Myriad Stars: Wu Ji Chronicles I. A Cultivation LitRPG Universe Read online

  “Of course, Mother! I will be the greatest man ever! What’s just Miss Lan, wait for me to bring home a few more daughter-in-laws for you,” said Wu Ji with an awkward laugh.

  “Good! That’s my son! Remember, son, three or four wives is good. That way your mom won’t be lonely when you go out to travel the world. Pay attention that the wives must accept each other and don’t force them, otherwise it’ll be a mess. Don’t forget to plant your seed in them so I can have a few grandchildren soon…”

  Wu Ji’s mother kept blabbing about her son getting a few more wives and ten sons and creating a great family. It must be said that Wu Ji’s mother had always been a dreamer girl, and this had greatly influenced Wu Ji. Which mother wouldn’t dream about how tall, handsome and strong man their child would become!

  In this world where the weak fear the strong and the strong ruled with, quite literally, an iron fist, it was quite common that powerful and influential people had several wives and concubines. Even some influential women had some men kneeling under their feet. Of course, one would need the power to maintain them or their love for you must be heaven-defying.

  Wu Ji’s mood was constantly changing as his mother’s mouth babbled. He couldn’t help but sigh as they reached where the tournament was located. Everywhere he looked people were staring at him with grinning faces.

  “I’m Wu Ji. 16 years old. I want to participate in Miss Lan’s tournament.” A plain and honest presentation.

  The judge raised his eyebrows, as he couldn’t figure out the other party’s cultivation and coupled with the lack of knowledge he had regarding the city in this barren land, he thought it was perhaps a Sect Cultivator travelling and passing by. So, he immediately welcomed Wu Ji and gave him a token, numbered 100. It was the last token.

  Sun Moon City’s folks were excited to see Wu Ji participating. They knew and respected Wu Ji’s mother, but to them, Wu Ji was the worst son ever. It was good that from time to time he took a beating so that he’d grow up faster. The folks always thought Wu Ji had grown to be like he was because he lacked a father figure and the related disciplining. That’s why they didn’t alert the judge.

  Unfortunately, this time, everything went wrong. They’d underestimated the influence of Miss Lan’s beauty. She was the daughter of the City Lord and one of the most beautiful girls in the Empire. It was said that only the three most famous women in the empire could compare to her. The Princess of the Empire, the granddaughter from the Five Elements Sect and the elder from the Pill Palace. Due to this, there were many guys not from Sun Moon City who were participating in the tournament as well–but it seemed that everyone had forgotten about this point.

  Lady Luck didn’t help Wu Ji, either. His first opponent was a 3-Star talent called Mo Wen, at the Mortal Realm peak. Of course, it was only if one was above that stage that they could tell Mo Wen’s cultivation. Mo Wen’s 1-Star Blessing was Fire. A Star blessing helped a cultivator cultivate in a determined path. In the case of Mo Wen, his first blessing was that of Fire, his 2-Star Blessing was Sword, and his 3-Star Blessing was Wind. Overall, Mo Wen’s blessings were quite balanced and made him a terrifying sword cultivator. He was considered a genius of the Empire, and was even an outer sect disciple of the Five Elements Sect. As such, he didn’t know who Wu Ji was at all. They lived in practically two different worlds.

  Mo Wen was nervous that he couldn’t see the cultivation of the other party. For such an event to happen, there were only two options. The other party cultivated something that could hide their cultivation, or the other party’s cultivation was higher than him. He didn’t want to underestimate his opponent so he immediately cast a Fire Mortal Art to test the waters.

  “Stop!”

  A mixed yell resounded through the entire place, belonging to both the City Lord and Miss Lan. Sadly, it was too late. Their yell brought all the participants to stop fighting and look around for the problematic arena. The city folks were scared for Wu Ji—or rather, what Wu Ji’s death would do to his mother.

  “No!!!” Another piercing cry resounded. Wu Ji’s mother’s cry.

  Mo Wen wasn’t a bad guy, so he knew immediately what had happened. He’d misunderstood, the other party was just a mortal! Mo Wen immediately activated his mortal peak movement skill and slashed his sword toward his previous attack.

  “Come to me!”

