister Fenghua's first life palace contained the malevolent star, Greedy Wolf!" Tang Xiaotang spoke slowly, not in a hurry.

"Um..."

"Generally, a life palace will contain a very peaceful main star, and it's rare to see a malevolent star. Once a malevolent star is born, the person is believed to bring misfortune, and when they grow up, they might harm their parents or even the country... Because she heard various rumors in the sect from a young age, at thirteen, when she could have lit up her second life palace, she relearned the 'Star Attraction Formula,' giving up the chance to become the youngest two-star martial artist in the Xuantian Yin Yue Sect, doing something that shocked the entire sect!" Tang Xiaotang's expression became even more complex, "She then introduced the Purple Micro Star into her first life palace, firmly suppressing the malevolent star, Greedy Wolf!"

"..." Tang Zheng had only read the first book of the 'Star Attraction Formula,' 'Star Constellation Patterns,' and didn't even know that two main stars could be introduced into one life palace.

But even if it were possible, it would be no different from courting death.

Indeed, Tang Xiaotang continued, "The Purple Micro Star is the star of the emperor and has the lowest success rate among the fourteen main stars! Moreover, Sister Fenghua's attempt to have two stars in one life palace, the two stars competing in the same life palace, produced a destructive force almost equivalent to half a star explosion. Sister Fenghua almost died because of it!"

"But she survived." Tang Zheng was also a bit impressed by the girl's toughness, "But why did she come to Wulong Town?"

"Because her younger sister, Xiaoling, was born, and she, too, was born with the malevolent star, Greedy Wolf!"

The rest of the story didn't need to be told by Tang Xiaotang.

From the way Meng Fenghua now protected her, it was clear that she wouldn't let Xiaoling endure the same prejudice, nor would she let Xiaoling attempt the "two stars in one life palace" which had a high risk of death.

So, Wulong Town was the best place for them!

In such a chaotic place, with a mix of people, who would care if they were born with malevolent stars?

"Tomorrow, Sister Fenghua will bring Xiaoling." Tang Xiaotang tidied up the bowls and stood up, "Okay, I should go."

"Okay, see you tomorrow." Tang Zheng saw her out.

...

Tang Zheng usually didn't sleep early. After Tang Xiaotang left, he watered the paper醉金迷 (paper醉金迷 can be translated as 'paper of luxurious and decadent world'), and then opened the small box of the 'Star Attraction Formula' again.

The first book, 'Star Constellation Patterns,' was almost finished, and he had already generated the first thread of star power. Now he only needed to get some pattern ink to complete the entire cultivation of 'Star Constellation Patterns.'

So, he opened the second book in the small book box, 'Star Pulse Flow.'

Unlike the 'Star Constellation Patterns,' which had only a dozen pages, this book was much thicker. The first page discussed a key issue Tang Zheng encountered during his practical combat with Meng Fenghua—his star power couldn't flow freely to different parts of his body.

If his star power had quickly flowed from his feet to his left hand, he could have knocked Meng Fenghua down in their first clash!

Of course, with his combat experience, when the star power slowly flowed to his knees, he could still find a way to attack and achieve a similar effect. However, his second attack was much riskier than a direct knockdown.

The incident in Fengmen Village had made Tang Zheng realize clearly and directly that this was not a game but a real world, so protecting his own life was also very important.

"Star Pulse Flow, first condense, then disperse... I can't just flow the star power directly..." Tang Zheng looked at the simple and easy-to-understand illustrations and quickly understood where his problem lay.

To put it simply, formed star power was no longer like flowing water but much thicker. The star pulses in the human body varied in thickness, so direct use would be very slow.

However, if the control was sufficient, by shaping the star power like kneading clay to different thicknesses as it passed through each part, the flow would be very fast.

So, his next step was not only to continue using star power to impact the star pulses and body to generate more star power but also to practice controlling the star power.

Now, he wasn't a genius or a failure, so he could only rely on his previous level-up-like perseverance to practice, with no shortcuts.

After he roughly finished reading 'Star Pulse Flow' and put the book down to prepare for sleep, he suddenly remembered that he had been so engrossed in listening to Meng Fenghua's story that he had forgotten to ask Tang Xiaotang something important.

Since he had already generated the first thread of star power, he should be able to perform the "pattern recognition," right?

Then, where should he go to find some "pattern ink" to determine if he had a star constellation, and what kind of star constellation it was?

And Tang Xiaotang, who had just left Tang Zheng's courtyard, also suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to mention something important.

The Tang Family Castle disciples who had returned in recent days still had some doubts about Tang Zheng replacing Tian Meng as the teacher.

Many people said that perhaps Tang Zheng had killed Tian Meng, stolen the token, forged the handwriting, and sneaked in.

They lived in a chaotic place like Wulong Town, so it was always better to be cautious!

————————————

Wuwu, the power is out at home again, so this chapter is a bit late. I'm sorry.

And, don't worry about the extras. This is only the first dozen chapters, and there can only be so many people. It's not like the protagonist will really visit something like the Imperial Martyrs' Cemetery...

.

.

Page flip AD starts

Page flip AD ends