Hu Liena Bows Her Head, Yan Is Truly Convinced! The Golden Generation's Mindset Changes!

After Di Yao was sent to the Pope Palace's treatment room, he remained unconscious for half a day.

His injuries were severe.

His left arm had been torn open.

His chest was badly burned.

The impact from a Soul Ancestor's flames had damaged his meridians in several places.

If not for the Great Sun Golden Flame suppressing part of the fire poison, along with the Demon Emperor Di Jun Martial Soul continuously refining the lingering Soul Power, he would have needed at least half a month in bed.

Yet the first thing Di Yao asked upon waking was, "What were the results of the Newcomer Ranking?"

Hu Liena, who had been watching over him, immediately darkened.

"Can't you ask whether you're going to die first?"

Di Yao opened his eyes and glanced at her.

"I'm not dead."

"So tell me the result."

Hu Liena took a deep breath.

She told herself that she could not hit an injured man.

Especially not an injured man who was half-dead yet still had such a sharp tongue.

She set the medicine by the bed, her voice stiff.

"The trial was terminated."

"You won eleven consecutive matches."

"The Tiger King Soul Venerable knelt, and Qin Lie broke the rules. The teacher suppressed the matter."

Di Yao nodded.

"That's enough."

Hu Liena frowned.

"Enough for what?"

"Enough to establish my authority."

Di Yao tried to sit up, but the wound on his chest pulled taut, making him pause.

Hu Liena immediately pressed him back down.

"Don't move!"

Di Yao looked at the hand she had placed on his shoulder.

Hu Liena stiffened and quickly withdrew it.

"Don't misunderstand."

"I'm just afraid your wound will reopen and the teacher will blame me."

Di Yao did not expose her.

"The medicine."

Hu Liena handed him the medicine.

Di Yao took it and drank it in one gulp.

It was extremely bitter.

Yet he did not even frown.

Hu Liena watched him, feeling strangely conflicted.

She had originally refused to accept Di Yao.

She felt that he had appeared out of nowhere and stolen the teacher's attention.

Later, she had found Di Yao arrogant.

Sharp-tongued.

Cold and detached.

But after the Newcomer Ranking, she had no choice but to admit one thing.

Di Yao was different from them.

The Golden Generation had received the finest training since childhood.

Their goal was to grow stronger, to win, and to become the future face of Spirit Hall.

But Di Yao was not like that.

He seemed to be wrestling things away from death every single day.

His soul rings had to exceed their limits.

His battles had to push him to the brink.

His investigations had to secure real authority.

Even his serious injuries seemed to have been calculated as part of the gains.

After a moment of silence, Hu Liena suddenly asked, "Does it hurt?"

Di Yao looked at her.

"It hurts."

"Then why were you smiling?"

"Was I?"

Hu Liena snorted.

"When you woke up, the corners of your mouth were still raised."

Di Yao thought about it.

"A Soul Ancestor was injured."

Hu Liena was rendered speechless with anger.

"You were beaten into this state, and just because you burned him once, you're happy?"

Di Yao said, "Not once."

"It proved that he could be injured."

Hu Liena froze.

Di Yao leaned against the bed, his voice slightly hoarse.

"High-level soul masters aren't unbeatable."

"It's just that the price is too great right now."

"If you know they can be injured, then you know they can be killed someday."

Hu Liena's heart trembled.

As she looked at Di Yao, she suddenly felt a chill.

A normal person, after being seriously wounded by a Soul Ancestor, would likely think of fear, anger, or relief upon waking.

But what Di Yao thought about was—

How to kill him in the future.

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Yan walked in awkwardly.

He was holding a bottle of medicine as well.

When he saw Hu Liena inside, he was clearly startled.

Then he immediately forced his expression into a stern mask.

"I came to see whether he was dead."

Hu Liena said coldly, "If you don't know how to speak, then keep your mouth shut."

Yan's mouth twitched.

Di Yao looked at him.

"Not dead."

Yan set the medicine on the table.

"I can see that."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Yan scratched his head, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

"About that..."

"That battle in the Newcomer Ranking."

"You fought pretty well."

Hu Liena rolled her eyes.

"That's the best you can do when complimenting someone?"

Yan's face reddened.

"I've never complimented anyone before!"

Di Yao looked at the medicine on the table.

"Thank you."

Yan froze.

He seemed not to have expected Di Yao to say that.

He coughed.

"I'm not worried about you."

"I just think that if Qin Lie really crippled you, I'd never get the chance to win back against you."

Di Yao nodded.

"You can't win."

Yan's face instantly darkened.

"Can't you say something nice for once?"

Di Yao said, "The truth saves time."

Yan gritted his teeth.

But this time, he did not fly into a rage as he had before.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked seriously, "Is my fire really too scattered?"

Di Yao looked at him.

Yan turned his gaze away, his voice low.

"Don't misunderstand."

"I'm not admitting defeat."

"I'm just asking."

Hu Liena's eyes shifted slightly.

Yan was proud and impulsive.

Getting him to take the initiative and ask someone about cultivation was even harder than getting him to admit fault.

Di Yao studied Yan for several breaths.

