That night, Wang Xuan fell into a deep sleep.
In his dream, Wang Xuan returned to the year he was twelve, the day when celestial dew descended from the sky, and the entire nation was rejoicing and cheering.
Another world on the brink of collapse was captured by the Mother Star. It took the Mother Star a long time to fully devour it, after which various world fragments began to fall, sparking an explosion of opportunities, with countless powerful beings capable of soaring the skies and traversing the earth eyeing these opportunities.
On that day, a young Wang Xuan walked out of his house and accidentally fell into a spatial rift, an alternate space filled with various dark energies. He acquired an accelerator in his mind, but his body was corroded by the dark energies, causing significant damage to his foundation and severe depletion of his original essence.
These years, he has been searching for the Source Point to drive the accelerator, yet to no avail. At the same time, he spent a lot of energy and resources to fully repair his own foundation, but unfortunately, the results were minimal.
From childhood to adulthood, he spent over 30 million Star Yuan, seeking various spirit medicines and potions, practicing various Strengthening the Foundation and Nourishing the Essence cultivation techniques, and finally managed to patch up his body to prevent it from being riddled with holes. Although the foundation has not completely recovered, like a shattered porcelain repaired, it still bears the marks of fragmentation.
In the past, he found it nearly impossible to cultivate until he started practicing the Life Generating Technique, which initiated a change in this situation, allowing him to take a step or two further in the Martial Arts Realm.
The night passed, and at four-thirty in the morning, Wang Xuan got up on time to begin his training: a two-hour stance exercise, and by dawn, with the air gradually freshening, he practiced the Thirty-Six Techniques for another hour.
When his personal terminal informed him that the artificial intelligence had prepared breakfast, he rested for half an hour, taking the opportunity to eat and replenish his nutrition.
Then it was another hour of Fierce Bull Fist; by the time the morning training was completed, it was already nine in the morning. With the training done, he prepared materials and refined outlines while also checking online to see how his new book was being received.
A few days ago, he had a lot of time and left a stockpile of 200,000 words, now releasing them on schedule each day, saving him from spending a lot of time daily.
Although he planned to go hunting in the afternoon to catch some prey and earn some money, the basic skills must not be forgotten, as cultivation relies on a solid foundation and persistence.
Otherwise, if he experienced sudden major changes, yet lounged around lazily every day without cultivating, while his Martial Arts Realm grew stronger daily, anyone would see there was a problem.
In the living room, the personal terminal intelligently opened a two-meter-wide screen, logged into an online literary website, and searched for the new book Wang Xuan published, "Era King."
"Someone has already left a message? Seems like this flop author isn't as much of a flop as imagined." A true flop author would see no traction for a year and a half.
"Big Bro started a new book! Yingying is here to support, mwa mwa!"
A reader named "Yingying" tipped and left a comment, which was written as "she," but as to why "she"? Everyone knows gender is often indistinguishable online.
This was an old reader of his, who followed his last book eagerly; you could call them a fan. Speaking of which, Wang Xuan's last book had three to four thousand daily subscriptions, which seemed decent, but with the Mother Star having devoured numerous worlds, expanding its surface area a hundredfold compared to the 21st century, and Huaxia's population surpassing 100 billion, such subscription numbers were hardly impressive.
Rankings were out of the question for Wang Xuan, as big figures had millions or even billions of people following their books, with some serialized for thirty to fifty years, releasing only one chapter every two weeks or ten days. It didn't matter since the bigwigs lived long lives.
By the time an author finished writing, most readers would have been laid to rest, with their remaining updates sent by descendants to avoid posthumous grumbling.
He glanced at a novel he was following, "Great Sword Immortal," the autobiography of a Great Sword Immortal level cultivator who loved showcasing his divine power, colloquially known as showing off.
Except this one, who had lived for centuries, could unleash a Flying Sword to take a head from a thousand miles away. This book hadn't been updated in three to five years, with the author claiming to go into seclusion for ten years, likely truly cultivating, striving to break through realms now.
Once he breaks through, one could guess this book will have a title change. Given this author's tendencies, a new title like "Supreme Sword Master" seems likely.
"Xiaoyi, did anyone leave me a message?" Wang Xuan asked.