  Everyone could see Mo Wen trying to slash the Fire Art he’d just cast. The slash managed to reach the Fire Art and cut its might in half, but unfortunately, half of the Fire Art still hit Wu Ji’s body. Any mortal would die instantly upon being hit by such an attack, and Wu Ji was no different.

  Wu Ji was engulfed by fire and sent flying dozens of meters, rolling along the ground until his body smashed against a wall.

  “Damn it!” Mo Wen’s eyes were red, his pale face clearly told everyone he’d tried his best. No one would blame him it—was an accident. Still though, he was a righteous young man, and he blamed himself.

  “Ji’er, Ji’er!” His mother already reached her son’s burned body. Wu Ji’s limbs were hanging limply from his body, clearly broken. Much of his skin had burned away, and many of his bones were poking through. A gory image for any who dared to look at him. Half his face had been burned as well.

  “Do..n..t… Wo..r…rr…y … m…o…m… I..b..e…f…n..e.” A slow breath came out of Wu Ji’s body. A whisper of a dying young man to please his mom one last time.

  Wu Ji’s body lay in a comfortable bed, though his half-burned face didn’t show any comfort at all. The fire had partially burned his face without mercy—his lips barely resembled lips, and it was clear from just a glance that one of his eyes was now blind, destroyed by the heat. One of his ears had been burned off, as well. Instead of his previously handsome appearance, he now looked more like a corpse. Still though, this didn’t stop Wu Ji’s mother, who softly caressed his face.

  Mo Wen was kneeling on the floor with a resolute look next to Wu Ji. The City Lord, Miss Lan’s father, had an ugly expression on his face. As for Miss Lan, her face was pale, and there was a trace of blood trickling down from the side of her mouth.

  “I’m sorry. This is all I can do,” said Miss Lan to Wu Ji’s mother, with an apologetic face.

  It took a few moments for Wu Ji’s mother to find her words. “Will he die?”

  “My daughter did everything she could. She’s a 3-Star Talent, and her 3-Star blessing is Life. Unfortunately, her realm is not high enough and the Life blessing is too hard to come by. Perhaps if her realm was higher... but it’s unfortunate that this happened…” The City Lord felt an eternal regret. He didn’t know how to comfort Wu Ji’s mother.

  Wu Ji’s father was their benefactor. Years ago, the proud soldier had gone through hell to save Miss Lan from a high-level Monster. If it hadn’t been for him, the City Lord’s daughter would have been eaten alive by that beast. This was actually one of the reasons why Wu Ji didn’t need to work. His mother worked under the City Lord as secretary—because of this, the Wu family didn't need to work much to be able to survive and have some basic luxuries.

  Tears flowed down from Wu Ji’s mother’s eyes, as she understood the words of the City Lord. This was a low empire; the highest talent they’d ever had was a 4-Stars talent and that had been centuries ago. Having Miss Lan, a 3-Star talent with Life Powers helping her son was already a miracle in itself.

  Never in his dreams would the City Lord have thought that the number one candidate to marry his daughter, would end up almost killing a mortal in the tournament. Mo Wen was actually the strongest participant, the most likely to win the tournament. Now though, his mind was in turmoil. A few years ago, while travelling with his master, he had seen and taken a fancy to Miss Lan. Today he had come to display his powers in front of his future wife, to show the world how mighty a genius he was, and how he deserved her as a partner. Yet, what had he done instead? Cripple a mortal in the first round, nearly killing him? Hell, the mortal could sti
ll die—his life force was dissipating as time passed. Mo Wen’s mind was a mess—for him, killing a mortal was something that could be done if the latter had done something deserving it. He didn’t mind killing people; few in this world minded it as death was simply too common. But for righteous people, they needed a reason, a good one, otherwise they wouldn't be able to have peace of mind.

  As time passed, those in the room felt that something was wrong with Mo Wen. Upon closer inspection, his eyes were even filled with blood. They resembled a crazy beast and indeed, he suddenly slashed himself with his own sword.

  Mo Wen had spilled blood again, his own.

