Zhu Lu: Dai Huabin is taking care of his stomach?

After putting away the spirit bone, Huo Yuhao cast his gaze toward the second item.

It was a gold-plated card with a string of numbers on it.

Huo Yuhao counted them—five zeros in total!

This meant that this single gold card could be exchanged for one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins at any bank on the Douluo Continent!

Feeling a renewed sense of awe at the sheer wealth of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, Huo Yuhao naturally accepted the Gold Soul Card with a smile.

With the matters that needed handling now dealt with, Huo Yuhao nodded in satisfaction.

Next, Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on the bed, preparing to enter a meditative state to begin his cultivation, when he suddenly thought of something.

He immediately reached into his storage ring and pulled out a porcelain bottle.

"Almost forgot about this." Huo Yuhao smiled slightly.

Inside the porcelain bottle was the spoils of war he had obtained after defeating Xu Sanshi yesterday.

Black Water Pill!

Huo Yuhao opened the bottle, poured the pill out, and placed it in his palm.

It was a deep blue pill, roughly the size of a cherry, covered in numerous white patterns. Once removed from the bottle, a faint mist of water permeated the air around it, leaving a refreshing fragrance that was truly invigorating.

After obtaining this Black Water Pill, Huo Yuhao had already asked Zhang Lexuan to inspect it for him, confirming there were no issues.

Without further hesitation, he swallowed the pill in one gulp.

After consuming the pill, Huo Yuhao closed his eyes and focused, quickly sinking into a state of deep meditation.

At the same time, within his sea of consciousness, he began to circulate the God Forging Technique that Electrolux had taught him to temper his spiritual power.

In Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness, countless wisps of spiritual power, thin as morning mist, drifted about. As he activated the God Forging Technique, these wisps transformed into sharp blades that clashed and hacked at one another.

With each collision, the spiritual blades within his mind shattered and reformed.

Every time they shattered and reformed, the blades formed from his spiritual power became a fraction more solid.

Huo Yuhao felt as if he were soaking in a refreshing pool of water; the sensation of total comfort was so intense that he nearly groaned aloud while in deep meditation.

If anyone were standing beside Huo Yuhao to watch, they would have noticed a faint blue light radiating from his body, with a thin mist of water permeating the entire room.

As time passed, the fresh fragrance on Huo Yuhao's body began to slowly turn into a foul, fishy stench, yet his breathing grew increasingly steady.

In an independent treatment room at Shrek Academy's outer courtyard.

Dai Huabin lay on the bed with his eyes tightly shut, his face deathly pale. He appeared to have completely lost consciousness, looking utterly wretched.

Standing before Dai Huabin was an elderly man in a green robe. The old man had white hair and a white beard, and though his face was aged, the skin exposed on his hands was not withered, but rather delicate.

A ball of green light condensed in the old man's hand, radiating immense vitality.

The next second, the green light completely enveloped Dai Huabin. Under the nourishment of this life energy, the color gradually began to return to Dai Huabin's pale face.

Outside the treatment room stood two figures, one tall and one short. One was a black-skirted girl with a fiery figure—Zhu Lu.

The other was a middle-aged man with a square face and a vigorous, spirited appearance.

The middle-aged man wore an undisguised look of anger as he asked, "Classes start in three days, so what were you two doing at a hotel outside the school?"

As the Vice Dean of the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy's outer courtyard, Du Weilun was solely responsible for this year's freshman recruitment.

Yet, before school had even started, a first-year Shrek freshman had been attacked outside the school.

And it wasn't just anyone who had been attacked; it was the second young master of the White Tiger Duke Mansion, the man who might one day inherit the title of White Tiger Duke—the second young master of the Dai Family!

How could Du Weilun not be furious?

If this wasn't handled well, how could he answer to the White Tiger Duke's family?

Zhu Lu stood outside the treatment room, her hands unconsciously clenched together. Her fair face was filled with anxiety and panic, and there were still dried tear tracks on her cheeks.

