The Villain Is Too Popular

Boom!

In a single training room within the Ember Organization.

Tendo casually tossed the black orb in his hand, sending it crashing into a specially designed, self-repairing super-alloy test column nearby.

The black orb, the size of a ping-pong ball, emitted a piercing metallic tearing sound the moment it made contact with the super-alloy test column.

That sharp, grating sound, like the wail of a giant beast, shattered the tranquility of the training room.

And this super-alloy test column, capable of withstanding attacks from even Level 2 Star Envoys, was now dented with a five-meter-diameter spiderweb-like indentation by Tendo.

Not only that, but the rapidly spinning black orb, after embedding itself into the super-alloy test column, maintained its astonishing rotational speed, continuously tearing at the column's body.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...

The high temperatures generated by the intense friction directly caused some of the metal at the center of the indentation to liquefy into glowing red molten iron. Within the surrounding white steam, numerous dazzling sparks flickered.

When the smoke dissipated and the sparks vanished, a five-meter-diameter, three-meter-deep conical crater was prominently revealed in the very center of the test column.

"So... I can only reach a maximum of ten times the rotation speed right now?"

Tendo looked at the power unleashed by his 'black orb,' already having a rough judgment of the attack's effectiveness in his mind. However, compared to his subjective guess, Tendo trusted Caroline's objective data analysis more.

"Caroline, how was it? Did you record the Star Energy values of that last strike?"

Hearing Tendo's words, Caroline, who was analyzing data on a tablet, looked up. "Star Energy reading 1900. Impact force equivalent to a Level 2 Novice." Caroline's cat tail curled around the tactical tablet, and streams of data flickered like a waterfall in her emerald pupils. "But your energy utilization rate is only 95%, meaning this is pretty much your current limit."

"Tendo, I personally believe you can stop here for now. After all, that 5% utilization rate isn't worth you spending a lot of time improving; the gain is too low."

"Only nineteen hundred?"

Hearing Caroline's answer, Tendo's face showed clear disappointment.

One thousand Star Energy points was the minimum Star Energy standard set by the Star Envoy Association to differentiate between Level 1 and Level 2 Star Envoys. Therefore, any technique that could exceed this value could be classified as Level 2.

However, the so-called Star Energy value was only one standard for measuring a Star Envoy's strength. Most of the time, depending on different Star Essences and Star Energy Arts, the vast majority of Star Envoys could unleash attacks with power multiple times their base Star Energy value.

Thus, the Star Energy value was only for reference and couldn't truly represent a Star Envoy's full strength.

And if viewed purely by base Star Energy value, Tendo, having reached '200 Star Energy points' after obtaining the 'Vector Control' Star Essence, was already a bona fide Level 1 Star Envoy. But this was still far from enough for him. Because his future opponents were not simply one or two Level 1 Star Envoys. It was a group of Level 1 Star Envoys, plus an experienced Level 2 Star Envoy.

Therefore, even though Tendo had optimized his 'Star Energy Art: Azure' to its current extreme, and combined it into a completely new composite technique... 'Dark Azure,' Tendo still felt it wasn't enough.

Because he needed the power of the 'Dark Azure' technique to reach at least the '8000 Star Energy point' level to have over an eighty percent chance of completing his plan. Otherwise, he might very well end up like a clown, casually kicked to death like a stray dog on the side of the road.

[Star Energy Art · Dark Azure]

[Effect: Utilizes the control, observation, and manipulation of star energy flow from one's 'Stellar Eclipse Eye,' combined with 'Vector Control' to accelerate the rotation speed of star energy, thereby greatly enhancing the power of 'Star Energy Orb.' Current maximum rotation (10 times).]

'Dark Azure' was a new technique Tendo developed after obtaining the 'Vector Control' Star Essence, combining it with his previous 'Star Energy Art: Azure.' The principle of this technique wasn't actually complex, similar to the 'Rasengan' from Naruto in his previous life.

Its usage involved concentrating star energy in the hand, then simultaneously compressing this star energy while making it flow continuously in irregular directions, ultimately forming an unaligned star energy orb of a certain volume.

Before obtaining the Vector Control Star Essence, Tendo's 'Star Energy Art: Azure' could only reach a maximum rotation of 'three times.' But with the Vector Control Star Essence, Tendo could increase the 'Star Energy Orb's' rotation to 'ten times.' And this was far from the limit of 'Dark Azure'; it was merely Tendo's limit. Because, theoretically speaking, the power of 'Dark Azure' is actually limitless. After all, the faster 'Dark Azure' rotates and the more star energy it compresses, the stronger its power naturally becomes, eventually achieving terrifying effects similar to a 'small black hole.' Therefore, saying 'Dark Azure' is limitless isn't just talk; it has concrete theoretical backing.

It's worth mentioning that while the principle of the 'Dark Azure' art is simple, others lack the 'Stellar Eclipse Eye,' a special ocular technique that allows for clear observation of star energy flow and precise star energy manipulation by its wielder. 

This means that even if they clearly understood the principle of this art, they still couldn't learn it, making it Tendo's publicly exclusive art.

But no matter how much potential 'Dark Azure' held for the future, limited by Tendo's current physical condition, 'ten times rotation' was already his maximum. If he wanted to break through this bottleneck and continue to increase the power of 'Dark Azure,' he either needed to further increase his base Star Energy value or further develop the 'Vector Control' Star Essence's proficiency. But neither of these things was easy to improve...

Thinking this, Tendo immediately looked at his attribute panel.

[Name: Tendo Simei (Ember Organization · Child of Stars)]

[Age: 12]

[Star Essence: Vector Control (10%)]

[Star Core: Stellar Eclipse Eye (Compatibility 100%)]

[Star Energy Value: 200]

[Attributes: Strength S, Agility S, Spirit S, Constitution S]

[Skills: Star Energy Control (Master), Shunpo (Master), Star Beast Knowledge Encyclopedia (Expert)...]

[Current Popularity Value: 150,000]

[Loaned Popularity Value: 1,000,000 (Reached Limit)]

Looking at his attribute panel, Tendo couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

'Only this much Star Energy value increased in three days?'

'At this rate, if I can't quickly acquire that special item that aids in Star Energy cultivation, it will be hard for me to reach the limit of a Level 1 Star Envoy, over 900 points, within six months.'

'You know, that guy from the Four Great Families isn't just any ordinary Level 2 Star Envoy. If I don't have over 900 points of maximum Star Energy, forget about taking that guy down with me, I might not even be able to injure him.'

'No, I must find a way to accelerate my popularity gain and acquire that special item as soon as possible.'

'Otherwise, forget about orchestrating a dazzling fireworks display; it'll be good if I can avoid becoming a clown myself.'

'But episodes 5 to 8 of Prequel of the Stars: Embers are all mundane daily life plots.'

'This kind of plot rhythm offers no room for creating major events to boost popularity, unless... I can find a way to create some additional plotlines that go beyond the original work.'

'But where should I get these additional plotlines from?'

As Tendo was pondering this, the training room door slowly opened, and Chen Xing entered, followed by Chen Kong. Seeing the appearance of this brother-sister duo, Tendo, who hadn't yet figured out how to stir things up, suddenly had his eyes light up.

Oh, what a coincidence!

Just when I was feeling sleepy, someone brought a pillow.

You two, brother and sister, are truly my lucky stars!