The seven members of the Imperial Fighting Team helped each other down from the stage.
Shi Mo led the way, his shell covered in cracks, blood seeping through them.
Shi Mo walked beside him, but his condition was completely different.
Four bloody holes in his shell still oozed dark blood. The skin around the wounds had turned a purplish blue, and the discoloration had already spread across half his back.
His face was deathly pale, and his lips had turned purplish blue. Every step looked like he was trudging through mud, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound.
Tian Xuan supported Ye Lingling. Her face was so pale it was almost translucent, and her eyes were sunken.
Tian Xuan's hands trembled, but he walked steadily.
Half of Yu Feng's body was charred black, his clothes fused to his skin. He grimaced in pain, but he was still smiling.
Osler had three visible claw marks on his shoulder.
Yu Tianheng walked at the back, his right arm hanging limply at his side. The wound on his ribs had turned purplish blue and was oozing dark blood. The poison had already spread to his chest.
But his back remained ramrod straight.
The door to the rest area was pushed open, and Dugu Yan strode inside.
Her gaze swept over everyone, lingering longest on Yu Tianheng and Shi Mo. Seeing the purplish wounds and dark blood, her brows drew together tighter and tighter.
But she said nothing. She stepped aside, and Chen Jieqi emerged from behind her.
"Everyone, sit down."
Shi Mo was the first to sit. Tian Xuan helped Ye Lingling into a chair, then leaned against the wall and panted.
Yu Feng sprawled straight onto the floor, while Osler stood leaning against the wall.
Yu Tianheng didn't move. Neither did Shi Mo.
"Sit down."
This time, everyone could tell it wasn't an order.
It was worry!
The two slowly sat down. The moment Shi Mo settled, another surge of dark blood welled from his wound.
Chen Jieqi crouched and examined him.
"The poison has entered your bloodstream."
He lifted the back of Shi Mo's shirt. The purplish discoloration around the four holes had already spread across his entire back.
"Your poisoning is worse. The Eight Spider Lances pierced deep into your muscles."
He turned to Yu Feng.
"That fat guy's fire wasn't clean. It was Evil Fire! If we don't treat it, half your body will rot within three days."
Yu Feng grinned cheekily.
"Then you'd better save me, Captain Chen."
Chen Jieqi closed his eyes. The Heart of the Naaru mark between his brows lit up.
Golden holy light surged from his forehead, like a miniature sun.
He held his hands over Yu Tianheng's chest and Yu Feng's shoulder. The holy light seeped into their bodies.
The poison began to loosen and break apart, but the process was slow.
Yu Tianheng felt the stabbing pain in his chest fade bit by bit. The poison retreated from his chest to his shoulder, then from his shoulder to his ribs.
On Yu Feng's side, the holy light slowly peeled away the Evil Fire. Black beads of sweat emerged from his charred skin and turned into wisps of smoke.
After a full five minutes, Chen Jieqi withdrew his hands. His face had grown paler, and sweat had begun to bead on his forehead.
Yu Tianheng's right-hand fingers twitched. "I can move it."
Yu Feng let out a long breath. "Thank you, Captain Chen!"
Chen Jieqi didn't rest. He turned to Shi Mo.
His first and second Soul Rings lit up in succession, and the Heart of the Naaru blazed with golden light.
[First Soul Skill · Holy Blessing of Light]
Golden light gathered in his palm, forming a beam.
[Second Soul Skill · Holy Light Praise]
A golden-white halo layered over it. The interwoven light was like a precise scalpel, peeling away the poison layer by layer.
Shi Mo's hands were numb up to his wrists, but he gritted his teeth and didn't make a sound, clutching his knees as black, misty blood drifted from the four holes and sizzled in the holy light.
After a full eight minutes, the last wisp of black mist faded. Chen Jieqi swayed and braced himself against the table.
His face was pale, his hands trembled, and the mark between his brows began to dim.
"You can't use Soul Power for seven days. Apply warm water to the wounds every day."
Shi Mo nodded with difficulty. "Thank you, Captain Chen."
Chen Jieqi leaned against the table and caught his breath.
"Tianheng can't use Soul Power for three days. Yu Feng, apply ice-attributed Soul Power once a day for three days. Shi Mo, seven days."
He paused.
"You fought well!"
Qin Ming had waited outside for a long time. He didn't push the door open until Chen Jieqi had finished treating them. A smile played on his face, but his eyes held both heartache and pride.
"Congratulations. Starting today, the Imperial Fighting Team is the only Gold Soul team in Suotuo City!"
