The Severely Injured Man

"Again."

Jiang Changkong spoke again.

Zhou Wen nodded and struck again. "If you can't take it, say so."

Jiang Changkong nodded and took another palm strike. This time, there was no problem.

The second palm strike—he kept enduring, letting the force hammer his body.

But Iron Cloth Shirt showed no movement.

After a full five minutes of blows, Iron Cloth Shirt finally moved.

20.7/40

It had only increased by 0.1?

He suddenly felt that taking a knife would be faster after all.

The pain also went away faster.

"Let's rest for a bit."

They kept going until it reached 21/40.

Jiang Changkong stopped. He had realized that the more he was beaten, the slower the improvement became.

At first it had been five minutes, then seven minutes, then ten minutes.

Moreover, as he kept getting hit, he began to feel exhausted, a drained-to-the-bone sensation. This damned body.

They had fought for nearly half an hour before it reached 21. At this rate, it would be very hard to improve, and he was unbearably tired too.

Sitting on the ground, Jiang Changkong asked, "You said Doctor Ziling wants to improve her healing ability?"

"Yes. You probably don't know this, but Star Demons contain Star Stones inside their bodies."

Zhou Wen thought for a moment, then said, "Some Star Stones mutate for certain unknown reasons and possess special abilities."

Jiang Changkong understood. Those special abilities could be extracted.

Ziling had obtained this healing ability and needed to use it constantly, temper it, and harmonize with it.

She had only just obtained this ability, so it was not especially powerful.

Some severe injuries could not be treated. She could only heal small wounds.

That was why she had opened a clinic here, rather than at the Martial Arts School.

Those guys at the Martial Arts School had no sense of restraint. The moment they made a move, the wound would be thaaat big—hard to treat.

"Star Demons, huh."

Jiang Changkong rubbed his chin. A Star Demon's essence, energy, and spirit had to be abundant.

"Don't even think about it. Look how weak your frame is. You're drenched in sweat after just this short while. Who knows how long it'll take you to join the Martial Arts School."

Zhou Wen shook his head. These words were not meant to discourage him; they were the truth.

Jiang Changkong nodded. "So, take the sword down a sidetrack. How about I keep getting stabbed?"

Zhou Wen: "..."

You're the first person I've ever seen who dares keep stabbing himself with a knife.

If Jiang Changkong had not seemed relatively normal, he would have suspected there was a pit in his brain.

"Senior Ziling won't agree."

Zhou Wen said helplessly, "Why are you so ruthless to yourself? Martial arts can't be rushed. If there's really no other way, you can buy medicinal herbs to temper your body. Strengthening fluid works too."

Jiang Changkong shook his head. Medicinal herbs—he could not afford them.

Strengthening fluid—he could afford that even less.

"Poor people can only eat more bitterness."

Jiang Changkong said, "How about you put in a good word with Doctor Ziling? I practice Iron Cloth Shirt, and she improves her healing ability?"

Zhou Wen shook his head, rejecting his request.

What you're doing isn't eating more bitterness. It's mutilating yourself more.

"Keep training." Zhou Wen stood up as he spoke.

Jiang Changkong got to his feet. His body had recovered quite a bit. Any extra bit of strengthening was still strengthening.

This time, it was not until noon that he improved by one more point.

The two of them had also gotten familiar with each other. Ziling's full name was Ji Ziling.

Yingji Clinic had taken one surname from each of them and used it as its signboard.

There was also a boss surnamed Ying, the senior sister Zhou Wen wanted to pursue.

Lunch was made by Ji Ziling, and it tasted very good.

After eating, Jiang Changkong was in no hurry to train. Instead, he went to the vegetable market.

This was now practically a world where the whole population practiced martial arts, and the demand for meat was enormous.

Everyone liked fresh meat, so there was fresh stock in both the morning and afternoon.

After making a round, he gained another 2 points of essence, energy, and spirit. He saved them.

Good steel had to be used on the blade's edge. Once he reached minor achievement perfection, he could directly upgrade to major achievement.

He continued training in the afternoon, but in the end, it only increased by 0.5.

Iron Cloth Shirt: Minor Achievement 22.5/40.

As he ate the dinner Ji Ziling had prepared, Jiang Changkong's heart stirred. "Brother Wen, can I ask you for a favor?"

Zhou Wen looked up. "What favor? If it's too hard, I'll refuse."

