52: A stroke of luck

Just as Jiang Lin destroyed an enemy aircraft, another Hai Star Type II came from the flank, its pulse cannon's muzzle converging with destructive light.

This time, there was no escaping.

At the critical moment, a sharp glint appeared in Jiang Lin's eyes, and he retreated instead of advancing!

The black mech's engines went full throttle, completing a magnificent turn just as it was about to collide with the Hai Star mech. Its twin swords, held in reverse grip, crossed behind him in a deadly 'X' trajectory, a no-holds-barred move of 'Heaven and Earth perish together'.

A violent explosion simultaneously engulfed both mechs.

As the flames subsided, Jiang Lin's mech was seen with its back armor extensively melted, exposing wires constantly sparking with electricity.

"Warning! Body damage rate: 67.3%"

Jiang Lin let out a long sigh of relief, but as he turned around, he saw a golden light cluster quietly emerging from the embers of the explosion.

"Did equipment drop?"

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow, quickly maneuvering his damaged mech forward. The moment his mechanical hand touched the light cluster, a data stream flowed into the mech.

"Acquired: Star Guidance Technique Fragment"

With curiosity, Jiang Lin opened his inventory to check.

The ancient scroll's phantom shimmered with starlight patterns. Although clearly marked as a fragment, the opening general outline and initial cultivation method were complete.

With Jiang Lin's profound understanding of cultivation, just a few lines sent a shockwave through his mind!

The subtlety of this cultivation method and its explanation of energy guidance efficiency far surpassed the Jiang Family's secret transmitted cultivation methods!

Jiang Lin took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled a turbid one, forcing himself to calm down.

He closed his inventory and turned to rejoin the battle.

Although Jiang Lin's mech was severely damaged, its weapon system was still functional. He pulled out a light rapid-fire laser beam rifle and provided fire support from the periphery.

Soon, all the drones were cleared by the squad.

"Brother, what good stuff dropped?" Jiang Yue asked in the squad chat channel.

"Nothing much, just a skill book."

Zhang Zhifei: "Bro, that's a golden legend! You're possessed by the European Emperor!"

Bai Xiaofei didn't say much about it, but the live stream's bullet comments completely exploded.

At this moment, a blinding explosion, brighter than a star, suddenly erupted in the direction of the distant Moon.

The silent explosion's light obscured their vision. The massive Moon Base shattered inch by inch, gradually disintegrating.

"System message: Moon Base has been destroyed. Human faction failed."

The next second, all surviving mechs were forcibly converted into data streams and teleported back to their respective personal hangars.

"Brother, let's team up for ranked matches."

"I just noticed that star sea knight has a team ranked match function. There are solo battles, ten-person battles, and even large-scale team battles with over ten thousand people."

Jiang Lin had no mind for ranked matches at this moment.

"Sister, you play by yourself for a bit. I suddenly remembered I have something to do."

"Oh, okay then."

His consciousness returned to reality. Jiang Lin took off his virtual helmet and quickly went to his desk, took out paper and pen, and with his photographic memory, quickly transcribed all the information about the "Star Guidance Technique Fragment" from his mind, word for word.

"This cultivation method is too profound, far exceeding the Jiang Family's legacy. Once cultivated, it's hard to predict whether the future holds fortune or disaster."

A trace of instinctive fear quietly crept into Jiang Lin's heart; it was the natural vigilance and apprehension towards power beyond his comprehension.

Jiang Lin's eyes suddenly became sharp.

"We cultivators must always move forward, with no retreat!"

"If an opportunity is presented before me and I dare not try it, then it's better to just give up on the path of cultivation and live a stable life as a mortal."

Thinking this, Jiang Lin no longer hesitated. He took the newly transcribed cultivation method and went to the open-air platform on the top floor of the villa.

Under the night sky, there was no one, only the moonlight for company.

According to the cultivation method's description, Jiang Lin assumed the starting stance and, at the same time, began a trial cultivation with the Star Guidance Technique's breathing method.

He was not reckless but proceeded slowly, thinking that any unforeseen accidents could be minimized.

As the cultivation deepened, Jiang Lin's mind relaxed. Everything was normal, even smoother than when he cultivated the Jiang Family's secret transmitted cultivation methods in the past.

This feeling was very peculiar. After fully experiencing the wonders of the Star Guidance Technique, the Jiang Family's secret transmitted cultivation method, which Jiang Lin had once considered a top-tier cultivation method on Blue Star, instantly became worthless garbage.

When Jiang Lin completed the first layer of the cultivation method, he felt as if the entire world had never been as clear as it was at this moment.

"It works!"

At this moment, Jiang Lin felt a layer of goosebumps on his body, and even his fine hairs stood on end.

He decisively made a second attempt. This time, he held nothing back, operating the Star Guidance Technique even more smoothly.

As the cultivation deepened, Jiang Lin suddenly felt the air around him become viscous, as if every movement required all his strength to barely complete.

The energy within his body was being frantically drained. Jiang Lin immediately stabilized his breathing and stopped cultivating.

Even so, the pervasive sense of emptiness made his vision go black, and he almost collapsed to the ground.

He was not overly panicked; as a cultivator, he naturally knew that these were symptoms of depleted qi and blood.

"This cultivation method is too overbearing; its cultivation speed is about eight times faster than the Jiang Family's secret transmitted cultivation method!"

"It seems I must take qi-replenishing pills before cultivating next time."

Jiang Lin quickly returned to his room, took a Qi Cultivating Pill, a family-issued pill for replenishing vitality, from the safe, and swallowed it.

The pill melted upon entry, and a gentle medicinal power spread throughout his body, nourishing his parched meridians.

After a long while, the terrifying weakness slowly receded, replaced by an indescribable lightness.

It was as if a heavy shackles he had carried for over twenty years had been removed, his body and mind were fully released, and his perception of the surrounding environment became even more acute.

Suddenly.

A trace of fear flashed in Jiang Lin's eyes.

Although this cultivation method was real, its origin was terrifying upon deeper thought.

His mind had been clouded by greed just now, and he hadn't considered this connection.

"star sea knight is just a game, so why would it drop a top-tier cultivation method like the Star Guidance Technique?"

Jiang Lin propped his chin, pondering deeply. Suddenly, a flash of lightning, an extremely absurd idea, appeared in his mind.

Things from the game could be applied in reality, which reminded him of a web novel he had once read.

The protagonist in the book was a Blue Star native who transmigrated to another world and obtained a 'Lord System.' This system had a very special ability: it could create a batch of puppets and guide the consciousness of Blue Star people into the other world.

These guided Blue Star people thought they were playing an extremely realistic full-virtual online game called 'Lord's Dominion.'

These players, brought in in batches, helped the protagonist's territory with pioneering, farming, building cities, training armies, conquering all directions, and eventually unifying the entire continent.

They sweated and bled, yet they enjoyed it immensely, because the sense of experience and accomplishment that 'Lord's Dominion' brought them was unparalleled.

Although the players unknowingly worked for free for the protagonist, it was actually a mutually beneficial win-win situation.

Blue Star civilization also developed rapidly because it gained black technology from the other world.

Thinking this, Jiang Lin's body suddenly trembled.