  “I, Mo Wen, swear to the heavens to follow brother Wu Ji in life and death. If brother Wu Ji dies, I, Mo Wen, will follow you to death. If I don’t fulfil my oath let my soul eradicate and never be reborn again.” The heavens trembled as if in agreement to Mo Wen’s oath.

  Miss Lan, the City Lord, and Wu Ji’s mother stared dumbfounded at Mo Wen’s figure. Not only had he sworn such a vicious oath, taking Wu Ji’s conditions into account, but that slash had destroyed his face. Half his lips, his left eye, and even one of his ears had fallen victim. Now, Mo Wen’s face looked like Wu Ji’s.

  Suddenly, the heavens trembled again! Someone was awakening! They stared at Mo Wen, and their bodies shivered.

  Mo Wen had become a 4-Star Talent, and had found a Star Path, allowing him to link to another star and get his fourth blessing. Blessing of Craziness.

  Now they understood. That resolution, those crazy eyes Mo Wen had just then. Wu Ji was the reason a 4-Star Talent had finally been born again in this low empire, but of course, if Wu Ji died then Mo Wen would fall victim as well.

  The City Lord shook his head. Was this their fate? Finally, a talent had been born in this low empire, one that could help the Empire grow. A chance to break out from the constant oppression they faced. They were always the cannon fodder in wars, their population was the one that was always suffering. Always sending their young soldiers and cultivators to die to Monsters. He wasn’t willing to accept this kind of fate.

  It was unknown to Miss Lan whether it was her father’s contrasting resolute face and saddened eyes, or that Wu Ji, the son of her benefactor, was wavering between life and death. But whatever it was, caused something in her mind to crack. Wasn’t cultivating an action against the heavens? To break through their mortal shackles with each step and finally achieve power, freedom, and eternal life? She laughingly looked down at her hands. What kind of powerhouse was she supposed to be if she couldn’t even save a tiny mortal!

  “Essence!”

  She jumped on top of Wu Ji; her finger pierced his burned chest and perforated his heart. When her actions were done, she looked at her hands, trembling. She felt it…

  “Did I just...” She didn’t get to finish her words before the heavens trembled and an Essence character appeared on her forefront.

  They all stared at her, then Wu Ji. If Wu Ji had never come to the tournament, then these 4-Star talents would not have been born today!

  The City Lord couldn’t help but think that Wu Ji was a lucky charm.

  “He’s fine. My last ability allowed me to share my life essence with him and it stabilized his lifeline. He won’t die, though it might take some time for him to wake up.” Miss Lan spoke with confidence, taking Wu Ji’s mother’s hand and briefly smiling to her.

  “Thank you, Miss Lan!” Wu Ji’s mother finally let loose some tears of joy. Finally, her son was out of danger. Sure, he was half crippled, but as his mother, she didn’t care a bit as long as he got to live. That’s what a mother’s love was like.

  “We’ll leave you alone with your son. My daughter and Mo Wen need some time to discuss,” said the City Lord with a serious tone, gazing at the two newborn 4-Star talents. He couldn’t be happier. The two were a couple! Husband and Wife.

  It was unsure as to if Wu Ji would have perished or not without Miss Lan’s skilful help, but one thing was sure. Wu Ji’s subconscious had been perpetually struggling to reach that tiny ball. When Miss Lan’s Essence Skill had pierced Wu Ji’s heart, a drop of blood had pierced his subconscious—and helped Wu Ji finally reach that tiny ball.

  The ball was absorbed into his soul, and immediately released a huge image of an old man, which started to laugh in a terrifying fashion.

  “Hahaha! Finally! After a billion years I have finally found an inheritor!” The old man really couldn’t stop laughing.

  Wu Ji kept staring at this old man. “Is he crazy?” he thought.

  “You don’t know, young man, you don’t know. I was a God, a Myriad Star God! I have already fallen, what you see in front of you is the last strand of my soul that has waited, waited for a body that can complete this old man’s dream.” After laughing for a few more minutes he finally stopped laughing and turned serious.

  The silence was exasperating. What is this old man saying…?

  “Young man, listen well. In the Myriad Stars, there are two taboos, two powers that stand at the bottom and at the top at the same time. Two powers that outshine everything. Swallow and Chaos!” said the old man. He paused, creating yet again another silence, except this time Wu Ji’s heart was beating non-stop.

