Chapter 15: A Surprise
Inside the quiet inner chamber, Yun Mei lay pale and unconscious on the bed. Beside her, an elderly woman frowned deeply, slowly channeling spiritual energy into Yun Mei's body to stabilize her injuries. Xiao Yichen and Liu Qingqing stood quietly off to the side, neither daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing the elder's treatment. This elderly woman was none of the other than the Fifth Elder of the Meiyu Sect, ranked fifth among them and respectfully addressed by the disciples. She was also the master of both Yun Mei and Zhang Qingyue. Both disciples were her pride and joy, standing out as elite members of the younger generation at a tender age; the injury of either one of them would break her heart.
An hour later, the Fifth Elder slowly stopped what she was doing, stood up, and led the two young people out of the room.
As soon as they stepped outside, Liu Qingqing asked anxiously, "Fifth Elder, how is Senior Sister? Is it serious?"
At this, the Fifth Elder let out a soft sigh and spoke with a hint of disappointment, "It is quite troublesome. She has injured her fundamental source. Coupled with that previous incident when she was ambushed by Qingfeng Pavilion disciples while away and returned heavily injured, she had barely recovered and needed complete rest. Yet during this Grand Tournament, she forcefully attempted a breakthrough, suffered a backlash upon failure, and now she can completely kiss any chance of attaining the position of Saintess goodbye. Ah... I truly cannot fathom what is going on in her head. Even though Qingyue managed to break through to Core Formation ahead of time, given Yun Mei's natural talent, she would have broken through smoothly before long anyway. Why rush it like this? Ah..." With that, the Fifth Elder cast a disappointed glance at Yun Mei, who was lying on the bed inside.
"Is there any way to make Senior Sister recover quickly?" Xiao Yichen suddenly asked.
Hearing this, the Fifth Elder's expression darkened as she looked at him with a gaze full of profound disdain. "Of course there is," she said. "Just go find a thousand-year-old Water Cloud Ganoderma, and I guarantee it will restore her completely and even directly push her cultivation up to Core Formation."
At these words, Xiao Yichen's heart leapt with joy, and he quickly pressed on, "Then, Fifth Elder, where can one find this Water Cloud Ganoderma?"
Before he could finish, Liu Qingqing beside him gave his sleeve a subtle tug. Upon hearing his question, the Fifth Elder wore an ugly expression and lashed out at Xiao Yichen in anger, "Do you take the sect rules at all seriously? The sect explicitly forbids anyone from helping injured disciples recover through any external means—they must rely entirely on themselves! Don't think I don't know that last time you were the one who had Qingqing get the healing medicine, which even got her punished. The sect spared you because you just joined, but what is this? Are you planning to pull that stunt again?"
With that, the Fifth Elder refused to entertain them any further, flicked her sleeves heavily, and flew away from the scene. Once she was out of earshot, Xiao Yichen looked apologetically at Liu Qingqing. Anticipating what he was about to say, Liu Qingqing hurriedly waved her hand and said, "Brother, don't apologize to me. It's just half a year's worth of resources, not a big deal. Right now, we need to figure out what to do about Senior Sister."
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, a wave of guilt washed over him. He turned his head to look at Yun Mei inside the room, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Can we really just leave it to Senior Sister to recover slowly on her own? At this rate, everything will be over by then."
Hearing earlier that Yun Mei's previous injury was due to an ambush by Qingfeng Pavilion disciples, he couldn't help but suspect that she had been hurt because of him. After all, he had previously gone to take the entrance assessment for Qingfeng Pavilion before being intercepted and abducted by Yun Mei and Zhang Qingyue. Such poaching of disciples was strictly forbidden no matter where one went.
He turned his head toward Liu Qingqing, wanting to ask something, but choked the words back down before they left his lips.
