Before Going to Spirit City, Heal Up First

In the treatment room, Dong Jian lay on the bed. Ye Lingling's fingers traced along his back, examining him carefully. The Nine Heart Begonia hadn't fully bloomed yet, Ye Lingling began her examination.

Ye Lingling pressed the first spot. "Here?"

"Acid."

She pressed down further. "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt."

Let's try another place. "Here?"

"A little."

Ye Lingling stopped at the point where her right hip and waist connected.

"You call this not painful?"

Dong Jian thought for a moment.

"It happened when I touched it."

That's pain.

Li Man, who was sitting next to her taking notes, looked up when she heard this.

I knew it.

Dong Jian turned his head to the side.

When did you say that?

"Every time you say you're fine..."

"That doesn't count."

Ye Lingling patted the edge of the bed.

"Don't move."

Dong Jian could only lie back down. Continuous Momentum Shift are not inherently a self-destructive tactic; when used correctly, they can actually be more energy-efficient than simply pushing through. The problem lies in his recent training volume.

Once, twice, Returning and Receiving, and back to the starting position again. Each movement seems to be within the limit, but after accumulating, fatigue still occurs in the waist, hips, knees, and ankles, especially the right ankle.

The landing point was off in the first few third cycles. That's where the burden was first added. After checking the waist, Ye Lingling squatted down to check the feet, and had Dong Jian lift his foot, press down, turn, and then land.

The final conclusion is simple.

"No structural damage."

Dong Jian was about to sit up.

"But."

He stopped again. Ye Lingling looked at him. Ye Lingling said, "Your right ankle is tired, and so is your lower back and hip. You're not allowed to do any high-intensity, continuous Momentum Shift for the next three days." Dong Jian frowned. "Three days?"

"Too much?"

"You can practice before you leave."

"Low intensity," Ye Lingling added, "At most two rounds."

Dong Jian didn't speak. Li Man had already written it down on the paper.

Two wheels.

Dong Jian looked at her.

Why are you writing this down?

"So you don't forget tomorrow."

The examination wasn't over yet. The part that took Ye Lingling the longest was her spine. There were nine External Soul Bone locations, Dark Gold Spine Armor hadn't unfolded, and bone fragments weren't visible on the skin's surface.

However, as the fusion deepened, the transmission of Soul Power in those nine locations became significantly more noticeable than when it was first acquired.

Ye Lingling's healing perception couldn't perform Spiritual Detection, nor could she see all the changes inside the bones. She was simply familiar enough with Dong Jian's body to compare which areas were more likely to gather Soul Power.

"One two three..."

She counted from top to bottom. The ninth point was the end.

"It went more smoothly than before going to Sunset Forest."

Dong Jian asked, "Good news?"

"In terms of integration..."

"Keep it a secret?"

Ye Lingling glanced at him. "It's getting more and more troublesome." Li Man paused, her pen still in her hand. Ye Lingling continued, "Your body has become accustomed to coming here when under heavy load."

Even without deploying the spine armor.

"In the future, when faced with very high-intensity loads..."

"Soul Power may also first gather in nine locations."

Dong Jian sat up.

"Can the Sealed Spine version hold up?"

"Currently possible."

"Where's the full version?"

"It's impossible for it to remain unnoticed forever."

Everyone already knew this. The Dark Gold Spine Armor isn't something that just stays hidden inside the body forever, as if it doesn't exist. The more it integrates, the more it will become part of Dong Jian's normal power generation structure.

Previously, it required conscious effort; now it might become instinctive. Ye Lingling withdrew her hand. Then Ye Lingling added, "There's one more thing." Dong Jian looked at her. "What?"

"You are not allowed to deliberately activate the Dark Gold Spine Armor to help yourself bear the weight during training cycles."

Dong Jian didn't say he wanted to do it this way, but he did consider it. If the nine-section spine armor were deployed, the load on the lower back would be much more stable. Perhaps the error would decrease in the third and fourth rounds.

The problem is obvious. The skills developed that way will become increasingly reliant on External Soul Bone. Ye Lingling could tell from his expression. Ye Lingling stared at him. "Have you thought about it?"

Dong Jian said, "I only thought about it for a moment."

"Even thinking about it isn't allowed."

Li Man said, "I'll write this down too." Dong Jian sighed. Dong Jian asked, "Did you come here specifically to write this down?" Li Man shook her head.

"Then what else do you remember?"

Ye Lingling turned her head. "She'll check later too." Li Man's smile immediately faded.

"I'm fine."

Dong Jian immediately said, "Didn't someone just say that they always investigate when you say there's nothing wrong?" Li Man looked at him.

You talk too much.

"The audience is always talkative."

Half an hour later, the positions changed. Li Man sat in a chair. Ye Lingling asked different questions than Dong Jian: Did you have a headache? Did you fall asleep quickly at night? After continuously controlling seven to nine nodes, would you have difficulty hearing the people next to you for a short period of time?

Li Man initially answered that everything was normal. However, when asked, "Did you experience any attentional gaps after continuously switching Mobile Empty Formation?" she stopped. Li Man replied, "Once."

Ye Lingling asked, "How long?"

"About two breaths."

"When?"

"After the Skywater Academy match."

Dong Jian frowned. "You didn't say so." Li Man Dong Jian at him. "You didn't say beforehand that you would lose because of Mental Interference."

"Is this the same thing?"

"It's my turn to inspect."

Ye Lingling interrupted both of them directly.

"Shut up, all of you."

Her final conclusion for Li Man was also not serious. Her mental strength itself was not damaged; the problem was mainly attention fatigue caused by long-term multi-point management.

