Linhai First People's Hospital.
The clean, tidy ward was filled with the smell of disinfectant.
It was different from his previous life.
Some immensely powerful martial artists possessed bodies far tougher than ordinary people's. Once injured, even ordinary doctors could not cut through their skin with surgical scalpels, much less perform suturing.
Therefore, among the ace doctors at city-level hospitals, quite a few were martial artists with Healing abilities.
By Jiang Qingzhu's hospital bed, a female doctor in a white coat was using a Healing ability to treat the injuries on her face.
Ye Li sat in a chair not far away, clasped his hands together, and summoned his panel.
[Current Malice Points: points]
His original reserves, combined with the 8,200 Malice Points gained from fighting Jiang Qingzhu, had successfully pushed Ye Li's savings past the ten-thousand mark.
Since transmigrating, this was the first time he had possessed five-digit Malice Points.
Once he got a suitable Breathing Technique, he could pour in a massive wave of points.
His battle with Jiang Qingzhu had let Ye Li feel the pressure an enemy could bring for the first time.
A Second-Tier Martial Artist with a Breathing Technique was vastly different from every opponent he had faced before.
Ye Li's fist martial skill, attained to perfection, combined with fist power far beyond martial artists of the same rank, had still been unable to swiftly break through Jiang Qingzhu's spear defense.
By the time the true qi in his body had been depleted by nearly seventy percent, there was still not the slightest sign of exhaustion on her face.
That was most likely thanks to her Breathing Technique, which could continuously restore true qi.
Jiang Qingzhu's mastery over her Breathing Technique was definitely not high. After all, the legendary S-Grade Breathing Technique surely did more than merely restore true qi a little faster.
But even so, it gave her endurance far beyond Ye Li's.
That was the importance of a Breathing Technique.
Had he not relied on the Heavenly Dipper Void-Treading Technique and his SSS-grade Martial Arts Talent—first disrupting Jiang Qingzhu's circulation of true qi, then catching the instant she lost focus—
This clash would have been much harder for Ye Li to win.
It was not as if he could not have won. After all, [Indestructible Golden Soul] was genuinely a little too shameless.
As long as the gap in rank was not too great, he could trade injuries and stubbornly wear the other side to death.
One had to know that strength like Jiang Qingzhu's only placed her in the first tier in Ying Province; she was not one of a kind.
Counting those close to her strength, or even stronger than her, there were probably more than a dozen across all of Ying Province.
If those dozen or so people besieged him during the Martial Exam...
Then with Ye Li's current setup, even if he uttered the famous words, "Running away is also something Ye is skilled at," it would probably still be difficult for him to break out of the encirclement.
Let alone win.
Though the odds of being besieged were low for ordinary people, given his system's usual nature, if he wanted more Malice Points, he had to prepare in advance for the possibility of being surrounded.
Besides a necessary Breathing Technique, I also need to start preparing offensive martial skills.
Ye Li silently let out a breath and calculated in his heart.
He had already clearly felt the weakness of the Flowing Water Fist Technique.
It was fine for finishing blows, but severely lacking for offense.
"Ye Li."
At that moment, Yu Qianqian beside him suddenly spoke. "I really never expected you to be able to defeat Senior Jiang."
Her tone was thick with amazement.
Ye Li raised a brow. "It was alright. She was pretty weak."
Though there really had been a bit of pressure during the fight, a certain big shot back home had put it well.
Despise the enemy strategically; take the enemy seriously tactically.
As long as he could earn Malice Points, even if it were an ancient god, he would dare mock it right to its face!
"You really are..."
Hearing that, Yu Qianqian finally revealed her familiar smile, yet her gaze seemed drawn by a magnet, sticking tightly to Ye Li's calm and unruffled face.
A strange gleam flickered in her eyes, as though she had discovered some delightfully surprising treasure within the young man.
"Only you would dare say that. Not a single Martial Science Student in all of Linhai City would dare say such a thing."
Yu Qianqian laughed softly.
