A Long-Term Course of Treatment

The sun was shining brightly, and the breeze was gentle.

Several tall horses trotted along the bluestone pavement, leisurely traveling on the official road. Behind them, a magnificent carriage moved slowly along.

"Ah Yi, is Zhen... um, is Sect Leader Tang's condition very troublesome?"

Dugu Bo spurred his horse closer to Ling Yi at the front of the group and asked in a low voice.

He wasn't there during the previous trip to the Clear Sky Sect, but he just heard Chen Xin mention it and immediately became curious, so he rushed over to Ling Yi to get the firsthand information.

Ling Yi held the reins with one hand and stroked the smooth mane of the Treading Snow beneath him with the other. He glanced at Dugu Bo and said softly, "Senior, this matter cannot be spread outside—"

"Hey!" Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo leaned back on his horse and earnestly assured him, "Don't you know me? I certainly won't gossip, don't worry!"

"Hmm~" Ling Yi looked at Dugu Bo noncommittally, and without further delay, nodded and said, "That person's situation is really difficult to handle."

"Wow!"

Dugu Bo's eyes widened immediately, and he subconsciously moved closer to Ling Yi, which greatly displeased Ling Yi, who Treading Snow and glared at the horse under Dugu Bo. Ta Xue then made the horse move Dugu Bo to the side.

Dugu Bo ignored Treading Snow's little temper, gently stroking the side of his horse's neck as a gesture of comfort. His deep green eyes, however, were fixed on Ling Yi, and he asked incredulously, "That's a titled... and the son of that person, the head of a sect, and he actually...?"

Although the words were vague, Ling Yi understood what Dugu Bo meant.

Indeed, given Tang Zhen's strength and status, the fact that he was so severely injured would likely raise serious suspicions even among the Spirit Hall. Their first reaction would probably be, "Is the Clear Sky Sect up to something? Are they trying to bluff us?"

Faced with Dugu Bo's shock, Ling Yi looked up at the end of the official road in the distance, where a red sun was slowly setting, just like the ' Heaven-Shaking Douluo ' Tang Zhen, whose origin had been greatly damaged.

"It can only be said that fate is cruel, and he was just unlucky." Ling Yi's tone sounded somewhat strange.

Let's go back to the day before.

Haoyang Cliff, the training ground for mimicking the Blue Silver Grass.

"Zhentian Majesty Zhentian, your injury has been delayed for too long. If it had been when you were first injured, with my current strength, I would be about 98% confident that I could heal you."

As Ling Yi waved his hand to disperse the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that had gathered with the power of life, nourishing all the "Blue Silver Grass" in all directions, he spoke to Tang Zhen, whose complexion was rosy and whose breathing was steady.

Feeling the long-lost ease and comfort in his chest and abdomen, Tang Zhen shook his head and said, "This is already very good. I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time."

After a pause, Tang Zhen looked at Ling Yi, whose brows were slightly furrowed and whose face showed a hint of apology, and then comforted him, "I can sense that the remaining foreign energy in my body has become very weak. With my strength, it shouldn't be difficult for me to expel it on my own later..."

"Zhentian Majesty Zhentian," Ling Yi's apology did not lessen because of Tang Zhen's words, but he said, "If my observation is correct, your thinking is perhaps a little too optimistic."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Tang Zhen was taken aback by the question, a bad feeling rising in his heart. He quickly looked intently at Ling Yi, waiting for him to continue.

"Your injuries were sustained from fighting Titled Douluo whose strength is no less than yours, right?" Ling Yi asked.

Tang Zhen nodded and said frankly, "That's right."

"His strength was similar to mine. During the battle, neither of us dared to hold back. In the end, he died, and I survived, but I have been tormented by this injury for so many years."

"At first, I thought I had won, but now..." A hint of regret flashed in Tang Zhen's eyes as he shook his head and said, "We both actually lost."

Although he had already learned some of the information from Wu Xian and Weiyi Yi, hearing it again from Tang Zhen, the person involved, still made Ling Yi feel somewhat emotional.

This world is dangerous. Whether you are an ordinary person with no Soul Power or Titled Douluo standing at the top of the continent, you will always encounter situations that make you powerless.

Ordinary people, as the lowest level of society, are subject to various circumstances, from distant beings like Soul Master, Soul Beast, and Nobles to more recent ones like hunger, illness, and injury. These situations can crush them and even plunge them into the abyss.

Although Soul Master hold a superior status on the continent, their Life are threatened by the hostile Soul Master and powerful Soul Beast they encounter along the way.

