Life on a Countdown

White Tiger turned his gaze toward Li Yan.

His willpower was incredibly resilient, far surpassing that of an ordinary person, and his strength was not bad either. White Tiger couldn't manipulate his memories at will.

After all, he was of the Summoning faction, not the Mental faction. Tampering with other people's memories wasn't his specialty; he just happened to have a Tier-9 mental-type summoned beast.

White Tiger walked up to him and crouched down.

"Choose one," his voice was very light. "A student who is a monster that turned the tide, or a teacher who is a hero that burned himself out—which story is better for them? A hero's story is always more inspiring than a monster's legend, isn't it?"

Li Yan struggled to lift his eyelids.

Looking past White Tiger's shoulder, he saw Chen Guan standing not far away, leaning against a coffin with a pale face.

He looked at the student who was usually unremarkable, yet had stood in front of him at the final, critical moment.

Li Yan's eyes softened.

He knew what White Tiger was going to do. He had seen the changes in An Changqing and the others. Li Yan closed his eyes and gave up his resistance.

Just as White Tiger had said, the hero's story should be the truth.

He believed in his student.

White Tiger stood up, patted some non-existent dust off his trouser legs, and walked toward Chen Guan.

He brushed past Chen Guan, his footsteps not pausing for a moment.

A voice that only the two of them could hear slipped into Chen Guan's ears.

"Good job, reservist."

"But you made too much of a scene. Remember to hold back a bit next time. I'm only helping you this once."

Chen Guan's body did not move.

He knew clearly in his heart that the scene White Tiger mentioned referred to the appearance of his true body.

Carrying this Demon God on his back was far more terrifying than Guan Jinyue's act of summoning one.

Once discovered, he would immediately become a wanted man, turning into a walking ten-billion bounty. He didn't have Guan Jinyue's troublesome spatial abilities, so his fate would only be worse.

This was also why he had been reluctant to let Old Me step in from the very beginning. If it hadn't been for Li Yan being on the verge of death and possessing such tenacious willpower that he wouldn't pass out, he would never have taken this risk.

Leaving Huaqing meant losing his screen time, and that price was simply too high.

White Tiger walked to the edge of the basin and, just as when he arrived, silently dissipated. No one could quite grasp what he was thinking.

Right at this moment, several powerful auras descended from the sky.

The sky was torn apart by the beams of searchlights.

Several hovercrafts bearing the emblem of Huaqing Academy hovered over the basin.

The cabin doors opened, and dozens of rescue workers and instructors in white uniforms filed out.

The elderly man leading them wore a Chief Physician badge on his chest.

The moment he landed, he immediately locked onto the most critical target on the field.

"Hurry! Teacher Li Yan is over here!"

Several medical personnel immediately rushed over with a stretcher.

An Changqing and Long Ao were also helped up to receive emergency treatment.

An Changqing pushed away the potion that was offered to his lips.

"Save the teacher first... hurry up and save the teacher!"

"To protect us... he took down three Demon Generals with him..."

These words made the hearts of all the arriving rescue personnel sink.

Three Demon Generals?

Took them down with him?

They knew Li Yan's strength well; it was true that his combat power was formidable.

But fighting one against three while also protecting students was an absolutely impossible task. If Li Yan were really that strong, he wouldn't be just an ordinary teacher.

The Chief Physician furrowed his brows, his expression darkening.

He walked briskly to the stretcher, where various precise medical instruments had already been set up.

Beams of blue light began to scan Li Yan's body.

On the screen, data refreshed rapidly.

"Bone density is normal!"

"Muscle tissue activity is normal!"

"Nervous system response is normal!"

"Internal organs are perfectly intact, no wounds detected!"

The series of reports left everyone around stunned.

An Changqing and Long Ao were even more bewildered.

In their memories, their teacher's body had clearly been pierced by the Demon General's sharp claws. How could there be no wounds?

The Chief Physician ignored the murmurs of the crowd.

His gaze was fixed on the curve representing life essence on the main screen.

That curve had already flattened out into a horizontal line, devoid of any fluctuations.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes vigorously, and put them back on.

That flat line of data silently mocked his life's learning, like a slap to his face.

The surrounding air fell silent.

Everyone held their breath, waiting for his final diagnosis.

The Chief Physician raised his head, his face as pale as a sheet of paper.

He looked at the gathered instructors and students, his lips trembling a few times before he managed to squeeze out some dry words.

"On a physical level... he is flawless."

"But his life essence has been completely drained. The instruments show that his vital signs are irreversibly sliding toward zero."

The old man paused, his voice filled with an unshakable sense of bewilderment.

"This has... already exceeded the scope of medicine."

Saying this, the Chief Physician shuddered. His lifelong medical knowledge regained the upper hand, and he stated firmly, "No... the machine must be broken! Hurry up and carry Teacher Li back! Change the machine and examine him again!"

...

The corridors of the medical department were brightly lit.

The smell of disinfectant mixed with a faint scent of blood drifted into the nose.

Chen Guan sat on a cold bench while a nurse examined his body. The instrument emitted a rhythmic beeping sound.

He had no external injuries, but his face was pale.

The medical department was quite bustling today. Although Chen Guan and his group were mostly fine, the same couldn't be said for the other students of the Tianshu Class. Even though Li Yan had tried his best to save them, he was ultimately just one person, unable to cover everything at once.

Although it seemed like there were no fatalities, there were definitely severe injuries. For example, Su Yuehe still hadn't woken up due to spiritual energy depletion.

Not far away, An Changqing and Long Ao had their wounds treated.

The two of them unanimously rejected the suggestion to enter the healing pods, stubbornly guarding the door of the emergency room.

The red light of the emergency room was on, its glow casting onto the corridor floor like a small pool of coagulated blood.

There was only one person inside, and that was Li Yan. He was the one with the most bizarre injuries.

The surrounding instructors and school leaders shuttled back and forth, keeping their voices low.

However, phrases like "life essence depleted" and "beyond saving" still drifted over intermittently.

No one noticed Chen Guan sitting in the corner.

"Your physical indicators are all normal. Your spiritual energy consumption was just a bit high. Go back and get a good rest, and you'll be fine."

The nurse packed up the instrument and gently advised him.

"Teacher Li, he..."

"Don't worry," the nurse's expression softened. "The principal has already rushed back. Teacher Li will definitely be perfectly fine."

Chen Guan nodded. Huaqing's principal, Ren Ping, was a Tier-10 Life faction expert; perhaps he really had a way.

If all else failed, Chen Guan could still rely on the omnipotent System Shop to save the day.