Star Martial Era: From Mortal to Emperor

Chapter 97: Undercurrents in the Core Class

Bai Xuan walked down from the podium carrying his briefcase. He paused next to Lin Chen, glanced at him, and then pushed open the door and left.

The sound of footsteps gradually faded away in the corridor.

Lin Chen stood motionless at the door. A breeze blew through the corridor, carrying the distinctive smell of disinfectant. Bai Xuan's words echoed in his mind—not advice, but a warning. Someone was using Bai Xuan to tell him to mind his own business.

This precisely demonstrates that they've identified the right direction. The evidence touched a nerve with some people, which is why they panicked.

Lin Chen closed the classroom door and walked towards the training room.

The training room was in the circular building behind the teaching building. The exterior walls were painted dark gray, and the windows were small and set high up, like firing ports on a bunker. Lin Chen pushed open the door and went in. The lights in the corridor were voice-activated. As soon as he heard footsteps, the overhead lights flickered on, one section at a time, as if someone was lighting his way.

He pushed open the door to his meditation room.

The cultivation room was small, only five or six square meters, containing a futon, a mirror on one wall, and a spiritual energy outlet. The walls were covered with spiritual energy gathering array patterns, which emitted a faint blue light when infused with spiritual energy, spreading along the walls like blood vessels. The spiritual energy gushed out from the outlet, so dense it was almost visible to the naked eye, and when inhaled, it carried a cool, sweet taste.

He sat down on the futon.

Su Muyue sat in the corner, a sheet of yellow paper spread out in front of her, drawing talismans. Her brush was a wolf-hair brush, and the ink was specially made cinnabar ink mixed with spirit powder, giving the drawn talismans a faint red glow. She drew with great concentration, her brow slightly furrowed, her breathing even, each stroke steady. A small stack of finished talisman papers was already piled on the table, with a Qingtian stone paperweight pressed against the corner.

Chu Fan sat cross-legged on the other side, with the incomplete array scroll and a pile of array materials spread out in front of him. He was studying a new array-setting technique. Copper plates were scattered on the ground, some already engraved with runes, others still blank. He held an engraving knife in his hand, carving little by little on the copper plates. His movements were very light, and the sound of the engraving knife scraping across the copper surface was delicate and dense, like silkworms eating mulberry leaves.

Su Ling'er lay sprawled on a low table, in front of her the newly acquired alchemy furnace. The furnace was bronze, with three legs and two handles, its surface engraved with flame and herbal patterns. Her table was cluttered with various medicine bottles, pestles, gauze, and a small pile of freshly sorted herbs. She was experimenting with refining a new batch of antidote pills; the furnace fire was already lit, its orange-red flames flickering on her face.

Leng Feng stood in the open space in the middle of the room, shirtless, holding a battle sword in his right hand. The amplification rune was attached to the strap on his left wrist; it was half-integrated into the blade, and faint patterns could be seen moving across its surface. He was practicing his swordplay; his movements were slow, but each strike was heavy, the sound of the blade cutting through the air like tearing fabric.

The five people were all busy with their own things, and no one spoke.

The only sounds in the cultivation room were the scratching of the talisman brush across the paper, the rustling of the carving knife scraping against the copper plate, the crackling of the flames in the alchemy furnace, the whooshing of the battle sword cutting through the air, and the low hum of the spirit-gathering array in operation.

These sounds blended together, but instead of being noisy, they were reassuring.

Lin Chen closed his eyes, and the Star Martial Core slowly began to operate. Spiritual energy surged from the output port, drawn by the Star Martial Core, and entered his body through his pores. Silver star power flowed along his meridians, circle after circle. He could feel that the star power constantly washing over, penetrating, and nourishing his meridians as it passed through them, making them wider, stronger, and more unobstructed.

The star power in his dantian became increasingly abundant, like a pool of water rising and getting closer and closer to the edge.

I'm not far from the late stage of the Meridian Opening Realm.

The sky outside the window darkened. The light in the cultivation room was white, not glaring, illuminating every corner clearly. Su Muyue finished drawing the last talisman, placed the brush on the brush holder, flexed her fingers, and began tidying up the things on the table. Chu Fan finished engraving a copper coin, examined the pattern against the light, nodded in satisfaction, and carefully put the coin into his cloth bag. A medicinal fragrance wafted from Su Ling'er's alchemy furnace, not strong, but faint, with a slightly bitter herbal scent.

Leng Feng sheathed his sword, the sound of the blade sliding into the scabbard deep and smooth.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

"That's about it for today," he said.

The five people began packing their things. Su Muyue sorted the talismans by type, and everyone took their own. Su Ling'er extinguished the fire in the alchemy furnace and wiped the table with a damp cloth. Chu Fan picked up the copper coins from the ground one by one and stacked them in order. Leng Feng put on his clothes and slung his battle sword behind his back.

As they walked out of the meditation room, the motion-activated lights in the corridor turned on again, lighting up one section at a time, as if someone was leading the way.

The door to the cultivation room closed behind them, shutting out the buzzing of the spirit-gathering array, and the corridor suddenly became much quieter. The five people walked side by side down the corridor, their footsteps echoing softly in the empty hallway.

The streetlights were already on, casting long, overlapping shadows of the five people on the concrete pavement, making it impossible to tell who was who.

In the distance, several lights were still on in the windows of the core teaching building. It was unclear who was still inside or what they were doing. But Lin Chen knew that one of those lit windows was Bai Xuan's office, and another was Qin Cang's.

This school may seem calm on the surface, but there are undercurrents beneath.

But they are not afraid.

The five people walked out of the training building. The evening breeze carried the scent of freshly trimmed grass from the training ground. Su Ling'er yawned and rubbed her eyes. Chu Fan adjusted his glasses, took out a notebook from his pocket, wrote a few words by the light of a streetlamp, and then put it back. Leng Feng walked at the very edge of the group, his body slightly turned outwards, a habitual posture of vigilance.

Su Muyue walked beside Lin Chen, their hands occasionally touching, neither of them deliberately pulling away nor leaning closer.

They walked like that, five people, one road, one direction.

The lights were bright, and the night was gentle.