Shi Mo froze for a moment. "We... won?"
"You won, and you won beautifully."
Qin Ming looked over everyone's injuries.
"You didn't win because your levels were higher. You won because you never gave up."
He looked at Yu Tianheng and Shi Mo.
"Tianheng, your decision was right. But remember, don't try to bear everything alone next time.
"You're the captain on the field, but you're not alone. Shi Mo, you're the defender, but you're not a shield."
The two nodded.
Qin Ming patted their shoulders.
"Go back and rest. You can pick up your Gold Soul badges tomorrow."
Then he turned and left.
Just then, Dugu Yan moved.
She strode up to Yu Tianheng, folded her arms, and looked down at him. Everyone fell silent.
Though the big sister had yielded the captaincy and now lazily left the team to its own devices, no one dared forget that when this woman lost her temper, she was more terrifying than anyone.
"Yu Tianheng."
Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard her clearly.
Her gaze raked over his bloodied face, the charred claw marks, his limp right arm, and the wound on his ribs.
Then it shifted to Shi Mo, Yu Feng, Osler, Tian Xuan, and Ye Lingling before returning to him.
"Look at them. Shi Mo's shell is nearly shattered, Shi Mo has four holes in him, half of Yu Feng's body is nearly burned away,
"Osler's shoulder is almost torn open, Tian Xuan has exhausted his Soul Power, and Ye Lingling can barely stand."
"And you? You went after Tang San alone and nearly got yourself killed."
Yu Tianheng opened his mouth to say something.
"Shut up. I didn't tell you to speak."
Yu Tianheng really did shut up.
Dugu Yan stared at him for three seconds, then took a small porcelain bottle from her Soul Tool. It was entirely jade green, with the character "Poison" engraved on it.
The Antidote Pills her grandfather had made.
She poured out three jade-green pills and handed them to Yu Tianheng, Shi Mo, and Yu Feng.
"Take these. They'll clear the remaining poison."
Shi Mo and Yu Feng took theirs at once.
Yu Tianheng looked at the pill in his palm and fell silent for a moment. There was no better antidote than Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's anywhere in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
"Thank you."
"For what? If you all die of poison, who'll be left to fight team battles with me?"
Yu Tianheng smiled and put the pill in his mouth. A cool sensation spread through his limbs, clearing away the remaining poison.
Dugu Yan watched him finish swallowing it, and her expression changed.
The icy authority from before gave way to something gentler. Her gaze settled on his tired eyes and brows, then on the line of his lips, tightened with pain.
She remembered the first time she'd met him.
She had just returned to the academy after obtaining her third Soul Ring. It had been a time when she was at the height of her fame. He had just joined Huangdou Academy, a young heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan,
as proud as a little wolf cub who refused to bow his head. She couldn't remember his exact level,
but she remembered his look of defiance perfectly.
Then he challenged her.
Naturally, she won. At first, she thought he'd be furious over the humiliation.
But that boy got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and said to her,
"I'll be back..."
After that, he lost every time they fought.
After that, the way he looked at her changed.
She had always known, but she had never taken it seriously.
She had thought he was just a proud boy, that his feelings were only a passing impulse, that he would retreat under her cold gaze like everyone else.
But today, she had seen a different Yu Tianheng.
A man who had been wounded by the Eight Spider Lances and poisoned, whose right arm had gone numb, yet whose back had stayed ramrod straight.
A vice-captain who took hits for his teammates, a Warrior who had risked everything in a desperate situation.
Someone worthy of her regard.
"Yu Tianheng."
Her voice suddenly softened.
Yu Tianheng looked up.
Dugu Yan gazed at him, calm and earnest.
"Next time, don't go it alone."
It wasn't an order or a request. It was a promise.
Yu Tianheng froze for a moment, then smiled.
"Okay!"
Dugu Yan said nothing more. She turned and strode out of the rest area.
The door hid her from view.
After it closed, she stopped.
Only then did she continue walking.
Shi Mo and Shi Mo exchanged a glance and let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
Osler leaned against the wall, the corners of his mouth lifting.
Yu Feng lay on the floor, grinning through his pain.
"Boss Yu's in trouble now."
"Shut up,"
Osler said, kicking him.
"You're hurt that badly, and you're still gossiping?"
Tian Xuan helped Ye Lingling sit down and handed her some water.
"Thanks for all your hard work."
Ye Lingling accepted the water and gently shook her head. "Everyone worked hard, especially Captain Yu."