As the episodes progressed and the setting continued to unfold, the plot of “Starfall” only became more explosive.
Its popularity kept climbing steadily online.
Especially with Episode Five—this episode was intense from start to finish.
Not only were the fight scenes densely packed and fluid, but the dramatic buildup was also just right. Even more rare was how it managed to sketch out clear growth arcs for multiple important characters.
As expected, “Starfall” once again swept through all the major rankings.
Among them, Yun Ruoxi’s feat of defending her sister single-handedly against the entire training camp ignited social media across the globe.
Tragic, powerful, beautiful—these three tags seemed to blend completely with her very character core.
From now on, whenever anyone thinks of the archetype of “tragically beautiful yet strong,” countless viewers will naturally picture that blue-haired girl.
As for Yun Ruoxi herself.
Though Episode Five was full of turbulence and unexpected events.
At this point, she could consider her goal fully accomplished.
‘But…It really wasn’t easy!’
In the Consciousness Space, Yun Ruoxi let out a quiet sigh.
Because her body was severely injured, she’d already been placed in a treatment pod. Conservatively, it would take five or six days of treatment before she’d recover.
So she simply switched to the system-provided Consciousness Space, sorted through her gains and losses from Episode Five, and browsed the audience feedback on the alternate world internet.
It was obvious.
The viewers were extremely satisfied with her performance in Episode Five.
Not only did her popularity see another massive surge.
Her fan-created content started appearing everywhere online—like video edits and merchandise.
There were even some odd doujins popping up.
But becoming a “model worker” in the underground scene was still better than rotting in a corner, unnoticed, with no resources to speak of.
After all, no matter how small a mosquito is, it’s still meat—these all count as popularity.
If not for becoming the Jerusalem of the 3D Zone, Tifa wouldn’t have the level of popularity she enjoys now.
So Yun Ruoxi didn’t mind, and took it all in stride.
Of course.
This attitude was also thanks to her quietly clicking on a few of those links for appreciation, only to find their art style and skill were all sorts of strange.
The “Yun Ruoxi” depicted in those works not only had a completely different figure from her, but was often drawn downright ugly—to the point she wouldn’t recognize herself if not for the name.
She couldn’t immerse herself in those at all.
Besides, most of these works were all about pure romance—while on the other side, it was always Lin Zhen and Aili.
Which left her feeling a bit odd.
Back to the point, the plot had already deviated greatly from her original plan.
Her initial goal for Episode Five was simple: to firmly establish her powerful character persona.
She never planned to make such a huge stir.
Whether it was desperate survival or fighting off all comers alone…None of that was part of her original plan.
After all, the more complex a scheme, the lower its margin for error.
She wasn’t an all-knowing, all-powerful god.
It was impossible to anticipate everyone’s reactions in advance; she could only adapt and adjust in the moment.
Moreover, people’s threshold for excitement keeps rising.
To keep the audience emotionally invested, each high has to be more intense than the last—meaning the plot must keep escalating, becoming more explosive each time.
That’s the core reason why so many stories spiral out of control in their later stages.
This time, she’d taken on all the trainees by herself.
Next time, even if she defeats other trainees—even 0001—it would just be taken for granted.
Nowhere near as compelling as the slow and steady approach she originally envisioned.
But there was nothing she could do.
After all, she had an adorable, silly little sister!
For Aili.
Yun Ruoxi resolutely changed her original strategy, shifting her goal from establishing a strong persona to saving Aili.
Of course.
If it were just about keeping Aili safe, that wouldn’t be difficult; she had plenty of ways to help her pass the annual assessment.
But what about after that?
Trainees who failed to awaken during the assessment—even if they survived by luck—would still be abandoned by the camp, turned into test subjects for human modification, their value squeezed dry to the last drop.
What Yun Ruoxi wanted was not a one-time rescue, but a true reversal of Aili’s fate.
To save her at the root.
To let her transform from a penniless nobody—who didn’t even appear in the original plot—into a Fan-ranked Character with her own storyline.
To achieve that, the first step was to make sure she awakened, passed the assessment, and kept her trainee status. Only then could she participate in all the subsequent plotlines.
But awakening Aili, whose aptitude was so average, was no easy task.
***
In the original story, she didn’t pass the assessment, proving her natural talent simply wasn’t enough for awakening.
But being in the training camp, while bad, was also a blessing.
Here, the unique and powerful star energy technology—the Awakening Field—could amplify a trainee’s emotions and promote bloodline awakening, making it just barely possible for an “ordinary person” like Aili to awaken.
For this, Yun Ruoxi kept encouraging Aili before the assessment, secretly planting the seed of belief in her heart: “Big sis will definitely keep you alive.”
Then, during the final assessment—
First, she gave her hope, then personally destroyed it, and even “died” right before her eyes!
This was the most dangerous part of the entire plan.
Even with system protection, Yun Ruoxi risked being killed for real if she made the slightest mistake.
She was practically gambling with her life.
She bet on whether Aili’s feelings for her were deep enough to erupt with power in utter despair.
And as it turned out, she bet right.
Aili successfully awakened—her strength wasn’t great, but she now had the possibility of continuing to stay by Yun Ruoxi’s side.
In other words, she once again had a “family.”
A soft light flashed in Yun Ruoxi’s eyes, and she quietly summoned the system panel.
【Name: Yun Ruoxi · Yelan】
【Age: 11 years】
【Fame: Perfumed Jade, Fallen (Empire), Strongest Trainee in Training Camp (Pando-35 Planet Exclusive)】
【Ranking: Female Lead No.2 (Villain)】
【Star Energy Index: 50】
【Potential: A+ ( ??? )】
【Bloodline: A-rank Bloodline (Perfect Awakening), Unknown Bloodline (Unawakened)】
【Body Attributes: Strength C, Agility C, Willpower S, Constitution B+, Mental Power S】
【Current Skills: Ultimate Acting, Beast Combat Instinct, Pain Shield, Learning Thought, Brain Power Enhancement, Ultra Sensory Perception, Empathy Field (Current self-developed progress 60%, can be fully developed by spending 40,000 popularity), Vitality Stimulation (Temporary Skill, exchanged for 30,000 popularity, expired)】
【Popularity: 201,245 + 351,233 = 552,478】
【Outstanding Popularity Debt: 100,000】
Yun Ruoxi’s gaze swept from top to bottom.
The changes in each column were basically within her expectations.
The Asa Star System had more than just their training camp, though no other camp had a trainee stronger than 0001.
But there was no way for her fame to reach beyond, and that couldn’t be helped.
Besides, it seemed that the level of fame didn’t matter much for now, so Yun Ruoxi couldn’t be bothered with it.
Her Star Energy Index had dropped from a peak of 199 at Perfect Awakening to just 50.
This was because Yun Ruoxi had entered Perfect Awakening.
So all the star energy she’d accumulated in her bloodline over the past ten years had erupted in one go.
Other star energy users would also release part of their star energy from their bloodline during awakening, causing their Star Energy Index to spike.
Just—no one else’s was as high as hers, that’s all.