"It's not hard. I just want to become a butcher..."

"No."

Zhou Wen refused decisively.

Didn't you see that Ji Ziling had even hidden your dagger?

Become a butcher?

Were you going to kill chickens and slaughter sheep, or were you going to slit your own throat?

Who could say for sure?

For someone like this, who stabbed himself at the drop of a hat, keeping him far away from deadly weapons was best.

Ji Ziling glanced at him. "If you want to die, you can die somewhere else. Don't smash my signboard."

Jiang Changkong explained, "No, I just want to find a job."

"You're still so young. What kind of butcher are you trying to be? How about this—you work in the shop. Monthly salary, three thousand," Zhou Wen said.

Ji Ziling nodded, raising no objection.

Before he could speak, Zhou Wen continued, "Besides, do you think being a butcher is easy? You need a certificate too."

Jiang Changkong opened his mouth, but could only say, "Thank you."

After dinner, Jiang Changkong returned home and began working at Yingji Clinic.

Zhou Wen helped him train every day, while Ji Ziling treated the wounded.

Only, the wounded here were all superficial injuries.

The most serious one was someone who had cut himself while killing fish, and he had not even bled much.

Naturally, Jiang Changkong gained no essence, energy, and spirit.

Every day, he wandered around the market, then practiced Iron Cloth Shirt.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

Iron Cloth Shirt's minor achievement reached 25 points.

It grew slower and slower afterward, while his stored essence, energy, and spirit reached 16 points.

Jiang Changkong did not stab himself again, and Ji Ziling said nothing about it, but she showed no particular warmth either.

He noticed one problem: Ji Ziling was rather cold toward both him and Zhou Wen.

Though she was not exactly icy in manner, she carried a sense of distance that kept people a thousand li away.

That evening, after Jiang Changkong finished wiping down the clinic's tables and chairs, Ji Ziling had also finished tidying up and was preparing to leave.

Zhou Wen had left one step earlier.

"Doctor Ji."

A panicked cry suddenly rang out.

A woman supported a middle-aged man covered in blood as they walked in. "Doctor Ji, please save him!"

Essence, energy, and spirit +1 +0.1...

Essence, energy, and spirit kept being drawn in. This person's essence, energy, and spirit was scattering in great amounts.

Ji Ziling hurriedly flung out green light, sinking it into the middle-aged man's body.

But the man was still bleeding. A few green lights could not stop it at all.

Only after several more green lights did she barely manage to stop the bleeding.

"His injuries are too severe. I can only stabilize his condition. Send him to the hospital immediately," Ji Ziling said.

"Thank you, Doctor Ji."

The woman hurriedly helped the middle-aged man up, but she was exhausted too. Her legs went weak, and her body toppled down.

The middle-aged man fell straight toward the floor.

Ji Ziling hurriedly caught the woman, while Jiang Changkong managed, by a hair's breadth, to catch the middle-aged man.

He looked at Ji Ziling strangely. This man was clearly the one more severely injured—if he fell, he would die.

He had actually chosen to help the woman.

"I'll carry him to the hospital."

Jiang Changkong hoisted the middle-aged man onto his back and ran outside.

Ji Ziling followed behind. With a flick of her hand, a streak of green light sank into the severely injured man's body, helping stabilize his wounds.

"Thank you, thank you." The woman kept thanking them.

They jogged all the way to the hospital. Fortunately, his Iron Cloth Shirt had reached minor accomplishment, so carrying someone on his back was no problem.

Only, before long, he began to feel tired. The moment his energy was spent, drowsiness came over him.

Luckily, the hospital was not far. As soon as Jiang Changkong arrived, doctors came over to help take the middle-aged man.

"Let's go."

Ji Ziling turned and left.

Jiang Changkong shook himself, feeling exhausted.

The woman was still at the entrance, thanking them. "Thank you, thank you so much."

"Go in and take care of him." Jiang Changkong left those words behind and hurried after Ji Ziling.

"He was injured by an ox, and you still want to be a butcher?"

Ji Ziling suddenly said.

"I'm just curious." Jiang Changkong smiled and did not say more.

Ji Ziling said nothing else either.

After the two parted ways, Jiang Changkong secretly wiped away sweat—he was tired.

But looking at his essence, qi, and spirit, he could not help smiling.

"Not bad."

He had gained another five points, and saved a person too.

Twenty-one points. That severely injured man just now had released five points.