"I... I can't hold on... much longer..." Wang Lan gasped, his voice trailing off, "...can't... not holding... held on..."
These fragmented words from Wang Lan sent Huang Feilong's mind into disarray.
I'm a Star Shine Stage Star Martial Warrior, and he, a Starlight Stage Star Martial Warrior who only awakened today, fought me face-to-face for five minutes. We even broke his sword without determining a victor, and *I'm* the one who needs comforting? Is this his idea of comforting me? Is he just trying to save my face? Me...
"Mr. Lan, have you found another master?"
"Ah? No, I haven't!"
"No? I don't recall giving you many lessons in sword skill, do I? I mostly just explained the techniques of using a sword and focused primarily on teaching movement technique and the power generation for Inch Strength."
Yes, I did secretly practice, Wang Lan thought. It only took a few good seconds to add those points, after all.
"Impossible. Combat skills aren't some flashy performance for others to watch. You can't learn true skills by training alone; someone must spar with you to provide practical experience. You don't need to lie to me. If that other person is skilled, I don't mind if you learn the real deal from them, as long as you learn it."
"Really, I haven't!" Wang Lan said softly, wiping sweat from his brow. "Every time I practice, I visualize someone attacking me with a sword, and I counterattack that image in my mind. Over time, I just naturally developed this way."
"Meditation training?" Huang Feilong looked at Wang Lan, his face etched with shock. "You actually managed to do meditation training? No wonder... no wonder... Mr. Lan, it is my great fortune, spanning three lifetimes, to have been your enlightening teacher."
"Please don't say that, Master Huang! Master Huang, could you give me some advice on which aspects of my sword skill I should improve?"
Huang Feilong smiled and shook his head. "Your progress in sword skill is already beyond what I can guide. I'm just a Star Shine Stage Star Martial Warrior, which is considered bottom-tier in the world of Star Martial Warriors. Mr. Lan, you've grown so much that I have nothing more to teach you. Your future should be even more magnificent. Today should be my last lesson with you."
"Why? I don't intend to cancel our agreement."
"I know," Huang Feilong said. "But I take Mr. Lan's money to teach you skills. If I can't teach you anything new, I shouldn't be taking your money; that's my bottom line.
"However, before that, Mr. Lan, you still lack one crucial thing. This must be mastered before you step onto a battlefield. I have seen many individuals with exceptional talent, even young geniuses with strength no less than mine, who died at the hands of Exotic Beasts in a single round during their first battle."
"What is it?" Wang Lan asked earnestly.
"Overcoming the fear of death!"
"The battlefield of Star Martial Warriors is a true life-and-death arena. When facing fierce and terrifying Exotic Beasts, some warriors become so terrified their minds go blank. All the skills they've learned are utterly forgotten. They are killed by the Exotic Beasts without even managing to resist. Therefore, Mr. Lan, you must conquer the fear of death before truly going into battle. Come, let's use real weapons."
Huang Feilong took down two real combat blades from the weapons rack—the kind that had been sharpened.
"Catch!"
Wang Lan caught the combat blade, his hand gripping the hilt, which trembled slightly. He wasn't just nervous; there was also a thrill of excitement. He understood the need to overcome the fear of death; facing someone rushing at you with a real blade felt entirely different from a fake one.
"Are you ready?"
"Ready!"
A fierce killing intent suddenly erupted from Huang Feilong as he charged at Wang Lan like a ferocious beast. Although Wang Lan didn't panic to the extent Huang Feilong described in his example, his mindset indeed grew much heavier.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG—
After seven or eight exchanges, Wang Lan's mind descended into chaos, his vision filled only with the flashing glint of the blade.
A sharp sting pricked his skin as Huang Feilong's blade stopped just inches from Wang Lan.
"When using a fake blade, you could engage me in close combat for five minutes. But once we switched to real blades, you could only parry twelve of my strikes. Do you realize how vast the difference is?"
"I understand..." Wang Lan swallowed, silently cursing his own inadequacy.
"Your mind must be steady. Only when your mind is steady will your thoughts not be thrown into chaos."
"Again!" Wang Lan shouted.
"Not today," Huang Feilong said, pointing to Wang Lan's arm where a small cut had appeared. "You've been injured. Such a wound is nothing to a Star Martial Warrior; it'll heal in two days. We'll train again next time. You're young, and you have plenty of time to overcome this."
Huang Feilong couldn't help but give himself a mental thumbs-up. Brilliant! This way, the lessons, three times a week, can probably continue for another semester!
"No need. This wound is nothing at all."
"Of course, on the battlefield, you wouldn't worry about such minor injuries, but there's no need to train while injured..."
Suddenly, Huang Feilong's words caught in his throat, his eyes bulging wide.
What did I just see?
Wang Lan's wound was healing at a visible rate, disappearing entirely in just ten seconds! This gash was much larger than the one Wang Lan had inflicted on himself earlier, which was why it took a full ten seconds to heal.
But to Huang Feilong, that was a Medical Attribute Star Martial Skill! Could it be that Wang Lan had awakened a rare Medical Attribute talent?
What did a Medical Attribute talent signify? It meant you were a giant panda, a national treasure! Even if your combat strength was pathetic, even if you were unskilled in everything else, as long as you could heal, a legion of Star Martial Warriors would protect you. Only by protecting you well could they live longer and sustain their combat endurance.
