[...Legend has it that a meteorite fell from the heavens, claimed by the third-generation Sum Monarch.

He summoned all the blacksmiths in the land, who forged this celestial iron into a mighty artifact—the Monarch's Sword, symbolizing the inheritance of royal authority.

Thus, the foundation for the Sum Country's enduring legacy, to last hundreds of generations, was established...]

Lu Yuan sat by the library window, looking at the related data he had just retrieved.

The story of the Sum Country's Sword of Royal Authority wasn't entirely a legend. According to the data, this so-called Sword of Royal Authority was currently housed in the Sum State Museum of Antiquities.

A ticket costing only one hundred and twenty dollars would grant entry to behold its true form.

The records included a photograph of the Sword of Royal Authority: an ancient sword, dark in hue and covered in intricate patterns.

Of course, Lu Yuan wasn't interested in understanding this great artifact of the Sum Country, the Sword of Royal Authority, itself.

He was mainly looking at the supplementary information within the Sword of Royal Authority's introduction—

[...It is said that after the third-generation Sum Monarch forged the Sword of Royal Authority, he used the remaining celestial meteorite to craft a two-foot-long shortblade.

This shortblade possessed innate Extraordinary characteristics. Each time the sun set, it would automatically fly from its scabbard and vanish into the vast darkness of night.

It would slay malevolent spirits, drink its fill of wicked blood throughout the night, and return before the first rays of dawn touched the earth.

From that time onward, the Sum Country's Sword of Royal Authority shone brilliantly across the land, while the Demon Blade purged evil and treachery, and the nation's destiny grew ever more stable...]

Demon Blade... Demon Blade... So this is the origin of the Demon Blade.

Lu Yuan's eyes flickered. He scrolled further down through the materials but found no picture of the Demon Blade.

He wasn't sure if the legend was true or false; it was probably just a borrowed name.

Lu Yuan recalled a conversation he previously had with Han Xun—

"...You should be aware of the Evil Martial Association's existence within the Ancient Martial Arts World.

In fact, Yellow Bear's research into Evil God Power predated that of the Evil Martial Association by a significant margin.

At that time, the Evil God Sect was rampant. Official cleanup operations led to many arrests, and it was then that the 'Demon Blade Project' commenced.

Those eligible to participate in the project all possessed the ability to perfectly accommodate multiple, or at least one type of, Evil God Power.

From these, the officials selected individuals who remained uncorrupted by the Ancient Evil God's power, maintained a complete and independent personality and will, and could also command formidable Evil God Power.

These people are the so-called Demon Blades.

Each Demon Blade's strength grew rapidly. They displayed astonishing talent upon their debut, shocking many... much like you right now.

You are very likely one of the Modern Demon Blades, perhaps even the most successful product of the 'Demon Blade Project' in recent years; you just don't know it yet...."

"...Many national organizations have similar individuals; they just use different names.

Within our Yellow Bear, they are known as Demon Blades. The Distant Star Federation calls them 'Judges,' and Havel refers to them as....

But they all share a common designation: Hidden Star!"

Demon Blade... Hidden Star...

Lu Yuan muttered these two words, his eyes flickering faintly as he murmured to himself.

So the Supernovas are equivalent to the Sword of Royal Authority then?

Supernovas shone brilliantly; each was a nationally recognized super-genius, the future backbone of the country.

Hidden Stars, on the other hand, lurked in the shadows. After all, their power stemmed from Evil God Power, something that could not be brought into the light.

The two represented distinct types of top talent, one from the light and one from the shadows.

According to Han Xun, among the top ten powerhouses on the current world power rankings, one had risen from the ranks of the Hidden Stars...

No wonder Yu Wentong said my Innate Evil Martial Physique could be of great use to her when we first met. She probably planned to develop me as a Hidden Star if I couldn't cultivate the Starry Sky Martial Path...

Thinking this, the psychological burden Lu Yuan felt over his inability to open Star Caves and transition to the Starry Sky Martial Path lessened considerably.

As long as his strength could steadily increase, regardless of the method or path, he wouldn't be failing Yu Wentong's efforts to cultivate him.

If I, as a Hidden Star, crush the Supernovas, I'm still a genius. Lord Tong will still happily help me empty my shopping cart...

With these thoughts, Lu Yuan felt slightly more relaxed. He closed the data display and casually picked up a nearby book on myths and legends to browse.

His eyes were fixed on the page, but his consciousness had focused on his profession panel.

His [Student] and [Ancient Language Expert] professions had successfully merged, but Lu Yuan hadn't yet had a chance to examine it in detail.

The new profession created by the fusion of these two support-type professions also seemed to be support-oriented.

Its name was—[Mysterious Scholar (Extraordinary)].

Lu Yuan quite admired this profession name.

He tilted his head, examining his reflection in the windowpane.

Satin-black hair, fair skin, delicate features, a slender and well-proportioned physique... He wore a light grey turtleneck sweater and black casual trousers, a book held in his hands.

His handsome appearance carried an air of scholarly grace, and his deep eyes held a hint of mystery.

This appearance, this temperament...

Whether it was 'Mysterious' or 'Scholar,' both perfectly matched his image and temperament.

This is my true calling! I was born to be a learned and wise scholar. The crucial part is, I'm so interested in mysticism...

Lu Yuan sighed inwardly.

His reverie ended. Lu Yuan glanced at the pitch-black, empty profession panel.

There were also three professional skills waiting to be unlocked on the panel, and he hesitated for a moment.

I just called it my true calling, and now that it's time to invest real resources into it... I'm feeling a bit reluctant again.

I currently have three skill points left. Two of them must be used to upgrade [Three Flowers]...

Then, let's just try my luck with one point.

It took Lu Yuan quite some time to make up his mind.

