The sky of the Blue Academy has always been clear and light blue and white, with little rain. The bright sun shines on the campus, and boys and girls in sky-blue student uniforms walk through and laugh. On the still immature face, there is a smile of youth and hope. For them, this world is full of magic and beauty, waiting for them to discover and explore.

But for Ye Xing, his world has collapsed from today. Ye Xing walked aimlessly, not knowing where to go. Everything here seemed to have become strange, and it vaguely repelled him.

As he walked, Ye Xing stopped and looked at the blacksmith shop in front of him. Listening to the heavy and loud sound of striking iron inside, he stood outside the door, motionless and speechless.

"Stinky boy, what are you doing outside, don't come in to work yet!" Old Man Hong's iron-like voice came from the shop. Ye Xing hesitated, but pushed the door and walked in.

As soon as he entered the shop, Ye Xing saw a wooden box on the ground, which was cluttered with various forms of star staffs. Old man Hong smashed his hammer on the red-colored iron embryo, bursting out a puff of sparks, he stopped and pointed to the box on the ground, and said, "Send this batch of star scepters to the third-grade teaching office." ”

He continued: "By the way, I heard that you were injured in the Astrological Tower? If you succeed, I'll allow you to pick a star scepter at a 60% discount, and if you don't, wait until next time. ”

Ye Xing just stood in place, lowered his head, and didn't speak.

Old man Hong sensed that something was wrong with him, frowned, and said while pounding the iron embryo hard: "What's wrong? If it doesn't work, it won't work, it's been three years, what's the hurry?"

Ye Xing said in a low tone: "I communicated with a meteorite. ”

"What?" Old Man Hong stopped in the air with the hammer he had just swung, his eyes widened, he looked at Ye Xing in disbelief, the hammer in his hand also forgot to move, and hurriedly asked, "Are you sure it's a meteorite?"

Ye Xing nodded and said, "It's confirmed, it's a meteorite." Then he stopped talking.

Old man Hong was also speechless for a while and fell silent. After a while, he dropped the hammer and didn't raise it again, glanced at Ye Xing with complicated eyes, and sighed: "It's okay, feel at ease to learn some skills from me." With your second-level perception, you can handle a lot of materials. ”

Ye Xing silently picked up the wooden box containing the star scepter and said, "I'm going to deliver the star scepter." And he went out. In the blacksmith's shop, there was another sound of striking iron, one after another, but it could not hide the sigh.

Ye Xing walked into the teaching building with the box, went up to the third floor, and went straight to the end. In front of a door marked with the teaching room, Ye Xing put down the wooden box first and knocked on the door.

"Come in. A deep, deep voice came from within. Ye Xing pushed open the door, picked up the wooden box, and walked into the door.

After entering the door, Ye Xing saw a middle-aged man talking with an old man in front of the window in the teaching room. The middle-aged man was wearing a black star-patterned robe, with a moderate physique, and a square face implying majesty, it was Yan Zong, the third-grade star cultivation instructor. The old man on the side was wearing a water-blue robe, his beard was white, his old face was full of wrinkles, but he was full of kindness, and his eyes were clear and penetrating people's hearts.

Seeing the old man's appearance, Ye Xing couldn't help but shout first: "Dean." "The old man is none other than Gu Qian, the dean of the Azure Academy. He hurriedly saluted Yan Zong: "Master Yan." ”

The two looked at him together, the former amiable, the latter stern. He hugged the wooden box a little nervously and said, "Elder Hong asked me to send this batch of star scepters. ”

Yan Zong nodded, and said in a deep tone, "Put it in front of my desk." Ye Xing nodded, walked to the table inside, and put down the wooden box lightly.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard Dean Gu Qian say like a breeze: "Ye Xing, I heard that you were injured in the astrological tower to perceive the life star, is it okay?"

Ye Xing was taken aback, and hurriedly replied, "Thank you for your concern, I have recovered." ”

Gu Qian nodded, and said in a harmonious voice: "It's okay, have you succeeded in communicating with the life star this time?"

