Awakening in the Wilderness

"I've awakened?" Fang Yu was both surprised and overjoyed. After consuming his third Crimson Star Pill, his Life Level had risen to 22.3, yet he still had not triggered the first stage, which had left him quite perplexed. He had thought he would have to wait until taking a fourth Crimson Star Pill to have any hope. Never had he expected that here in the Wilderness Zone, so abruptly, the first-stage awakening would begin. "Is it because my Soul Level reached 25?" Fang Yu had a sudden realization. The soul referred to spiritual force; a powerful physical body nurtured a powerful soul. His Life Level had increased too quickly lately, so his spiritual force had grown relatively slower. However, there was no time left for Fang Yu to ponder it. In that mysterious realm his consciousness had reached, the colossal Star Aspect had completely awakened. Its entire body was pitch-black, resembling a ram yet utterly hairless, with a pair of gigantic maws occupying nearly half its body length, appearing exceptionally savage and terrifying. At this moment, the awakened Star Aspect roared toward the heavens as endless purple light burst forth. The entire mysterious realm trembled. "Roar—" This roar seemed to carry across endless, ancient space-time like the resonance of the Grand Dao, echoing through this mysterious realm and shaking Fang Yu to his soul. Whoosh! Fang Yu's consciousness was completely submerged in this roar. In a daze, he felt his mind faintly merge into one with the Star Aspect's consciousness. "Roar—" Another roar resounded. The colossal Star Aspect actually stood upright like a human, its two hooves bowing forward in reverence as it performed one unique movement after another. It was no dance! It was more like an ancient sacrificial ritual. …… "Huh?" Xiong Meng, who was on watch, instantly noticed Fang Yu's abnormality. Fang Yu, who had just been lying on the ground resting, had silently sat up cross-legged. Whoosh! Whoosh! Fang Yu held his palms flat before his chest, his head tilted slightly up as if gazing into the sky, yet his eyes were closed tightly. "Brother Fang?" Xiong Meng inquired tentatively, but received no response. Not daring to hesitate, Xiong Meng immediately patted Bai Chen, Qin Yang, and Xia Yao awake. Everyone gathered around Fang Yu, staring in bewilderment at him sitting in silence. "What's going on?" Bai Chen asked in a low voice. "I'm not sure," Xiong Meng quickly explained. "He was fine just now, then suddenly sat up in this posture. I called him and he didn't answer. I was afraid something was wrong, so I didn't dare touch him." "Could he be cultivating something?" Qin Yang wondered. "Let me check." Bai Chen stepped forward, intending to touch Fang Yu. But while still a meter away, he felt an invisible resistance blocking his advance. At the same time, an ominous premonition welled up in Bai Chen's heart. It felt as though stepping any closer would invite disaster. "This?" Bai Chen was shocked. "Captain?" "What's happening?" Xia Yao and Xiong Meng grew even more curious and confused. "Don't approach Fang Yu. Fall back three meters." Bai Chen retreated, his eyes fixed on Fang Yu as he said in a low voice, "If I'm not mistaken, Fang Yu should be awakening his Star Aspect. What's more, the rank of the aspect he's awakening can't be low." "Awakening a Star Aspect?" "Really?" Everyone was astonished. "That's just my guess." Bai Chen did not elaborate further, shaking his head. "Whatever the case, temporarily abandon all hunting plans. We must protect Brother Fang Yu from all sides until he wakes up." "Xia Yao, Xiong Meng, advance a hundred meters out to the flanks on watch. Sound an alert the moment anything happens." "Qin Yang, you stay here with me," Bai Chen ordered. Under normal circumstances, a perimeter of twenty meters was sufficient to allow a martial artist to wake, draw weapons, and strike back. But Fang Yu was currently in a comatose state, oblivious to the outside world, so the perimeter naturally needed to be extended much further to prevent vicious beasts from closing in undetected. "All right." "Understood." Xia Yao and Xiong Meng sprang into action at once. After more than ten days together and dozens of life-and-death battles, they already considered Fang Yu a true brother. This kind of camaraderie forged between life and death was extraordinary and rare. "Captain, Fang Yu won't run into trouble, will he?" Qin Yang held his bow, standing to the side with obvious concern. "Hard to say," Bai Chen murmured. "All we can do is stand guard at his side... If there's still no reaction after a prolonged period, we'll consider taking him back to the base." "Right." As elite students, their vision and knowledge far surpassed Xia Yao and Xiong Meng's. …… Fang Yu's consciousness remained attached to the Star Aspect. Following along as the aspect completed the entire sequence of sacrificial bows, his awareness seemed to soar into a daze, stepping out into the vast, boundless starry cosmos. In this boundless starry expanse, Immense celestial bodies hung suspended one after another. Upon every single star was perched a blurred, towering figure of immense aura, looming like great mountains. Most of these towering existences were not humanoid, but beasts, plants, or even weapon forms—such as a gigantic sword plunged straight into a massive flaming star... Fang Yu's consciousness felt a faint guidance, continually drifting toward the depths of the cosmos. The deeper he ventured, the larger and more dazzling the stars became. The existences perched upon those stars grew correspondingly more towering and vast. "Is that... the Moon-Howling Heavenly Wolf?" "The Swallowing-Sun Python?" Fang Yu recognized the towering silhouettes perched upon two of the stars. One was a heavenly wolf howling to the skies, silvery radiance bathing the entire star with an aura of endless, bone-chilling frost. The other colossal star was coiled by an impossibly huge flaming serpent, its