Xuan Yangzi: I Am Still Too Kind

"Master."

Xiao Ruobai cupped his fists in a salute, his voice a bit hoarse from exhaustion, his clothes covered in bloodstains, yet unable to conceal the bright gleam in his eyes.

After a day of fierce battle, although the spiritual power in his body was nearly depleted, the sharpness tempered out of it was several times sharper than when he had arrived.

Gu Changge didn't even raise his head. Backhandedly, he picked up a verdant green leaf from the stone platform beside the campfire and wiped it on the roasted meat. The aroma that rose up instantly became even richer.

"You're back?"

He tapped lightly with his fingertip, and a gentle stream of spiritual power flowed into Xiao Ruobai's body like a warm current, instantly smoothing out the burning pain in his meridians.

Xiao Ruobai looked at the skewer of shiny roasted meat, roasted to a golden crispness, with a scorched aroma at the edges.

He swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Gu Changge handing the roasted meat over, with a small dagger stuck in the bamboo stick.

"Try it."

Gu Changge's gaze swept over him, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"I've refined this meat with spiritual power. Although it has lost its original violent nature, it's just right for nourishing the body. However, your realm is still shallow now, so you shouldn't eat too much. Three to five pieces will be enough."

Xiao Ruobai took the roasted meat, which felt warm to the touch. He had just cut off a piece with the dagger and put it into his mouth when he felt a gentle stream of spiritual power slide down his throat.

Unlike the fierce absorption of pills before, it seeped into his limbs and bones like a trickling stream. His dantian instantly felt warm, and the fatigue accumulated during the day dissipated for the most part.

He watched his master pick up another bamboo stick full of meat pieces and put it on the fire, and couldn't help but ask.

"Master, what... what kind of meat is this? It actually has such a miraculous effect."

"Oh, it's just a little snake that stole eggs. Seeing that the meat quality was not bad, I caught it and cut off some meat to roast."

Gu Changge turned the bamboo stick casually, his tone as light as if he were talking about wild grass by the roadside.

The Little Black Bird beside them chirped, secretly rolling its eyes - that was a Flood Dragon of the Saint King Realm.

Xiao Ruobai didn't notice the Little Black Bird's strange behavior and cut another piece of meat to eat.

This time, the spiritual power flowed even faster. After circulating around his meridians for a cycle, there was actually a faint feeling of breaking through a bottleneck.

The originally somewhat blocked spiritual power channels were cleared a lot, and even the hidden injuries left from the daytime battles were much relieved. His whole body was full of inexhaustible strength.

"How do you feel?"

Seeing that his eyes were getting brighter and brighter, Gu Changge opened his mouth and asked.

"Disciple feels that the spiritual power in my body is much more abundant. It's even more effective than meditating for three days!"

Xiao Ruobai said in surprise.

Gu Changge nodded, placed the other skewer of roasted meat on the stone plate, motioned for the Little Black Bird to peck at it itself, and then turned to Xiao Ruobai.

"In today's battle, you have made a lot of progress. You know how to use the terrain to avoid the charge of the Iron-armored Rhinoceros, and you can also change your moves in time when dealing with the Golden-armored Python. These are your strengths.

But your weaknesses are also very obvious. You are too obsessed with fighting head-on. When facing speed-type demonic beasts, your footwork is too stiff, and you almost got sneak-attacked several times. If your physical body wasn't strong enough, you would probably have suffered a big loss."

Hearing this, the joy on Xiao Ruobai's face faded. He seriously recalled the daytime battles, and it was indeed as his master had said. He couldn't help but say in shame, "Disciple knows his mistake."

"It's good that you know your mistake and correct it."

Gu Changge stood up and patted the grass clippings off his body.

"You're also tired today, go back and rest first. Tomorrow morning, I'll teach you a set of 'Shadow-Treading Steps'. If you learn it well, it can make you more flexible in actual combat."

"Thank you, Master!"

Xiao Ruobai's spirit was lifted, and he quickly saluted.

The campfire was still crackling, and the moonlight sprinkled mottled light and shadows through the bamboo leaves.

Xiao Ruobai watched his master's figure disappear into the depths of the bamboo forest, touched the gentle spiritual power circulating in his stomach, and felt warm in his heart.

...

At this time, in the Burning Heaven Palace, the Sect Master's Hall.

Lie Tianxiong was lying on his stomach on a soft couch covered with red-gold beast skin, half of his face swollen like fermented dough.

His originally shiny hair bun was messy, and a few strands of hair stuck to his bruised forehead.

He grunted, baring his teeth. With every movement, it felt like needles were sticking in the cracks of his bones.

