Zhu Zhuqing Was Injured in the Knockout Rounds (Please Keep Reading)

The preliminaries lasted two months, and the teams advancing to the next stage were ultimately decided by their rankings.

Although Shrek Academy had stumbled through the competition, and had even won several matches by the skin of their teeth, Tang San's increasingly mature command and the team's all-out efforts had ultimately secured them a spot in the next round without any real danger.

The promotion rounds followed, lasting one month.

They were a stage for showcasing individual strength and a test of each academy's top students. Shrek Academy once again demonstrated its resilience. Dai Mubai, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and others all put in impressive performances, ultimately breaking through and earning the right to head to Spirit City for the final tournament.

As a seeded team, Heaven Dou Royal Academy did not need to take part in these preliminary battles. They were granted a direct pass to the knockout semifinals held in Spirit City.

On the eve of their departure for Spirit City, Lin Yi made a decision—he would leave Xiao Wu behind at Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

He called Xiao Wu over, his expression unusually serious. "You can't go to Spirit City."

At his words, a flicker of confusion crossed Xiao Wu's eyes, along with a trace of disappointment she didn't even notice herself.

Over the past few months, she had almost grown used to staying by Lin Yi's side.

"Why?" she asked softly.

Lin Yi looked at her and didn't hide the truth, spelling out the most deadly danger. "The Spirit Hall's Pope, Bibi Dong, has unfathomable strength and senses far sharper than Dugu Bo's.

"Though Lovesick Heartbreak Red can conceal your aura, I can't guarantee it'll fool her. If your identity is exposed..."

He didn't continue, but Xiao Wu understood the consequences. Her face went deathly pale.

She thought of her mother... Spirit Hall showed no mercy when hunting Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. If the Pope discovered her, not even Lin Yi—or the entire Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—could protect her!

"I... I understand." Xiao Wu lowered her head, her voice trembling slightly. "I'll stay at the academy."

Seeing how obediently—or perhaps resignedly—Xiao Wu accepted it, Lin Yi felt a slight stir in his heart. He reached out and ruffled her hair, his tone softening. "Focus on your cultivation. Don't go wandering around."

After settling Xiao Wu, Lin Yi set out with the Heaven Dou Royal Academy party, led by Chief Meng Shenji, for the Holy Land of Soul Masters—Spirit City.

Spirit City had an atmosphere utterly unlike Heaven Dou City's. It was solemn and imposing, with an invisible pressure hanging over everything. Patrolling Spirit Hall Knights were everywhere, and the air carried an aura where faith and power intertwined.

The knockout rounds soon began.

In their first match, Shrek Academy faced a powerful team from the Star Luo Empire. Their opponents were strong and ruthless, and the battle was exceptionally brutal.

Though Tang San ultimately secured the win by the skin of his teeth with the strange and formidable Eight Spider Lances—an external Soul Bone—Shrek Academy paid a heavy price.

Several team members were injured. Zhu Zhuqing, an agility-type Soul Master, was the most seriously hurt. To create an opportunity for Tang San to claim victory, she had taken a heavy blow from an opponent in the Power Attack System.

After the match, a grim atmosphere hung over the inn where Shrek Academy was staying.

Lin Yi decided to go check on them.

He was known as Ning Rongrong's fiancé, and she was the sect leader's daughter. It was only right that he show concern.

He arrived outside the small courtyard Shrek Academy had rented, just as Oscar came rushing out, looking frantic.

"Oscar, how is she?" Lin Yi called out to him.

Oscar saw Lin Yi and froze for a moment, then spoke at lightning speed as if he'd found a lifeline. "Lin Yi! You're here! Don't you have healing Soul Skills?

"Zhuqing's badly hurt. I think she's got several broken ribs. My Restoration Big Sausage can only stabilize her injuries; it can't set the bones! Dean Flender and Teacher Zhao went out to find a Soul Master in Spirit City who specializes in treating bone injuries, but they haven't come back yet! Rongrong's inside looking after her. She's in terrible pain!"

Lin Yi furrowed his brows. "Take me in to see her."

Oscar quickly led him into the room. Inside, Ning Rongrong's eyes were red as she wiped the cold sweat from Zhu Zhuqing's forehead with a damp towel.

Zhu Zhuqing lay on the bed, her face as pale as paper. She had bitten her lips hard enough to leave a row of bloody marks, yet she hadn't uttered a single groan. Only her faintly trembling body and tightly knit brows betrayed the immense pain she was enduring. Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others waited anxiously outside the door.

When Lin Yi entered, Ning Rongrong looked surprised, then hopeful. "Lin Yi? Can you... can you save Zhuqing?"

Lin Yi didn't answer. He went to the bedside and extended his mental power slightly to assess Zhu Zhuqing's condition. Sure enough, three ribs on her left side were broken, one of them slightly displaced. Without promptly setting and stabilizing them, she would not only suffer unbearable pain but might also be left with lasting complications that could affect her future cultivation and battles.

"Yes. Three broken ribs. They need to be set," Lin Yi said gravely.

"But... the dean hasn't found a healing Soul Master yet..." Ning Rongrong said anxiously.

"I'll do it." Lin Yi calmly uttered the two words.

"You?" Ning Rongrong and Dai Mubai, along with the others at the door, all froze.