The main issue was that ordinary Extraordinary professions offered him little improvement now, and his main profession panel was desperately short on skill points. He truly wished he could split one skill point into two.

With this in mind, Lu Yuan selected one of the three basic skills on the [Mysterious Scholar (Extraordinary)] panel to unlock.

[Congratulations! You have learned a new professional skill: Chaos Divination (Lv. 1)]!

A notification promptly appeared.

[Chaos Divination]?!

Lu Yuan blinked, completely surprised that such a skill would be unlocked.

Divination? Is this pushing me towards becoming a mystic?

Lu Yuan attempted to activate the skill to test it. The feedback he received was: divination requires props; the results are not entirely accurate; divination can fail; the more specific the divination target and the more clues provided, the higher the success rate and accuracy...

So troublesome?

Lu Yuan frowned slightly.

After some thought, he decided to use the book of myths and legends in his hand as the divination prop.

As for the divination target...

Let's ask how I can resolve the current conflict between being a Grandmaster of Pure Martial Arts and the Starry Sky Martial Path.

Isn't this question a bit too difficult for a mere Level 1 basic professional skill? Are there penalties for failed divinations?

Lu Yuan pondered, then shook his head and chose to activate the skill directly.

[Chaos Divination (Lv. 1)] activated!

On the profession panel, the skill lit up.

Simultaneously, clouds of grey mist rapidly formed in Lu Yuan's previously clear eyes.

This mist swirled, and Lu Yuan's hands began to move automatically, rapidly flipping the pages of the book he held.

Soon, the entire thick book had been flipped through.

The mist in Lu Yuan's eyes quickly dispersed, and his eyes regained their clarity.

Huh...

Lu Yuan blinked, completely bewildered.

That's it?

His mind was blank; he hadn't received any feedback regarding the divination's outcome.

Did it fail?

Undeterred, Lu Yuan continued to activate [Chaos Divination].

Once... twice... thrice...

Soon, more than ten divination attempts had passed.

The RUSTLE of flipping pages even drew curious glances from people reading at nearby tables, but Lu Yuan still had nothing to show for it.

Oh, no. That wasn't entirely true.

He had at least learned that there was no cost or penalty for a failed divination.

More than ten attempts without a single success. This failure rate is really high...

Lu Yuan exhaled lightly, looking at the book before him, which was almost tattered from his constant flipping, and thought,

One more time, the last time. If this divination fails again, I won't try anymore.

Having made up his mind, Lu Yuan activated it one last time—[Chaos Divination (Lv. 1)]!

The moment the skill activated, grey mist filled his eyes, and the pages of the book in his hand began to turn.

But unlike the dozen or so previous attempts, this time Lu Yuan found himself flipping the pages with extraordinary slowness.

The grey mist suffusing his eyes gradually swirled into the shape of a vortex as it churned.

Lu Yuan suddenly felt the book in his hands become incredibly heavy, so heavy he could barely turn the pages.

The liquid Spiritual Power in his mind surged like water from a broken dam, flowing frantically towards his hands and the pages of the book.

Driven by this power, Lu Yuan managed to turn a page with immense 'difficulty'.

The page was filled with dense text, but only one character was clearly perceived by Lu Yuan—

[Toward]!

Then the second page.

Third page.

Fourth page.

HUFF... HUFF...

The grey mist in Lu Yuan's eyes dissipated, and he slumped onto the book, gasping for breath as if completely drained of strength.

His head throbbed as if it were about to split open, a result of excessive Spiritual Power consumption.

His heavy panting once again drew dissatisfied glances from nearby. A girl wearing glasses and a pink down jacket even made a 'shushing' gesture at Lu Yuan, indicating for him to be quiet.

Lu Yuan managed a weak, apologetic smile in her direction.

Unexpectedly, the girl's face instantly reddened, and she quickly bowed her head, not daring to look at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan paid no mind to anything else. He activated the blood sphere in his chest to aid his Spiritual Power recovery while extending a finger. With a complicated expression, he invisibly traced four words on the book's flyleaf—

To Live By Dying!

This.

This was the solution he had divined through [Chaos Divination] for resolving the conflict between the path of a Pure Martial Grandmaster and the Starry Sky Martial Path!

To live by dying... Does this mean I shouldn't be afraid of death and just blindly continue practicing?

Lu Yuan rubbed his temples, his brow deeply furrowed.

It wasn't as if he hadn't tried this before; he had attempted it countless times in the Consciousness Space, and every attempt had resulted in death!

Without exception!

Of course, in the Consciousness Space, death meant his consciousness immediately returned to reality, so he had no idea what truly happened after 'dying'.

Could it be that I'll have a chance to live even after I die?

Where is the chance of survival?

The soul-bound profession panel? My 'golden finger'?

Or perhaps one of the three—the Crow God, the Elephant God, or the God of Martial Combat and Hunting—will intervene to save me, resurrect me, and bring me back from the dead?

Heh, you know, it's actually plausible. The Crow God, Lamashtu, presides over the Netherworld River and holds dominion over life and death. And given that I have a... certain connection with her from that time we, uh, bathed together, she might just guide my soul after death. That could lead to me being reborn as an Underworld Fighting Champion, making a kingly return! From then on, I'd crush all opposition and reign supreme throughout the universe!

A helpless, self-deprecating smile touched Lu Yuan's lips.

That's too absurd.

Thus far, the simulations in the Consciousness Space had never been wrong.

He could make limitless attempts in the Consciousness Space, but in reality, he had only one life. Death in the real world was final.

He couldn't possibly gamble his one and only life on a few possibilities that were so remote as to be almost nonexistent.

To live by dying... To live by dying...

Lu Yuan shook his head and reached out, wiping away the four invisible words he had traced on the flyleaf.

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