Eye of Life

Dai Huabin did not speak.

The Eye of Life, the immortality of the spiritual sea—the weight of this had already been made clear in the original work.

"Senior..."

"No need to thank this old man."

Electrolux interrupted him, his voice already sounding somewhat weary.

"The power this old man can use is all but exhausted. I need to enter a deep slumber for a time to recover my divine consciousness."

"For how long?"

"Hard to say." Electrolux paused. "That Spirit-Devouring Carving Knife has already merged into the third eye opened in the center of your brow. You will feel the changes in your body soon enough."

"I will remember."

Electrolux let out an "en," and then his voice grew fainter and more distant.

"When this old man wakes again, we shall discuss things in detail."

The silver-white halo began to contract, slowly dimming, before it flew into the newly opened Eye of Life, gradually absorbing vitality to restore those fragments of divine consciousness.

The surroundings fell completely silent.

There was only the sound of energy flowing slowly within the spiritual sea and the rhythm of Dai Huabin's own breathing.

Dai Huabin opened his eyes.

The sky was just beginning to turn white.

The dormitory was quiet. Zhu Lu was still on the chair nearby, sleeping against the backrest with her breathing steady, her black hair scattered to cover half her face.

Dai Huabin propped himself up to sit, a dull pain radiating from the bandages on his chest.

He looked down; the bandages had been freshly changed, clean and tidy, with the knots tied neatly.

It was Zhu Lu who had changed them.

He stood up, walked to the window, and raised a hand to touch the center of his brow.

The skin was smooth, showing no abnormalities; it was no different from usual.

But within his spiritual sea, something was indeed different.

It was a sense of stability that was hard to describe, as if someone had driven a layer deeper into an already solid foundation.

He tried circulating his spiritual power, and the recovery speed was more than double what it had been when he collapsed last night.

Dai Huabin stood by the window and pulled his hand back.

His spiritual sea was far more stable than it had been last night.

His soul power was recovering at about three times the usual rate, and while his chest still throbbed with a dull ache, the feeling of being hollowed out after such a severe injury had mostly vanished.

He raised his right arm, clenched his fist, and released it.

The strength was clear, his reactions fluid.

He knew exactly what had happened to his body over the course of the night.

The opening of the Eye of Life had fundamentally rewritten his constitution with vitality. This was not the kind of improvement gained through cultivation accumulation; it was a comprehensive strengthening from his meridians to his bones, and even the sensation of blood flowing beneath his skin was much clearer than before.

He stood in front of the mirror for two seconds.

His golden hair hung down, and his facial contours remained the same, yet the youthful awkwardness was gone. The sharpness in his deep blue eyes had intensified, as if his entire being had been refined by some invisible force.

Dai Huabin thought for a long time before arriving at an objective assessment:

He was indeed a bit more handsome.

He had read about the side effects of Life Gold in the original work, but he hadn't expected them to be this obvious.

He turned around.

Zhu Lu was still sleeping against the backrest, her black hair half-covering her face, her breathing steady.

He didn't know how long she had taken care of him last night; there were faint dark circles under her eyes, and a strip of cloth was wrapped around her left thumb—likely from a scrape while changing his bandages.

He walked over, shook out the thin blanket on the table, and draped it gently over her.

Zhu Lu stirred and opened her eyes.

She froze for two seconds, and upon seeing Dai Huabin standing before her, her reaction was a beat slow.

"You..." Zhu Lu sat up straight, looking at the sky uncertainly. "What time is it?"

"Nearly seven."

Zhu Lu snapped fully awake, jumping up to reach for his forehead. "Has the fever broken?"

"I'm fine." Dai Huabin stopped her hand. "I recovered faster than I imagined."

Zhu Lu's hand hung in mid-air as she stared at him for several seconds, her brows slowly knitting together—not in worry, but in serious scrutiny.

"You recovered way too fast."

"It was just a nap."

"I changed your bandages last night, and there was still bruising on your chest then."

Zhu Lu's tone shifted to one of disbelief, "Now that you're standing here jumping around, should I be happy or feel like something is wrong?"

"Just be happy."

Zhu Lu watched him for another moment, then suddenly fell silent.

Dai Huabin noticed her gaze shift slightly; she wasn't looking at his injuries anymore, but at his face.

"What is it?"

Zhu Lu lowered her head to fiddle with her sleeves, saying in a deliberately nonchalant tone, "It's nothing... I just think you seem..."

She paused.

"A little bit more handsome?"

As soon as the words left her lips, Zhu Lu reacted, the color of her earlobes deepening as she quickly changed the subject:

"It's probably just the lighting."

Dai Huabin let out a laugh.

"Perhaps beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Zhu Lu looked up, her expression blank for a split second before she quickly turned her face away, letting out a faint "hmph" through her nose.

"When did your skin get so thick?"

Zhu Lu turned her head away from him and stood up to tidy the things they had set aside the night before, her movements faster than usual, clearly feeling uneasy.

Dai Huabin didn't tease her further, taking out his fresh clothes and placing them by her side. Once they were packed, they left the dormitory and headed downstairs.

Today was the day of the class assignments following the Freshman Assessment, and the announcements in the plaza were to be posted at nine o'clock sharp.

The hallway was already filled with people talking in low voices in small groups, the atmosphere tighter than usual.

Dai Huabin scanned the area as he reached the lobby on the first floor.

Wang Dong'er was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed, silent. Cui Yajie stood beside her drinking water, while Xiao Xiao was squatting on the steps, her chin resting on her knees as she stared off into space.

All three of them saw Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu coming down the stairs at the same time.

Xiao Xiao was the first to jump up: "Class Monitor! You're okay now?"

"I'm fine."

"We were terrified yesterday when we saw you pass out in Zhu Lu's arms."

Xiao Xiao rushed over, looking up at him, "Your complexion is even better than before now, this is just too..."

She didn't finish her sentence, her eyes widening.

Wang Dong'er stared at him too, watching for three or four seconds before poking Cui Yajie's arm and leaning in to whisper:

"Is there something different about him today?"

Cui Yajie looked Dai Huabin up and down, then slowly nodded while holding her water cup.

"Yeah."

"Is it..."

"His aura has changed." Cui Yajie set down her cup, her tone certain, "It's not just the look of someone who has recovered from an injury; it's something coming from the inside out."

Wang Dong'er stared at Dai Huabin in silence for two seconds, then turned to Zhu Lu: "What did you feed him last night?"

Zhu Lu replied, "I didn't feed him anything."

"Then why does he look so..." Wang Dong'er couldn't find the right word, finally settling on, "strange."

Dai Huabin: "Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment!" Wang Dong'er immediately retorted.

Xiao Xiao had already circled around him, muttering:

"Class Monitor, you really feel different today compared to yesterday. I just can't put my finger on it... clearly nothing has changed, but it feels like something is different."

"Maybe I just slept well last night," Dai Huabin said.

"Speak like a human."

"Good sleep, good spirits, naturally good aura."

Cui Yajie twitched the corner of her mouth, too lazy to call his bluff, and started walking out first:

"Alright, enough chatter. Let's go eat first, we'll be late for the assignment announcements."