Chapter 14: The Opportunity for Voluntary Death

Deep within the jungle, beneath towering ancient trees, a pack of ravenous wolves was about to descend. At this perilous moment, Gu Feng stood frozen, distracted by the voice of the system. If the wolves succeeded, in an instant, Gu Feng would be picked clean to the bone.

The wolves, sensing their prey within reach, let out excited, arrogant howls as they prepared to tear into their target. Startled awake by the wolves’ cries, Gu Feng looked up to see the pack already upon him—one wolf’s jaws mere inches from his head. Terror seized Gu Feng; cold sweat poured down his face. He already felt a wounded wolf biting his rear painfully. With thirteen wolves above him, if each took a bite, he’d be torn apart in seconds.

“Self-destruct! I want to self-destruct!” Gu Feng roared inwardly at the critical moment, just as the first wolf lunged for his head.

The system responded swiftly to his command, immediately asking, “Are you certain you want to expend a chance at voluntary death?”

Gu Feng swore in desperation. Even if the pack tore him apart, he wouldn’t die, but the agony would be real—he had no courage to endure that. “Yes! Yes! I’m willing!” he shouted.

A wolf howled.

Then came a scream.

The first wolf sank its fangs into Gu Feng’s head. An unbearable pain shot through his nerves; his scream was heartrending. He felt the wolf’s sharp teeth digging deeper, as if his skull would shatter. The horror of that moment was overwhelming. Gu Feng was in agony and filled with hatred. “Damn system, why aren’t you activating yet?”

Boom!

Just as the other wolves were about to sink their teeth into him, Gu Feng’s body suddenly swelled and exploded. The thirteen wolves were blasted away, their bodies shredded by the explosion’s energy. The earth itself was left with a gaping crater, and a giant tree nearby suffered collateral damage, losing nearly half its trunk.

“Ding! Killed a rabid wolf. Experience +15.”
“Ding! Killed a rabid wolf. Experience +15.”
…
The system chimed thirteen times in succession. Gu Feng gained 195 experience points.

“Ding! Consumed a voluntary death opportunity, annihilated thirteen rabid wolves, physique restored to normal human standard.”
“Ding! Host’s physique restored to normal human standard. Awarded cultivation method: Devouring Heaven Technique.”

Standing in the resurrection waiting space, Gu Feng, who had been furious, was stunned by the system’s announcements.

“The mission is actually complete?” Though he had wasted a chance at voluntary death, as long as he could complete the mission and restore his body to normal human standards, it was worth it. Gu Feng’s base strength had been 2 points—the equivalent of a level one warrior, with only 4 points of strength, barely meeting the threshold for a normal person. Worse, subsequent increases in his strength had skipped the first level, treating it as his base, leaving his strength lagging far behind others.

Excited, Gu Feng opened his status panel:

Name: Gu Feng
Age: 16
Level: 4 (Next level requires 150 experience, remaining experience: 265)
Unmastered cultivation method: Devouring Heaven Technique
Strength: 20
Deaths completed: 2
Weapon: Refined iron short sword
Pet: None
Skill: Slash (Proficiency: Level 1)
Revival time: 12 hours
Special attributes: None
Money: 312 gold, 10 silver, 0 copper
Points: 10

Two things caught Gu Feng’s eye: a strength of 20 and 265 experience points. Immediately, he chose to level up. He reached level 5, his strength soared to 30, and 115 experience points remained. The next level would require 500 experience points.

Satisfied with his attributes, Gu Feng no longer lamented the lost opportunity at voluntary death.

With twelve hours to wait, boredom crept in. He turned his attention to the unmastered cultivation method: Devouring Heaven Technique.

Devouring Heaven Technique—can devour anything and convert it into energy (experience) for leveling up. Learning requires 100,000 gold and 100 points.

Gu Feng cursed, “Damn you, system! Wasn’t Devouring Heaven Technique a reward? Why does it cost gold and points to learn?”

A sly voice responded, “Heh! Did you think you could cultivate Devouring Heaven Technique so easily? With your talent, you’d never understand it in a thousand years. The system can help you master it instantly—what more do you want?”

“What? Are you trying to cheat me, system?”

“If you think you’re so clever, I can give you the technique’s formula. Try to comprehend it yourself. I’ll even tell you: if you manage to master Devouring Heaven Technique on your own, you’ll be handsomely rewarded. But… can you?”

“You look down on me? I, Gu Feng, refuse to believe it! Give me the formula—I’ll figure it out myself!”

The system fell silent, then transmitted the formula for Devouring Heaven Technique to Gu Feng.

What a joke! A Primordial-level cultivation method—if a mortal could grasp it easily, it would be nothing special.

Gu Feng’s mind throbbed as the formula flooded in. He’d expected words, but instead, golden tadpoles swam vividly through his consciousness.

Still, Gu Feng did not give up and continued his attempts to comprehend it.

Time passed. After five hours, the sun had risen; it was now eight in the morning.

In the Thousand Peaks Domain, atop Wang Yuanwu’s mountain, seven or eight bandits, freshly awakened, gathered to discuss their leader’s whereabouts.

One bandit said, “Fourth Brother, the boss and the others are nowhere to be seen. I heard from Third Brother that the boss sent Guo Nan to Forest Village to snatch some girls. Maybe they all went together and got carried away—they’re still not back.”

Another bandit grumbled, “Fourth Brother, the boss and the rest are too selfish. They grab a few girls, have their fun, and we’re left with nothing but scraps. They go themselves and have a blast, but what about us?”

The youngest among them said, “Fourth Brother, why don’t we head to Forest Village too? Maybe we can find a few girls for ourselves.”

The suggestion made all the bandits’ eyes light up.

Without hesitation, the seven or eight of them, led by Fourth Brother, slung their broadswords over their shoulders and swaggered off toward Forest Village.

On the way, they encountered bandits from other peaks; some exchanged greetings, while those with grudges only snorted coldly.

Back in Forest Village, the events of the previous night seemed like a dream to every villager.

But as people moved about, they discovered three bandit corpses in Gu Feng’s courtyard, the remains of the first hound outside Old Man Zhu’s house, and from Widow Li and the Zhou Dalong couple, they heard the news of Wang Yuanwu’s brutal death.

Notably, neither Widow Li nor the Zhou couple revealed Gu Feng’s identity. They only said that a passing heroine, dressed in black, bravely killed Wang Yuanwu.

When asked, Gu Yan was no fool. She forced herself to remain calm and spun a lie—that a white-robed hero happened by and saved her.

But when people questioned Gu Feng, Gu Yan grew flustered, arousing suspicion among the villagers.