Like the previous time, the blue star anomaly lasted for one day and one night.
The concentration and purity of the heaven and earth qi increased by twenty times and combined with the effect of the qi gathering array, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue were like fish in the water and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
They had already been at the peak of the eighth level of the meridian awakening realm, and with the new conditions, they soon broke through to the ninth level.
However, they didn't stop there.
They stabilised their cultivation, and when they were sure that their foundation was firm enough, they began to attack the earth acupoints on their ninth meridian.
Day turned into night, and when night was about to lighten into the second day, Yu Nianzhen managed to fully awaken his ninth divine meridian.
He checked his body using his consciousness, and all nine meridians were glowing with a white lustre which brought him a sense of relief and achievement.
At this stage, the only thing that remained was to connect his nine meridians to form a qi cycle.
However, the blue star anomaly was about to end, so he decided not to rush into it. Instead, he chose to stabilise his cultivation and slowly connect the meridians at a later date.
After all, they were already ahead of schedule due to the sudden blue star anomaly.
Jiang Yue who had lagged behind also managed to awaken his last meridian right before the end of the blue star anomaly.
He exhaled a turbid breath and then turned to look at Yu Nianzhen who had just opened his eyes.
"This time, the blue star has a lightning origin." He said.
After speaking to Bai Zheng at the tea house, the two had conducted some research and finally discovered the ins and outs of the world's star system.
There were five types of stars that could manifest on a cultivator's wrist when they broke through to the origin forging realm.
The first and lowest type was the iron-coloured star. This star appeared on cultivators who had only managed to awaken earth meridians before breaking through to the origin forging realm.
The bronze-coloured star was the second-lowest, and it appeared on origin forging realm cultivators who had awakened a few heaven meridians during the meridian awakening realm.
The silver star was for cultivators that awakened all heaven meridians, while the gold star appeared on those that awakened low-grade divine meridians.
The blue star was the most supreme. Other than awakening nine high-grade divine meridians, other conditions had to be met before a blue star could manifest on a cultivator's wrist.
One condition was a grade ten aptitude, and the other was to break through to the origin forging realm before the age of fourteen.
However, these stringent conditions were not without benefits.
The birth of a blue star cultivator was a blessing to the world, and the blue star anomaly was the world's way to express its appreciation.
The second benefit was that blue star cultivators could teleport to all open and level appropriate secret realms.
Before finding out about the world's star system, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue had failed to consider secret realms.
There were thousands of secret realms in the Cangxing world, and most were not privately owned. This meant that any and all cultivators had the chance to enter depending on the prevailing circumstances.
However, some of the better secret realms were located in difficult to get to places. In such cases, only sects and large families who owned flying treasures could take advantage of the available opportunities.
Secret realms not only had a level restriction, but also a restriction on the number of people that could enter.
In such a situation, qualification tournaments would often be held to determine those who would enter, and sect cultivators had an absolute advantage during such tournaments
This is because they had better cultivation manuals and martial arts than casual cultivators.
If Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue could get a blue star after breaking through to the origin forging realm, they wouldn't need to worry about not having access to secret realms.
"What are you thinking?" Jiang Yue asked when he saw that Yu Nianzhen was lost in thought.
"I will tell you when the thought is more concrete."
Jiang Yue didn't insist and instead nodded his head. He also had some vague thoughts that needed to be delved into before they could be talked about.
"I expected that it would take a few more days to break through to the ninth level of the meridian awakening realm and another month to fully awaken the ninth meridian."
Jiang Yue had also thought so, but the sudden blue star anomaly had accelerated their plans.
"There is still time before the recruitment of the Sea Cloud sect, and I want to go to the border guard arena to experience it."
The border guard was the only power that was present in all corners of the Cangxing world.
The border guards were responsible for fighting the devils at the world's borders and because of this, they had a prestige that was different from sects and families.
The arenas themselves were places where the border guard faction could recruit new members and exchange for resources that were much needed at the frontline.
"I will also go."
Jiang Yue was not resistant to this idea.
Fighting in the border guard arena would help to solidify their physical bodies. If they continue to refine stone milk while engaging in frequent fights, it would have a greater impact on their meridians and force value than refining alone.
Yu Nianzhen rubbed Jiang Yue's head and used the room's small bell to call for two tubs of bathing water.
His plan was to first absorb some stone milk and afterwards, register for some fights in the border guard arena to temper himself.
This time, two drops were added to each tub, but it took the same one week to refine both drops.
"As expected, the effect lessens with every use." Jiang Yue said as he got out of the tub.
He was covered in grime, but his body had gone through a positive change.
However, the effect of two drops wasn't double the previous use; it was only slightly better than the effect of one drop during the first use.
"It doesn't matter since we have a lot of stone milk."
"Should we refine a few more drops?"
"Let's clean up and eat first."
As usual, the Three Boars inn was very efficient, and soon after, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue had cleaned up and sat down for a meal.
"Do you remember when I said that I had something on my mind?" Yu Nianzhen asked.
Jiang Yue hummed and looked at him with a sly smile on his face.
"You want to join the Sea Cloud Sect." He stated, and Yu Nianzhen had to smile.
He had forgotten that Jiang Yue had always been capable of reading his thoughts.
However, the realisation wasn't uncomfortable, but instead gave him a feeling of closeness.
"It suddenly occurred to me that we are fighting an unnecessary fight. In the end, the Sea Cloud Sect is a resource that shouldn't be ignored. Whether we can be free depends on how strong we become."
Jiang Yue had also figured it out.
They had been so resistant to joining a sect, but in the end, a sect was just like a school in their previous world.
Granted that it was difficult to leave a sect, but it wasn't impossible.
If they were strong enough, who would dare to stand in their way?
After having these thoughts, both boys had taken the time to independently think about it, and the final result was the same.
They needed to join a sect; otherwise, their future progress would be slower than other prodigies.
"What now?" Jiang Yue asked.
"The selection is in less than three weeks, so we need to get ready. We can visit the border guard arena at a later date."
Yu Nianzhen felt that it was a pity not to go now, but they had a lot of things to get done before the selection.
They not only needed to finish their exploration of Fengying city, but also had to make plans for their bullock cart.
Joining a sect was starting a new life, and they couldn't bring the bullock cart to the Sea Cloud Sect.
That said, their only options were to sell the cart or make plans for long term board.
Although the two had begun to have doubts about old man Cang, they still retained some affection and the cart was something they had relied on for several months.
It felt wrong to sell it so they could only make plans for board.
They were still pondering where to board the cart when a ripple appeared on the room's protective array.
When Jiang Yue opened the door and saw who was standing outside, he almost laughed at the coincidence.
Bai Zheng had appeared when they first needed to sell their stone milk, and she had now appeared again when they needed a place to keep their bullock cart.
"Come in."
Jiang Yue had a big smile, and Bai Zheng had a premonition that it wasn't because he was exceptionally happy to see her.
"Have some tea and snacks."
Bai Zheng was now sure that something was up.
She had met Yu Nianzhen a few times, and the other was unlike Jiang Yue.
When had he ever taken the initiative to start a conversation?
"What do you want?" She asked as she looked at the two suspiciously.