Chapter 105: The Quest for the Rising Star Plan

“But even so, that number is just too large!” Mu Xingye frowned as he spoke. “Previously, when I witnessed their awakening, I tried to record the energy fluctuations, but failed. That method of energy infusion is beyond the capability of our current technology.”

“Star Spirits descending to the mortal realm,” Sun Meng said, “in the legends of my civilization, they’re considered at least god-like beings. Though their strength might be somewhat lacking, fully unleashing their combat power would place them at least at level five. I personally witnessed the awakenings of the General Star and the Demon Star. Their energy fluctuations were truly formidable—perhaps they can easily reach level three.”

“So what do we do? Those people have already broken out of the city. With their strength, it’s very difficult for us to find them now,” Mu Xingye said. He had come to understand just how unfriendly purely cultivation-based civilizations are to him. He had initially planned to use miniature reconnaissance robots attached to several of them, powered by genetic core energy, but the golden light monk casually destroyed them all in an instant.

“No worries. The General Star I discovered is still in the prison and will be transferred in a few days. I suspect they will come to rescue him; that will be our chance to encounter them. Also, I think the system told us that the General Star and the Demon Star are opposites—that is, only one star position can remain in the end. Could it be understood that the General Star and the Demon Star, whether awakened or not, are mutually attracted?” Sun Meng said.

In his memory, the heroes of Liangshan Marsh did not all come streaming to the mountain at once. Many heroes had intersecting paths before joining Liangshan; some were even opposing enemies at first. Ignoring how many were forced by circumstances, the 108 heroes were eventually gathered together.

However, judging by the awakening performance they witnessed today, most of these General Stars and Demon Stars had probably completed their awakening before joining Liangshan. So waiting idly on Liangshan is out of the question.

“Let’s follow Sun Meng’s plan first. Wait until that Lin Chong is transferred and see if we can meet those General Stars! If they happen to encounter other unawakened General Stars along the way, wouldn’t that be a way to complete our mission?” Pixar said. He was also frustrated. The city’s defensive formations did not restrict his miniature robots from reconnaissance, but like paparazzi, they had to hide while taking photos and recordings. Once discovered, they would be destroyed.

Whether officials or generals, once they sensed these detectors intuitively—and not knowing exactly what they were—they would sweep them away with internal energy or spiritual power, destroying them instantly. In highly confidential places like the royal palace, the formations made it impossible for such miniature robots to penetrate.

“I think we should first confirm where Liangshan is! Since the final assembly point is Liangshan, these General Stars or Demon Stars will definitely go there in the end,” Mu Xingye said.

“All right! I will release detectors and determine Liangshan’s location as soon as possible,” Pixar said.

After the discussion ended, Sun Meng was about to return to his room but was stopped by Kokolaru.

“What’s the matter?” Sun Meng asked.

“This should be the martial world from before! I’ve heard rumors on the Jianghu, and it turns out those events were caused by us!” Kokolaru said. “Was it because of our mission that we came into this world? But the changes here are truly immense!”

***

“Yes! The changes are huge, and the main problem now can’t be solved within the Jianghu. The contingency plans we left before seem useless,” Sun Meng said.

“In fact, the great sages of our civilization analyzed that the so-called General Stars and Demon Stars likely share the same destiny. That’s why they fight for the true inheritance of the stars, and only one can remain in the end. The later tasks require all 108 Star Spirits to face the challenges together. Can we handle that?” She looked at Sun Meng. None of the four had mentioned this before—not because they didn’t want to, but because they didn’t know how.

Clearly, in this mission, they were no longer the protagonists and couldn’t steer the direction due to insufficient power.

This was the exact opposite of previous personal mission worlds, and it placed great pressure on them.

“Well, this world still has many valuable things, such as the cultivation methods of civil officials, as well as those of the General Stars and Demon Stars. Sooner or later, we’ll face them in battle. I believe these things will be useful,” Sun Meng said before heading into his room.

Back in his room, Sun Meng asked, “Can you give me an update? Also, what’s going on over on Earth right now?”

Previously, Sun Meng hadn’t paid attention to the message barrage, so he asked specifically now.

Xu Xiao said, “The core of the civilization has given us star maps of the entire solar system, including the outer regions. Resources on the planets have been fully converted into forms usable by Earth civilization. Special lifeforms have also emerged. They are now figuring out how to allow humans to mine these planets. Additionally, the system announced that in five years, Earth civilization will enter a small-scale competitive battlefield and wage war against at least ten other civilizations.”

Sun Meng’s expression changed. He hadn’t received that information himself! He quickly opened his mailbox and indeed found no such message. “Wait, I’ll ask others.” He then sent private messages to Mu Xingye and the others. Unexpectedly, they had only just learned about it themselves!

However, in the civilization arena, their four civilizations were not in the same arena, meaning coordinated clearing was impossible.

Why would the system do this? It never mentioned this before!

Xu Xiao said, “Don’t worry too much about Earth civilization. Focus on your mission. After all, what you acquire there can be transmitted directly here. As long as you don’t make mistakes, we won’t have big problems.”

Sun Meng nodded. He was a bit worried but trying to stay calm. Earth civilization was now not only a level three civilization with a main civilization ship but also had five years to develop. Most importantly, the civilization was unified internally, which would unleash tremendous power. He believed that Earth civilization would surely achieve final victory in the civilization arena in five years!

***

Then, Sun Meng shared some of his thoughts about the General Stars.

Xu Xiao pondered a moment. “According to your theory, these General Stars and Demon Stars should be like family or have close relationships. I suspect it relates to their personalities. Take that Lin Chong, for instance—he always seemed confident, as if everything was planned, looking down on others. But once the situation exceeded his expectations, he immediately resorted to force, as if he was born to rebel.”

Sun Meng nodded. “I noticed that too. Lin Chong’s personality is actually quite the opposite; even after breaking through in prison, he wasn’t thinking of rebellion.”

“But even so, it’s not universally applicable!” Sun Meng frowned. When talking with Mu Xingye earlier, he discovered that besides Lu Zhishen awakening as a General Star, another General Star was actually Yang Zhi!

Yang Zhi, originally a Liangshan commander, was a Demon Star! This made him doubt the reliability of his own understanding.

With two sets of characters—General Stars and Demon Stars—even if he could identify one from his memories, it didn’t guarantee that person was a General Star.

“Actually, I think two of your assumptions are probably correct. First, the so-called Liangshan gathering was essentially outlawry, so these people definitely committed acts forbidden by law—big acts. They must have awakened facing a critical choice. Second, they attract one another. So I think you should send Lin Chong to Cangzhou; maybe he’ll encounter other General Stars along the way,” Xu Xiao said.

Sun Meng nodded. That was all they could do now. Solo action has its advantages, but also drawbacks. He decided to find a chance to tell Mu Xingye and the others about the situation at Shijiazhuang.

“This world, based on your previous description, should see large-scale battles above level three in the later stages, but there should also be traces earlier on. You need to be alert,” Xu Xiao said.

Sun Meng said, “I think the cultivation method of the General Stars might be related to star power, not just pure internal energy. If any new level three or above individuals appear, be sure to inform me.”

“Will do.”