Hearing this, Ye Xing's face turned red with shame, and he lowered his head and said, "I'm communicating with a falling star. ”

There was a sudden silence in the academic office. After a while, Gu Qian said gently: "It's okay, there is no endless road, you can also learn a lot from following Elder Hong." Yan Zong shook his head and did not speak.

"Yes, thank you, Dean. I went out first. Ye Xing bowed to Gu Qian and Yan Zong, turned around and went out.

In the teaching room, Gu Qian suddenly sighed and said, "It's been three years, it's actually such a result, pity that kid." ”

"Fate is merciless. Yan Zong shook his head and said.

Gu Qian didn't discuss it any further, he walked to the wooden box that Ye Xing had moved, picked up a star scepter with a blue scepter, looked at it with interest, and said with a smile: "Old man Hong's technique of refining low-grade star scepters is still as good as ever, the quality is good and the quantity is more. Without his blacksmith shop, most of the primary stars on our Blue Mercury would have no scepter, and we would have to go to the alien to buy it. ”

"It's a pity that he can only refine low-grade star staffs. Yan Zong said regretfully.

Gu Qian put down the star scepter in his hand, walked to the window, looked at the southeast corner of the academy, and said, "The star weapon he refined before, even I can't afford to buy one. Yan Zong looked at Gu Qian in shock and wondered, "Who is Old Man Hong?"

Gu Qian shook his head and said in a low voice, "Don't say it." It's all gone anyway. In the end, Gu Qian couldn't help but sigh.

Yan Zong didn't ask any more, and instead said: "There are indeed unusual movements on the Star Lord's Mansion, the stewards in the Mansion have purchased a lot of sundries in the past few days, and the guards in the Mansion have also gathered in the military drill ground, training all day long, as if there is a big move. ”

Gu Qian nodded and said, "It seems that Tan Zhou's news is true, and the Star Lord's Mansion has indeed discovered a secret realm." ”

"Tan Zhou found through the star map of the astrological tower that there is a place in the northwest of Blue Mercury, and the star power is extremely active, which should be the entrance to the secret realm. Are we going?" Yan Zong looked at Gu Qian and asked.

Gu Qian smiled: "Of course you have to go! Everyone has a share in the wealth of the ownerless space." ”

Yan Zong said with some apprehension: "I always feel that there is something wrong here, and this news is too simple to leak. ”

"Don't think about this," Gu Qian sighed and said, "The Star Officer Refining is about to begin, and we must strive for more resources for the students in order to have any hope of getting the rankings." ”

Yan Zong heard the four words of Star Official Refining, nodded, and didn't say anything more.

"Pick fifty third-graders and set off tomorrow. Gu Qian thought for a while, and added: "Go and pass the news to the four families." ”

"Okay, I'll go. Yan Zong then left.

Ye Xing walked out of the teaching room and exhaled. It was still very stressful to face the Yan Master, who was known for his strictness, and he was not as amiable as the dean, Ye Xing thought.

He descended to the second floor, where he met a familiar face at the top of the stairs. Ye Xing subconsciously asked, "Hello Master Tan!"

Tan Zhou was slightly surprised, then looked at Ye Xing, his face softened, and said: "Su Lingyu has told me about you, I hope you can stabilize your mentality as soon as possible, and life will go on." ”

Ye Xingqiang smiled: "Thank you, Teacher Tan, I will adjust myself." Tan Zhou patted him on the shoulder and walked towards the third floor.

Back at the blacksmith shop, Ye Xing found that Old Man Hong was packing up all kinds of tools and putting them into a wooden box, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Old man, are you going to go out?"

When Old Man Hong saw him coming, he squinted his eyes and smiled, "What's the matter?"

"Think!" Ye Xing blurted out.

"Stinky boy!" Old Man Hong scolded with a smile, "Look at your depressed appearance, just go out and see what you want." ”

Cheering up, Ye Xing asked, "Where are we going?"

"Not only us, but also the fifty third-year students of the academy, Gu Qian personally led the team. ”

Ye Xing's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "The deans are all gone, such a big battle!"