"Miss Ling sent a message asking you to come by the lab; she's quite upset you haven't shown up for over a month. Team member Liu Yong also contacted you, asking if you'd join the mission tomorrow." Xiaoyi, worn on Wang Xuan's wrist, spoke with a gender-neutral voice, precise and efficient.
Tapping his right-hand fingers lightly on the back of his left hand, Wang Xuan thought for a moment and then said: "Reply to Sister Ling that I'll definitely visit within ten days, apologizing for not seeing her recently. As for the team's mission tomorrow, I'll participate; today, I need to train outdoors."
A month ago during an outdoor hunting trip, he had faced off against a fierce beast-level snow leopard, and while he had killed that behemoth, he too had sustained a leg injury, which required quite some time to heal.
That big leopard had brought him an income of 800,000 Star Yuan, while also clearing a hazard from the forest area.
After the dramatic changes to the Mother Star, a large portion of wild animals significantly enhanced their physique, turning more bloody and murderous. Once reaching a certain degree, they became Fierce Beasts, advancing through predation.
Now, with the Mother Star being vast and wild animals becoming a threat, hunting in the wild was lawful, with even the Federation encouraging cultivators to enter some wilderness areas to eliminate those frequently intruding giant creatures.
Wang Xuan sent a message to Bai Yuzhen that he would be away from home for a couple of days and not to leave him any meals since he was fine. He also sent regards to Xiaowei, encouraging her to study hard and becoming a little fairy combining beauty and wisdom.
Shedding his gray short sleeves and seven-point casual shorts, Wang Xuan changed into a dull green outfit and donned a color-changing outdoor metal protective suit. He then headed out with a long wooden box carrying a sniper rifle on his back.
The city's underground rail, which provided long-distance travel, was also Wang Xuan's chosen mode of transportation.
The personal terminal automatically deducted fees, with Wang Xuan going through special inspection at the gate, considering he was carrying a high-powered sniper rifle. But being a Three Stars citizen, he had the privilege to carry such weapons, having long been noted by the relevant departments, so there was no issue.
After riding the underground rail for over half an hour, covering nearly 200 kilometers, Wang Xuan arrived at Meiling in the west suburb of Yuzhang City, this forestry area spanning over 100 kilometers, adjoining Poyang Lake to the east, with plenty of beasts inside.
However, what could be hunted must be Fierce Beasts and Demon Beasts, with ordinary wild animals not to be wantonly killed, as Demon Beasts wouldn't appear here due to their high threat levels, and even for hunting them, permits are required. After joining a hunting team under a large combat team, Wang Xuan also obtained such qualifications.
The metal protective suit on his body automatically changed colors, blending with the surrounding environment. The wild animals in this area were abundant, leaving ordinary people to play only in some relatively safe fixed spots, not daring to go deeper.
Thinking about that young cultivator, Wang Xuan chose to visit Meiling this time, actually to see if the large Sword-Sharpening Stone mentioned by the elderly was still there.
Although he knew it was a mere fluke, the possibility was terribly low, as someone could kill for a small piece of Sword-Sharpening Stone, let alone a large one worth dozens to hundreds of times more.
Moreover, the library owner valued Meiling highly, clearly hinting at a big secret there, spiking his curiosity.
This time, being very cautious, Wang Xuan chose a vantage point on a mountain peak 1,000 meters away, using a high-powered telescope to observe.
This mountain peak was near some tourist spots, drawing many visitors, so Wang Xuan wasn't worried about his safety. Recklessly charging into an uninhabited area, should he foolishly encounter that young Sword Cultivator, it'd mean a fast death.
Peering through his high-powered telescope, Wang Xuan surveyed the surroundings of the Leaping Tiger Ravine, yet found nothing amiss after two days; whatever fortunes existed, they wouldn't have come to him.
After an hour of observation, Wang Xuan abandoned those unwarranted thoughts. What good would a great opportunity do him? Such things were beyond a little cultivator's reach, bringing high risk even if he tried.
Shaking his head, Wang Xuan stopped observing, distanced himself from the Leaping Tiger Ravine, and concealed himself in a forest area 30 kilometers away to begin his hunt.