  “In the past, this old man was the Swallow God, feared by all. Unfortunately, my realm was not on par to my arrogance and I fell due to some...unfortunate events. But this grandfather, before falling touched the other taboo, Chaos! There hasn’t been a Chaos God since the primal times. It was said that Chaos was the origin of all and Swallow the end of everything.” The man laughed a lot before taking a breath and continuing with what he was saying. As for Wu Ji, he just stood there watching and listening to the old man.

  “I have forcibly fused those two stars, and I’ve waited for someone who would be rejected by every star, for someone to be able to link to this star. I’m afraid that after doing so, I have cut down the path for Chaos and Swallow cultivators. Fortunately, you were born, otherwise this old man would’ve had to wait even longer for someone to appear... Sadly, this kind of power, when fused is too strong and only a god would be able to comprehend even a modicum of it. That’s how you ended up being unable to cultivate at all. Even I have barely scratched the surface… but fear not, young man! This old man has travelled through countless realms, through countless universes, too many places to remember. And this old man got a few crazy ideas in a place called Earth.”

  The old man in front of Wu Ji really liked to laugh.

  “When I disappear, something will activate in your mind that contains all the knowledge I have, and should theoretically help you cultivate. As for exactly how it will work… well, I’ll leave it to you to figure things out. I haven’t been able to test my creation, exactly… so good luck, inheritor!”

  The old man disappeared laughing the same way he appeared. Wu Ji’s face had an ugly face.

  “What inheritor, what Chaos or Swallow! Six fucking years! Six fucking years!!!” His face grew fiercer. “If you didn’t fuck things up. I could have cultivated normally. Now, what the hell! You made me inherit a piece of shit you made that you aren’t even sure if it will work. What a freaking god, you are a trickster.” Wu Ji vented all the feelings from all these past years. He felt wronged, wronged now that he knew that it was someone else’s fault he’d been unable to cultivate.

  What Wu Ji didn’t know was that this Swallow God was the only reason he could cultivate. Actually, he’d done Wu Ji a huge favour. He originally had a mortal chaos body, but something that should have been essentially impossible to exist had happened.

  Chaos cultivated any energy, any properties. But, the pressure of that energy required a body strong enough to support it. Normally, it would have been impossible for Wu Ji to cultivate—his body would collapse as soon as he did. But thanks to the System and Wu Ji’s swallowing powers, it was made possible.

  The Chaos Myriad Star was a Primal Star, and the star was so ancient that there were no long
er any cultivators using it.

  This was because its requirements were extremely hard to fulfil, even so that descendants of Gods had given up on it. And as a Star ages, if it is not connected to cultivators, it slowly loses power, and “falls”. Luckily for Wu Ji, this had made it possible for the God to control the Swallow Myriad Star and have the “crazy” idea to fuse the Primal Star with the one he controlled. This was something that nobody, not even a God should have been able to do. The result was that the Swallow power and Chaos power were now both unavailable for cultivators to use—instead, a new power had been created, and accessible in a new Star—the one Wu Ji had connected with. As it was a new, synthetically created star, it didn’t belong to the Star.

  Hence why Wu Ji was a 0-star talent.

  Ding!

  Fusion is successful. Waste System activating.

  Name Wu Ji.

  Age: 16 years old.

  Rank: None.

  Abilities: Chaotic Swallowing.

  Chaotic Body: Zero.

  Battle Power: 100.

  Energy: 0.

  Wu Ji was stupefied. Did it work? I didn’t die? That crazy old God’s idea actually worked? Wu Ji was so excited that his body trembled. He could finally cultivate! Sure, it wasn’t “normal” cultivation, he had to rely on this weird thing fused with his soul, but oh well. He could finally strive to fulfil his dreams. The only apparent downside was that he couldn’t understand any of the menu information that had appeared in his head. It was at this moment that this...thing, showed a new notification.

  Ding!

  Detected new source of energy. Wish to Swallow or Cultivate?

  Wu Ji was truly puzzled. What was the difference between the two options? How he was supposed to select a choice? He was a little afraid. What if he messed up? Would he no longer be able to cultivate?