The new Level 70 skill possessed immense killing power, making it extremely effective for sneak attacks and assassinations. Its only drawback was probably the long cooldown time, but that wasn’t a major issue. After all, one rarely gets multiple opportunities for a sneak attack.

As Lin Jinyu and Wen Yuncheng hurried toward the Chenxing Sea, before they could even approach the Empire’s newly constructed stronghold, Lin Jinyu’s expression suddenly went vacant. Startled, Wen Yuncheng immediately halted the Floating Magnetic Disk. “What’s wrong?!”

“…The Plane Consciousness… is looking for me.” Lin Jinyu rubbed her temples. She always spaced out for a moment whenever the Plane Consciousness communicated with her.

“Then you two go ahead and chat.” Wen Yuncheng brought them to a complete stop. The area around the Chenxing Sea was remote anyway, with no towns in sight. She landed and helped Lin Jinyu find an open space to sit down.

[The plane’s subsidy has come through.] 1947 had also been wondering why the Plane Consciousness was suddenly seeking out Lin Jinyu. Just then, the response to its application arrived, and 1947 understood what was happening. [That Baby Voice… ah, no, the Starry Sky Consciousness was subsidized with a huge sum of universal energy.] Universal energy was a non-elemental energy with excellent properties, such as being freely convertible and absorbable. It typically served as a “currency” for transactions between planes.

Just as it finished explaining, 1947 received a communication. It opened it to find a communication request from the Baby Voice. The self-proclaimed dad sneered proudly. So you come looking for me now that the subsidy has arrived? Didn’t you blacklist me before? Trying to make up now? Too late!

Ahem. Despite its thoughts, the self-proclaimed dad still accepted the request.

【Can you guarantee that you and my former Child of the Plane can definitely protect Lin Jinyu from perishing?】 The Baby Voice didn’t bother with greetings or pleasantries, getting straight to the point as soon as the connection was established.

[I can’t guarantee it 100%, as accidents can always happen. But you know their relationship…] 1947 said, [I can only say we will do our utmost.]

【You won’t have any more designs on Lin Jinyu, will you?】 The Baby Voice’s tone was full of suspicion. 【There won’t be another guy like 1948 crashing into Lin Jinyu, right?】

[…I have marked this plane, so no other systems will come here.] After saying this, 1947 hesitated for a moment before it couldn’t help but add: [I fell here by accident, due to spatial turbulence! There shouldn’t be any other systems as unlucky as me.]

【Heh, and you even published a book.】

[…] 1947 thought that a sneer from the Baby Voice was… not very intimidating. As for the book, it had only written about its own experiences. What was the big deal about publishing a book about a system? Could the odds of crashing into a Child of the Plane really be replicated? [What are you planning to do?]

【With this energy support, I’ll have enough spare energy to transfer the Heart of the Plane to her,】 the Baby Voice said, its tone quite casual. 【Alright, bye now.】

The Heart of the Plane? Lin Jinyu was only a third-layer Star King, and the Plane Consciousness was giving it to her directly? That was against the rules! Wasn’t it said that one had to officially become the Child of the Plane to be qualified for the transfer of the Heart of the Plane with the consciousness’s approval? That required being a Star Emperor at the very least! A more demanding Plane Consciousness might even wait until its chosen one touched the peak of the continent’s power levels before granting its recognition. 1947 felt the Baby Voice wasn’t playing by the rules. What’s more… it had no idea what would happen if someone obtained the Heart of the Plane ahead of time. After all, it was a system, not a Plane Consciousness, and there was no precedent for such a thing.

1947 was just about to ask the Baby Voice about the pros and cons of doing this, but the message failed to send.

It, the great and unconventional Long Aotian Growth System, had once again been tossed into the blacklist by the Starry Sky Plane Consciousness. This habit of using and discarding… was truly second nature to it.

The self-proclaimed dad gritted its teeth. As a high-dimensional system, it had its dignity!

Wen Yuncheng sat beside Lin Jinyu, somewhat surprised to see her suddenly enter a state of cultivation. The very next second, the world changed. One moment it was broad daylight; the next, it was night. Countless stars glittered in the sky, and a faint layer of starlight suddenly enveloped Lin Jinyu. And this starlight…

It seemed as if all the stars were resonating with Lin Jinyu. Wen Yuncheng looked up and expertly located Lin Jinyu’s personal star. Amidst the sudden phenomenon, Lin Jinyu’s star flared brilliantly for a few seconds. In those few seconds, not even the single largest and brightest star hanging in the night sky could compare to its radiance.

That largest and brightest one should be the star of the Starry Sky Continent’s only Star Saint.

What… was going on?

[The Heart of the Plane.] 1947 promptly cleared up Wen Yuncheng’s confusion. [That Baby Voice gave the Heart of the Plane to Lin Jinyu. This is something that can only be obtained when one becomes the Child of the Plane and formally takes over the plane. It is the Plane Consciousness’s recognition.]

[But, that Baby Voice actually gave it to her now?] 1947’s tone was filled with great confusion. It said to Wen Yuncheng earnestly: [Can you tell Lin Jinyu to ask the Starry Sky Consciousness to take me off the blacklist?]

“Hmm?” Wen Yuncheng was still waiting for 1947 to continue its explanation, but it suddenly brought this up. “You were blacklisted? Did you bully it again?”

[Why do you say “again”? I didn’t do anything! It had something it didn’t understand, and I cleared it up. But after I answered, it cut off communication and blacklisted me!]

“Oh, then it probably thinks you’re of no use anymore.” Wen Yuncheng rubbed her chin and said honestly, “Next time it has something it doesn’t understand, you’ll be let out.”

