Green flames suddenly erupted from Old Lei’s body and engulfed him entirely. He turned into one with the dark-green flames, which surged toward Wun Fan’s forehead. Old Lei couldn’t help but marvel to himself when he came into contact with Wun Fan’s manifested physical form, Who would’ve thought a child would possess such pure innate mental energy? It is unbelievable. He is truly blessed to be a martial artist.
One’s innate mental energy was decided from birth. Even the tallest buildings are built from the ground up. The higher the innate mental energy, the better it could develop and grow. Even as powerful as Old Lei was, he had truly never seen such pure innate mental energy in a person.
Old Lei’s appreciation for talent and genius was ignited at that very moment. Helping Wun Fan had only been a mission for him up to that point. However, he truly wanted to train Wun Fan into someone powerful now.
While Old Lei was having a moment of his own, Wun Fan was feeling something else entirely. The dark-green flames before him looked elegant and noble, but he could clearly sense the depths of his soul trembling before it! This was the natural instinct of all living beings; a primal fear of powerful things. For a moment, Wun Fan’s mind was completely blank.
An unprecedentedly immense power enveloped Wun Fan’s mental energy. Every contact with the flames made him feel a warmth he had never felt before. It wasn’t the kind of warmth your body felt; it was a warmth from deep within the soul.
“Ouch!”
All of a sudden, sharp, stinging pain lashed forward. Wun Fan’s body manifested out of mental energy and fell to its knees. His entire body twitched uncontrollably and his eyes went out of focus. Old Lei saw this and started to shout, “Hang in there, kid! To make the Spiritstartler Ring acknowledge you as its owner, you have to let it devour a portion of your innate mental energy.”
“Ugh…aaagh…”
Wun Fan punched the ground in agony. Pain of the fingers reaches the heart and pain of the head and mind reaches the soul. What about pain of the soul then? The most terrifying thing was the fact that Wun Fan could clearly feel how his soul was being slowly torn apart by the green flames. The pain of having one’s soul sliced apart was impossible to bear.
Wun Fan continued to pound away at the ground, but it did not help distract from the pain at all. If anything, he could only feel the pain grow with each passing second.
The overwhelming pain and agony swarmed him. He could only barely squeeze out a few sounds from his throat to indicate that he was still conscious. The mental manifestation of his body inside the ring was experiencing nausea, dizziness and ringing in the ears; but that was only the start. Wun Fan’s body in reality had also started to twitch violently. Cold sweat soaked his shirt and bed.
Wun Siu Lan had been taking care of him all this while. She instantly sprinted out of the room without thinking when she saw this. Soul energy was channelled into her feet as she rushed out of the room. She wasn’t just an ordinary girl. She knew that it was better to find someone else who could help Wun Fan than to waste her time bawling her eyes out.
Every second counted!
She shut the door so no one would disturb Wun Fan and ran decisively towards the great elder’s dwelling.537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlqIseELpmb
Every second felt like an eternity to Wun Fan. Every second was indescribable pain assaulting his very being. He wanted nothing more than to just give up and die. Only one thought made him persist—the thought of becoming stronger.
He had wanted to make everyone who had looked down on him regret it. He had wanted to take back everything he had lost; take back power and fame. However, upon reflection, none of these seemed important anymore. The reason he wanted to become stronger was because he had too many things he had to protect. Unlike the previous life, he was no longer an orphan, and his adoptive father was still alive.
He had a father figure, a grandfather figure and even a sister who knew him better than anyone else. He could not give up here!
He promised her that she would never feel any humiliation ever again as long as he was still alive.
He refused to let things be. There were still so many things in this world he had not seen yet. He would not just leave this world with empty hands!
This determination and stubborn refusal to give up gradually pushed the pain back. As minutes passed, the soul-rending pain slowly faded away. Along with it, Wun Fan could very clearly sense a brand left in his soul in the shape of a ring. It radiated an aura he had never felt before.
It was a majestic aura, yet simple and plain; sometimes overflowing with power, sometimes seeming entirely like an ordinary ring. The old man’s voice rang again, a hint of relief in his words, “Congratulations, kid. You are now the owner of the Imperial Zenith: the Spiritstartler Ring.”
There seemed to be a thread between Wun Fan and Old Lei’s soul now, a vague but real connection between the two of them. Wun Fan couldn’t control Old Lei’s movements through this connection, but he could sense his goodwill.
