After leaving Mist Island, the X-101 warship returned to Wilderness Zone 003, the place where they had set out, in just over ten seconds.
Lin Fan stepped out of the warship, then casually waved a hand and stored it in his Space Ring.
Although the X-101 warship had powerful stealth and shielding capabilities, he had no intention of simply flying it back to the Base City. There was still a risk of being discovered, and it was a risk he had no reason to take.
"Babata's probably furious right about now."
After landing, Lin Fan couldn't help picturing Babata's exasperated expression. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"I'll head straight back."
Lin Fan released his Spiritual Force, making sure there were no signs of life nearby and that nothing had changed since he left. Then he exited the basement and headed toward the Base City.
The journey passed without incident, and Lin Fan returned safely to Bright Moon Residential Quarter.
He entered the Martial Arts Hall and casually closed the heavy alloy doors.
Sitting cross-legged in the center of the training hall, Lin Fan didn't rush to absorb the Spirit of Vegetation. Instead, a thought sent his consciousness plunging into the Bronze Hall.
"True Self."
At the center of the hall, the golden figure stood solemnly.
"Begin training the Basic 18 Forms of the Spirit Reader with all your strength," Lin Fan said gravely.
At Lin Fan's command, the golden "True Self" sprang into action.
Within his mindscape, countless virtual feather blades appeared out of thin air and began practicing according to the movements of the Basic 18 Forms of the Spirit Reader.
After all, if he wanted to reach the Planetary Level, simply piling up energy wouldn't be enough. He also needed insight.
The Basic 18 Forms of the Spirit Reader and the Basic Warrior 36 Forms, which he had received in the system's beginner's gift, could each grant him that insight if he mastered either one. That would help him break through to the Planetary Level.
So his top priority wasn't absorbing energy. He needed to calm himself and earnestly comprehend one of the two forms.
Time flew by, and seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
During those seven days, Lin Fan hardly left the basement except to eat and sleep.
On the morning of the seventh day, the mist of Spiritual Force that had filled Lin Fan's mindscape had completely vanished. In its place were billions of gossamer-thin strands of Aurora.
The strands were a peculiar milky white. Rather than swirling like streams of water, they darted through the mindscape, refracting again and again.
"Gather!"
Lin Fan's thought stirred.
The chaotic strands, previously shooting off in every direction, immediately stopped refracting aimlessly. They all adjusted their angles and pointed toward the very core of his mindscape.
When the first wave of ten thousand strands converged on a single point at the core, a dazzling patch of light flared there.
Then came the second wave, the third... Endless Spiritual Force became beams of light, like countless rivers flowing into the sea, pounding furiously against that one point.
Flicker, fade!
Flicker again, fade again!
The central ball of light expanded and contracted like a heart. With each flash, more Spiritual Force was forcibly compressed into the core.
As the light blinked on and off at an extremely high frequency, the patch of light in the middle grew larger, while the flashes gradually slowed.
Seeing this, Lin Fan flipped his hand.
A ginseng root the size of an infant's head, seemingly formed from congealed blood marrow, appeared in his palm.
Without hesitation, Lin Fan swallowed it whole.
The ginseng melted as soon as it entered his mouth, and a scorching wave of energy surged straight to the crown of his head.
Lin Fan clearly felt the walls of his mindscape, which had already reached their limit, soften, stretch, and expand under the nourishment of that energy.
His brain grew broader, and the light at the center of his mindscape began flashing faster.
A gleam appeared in Lin Fan's eyes as he flipped his hand again.
This time, a white crystal that gave off an enticing, rice-like fragrance appeared in his palm: a Wood Bud Crystal.
Gulp.
The Wood Bud Crystal went down.
A vast wave of life energy exploded within Lin Fan, forcefully coursing through every part of his body.
"Now!"
"Light at its utmost—turn the intangible into the tangible!"
Feeling the surging life energy within him, Lin Fan controlled every last strand of his Spiritual Force, now transformed into light, and gathered it all onto the patch of light.
Boom!!!
The patch of light exploded.
In an instant, his entire mindscape turned silvery white.
Then the boundless silver light suddenly stopped. It was as if an invisible hand had seized every ray and swept them back at an inconceivable speed, all of them collapsing into the very center.
Crack.
A clear, melodious sound, like glass taking shape, rang through Lin Fan's mindscape.
As everything settled, a tiny sphere of light floated motionless at the very center of his mindscape.
Its surface was covered in countless fine facets, and its translucent body had the sheen of glazed glass. Within it, a golden flame seemed to burn without end.
Light refracted through its many facets, casting brilliant rainbows across the mindscape.
He had reached the Planetary Level!
At the core of his mindscape, the newborn star of light trembled. A vast wave of Planetary Level mental power, wrapped in brilliant radiance, surged through Lin Fan's entire body.
At the same time, the Wood Bud Crystal's immense life essence transformed into rolling green waves and fused perfectly with his mental power.
It began driving every cell, bone, meridian, and organ in Lin Fan's body into a frenzied metamorphosis.
His body's genetic chains broke apart amid the surging energy, then reassembled and regenerated.
This was a fundamental leap in his level of life!
The transformation, like being reborn, continued for several minutes. When his body had absorbed the last trace of energy, a visible wave of air burst outward from around Lin Fan.
He opened his eyes, and his body slowly floated upward without any external assistance.
Flight without relying on anything!
This was the Planetary Level.
Free of the earth's pull, his level of life had risen, and he had truly crossed the threshold to becoming a Universe Citizen.
Lin Fan hovered in midair, feeling the vast power within his body.
This power was more than ten times greater than what he'd possessed at the peak of the War God level!
"Wonderful."
Just as he was about to savor the changes in his body, the Bronze Hall in his mind suddenly began shaking violently.
Clang!!!
A grand bell tolled, and the system's notification sounded.
[Congratulations, host. You have broken through the limits of life and advanced to Planetary Level, Rank 1!] [Number of True Selves increased: 1->10] [True Self comprehension bonus limit increased: 1->10] [Detected that the host's level of life has advanced to the Planetary Level.] [Conditions met to unlock the system's core function module.] [Activating...] [Congratulations, host. You have unlocked an auxiliary function—Origin Placenta (Clone Creation)] [Current clone slots: 0/1] [Description: The system can analyze any living being the host sees, or any object containing biological genes. No resources are required; the system can gestate the clone on its own. The clone will be a "genetically perfected version" of that species. The host can place a True Self Clone into the embryo to accelerate its gestation.] [Tip: The host is currently at the Planetary Level. If a True Self Clone is placed into an embryo, it will take 24 hours before it can be reconstituted.]
As Lin Fan read through the system's notifications, his eyes narrowed.
Ten True Selves, and...
A clone!
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