The Hidden Injury Temporarily Eased

"Impossible!"

He roared inwardly, his eyes bloodshot.

Yet no matter how unwilling he was, the facts lay right before him.

He had thought that after cultivating so arduously and improving so much, he would be able to knock his opponent to the ground and knead him at will. But reality had once again slapped him hard across the face.

Qin Wu collapsed into the snow, his eyes utterly desolate.

Jin Yuqi stepped forward and helped him up. She shot Jiang Qinghe a resentful glare, yet did not dare make any further move.

After all, she was merely a Martial Disciple who had not even reached the peak of the Body Tempering Realm—nothing but dead weight.

Jiang Qinghe ignored the two of them. With a turn of his body, he climbed the towering tree like an agile ape.

Carefully, he plucked the two Vermillion Fruits and tucked them into his robes.

Meanwhile, He Chong, who was still locked in battle with Zhao Guangyi, was also beginning to falter.

He Chong was secretly shocked by the speed of Zhao Guangyi's martial progress. Last year, Zhao Guangyi had been beneath him; now, he had already surpassed him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of what had happened between Jiang Qinghe and Qin Wu. The anger on his face could no longer be concealed, and he bitterly regretted not bringing more men on this trip.

He Chong knew that staying any longer would only bring further humiliation. He lashed out with a splitting kick, forcing Zhao Guangyi back and opening some distance between them.

Then he retreated, taking Qin Wu and Jin Yuqi with him as they departed in resentment.

"Pah!"

Zhao Guangyi spat.

"With that level of skill, you dared snatch food from a tiger's mouth."

He Chong had not gone far when he heard those words. The pent-up humiliation surged straight to the crown of his head, and he stumbled, nearly tripping over himself.

By the time Jiang Qinghe and Zhao Guangyi returned to the Martial Academy, the moon hung bright while the stars were sparse.

From afar, they saw that their master's pavilion was completely dark. He had evidently retired long ago.

Jiang Qinghe hesitated. "Senior Brother, it's so late. How about we tell Master about this tomorrow?"

Zhao Guangyi's usual steadiness was gone, replaced by a trace of urgency. "Junior Brother, you don't understand the full situation. The sooner Master consumes this Vermillion Fruit, the sooner he can suppress the spread of his old injury!"

Jiang Qinghe's heart sank. He had thought his master merely suffered from some longstanding hidden ailment. He had not expected the injury to still be spreading.

By then, Zhao Guangyi had rushed to the pavilion door and knocked. "Master, it's Guangyi. There's something urgent!"

After a rustle from within, Elder Ping's voice came through. "Come in."

The two pushed open the door and entered. An oil lamp had already been lit in the hall.

Elder Ping's face was unusually haggard. He swept his probing gaze over the two of them. "It's so late. Why are you two rushing about in such a panic? What is it?"

Zhao Guangyi turned his head and glanced at Jiang Qinghe.

Understanding, Jiang Qinghe immediately took something from his robes, strode forward, and handed it to Elder Ping. "Master, Senior Brother and I went to the Wasteland Forest today and were fortunate enough to obtain two Vermillion Fruits!"

Upon hearing the words "Vermillion Fruit," a brilliant gleam flashed through Elder Ping's somewhat cloudy eyes. "Is that true?!"

He examined them closely. Wherever his gaze fell, faint greenish fluorescence swirled.

"You actually found such a rare treasure in the outer reaches of the Wasteland Forest!"

A trace of excitement appeared on Elder Ping's face, and he could not help sighing. "Heaven has not cut off my path!"

"It was Junior Brother who happened to spot it hanging high upon a giant tree on the way back," Zhao Guangyi said from the side. "On the way, we ran into He Chong and Qin Wu from Golden Thunder Martial Academy. We defeated them before taking down the Vermillion Fruits."

Elder Ping nodded lightly at this, his gaze settling on Jiang Qinghe with even greater satisfaction.

"I won't stand on ceremony with you over something that can save my life."

As he spoke, he took one of the Vermillion Fruits and swallowed it, then began circulating his cultivation.

At once, a rich, cool sensation slowly spread from Elder Ping's body.

After a while.

The haggardness on Elder Ping's face faded somewhat. In a daze, even the wrinkles on his face seemed to have smoothed out a little.

"Haha! As expected of something comparable to Natural Treasures. Even consumed directly, it has such effects!"