[…] Next time? It wants a next time? Ptooey! It was just too slow this time. Next time, it would definitely let that Baby Voice have a taste of being blacklisted!

1947 never considered that even if there were a next time, the Baby Voice might not even notice it had been blacklisted.

What did the Heart of the Plane look like? Wen Yuncheng stared at Lin Jinyu but didn’t see any strange object merging into her body—only the hazy starlight showering down upon her. Wen Yuncheng’s initial curiosity gradually went astray as she gazed at Lin Jinyu’s face, her mind completely occupied by the thought, How is my Little Ice Mountain so beautiful?

Enveloped in the hazy starlight, the sight of Lin Jinyu with her eyes closed gave Wen Yuncheng an unreal, dreamlike feeling. She raised her hand, wanting to touch Lin Jinyu, but feared she might interrupt the transfer and absorption of the Heart of the Plane—though she wasn’t even sure if it had begun. Still, Wen Yuncheng leaned in very close. Even without touching her, she could see the pores on Lin Jinyu’s skin under the starlight, and even the fine, downy hairs on her cheeks.

She wanted to kiss her.

The phenomenon didn’t last long, dissipating after about ten minutes. The starlight on Lin Jinyu’s body also gradually faded.

This was normal, Wen Yuncheng thought. After all, if the phenomenon lasted too long… it would attract others. She had only just become a Star Venerate; protecting Lin Jinyu would be a bit difficult.

Lin Jinyu opened her eyes and was startled for a moment to see Wen Yuncheng’s face right in front of hers. Wen Yuncheng took the opportunity to lean in and plant a kiss on Lin Jinyu’s cheek. “We can talk later. Let’s leave this place first.”

The celestial phenomenon just now would surely surprise and alarm various parties. As for the phenomenon on Lin Jinyu’s body, only Wen Yuncheng had seen it. But regardless, it was better to head to the Chenxing Sea first, where it would be safer under the protection of the Half-Saints.

“Okay.” Lin Jinyu agreed. She raised her hand to wipe her cheek, which Wen Yuncheng saw. Wen Yuncheng was immediately displeased, leaned over, and insisted on kissing her again before she was satisfied.

Upon arriving at the Empire’s stronghold in the Chenxing Sea, they met the six Half-Saint seniors stationed there. These seniors were quite familiar with Wen Yuncheng, having rescued her on numerous occasions. Wen Yuncheng recognized them as well.

“A phenomenon just appeared suddenly. It’s best if you two don’t… attract the attention of the Huanling today,” one of the Half-Saint seniors said seriously. “That phenomenon should be from our continent, but the cause is unknown. Perhaps that insidious Fu organization is up to something again.”

Wen Yuncheng obediently agreed. She wasn’t foolish enough to reveal that the phenomenon had appeared because of Lin Jinyu. It was also perfectly normal for the Half-Saints to advise them to lay low for the day; they were simply worried that the phenomenon was some major move by Fu or another party. If something unexpected happened, they might not be able to protect Wen Yuncheng and Lin Jinyu in time.

Wen Yuncheng shook her head and sighed. As expected, whenever anything happened on the Starry Sky Continent, everyone’s first reaction was “What has Fu done now?” For an organization to reach this point, it could be considered… quite successful.

With this kind of reputation, even if the Empire’s high command changed twice over, they would still remember this organization.

The two of them obediently stayed in the Empire’s rest area. As for experience points… Wen Yuncheng wasn’t in a hurry.

“How do you feel?” Wen Yuncheng looked at Lin Jinyu with eager eyes. “Are you feeling any discomfort?”

“A little… full,” Lin Jinyu said hesitantly. “The Heart of the Plane is a glowing sphere, probably similar to a star. It’s in my sea of consciousness, very bright, and constantly overflowing with Star Power.” It was just that she couldn’t absorb it all, so she felt a bit stuffed.

Full? Wen Yuncheng scratched her head. According to the usual tropes, shouldn’t there be a warm current in her dantian, followed by a sudden feeling of enlightenment? For example, seeing the world several shades brighter, her five senses becoming sharper… and so on.

“Is your cultivation speed faster?”

“Mhm,” Lin Jinyu thought for a moment to find the right words. “Before, I had to actively absorb Star Power to cultivate. Now… I’m being force-fed and have to digest it.”

Wen Yuncheng fell silent. So, having the Heart of the Plane meant the stars would actively chase you down to infuse you with Star Power, and you no longer needed to painstakingly absorb it late at night to cultivate?

“It should have sealed a portion of it,” Lin Jinyu said. “Otherwise, I might have exploded and died.”

So, that’s how it was. Wen Yuncheng could more or less understand the cultivation-accelerating effect the Heart of the Plane had on Lin Jinyu. “Is it uncomfortable?”

“It’s fine.”

Wen Yuncheng was a little envious. She also wanted to do nothing and be force-fed experience points until she was full. Even if not until she was full, she’d be fine if 1947 insisted on stuffing her with a few hundred thousand experience points every day. A few tens of thousands would also do.

[? Wake up, the sun’s already up.]

Wen Yuncheng snorted inwardly. 1947 wouldn’t even let her daydream; it deserved to be blacklisted. She threw her arms around Lin Jinyu. “Then… doesn’t that mean you’ll become a Star Venerate very soon?”

“…Probably.” Lin Jinyu sensed her cultivation progress. In Wen Yuncheng’s words… it was pretty much like using a cheat. The Heart of the Plane… it was said to be the most important thing in a plane.

This was also what the Huanling Continent’s Plane Consciousness wanted to devour.