Is Unlocking the Stellaris Tech Tree in Star Rail Really Okay? [110]

To say Chen Lin wasn’t nervous would be a lie.

This was his first time seeing the Stellaron up close. The object, forged by Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, radiated immense power. Its energy wasn’t just destructive—it was the perfect nourishment for his psionic abilities.

At the same time, the Stellaron exuded an overwhelming aura of danger. Bronya, as the future leader of this planet and someone Chen Lin had painstakingly nurtured, couldn’t be allowed to fall victim to its corruption.

She wasn’t just his student—she was his disciple.

My prized pupil, the kind you wouldn’t trade for all the money in the galaxy.

As the starting point for spreading his ideals, Bronya could not falter here.

Without hesitation, Chen Lin moved to shield her, consuming every trace of Stellaron energy attempting to infiltrate her body.

But within seconds, he noticed a rapid change in Cocolia’s condition. Her surroundings were now shrouded in thick, white mist, and the air grew visibly colder. Snowflakes solidified upon contact with the ground, forming dense layers of ice. The wind howled fiercely, its chill biting deep.

“Fall back!” Dan Heng shouted, his combat instincts kicking in immediately.

The warning came just as thick icicles, each the size of a human arm, materialized around them. Their razor-sharp tips formed a deadly storm, spiraling toward the group.

No one could guarantee survival under such a barrage. Bronya, still lacking any inherited power, was particularly vulnerable.

“Get together!”

Chen Lin’s voice echoed through their psionic link, and everyone instinctively obeyed. It was almost as if following his instructions was ingrained in their very DNA. Bronya, trusting her mentor implicitly, reacted just as quickly.

A split second before the attack reached them, a translucent purple barrier enveloped the group.

From their perspective, it was a miraculous shield that appeared just in time. But in the unseen dimension of psionic energy, Chen Lin hovered above them, cross-legged and glowing with an ethereal purple light.

If they had sharper eyes, they might have noticed the threads of energy emanating from his spiritual form, weaving together like a master craftsman knitting an intricate tapestry. These threads formed the nearly tangible barrier protecting them.

The cost, however, was immense.

Chen Lin’s psionic energy drained rapidly, his spirit resembling a black hole as it absorbed the Stellaron’s energy to replenish itself.

Before his awakening, his reserves of psionic energy were no larger than a few glasses of water. But the constant infusion of Stellaron energy over time had transformed his "sea of consciousness" into a vast lake.

Now, as the Stellaron’s energy surged into him, his reserves cycled through a process of depletion, replenishment, and expansion. Each cycle expanded his capacity further, carving out new space within his psionic realm.

This was the nature of his chosen path: Ascension.

The perfect body, the perfect mind.

It wasn’t just a slogan—it was his reality.

The energy he absorbed in mere seconds could obliterate countless trained psionics, even those qualified to serve in psionic legions. But Chen Lin’s spiritual form, a manifestation of his will, endured.

His sea of consciousness, where psionic energy was stored, was a miraculous space governed by thoughts rather than physical laws. In this domain, what could be imagined could be made real.

This was the ultimate realm of psionic mastery, the endpoint theorized in psionic literature. Even the Zealots, the most advanced psionic species in his memory, had yet to achieve this level.

And Chen Lin could only revel in the experience.

This feels… incredible!

Caught between the extremes of pain and euphoria, his spirit trembled.

“Stay put… don’t move!”

Though his form was invisible, his trembling voice carried a reassuring weight. It sounded like someone struggling to lift an impossibly heavy object.

“Mentor must be working so hard to protect us!” Bronya thought, tears welling in her eyes. “His kindness is immeasurable… even gifting him all of Belobog wouldn’t be enough to repay him.”

The others were equally awestruck by the spectacle before them.

The storm of icicles had been relentless, a chaotic assault no conventional defense could withstand. March rubbed her arm, where the remnants of an icy wound lingered—a souvenir from her dash into the barrier. Her trusty shield, conjured from her Six-Phase Ice, had been no match for the sheer volume of attacks.

As the realization set in, her gaze turned toward the protective barrier around them.

"This… this isn’t just a shield," March murmured. “It’s a miracle.”

For the first time, the group truly grasped the magnitude of Chen Lin’s abilities.

March touched the thin, translucent purple barrier in front of her, murmuring under her breath, “So cool…”

“Go, Dad! You’ve got this!” Stelle suddenly cheered.

Everyone else: “?”

Luckily, Chen Lin couldn’t hear anything at the moment. He was too focused on managing the draining and replenishing cycles of his energy. Otherwise, he might have expended a little psionic energy to materialize a hand—just to knock some sense into her.

Haven’t eaten? Then eat my fist!

Meanwhile, the Stellaron was panicking. Its energy, usually omnipotent and unchallenged, felt like it was being dumped into a black hole. At least ninety percent of it was devoured by the strange entity, leaving barely a trickle to corrupt Cocolia and conjure icicle storms through her as a conduit.

I’m getting eaten alive here!

The Stellaron remembered its worst nightmare—a horrifying creature that devoured anything in its path.

And now, it seemed that very nightmare had found it again.

No! I need to finish this fast!

