A Year Later, Level Twenty!

After clearing away the necrotic tissue, Lan Tian began stitching the wound.

The wound was too large. The epidermis and muscle layers had to be sutured separately, while the deeper fascia needed to be aligned and drawn together. Only then could he ensure that no excessive scarring or functional impairment would remain after healing.

He stitched each needlework fine and close, far more skillfully than when he had operated on that batch of city guard casualties more than three months ago.

The entire debridement and suturing process lasted nearly two hours.

When he tied off the final stitch, Lan Tian set down the needle and forceps and let out a long breath. Then he raised his hand and activated his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

Vines spread from his palm and wrapped around Gary's entire lower back. A yellow Soul Ring rose, and his first soul skill, Endless Life, activated.

Life energy flowed into the wound. The severed muscles and skin began regenerating and reconnecting at a visible rate, while the redness, swelling, and inflammation gradually subsided.

About fifteen minutes later, Lan Tian had consumed around thirty percent of his Soul Power. Gary's wound had already closed more than halfway. The originally gaping wound had turned into a dark red healing scar, and the swelling around it had clearly gone down by more than half.

Lan Tian withdrew his Soul Power and checked Gary's forehead.

The fever had not completely broken, but his temperature had clearly dropped, and his breathing had steadied.

"The infection has been suppressed, and the wound has healed seventy percent. Let him rest and recover slowly, and he'll be fine."

Lan Tian wiped the blood from his hands and turned to Grant. "Have him drink plenty of water over the next few days and eat bland food. Don't let the wound touch water, and don't let him do heavy labor for seven days. I also have some pills to refresh the mind and restore energy. Give him one every morning and evening. He'll be able to get out of bed in three to five days."

Grant's mother's eyes immediately reddened. Repeatedly thanking the physician, she turned to head for the stove, saying she would make something for Lan Tian to eat.

Lan Tian stopped her, saying he had brought provisions.

Only then did Grant seem to truly breathe a sigh of relief. He released his younger brother's hand, rose to his feet, and walked over to Lan Tian. He gave him a deep, solemn bow. When he straightened, his eyes were slightly red as well. "Doctor Lan, Gary is my only younger brother. Saving him was the same as saving me. From now on, your business is my business. Through mountains of blades and seas of fire, say the word, and I, Grant, will never hesitate."

Lan Tian patted his shoulder. "All right, don't say such heavy things. Nothing matters more than him being okay."

Grant's mother insisted on cooking Lan Tian a steaming bowl of noodles. She brought it before him and refused to let him leave until he had finished it.

Unable to refuse, Lan Tian ate the noodles with the hot broth, and warmth spread through his whole body.

It was completely dark outside, and the snow had stopped. A cold moon hung from the treetops, casting a bright sheen over the accumulated snow.

Grant escorted him to the village entrance. Before mounting his horse, Lan Tian glanced back at him. "Your brother will be fine now. I can come back in a few days to check on his recovery. Don't worry. Just take good care of him."

Grant nodded and stood in the snow, watching him ride away.

The night road was bitterly cold. The horse trotted back along the official road they had taken earlier.

Lan Tian drew his cloak closer, but his thoughts drifted elsewhere.

This house call had not only earned him Grant's deep gratitude, but also familiarized him with the northern route.

Farther north from Shuanglin Village lay the southern edge of Sunset Forest. Though it was separated by more than a hundred miles, he now had a general outline of the direction and route in his mind.

When the time came, traveling north to Sunset Forest by this road would save him far more trouble than feeling his way along an unfamiliar route from scratch.

It was nearly midnight when he returned to Nuoding City. Once he opened the clinic door, the stove inside still retained some lingering warmth.

After washing up briefly, he lay down on the bed. His final thought before closing his eyes was:

Owing Grant this favor had been worth it.

The north wind swept past the eaves, and a thin layer of frost covered the window lattice.

Lan Tian sat cross-legged in the backyard. His four Weighted Rings had been replaced with new ones, each upgraded from one hundred jin to two hundred jin.

A faint green glow enveloped his body. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul appeared on its own, vines slowly unfurling around him, while the leaves shimmered with a richer vitality than they had possessed a year ago.

Soul Power surged through his meridians like a river, nearly twice as abundant as it had been at level fifteen.

Something seemed to be brewing and condensing deep within his dantian. At last, in this moment, it fully took shape.

His Soul Power surged explosively, breaking through the bottleneck that had blocked him for so long. With the smooth, natural feeling of water flowing into its course, it firmly settled at level twenty.

Lan Tian slowly opened his eyes. The snow falling throughout the courtyard was reflected in his pupils, and his entire being radiated a renewed feeling from within.

He lowered his gaze and clenched his fists, sensing the surging fluctuations of Soul Power inside him. The corners of his mouth slowly lifted.

Level twenty.

From level fifteen to level twenty, exactly one year and three months.

He had done it.

Over the past year, he had hardly wasted a single day.

The City Lord's Mansion had never stopped supplying medicinal herbs. The formula for his medicinal baths had been improved three more times, and every adjustment allowed the medicine's effects to penetrate another layer deeper.

He visited the black market almost every few days. He never came across any hundred-year Whale Rubber again, but he had accumulated nearly two jin of ten-year Whale Rubber, all of which he used in batches.

His herb gathering and practical combat in the Soul Hunting Forest had been even more unwavering. He gathered summer herbs in summer and dug winter roots in winter. Whenever he encountered a hundred-year Soul Beast, he faced it head-on to temper his physical skills. If he could win, he drove it away. If he could not, he used the terrain to maneuver and retreat. Not once had he acted rashly.

His days had been peaceful, yet never wasted. He never squandered resources, and he had never slackened in his cultivation.

And now, all those accumulated efforts had converged into this result.

He rose and performed a set of punches.

The wind from his fists howled like thunder. His moves were fierce, each strike propelled by both internal force and Soul Power.

The two-hundred-jin Weighted Rings had become almost imperceptible. His movements flowed as smoothly as though he carried no weight at all. His kicks snapped out like whips, his fists drew back like hammers, and every move was clean, sharp, and flawless.

After finishing the set, he exhaled a long breath of stale air. White mist scattered through the cold.

Excited as he was, he understood that level twenty was only the threshold to becoming a Soul Grandmaster. To truly cross it, he still needed his Second Soul Ring.

Without a Second Soul Ring, he could only be considered at the peak among One-Ring Soul Masters. No matter how abundant his Soul Power was, he would still lack that leap in quality.

He had long decided what to choose for his second Soul Ring.

Just like his First Soul Ring, he would continue looking for Blue Silver Grass of the same origin. The older it was, the better.

Last time, he had absorbed four-hundred-year Blue Silver Grass. This time, his physique and Soul Power far surpassed what they had been back then. He should be able to withstand Blue Silver Grass between seven hundred and nine hundred years old. If he could find Blue Silver Grass over a thousand years old, that would be even more ideal.

But thousand-year Blue Silver Grass was not easy to find.

The older this thing became, the harder it was to discover. Blue Silver Grass was originally the most ordinary plant-type Martial Soul, and it had covered mountains and plains for countless years. Yet there were very few that could survive for a thousand years. Most were hidden in extremely deep, remote places, relying on special terrain and environments to escape natural disasters and the feeding of Soul Beasts.