Headache.
It felt like his forehead was going to split open from the pain.
But looking at the current situation, it wasn't too serious.
'The Infinite Lord has finally made it through.'
'I should be careful with this combination of medical and demonic techniques in the future; it almost sent me to the afterlife.'
'Ah, this world doesn’t have a Yama Hall, so it should be about choosing a day to take over a new body... But how can taking over a body be called cultivation? That’s just making full use of a fresh corpse.'
Wang Jixuan steadied his mind.
He was now closer to going into demonic cultivation, which was indeed a bad sign.
His soul was injured, and his foundation was damaged. For the next hundred days, he couldn’t engage in battles; otherwise, his injuries would worsen.
These injuries could be fixed.
In this battle, he had protected over 76,000 people in Fortress 76. Now he could comfortably take it easy and directly ask the military for resources.
With this achievement, he should be able to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, right?
The Blade Beasts had been in this world for a hundred years, which meant the spiritual energy had also existed for that long. Did that mean there were many herbs that were a hundred years old?
These herbs couldn’t be used with modern technology, so if he got them, they would be just what he needed. Once he reached the fourth stage of Foundation Establishment, he could use a medicinal cauldron to refine pills.
If he had hundred-year-old spiritual herbs, his body’s potential would greatly increase!
Of course, that was all for later; for now, he needed to rest.
His body was in a complete mess.
Wang Daolang slightly opened his eyes to see what had bumped into his chest and caused him so much pain.
He looked down and saw a ponytail tied with a light purple hair tie.
Ling Tong was still sitting in a chair, her body slumped over on the bed, her forehead resting on his chest, as if she was in a deep sleep.
Wang Daolang felt a slight ripple in his heart.
From the perspective of refining his heart in the mundane world, he actually didn’t mind starting a romantic relationship, but that should wait until at least he reached the Golden Core stage.
By then, the benefits of the original energy would be minimal.
Having a relationship didn’t mean he would lose his original energy, right?
Wang Daolang suddenly recalled the image of Doctor Wei Na and felt a bit complicated.
In this world!
Not having a relationship could likely lead to losing original energy! What would happen if he actually dated someone?
Original energy was quite special; as long as it existed, he could continuously refine it into "essence" to fill himself, greatly enhancing his "spirit." After refining original energy, as long as he consumed blood and other nourishing foods, or even if he didn’t pay attention to it, it would naturally recover over time.
If he lost this energy, it would truly be gone, and no amount of effort could bring it back.
Wang Jixuan had seen many men and women in the fortress who were drained of their yang energy and overflowing with yin energy. This was the result of excessive indulgence; they were basically ruined. Even if they had talent and understanding, it would be hard for them to cultivate.
He quietly thought about his future cultivation plans, trying to extend his spiritual awareness. He could already see up to three hundred meters, but the headache that had just calmed down flared up again.
Perhaps this was one of the benefits of demonic techniques and the Soul Devouring Method?
'I seemed to have gone a bit crazy during the final stage of the demonic technique. When the silver needles pierced my forehead, I seemed to briefly see something.'
Wang Jixuan closed his eyes and focused.
The Supreme Star of the Taishang, unceasingly adapting.
Wisdom clear, mind at peace.
Images began to emerge in his mind.
He had forcefully swallowed the soul of the Blade Beast "Preacher," and the memory fragments of the "Preacher" had tried to attack his main soul but were shattered by him.
These fragments seemed to be...
Wang Jixuan observed carefully.
Dark caves, glowing crystals, and larvae surrounding the glowing crystals, and...
It seemed that at the moment the "Preacher" Blade Beast matured, it had suddenly looked up, as if it was in space looking down at a planet, seeing beams of light appearing on the vast land.
These beams represented powerful individual Blade Beasts.
—This was the moment the Preacher Blade Beast received the "knowledge" of the Blade Beast clan.
The areas surrounded by these beams were the various war zones of humanity.
Among these beams, twelve golden beams stood out, enormous and striking.
They were evenly distributed in the central area of the Blade Beasts' occupied territory, like twelve emperors commanding a large number of Blade Beasts.
The main Blade Beast group was asleep;
So, these powerful individual Blade Beasts were all asleep?
Why were they sleeping? They could easily wipe out humanity; why let them survive? Were they trying to farm humans? But the Blade Beasts didn’t seem to need to devour human souls or flesh to increase their strength.
Their power came from those glowing crystals.
Wang Daolang was puzzled.
To be safe, he checked his soul again, crushing the memory fragments of the "Preacher" once more, expelling a foul air from his mouth and nose.
'Actually, following the path of demonic cultivation, swallowing Blade Beast souls to enhance my spiritual power isn’t a bad idea.'
'The memories of the Blade Beasts are quite dull and don’t strongly impact cultivators, unlike those of mortals, which can easily confuse a cultivator’s memories and drive them mad.'