Inside the psionic barrier, the group huddled together as the relentless barrage of icicles began to wane. The once-overwhelming storm now looked noticeably thin.

“Do you hear anything?” Dan Heng asked grimly.

March and Stelle both shook their heads.

Bronya, visibly worried, asked, “Is Mentor… is he okay?”

Ever since the psionic barrier had appeared, their link to Chen Lin had been completely severed. They couldn’t see him, hear him, or even sense his presence.

To make matters worse, the barrier itself was weakening. Faint cracks began to spiderweb across its surface, and some parts were already failing to keep out the occasional ice spike.

The group exchanged concerned glances, realizing that the one maintaining the barrier—Chen Lin—might be in danger.

Dan Heng stepped forward, gripping his spear tightly. “Get ready. Holding this barrier must have drained him. We’re on our own now.”

“Understood.”

Everyone braced themselves, their expressions grim as the barrier finally shattered.

The purple shield disintegrated into countless shimmering fragments, disappearing into the cold air. For a moment, everything seemed calm.

Then, the real threat emerged.

The storm of icicles ceased, but the air around them rippled ominously. Black rifts tore open across the mountaintop platform, and hordes of Fragmentum creatures began pouring out.

Cocolia, now fully transformed, stepped forward from the dispersing white mist. Her human appearance was gone, replaced by a crystalline monstrosity. Frosted ice encased her entire body, and whatever lay beneath was now completely replaced by the energy of the Fragmentum.

Even her voice was no longer human.

“Listen…” Her distorted voice echoed, layered with the strange cacophony of whispers that invaded their minds. “The power surges within me. This is the gift of the Stellaron.”

The whispers weren’t just words—they were an assault. Murmurs laced with temptation and madness seeped into their minds, twisting their thoughts.

“Urgh…” Dan Heng staggered, clutching his head as the invasive whispers grew louder. Gritting his teeth, he bit down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood.

The sharp pain jolted him back to his senses, and he quickly turned to check on the others.

Bronya had already shaken March back to consciousness, while Stelle, showing surprising resilience, had woken up on her own.

“Bronya… my daughter…” Cocolia’s gaze fell on her. “This is the power of the Stellaron, the power to create a new world. Join me, and you shall be its queen!”

“You’re not my mother!” Bronya snapped, trembling with anger. “My mother may have been stubborn, but she always knew right from wrong. You’re just a monster!”

Cocolia’s crystalline face twisted. “Is that so? How unfortunate. The Stellaron’s promise is the only salvation for this world. Seven centuries ago, it drove back the Antimatter Legion. Today… it will erase all of you.”

A crystalline lance appeared in her hand, and with a single swing, the ground shook as if heralding the end of days.

From the mountain below, a massive ancient machine slowly rose to its full height. The behemoth, towering hundreds of meters, raised one colossal hand and brought it down toward the group.

Bronya’s face paled. “It’s one of the Architects’ ancient machines! Be careful, everyone!”

But before she could finish her warning, Stelle had already bolted.

Ducking and weaving, she narrowly avoided the massive hand that came crashing down. Scrambling to her feet, she saw the machine’s other hand reach for her.

“Help! Chen Lin! Save me!” she screamed, her voice dripping with exaggerated desperation as she ran.

Dan Heng and March: “…”
Bronya: “?”

Coincidence or not, the ships hovering above them sprang into action.

The destroyers and frigates, already positioned and ready, unleashed a barrage of multicolored lasers and missiles.

These weren’t the weak laser weapons the group had seen Chen Lin use before. This time, the beams sliced cleanly through the ancient machine, vaporizing its head in an instant.

BOOM!

The missiles followed, raining down like a storm. The machine’s colossal frame was engulfed in explosions, and the sheer force sent shockwaves rippling across the mountaintop.

When the dust cleared, there was nothing left but scattered debris—and a massive crater where the machine had once stood.

Bronya, flung to the platform’s edge by the blast, peered over the cliff.

Below, the mountain was littered with fragments of the ancient machine, its remains scattered across melted snow and scorched earth. The distant mountain ridges were riddled with smoking craters, some even punched clean through to reveal the sky beyond.

Mouth agape, Bronya muttered, “What…?”

The legendary machines said to hold off the Antimatter Legion for weeks—reduced to nothing in mere seconds.

Even the Stellaron and Cocolia seemed stunned. But recovering quickly, Cocolia summoned another machine, undeterred.

This time, however, the ships above were reloading, and their silence emboldened Cocolia. She climbed onto the new machine, intending to rain destruction upon the group.

“She’s cheating!” March stomped her foot. “Get down here and fight us properly!”

In response, the ancient machine fired its lasers—not even close to the firepower of the ships above.

Dan Heng, spearing a Fragmentum beast, called out, “We need to get up there. Fighting like this, we’ll only be overwhelmed.”

But before anyone could act, Bronya shouted, “Wait, look!”

The group turned to see the rifts around them slowly closing, while the Fragmentum creatures began to collapse, one after another, as if their energy had been drained.

March’s eyes lit up. “It’s gotta be Chen Lin! He’s okay!”

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This is a fan translation of 在星穹铁道点群星科技树真的没问题吗? by 杏雨诗韵 All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!