I Will Become the Sun

He gained thirteen Points; added to the one he had saved, that made fourteen in total.

Of course, Points were not meant to be saved—they were to be used as soon as they were obtained.

At the One-Ring Spirit Master stage, it took two Points to raise one level. He would raise a level every half month to support his claim that Life and Death Battles could force out his potential.

He needed this as a reasonable explanation for why someone with Innate Level One could still level up so quickly.

If anyone did not believe him, they only needed to fight a few more Life and Death Battles to find out whether Fang Ling was telling the truth.

If the person trying to verify it got beaten to death, then that counted as proof. After all, dead men could not speak.

He raised two levels in total, consuming four Points.

He put the remaining nine Points all into his Martial Soul.

The Stats Panel naturally changed accordingly.

Soul Power: 12 (31%) → 14 (31%)

Martial Soul: Scythe (Lv1, 10% → Lv2, 0%) (+)

(A common farm tool used in the countryside for harvesting crops and cutting grass. After one enhancement, both its toughness and sharpness have improved slightly. It could be called an enhanced Agricultural Scythe.)

Specialty: Sharpness Lv1 → Lv2 (Martial Soul Innate Specialty. After one enhancement, its sharpness has improved slightly. You can now easily break through the defenses of ordinary Spirit Masters of the same level.)

Toughness Lv1 → Lv2 (Martial Soul Innate Specialty. After one enhancement, both its hardness and resilience have improved slightly. It has left, but not completely left, the realm of agricultural use.)

That left him with one Point.

The thirteenth Life and Death Battle had just ended.

In the rest area, inside the private lounge reserved for Spirit Masters with more than ten victories.

Shimu was treating Fang Ling.

Her stitching was practiced and gentle.

A purple Thousand Year Spirit Ring gleamed as the blue-green petals of the Emerald Flower drifted down like butterflies with thin wings.

They landed on Fang Ling's right chest and vanished in an instant, after which the power of life surged forth and seeped into it.

There was a horrifying, roughly ten-centimeter-long wound across it, deep enough to expose bone.

The skin around the wound was pale and taut. Fang Ling breathed shallowly, not daring to take deep breaths.

Because every breath brought him unbearable pain.

It had been cut open by his opponent in the thirteenth battle, a Spirit Master who was also skilled in close combat and possessed a dagger Martial Soul.

He had fallen into a disadvantage shortly after the battle began. He had originally intended to flee, but then keenly spotted an opportunity to win.

In the end, he traded an injury for his opponent's life and won successfully.

Tears glistened in Shimu's eyes as she treated him and scolded, "Why didn't you run?"

"I didn't run because I judged that I had a chance of winning."

Fang Ling spoke carefully, completely unwilling to go against his angry Shimu.

"But you still got hurt. Your reactions are so fast—couldn't you have been more cautious?"

"Shimu, I really couldn't be any more cautious. Teacher could see that too."

He answered the latter question softly, turning an imploring gaze toward Lin Tianyang.

Lin Tianyang tried to defend him. "There really wasn't any way around it. Even if that man's reactions were not fast enough, his attack speed was very high, and his Combat Experience was even greater."

"Using a wound that was not fatal to secure a kill was already an extremely fast reaction. Even I couldn't have done it."

"Shut up!" Shimu Shu Manyun snapped.

Was she the sort of person who gave orders in battle at random?

The reason she said those things was to make Fang Ling more careful, to remind him that his teacher and Shimu were waiting for him.

Lin Tianyang smiled sheepishly and spread his hands at his disciple.

The one speaking was his wife, whom he cherished dearly. He could not help any further.

Silence fell over the room, broken only by Fang Ling's repeated hissing from the pain in his chest.

"Is it worth it?" Shimu still wanted to try stopping him.

The power of life continued to swirl around the stitched wound on Fang Ling's chest.

"Of course it's worth it, Shimu."

"In one month, I've already risen from Twelfth Level to Fourteenth Level. This is an enormous improvement beyond what the world could imagine."

"Even if it means dying?" Shu Manyun tried to persuade him again.

Fang Ling clenched his fists, his eyes shining brightly.