Hearing Du Weilun's interrogation, her face stiffened, and she stood there, stunned.

How was she supposed to answer that?

What else could one do at a place like the Rose Hotel?

But she could not bring herself to speak of such things.

Caught in a bind, Zhu Lu didn't know what to say; her face flushed red as she remained frozen in place.

Seeing Zhu Lu's reaction, combined with the location where they had been found, Du Weilun could roughly guess the purpose of their visit.

However, Zhu Lu also hailed from the Nether Civet Family of the Star Luo Empire and held a special status.

He couldn't scold or lecture her as he pleased.

He could only curse inwardly and let the matter slide.

Fifteen minutes later, the old man in the green robe slowly walked out of the treatment room.

Du Weilun immediately stepped forward, asking with deep concern, "Elder Zhuang, how is he?"

The old man before Du Weilun was named Zhuang Yusen. With the Tree of Life as his martial soul, he was the only Level 95 Spirit Power healing-type Super Douluo at Shrek Academy, known by the title: Life Douluo.

Because the injured party was the second young master of the White Tiger family and possessed a unique background, Du Weilun had acted in desperation, going directly to the inner courtyard to invite this Sea God Pavilion Elder to treat Dai Huabin.

Elder Zhuang's expression was grave. "The external wounds are of no concern; they have already healed. At most, there is some excessive blood loss, but given the robust physique of a soul master, recovery won't be an issue. The real problems lie in two other areas, both quite thorny. At the very least, this old man is currently powerless to address them."

Du Weilun's expression was one of shock. "Elder Zhuang, even you are at your wit's end? Doesn't that mean there is no one on the entire Douluo Continent capable of curing him?"

Elder Zhuang held a special status. As the only Super Douluo of the healing type in Shrek, if even he claimed to be powerless, Du Weilun truly could not imagine who else on the continent could heal Dai Huabin.

Zhu Lu's face turned deathly pale at this moment, her heart sinking into despair.

If something were to happen to Dai Huabin, then she, as his partner whose fate was inextricably linked to his—sharing in his glory and his ruin—would certainly face a grim end herself.

"Not necessarily. On the Douluo Continent, there is a vast variety of martial souls; perhaps there are some unique ones for which healing this would not be difficult," Elder Zhuang offered by way of consolation.

"What exactly is wrong with Dai Huabin?" Du Weilun could no longer hold back.

"Let us start with the first thorny issue: his spiritual sea has suffered an extremely severe impact, even affecting the very origin of his spiritual sea. You understand, Weilun, just how important the spiritual sea is to a soul master. In the future, his potential may not be very high," Elder Zhuang sighed, speaking with a sense of deep regret.

Zhu Lu's expression was dazed. This was essentially a death sentence for Dai Huabin; he would basically be barred from the title of Duke White Tiger for the rest of his life. And as someone whose life was already bound to his, her own future achievements would likely not amount to much either.

"Although this problem is very serious, there are still ways to remedy it. If one could find certain heavenly treasures capable of mending the soul to consume, it is still possible for the trauma to his spiritual sea to be healed."

"The truly thorny issue is the second one. The blade wound he sustained is three inches below the lower abdomen—that is the vital area for a man. Very unfortunately, that strike destroyed some of the sensitive nerves of this young man. In the future, I fear he will struggle to make any headway in the way of yin and yang."

Elder Zhuang glanced at Zhu Lu standing to the side, his expression awkward as he spoke.

Upon hearing these words, a glimmer of hope rose in Zhu Lu's heart, but Elder Zhuang's second sentence was truly too obscure. She asked urgently, "What do you mean by struggling to make headway in the way of yin and yang? Please explain yourself clearly."

Seeing this young girl act so rudely, Elder Zhuang felt displeased. Not wanting to beat around the bush with her any longer, he waved his hand and turned to leave.

Before walking away, he left behind only one sentence: "It means he is impotent, understand!"