*No, I can't drag Qingqing into this again. I have to find a way to get that Water Cloud Ganoderma myself.*
The two lingered there for another half-hour. Seeing that Yun Mei's condition had stabilized, he brought Liu Qingqing back to the combat arena, since Liu Qingqing had won her previous match and still needed to participate in the next round.
About an hour later, the female disciples' matches finally concluded. Liu Qingqing achieved 27th place, while first place naturally went to Zhang Qingyue. At that moment, Zhang Qingyue stepped down from the stage amidst the cheers of the crowd. Meeting Xiao Yichen's gaze in the audience, she turned her head away with utter disdain. Xiao Yichen paid it no mind; since they had already fallen out, he had no intention of sucking up to her.
The male disciples' matches were about to begin. Liu Qingqing came over to his side, but he told her to go back; after all, Yun Mei still needed someone to look after her. Liu Qingqing didn't make a fuss; she was equally worried about Yun Mei and readily left the arena.
After a few more matches on stage, it was finally his turn. Yet when he stepped onto the platform and sensed the cultivation of his opponent—a senior brother who was only at the Mortal Realm Mid-stage—he was somewhat baffled. It was one thing if young disciples like Yun Mei and Zhang Qingyue couldn't see through his cultivation, but couldn't the elders in the sect see it either? How could they have assigned him an opponent at the Mortal Realm Mid-stage?
*Could it be because of that energy inside my body?* He quickly closed his eyes and carefully sensed himself. To his pleasant surprise, when he wasn't moving, his physical constitution genuinely possessed the strength of the Mortal Realm Mid-stage. But the moment he exerted a tiny bit of force, that energy instantly surged throughout his body, flowing into his meridians, and his physical prowess immediately reached the Body Tempering Early-stage. Feeling the change, he instantly halted the internal circulation, afraid that the people around him would discover this secret. He secretly tested it a few more times and found that the phenomenon was actually controllable; he could adjust his perceived cultivation level to whatever he wanted.
He felt a surge of elation inwardly and thought to himself, *Awesome! Doesn't this mean I can hide my cultivation whenever I want from now on?*
He hadn't noticed this before. Ever since he was struck by lightning and woke up, he had been busy recovering from his injuries, and after healing, he had only briefly tested his newly acquired strength before returning to the sect that same day. He hadn't displayed his strength in front of Yun Mei, nor had he deliberately paid attention to his physical condition. After all, he didn't have any strange hobbies; it wasn't like he was going to randomly pull open his collar to check out his six-pack abs—that would just be purely perverted.
Realizing this now gave him a small thrill, especially since he had just decided to stay by Yun Mei's side. This ability would allow him to continue hiding his true cultivation, which might serve as a trump card at some point in the future.
Coming back to his senses, he nodded to the referee, and the match officially began. When the opposing senior brother charged at him, he lightly sidestepped and easily dodged the attack. To him, the opponent's movements seemed like slow motion. Although his physical strength was currently at the Mortal Realm Mid-stage, the rest of his capabilities were the real deal of the Body Tempering Realm, making victory effortless. However, in order to conceal his cultivation, he deliberately put on a struggling act.
The two of them exchanged blows on stage, looking so dull that the disciples in the audience grew bored. Finally, judging that the time was right, Xiao Yichen deliberately backed toward the edge. Just as his opponent thought he was reaching his limit, Xiao Yichen revealed a slight opening and allowed the senior brother to knock him out of the ring with a single punch.
"Hmph..." Zhang Qingyue in the audience sneered with utter disdain upon seeing him sent flying by a punch, then stood up and walked away. Meanwhile, amidst the jeers of the surrounding crowd, Xiao Yichen calmly walked down from the stage without the slightest bit of embarrassment. The tournament offered no rewards anyway, and winning only meant having to participate in the next round, which was a pure waste of time. He had other important matters to attend to; he didn't have the luxury to dawdle here.
Leaving the combat arena, he headed straight for the Alchemical Hall. Books recording the habitat of the Water Cloud Ganoderma were bound to be found there.