Chapter 57: Star God's Shattered Shadow

At this moment, Yun Che felt completely reborn; even the extreme weakness from significant blood loss had vanished without a trace.

He walked over to the Flaming Dragon's corpse, which had been split into four pieces, unsure where to begin.

Jasmine was right; this Flaming Dragon's corpse was a treasure trove for him... no, for anyone in the Azure Cloud Continent, including the four major sects whose power reached the heavens.

This was a Royal Profound Beast, and a true dragon at that! As the supreme beast, a dragon's every part, at the same level, far surpassed other profound beasts. Its skin, flesh, blood, bones, horns, eyes, wings, and internal organs were all treasures among treasures. The strongest individuals known in the Azure Cloud Continent were at the Royal Profound Realm, meaning this Flaming Dragon was very likely the first Royal Profound Beast to be slain in a very long time! This made the value of its corpse immeasurable.

Especially its Profound Core. To obtain the Profound Core of a Sky Profound Dragon, the Burning Heaven Sect dispatched five Sky Profound Realm experts, traveling thousands of miles to this location. As for a Royal Profound Dragon's Profound Core, they likely didn't even dare to dream of it.

The Flaming Dragon's body weighed at least a hundred tons. Even split into four pieces, its enormous bulk still resembled four small hills. Yun Che retrieved a not-so-sharp short knife from the Sky Poison Pearl, one he had brought from the Xiao Sect. He tentatively tried to cut into the dragon's corpse. With a dull thud, the blade immediately bent, leaving only a shallow mark on the Flaming Dragon's body.

The Burning Heaven Blade of a Burning Heaven Sect Sky Profound expert couldn't cut through this Flaming Dragon's body, let alone Yun Che with an ordinary small knife.

However... a body of such terrifying toughness, previously protected by the Flaming Dragon's power, was instantly sliced into four segments by Jasmine... Thinking back to that scene, Yun Che couldn't help but shiver. Even if Jasmine had been cultivating since birth, she would at most be thirteen or fourteen years old. How could she have reached such a terrifying realm? The various "peerless geniuses" of the Azure Cloud Continent were practically nothing compared to Jasmine.

"You won't be able to cut through its flesh. However, the location of its Profound Core should already have been cut open by this princess. Go check the end of its cervical spine," Jasmine's voice echoed in Yun Che's mind.

Yun Che put away his knife and went to the spot Jasmine indicated. On the bloody cross-section of the Flaming Dragon's corpse, he saw an incredibly dazzling crimson light.

That was...

Yun Che quickly jumped up, his hand precisely grasping the crimson light. When he landed, a spherical pearl, about one-third the size of his palm, was already in his hand.

The Flaming Dragon's Profound Core!

This was something capable of driving the entire Azure Cloud Continent into a frenzy!

However, it was useless to Yun Che in his current state, as attempting to directly refine and absorb its power would lead to only one outcome: his body exploding.

Having retrieved the Profound Core, Yun Che was otherwise powerless regarding the rest of the Flaming Dragon's body. He had no choice but to transfer all of it into the Sky Poison Pearl. Spatial rings in the Profound Sky Continent were not only extremely expensive but also typically offered only a few cubic feet of space, making it impossible to contain the dragon's corpse. However, the Sky Poison Pearl contained endless space; even if the Flaming Dragon's corpse were ten times larger, he could effortlessly store it within.

Seeing Yun Che finish tidying up the Flaming Dragon's corpse, Jasmine spoke seriously, "For the next month, do not leave the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range. Within these mountains, you must kill at least five ordinary beasts above level nine or one-level profound beasts every day. Furthermore, do not attempt to break through during this period. Instead, focus on stabilizing your current profound energy to the greatest extent possible."

"Alright!" Yun Che nodded. Having abruptly risen from the fourth level of the Elementary Profound Realm to the first level of the Nascent Profound Realm, he indeed needed time to adapt to and stabilize the sudden surge in profound energy. "By the way, you just said you'd teach me a profound skill?"

"With your current profound energy, this princess has only one profound skill I can teach you."

"What is it?"

"Star God's Broken Shadow!" Jasmine slowly enunciated the name. "It's a movement profound skill. Its initial stage only requires a small amount of profound energy to activate."

"A movement profound skill?" Yun Che felt slightly disappointed. "Are there no offensive profound skills?"

"None of the offensive profound skills this princess possesses are suitable for you to learn right now. Although 'Star God's Broken Shadow' is a movement profound skill, you absolutely must not underestimate it. Once deployed, Star God's Broken Shadow will instantly burst your speed, so fast that even afterimages won't have time to dissipate. If you can master the initial stage of Star God's Broken Shadow, you can face two opponents of the same level without defeat. If you cultivate it to its peak, even if your opponent is three to five levels higher than you, they won't easily defeat you."

Jasmine's last statement made Yun Che's blood boil: "Moreover, this is the only movement profound skill this princess possesses!"

