Recovery

After waking the students one by one, Huo Yuhao had nearly exhausted both his Soul Power and spiritual power. He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Dong'er throwing herself at him.

He failed to dodge in time and was knocked flat on the ground beneath her.

"Thank goodness... You're all right..." Dong'er said through her tears, holding Huo Yuhao tightly. Huo Yuhao was utterly exhausted, both in body and mind. He did feel that this was perhaps a little inappropriate...

"It's all right now... It's all taken care of." In the end, Huo Yuhao gave a soft laugh and gently patted Dong'er's back.

A short while later, in the infirmary.

Dong'er and Li Na were acting as accomplices, helping the teacher in the cultivation class make up an explanation for the other students. Only Huo Yuhao, Zhou Yi, and the doctor were in the infirmary.

"Nothing too serious. His Soul Power has just been pushed almost to its limit. He'd better avoid using his Martial Soul too often and get a few days of rest."

The infirmary doctor pushed up his glasses and looked at Zhou Yi. "What was this child doing in practical class to use up this much Soul Power? You teachers should have kept a closer eye on him."

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Zhou Yi offered no further explanation. The clash with the Body Sect absolutely couldn't be exposed to the public. Given the size of Spirit Soul Academy, it could easily snowball into a major public controversy before anyone had properly investigated.

Although Body Martial Souls were rare at Spirit Soul Academy, there were certainly some students who possessed them.

As the hero of the incident, Huo Yuhao might be fine. But the other students with Body Martial Souls could easily face inexplicable criticism. It might even turn into a rumor that "Huo Yuhao was a spy sent by the Body Sect."

Never underestimate the gulf between people when it came to sharing information. A rumor like that could absolutely take hold. Fortunately, aside from Li Na, the other students knew nothing beyond feeling as though they'd suddenly fallen asleep. Zhou Yi had also given Li Na and the cultivation teacher a heads-up in advance, which was how they'd managed to keep the news under wraps.

"Teacher Zhou... I remember you used to bring students here quite often. Back then, they were always coming in with broken bones or internal injuries. In the blink of an eye, it feels like I haven't seen you for years," the doctor suddenly said.

"I know you've changed quite a bit. This student has nearly drained his Soul Power completely... There must be some unspoken reason behind it, right?"

"Heh, what am I saying... Maybe that old habit of yours—scolding students—has cropped up again. Why think so much about it?" The doctor crossed his legs and gave a helpless laugh.

"Ah... Right. I just fell back into my old habit of scolding students. Nothing special." Zhou Yi met the doctor's eyes. Then, without a word, they both let the matter drop.

"Teacher Zhou..." Huo Yuhao suddenly called out.

"What is it? Is anything else bothering you?" Zhou Yi stepped closer and placed a hand on Huo Yuhao's forehead.

"It's nothing... It's just that I may have to let you down. I won't be able to run for class cadre in the Unlimited Division." Huo Yuhao smiled apologetically.

"Don't worry about that. The dean specifically postponed the Unlimited Division's class cadre election this time. You can prepare to set off once you've mostly recovered. Oh, and the dean also said you don't need to take the practical assessment against Soul Beasts anymore. Neither does Dong'er. Consider it a reward for your performance this time."

"Is that so..." Huo Yuhao looked up at the ceiling. In that case, he didn't need to rush about the Unlimited Division for now.

Even so, after he'd finished his examination that day, he asked Zhou Yi to take him back to his dormitory, saying he'd sleep more comfortably there.

Zhou Yi agreed once she'd made sure there was nothing else wrong with him.

"I'll be going now. If you feel unwell, press the Spirit Guidance Signal Transmitter I gave you. I'll be there soon." After giving him one last reminder, Zhou Yi closed the dormitory door.

Once he was sure Zhou Yi had left, Huo Yuhao sat up. He put his things on the table, then began circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill to restore his Soul Power.

After several cycles, a warm current appeared in his lower abdomen. Huo Yuhao stopped circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill. From here on, he only needed to let the warm current flow on its own.

"Whew... The Body Sect actually showed up here at a time like this." Huo Yuhao searched his memories. The first time he'd heard of the Body Sect in his previous life was when he'd first met Wang Yan.

The first time he'd come into contact with the Body Sect, meanwhile, was when he'd first participated in the Advanced Spirit Master Tournament in his previous life. Two Soul Masters from the Body Sect had tried to kidnap him by force.

Lang Ya had been one of the two.

Huo Yuhao hadn't had much contact with him afterward, but he remembered that Lang Ya had a brother named Yu Tao. He wondered whether they'd meet again.

He knew very well that the Body Sect's people coming to cause trouble this time—or, more accurately, Lang Ya coming to cause trouble at Spirit Soul Academy—had to be connected to him. In his previous life, the Body Sect had come after him because he'd displayed his outstanding talent as a Body Martial Soul wielder at the Advanced Spirit Master Tournament.

Now, Lang Ya had come looking for him because someone in the Body Sect must have learned of his existence beforehand.

But in truth, Huo Yuhao couldn't be completely certain that the Body Sect had ordered this operation. Lang Ya's mental state was far more unhinged than it had been when they first met in his previous life. He seemed like... a madman.

All right, Huo Yuhao admitted that the Body Sect did have plenty of madmen. But based on his impression of their sect master, Du Busi, the man wouldn't have come up with such a despicable scheme as turning a child into a cripple.

It was possible that the sect master had changed, too, going from a reckless man who valued loyalty to a treacherous villain. But until he met the man himself, Huo Yuhao would rather assume the best of others.

"If this was Lang Ya's own idea... what could the Body Sect have gone through to raise someone whose personality had become so twisted?" Huo Yuhao had a vague feeling that in his previous life, the Body Sect had ended up at odds with Shrek because Du Busi's elder brother, Du Bisou, had been killed by Mu En.

As for this time... Huo Yuhao guessed that the people from Spirit Soul Academy or Spirit Hall had come into far more serious conflict with the Body Sect. Perhaps it wasn't just the sect master—even some of the Body Sect's disciples from back then might have...

Huo Yuhao shook his head. He was curious, but he'd be better off checking his suspicions with the people involved.

By the time he'd finished thinking all this through, his Soul Power had mostly recovered. He simply sat cross-legged on the bed and began cultivating for the day.

But just then, his stomach suddenly growled.

"Tsk... I forgot I haven't eaten yet."

Huo Yuhao rubbed his stomach... Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten a proper meal at all today. Teacher Zhou Yi seemed to have overlooked that, too.

"The cafeteria should still be open... I'll go get something to eat."

Thinking this, he opened the dormitory door. On the ground, he found a food box wrapped with care, with a note written in elegant handwriting resting on top.

"Remember to eat it while it's hot. —Dong'er"