Even Titled Douluo cannot avoid these threats, because even powerful Level 99 Peerless Douluo like Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen have similar strengths and restrain each other.

According to Wu Xian and Weiyi, the cousins, the Wu Family family member who went to challenge the Clear Sky Sect back then did not go with the intention of dying.

Given the lifespan of Titled Douluo, there was absolutely no need for the other party to try and engage in some kind of extreme one-for-one exchange with Tang Zhen.

After all, as long as this person is alive, the Wu Family of the Taiyi Bell will have hope of rising again and returning to the ranks of the top forces in the Douluo Continent. It is only a matter of time.

Unfortunately, just like Chen Jianjun challenging Qian Daoliu in the original timeline, they may have been prepared to die in the battle, but they certainly didn't start the challenge with the thought of never returning.

The main reason why the strong characters in those National Martial Arts arts novels often "engage" or "determine life and death" is that in a real fight, no one can guarantee that their opponent will hold back in time.

As the saying goes, "He who strikes first gains the upper hand, he who strikes last suffers the consequences." Anyone with a sound mind would choose to kill the other rather than be killed by them.

With these thoughts racing through his mind, Ling Yi continued, seeing Tang Zhen's solemn expression, "The energy that remained in your body has, after so many years of integration, almost merged with your internal organs."

"A single move can affect the whole body. The fact that you feel the remaining strength is very weak is just a facade. Before long, these currently weak foreign forces will grow stronger again by eroding your power."

"So, you're saying my injury is beyond saving?" Tang Zhen frowned deeply and asked in a deep voice.

"Not entirely~" Ling Yi shook his head and said to Tang Zhen and delighted gaze, "If I can break through to the Titled Douluo level, the Life force I can mobilize at that time will be strong enough to expel those deeply rooted foreign forces while ensuring that your internal organs will not suffer fatal damage."

"Account banned?" Tang Zhen was speechless for a moment upon hearing this.

Tang Zhen, like most people on the Douluo Continent, believed that Ling Yi could break through to the Titled Douluo realm.

After all, if someone can cultivate to the Seven-Ring Soul Sage at the age of thirty-two, even if they have to grind it out, they can generally grind it out to the Titled Douluo level.

After all, Ling Yi's current achievements have already demonstrated his aptitude; there are no limitations in his talent, and breaking through to the Titled Douluo is only a matter of time.

But the problem is that Tang Zhen is now facing a tight timeframe.

The "Taiyi Bell" power, Bone-Clinging Gangrene, has already depleted too much of his original essence. If it weren't for the "Blood Essence Fruit" to compensate for it, he would probably be in a terminal condition now, possibly even bedridden.

However, the Life essence contained in the "Blood Essence Fruit" obtained from the [Heavenly Craft Academy] was ultimately far too little compared to Tang Zhen, a Titled Douluo, and could be described as a drop in the ocean.

Who knows what kind of shock might happen one day, causing a dramatic emotional rollercoaster, and he might just collapse.

Although Ling Yi has shown great talent, even surpassing Tang Hao in some aspects, he is ultimately pursuing a Healing System path, and his improvement will likely slow down as time goes on.

Tang Zhen probably can't wait that long.

Just then, Ling Yi suddenly said, "It's not like there aren't other methods."

"Huh?!" Tang Zhen's eyes lit up. "What method?"

Ling Yi raised his right fist, extended his index finger, and said, "One is that you will break through your own realm and be able to control your Soul Power more meticulously, just like His Seven Kill Douluo. In this way, you can expel foreign forces on your own and suppress the interference of external forces in your torso bones and Soul Bone. I can also control the Life force to follow your Soul Power and repair those damaged internal organs."

"This..." Tang Zhen smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Being entangled by this strange force, I'm afraid I don't have much of a chance to break through."

"Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Ling Yi nodded, then continued, "If the ' Nine Heart Begonia ' could produce another Eight-Ring Soul Douluo, my joining forces with them should achieve the same effect as when I broke through to the Titled Douluo level."

"Nine Heart Begonia, Eight-Ring Soul Douluo?" Tang Zhen took a deep breath, pondering the information about the Ye Family of Nine Heart Begonia in recent years.

Since the old lady of the Ye Family, Ye Qihong, broke through to the Eight-Ring Soul Douluo and then died due to her Martial Soul Destiny, the current head of the Ye Family seems to have only recently broken through to the Seven-Ring Soul Sage realm.

