My Martial Path Is Ruined

"I'm screwed! What happened to my Lifespan? Where did all that Lifespan go?"

Fang Yue was completely stunned. Before he started practicing Martial Arts, he had eleven days and ten shichen of Lifespan. Now it had been burned down to just ten days and five shichen.

This wasn't fair...

Fang Yue felt like crying. As far as he knew, no one had figured out how to gain Lifespan at this stage. He'd practiced Martial Arts for barely any time at all, and more than a day of Lifespan had already been consumed. How was anyone supposed to survive?

Trash cultivation method! Trash Martial Arts!

But despite his cursing, he still had to keep practicing.

Fortunately, only cultivating a method consumed human-soul Lifespan.

Circulating the method only consumed Internal Force Value.

And the saber technique only consumed Lifespan when he used it.

"I should keep training my inner technique, but as for the saber technique... I'd better leave that alone for now."

Fang Yue felt a little uneasy. It was only because he had so much Lifespan that he could afford to burn through it like this. Other players would've trained themselves to death.

Sitting cross-legged, Fang Yue circulated the Spark Heart Method, burning his human soul. After a few cycles, his Internal Force had fully recovered.

He continued circulating it, waiting for his maximum Internal Force to start rising point by point.

Time passed second by second. When his Internal Force reached 25/25, Fang Yue's face suddenly changed. He spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

"System notification: Internal Breath disrupted. Meridian Disorder. Internal Force depleted. You have suffered severe injuries."

How had his Internal Breath become disrupted? Hadn't everything been fine just a moment ago?

Fang Yue opened his stats, bewildered.

"Name: Night Dawn."

"Realm: Postnatal Third-rate."

"Status: Meridian Disorder, severely injured."

"Health: 100/100 (severely injured)."

"Internal Force Value: 0/25."

"Strength: 1 (-20) (severely injured) [12]."

"Force Deflection: 1 (-20) (severely injured) [12]."

"Talent: Night's Breath (Human Grade High Rank)."

"Skills: Analysis (Human-grade Low-tier), Spark Saber Technique Level 1 (Postnatal Third-rate) [red], Spark Heart Method Level 1 (Postnatal Third-rate) [red]."

"Lifespan: 9 days, 3 shichen."

Pfft!

Fang Yue nearly spat out another mouthful of blood.

Damn it!

Why had my stats dropped to 1?

What kind of demonic debuff combo was [-20] + [severely injured] + [Meridian Disorder]?

And why were those two techniques displayed in red?

He focused his gaze and activated Analysis Pupil.

"Spark Heart Method: Conditions not met. Unable to use."

"Spark Saber Technique: Conditions not met. Unable to use."

"Meridian Disorder: A consequence of qi deviation. The meridians are in disarray, making it impossible to learn or use inner techniques. You're practically crippled."

Fang Yue: ?!!

He could accept the first two, but what the hell was Meridian Disorder?

His Martial Path had only just begun, and it was already over?

Fang Yue stared blankly.

Suddenly, a faintly warm ray of light fell from the horizon, passed over his forehead, and shone on the ground.

Light?

Wait! What time was it?

He instinctively looked outside. On the distant horizon, a faint yellow glow was rising—it was the morning sun, and the mao hour had just begun.

The sky had brightened.

I'm ruined...

Fang Yue instantly understood everything.

[Night's Breath] increased his stats by 20 points at night and reduced them by 20 points during the day.

It was only thanks to the boost from [Night's Breath] that his stats had met the requirements to learn the Spark Heart Method and Spark Saber Technique.

Now that it was daytime, [Night's Breath] had reduced his stats. Rather than lowering them to zero or even into the negatives, it had forcibly locked them at 1.

With stats of 1, he couldn't learn the [Spark Heart Method] or [Spark Saber Technique]. But he had already learned them. It was like a severely injured martial hero who still had his skills but couldn't use them.

Fang Yue hadn't realized this earlier. He'd been so absorbed in cultivating that he'd completely lost track of time.

As night turned to day, the hours of darkness passed, and the mao hour arrived, his stats immediately dropped to 1. Yet Fang Yue had continued circulating the [Spark Heart Method], which his stats could no longer support. That was what caused his qi deviation, Meridian Disorder, disrupted Internal Breath, and severe injuries.

"I've played myself to death!"

Fang Yue felt like crying.

He tried moving, only to discover that his whole body hurt terribly. As he moved, "-1" and "-1" damage indicators appeared above his head.

At this rate, he couldn't even walk.

"Help... Help! Somebody, help me! Can anyone come save me?"

With no other choice, Fang Yue could only shout for help.

But soon, he realized he could ask the online players for help.

Before he could send a message, however, someone kicked open his door.

Six burly men dressed as members of the Patrol Team entered cautiously, iron spears in hand.

They were well trained and worked together seamlessly.

Two immediately spread out to search the house, while the other four aimed their spearheads at Fang Yue on the ground. One thrust was all it would take to send him to the grave.

"Gentlemen, I'm the one who was calling for help..."

"Quiet!"

A spearman with a scar on his face barked at him angrily, then said, "Check whether he's possessed by an eerie."

The two men who had searched the house emerged just then. Hearing the spearman's order, they shook their heads.

"Brother Yong, we're out of talismans."

What were talismans?

And what would happen if they were out?

Fang Yue was bewildered, but he soon found out what the consequences were.

The man called Brother Yong raised an eyebrow and lifted his spear high.

"Then we follow the rules and kill him."

As soon as he finished speaking, he thrust his spear straight at Fang Yue's heart.

I'm screwed!

Fang Yue's face went pale with terror. He hurriedly shouted, "Wait! Spare me! Lord Han brought me into the village!"

The spear stopped, and the men retreated.

But they hadn't retreated because of what Fang Yue said.

Before Brother Yong's spearpoint could touch Fang Yue's heart, he had already leaped back.

The others did the same.

A few coin darts now lay where they had been standing.

They formed a back-to-back formation and warily scanned their surroundings.

"Who's there?"

"Your Grandpa Lin!"

With a cold snort, a figure sauntered through the doorway. It was none other than Lin Ling, the Guard Team's second-in-command.

The men's expressions changed. They hurriedly lowered their weapons and bowed respectfully.

"Captain Lin, what brings you here?" Brother Yong asked nervously.

"Hmph! If I'd arrived one moment later, you'd all have lost your heads!"

As he spoke, Lin Ling went over to Fang Yue and helped him up. Fang Yue was still shaken.

"His name is Little Ye. Lord Han personally brought him here from outside the village, and Lord Han thinks highly of him. If he so much as gets hurt, can any of you take responsibility?"

The men exchanged anxious glances.

"We—we wouldn't dare. We were only following the rules..."

"Hmph! You've been patrolling all night and your heads must be foggy from exhaustion. I won't tell anyone about this. Now go back and get some rest."

"Thank you, Captain Lin!"

The men hurried away, while Fang Yue was still a little shaken.

Damn, he'd nearly died at the hands of those patrolmen.

Fang Yue realized that he still knew far too little about Ancient Moon Village. A careless move could cost him his life at any moment.