What level of existence was Jasmine? The power of her sole movement profound skill was naturally immense. Yun Che immediately nodded. "Okay, I'll learn it! Hmm... I'll start now!"

Jasmine didn't refuse, stating indifferently, "To cultivate Star God's Broken Shadow, you must possess extremely high comprehension. If your comprehension is sufficient, you can achieve basic mastery in three months. If it's lacking, you'll never be able to cultivate it in your lifetime. Whether you can learn it, and to what extent, will depend on your own comprehension."

"This princess is currently spiritually weak and must rest in the Sky Poison Pearl as soon as possible. I will first tell you the method and essentials for profound energy circulation when activating Star God's Broken Shadow, as well as the corresponding incantation... After that, you'll be on your own."

"Understood." Yun Che nodded seriously, sat down on the spot, and began to listen attentively to Jasmine's explanation. The nearby residents and profound beasts dared not approach this Flaming Dragon Cave. As for the few Burning Heaven Sect members, they were likely terrified out of their wits and wouldn't possibly return. Thus, Yun Che wouldn't be disturbed here.

Star God's Broken Shadow... This was the first profound skill Yun Che cultivated in this world. However, he had no idea what "Star God" truly signified at this moment.

One month later, in the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range.

It had just rained, and the air was fresh and humid, with water droplets clinging to the branches and leaves. Suddenly, the grass rustled, startling all the birds on the ground, which flew away into the distance. Soon, the grass parted, and a Cyan Wolf, more than a man's height, slowly moved forward, its vicious eyes wide open.

As a one-level secondary profound beast, it had far more prey than threats in the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range. Because of the Cyan Wolf's presence, profound practitioners of the Elementary Profound Realm never dared to enter this area alone.

Soon, prey appeared in its sight: a black-clad youth walking towards it. His steps were light, and a touch of youthfulness remained on his smiling face. He seemed completely unaware that a pair of terrifying eyes had fixated on him. He drew closer, step by step, then closer still...

Whoosh!!

The Cyan Wolf shot out from the grass like a bolt of lightning. A wolf's explosive power was terrifying; even a True Profound Realm practitioner, if caught off guard by a Cyan Wolf's ambush, would have almost no chance of dodging. In the Cyan Wolf's eyes, it was getting closer and closer to its target. Its fangs were already aimed at the youth's throat, ready to bite down fiercely...

Thud!!

An unexpected situation occurred, catching the Cyan Wolf off guard. It had clearly made contact with the person's body, on the verge of pouncing him to the ground and biting his throat, but in the very next instant, its entire body passed directly through him, causing it to crash heavily to the ground.

Only then did the youth's image vanish from that spot. Meanwhile, a heavy punch, imbued with profound energy, had already landed fiercely on the right side of the Cyan Wolf's head, slamming it down with a pained yelp. Blood flowed from its seven orifices, and it immediately fell unconscious.

Yun Che clapped his hands, paying no attention to the unconscious Cyan Wolf, and continued walking forward.

"To stabilize the first realm of Star God's Broken Shadow in just one month! Your sixteen years of being crippled were truly a waste of your comprehension!" Jasmine couldn't help but exclaim. She had expected Yun Che to take at least three months to master the first stage, but to her surprise, he had achieved basic mastery in just a month, able to freely deploy the first realm of Star God's Broken Shadow.

My updates have been very late these past few days, and I apologize for making everyone wait and for the uncomfortable reading experience. It's not that I haven't had time to write during the day, but I've truly been stuck on the plot recently. I've been agonizing over it. The main storyline for the early, mid, and even late stages of the novel is very clear, but this small section of the plot has been troubling me for many days.

According to my original plan, Yun Che would leave the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range, enter New Moon City, and then join the New Moon Profound Palace for various reasons. But here's the problem... The novel is already nearing 200,000 characters, yet the protagonist has only had one minor outburst—when he brutally beat Xiao Yu Long with the help of the Star Concealment Pill. Otherwise, he's either suppressed and enduring, or constantly under the protection of women (first Xia Qingyue, then Jasmine). From a reader's perspective, and to my taste, it's unbearable and unreadable to have written so much without the protagonist truly unleashing his power, radiating dominance, showing off, and stepping on others! And after entering New Moon City, there was supposed to be another short period of calm according to the original setting. I'm very worried that this calm period would completely exhaust everyone's patience. If you've read my previous books, you'd know that my protagonists are arrogant from start to finish. Having written this far without a real burst of power, even I can't stand it anymore!

So, I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how to write the next part to make it most enjoyable for everyone, instead of bland. This means I'll have to temporarily alter some previous settings to a certain extent... I've been pulling my hair out all day over this. Then, another problem arose... Every time I finish scratching my head and touch a metal doorknob, there's a 'zap' of static electricity! Is this the legendary lightning-type superpower? Holy crap, I actually have a superpower! Do you think I'll be captured and used as a lab rat? I'm so scared I can't even type anymore...