The True Explanation of the Celestial Pivot Star Canon

Gu Changyuan closed his eyes and raised his longsword. The Milky Way above began to meander with his movement.

"The True Interpretation of the Celestial Pivot Star Canon" was the supreme technique that Xing Zixu had poured his entire life’s work into.

It consisted of seven decrees, and it was not only the ultimate expression of the path of the stars but also merged multiple supreme laws such as causality, time, and space.

“'The True Interpretation of the Celestial Pivot Star Canon'?”

Xing Pojun’s voice carried a hint of uncertainty, mixed with a trace of disbelief.

As one of the seven founding ancestors of the Star Clan, as the Ancestor of Conquest who had fought alongside Xing Zixu for countless years, he was certainly no stranger to the technique.

At this moment, he sensed the same aura radiating from Gu Changyuan.

The cold, hard curve of Xing Pojun’s mouth widened slightly.

It was not mockery——it was anticipation.

Just as the force of his fist was about to touch Gu Changyuan’s brow——

Gu Changyuan opened his eyes.

Within the galaxy, seven core stars lit up one after another.

“First Decree——Fix the Orbit.”

Using the tip of Gu Changyuan’s sword as the starting point, the seven dark stars surrounding Xing Pojun as nodes, and the entire sea of stars as the boundary, he wove a vast star-orbit network covering thousands of feet in every direction.

Xing Pojun felt it.

It was not the feeling of being attacked, nor the feeling of being locked onto. It was something more subtle, more concealed, and far harder to guard against.

Every step he took had been predefined.

He only felt that no matter which direction he moved, it was like walking through a river channel that had been dug out in advance.

But Xing Pojun was no ordinary man.

He was the Ancestor of Conquest, the most battle-hardened and perceptive of the seven founding ancestors of the Star Clan when it came to the battlefield.

The moment “Fix the Orbit” took effect, he sensed something wrong——not through perception, but through its violation of common sense.

He silently calculated three possible offensive routes he might take next, then tried to deviate from one of them, moving toward a completely different angle.

His body moved as he willed.

Yet his movement trajectory ended up coinciding with one of the three routes he had just calculated.

It was not that he had actively chosen that route——but that route “just happened” to be the direction his body moved in.

His will had not changed. His intent had not changed. He had explicitly wanted to deviate from that route.

But even the new route he took after deviating had already been written into Gu Changyuan’s star-orbit network as one of the preset paths.

It was not about “forcing” him to take a certain path——it was that every path he could possibly take had already been drawn in advance.

No matter what he chose, he remained in Gu Changyuan's orbit.

Xing Pojun’s gaze grew sharper.

He was now fully certain that the other party’s comprehension of the True Interpretation of the Celestial Pivot Star Canon was not “just scratching the surface,” nor “having achieved some minor success,” but had already touched the core of the First Decree.

Somehow, a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

A grin curved at the corner of Xing Pojun’s mouth.

“Seven Killings·Slaughter.”

With a low shout, the fifth of the seven dark stars suddenly blazed to life.

That star representing “Slaughter” shifted from a dim red to a blood-red, then from blood-red to a piercing scarlet.

A blood-colored beam shot out from the dark star, straight toward Gu Changyuan.

“Second Decree——Fix the Order.”

The beam vanished three feet away from Gu Changyuan.

The Second Decree of the True Interpretation: Fix the Order. All things have a sequence. Fix the order, and you fix cause and effect.

It changes the order of occurrence: whether the cause comes before the effect, or the effect before the cause, can be swapped under the definition of this decree.

If an enemy swings a sword, one can define “the sword strikes first, then the hand moves.”

Thus, a seemingly unavoidable strike becomes a case of being wounded first and attacking afterward——cause and effect are reversed, and the power crumbles.

Seeing this, Xing Pojun’s battle intent surged.

“Excellent!”

The seven dark stars around him accelerated their rotation, their dim red glow growing denser.

Seven forms of star-killing energy began to merge under his will.

Come on. Let me see how much of your “True Interpretation of the Celestial Pivot Star Canon” you have truly mastered.

Gu Changyuan’s gaze fell upon those seven coalescing blood-colored pillars, upon the dark red killing energy surging around Xing Pojun, upon the seven dark stars slowly spinning.

He swung his longsword, its tip tracing a perfect arc in the void. The Milky Way meandered and flowed above the Star Clan’s secret realm in response to his movement.

Mighty star power surged in the sky, drawing countless Star Clan members to look up.

The oppressive pressure emanating from the starry sky, even from a distance, made every Star Clan member’s blood faintly tingle.

It was a battle between ancestral-level beings.

The tip of Gu Changyuan’s sword halted at the end of the arc. The patterns on the blade suddenly changed color at that moment.

“Fourth Decree——Fix Time.”

Those seven blood-colored beams shot forward at an unimaginable speed. They emerged from the seven dark stars, pierced through the void, and sped straight toward Gu Changyuan.

But the moment they drew close to him, they slowed down abruptly——then froze.

“Third Decree——Fix Position.”

Xing Pojun only felt the space behind him become rigid.

His “position” had been locked.

No matter which direction he moved, no matter what method of teleportation he used, his spatial coordinate would not change.

Gu Changyuan’s figure vanished from in front of Xing Pojun, and the next instant reappeared behind him.

“Final Decree——Fix the Path.”

When Gu Changyuan uttered the words "Final Decree," the river of stars above gave a violent tremor.

Then, it descended.

The entire Milky Way descended from above the sea of stars, merging with the sword intent of Gu Changyuan's longsword.

He swung his longsword with his right hand, slashing fiercely toward Xing Pojun.

The Milky Way followed his movement, crashing down with overwhelming force.

A genuine smile formed at the corner of Xing Pojun’s mouth.

He did not dodge.

He swung his right hand, his movements crisp and decisive, without a hint of hesitation.

In that instant, the seven dark stars blazed brightly as he swung his hand. The dim red light surged from the dark stars like seven blood-colored waterfalls, converging into the palm of his right hand.

His right fist punched upward, meeting the descending river of stars.

The moment the two supreme forces collided, they did not explode, nor did they scatter——

They annihilated.

Gu Changyuan’s “Fix the Path” defined all things. Xing Pojun’s “Conquest” negated all things.

The shockwave spread outward in all directions from the point of impact. Even protected by the clan’s defensive formation, the Star Clan members still felt the fierce blast of wind rushing at their faces.

The light faded.

Above the sea of stars, the two figures still hovered in their respective positions, the distance between them nearly unchanged from before the clash.

Xing Pojun looked down at his body.

On the chest of his black armor, a long crack had appeared.

On the surface of his fist, there were a few shallow sword marks.

Superficial wounds.

To him, damage of this level didn’t even count as “injury.”

“Excellent!”

He spoke another “excellent” word.

But this time, that “excellent” was different from all those that had come before.

The first “excellent” had been recognition: you are worth my serious effort.

The second “excellent” had been satisfaction: your strength has exceeded my expectations.

And this time, “excellent” meant acceptance.

You are the one we have been looking for.