'Forget it; this method is still too risky. Cultivation shouldn’t be rushed. The cultivation world is all about the righteous path suppressing the demonic path, and the fundamental reason is to progress step by step.'
'Let’s stick to proper cultivation... Hmm, if I can’t take it easy in the fortress later, I might consider this shortcut and hunt Blade Beasts to cultivate.'
Thinking this way, Wang Daolang’s spirit had recovered quite a bit, and his headache gradually eased.
Though he still felt weak all over, moving his arms was manageable.
Wang Jixuan opened his eyes again, looked down, and raised his right hand to shakily touch Ling Tong’s neck.
Wang Daolang planned to help her adjust her breath.
Ling Tong seemed to sense something, suddenly opened her eyes, her dark pupils turning towards Wang Jixuan. Then, as if remembering something, she immediately closed her eyes again and pretended to be asleep.
Wang Daolang:...
Since that was the case.
Wang Daolang suppressed a smile, placing his right hand on Ling Tong’s neck, injecting energy to help her adjust while gently massaging her, his thumb softly rubbing against her smooth skin.
Women were truly fascinating beings.
Her face had noticeably turned a bit red.
"What are you doing?" Ling Tong asked softly.
"Helping you recover," Wang Daolang said, pressing down firmly with his thumb, his voice hoarse, "I’m a great contributor; you should treat contributors well."
"Oh."
Ling Tong slightly turned her head, her ponytail facing Wang Jixuan, her face pressed against his chest through her clothes, mumbling:
"I’ll rest for a bit, I’m tired."
"Go ahead and sleep," Wang Jixuan said gently.
Then he frowned and pondered.
This wasn’t right, was it?
He was the patient, and she was the caretaker! How did he end up giving her a massage? His own injuries weren’t even healed!
Forget it; she was tired too.
Wang Daolang massaged her for a while, confirming she wasn’t seriously hurt, just a bit mentally exhausted, then he felt at ease and fell asleep.
In a daze, Wang Jixuan heard voices outside the door.
Zhou Zhengde had come.
"Those spiritual energy users have been sent to the front lines. Wei Lin is currently with Uncle Feng; Fortress 76 won’t have any spiritual energy users for now."
Zhou Yanei said:
"I will do my best to handle the spiritual energy users, trying to make Fortress 76 a blind spot for the spiritual energy capital.
"However, this will definitely provoke a strong backlash from the Thirteen Institutes.
"We predict they will do everything possible to cause trouble here. We will need at least two and a half mech units stationed here. When Ling Tong goes back to repair the mechanical arm, Deep Sea and Red Snake must be here."
Deep Sea’s voice came through: "No problem, we will respect heroes enough."
"What about the underground nests?" Red Snake asked.
"The current strategy is to clear them out and then carry out a firepower explosion, followed by filling in the area."
Zhou Zhengde said:
"We also need you two to clean up quickly. Captain Zheng will be the main force next, and a batch of pressure-resistant suits has already been sent to the front lines. It will be cleaned up within a week.
"The reconstruction of the lower city will be the next challenge.
"I stayed up late to finalize the reconstruction plan for the lower city. This is actually an opportunity to change the ecology of the lower city, providing more rights and protections for its residents and opening up pathways for talent to rise from the lower city to the middle and upper cities.
"However, implementing this will definitely be difficult and will take time to promote step by step, closely related to the residents' qualities and skills."
Sister Wan laughed and said, "You have plenty of time ahead to think carefully in a quiet little room, aiming your gun at the young commander."
"That’s not... being impulsive..."
"Hahaha!" Uncle Tai’s hearty laughter rang out.
Wang Jixuan understood; Zhou Zhengde was about to face trial and serve time in a military prison.
However, Wang Daolang wasn’t worried about it at all.
What kind of background did Zhou Yanei have?
Wasn’t that military prison his own? Once Zhou Yanei went in, he might even find a match for himself inside.
Zhou Zhengde sat by Wang Jixuan’s bed for a few minutes, and at that moment, Wang Jixuan could wake up, but Wang Daolang disliked that kind of awkward farewell feeling.
Did he really have to compose a poem for Brother Zhou?
He could just go and come back early.
Zhou Zhengde sat by the bed for a few minutes, then seemed to gain great insight and energetically stepped into the next political struggle.
In the next thirty hours or so, two more groups of visitors came to see him.
Zheng Shiduo, returning from the lower city, described the tragic situation in the young king's larval nest in an exaggerated tone, bragging about how impressive the Black Storm was.
Commander Dongfang Zhenghong arrived with Minister of Internal Affairs Zhou Meiying.
Dongfang Zhenghong represented the command centers of the Central Basin War Zone and the D5 Comprehensive War Zone, while Zhou Meiying represented the governor of Fortress 76, expressing praise and condolences for the Black Storm.
