Chapter 17

Done!

Fang Yue's heart leapt with joy, but then he suddenly thought of a problem.

That was, only at night, under the 【Night's Breath】 buff, did his stats reach this level, allowing him to learn martial arts.

So, what should he do during the day…?

Fang Yue immediately put on a bold face and asked Captain Chen for a manual again.

"Mortal Martial Arts? You already have my Blade Technique inheritance—why do you still need Mortal Martial Arts?"

"Uh… for reference."

Captain Chen snorted.

"Unranked trash—what reference value could it possibly have?"

"Captain Chen, just give me one, any one will do, preferably one that doesn't require stat boosts, preferably one that raises stats through cultivation, preferably…"

Captain Chen frowned.

"Xiao Ye, haven't you heard the saying: greed leads to indigestion? Learning martial arts is just the beginning—truly mastering and perfecting them is the hardest part."

Well, from Captain Chen's tone, he wasn't going to get any favors from him.

In reality, if not for Lord Han as his patron, Fang Yue wouldn't even have the qualifications to meet Captain Chen, let alone boldly ask for this and that.

After giving a few instructions, Captain Chen left.

This wooden house was a property registered under Captain Chen's name.

Two bedrooms, a living room, and a courtyard—with training equipment still left in the yard—it could be called a mansion.

But Captain Chen was a native of Gu Yue Cun and owned several houses of similar size; this one was temporarily assigned to Fang Yue.

He himself lived with his family in a larger house in the northern part of the village, saying that if there was an emergency, Fang Yue could either go to his home or find him at the Guard Team.

Fang Yue inspected the room and found it covered in dust, with a pile of clutter haphazardly stacked in the corner—unless he looked closely, he'd mistake it for an abandoned warehouse.

Fortunately, it kept out wind and rain, had a stove for cooking, and all necessary equipment was present—just thick with dust, requiring thorough cleaning before use.

Fang Yue was lazy and had some resistance to such tedious cleaning work.

Not that he wouldn't do it—he just preferred to delay it as long as possible.

Returning to the room and sitting down again, Fang Yue silently murmured the words "attributes."

"Name: Yese Liming."

"Realm: Mortal."

"Status: Normal."

"HP: 100/100."

"Control Power: 32 (+20)."

"Dissipate Power: 32 (+20)."

"Talent: Night's Breath (Human Class Upper Rank)."

"Skills: Analysis (Human Class Lower Rank), Starfire Blade Technique 0 Layer (Post-Heaven Third Rate), Starfire Heart Method 0 Layer (Post-Heaven Third Rate)."

"Lifespan: 11 days, 10 hours."

Following the information in his mind, he activated the Starfire Heart Method.

The Human Soul immediately began to burn; Fang Yue felt something within him—a mysterious, elusive essence representing vitality—being ignited like a rope, slowly consuming itself.

Simultaneously, an invisible qi sensation surged toward his dantian.

Unfortunately, more qi flowed in than stayed—like a leaky sieve, little remained.

Fang Yue carefully sensed this tiny amount of internal force, his emotions complex.

At the same time, he felt his body undergoing some kind of qualitative change; the internal force circulated within him, leaving his body unusually light.

"System Prompt: Congratulations, player has unlocked 【Internal Force Value】. Current Internal Force Value: 1/1."

"System Prompt: Congratulations, player has successfully completed one full cycle of the Starfire Heart Method. Starfire Heart Method upgraded to First Layer Realm."

"System Prompt: Congratulations, player has broken through the 【Mortal】 Realm, advancing to 【Post-Heaven Third Rate】 Realm. Reward: HP +100."

HP +100!?

Fang Yue's heart leapt with joy—it had doubled!

So breaking through realms increased HP. No wonder others' training never showed any increase in HP cap.

And the Heart Method reached First Layer—was I born with extraordinary talent, already upgrading my Heart Method?

Upon closer inspection, Fang Yue finally understood what "First Layer" meant.

It turned out that merely reading the manual and learning martial arts was only theoretical mastery.

Reaching First Layer meant true command—only then could one break through and enter the realm of martial artists.

But the Starfire Heart Method showed no change upon reaching First Layer; likely, changes would only appear at Second Layer. Yet advancing to Second Layer was no simple matter.

He casually picked up a wooden stick from the corner and used it as a blade, activating the Starfire Blade Technique.

The Human Soul burned instantly—and stopped.

Fang Yue had barely raised his starting posture when the sequence ended.

Because when he activated the Starfire Blade Technique, the internal force from the Starfire Heart Method was automatically drawn—then…

"System Prompt: Internal Force depleted."

No wonder the learning condition for this crappy Blade Technique was mastering the Starfire Heart Method first—without it, you couldn't even perform it.

Helpless, Fang Yue sat down again and patiently cultivated the Starfire Heart Method.

The Human Soul burned furiously; after more than a dozen cycles, his internal force finally climbed to 15 points.

Fang Yue stepped outside into the courtyard and walked to the filthy stone target.

He activated the Starfire Blade Technique once more.

Opening stance, internal force surging.

Then comes... the first move, Star Flame Power Slash!

The wooden stick was raised high above his head.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion rang out as Human Soul burned wildly, igniting the Star Flame in the air.

The Star Flame exploded, transforming into raging fire that scorched the wooden stick.

The courtyard was instantly lit up bright as day, the blaze burning Fang Yue's hands until they stung with heat.

Damn it! Next time I practice the blade, I have to use a real blade!

Gripping tightly with both hands, Fang Yue gritted his teeth and slashed down with the momentum.

Boom!!

The wooden stick shattered into fragments, charred wood chips flying everywhere.

As for the solid stone, it only had a large gouge blown out of it, scorched black.

This force hadn't even been fully unleashed before the 'weapon' was scrapped, so the power was naturally greatly reduced.

Fortunately...

"System Notice: Congratulations to the player for successfully executing 'Star Flame Blade Technique'. 'Star Flame Blade Technique' has been raised to First Layer Realm."

Whatever, knowing it is enough. I'll find Chen tomorrow to ask for a real blade, then keep practicing.

Fang Yue's current Control is 32 points, Star Flame Heart Method +5 points, Star Flame Blade Technique +10 points.

That means at peak condition he can have 47 points of Control, and with Star Flame Heart Method and Star Flame Blade Technique complementing each other, the power doubles.

With this combat power, what is there to fear from the strange!

The sky cleared, the rain stopped, I feel like I can do it again!

Fang Yue was secretly thrilled, until he saw the pitiful 0/15 internal force value, and his expression paused.

Peak combat power is strong, but with this internal force value, he'd probably be done for after just one slash.

No, he might not even be able to deliver a complete slash — with that earlier stick swing, Fang Yue had already felt his internal force fading, unable to keep up with the consumption.

He glanced at his attributes.

"Name: Yese Liming."

"Realm: Postnatal Third-Rate."

"Status: Normal."

"HP: 200/200."

"Internal Force: 0/15."

"Control: 32 (+20)."

"Resistance: 32 (+20)."

"Talent: Breath of Night (Human Grade, Superior)."

"Skills: Analyze (Human Grade, Inferior), Star Flame Blade Technique 1st Layer (Postnatal Third-Rate), Star Flame Heart Method 1st Layer (Postnatal Third-Rate)."

"Lifespan: 10 days, 5 shichen."

Fang Yue looked at his attributes, feeling quite satisfied, then suddenly sensed something was off. He swept his gaze back once more, and his face drastically changed.

(End of this chapter)