Ye Li merely gave a noncommittal chuckle.
At that moment, the female doctor treating Jiang Qingzhu finished her work. After completing her examination, she silently breathed a sigh of relief.
"There's no major problem, just a slight concussion."
She stood and said to Ye Li in the chair, "The swelling on her face has also been dealt with. Once she wakes up, she can be discharged."
"Thank you," Ye Li said politely.
Yu Qianqian also rose and thanked the doctor.
After the doctor left, Ye Li stood as well.
"You're not going to wait until Senior Jiang wakes up before leaving?" Yu Qianqian asked curiously.
"What does it have to do with me whether she wakes up or not?" Ye Li waved a hand and headed outside as he said,
"She's weak, yet loves putting on airs. Me stepping in this time counts as accumulating virtue and doing good."
[Verbal mockery detected. Malice Points from Jiang Qingzhu +100!]
Hm?
She was awake?
Hearing the notification, Ye Li's eyes lit up, and his departing steps came to a halt.
"What is it?" Yu Qianqian looked at him in confusion.
"I wasn't finished speaking." Ye Li cleared his throat and, with a smile that was not quite a smile, said to the "unconscious" girl on the bed,
"As the School Team captain, you acted like a hands-off shopkeeper, letting rotten people form their own little clique and turning the entire School Team's atmosphere into a foul, smoky mess. That alone would have been one thing.
"Then, because of some baseless rumors, you put on a lofty pose and told the new member to behave himself from now on.
"What? Do new members deserve to be bullied by their little clique? I don't have the right to fight back?
"I'll say it plainly.
"An arrogant young miss like you, who thinks too highly of herself without even realizing it, will behave after getting beaten badly once.
"I hope that the next time we meet, you'll put away that lofty attitude of yours, trash."
With that, Ye Li ignored Yu Qianqian's stunned gaze, turned, and left without hesitation.
On the hospital bed, Jiang Qingzhu's delicate hand gradually clenched into a fist, her silver teeth biting tightly together.
A nameless fire rose within her heart, yet she could not find any reason to refute him.
Every word Ye Li spoke was like a blade, stabbing deep into her heart that had never concerned itself with worldly affairs.
His meaning was obvious:
"Either don't interfere at all, or keep interfering all the way through. You did nothing before I came, but afterward you suddenly decided to act like the captain?"
"In that case, I'll deal with you too!"
The girl despised those who bullied the weak with their strength, yet how was what she had done today any different from the people she hated?
At most, she had merely been more presentable in form!
At that thought, intense shame welled up in Jiang Qingzhu's heart.
"I'm sorry..."
She murmured in a voice only she could hear.
An unprecedented wave of shame and humiliation surged into her heart, making this genius girl of Linhai City feel tormented beyond measure.
[Successfully shattered Jiang Qingzhu's defenses with words. Malice Points +500!]
A moment later, Jiang Qingzhu sat up and took a deep breath.
Although she had done something wrong, she still had a chance to make amends... Her clear eyes gradually brightened.
Seeing Jiang Qingzhu sit up, Yu Qianqian looked over in surprise and asked,
"Senior, you're awake?"
Jiang Qingzhu nodded, then swung herself out of bed.
Her fair, tender feet slipped into socks, then stepped into her shoes.
Yu Qianqian quickly stepped forward and asked tentatively, "You've only just woken up. Aren't you going to rest a little longer?"
"No need."
"Then where are you going?"
Seeing Jiang Qingzhu immediately prepare to head out, Yu Qianqian hurriedly asked.
"To apologize in person."
Jiang Qingzhu's tone was firm, and her figure swiftly disappeared through the doorway.
Apologize in person?
Apologize to whom?
Countless question marks rose in Yu Qianqian's mind.
But soon, Jiang Qingzhu reappeared at the ward door.
Looking at the bewildered Yu Qianqian, she asked in a cool voice,
"What floor is Ye Li's training room on?"
Yu Qianqian's expression instantly froze.
Before you continue