"The Flame Lord Martial Soul isn't weak."

Yan instinctively raised his head.

Di Yao continued, "But you only treat it as fire."

"You burn wider, burn harder, burn fiercer."

"But you've wasted the word 'Lord.'"

Yan frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Di Yao said, "Your flames need to feel oppressive."

"Not by covering the entire field to frighten people."

"But by making the enemy know, the moment they see your flames, that they cannot escape."

"If the Flame Lord lacks a lord's will, then all that remains is flame."

Yan fell silent.

Di Yao had said something similar before.

At the time, he had only found it grating.

But hearing it again now, it was like a nail driven into his weakest point.

Hu Liena sat nearby, and her gaze changed as well.

Di Yao had said something similar to her.

Charm was not about begging others to like you.

It was about making enemies act according to your will.

It was the same with Yan now.

Fire was not strong merely because it burned broadly.

It needed will.

Just then, Xie Yue walked in.

He carried no medicine.

Only a case file.

"The Pope asked me to deliver this."

Di Yao took it.

Several words were written on the cover.

Fasnuo Province Branch Resource Loss Case.

Di Yao's eyes lit up slightly.

Hu Liena immediately said, "You still want to look at the case?"

Di Yao had already opened it.

"My injuries will heal on their own."

"The case won't investigate itself."

Yan could not help saying, "Are you seriously sick?"

Di Yao said, "I already answered that. No."

Yan: "..."

Xie Yue looked at Di Yao and suddenly spoke.

"You said on the Newcomer Ranking that enemies aren't trouble. They're maps delivered right to your door."

Di Yao paused as he turned a page.

"Mm."

Xie Yue asked, "Is the Elder Palace a map too?"

Di Yao glanced at him.

"Of course."

"The more they try to suppress me, the more they reveal who fears me, who wants me, and who has resources behind them."

"When an enemy makes a move, they're telling me how far their reach extends."

Xie Yue fell silent.

Hu Liena fell silent as well.

Yan scratched his head.

He felt like he understood a little.

But not completely.

Di Yao continued reading the case file.

"The Newcomer Ranking only proves that I have potential."

"Only by investigating cases can I gain real authority."

Hu Liena softly asked, "Are you really in such a hurry?"

Di Yao looked up.

"Potential earns cultivation."

"Real authority earns resources."

"If I rely only on talent and wait for others to feed me, I'll always be eating what they leave behind."

The room fell silent again.

As Xie Yue watched Di Yao, a trace of genuine recognition appeared in his eyes for the first time.

It was not recognition of his talent.

It was recognition of his path.

This guy had never merely wanted to win a single fight.

What he wanted was to turn every victory into a step upward.

Yan suddenly said in a low voice, "I'm convinced."

Hu Liena and Xie Yue both turned to look at him.

Yan's face reddened, and he immediately glared.

"What are you looking at?"

"I meant the Newcomer Ranking."

"I didn't say I definitely won't be able to beat him in the future!"

Di Yao nodded.

"You can't beat me right now."

Yan nearly jumped up.

"Di Yao!"

Hu Liena finally could not hold it in and laughed.

That laugh dispelled much of the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

But Xie Yue soon brought the conversation back on track.

"The Elder Palace won't let this go."

"Qin Lie was injured by you in public. They lost face."

Di Yao said, "The more anxious they are, the better."

Hu Liena frowned.

"Why?"

Di Yao turned to the final page of the case file.

A name was marked there.

Yu Xiaogang.

His tone was calm.

"Because I'm leaving the city next."

"Some people don't want me to establish myself in Spirit City."

"Some people don't want the Resource Case thoroughly investigated."

"As long as those people make a move, they'll form a line."

Hu Liena looked at that name.

"Yu Xiaogang..."

Yan asked, "Who's that?"

Xie Yue explained, "The so-called theory Grandmaster."

"He has history with Spirit Hall."

Di Yao closed the case file.

"Whether he's truly a Grandmaster or not, we'll know after the investigation."

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door.

A Deacon from the Pope Palace respectfully bowed.

"Lord Di Yao."

"His Holiness the Pope summons you."

Hu Liena immediately said, "His injuries haven't healed yet!"

The Deacon lowered his head. "His Holiness said that if he can wake up, he can receive orders."

Di Yao threw off the covers.

Hu Liena pressed him down at once.

"You're really going?"

Di Yao looked at her.

"This is real authority."

Hu Liena's fingers paused.

In the end, she let go.

Di Yao stood up, though his body still swayed slightly.

Yan instinctively wanted to support him.

Di Yao looked at him.

Yan immediately withdrew his hand and stubbornly said, "I'm afraid you'll fall to your death and leave me without a chance to get revenge."

Di Yao said flatly, "Don't worry."

"You won't live to see it."

Yan's face darkened again.

Xie Yue watched Di Yao's departing figure and said quietly, "Nana."

Hu Liena did not turn around.

"Mm?"

Xie Yue said, "We need to catch up faster."

Hu Liena was silent for a moment.

"I know."

Di Yao had already gone far away.

But the pressure he had left upon the Golden Generation had only just begun.