Old man Hong said twice, "The people from the Star Lord's Mansion have discovered a secret realm, and there may be good things in it. ”

"Wouldn't there be danger inside?"

"What's the matter?," Old Man Hong sneered.

Ye Xing straightened his chest, "What am I afraid of?"

Old man Hong chuckled twice, then his face turned grim, and he said to Ye Xing, "Go and close the door." Ye Xing was stunned by this sudden seriousness, but he still went to close the door of the shop.

When he walked back, he saw Old Man Hong standing by the furnace, and a pile of materials were placed next to it: a piece of silver metal the size of a millstone, two half-foot-long needles with a pale blue glow, two pure and transparent flake crystals, and two deep black gems the size of pigeon's eggs, which had been polished into perfect spheres.

Ye Xing stared at the two gems and couldn't help asking, "This is the kind of gem in the dome of the astrological tower?"

Old man Hong looked at him and laughed twice, "The eyesight is good, the second-level perception is still a little useful." After speaking, he raised his right hand, palm facing the mouth of the furnace. I saw a fiery red light coming out of Old Man Hong's palm, like a burning flame, and the temperature in the blacksmith shop rose suddenly.

Old Man Hong gently stepped forward with his palm, and threw the flame of light into the refining furnace, and a three-foot-high crimson flame immediately rose from the furnace. Ye Xing was busy staying away from the refining furnace for a distance, watching Old Man Hong's performance intently.

After the furnace fire was lit, Old Man Hong immediately threw the piece of silver metal into the refining furnace. The silver metal had been scorched in the extremely hot furnace fire for a long time, but it did not move, and Ye Xing couldn't help but wonder if the furnace fire could refine this strange metal. Immediately, he realized that his worries were unnecessary. In the crimson flames, the silver metal gradually deformed and showed signs of melting.

Half an hour later, the silver metal, which was much harder than gold and iron, softened like wet mud and melted into a ball. Old Man Hong slashed his palm into the air, and a sword-like flame pierced through the metal, cutting it in half. Old man Hong stretched out his hands and manipulated the flames in the furnace in the air, and the two balls of silver metal cut into were shaped.

Soon, two disc-shaped objects took shape. There is no need to use a large amount of water to cool the embryo like an ordinary refiner, only the furnace fire is extinguished, the high temperature recedes, and the two discs will automatically solidify, returning to the original hard and stable state. Two silver discs flew out of the refining furnace and hung in front of Old Man Hong.

The two discs are exactly the same size and shape, as if they were printed in one mold. The disc has a shallow concave circle that occupies three-quarters of the disc, and there is a spherical groove in the center of the shallow pool.

Old man Hong burst into flames with both hands, holding two discs each. The star power in his hand slowly poured into the disc like a trickle, and at the same time, a powerful sense penetrated. With the aid of perception, the internal structure of the disc was clearly visible in Hong Lao's mind. He immediately controlled the star power, outlining mysterious and complex patterns in the disk.

This process lasted for three hours, and Ye Xing couldn't see the craftsmanship inside the silver plate, only to see beads of sweat oozing from Old Man Hong's forehead. The last line was completed, and Old Man Hong breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew his star power.

The otherwise unremarkable silver disc now flickered with a little light, leaking out from its inside. Old man Hong took out a dark cyan seal pen out of nowhere, the main body was wooden, and the end of the pen was a silver-white quadrangular metal sheet.

He held a disc in his left hand and a pen in his right, and his star power surged, and the tip of the pen shone with light. Old man Hong put down his pen without hesitation, and quickly carved intricate ornaments on the disc. Soon the disc was finished, and he immediately picked up another disc and made the same engraving. Its proficiency is as if it has been practiced thousands of times.

Old man Hong embedded the deep black gem into the groove in the center of the disc and melted it with star power, then placed a thin light blue needle across the gem, and the thin needle actually suspended out of thin air, maintaining a stable distance from the gem, and finally, the transparent crystal covered it, just fitting into the shallow pool of the disk. After the assembly was completed, two compass-shaped artifacts appeared in front of Ye Xing's eyes.

