Chapter 3798 — Tight-Lipped

So the injury Qiao Hongcai had taken was, strictly speaking, utterly fatal. Never mind that he could still stand after his bout with Meng Zhou, or that he could even speak—looking rather better off than Meng Zhou, who had collapsed unconscious on the spot—the truth was that the boy had been running on nothing but a single stubborn breath of will, and he had been holding on like that right up to this very moment.

To outsiders, such a display looked impressively tough, but from a healing standpoint it was self-destruction, and far less effective than Meng Zhou's simply passing out cold.

Put plainly, Qiao Hongcai was the classic case of a man who would rather suffer than lose face. He knew perfectly well that his injuries were a catastrophic mess, yet he insisted on putting up a front of complete indifference in front of others—though only he knew where it hurt.

Had Wei Zhao not stepped in to treat him in time, Qiao Hongcai could forget about self-healing and recovery; he probably would not even have lasted until the next round of the challenge tournament before his wounds carried him off.

But with a leader like Wei Zhao, none of that counted for anything. So long as it was no rare and baffling ailment, so long as the man still clung to a breath of life, Wei Zhao could pull him back.

"Leader, it's... it's healed already, just like that?" Qiao Hongcai said in astonishment, feeling the ease throughout his whole body.

"It's healed. Take a careful look and see if anything still feels off—don't leave any hidden trouble behind." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. In truth he had already examined Qiao Hongcai thoroughly; he said this only to set the man's mind at ease.

"My heavens! Leader, you're far too formidable—who ever heard of treating wounds at such a divine speed! An injury like mine, if I went to some miracle doctor, what with the pills and all, would take ten days to half a month at least. But with you, Leader, a mere three hours and it's completely healed—isn't that just absurd!" Qiao Hongcai exclaimed, all shock and clamor.

Only now did it dawn on him why, back during the endurance assessment, Wei Zhao had been able to recover so quickly after taking a full-force blow from a peak early-Foundation-stage cultivator head-on.

He had thought it a marvel before; looking back now, it was utterly without suspense. If even injuries as grave as his own could be settled in a mere three hours, then on Wei Zhao's own body it must be easier still—a joy and a breeze!

Their leader Wei Zhao's abilities were not merely unfathomable—spoken aloud, they would shock the world and startle the vulgar!

Seeing Qiao Hongcai carry on like that, Wei Zhao could not help but laugh, then urged him on: "Hurry up, enough of your nonsense. Once you're squared away here I still have to get back and channel true qi into the spirit-herb seeds."

"Oh, oh." Qiao Hongcai nodded again and again and began carefully inspecting the state of his own body—but he had barely started when the whole man froze and fell silent.

At this very moment, not only had every one of the lethal injuries within him vanished without a trace, leaving him light and at ease, but he discovered that the true qi inside him had actually grown purer and more abundant than before!

Mind you, he had only succeeded in establishing his Foundation the day before. Though he already possessed early-Foundation-stage strength, his realm was unstable, and the flow of true qi within him waxed and waned, beyond his full control for the time being.

But now, not only was his true qi purer and more abundant, it answered his every thought like a limb obeying the mind—under perfect control. By any normal reckoning, such mastery required another half month of bitter cultivation, until his early-Foundation-stage realm was fully consolidated, before it could possibly be achieved!

He had clearly taken a near-fatal wound, yet after Wei Zhao's treatment, not only were his injuries healed—his very strength and realm had advanced a great step forward!

What in the world kind of healing was this? Even the legendary fourth-grade Great Return Pill could not produce such outrageous, heaven-defying effects!

Seeing Qiao Hongcai struck dumb, mouth agape, unable to speak for a long while, Wei Zhao said in puzzlement, "What's wrong? Is something not right?"

To his surprise, Qiao Hongcai gulped down a few mouthfuls of saliva, turned his head, and asked with the gravest earnestness, "Leader, you're not some deity or mighty power reborn, are you?"

"A deity or mighty power? Reborn?" Wei Zhao was caught between laughter and tears at the words.

Powerful cultivators there might be in this world, able to fly through the heavens and burrow through the earth and do all things, but there had never been any so-called deities or mighty powers—myth and legend and the real world of cultivation were two entirely different concepts.

"Oh, I get it. You're an exalted one reborn, unfathomable, and no one else can be allowed to know, right? Rest easy, rest easy—I will absolutely keep my mouth shut!" Qiao Hongcai pledged again and again.

Apart from that explanation, with his meager store of knowledge he simply could not imagine how an ordinary cultivator of the secular world could possess Wei Zhao's heaven-defying capabilities—there was just no explaining it!

Faced with this clownish performance, Wei Zhao could only answer with a roll of his eyes. He waved a hand and said, "One look at you and I know there's nothing serious left. I'm off. These next few days, seize the time to adjust and acclimate yourself properly—another hard fight is waiting for you in the next round, so don't get careless."

With that, Wei Zhao did not linger. He turned and left the cave dwelling. It happened to be the hour at which he daily infused true qi into the spirit-herb seeds—a matter of grave importance that could not be lightly delayed.

"Don't worry, Leader. I'll teach that scum a proper lesson!" Qiao Hongcai, the grin wiped from his face, said gravely to Wei Zhao's retreating back.

The hard fight Wei Zhao spoke of was, of course, against Meng Zhou again—Qiao Hongcai knew this perfectly well.

Though Meng Zhou could never receive treatment from Leader Wei Zhao, Meng Jueming, the managing senior brother, would surely scrounge up all manner of healing pills to salvage his face and have Meng Zhou restored before the next round began.

Of that there was no doubt. Even if Meng Jueming lacked the wealth and resources himself, one had only to remember that behind them stood Xu Lingchong, a young master of deep background. A fourth-grade Great Return Pill was something others might encounter but never seek, yet for Young Master Xu it was plainly no problem at all.

A battle that had clearly left both sides broken had been forced by Hu Yunfeng into a verdict of Qiao Hongcai the loser and Meng Zhou the winner. Given Qiao Hongcai's nature—one that hated evil as a personal enemy—this grievance could hardly be swallowed forever.

Had his grave injuries remained unhealed, that would have been one thing. Hot-tempered as Qiao Hongcai was, he was not so foolish as to drag his wounded body up to be trampled. But now that Wei Zhao had healed him, leaving him in a state surpassing even his former prime, if he could still hold back from revenge, then he would not be Qiao Hongcai at all.

True, Qiao Hongcai could go back today and challenge Meng Zhou again—he had not yet challenged anyone else, so he was fully entitled to do so. But that way, though he would put on his tough front, the matter of Leader Wei Zhao healing him would also easily come to light!