Ten Days! The Critical Threshold

"If no one has any objections, let's sell it here," Bai Chen said, his gaze sweeping over everyone. Fang Yu, Qin Yang, and the rest expressed no objections. Although a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure like Dragonform Grass would most likely fetch a significantly higher price if taken back to Blue Star to sell, it would be nearly a month before they returned, and too many things could go wrong with delays. Therefore, they chose to sell it right here. Not just them—even civilian martial artists mostly sold their goods at the space base's Sales Center unless they obtained extremely expensive treasures. After all, civilian martial artists shuttling between the Primordial Star, the old lands of Blue Star, or the New Moon had to pay exorbitant stargate fees. "Following the rules, the distribution ratio for Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures is the same as that for Primordial Points," Bai Chen said. "Assuming no objections, I'll begin calculating." "My share is twenty-five percent, which comes to 231,500 Star Coins." "Fang Yu takes twenty percent, which is 185,200 Star Coins." "Qin Yang..." ... Bai Chen quickly finished the calculations. Once everyone confirmed the amounts, an android clerk transferred the money into their respective bank accounts in turn... Fang Yu soon received an alert via his communication star ring. In the Wilderness Zone, the communication star rings had virtually no signal and could only facilitate contact between teammates. Inside the space base, however, they were far more functional; they could even sync with mobile phones to receive select notifications. "Let me remind everyone," Bai Chen said. "This money is monitored by the alliance and will be logged directly into your personal tax systems. Taxes must be filed uniformly next March, so don't go blowing it all. Make sure to set aside enough for personal income tax." "Haha, understood." "We'll have to work hard to raise our Civilization Warrior ranks—taxes are much lower that way." Everyone chuckled. By regulation, exchanging spoils from hunting fierce beasts for Star Coins counted as tax-exempt income, requiring no tax payments... but income from selling Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures was taxable. In this era, everyone was taught tax basics from childhood; paying taxes was every citizen's duty. ... The group walked out of the Sales Center. "All right! Today is the twenty-third," Bai Chen smiled. "My plan is to take a three-day break so everyone can get some proper rest. Cultivate if you need to, relax if you want to. The base has plenty of entertainment facilities—foot massages, business KTVs, and the like. Go if you wish, or check out the food courts. In short, assemble at the usual spot at 6:00 AM on the twenty-seventh." "OK!" "Understood, Captain," everyone responded. Even Fang Yu and Xia Yao found it completely normal. Martial artists—especially those who spent years roaming and fighting on the Primordial Star—lived on high alert. Once they returned to the civilized world, many sought ways to blow off steam aggressively. The space base provided paid services for just that purpose. Naturally, the staff were not real humans, but androids whose services were often far superior to what humans could provide. That was also why many martial artists were willing to stay at the space base year-round. "By the way, don't forget to send a message home to let them know you're safe," Bai Chen added. ... Back in his room, Fang Yu sent all his gear to be cleaned, took a thoroughly refreshing shower, and then came over to the window in his pajamas, feeling thoroughly comfortable. "It's been a long time since I felt this relaxed," Fang Yu murmured, gazing down at the sci-fi-like base below. There were plenty of martial artists walking by on the ground. Although it lacked the bustling human warmth of Wuling City, it was still a scene of peace and order, allowing Fang Yu to relax deeply from the bottom of his heart, a smile naturally playing on his lips. *The Wilderness Zone,* Fang Yu thought silently. This time, counting everything, he had only spent four days in the Wilderness Zone, yet through multiple life-and-death battles, his mind had never truly relaxed for even a moment. The splattering blood... all of it had pushed his senses like never before. He was mature and sensible, having diligently studied every course. Yet ultimately, he had spent the past twenty-one years living in the civilized cities of human society... This was his first time stepping into a dog-eat-dog world where the strong preyed on the weak. *Civilization Warriors!