"It's finished, it's been a long time, and it's a little raw. Old man Hong wiped a handful of sweat, looked at the silver compass in front of him and smiled.

"What is this?" Ye Xing looked curiously at the two compasses with delicate shapes and mysterious ornamentation. He tried to cast his senses in, only to find that his senses were blocked, and the silver metal and clear crystals seemed to have the effect of blocking perceptions.

Old Man Hong noticed his attempt, smiled, and said, "No need to try, pure perception cannot penetrate the astrological compass, and it requires star power to activate." ”

Hearing the need to use star power, Ye Xing gave up the attempt in frustration and asked suspiciously: "Astrological compass." After a moment of thought, he asked, "What does it have to do with the astrological tower?"

Old man Hong glanced at him and said, "The astrological compass is a simplified version of the astrological tower. ”

"Simplify?" Ye Xing was stunned by these two words.

"Simplification means that the astrological compass can also allow the perception of the astrological apprentice to enter the astral realm, of course, that kind of astrolabe is more advanced, and it also requires more materials and complex rituals. These two pieces are low-grade goods that are refined by hand, and they only have two functions: to identify the direction and scan the surrounding units with star power within thousands of miles. ”

As he spoke, Old Man Hong picked up an astrological compass and injected star power into it, and the astrological compass immediately shimmered like a little star, and the gem embedded in the center shone brightly, but most of the light was blocked under the transparent crystal flakes and did not leak out.

Old man Hong handed the glowing compass to Ye Xing, "Now you can use your perception to view." ”

Ye Xing curiously took the compass and put his perception into it. A flat star map suddenly appeared in his mind, and there were many points of light scattered throughout the map, varying in size, brightness, position, and color.

"The silver dot is where the compass is located, the white dot is the nearby star repair, and the blue dot is the astrological tower. Old man Hong's voice came from the side.

Ye Xing really saw that there was a silver dot in the center of the star map, and there were hundreds of white dots of almost the same size and brightness scattered nearby, mixed with two or three slightly larger and brighter white dots. There is a large, bright blue dot a little north of the silver point, which is supposed to be where the astrological tower is located.

Ye Xing looked at the light spots on the star map again, and couldn't help but ask with some confusion: "Old man, this number is not right, the current star cultivation of the academy is not so small, I remember that there are more than five hundred people in the second and third grades combined." There are also points of light that represent the strong. ”

"The group of imps in the second grade have just condensed the star species, and their star power is still too weak to be included in the scope of the astrological chart. If the star power is not released, the compass will not be displayed. Hehe, it seems that some students don't practice seriously. Old man Hong laughed.

Ye Xing scanned the star map in his mind with great interest, trying to discover some new, bigger and brighter points of light. However, the changes in the star chart are very small, most of them are small snow spots representing star officials, and there are very few light spots symbolizing large and small star officials.

Suddenly, he noticed that at the edge of the cluster of light spots in the academy area, two spots of light suddenly moved away and headed out of the academy. The two points of light stopped in a north-western place, and almost at the same time, two larger, slightly brighter spots lit up in the same place. Soon after, the two points of light disappeared from the map, and the original two points of light returned to the academy the same way.

Ye Xing was a little surprised. Are those two little star officials? or are they big star officials? are they the elders of those two students? There are only a handful of families with star officials on Blue Mercury, and Ye Xing couldn't help but flash a few surnames in his mind. He didn't pay too much attention to it, retracted his perception, put down the astrological compass, and exclaimed, "It's amazing." ”

"Alright, stop playing, go rest, tomorrow's adventure will not be as easy as you imagined. Old man Hong put away the astrological compass and walked to the inner room.

Ye Xing also returned to his room and lay on the bed. After experiencing the ups and downs of his mood, Ye Xing was exhausted and fell asleep quickly. In the dream, he dreamed that he communicated with the stars, condensed the stars, had star power, and traveled in the stars.