Watching Elder Ping seemingly grow a little younger, Jiang Qinghe asked tentatively, "Master, has this hidden injury been completely healed?"

"It has eased considerably, but it has not fully disappeared."

"If the Vermillion Fruit were refined into a Foundation Solidifying Pill, it could relieve it completely. But only in Cangfeng City can we find the refining method. Besides, with our means, gathering the other ingredients for a Foundation Solidifying Pill would be far too difficult."

Elder Ping sighed softly. "Back then, I ventured deep into the Wasteland Forest. Though I killed that beast, the Azure Blood Python, its venom seeped into my body. Over these years, it has continued to spread slowly. I have exhausted every method, yet still could not eradicate it."

Jiang Qinghe's heart stirred. "Master, was that the time you previously took all the Senior Brothers into the forest?"

Zhao Guangyi's expression turned indignant. "Senior Brothers? They aren't worthy of being your senior brothers or sisters!"

Elder Ping cast a glance at Zhao Guangyi from beneath his lowered eyelids. "You told Qinghe about that matter?"

Zhao Guangyi hurriedly waved his hands. "Master, I didn't say a thing!"

Elder Ping said nothing more. After a period of silence, he slowly spoke. "It isn't some unspeakable secret. I simply felt too ashamed to bring it up before."

"Back then, I took Guangyi deep into the Wasteland Forest, and those few disciples came along as well. We discovered a cave, and inside lurked that Azure Blood Python. This Demon Beast had originally been nothing more than an ordinary Fourth Tier Demon Beast. I thought it would not take much effort to capture it. Who would have thought that once we fought, the Azure Blood Python's strength would be so unbelievable?"

"It was already known for its speed. Our group could no longer all escape safely, and we were riding a tiger with no way to dismount. In the end, I fought it at the cost of mutual ruin before finally killing it. At the very end of the cave, we found a human-shaped skeleton and the remains of Demon Beasts."

"Beneath clothes that were nearly weathered away lay two booklets. Beside them were several open porcelain bottles. The pills scattered all over the ground still retained their plump shape, though their color had dimmed somewhat."

Zhao Guangyi sneered from the side. "Zhu Ning—your former 'eldest senior brother'—ignored Master's injury completely. Instead, his eyes and hands moved swiftly as he stepped forward, grabbed the booklets, and began flipping through them."

Elder Ping's expression remained neither sorrowful nor joyful. "One booklet contained the Orthodox Beast-Taming Method of the Beast King Sect in Wasteland State, which borders Cangzhou, and bore the sect's seal. The other was the Blood Refining Method, which could raise one's Cultivation Level at an extraordinary speed by extracting the essence blood of others."

"The pills scattered across the ground had been refined using the Art of Refining Human Essence Blood recorded in the Blood Refining Method. The Azure Blood Python had consumed more than half of them, which was why it possessed such strength."

As he spoke, Elder Ping let out a long sigh. "The Orthodox Beast-Taming Method is a secret never passed beyond the Beast King Sect. If someone learned it and was discovered, the Beast King Sect would certainly pursue the matter to the bitter end."

"A snake trying to swallow an elephant will only burst itself, but human greed is boundless. Those disciples clearly each harbored their own designs."

"After returning to the Martial Academy, I hesitated again and again, but ultimately burned the booklets. Later, those people gradually left the academy one after another, and we hardly had any contact thereafter."

Zhao Guangyi said, "Heh, wasn't it simply because they thought Master was injured, that his strength had declined and he was no longer the Big Tree they could lean against to enjoy the shade?"

"Your 'eldest senior brother' went to the Iron Saber Gang and became the former gang leader's prized son-in-law. He has now succeeded him as the new gang leader."

"Your 'second senior brother' went to Cangfeng City's City Guard and developed even better there, long since throwing us to the back of his mind."

"As for the other two, one became the Chief Constable at the Magistrate's Manor, while the other was originally the magistrate's daughter, a wealthy young lady. They, too, have ignored our Martial Academy."

Jiang Qinghe shook his head and sighed inwardly.

The human heart was the hardest thing to fathom.

Years of master-disciple bonds could sometimes scatter at a single word.

Fortunately, Senior Brother Zhao Guangyi and Xiao Hei had always remained by Master's side. Otherwise, Master's heart would surely have been even lonelier.