* *Though I'm not clear on the exact relationship between the Blue Moon civilization and the space base,* Fang Yu thought, *judging from my education growing up, the alliance's propaganda, and my own speculations... martial artists venturing across the Primordial Star, slaying fierce beasts, and killing alien powerhouses all benefit the entire civilization. They are all contributing to civilization.* *Martial artists are the Great Wall.* *Scum like Xia Tao are the minority... The vast majority are normal martial artists like the captain and Qin Yang,* Fang Yu thought. *Cultivating step by step, gathering cultivation resources by slaying fierce beasts.* *Xia Tao?* Thinking of that arrogant youth in black who opened his mouth only to twist black and white, waves of murderous intent welled up within Fang Yu... The principles he had grown up with told him that if someone was cold-hearted and unwilling to help others, that was normal enough. But someone like Xia Tao was a parasite on society! The scum of martial artists! He deserved to die! "An Earth Academy student? A martial arts genius? A Level 29 martial artist?" Fang Yu muttered to himself. "The stronger someone like that is, the greater the threat they pose to civilization. The sooner and more of them die, the better it is for society." Of course, Fang Yu was no fool. He knew very well that one could only accomplish as much as one's ability allowed. The world was full of injustice and darkness; what he needed to do right now was make himself stronger. Only by being strong enough would he avoid feeling as stifled and helpless as he had today when encountering injustice in the future. *Strength is the foundation!* ... "Dad, it's Fang Yu. I just got back from the Wilderness Zone, don't worry..." Fang Yu used his phone to quickly reply to his father, Fang Ping'an, and his sister, Fang Siyue. Over the past few days, they had sent quite a few messages. But being in the Wilderness Zone, Fang Yu had had no way of knowing. Now that he had his phone back, he replied immediately to let them know he was safe. Finally, Fang Yu reported to his father that he had earned over 200,000 Star Coins on this trip, putting his mind completely at ease. To Fang Yu, these two hundred thousand-plus weren't a massive sum. After all, the first installment of his endorsement fee from Shengchuan Group—five million—had already arrived, bringing his available funds close to seven million. Yet the meaning was completely different. This money was something Fang Yu had earned with his own strength through grueling effort in the Wilderness Zone... much like an ordinary cultural student receiving their very first paycheck after graduating from university. Regardless of the amount, it held extraordinary significance. As for running into the Black Ice Squad or the perilous clashes with fierce beasts along the way, Fang Yu naturally kept his mouth shut. ... "Captain, you guys go have fun. I just want to get some good sleep and rest." Fang Yu politely declined the business KTV invitation from the captain and Xiong Meng, choosing to stay in his room alone. The room grew quiet. *My martial heart isn't strong enough yet; it hasn't reached the level of the Living Buddha Ji Gong, where "wine and meat pass through the bowels, while the Buddha remains in the heart,"* Fang Yu thought. *Before my martial heart becomes indestructible, I must avoid immersing myself in environments of base desires as much as possible.* Fang Yu knew clearly in his heart that the path of a martial artist was destined to be fraught with hardship. Before one's martial heart reached grand mastery, one had to restrain internal desires as much as possible and maintain absolute focus in order to stand a better chance of reaching the pinnacle of martial arts. That night, he slept soundly. The next day, at 8:00 AM on the twenty-fourth, Fang Yu resumed his cultivation. The reason each martial artist's room was so spacious was precisely to facilitate their training. *Flowing Light Saber!