“Thank you, Old Lei.”
Wun Fan finally let down his guard when he felt the goodwill coming from the ring. He made himself put on a smile. He wanted to be friendly, but the experience from earlier had simply been too much. It had taken everything out of him.
“Haha!”
Old Lei smiled compassionately at Wun Fan’s condition but didn’t seem too concerned about it as he said, “Don’t worry, kid. This pain is the price you paid to obtain the Spiritstartler Ring. It is a small price to pay. Most would kill to be in your position. You will soon know how lucky you truly are.”
Wun Fan rolled his eyes so hard when he heard this, his eyes almost went into the back of his head. He wanted to curse out loud, maybe even scream some obscenities at the old man. Why don’t you give it a try then? Wun Fan shivered at just the thought of what he had to endure.
“Old Lei, I haven’t known you for all that long, but you have been praising this Spiritstartler Ring non-stop. What exactly is it that would warrant such high praise from you?”
Wun Fan’s voice was weak and soft. He didn’t know how powerful Old Lei truly was, but judging from the aura alone, he was far more powerful than Wun Ching Yeung or even the great elder. He was definitely not weak. If the ring was held in such high regard but such a powerful person, it was certainly no ordinary artefact.
Old Lei didn’t answer him. Instead, he spoke again. “Kid, the Spiritstartler Ring has one last requirement before it acknowledges you as its owner.”
“What is it?”
“Tell me, what is the meaning of life?”
Old Lei’s eyes suddenly brimmed with energy and purpose, staring straight at Wun Fan and into his heart. Wun Fan was slightly taken aback. He was already feeling weak and hadn’t expected something like this at all.
However, Wun Fan was no coward. He managed to suppress his discomfort in a matter of seconds. He reeled in his surprise and calmed his mind as he pondered the question. Old Lei couldn’t help but marvel once more when he witnessed Wun Fan’s composure, “There is always talent out in the world, each blossoming in their own fields. This kid is calm and composed. He was able to keep his heart as still as water even in the face of my aura. If it wasn’t for the Spiritstartler Ring’s interference, he would probably be a Martial Mortal already.”
Wun Fan was deep in thought. He had lived two lives now and yet he had never seriously considered the question.
Indeed, what was the meaning of life?537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUeLE9WY65A
Meanwhile, Wun Siu Lan had already dragged the great elder to Wun Fan’s room.
“I already sent a servant to notify Father before I came to look for you, gramps.”
“Mm.”
The great elder was in no mood to reply. He just wanted to look at Wun Fan as soon as possible. Worry was written all over his face. He kicked the door open forcefully and sat by the bedside, looking over Wun Fan.
“What is it, kid?”
The great elder frowned at the sight of Wun Fan’s condition. Wun Fan’s face was scrunched up in pain, his breathing was erratic, and his sheets were drenched with sweat. The great elder thought for a moment. He picked up Wun Fan’s hand and placed his fingers over his pulse. His soul energy surged into Wun Fan’s body and circulated throughout. A brief examination revealed that Wun Fan’s physical condition wasn’t as bad as it seemed. In fact, a stream of aether was seeping out of his Point of Joining Valleys, nourishing the rest of his body.
Moreover, his breathing was stabilising with every breath. Aether was accumulating in his body, growing in strength and volume.
It’s growing in strength? Did he break through to the seventh level?
The great elder was overjoyed to see this. He retracted his soul energy and looked at Wun Siu Lan excitedly, “Let’s go! Gramps is gonna bring you drinking today!”
“What is it, gramps?”
Wun Siu Lan was confused at the great elder’s joy. He looked positively worried just a minute ago and Wun Fan still looked in pain. Why was this old man happy? Did he finally go crazy?
“Ow, let me down.”
“Hahaha. This is Wun Fan’s miracle. I have no idea what the cause is, but he’s completely fine now.”
The old man wiped the corner of his eye with his sleeve and picked Wun Siu Laan up by her waist. He ignored her objections as he walked out of the room. “Let’s give the kid some rest. I couldn’t be happier today. You and my dad are gonna go drinking at the taverns today.”
“Let me go! How can a girl like myself go to that kind of unwholesome place…”
“I’m just bringing you along for drinking. You’re the one with the dirty mind for your age.”
“I’m just a young girl! I don’t drink!”537Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJRZObJi1G
