87: Chapter 87 concludes, another record broken.

The Star Pattern Beast was completely enraged; the star power around its body surged, and it actually condensed a layer of starlight armor on its surface.

It lowered its head and pressed its claws onto the ground, causing the entire Meteorite Valley to tremble; countless rubble, imbued with star power, rained down toward Zhang Wen like a storm.

"Good." Zhang Wen did not retreat but advanced instead; with a shake of his arms, the surrounding water vapor instantly converged into a massive water vortex.

When the incoming rubble passed through the vortex, its speed slowed abruptly, and it was layered, wrapped, and crushed by the water flow, eventually turning into powder and merging into the vortex.

The water vortex spun faster and faster, drawing even the star power in the air into it, and the pale blue water gradually became tinged with a layer of silver radiance.

Zhang Wen could clearly perceive that every wisp of star power drawn in became docile under the scouring of the water flow, becoming nutrients to nourish his water elemental power.

He took a deep breath and suddenly pushed the water vortex forward.

This water tornado, fused with star power, surged toward the leader of the Star Pattern Beast with an unstoppable force.

The moment the water tornado struck the starlight armor, the Star Pattern Beast let out a shrill, distorted roar.

The pale blue water flow, carrying silver radiance, acted like countless thin blades tempered with sharp star power, crazily surging into the gaps of the armor.

The starlight on its body dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye; the star power, which had condensed into substance, was actually "dissolved" by the water flow into tiny specks of light that seeped into its body through the wounds.

"Roar!" Its giant claws struck the water tornado in vain, only stirring up a few fleeting ripples in the water flow.

Zhang Wen controlled the water flow to tightly lock and entangle its limbs, his Mental Energy at the Late Stage accurately capturing the weakest energy pulsation at the beast's heart.

That was the source of its star power.

With a slight shift of his mind, the water tornado suddenly contracted inward!

The massive body of the Star Pattern Beast suddenly froze, a gasping sound emerging from its throat, its eyes wide open, and the last bit of starlight in its pupils quickly dissipated.

It could feel that savage water flow inside its body, heading straight for the core along its Bloodline, grinding the star essence that sustained its life into powder.

With a loud "thud," its mountain-like body collapsed to the ground, shaking Meteorite Valley and sending rubble flying.

The starlight armor on its surface completely disintegrated, turning into stardust that drifted into the sky, revealing the dark gray skin underneath, covered in fine water marks.

Those water marks spread like a spider web, each one deep enough to see the bone; they were the traces left by the repeated gathering and scattering of the water flow.

Its giant claws were still twitching slightly, but they could no longer stir up even a speck of dust.

The last trace of breath escaped from its nostrils, carrying a rich, bloody scent and the taste of shattered stars, dissipating into the dry valley wind.

Zhang Wen dispersed the water tornado and walked slowly to the side of the giant beast's corpse.

The massive body had already begun to cool, and those patterns that once flowed with starlight luster now lost all Life Qi, like faded carvings.

He reached out and pressed against the side of the giant beast's neck, clearly able to feel that the blood vessel, which had once pulsated violently, had completely fallen silent.

Only scattered stardust still floated around the corpse, but it could no longer gather into power, eventually, like fireflies scattered by the wind, slowly merging into the dust of Meteorite Valley.

After the massive body of the Star Pattern Beast fell completely silent, the tremors of Meteorite Valley gradually subsided.

Zhang Wen withdrew his stance, and the water elemental power in his body slowly receded, leaving only the gentle lingering rhythm after his Breakthrough.

He walked to the front of the giant beast's corpse and ran his fingertips over those dim star patterns; a faint wisp of star power came through his fingertips, then completely dissipated.

He took out a specially made collection talisman from his Storage Pouch and gathered the scattered meteorite fragments one by one, not even sparing the star core debris seeping out from inside the Star Pattern Beast.

After finishing all this, he turned and walked toward the Secret Realm exit—the light gate suspended at the end of the valley, which was currently emitting a soft glow.

The moment he stepped into the light gate, the timing crystal at the entrance of the Secret Realm suddenly erupted with blinding blue light.

"Ding—" A crisp prompt sound rang out in the Secret Realm Hall, and the Cultivators who were originally talking or waiting turned their heads one after another.

When they saw the numbers on the timing crystal clearly, the hall instantly quieted down.

"Meteorite Valley... A-rank Secret Realm, solo clear?" Someone rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they were seeing.

"And it only took half an hour? Wasn't the previous record one hour? This directly broke the record!"

As the discussion just began, a figure already walked out from the light gate.

Zhang Wen was dressed in plain clothes; although stained with some dust, his aura was steady and calm, exactly the appearance of someone who had just finished a battle.

The collection talisman he held in his hand was flickering with a Shimmer, clearly filled with his harvest.

The Elder in charge of registration pushed up his glasses, looking at this slightly unfamiliar face before him.

He couldn't help but ask: "This young friend, did you... challenge Meteorite Valley alone?"

"Yes." Zhang Wen nodded and handed over the collection talisman.

"Senior, these are the meteorite fragments harvested this time, handed over according to the rules."

The Elder took the collection talisman, and the moment his spiritual power probed into it, his pupils shrank violently.

The number of fragments inside far exceeded the average harvest for a solo clear, even comparable to a full harvest by a three-person team.

He quickly flipped through the registration book and soon found Zhang Wen's name—New Student registry, less than three months since enrollment.

"Hiss—" The Elder gasped, his voice even trembling, "A New Student... broke the A-rank Secret Realm record solo?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall completely exploded into an uproar.

"A New Student? Are you mistaken? Back when I was a student, I teamed up with two veterans and almost died in Meteorite Valley!"

"Looking at him, he's at most seventeen or eighteen; this strength is too terrifying..."

"The timing crystal didn't lie just now, half an hour! This isn't just clearing a stage, it's a total crush!"

Zhang Wen seemed not to hear the exclamations around him and just stood quietly in place.

The Elder quickly finished the calculation and handed him a credit token.

"The reward for breaking the record is 3,000 credits, and 127 meteorite fragments have been handed over, converted to 1,800 credits, totaling 4,800 credits, which have been deposited into your token."

Taking the token and feeling the heavy credit value inside, Zhang Wen nodded slightly: "Thank you, Senior."

When he turned to leave, countless gazes followed him, filled with shock, inquiry, and faint wariness.

No one treated him as an ordinary New Student anymore—being able to overturn a century-old A-rank Secret Realm record with his own strength was enough to make any doubters shut up.

The sunlight outside the Secret Realm Hall fell on Zhang Wen; he raised his hand and looked at his palm, where the lingering warmth of the collision between water flow and starlight seemed to remain.

This solo venture into the Secret Realm not only allowed him to reach the Late Stage, but also deepened his understanding of the Thousand Streams Merging Art by another level.

And those exclamations and discussions were nothing more than an insignificant echo on this path of cultivation.