head reared high into the cosmos, cold indifference radiating from its eyes. These were entities Fang Yu knew. Both were Upper-Rank Star Aspects recorded in the Void Hundred Aspects. "Where on earth is this?" Fang Yu was shaken to the core. From his vantage point, there were dozens of stars similar in size to the one where the Moon-Howling Heavenly Wolf perched... yet the Blue Moon Alliance only had records of twelve Upper-Rank Star Aspects. His consciousness continued forward. Finally! His consciousness arrived before an even more colossal flaming star. The space around this enormous star was entirely barren, and upon the star itself was also perched a towering figure. It... It looked almost identical to the Star Aspect image Fang Yu had visualized, likewise possessing a pair of gigantic maws. The only major difference was that this towering figure was fiery red from head to toe. Fang Yu's Star Aspect, by contrast, was pitch-black. "Roar—" Fang Yu opened his mouth. His roar echoed through the endless void, seeming to awaken the towering figure upon that star, which slowly opened its eyes. "Roar—" It answered with a roar of its own! Buzz— That star forged of endless flames and magma immediately shuddered... and Fang Yu's consciousness shattered, dissolving into nothingness. …… On the Primordial Star, beneath the cliff wall. Bai Chen and Qin Yang stared at the scene before them in disbelief. Visible wisps of fiery red light were swirling around Fang Yu, converging upon him. "Materialized star force?" "It's flame star force!" Both were thoroughly astounded. They understood all too well what this spectacle meant: Fang Yu was indeed undergoing the initial awakening of star force. The star force throughout the endless starry sky was fundamentally divided into many subtle categories. Star force contained within Crimson Star Grass or Dragonform Grass leaned toward neutral... but when martial artists absorbed external star force, they usually took in only the type best suited to themselves. Whoosh! Whoosh! Gradually, the dense flame star force faintly coalesced into the blurred silhouette of a snake between Fang Yu's brows. The snake silhouette was fiery red all over, coiled into a knot that radiated a savage edge. Meanwhile, across Fang Yu's chest, arms, back, and legs, countless fiery red points of light faintly flickered. A glance revealed dozens of glowing flame spots. At this moment— "It's the Crimson-Scaled Snake!" "The Middle-Rank Star Aspect, Crimson-Scaled Snake." Bai Chen and Qin Yang exchanged glances, recognizing the Star Aspect Fang Yu was awakening at the same time. Yet their shock was beyond words. Fang Yu awakening a Middle-Rank Star Aspect was not entirely surprising to them. "For his initial awakening, the number of star acupoints that have appeared must exceed forty, right?" Bai Chen could not help muttering, disbelief etched across his face. "How could awakening a Middle-Rank Star Aspect produce so many star acupoints?" "I counted!" "It should be forty-six star acupoints," Qin Yang replied quickly, his eyes equally filled with shock. "Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable. Even an Upper-Rank Star Aspect would hardly surpass this upon initial awakening." Both understood the significance of star acupoints. Awakening a Star Aspect was essentially the aspect projecting onto the human body, opening star acupoints within it, thereby allowing the martial artist to absorb free star force from the cosmos through these channels. Put simply, The greater the number of star acupoints opened, the higher the rank of the Star Aspect, and the greater the efficiency of absorbing star force and tempering the body. It was a direct reflection of talent. The number of star acupoints was not fixed forever. As strength grew, more star acupoints would gradually open... but that was usually something that happened after becoming an Earth Martial Artist. Before becoming an Earth Martial Artist, the initial number of star acupoints a martial artist opened during the first awakening was generally what they were stuck with. Under normal circumstances, Those who awakened a Lower-Rank Star Aspect usually opened fewer than five initial star acupoints. As a result, their efficiency in absorbing star force was low and their Life Level increased slowly; without external aid, reaching level 20 was difficult. Those who awakened a Middle-Rank Star Aspect usually had around ten initial star acupoints, rarely exceeding fifteen. Their cultivation efficiency was much higher, greatly boosting their chances of becoming an Advanced Martial Artist. Those who awakened an Upper-Rank Star Aspect typically opened forty or more initial star acupoints. Their cultivation efficiency naturally far exceeded the former two. Even without any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, becoming an Advanced Martial Artist was an easy feat, and with a little technical talent to unlock their bodily potential, they could reach level 39. Certain martial arts prodigies with astonishing aspect talent could unlock sixty or even eighty or more initial star acupoints, absorbing star force at an absurd rate. And Fang Yu, Though he had clearly awakened a Middle-Rank Star Aspect, judging by the opened acupoints... it was undeniably at the caliber of an Upper-Rank Star Aspect. This discrepancy naturally left Bai Chen and Qin Yang thoroughly baffled. Yet! No matter how puzzled they were, it did not prevent them from realizing one certainty. "Fang Yu is going to soar to the heavens," Bai Chen said with emotion, smiling. "Entering the Minute saber technique proves his astonishing technical talent, and paired with such a formidable Star Aspect, he'll soon become an Earth Academy student... His future is limitless." "Before awakening an aspect, his technique was already this formidable. In the future, he'll surely become even stronger," Qin Yang added, speaking more words than usual. "This kind of talent is far superior to that Xia Tao's."