Clearly, this is another time-consuming plan, only slightly faster than Ling Yi's breakthrough to the Titled Douluo.

"So, this matter just ended there?"

Back to the present, as he listened to Ling Yi's narration, Dugu Bo raised his hand and stroked his short beard, his expression somewhat strange.

"Hmm~" Ling Yi raised his chin and said casually, "What else can we do?"

"He has a complete set of Soul Bone, which gives him considerable resistance to external forces. If it weren't for the fact that the Wu Family's titled person was strong enough to break the blockade with a desperate last strike, those alien forces wouldn't have been able to take hold of him so easily."

"To expel the alien energy left behind by a Titled Douluo, to resist the influence of his own Titled Douluo -level Soul Power, and to resist the interference from the Soul Bone in his body, I am just a Seven-Ring Soul Sage. Isn't this making things difficult for me?"

"That's true." Dugu Bo nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

But in his heart, Dugu Bo muttered to himself, "That little rascal, he never tells the truth."

If he remembered correctly, Ling Yi's Sixth Soul Skill seemed to be able to Resurrection Soul Beast that had recently died and whose bodies had been separated from their heads.

With such a miraculous skill, Ling Yi said he couldn't repair the internal organs damaged by Tang Zhen after he expelled the alien force. Dugu Bo wouldn't believe a word of it.

Of course, since Ling Yi had already said that, he certainly wouldn't expose him.

Ling Yi glanced at Dugu Bo, whose eyes were darting around, and knew that the other party had already guessed something. He didn't say anything more, but simply raised his eyebrows and gave the other party a meaningful smile.

Seeing this, Dugu Bo became even more certain of his guess and, quite tacitly, skipped over the topic.

"By the way, you not only performed the treatment this time, but also worked with the Yang Wudi Yang Wushuang, to deduce the formula for the ' Heavenly King Life-Preserving Pill.' How many years can it protect him?"

"Three to five years shouldn't be a problem." Ling Yi pondered for a few seconds before giving his answer, "If he doesn't intervene in battles along the way."

"If all else fails, I'll treat him again. Even if it doesn't guarantee two or three months of protection, ten days or half a month should be enough."

"Of course, if he's willing to go to ' Lingyun City,' given the environment there, one treatment could keep him healthy for six months."

Dugu Bo glared at him. "You... charge per session?"

Ling Yi nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Yeah~"

You should know that in his previous life, a young woman who did medical research once told him that some diseases can actually be completely cured, but people generally don't do that.

As for the reason, it's a matter of whether you want to be full at one meal or full at every meal.

At that time, Ling Yi abhorred this behavior and severely punished the young lady several times, making her realize her mistake and deeply reflect on her actions before he stopped pursuing the matter.

But now that his identity has changed from that of the exploited to that of the exploiter, Ling Yi naturally changed his attitude.

Of course, Ling Yi never thought of squeezing money from poor people; how much could he possibly get from them?

If you're going to scrape, scrape the rich ones; that's the real money!

In the Douluo Continent, five percent of the people possess ninety-nine percent of the wealth.

Ling Yi himself was one of that 5%, and he knew all too well how rich those people were.

Moreover, what Ling Yi wanted was never just Gold Soul Coin, but all kinds of resources, all resources related to cultivation.

Lingyun City was founded less than ten years ago. Although the Blacksmith Association was an established force, it had always been in the lower and middle ranks of the Soul Master World. Although it had some foundation, it was still quite ordinary.

Only entities like the Spirit Hall, the Clear Sky Sect, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan truly control the channels for high-end cultivation resources.

Putting aside other things, these forces all raise Soul Beast and establish "Soul Hunting Forest." Perhaps the strongest Soul Beast among them are only a thousand years old. However, some of their species and attributes would be much harder to find in places like "Star Dou Great Forest," "Sunset Forest," or "Lost Track Grand Canyon." Not only would it be time-consuming and laborious, but they would also be more likely to encounter attacks from powerful Soul Beast.

The older the power, the more established the cultivation path of its direct descendants' Martial Soul. For example, the choice of Soul Ring for the [White Tiger Dai Family] and the [Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan] are all based on the corresponding Soul Beast that are suitable for their inherited Martial Soul.

"By the way, how strong is the person from the Spirit Hall who was sent to Lingyun City to establish the Spirit Hall Main Hall? Is he at the Soul Saint level? Hopefully not Soul Emperor— "

"Don't worry, Seven-Ring Soul Sage, but... do you really intend to use them to guard that place?"