They brought a large amount of supplies, including but not limited to... three fist-sized general-level crystal cores!
And a nutritious soup personally cooked by Zhou Meiying.
Wang Daolang genuinely loved these three general-level crystal cores.
He didn’t have to worry; Uncle Tai had already learned on his own and took out a few magic talismans from Wang Daolang’s cabinet, sticking them on the crystal cores.
As for the nutritious soup... Wan Xiaoqi had stolen a couple of sips and had been retching for two hours, not knowing what was wrong.
As the saying goes, good medicine tastes bitter.
This indirectly indicated that this soup was truly nutritious.
Wang Daolang pretended to be unconscious and continued to rest, avoiding being forced to drink this soup if he woke up now.
He didn’t want to wake up, not just because he had a headache and needed to recuperate, but also for another reason.
Ling Tong would be leaving for a while, probably more than a month, along with Sister Wan.
She needed to return to the front lines to "treat" her mechanical arm; there was an issue with the connection lines between her mechanical arm and spine, requiring a professional team for repairs. They lacked the large equipment to protect Ling Tong's skin and organs here.
As soon as he woke up, Ling Tong would have to say goodbye.
It was better for him to stay in this state and let her leave on her own.
Otherwise, he would have to say goodbye... Wang Daolang didn’t like being sentimental or fussing over things.
Thus, Wang Daolang rested for another two days. His headache had eased significantly, and if he meditated for twelve hours each day, his soul injuries would recover in a month. This month of cultivation would likely not yield any progress.
Under Sister Wan’s urging, Ling Tong was about to return to the command center for treatment.
She changed into a military uniform, opened the door to Wang Jixuan’s room, and softly said to the boy, Wu Man, who was reading nearby:
"Please let me be alone with him for a few minutes."
"Okay, Commander," Wu Man put down his book and left on his electric wheelchair.
Ling Tong closed the door, lowered her head against the door panel, and stood still for over twenty seconds.
Wang Daolang felt a bit nervous for no reason, but he still looked like he was asleep, showing no signs of waking.
What was she going to do? Say a few sentimental words? That didn’t seem like her character; her character seemed to be...
Suddenly, Ling Tong took two steps forward, walked to the bedside without hesitation, and leaned down as if to give him a headbutt.
Wang Daolang almost opened his eyes to dodge.
Ling Tong’s delicate face was right in front of him, her left mechanical arm resting on the pillow, her right mechanical arm pressed against the wall, their noses only a few centimeters apart.
Strands of hair slipped from behind her ear.
Her long hair was now down, dark and shiny.
Ling Tong stared into his eyes, pursed her lips, and quickly pecked at him, her lips lightly touching Wang Jixuan’s.
She immediately stood up, as if she had violated some huge taboo.
"It was just to test the feeling, like in the novels. Don’t misunderstand... Take care of your injuries, see you later. Deep Sea and Red Snake will protect you."
She turned to leave.
Wang Daolang wanted to call out to her; a strange feeling swirled in his heart, creating an indescribable ripple in his mind.
But still...
As a proper man, how could he be so passive!
Hey! You little girl, come back here!
Wang Jixuan opened his eyes just as he was about to shout, only to find the innocent-looking boy sitting beside him.
The sunlight outside was just right, and Ling Tong’s presence had already vanished.
"Commander Ling Tong left twenty-five minutes ago, sir. You showed signs of waking up just after she left."
Wu Man asked with a smile:
"Do you have a bit of lip balm on your lips? Do you need a tissue to wipe it off?"
Eh? Wasn’t she just here?
Wang Jixuan realized he had indeed been a bit dazed earlier.
Wang Daolang calmly sat up, stretching as if nothing had happened, looking at Uncle Tai and Wan Xiaoqi busy outside the door.
"What are they packing for?"
"To ensure your safety and mine, we are being transferred to the safest level seven of the fortress."
Wu Man explained:
"There are no more spiritual energy users inside the fortress, so it’s relatively safe.
"Mr. Zhou Zhengde is at the front line military court, fiercely clashing with the Thirteen Institutes. He is worried that the Thirteen Institutes will retaliate against Fortress 76, and the outer expansion area is no longer safe.
"This site will serve as a decoy, allowing a few mechanics to settle in to confuse the Thirteen Institutes."
"Alright."
Wang Daolang thought about those beams of light.
The powerful Blade Beast group;
The corrupted spiritual energy users;
The path ahead was indeed full of challenges.
Well then, he should quickly find a way to mass-produce the anti-demonic daggers and give those spiritual energy users a little shock of authentic cultivation!
At this moment, Wang Daolang was full of fighting spirit.
"By the way, sir."
Wu Man took out a holographic player:
"Listen to this; I recorded a broadcast where someone is thanking you."
"What?" Wang Daolang was a bit confused, and Wu Man had already pressed the button on the player.
(End of Chapter)