The solution isn't mysterious. Rest. Reduce meaningless high-level training, especially before going to Spirit City. Don't fill all nine nodes every day just to "maintain your feel for the game."

Li Man nodded, agreeing faster than Dong Jian. Dong Jian said from the side, "Why didn't she try to bargain?" Li Man replied, "Because I'm following the doctor's orders."

You just said you were fine.

"Now I know."

Ye Lingling ignored them. Over the next two days, the entire Imperial Fighting Team team entered a recovery phase. Dugu Yan re-examined the Jade Sac Poison Storage, ensuring the reserves remained within a safe range.

She didn't overdo it just because the finals were approaching. She had already learned her lesson the hard way that "not feeling anything doesn't mean there's no problem." Now, she was the most self-aware.

Yu Tianheng also began to reduce his Thunder Dragon Body training in his shoulders, chest, and legs. The Thunder Dragon Body gave him a more complete Dragon Transformation burst, but it also put a higher load on his muscles and joints.

Shi Mo and Shi Mo are mainly used to treat old injuries. Yu Feng and Osler had their sparring time forcibly reduced by half by Qin Ming. Yu Feng had a lot of complaints about this.

"I'm not hurt."

Qin Ming said, "Should I rest after you're injured?"

That's different.

"Same now."

On the afternoon of the third day, Qin Ming called the nine people together. There was no training schedule on the table, only a very short open card record: Dong Jian, black fourth ring.

Yin-Yang Mountain Domain. Some self-created battle tactics. Li Man. Ten Thousand Bamboos Return to the Veins. Partial manifestation of Scorched Bamboo Abandoned Path. Yu Tianheng. Thunder Dragon Body. Dugu Yan. The existence of Jade Phosphor's control and Right Arm Soul Bone is a detail unknown to the outside world.

The last line. Mountain-Suppressing Dragon Bamboo. Qin Ming wrote beside it: Seven to eight breaths. One position adjustment. Qin Ming said, "We've arrived at Spirit City; this is the public version."

Yu Feng asked, "The full version still doesn't work?"

"Use it if you don't have to."

"Do you really need to use it?"

Qin Ming did not answer immediately.

"When it really comes down to needing twelve breaths to save your life."

"Then let's focus on surviving."

No one objected. Secrets always come after fate. It's just that the competition hasn't reached that stage yet. Qin Ming looked at Dong Jian and Li Man.

Qin Ming laid it down one by one. "The Sealed Spine version, seven to eight breaths, at most one position adjustment. The Dark Gold Spine Armor is not to be used. The complete twelve breaths and three steps, neither written nor mentioned."

Dong Jian nodded. Li Man nodded as well. That evening, the two packed their things. Dong Jian's training notebook was on the table, and the unclosed circle was still there. Li Man glanced at it as she passed by.

Li Man asked, "Has it not been replenished for the past three days?"

"No."

Want to get it fixed?

"Think."

She reached out and closed the notebook.

"Then don't fix it."

Dong Jian looked at her.

"So domineering?"

"That's what Ye Lingling said."

Dong Jian said, "She said low-intensity training is fine." Li Man reminded him, "She said a maximum of two rounds."

"I only need two rounds."

Li Man didn't let go. Li Man said, "If you really only want to practice two rounds, I can watch." Dong Jian Dong Jian was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Never mind then."

"Why?"

"It's easy to escalate the situation if you're watching."

Li Man laughed in exasperation.

"How can you blame me for this?"

Dong Jian pulled the training book back, but didn't open it.

"Keep it for now."

That circle wasn't closed. And it doesn't need to be now. The night they packed their bags, the Imperial Fighting Team dormitory was more chaotic than the training ground. Yu Feng had brought the most stuff.

Half of the clothes were stuffed in, and the other half was filled with food for the journey. Osler stared at it for a long time. Osler asked, "Are you going to a competition or moving?" Yu Feng replied, "It's a long way."

The academy will provide supplies.

"Those belong to the academy; these are mine."

The Shi Brothers had the simplest luggage.

Dugu Yan carefully kept the medicine related to her Right Arm Soul Bone and the adjustment records left by Dugu Bo. She did not refill the poison sac to near its limit, and even took the initiative to release some of the excess poison from the previous day's training.

When Dong Jian saw this, he asked, "Are you willing to part with it?" Dugu Yan rolled her eyes at him.

"If my grandpa knew I'd filled up my chest again for the finals, he'd come straight to Spirit City and yell at me."

That's true.

"Are you still laughing?"

"No."

On the other hand, Li Man divided her battle strategy records into two parts. The ones used in public matches were put into the regular tactics booklet. The part involving the complete Mountain-Suppressing Dragon Bamboo was not written.

It only remained in her and Dong Jian's memories. Dong Jian noticed her blank page. Dong Jian asked, "Really not leaving a single line?" Li Man countered, "You want to leave one?"

"Just asking."

Li Man closed the notebook. Li Man said, "How do we keep going through twelve breaths? Do we still need to look at the paper?"

"Unnecessary."

"That's enough."

These words silenced Dong Jian for a few moments. By now, their deepest-rooted teamwork was something that couldn't be memorized through a tactics book. Precisely because of this, having a page missing from the paper wouldn't affect its usability, but it would reduce the risk of someone else taking it.

Qin Ming made one last round of inspections, checking only three things: the medicine belt was intact, the tactics manual contained no inappropriate content, and no one was allowed to go to the training ground tonight.

Yu Feng Yu Feng, "Can't I even move around a bit?" Qin Ming replied, "Walking counts as exercise."

"Then I'll go for a walk outside."

"Come back and sleep after you've finished walking."

No one suggested extra training. The next morning, the official departure notice for the Heaven Dou team was delivered to the academy. The destination was simply three words: Spirit City.