Tianquan Star, also known as the Wenqu Star, is the fourth star of the Big Dipper and governs literary fortune.

Once this star is lit, the talent and future of that person are limitless.

Across the more than three hundred years since the founding of the Great Song Dynasty, those who have lit the Wenqu Star can be counted on one hand.

Yet each of those few individuals became the leading figures of the Song literary world for decades.

The most famous among them was Bao Wenzheng thirty years ago, who lit the Wenqu Star despite being born into poverty.

He passed the imperial examinations, soared through the official ranks, and eventually became a Scholar of the Longtu Pavilion, reaching the pinnacle of power.

It was said that he judged yin by night and yang by day.

During his tenure, throughout the entire Song Kingdom—from royalty to commoners—no one dared commit a single crime.

That was the only person Wu Qianlan knew who had lit the Wenqu Star.

And now, this ordinary-looking man before her, aside from being a bit fair-skinned, had actually lit the Wenqu Star.

And he had done it in a bandit stronghold.

As she watched the unprecedented star-light pour into this man’s body, Wu Qianlan felt an overwhelming sense of unreality.

However, Ning Qingtian at this moment had no awareness of the outside world at all.

In the vast starry sky, countless stars appeared and moved in a wondrous pattern.

They circled endlessly, never ceasing.

What he had previously only seen in videos—cosmic star maps—appeared now within his own mind.

Awe, confusion…

At this moment, Ning Qingtian did not know how to react.

Especially when the countless stars revealed the Big Dipper region: Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, Tian Quan, Yu Heng, Kai Yang, and Yao Guang—the seven stars lit one after another, arranged like a ladle.

Shu is Heaven, Xuan is Earth, Ji is Man, Quan is Time, Heng is Sound, Kai Yang is Law, Yao Guang is Star.

Normally, among the seven stars, Yu Heng was the brightest and Tian Quan the dimmest—yet now Tianquan Star shone with unprecedented brilliance.

When Ning Qingtian’s gaze fell upon that star representing his own fate, a thick pillar of starlight, as wide as a water barrel, descended directly from Tianquan.

In an instant, Ning Qingtian was submerged in it completely, and then he abruptly regained consciousness.

However, he did not notice that as he withdrew from the sea of stars in his mind, two accompanying stars beside his Tianquan Star also began to slowly light up.

Meanwhile, Wu Qianlan, who had been staring at Ning Qingtian, saw him open his eyes and quickly concealed her astonishment, sitting upright in a dignified manner.

Ning Qingtian felt the changes within his body and asked excitedly, without noticing her reaction, “So… this means I succeeded?”

Wu Qianlan nodded, deliberately making a cold expression, without revealing the truth to this bandit husband.

However, she did not know that Ning Qingtian understood matters of the cosmos and stars far better than she imagined.

“So, what do I do next?”

Ning Qingtian paid no mind to her coldness and continued asking in excitement.

Three years—no one knew what these three years had been like for him.

Never mind the bandits who disliked him and threatened him daily—just in marital matters alone, every time in bed, Ning Qingtian was always the one on the bottom.

A man born between heaven and earth—how could he remain beneath someone every night?

Now that he could finally cultivate, it meant the day he could rise up and sing the song of a freed peasant was not far away.

How could he not be thrilled?

“Observe carefully. After lighting a star, there will be a flow of talent within your dantian. That is the source of power for cultivating the literary path.”

Wu Qianlan explained casually while secretly studying him.

Normally, to light a literary star, one needed to study for at least three years before even attempting it, and even then success was uncertain.

This was the limitation of the early stages of the literary path.

Before lighting a star, literary cultivators were extremely vulnerable—often weaker than ordinary people.

Following her instructions, Ning Qingtian began testing it.

He soon discovered a rotating aura within his dantian.

He tried guiding it—and the moment he moved it, a surge of energy filled his limbs and bones.

Passing through the meridians, he instinctively brought his fingers together like a sword and pointed to the side.

Shua

A streak of white light shot from his index and middle fingers, piercing straight through a nearly one-meter-thick earthen wall nearby.

Cold wind blew into the room from the hole, but Ning Qingtian no longer felt even a trace of chill.

Wu Qianlan, on the other hand—unable to use internal qi—shivered as the cold wind struck her, snapping her out of her shock.

“What was that?”

Delighted by his first successful strike, Ning Qingtian answered proudly and without hesitation, “How is it? My One-Yang Finger technique—before, I could only use it in bed, but now it finally has a real use.”

Wu Qianlan frowned deeply, not understanding what inappropriate nonsense this bandit husband was saying.

But judging from his wretched expression, she knew it was nothing good.

Her gaze turned cold.

“Enough. Since you have begun cultivating the literary path and gained the ability to protect yourself, I will no longer concern myself with your affairs.”

“Alright, alright, I know…”

Ning Qingtian wasn’t listening at all—he was completely absorbed in exploring this wondrous new power.

Seeing this, Wu Qianlan knew he wouldn’t hear anything she said.

So she simply lay back down on the bed to rest, while secretly attempting to see whether she could cultivate as well.

At this moment, although this “husband and wife” pair lay together, each harbored their own thoughts.

* * *

While they were attempting their own cultivation, far away in the imperial capital Bianjing, inside the palace, a woman in a golden dragon robe sat in the imperial study receiving an old man with white hair.

“Your Majesty, this old minister observed the heavens tonight. Someone within our nation has lit the Wenqu Star. I suggest Your Majesty issue a decree to reopen the imperial examinations and recruit new talent. Perhaps that genius who lit the Wenqu Star can be brought into the court.”

Yan Bailu sat on the dragon throne, looking at the swaying old man before her, feeling even more irritable by the moment.

She never imagined that the nearly foolproof state of roaming beyond the heavens would fail.

Nor did she know why she seemed to have taken someone else’s body.

If it had been anyone else, perhaps she could have tolerated it—but the person she now possessed was her sworn enemy, the heir of the foolish emperor who had ordered her entire clan’s execution.

Already confused and frustrated, she now had to listen to this old man ramble about Wenqu Star—how could she not be annoyed?