"Hiss... be gentle!"

The elder in charge of applying the medicine trembled. As soon as the golden wound medicine touched the bruise on his back, he shivered from the pain and almost knocked over the medicine bowl.

This ointment was a holy healing product refined from thousand-year snow lotuses. In the past, applying it to bone-cracking wounds would have an immediate effect, but at this moment, it couldn't even reduce the redness and swelling of the epidermis.

He tried to circulate his energy to regulate his breathing, but felt an incredibly overbearing power running amok in his body.

Like a runaway wild horse, no matter how he tried to drive it, it just wouldn't settle down. Instead, it threw his originally vigorous spiritual power into a mess, making him grunt in pain.

"What... what kind of power is this? How could it be so overbearing?"

Lie Tianxiong gritted his teeth, feeling both shocked and angry, but mostly helpless.

As a powerhouse of the Heaven-Human Realm, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?

However, this power was extremely bizarre. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't expel it, as if it had taken root and sprouted.

"Palace Master, this power is too overbearing."

The white-haired elder twisted his beard, his brows knitted into a lump.

"It's tangled in the meridians like a maggot on a bone. Every time you circulate your energy, it drills into the cracks of the bones..."

Lin Lie next to him clutched his dislocated arm and echoed with a lisp through his missing front teeth.

"Exactly! Disciple's arm was clearly set, but as soon as I want to lift it, it feels like a big hand is pulling it down, it hurts to the bone!"

Zhao Yan was even worse off, his cheeks swollen high, and his speech slurred.

"Master... my tooth... will it not grow back?"

He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, half a front tooth mixed in it, a terrifying sight.

The four purple-robed elders were no better off, sitting crookedly on their chairs. Some were clutching their stomachs and grunting, while others were holding their waists, not daring to straighten up.

The most pathetic one had half of his buttocks smacked blue and swollen, and could only sit sideways, looking like an injured prawn.

"Investigate! Keep investigating!"

Lie Tianxiong slammed the soft couch fiercely, making himself bare his teeth in pain.

"It must be that old bastard from the Ten Thousand Arts Pavilion. It's just that palm technique that descended from the sky, what kind of divine ability is it? I've never seen it before...?"

"But what the Ten Thousand Arts Pavilion is best at is formations, how could they have such an overbearing palm technique?"

An elder retorted.

"In my opinion, it looks like the Azure Profound Sect's 'Heaven-Supporting Palm', just a hundred times more powerful!"

"Impossible!"

Lie Tianxiong flatly denied it.

"That old fox Xuanyangzi is only at the middle stage of the Cave Heaven Realm. Even if he's hiding his clumsiness, he's at most at the peak of the Cave Heaven Realm. How could he strike such a world-destroying palm technique?"

Everyone talked at once, arguing for a long time without coming to a conclusion. In the end, they still blamed the Ten Thousand Arts Pavilion.

At this moment, in the Azure Profound Sect's Sect Master's Hall.

Xuanyangzi squeezed the jade slip sent by the secret agent in the Burning Heaven Palace, his brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a mosquito.

"That's not right..."

He muttered to himself, stroking his beard.

"I clearly held back, just kicked Lie Tianxiong a few times and beat them up. How could they be injured so heavily?"

The jade slip stated clearly: Burning Heaven Palace Master Lie Tianxiong was severely injured and bedridden, with overbearing palm power remaining in his meridians, suspected to be the work of a King Realm cultivator.

Chief disciple Lin Lie's arm was severely injured, unable to circulate energy for a month.

The rest of the people all suffered varying degrees of internal injuries and needed to recuperate for a month to recover.

"A palm technique from heaven?"

Xuanyangzi was even more puzzled.

"I clearly made my move wearing a gray martial tunic. Where did this talk of a palm strike come from?"

"Could it be that junior brothers from other peaks went and did it after me? To be so ruthless... but what a good hit!"

"Compared to them, I am still too kind-hearted. It seems I need to put a little more force into my strikes from now on. I absolutely cannot let my junior brothers outdo me."

Xuanyangzi silently made up his mind.

Upon receiving the news, Shi Wanshan, Peak Master of Qingyue Peak, and Ye Guying, Peak Master of Jianxiao Peak, were similarly reflecting on the force of their own attacks, sighing that perhaps they had been far too light-handed.

The two of them seemed to have found a new goal to strive for, deciding that their future moves must be more decisive and far more ruthless.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away, Lie Tianxiong, the Sect Master of the Burning Heaven Palace, inexplicably felt a sudden chill wash over him and could not help but shiver.

He touched his still-swollen face and muttered inwardly, "How did the weather change so suddenly?"