They knew Lin Yi was a support-type Soul Master with healing abilities, but setting broken bones was delicate work. It wasn't something an ordinary Healing Light could handle.

"My Soul Skill can speed up healing, but the bones have to be put back into the right position before they can be set," Lin Yi explained. "That takes skill. If you trust me, I'll do it. If you don't, then wait for your dean to return. But every moment we delay means she suffers for another moment, and faces another moment of risk."

Zhu Zhuqing weakly opened her eyes. She looked at Lin Yi's calm, serious expression and felt the piercing pain in her body. Gritting her teeth, she spoke in a faint but clear voice. "I... trust you."

Dai Mubai opened his mouth outside the door, wanting to say something. But seeing how much pain Zhu Zhuqing was in, and remembering Lin Yi's unfathomable strength and background, he swallowed his words. At present, there really was no better option.

"Good." Lin Yi nodded, then looked at Ning Rongrong and the others by the door. "Setting the bones requires access to the injured area. No clothes can get in the way. All of you, leave."

"What?" Dai Mubai was the first to explode. "Take off her clothes? No way!"

Ning Rongrong froze, too!

Two unnatural blushes instantly rose on Zhu Zhuqing's pale cheeks. Her eyes flashed with shame and resistance.

Lin Yi's expression didn't change, and his tone remained cool, almost indifferent. "Any other Soul Master who comes will need to set the bones, too. If your scruples lead to the bones being set incorrectly and leave her with hidden complications, who will take responsibility? Or does anyone here have a better idea? Speak up now."

His gaze swept over Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong, carrying an undeniable pressure.

Silence filled the room. Indeed, no one had a better solution. They didn't know when the healing Soul Master they'd gone to find would arrive, and Zhu Zhuqing's injuries couldn't wait.

Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes, her long lashes trembling as if she were locked in fierce inner turmoil. After a moment, she opened them again. Shame still lingered in her eyes, but it was outweighed by resolve.

She looked at Ning Rongrong and gave a slight nod.

Ning Rongrong understood. She bit her lip and said to Lin Yi, "You... you have to heal Zhuqing!" Then she pulled the still-reluctant Oscar along, ushered Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others out of the room, and finally gave Lin Yi a long look before leaving herself and gently closing the door.

Only Lin Yi and Zhu Zhuqing remained in the room. Lying on the bed, her body was slightly rigid with tension and shame.

"Forgive me." Lin Yi walked to the bedside. He first released his first Soul Skill, bathing Zhu Zhuqing in a gentle Healing Light. Her intense pain eased somewhat, and her body relaxed a little.

Then he reached out, his movements steady and swift, and undid the black fitted jacket on Zhu Zhuqing's upper body, already soaked with sweat. As her clothes came off, her smooth, delicate skin—looking fragile beneath her severe injuries—was exposed to the cool air, along with the visibly sunken left side of her rib cage, bent at an abnormal angle.

Zhu Zhuqing squeezed her eyes shut. Her teeth bit down on her lower lip until it grew even paler, and her body trembled uncontrollably. A flush of humiliation spread from her cheeks to her ears and neck. This was the first time she had been so... defenseless before a man.

Lin Yi's gaze remained clear and focused, without a trace of stray thought. He took a deep breath, laid his warm palm over Zhu Zhuqing's injured ribs, and concentrated his mental power, precisely sensing the breaks and displacements in her bones.

"This will hurt a little. Bear with it," he reminded her quietly.

The next instant, his hand pressed down with force, precise and swift—a press, a push, a fit!

"Mm—!" Zhu Zhuqing muffled a groan. The pain made her arch her body in an instant. Cold sweat poured down her forehead again, though she clenched her teeth and forced herself not to cry out.

Lin Yi didn't stop. His hands worked like the most precise instruments, setting the other two broken ribs one after another. The entire process was quick, accurate, and steady!

Once he had finished setting the bones, he continued to release his Pure Lotus Bloom Soul Skill. Gentle energy seeped into the injured area, nourishing the broken bones and speeding their healing and reconnection. At the same time, he grabbed a clean strip of cloth from nearby and skillfully wrapped and stabilized her injuries.

Only after finishing all this did Lin Yi gently pull her clothes back up, covering the alarming injury...and the glimpse of spring beneath.

"Done. The bones are back in place. My Soul Power will keep nourishing them for a while. All you need to do now is rest. Don't engage in strenuous activity." Lin Yi's voice carried a trace of fatigue that was difficult to detect. The precise control of his mental power and the continuous output of Soul Power had taken their toll.

Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened her eyes. The pain was still there, but it was no longer the tearing agony of displaced bones. It had become a dull ache, the pain of healing. She knew she had been saved.

She looked at Lin Yi's still, expressionless face, her gaze tangled with complex emotions. Gratitude, shame, humiliation, and something else... something she couldn't put into words.

"Th-thank you." She struggled to utter the two words, her voice as faint as a mosquito's. Then she immediately closed her eyes again, as if she didn't dare look at him.

Lin Yi said nothing more and turned to open the door.

The people waiting anxiously outside immediately crowded around.

"How is Zhuqing?" Dai Mubai asked urgently.

"Her bones are set, but she needs to rest," Lin Yi said coolly, then looked at Ning Rongrong.

"She can't compete anymore!"