Among ten Star Martial Warriors, you might not find even one with an Auxiliary Department talent. And among ten of those with Auxiliary Department talents, you might not find even one with a Medical Attribute. A Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior, even with mediocre aptitude, could still be specially recruited into major prestigious academies for the finest training.
At that moment, Huang Feilong felt a sharp pang of envy.
"You're... you're actually a Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior?"
"No, my Talented Skill is Self Healing. It only allows me to recover from my own injuries."
"Bullshit!" Huang Feilong's mouth twitched. "A Medical Attribute is a Medical Attribute. If you can heal yourself, you'll eventually be able to heal others. You've only just awakened. It's not strange for many Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors to only be able to heal themselves in the initial stages. But as you become more proficient with your Talented Skills and learn Star Martial Skills that can treat others, you'll be a Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior."
"Alright, Master Huang, let's go again."
"You're a Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior, so why are you still trying to train like this? Do you still want to lead the charge into battle? Forget it! From now on, just stay safely in the rear. When wounded warriors are brought back from the front, you'll be responsible for treating them. Don't worry, you'll be a precious treasure that every Pioneer Team will be desperate to recruit."
"Even if I really am just a healer, I also have the heart of a warrior. If I don't conquer my fear of death, I can't take the first step as a Star Martial Warrior. You told me that."
I really don't understand the world of the rich, Huang Feilong sighed, shaking his head. He could clearly rely on talent, yet he insists on relying on hard work. "Fine, let's continue!"
From three in the afternoon until six, Wang Lan was repeatedly injured and then healed himself through their combat.
Knowing that Wang Lan could heal himself, Huang Feilong abandoned his initial cautious approach. His sword techniques became increasingly sharp, his angles of attack more cunning and unpredictable.
His only goal was to force Wang Lan to face the specter of death again and again, until he could calmly confront and overcome its terror.
For an average person, three hours of such training might only yield initial results. Unfortunately for Huang Feilong, he was dealing with someone far from average. Perhaps it was his Self Healing ability that gave Wang Lan courage, or perhaps Wang Lan genuinely possessed an innate talent for psychological resilience.
After Huang Feilong finished the session, he formally announced Wang Lan's graduation. This time, there was truly nothing more he could teach him. The fear of death still had some influence, but it was no longer significant. He would have plenty of time to get used to it on the battlefield in the future.
"Mr. Lan," Huang Feilong began, "I find it somewhat hard to part with you so suddenly. However, my abilities are limited; I can only provide you with introductory guidance. As for how you'll walk your path in the future, as someone who has been there, I have only one piece of advice for you.
"Seize every chance and opportunity to grow stronger. Forget what I said about Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors being able to relax in others' protective circles—that was nonsense. When real danger comes, the only one who can protect you is yourself.
"The life of a Star Martial Warrior is spectacular, but also perilous. Guard against arrogance and rashness. Run with all your might; as long as you run fast enough, death itself won't be able to catch up to you."
"I understand," Wang Lan said, picking up his cellphone and waving to Huang Feilong, who was sitting in the car.
With a press of the accelerator, the car sped out of the garage and disappeared. Driving away from Wang Lan's home, Huang Feilong's heart was not calm. He hadn't expected Wang Lan to become a Star Martial Warrior, but even if Wang Lan hadn't, he would still have been the most outstanding student Huang Feilong had ever taught. And the only one to whom he had imparted even his most treasured, "bottom-of-the-chest" skills.
BEEP—
A text message alert popped up on the car's display, notifying him that 200,000 yuan had been deposited into his account.
He muttered, "This darn kid... Couldn't he think of a more thoughtful teacher's gift than this? So tacky!" Even as he said it, a smile bloomed across Huang Feilong's face. But I like it, he thought.
Having sweated profusely several times today, Wang Lan took the elevator straight to the top floor for a good hot bath.
Having started with one hundred skill points from his activated funds, Wang Lan now had fewer than thirty remaining. During the training to overcome his fear of death, he had spent thirty points to upgrade his Self Healing Talented Skill to Bronze Level Four. At Bronze Level Four, Wang Lan's Self Healing speed had greatly increased, more than twice as fast as it was at Bronze Level One.
However, this was still just Self Healing. It wasn't at the level of someone like 'Uncle Wolf,' who could regenerate even if his vital organs were hit. It could only ensure that he could recover quickly enough from injuries to continue fighting.
With the remaining thirty skill points, Wang Lan felt torn. Should he allocate them to Inch Strength Fist or add more to Self Healing? Inch Strength enhanced his offensive output, while Self Healing boosted his resilience. Sigh, I want both. What should I do? Wang Lan mused.
Suddenly, Wang Lan stared at his sword skill entry in shock.
His sword skill had reached Bronze Level Two! He clearly remembered it was at Bronze Level One before. This meant there was only one explanation: skill enhancement wasn't only achieved through point allocation but could also be improved through practice.
Spending the afternoon overcoming the fear of death made my sword skill sharper and my presence more imposing, which effectively translated to an increase in my sword skill's proficiency! Wang Lan realized. That made perfect sense.
Turning off the water, Wang Lan returned to his room wrapped in a bath towel. He had just sat down when his phone began to ring.