Among all things under the heavens and all stars above, all can move, except the one – the Purple Imperial Star!
Once the Purple Imperial Star moves, heaven and earth collide!
Yet, one day, the immobile Purple Imperial Star from ancient times, disappeared……
In the Star Continent, those who cultivate stars are respected. Those called star cultivators are the ones who try to understand stars, absorbing the energy they radiate to enhance their own bodies.
On this vast land, there are countless sects and families. Everyone strives to become a star cultivator, but it's definitely easier said than done…...
"Brother, Brother!"
A girl's anguished cry echoed in Qin Star's mind, startling him awake. He sat up on the bed, panting heavily, his body soaked in sweat.
"This dream again!" Qin Star groaned, rubbing his brows as he muttered to himself, "Used to be once a year, now it's once a month. What does this dream mean? Do I have a little sister? But dad said that my real parents died soon after my birth, and he took me back to the Qin family. I can't possibly have a sister!"
"Big brother, big brother, time to get up!"
Right then, the door was pushed open with a bang, a beam of sunlight shone on Qin Star's face, causing him to instinctively shield the birthmark on his brow - a violet mark about the size of a copper coin that strangely resembled a blot of saliva.
A small silhouette dashed in like a gust of wind, grabbing Qin Star's arm, saying, "Big brother, hurry up, it's time to leave!"
Seeing the chubby and adorable little boy, a trace of indulgence appeared on Qin Star's face. This is Qin Yang, his younger brother!
Qin Star reached out and gave the little boy's nose a gentle tap, saying, "I know, tell dad I'll be out after I freshen up."
"Okay, but be quick about it!"
With that, Qin Yang let go of his grip and dashed back out like a gust of wind.
Watching Qin Yang's silhouette disappear, Qin Xing helplessly chuckled. But his laugh was short-lived, replaced by a look full of worry. He murmured, "Can it really succeed this time?"
After a quick wash, Qin Xing stepped out of his room. As he passed by the Qin family martial arts training ground, a significant number of young family members were already congregated. Some were sitting cross-legged with eyes closed in meditation while others were breathing deeply with a long breath.
The Qin family, though not the strongest among cultivator families, definitely had its stature. With nearly a thousand clan members and close to a hundred youngsters under the age of twenty, they represented the future of the Qin family.
Qin Xing lowered his head and quickened his pace, wanting to cross the training ground quickly. But a few youngsters had already spotted him and their faces twisted into expressions of mockery and disdain.
"Well, isn't this our second young master? It's rare to see you at the training ground. Have you started sensing star qi and plan to cultivate with us?"
One of the youngsters, the same age as Qin Xing, stepped in front of him, blocking his path, and jeered, "Who doesn’t know our second young master can't even sense star qi. What an unusually useless body, haha!"
His name was Qin Fei, Qin Xing's cousin, and quite possibly the one in the entire Qin family who looked down on Qin Xing the most.
"I really don't know what the family head was thinking. If you were to take in a child, at least take in a genius. But we ended up with a dud! Fifteen years of wasting so many resources on him, to no avail. He's been dragging the whole Qin family down. I bet we will have to give up our position in the next alliance leader election!"
Qin Fei and the other youngsters' disrespectful words clearly resonated in Qin Xing's ears. But he seemed to not hear them at all. Lowering his head, he hurriedly bypassed Qin Fei, finally crossed the training ground, leaving only laughter behind him.
Qin Xing was the second son of the family head, Qin Xunah, who was fifteen. However, he was not his biological son but an adopted one. Even still, Qin Xunah treated him as his own, with great love and care.
But what Qin Xunah didn't expect was that Qin Xing was inherently unable to sense any star qi. This meant that he had no chance of ever becoming a Star Cultivator. In a world where Star Cultivators' strength was revered, the inability to become one meant a lifetime of mediocrity.
Over the years, as Qin Fei and others mentioned, Qin Xunah had spent a great deal of wealth and resources trying to help Qin Xing become a Star Cultivator, but to no avail.
As the family head, Qin Xunah used family wealth to help Qin Xing for more than a decade. Naturally, this caused much dissatisfaction among the Qin family. They didn't dare to confront the family head, so they directed their anger towards Qin Xing.
Especially Qin Fei's father and a group of others who openly mocked and insulted Qin Xing. Add to this the ugly purple birthmark on his face, which had caused him much embarrassment in the family. It was so bad that even the children didn't want to play with him. Apart from his third brother, Qin Yang, he didn't have any friends to speak of.
Although Qin Xing was born unable to cultivate, he was no stranger to the ways of the world. Instead, years of unfair treatment had made his nature exceptionally resilient. As for these idle gossips, he chose to suffer in silence.
However, neither he nor Qin Xunan had ever given up hope. This time, it was the last hope for both father and son.
Qin Xing arrived at the hall of the Qin residence, and from a distance, he saw a sturdy figure standing there, who was none other than his father, Qin Xunan.
"Father!"
Qin Xing trotted up, standing in front of Qin Xunan, respectfully bowed to his father. This man may not be his biological father, but he was more caring to him than his real father.
"Xing'er, you're here!"
A smile appeared on Qin Xunan's rugged face, and he gently raised Qin Xing with a soft force.
"Mm."
Seeing the faintly graying temples of Qin Xunan, Qin Xing's nose twitched. He quickly bowed his head, knowing that his father, in his prime and an Eight-Star Knight, wouldn't have showed his age so soon if not for worry about him.
"Xing'er, it will take at least half a month to reach Zhenxing Sect. We should start now."
Qin Xunan pat Qin Xing on the shoulder with a smile and took the lead in striding forward.
Outside the Qin's mansion, many clan members had gathered to see Qin Xunan and Qin Xing off, their faces bearing somewhat unnatural expressions.
Because they all knew that this trip to Zhenxing Sect by the head of the family alone with Qin Xing, was in the hope that the Sect Master of Zhenxing, Master Changfeng, might assist, perhaps enabling Qin Xing to begin his journey as a Starmender.
On the continent of Tianxing, countless families and sects strive for survival. To survive, they need sufficient power, for which various small factions join alliances. The Qin family, being a cultivation family, formed an alliance with nine other families, thus becoming the ten-family alliance. The leader of this alliance was Qin Xunan.
If the ten-family alliance is the hegemon in the radius of a thousand miles, then Zhenxing Sect is the hegemon in the radius of tens of thousands of miles.
Naturally, compared to the Sect Master of Zhenxing, Qin Xunan far lags behind in both status and cultivation.
In theory, the Qin family couldn't possibly be connected to Zhenxing Sect. However, many years ago, the old head of the Qin family, Qin Xunan's father, saved Changfeng's life by chance, therefore he promised that if the Qin family ever needed help, he would not hesitate to help.
"Xing'er, heaven is indeed kind. The Grand Star Gazing ceremony is in two months, and Master Changfeng, who has been in seclusion for ten years, happens to come out at this time. This implies that everything is going in our favor. This time, your problem will definitely be solved!"
Looking at his jovial father, a smile filled Qin Xing's face. However, in his heart, he couldn't help but silently say, "This time, can I really embark on the path of a Starmender?"
