Visiting the Wounded

"Breaking and rebuilding?"

Hearing this, Bibi Dong's face darkened. Listen to that—did that even sound reasonable?

Granted, Soul Masters were not flowers raised in greenhouses. Nor was she trying to cultivate decorative vases that were useless in a fight.

Experience was indeed a means of making Soul Masters stronger. That was why, in the original story, she had sent the Golden Generation out to gain experience after the Soul Master Tournament.

But gaining experience did not mean recklessly courting danger.

The meridians connected every part of the human body. Once damaged, they could very likely endanger one's life.

Even if one survived by sheer luck, damaged meridians could still affect cultivation. Such behavior could not be called breaking and rebuilding.

It was gambling with a person's life and future.

"Isn't there a safer method?"

Bibi Dong knew full well that Master Ping Su had an eccentric temperament. Suppressing her anger, she asked gently.

"This young friend Su's condition is quite unusual. It is already no easy matter to find a way to treat him. Though this old man cannot eliminate the root of the problem quickly, I can delay the symptoms."

As he spoke, Ping Su took out a sheet of white paper from his robes.

With a light tap of his fingertip, his brush moved like a dragon and snake.

He quickly finished writing a prescription.

"Take the medicine according to this prescription. It will strengthen the foundation and nourish the vital energy. With careful recuperation, as long as he does not release a large amount of Soul Power at once, there will be no problem."

He spoke with great confidence, his tone carrying a trace of unquestionable authority.

After handing over the prescription, Ping Su did not linger.

Before Bibi Dong could even speak, he drifted away.

"Rest well. Don't circulate your Soul Power for the next few days."

Bibi Dong left behind those words with a complicated expression, then walked out of Su Chen's room as well.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo. Follow me."

"Are you... all right?"

After holding it in for a long time, Xie Yue finally managed to squeeze out a sentence.

"Don't worry. Didn't Master Ping Su say it wasn't a serious problem?"

Su Chen knew that his current condition was clearly not caused by Xie Yue, so he did not want to put too much psychological pressure on him.

He raised an arm into the air, using it to indicate that he was still doing fairly well.

Yet the slight upward curve of his lips could not conceal the pain that had drained the color from them.

"I... I'll do everything I can to make up for all of this."

With his head lowered and not another word to say, Xie Yue could no longer endure it. He immediately fled the room.

Su Chen had wanted to go after him, but his current condition clearly did not allow it.

Left with no choice, he could only lie back down obediently.

"Boss, how are you?"

After lying there idly for about an hour, there was another sound at the door.

When he looked up, he saw Oscar, whom he had not seen for several days.

Oscar had already changed into Spirit Hall attire, making him look even more heroic.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Master Ping already said that as long as I rest properly according to her prescription, I'll be fine."

Afraid of making Oscar worry, Su Chen deliberately downplayed the situation.

"But what about you? How have you been these past few days? You didn't even come to see me."

To keep Oscar from asking further questions, Su Chen deliberately changed the subject.

"Your Holiness the Pope assigned Mr. Hu as my teacher. His Martial Soul is chili pepper, and he's already a level eighty-one Soul Douluo."

Speaking of this, Oscar looked quite proud.

A level eighty-one Food-Type Martial Soul master. Though not the strongest in the world, he was undoubtedly among the best.

After all, under the same conditions, Food-Type Soul Masters cultivated far more slowly than masters with other Martial Souls.

"He told me that Food-Type Martial Souls were naturally slow to cultivate. Since that's the case, there's no need to pursue rapid advancement in rank too much during the early stages. Instead, I should accumulate more Soul Power so I can achieve explosive growth after prolonged accumulation."

Oscar was only six years old, after all. With a little guidance from Su Chen, he had already changed the subject.

"I think that's a good suggestion as well. Building up strength for a breakthrough is also a path."

Su Chen nodded. Once Soul Power reached a bottleneck, one would not advance in rank without absorbing a Soul Ring.

But that did not mean the Soul Power cultivated during that time disappeared. It merely accumulated. That was the foundation of so-called building up strength for a breakthrough.

"Are you all right, Junior Brother?"

As the two spoke, someone else rushed in anxiously. Needless to say, it was Hu Liena.

She had just finished today's training and could not stop worrying about Su Chen, so she immediately ran over.

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

Su Chen once again put on his trademark fake smile, trying to brush Hu Liena off.

"Oh? You think you can fool your Senior Sister with that?"

As she spoke, Hu Liena reached her claws toward Su Chen's head.

"What are you trying to do?!"

Su Chen was all too familiar with that motion from Hu Liena.

She was about to give him a head-pat attack.

Over the past few days, this little girl would come over and do this whenever she felt like it.

Though at least seven or eight times out of ten, he would pat her head right back, she still never grew tired of it.

Su Chen instinctively jerked backward, and a sharp pain immediately shot through his entire body.

He instantly grimaced in pain.

"Hiss... Looks like I really shouldn't move anything besides my arms."

"Are you all right?!"

Seeing Su Chen in such misery, Hu Liena was shocked as well.

She had not expected Su Chen's injuries to be so severe.

Hu Liena had originally thought that Su Chen was merely suffering from temporary Soul Power disorder, nothing too serious.

That was why she had intended to provoke him a little with a head-pat attack. She had not expected his injuries to be this bad.

"Are you all right, Boss?"

Seeing Hu Liena's expensive attire, along with the fact that she could freely enter this place, Oscar knew that her identity was definitely not ordinary.

But seeing his boss in such a state, Oscar could no longer sit still.

"You knew he was injured, so why did you still provoke him like that?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know your injuries were this serious... I-I really didn't do it on purpose."

Flustered, Hu Liena became momentarily at a loss, not knowing what to say.

"Don't worry. Master Ping is here. I'm not seriously hurt."

Su Chen smiled and comforted her, while raising a hand to signal Oscar to sit down.

He noticed the fine beads of sweat on Hu Liena's forehead that had not yet faded.

Though she was only a ten-year-old girl, she had undergone Soul Master training since childhood. Her physical condition was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

The training grounds were not far from here, so Hu Liena should not have worked up a sweat just by running over.

"Then you must rest properly. Don't force yourself."

"Okay."

Thinking of the past few days they had spent together, a warm current rose in Su Chen's heart.

This little girl who always made him call her "Senior Sister" actually cared so much about someone she had only known for a short time.

"I'm sorry for making you worry."

Raising both hands, Su Chen gave each of them a head-pat attack.

But rather unexpectedly, neither Oscar nor Hu Liena objected this time.

For once, they accepted the head pats with exceptional obedience.