He had done it!
Fang Yue was filled with joy but he immediately thought of another problem.
His skill, [Night Breathing], was only active at night. Furthermore, his stats were only high at night, hence the speed in learning the martial arts skills.
What should he do during the day?
Fang Yue shamelessly asked Chen Mu for more martial arts manuals.
"Common martial arts? You already have my saber techniques, so why would you want common martial arts now?"
"Uh…for reference?"
Chen Mu scoffed. "Common martial arts has no value for reference or whatsoever."
"Captain Chen, just give me one of them—anyone will do. It would be great if it has a lower stats requirement, and if cultivating it could raise my stats, and…"
Chen Mu frowned. "Night, do you know how greedy you sound? Learning martial arts is just a start. The most difficult part of martial arts is mastering it.
He made it clear that he would not give Fang Yue any other kind of martial arts manuals.
In fact, if it was not for Lord Han, Fang Yue might not even have the chance to meet Chen Mu, let alone ask more from the man.
Chen Mu left after giving him a few more pieces of advice.
The wooden house belonged to Chen Mu. It was equipped with two rooms, a living area, and a front yard. There were even weapons for training in the yard. It was considered a lavish living place.
Chen Mu was a local of Guyue Village, and it was normal for him to own several houses of the same size.
Fang Yue was temporarily given access to this particular unit.
Chen Mu had another bigger house on the northern side of the village where he stayed with his family. He told Fang Yue to look for him either in his house or in the village guard's camp if there was any issue.
Fang Yue checked the rooms. He realized that the place was covered in dust and there was a lot of garbage in the corners.
At first, he thought that Chen Mu had left him alone in an abandoned garage.
Fortunately, he had a roof over his head and there was a kitchen for him to cook. The place was actually well-equipped except for the layer of dust. He must clean it first before he could start living there.
However, Fang Yue was a lazy person. He hated cleaning and doing chores. He would clean if there were no other options, but he would procrastinate if had the chance.
He went into the room and sat down.
With a thought of his character stats, the window popped up.
[Name: NightDawn]
[State: Mortal]
[Status: Normal]
[HP: 100/100]
[Control: 32 (+20)]
[Block: 32 (+20)]
[Talent: Night Breathing (High-tier Human-level)]
[Martial arts: Insight Vision (low-tier Human-level), Starfire Saber Technique Grade 1 (Third-rate Postcelestial), Starfire Cultivation Method Grade 1 (Third-rate Postcelestial)]
[Lifespan: 11 days 20 hours]
He started using the Starfire Cultivation Method according to the knowledge in his head.
The life force in his soul was ignited. Fang Yue could feel that something inside his body that represented life, the mystical and mysterious life force that was connected to him like intertwining ropes, was burning slowly.
At the same time, a formless energy stream was moving to his dantian.
Unfortunately, he lost the energy as fast as he gained it as if his body was a balloon with many tiny holes. He could only retain so much energy.
He also felt something change in his body for the better. His internal energy circulated in his body, and he felt extremely relaxed.
[Congratulations! You have unlocked Internal Energy. Your current Internal Energy: 1/1]
[Congratulations! You have successfully used the Starfire Cultivation Method to circulate your body for one round. The Starfire Cultivation Method has increased from Grade 0 to Grade 1.]
[Congratulations! You have ascended from Mortal to Third-rate Postcelestial state! You've gained +100 in HP.]
"+100 in HP?!"
Fang Yue was overjoyed! His HP had just doubled itself after using the cultivation method.
"So, breaking through stats results in the increase of HP? Why didn't the others mention anything about a Max HP increase through cultivation and training?
"And what's with the Grade 1 Cultivation Method? It increased so easily! Am I gifted? Am I that smart that I broke through it on my first try?!"
On a closer look, Fang Yue finally understood what Grade 1 meant.
After finish reading the manual, the knowledge he absorbed was only limited to theory.
In order to reach Grade 1, he had to truly master it through practical means. He could then breakthrough into the next state and reach the level of a martial artist.
The [Starfire Cultivation Method] did not change even after it got to Grade 1. It seemed like he would only see changes at Grade 2, but it was not easy to achieve the next grade.
He grabbed a stick from the corner and used it like a sword.
Then, Fang Yue started practicing the [Starfire Saber Technique]. His soul was ignited but only for an instant.
All he did was raise the stick and that was it. When he was using the [Starfire Saber Technique], the [Starfire Cultivation Method] would be automatically activated and the energy would start circulating in his body.
However…
[Internal Energy depleted]
"No wonder the requirement for this lousy saber technique, the [Starfire Cultivation Method]. I think without the cultivation method, I can't even use this saber technique at all."
Annoyed, Fang Yue sat down and continued cultivating the [Starfire Cultivation Method].
His soul was ignited furiously, and once the Internal Energy circulated a dozen times in his body, he finally boosted his Internal Energy to 15.
He then headed to the front yard and walked to the dirty, sturdy stone.
He used the [Starfire Saber Technique] again.
The moment he raised his hands, his Internal Energy erupted.
The first technique: Starfire Slash!
He raised the stick over his head and bang!
The loud explosion caused his soul to burn furiously, and it ignited sparks in the air. The sparks turned into an ember that spread across the wooden stick, engulfing it in flames.
Quickly, the flames burned stronger and lit up the front yard brightly. They were so strong that they burned Fang Yue's hands.
"F***! I should have tested it with a real sword!"
Nevertheless, he tightened his grip and swung it down.
Kakroom!
The wooden stick shattered into smithereens. Charred wooden chips flew and rained down from the air.
A huge cut appeared on the sturdy stone, and the surface around it was burnt.
Fang Yue failed to bring out the full potential of the slash because his 'weapon' broke before he could perform an effective strike. The power was heavily halved.
Fortunately…
[Congratulations! You have activated the Starfire Saber Technique! Starfire Saber Technique has increased to Grade 1]
"Whatever. I got it anyway. I'll go ask Captain Chen for a real sword tomorrow and continue practicing."
Fang Yue had 32 Control at the moment; the [Starfire Cultivation Method] added another 5 points and the [Starfire Saber Technique] added another 10 points.
He would have a total of 47 Control if he performed the saber technique. On top of that, both the [Starfire Cultivation Method] and the [Starfire Saber Technique] completed each other, hence doubling the power!
If he had this kind of power, he would not be afraid of a Wicked anymore!
The sky turned clear and the rain stopped. Fang Yue felt a lot more confident. He was carried away by his excitement until he saw that pitiful Internal Energy of his.
0/15 Internal Energy.
He was shocked.
He could unleash a powerful strike at his peak, but his Internal Energy would be depleted in a single strike.
Maybe he might not even perform a complete slash because he felt like his Internal Energy had failed to keep up with the usage during the previous strike.
He had a glance at his stats.
[Name: NightDawn]
[State: Third-rate Postcelestial]
[Status: Normal]
[HP: 200/00]
[Internal Energy: 0/15]
[Control: 32 (+20)]
[Block: 32 (+20)]
[Talent: Night Breathing (High-tier Human-level)]
[Martial arts: Insight Vision (low-tier Human-level), Starfire Saber Technique Grade 1 (Third-rate Postcelestial), Starfire Cultivation Method Grade 1 (Third-rate Postcelestial)]
[Lifespan: 10 days 10 hours]
Fang Yue was delighted when he looked at his stats but he sensed something was wrong.
Another closer look later, he was shocked.