* Bare-chested, revealing firm, beautifully sculpted muscles, Fang Yu held a war saber weighing nearly two hundred kilograms and slowly practiced the Flowing Light Saber technique. Every stance and form was exceptionally slow, almost like practicing Tai Chi. In reality, however, executing such slow movements with absolute stability was more than ten times harder than practicing fast saber strikes, demanding extreme control over sinews, bones, muscles, and the circulation of qi and blood. *Stimulating with Dark Force paired with saber practice can tap into my body's potential to the greatest extent,* Fang Yu thought. *This way, my body can slowly absorb the star force latent within it, and once it's mostly absorbed, I can take another Crimson Star Pill. At the same time, it enhances my control over my body. I must master the Entering the Minute secret technique.* Fang Yu practiced in silence. Cultivation, at its core, held no shortcuts. It simply required sincere devotion—spending enough time and throwing oneself wholly into the training. ... Fang Yu did not immerse himself entirely in cultivation either; during this period, he also met up with his close friend, Wang Mo. "Old Fang, you're awesome! You surged straight into second place," Wang Mo said with a chuckle. "I saw your overall ranking shot up by a huge margin. I'm counting on you to cover my back when the time comes." "You've been working hard too. Your coefficient score reached 1.1," Fang Yu replied with a smile. "Damn it, Old Fang, are you mocking me?" Wang Mo widened his eyes. "You're already at 1.3! How many people have reached 1.3 by now? Only five!" "By the way, Old Fang, did you check out any of the parlors at the base? I went and tried one, and it was seriously good. I only ever heard about it back on Blue Star, but this was my first time experiencing it..." ... Time flowed like water. On August 27, the five members of the Scarlet Flame Squad assembled and entered the Wilderness Zone once more. This time, they spent a full five days out in the wilderness before returning to the base. Their haul this time was smaller than the first, yielding no Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, but Fang Yu still reliably earned 24 Primordial Points while successfully raising his coefficient score to 1.4. He still ranked second on the freshmen coefficient leaderboard. However, his overall score ranking had climbed to 522nd place, drawing closer and closer to his goal of breaking into the top 500. After returning, Fang Yu thoroughly digested the remaining medicinal power of the Crimson Star Pills in his body, finally taking Crimson Star Pills for a third time—this time consuming six of them. ... After resting for several days, on September 4, the Scarlet Flame Squad entered the Wilderness Zone for a third time. Their destination had shifted from Mount Daling to the North Cliff Mountains, situated deeper within the Wilderness Zone. The fierce beasts there were higher in level and more numerous, and the probability of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures being born was greater as well. During their first two days in the North Cliff Mountains, they killed nearly twenty intermediate fierce beasts in succession. Around 3:00 PM on September 6, in a spot sheltered by a colossal cliff wall... "Get some good rest. Our haul this time is much bigger than last time," Bai Chen comforted everyone. Aside from Xia Yao and Xiong Meng taking turns on lookout, the rest rested peacefully. After several consecutive days of slaughter, everyone was rather exhausted. Fang Yu lay dozing on a patch of clean ground, while his conscious thoughts quietly reached into that mysterious realm, contemplating in silence. Aspect Observer Life Level: Level 22.3 (Intermediate Martial Artist) Martial Technique: High Entering the Minute (Qi-Blood, Weapon Entering the Minute) Soul Level: Level 24.9 Void Star Aspect: Unknown (First-stage awakening imminent) ... *Over this half month, I've taken Crimson Star Pills three times in a row, totaling more than twenty pills,* Fang Yu thought. *My Life Level has risen to Level 22.3.* *Has the first stage still not awakened?* *Could it really require me to reach Level 23 or even higher?* Fang Yu wondered. Though he wasn't particularly anxious, awakening the Void Star Aspect earlier was always better. Suddenly— *Huh?* Fang Yu felt a slight twinge in his head. Immediately after, he discovered in shock that the information transmitted from that mysterious realm had finally changed. Aspect Observer Life Level: Level 22.3 (Intermediate Martial Artist) Martial Technique: High Entering the Minute (Qi-Blood, Weapon Entering the Minute) Soul Level: Level 25.0 Void Star Aspect: Unknown (Critical threshold reached, first-stage awakening) ... *Boom!* In Fang Yu's visualization, that massive star aspect, which had slept for who knew how long, suddenly stirred with a deafening rumble, immediately bursting forth with endless, dazzling purple light.