"If I hear the truth in the morning, I may die in the evening without regret."

"I'm merely a tiny Spirit Master with Innate Level One, with only a little more talent for battle than others."

"Now that I can achieve such tremendous growth, it is precisely because I have found a path suited to myself. How could I not feel fortunate?"

Reasonable? Very reasonable!

There was great terror between life and death.

Lin Tianyang, standing nearby with his arms crossed, was caught in a superposition of envy and lack of envy.

Though the cultivation speed was fast, the risks involved were also enormous.

If you often walked by the river, how could you avoid getting your shoes wet?

Even the slightest lapse in vigilance once or twice could lead to death.

He had a lovely wife, a happy life, and a powerful background. He did not dare wade into such muddy waters like Fang Ling, who stood alone.

Besides, not everyone loved fighting as much as Fang Ling did.

After participating in Life and Death Battles for too long, under the pressure of facing death every match, one would be driven mad.

"This road won't be easy."

Just roughly imagining it was enough for Lin Tianyang to understand how difficult this path of bloodshed and slaughter would be.

"But this is my only path." Fang Ling merely smiled. "My natural talent for combat can only make me stronger in battle. It can't make me cultivate faster."

"Since we will all become a handful of yellow earth in the end, rather than be buried and forgotten in the dust, I would rather become a meteor streaking across the sky, blooming with a magnificent brilliance unique to myself!"

"Would you rather become a meteor?" Lin Tianyang muttered, his expression gaining a trace of sorrow.

The moment those words were spoken, one could almost foresee the death of this genius disciple.

"Teacher, why make such a face?" Fang Ling's eyes were clear and bright, like a limpid spring.

"I lament the death I foresee for you."

Lin Tianyang's voice was somewhat heavy.

Fang Ling said nothing.

The rate at which the Stats Panel generated Points out of thin air was too slow. Killing was still the main way to obtain them.

Wanton slaughter of spirit beasts was prohibited by Spirit Hall, and danger lurked everywhere in the Spirit Beast Forest. Graduating early and focusing solely on combat also meant lacking knowledge.

He could not enter the forest alone, or he would not even know how he died.

Moreover, without a background, it was easy to be labeled a Fallen Spirit Master and become Spirit Hall's performance credit.

So, killing spirit beasts to level up was possible, but he needed a background—one that had to be extremely trustworthy. The only person Fang Ling could think of was Dugu Bo, after curing his poison.

That would have to wait until he went to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Killing people naturally carried risks now. No matter how careful he was, accidents could not be completely avoided.

But where in this world was there absolute safety?

Being able to level up through killing, ignore so-called bottlenecks, ignore the amount of Innate Soul Power, and cultivate techniques with twice the result for half the effort—he was already taking an enormous advantage.

He could not be greedily demanding more.

Fang Ling fell silent for a moment. His body seemed to become towering in an instant, his gaze piercing through the void as though it had reached an indescribable far shore.

His vast voice echoed through the room.

"Teacher, I believe in myself. I won't admit defeat like this."

"The future is bright, though the road is winding. I only need to work a little harder."

"Maybe I won't just be a meteor that vanishes in an instant. Perhaps I'll become the sun that illuminates the heavens in the end~"

Lin Tianyang shook his head and let out a long sigh. "Then I'll look forward to it."

"I hope I can live to see the day you become the sun and shine upon the world."

"Of course. That day won't be too far away." Fang Ling nodded lightly, wearing a victorious smile.

As long as he got through this growth period, found Dugu Bo, cured his poison, and gained his true trust, he would no longer need to level up so secretively.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Under Shimu's uninterrupted daily treatment, the wound on his chest had long since healed.

Fang Ling registered, but was told that he had to wait.

He had won too many consecutive matches. In one-on-one Life and Death Battles, it had become difficult to find a suitable opponent for him.

It was rare for someone to win more than ten consecutive Life and Death Battles, advance from an Iron Spirit Fighter to a Bronze Soul Fighter, and still keep fighting.

Just as Fang Ling was considering whether to go to the Gambling Zone to practice one-versus-two battles, Two days later, a staff member from the Great Soul Arena came to find him. "We found a match."