Wu Zhangkong carried Xie Xie straight to the infirmary, where a teacher with a healing-type Martial Soul examined him.
A little while later, the teacher slowly withdrew his Martial Soul.
Under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, he pushed up his glasses and said calmly, "His life isn't in danger, and there's no damage to his foundations. You don't need to worry too much."
At that, Tang Wulin and Gu Yue visibly relaxed, and Wu Zhangkong's gaze softened a little.
"Although the child used Soul Power to protect himself at the critical moment, he was still shaken by the violent impact."
"His meridians have suffered mild shocks throughout his body, his muscles are extensively bruised, and his bones have been rattled. On top of that, his mental power and Soul Power were slightly overdrawn, which is why he fainted on the spot."
He paused and looked at Xie Xie, whose brows were still faintly furrowed in unconsciousness. His tone grew slightly more serious.
"There's virtually no external injury, but his internal injuries are quite obvious."
"I've already used my healing ability to stabilize his meridians. With two or three days of rest and some restorative medicine, he'll recover completely. He won't have any lasting effects, and it won't affect his future cultivation."
"But for the time being, he mustn't force himself to use his Soul Skills again. Otherwise, his injuries will worsen, and then his foundations really will be damaged."
Wu Zhangkong nodded. "I understand."
Just then, the infirmary door opened again, and Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi were carried inside.
The teacher could only give a few more brief instructions before hurrying over to examine their conditions.
Wu Zhangkong glanced at Tang Wulin and Gu Yue, who were still standing by the bed, their faces full of worry. His cool voice held no unnecessary emotion.
"You've seen for yourselves that Xie Xie is in no serious danger. You can rest easy."
"The match took a lot out of you. Your Soul Power and mental strength are both depleted, so there's no point staying here. Return to your dorms and rest at once."
"But Xie Xie..." Tang Wulin couldn't help worrying.
"I'm here." Wu Zhangkong looked at him.
Gu Yue gently tugged at Tang Wulin's sleeve. They exchanged a glance and, in the end, nodded.
"Then... Teacher Wu, please let us know when Xie Xie wakes up."
"Mm." Wu Zhangkong gave a brief, cool reply.
"Go."
Only after the two had disappeared through the doorway did Wu Zhangkong slowly look away, his gaze returning to Xie Xie, still unconscious on the bed.
Pain surged over Xie Xie like a tide, swallowing him whole. His consciousness sank into endless darkness as the sensations in his body were stripped away layer by layer.
After an unknowable stretch of time, a faint light suddenly pierced the gloom in the sea of Chaos. A cool, distant presence enveloped him, and his restless soul abruptly settled.
Xie Xie struggled to open his eyes.
Before him stretched a void where light and shadow flowed. The patterns of time and space drifted slowly all around him, weaving together into a dreamlike curtain of light.
A long, imposing dragon shadow hung in the void.
Its scales shimmered with jade-white light, while light and shadow flowed around its body.
"We meet again, Xie Xie."
A low, ancient voice sounded directly in Xie Xie's mind. It was the voice of the Space-Time Dragon.
Xie Xie rubbed his head and slowly sat up. The pain in his body had faded at some point, leaving only a little soreness.
Looking at the Space-Time Dragon and recalling the strange occurrence during the match, he rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Look, I'm not saying it was you, but was that your doing during the match just now?"
"Who else could have sealed my Martial Soul like that? Do you have any idea how much that Rasengan self-destruction hurt?!"
The Space-Time Dragon's empty eyes shifted faintly, and its voice carried a trace of helplessness. "You can eat whatever you like, but don't go making baseless accusations."
"That was the World Correction Force stepping in to stop you, a variable. It wasn't my doing, so don't pin every blame on me."
"If you really can't find anyone else to blame, just pin it on Danzo. It's not like one more charge would make a difference to him."
The Space-Time Dragon looked divine enough, but the moment it opened its mouth, it sounded just like an ordinary person. It had none of an ancient dragon's airs.
The Space-Time Dragon looked divine enough, but the moment it opened its mouth, it sounded just like an ordinary person.
Xie Xie froze, frowning. "A variable? What do you mean?"
The Space-Time Dragon rolled its eyes at him in turn, its tone casual and blunt. "I dragged you into this world against the will of heaven. Your very existence is the greatest variable in the future that was already set in stone."
It slowly swished its tail, and the patterns of time and space around them rippled.
"The World Correction Force won't bother with a tiny little variable. After all, when you've got a job, who doesn't want to slack off?"
"If I'd let you keep going all out just now, Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi would've lost for sure. Then Tang Wulin wouldn't have been forced to use the power of the Golden Dragon King's first seal."
"And to the World Correction Force, that counts as a major deviation."
"The gears of fate would have slipped out of place, so the world had no choice but to intervene and correct the discrepancy."
It rattled off a whole string of explanations. But when it turned back after finishing, it met Xie Xie's utterly baffled, vacant stare.
The Space-Time Dragon: ...
The Space-Time Dragon fell silent for a few seconds, then finally switched to the simplest explanation it could think of.
"The World Correction Force is like an old employee at a company who slacks off all day. It can't be bothered with minor issues. Why invite trouble when you can avoid it?"
"Tang Wulin unsealing the Golden Dragon King is a key milestone on the boss's set-in-stone KPI list. It has to happen today. If it doesn't, everyone's in trouble."
"But you went and charged straight in, taking out the opposition in one move. You cut off the milestone, and now the KPI can't be met. If it didn't step in, it'd be packing its things and out the door."
Xie Xie's mouth twitched. "It's the World Correction Force and it still has to work?"
"What did you think?" the Space-Time Dragon said irritably. "How do you think balance between planes is maintained? It's because us wage slaves work overtime every day."
Xie Xie latched onto one word. "Us?"
The Space-Time Dragon gave its enormous wings a small shake, as if the bitterness it had been bottling up for billions of years had finally found an outlet. It immediately launched into a tirade.
"Jormungandr keeps messaging me, saying his old man's a total lunatic. He makes them go around causing destruction every day while he sits on his throne, dreaming about bringing on Ragnarok and overthrowing Odin."
"Ananke spends every day wrestling with the iron laws of the universe. Not only does she have to run around catching those who cross the boundaries, she also has to sort out the fates of all kinds of life-forms."
"And then there's Chronos. He's got it even worse—if he stops moving, time stops moving. He works all 365 days of the year, without a single day off. He's been driven nearly insane."
"..."
After listening to the Space-Time Dragon grumble on and on, a sudden thought popped into Xie Xie's head, and he blurted out, "Then why are you still doing this job?"
The next second, the Space-Time Dragon looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"Do you go to work at your company because you love it?"
"Only Zhu Jiuyin has it easy. After the Heavenly Court and the Underworld institutions were established in the Huaxia Plane, he's spent every day sightseeing and slacking off. He even sends photos now and then just to rub it in!"
"So great. Hahahaha!"
"You work hard, I work hard, the boss gets a new Bentley next year.
"If we eat enough bitterness, the boss gets to drive a Land Rover.
"If we work enough overtime, the boss goes out and buys a Maybach.
"If we work hard and stay enthusiastic, the boss gets to take home a Ferrari."
Watching the Space-Time Dragon go a little crazy as soon as work came up, Xie Xie opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He had a feeling the Space-Time Dragon might be a little unhinged, too.
But after thinking it over, he decided to keep quiet.
After all, when you've got a job, who doesn't go a little crazy?
Before you continue