Chapter 211: Treatment Result

Inside the room, everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed on the young Emperor's back, and even the young Emperor himself had tensed up slightly.

It was the same as always—although there had been no expectation from the start, that did not stop everyone from waiting for the final result when it ended.

Under everyone's gaze, the "lotus mark" on the young Emperor's back indeed showed no fluctuation whatsoever, as calm as a windless lake.

A trace of helplessness surfaced in the Eldest Princess's beautiful phoenix eyes. It did not show on her face, but in her heart she let out a soft sigh. Sure enough, everything was just as expected.

In the past, those marquis-level powerhouses skilled in healing would generally cause quite a stir when treating the young Emperor, and sometimes even cause the "green lotus" on his back to blaze with green light, beginning to counterattack the black lotus energy.

Of course, that counterattack ultimately failed, only barely managing to maintain the other half of the green lotus region.

However, even though that counterattack was a failure, it still gave people a sense of encouragement visually, whereas this current lack of any movement left people at a bit of a loss for words.

Presumably Li Luo's phase force was simply too weak to shake the situation at all.

In the quiet atmosphere, Li Luo also looked a little awkward. It was the Eldest Princess who was considerate, smiling as she said, "Junior Li Luo need not mind—this was just an attempt to begin with."

Li Luo nodded apologetically, then said to the young Emperor, "I'm sorry to have troubled Your Majesty."

The young Emperor nodded silently. Though he said nothing, a hint of dimness still lingered on his little face. After all, this innate defect in his body often brought him tremendous pain, leaving him frail since childhood.

Li Luo rose and walked over beside Jiang Qing, exchanging a glance with her. She, in turn, cast him a look of comfort.

"Eldest Princess, since the attempt is over, we shall take our leave first."

Jiang Qing had no intention of exchanging too many words with the Eldest Princess. After all, both sides had achieved their objectives; further contact could come later.

The Eldest Princess gave a slight nod of her pretty chin, about to see the two of them off first.

"Wait."

And just then, a sudden hoarse, elderly voice rang out in the room.

The Eldest Princess's footsteps paused, her gaze turning with some puzzlement toward the gray-robed elder standing by the bed. The voice just now had come from this gray-robed elder, who had not spoken a single word from beginning to end.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing also looked at the gray-robed elder with surprise and suspicion, wondering what this mysterious powerhouse meant by suddenly speaking up now.

"Elder Shadow, what is it?" the Eldest Princess asked, her red lips parting slightly in puzzlement.

The gray-robed elder's eyes, which had always seemed closed, now opened a little. His gaze was deep and sharp, and at this moment his aged face also carried a hint of surprise and suspicion. His gaze, meanwhile, remained fixed on the young Emperor's back.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to examine it more carefully," the gray-robed elder spoke, stopping the young Emperor who was about to put on his clothes.

The young Emperor glanced at him in puzzlement, but out of trust in this elder, he still nodded and stopped dressing.

The gray-robed elder stepped forward. A strange light seemed to swirl within his pupils as he swept them bit by bit over the "lotus mark" formed by the convergence of numerous meridians on the young Emperor's back.

At this moment, the Eldest Princess also noticed the gray-robed elder's unusual movement, and her expression gradually grew Solemn. She was well aware of the gray-robed elder's strength, so if he had detected some subtle change they had missed, that was entirely possible.

She just didn't know whether that change was good or bad.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing both frowned at this moment. The former felt a little uneasy—could it be that his earlier operation had actually caused some harm to the young Emperor instead?

Surely not? He was only at the little Xiangshi realm; even if he wanted to harm someone, he probably didn't have the ability.

As the gray-robed elder continued his examination, the atmosphere in the room gradually grew oppressive without anyone noticing. Even the Eldest Princess's bright, captivating features flickered between light and shadow under the lamplight.

After all, if her actions caused the young Emperor to suffer any harm here, then tomorrow in the Wang Ting, many important officials would surely impeach her.

That would deal no small blow to her reputation.

In this oppressive, quiet atmosphere, the gray-robed elder's examination continued for several minutes. He checked with extreme care, and his aged face gradually began to shift along with the examination.

As if tinged with a hint of strangeness and astonishment.

Li Luo stared at his ever-changing expression, feeling a bit irritated. Just what was going on—why not say it out loud? Was playing face-changing games with people's hearts here fun or something?

And just as Li Luo was being made anxious and restless by this gray-robed elder, the latter finally finished his examination. He turned to look at the Eldest Princess and said slowly, "Your Highness, there is indeed an extremely subtle change in the 'lotus mark' on His Majesty's back."

The Eldest Princess's eyelids twitched, but she still kept her composure as she asked, "What change?"

The gray-robed elder hesitated for a moment, then pointed to a certain spot on the "lotus mark" behind the young Emperor and said, "This spot on His Majesty was originally eroded by black lotus energy, but from my observation, the black lotus energy here should have dissipated somewhat."

The gazes of the three followed the gray-robed elder's finger, and they saw that the place he pointed to was where an extremely short black line lay. Compared to the overall "lotus mark" on the young Emperor's back, this black line was truly tiny. If the lotus mark were viewed as a lotus flower, then this black line was probably just a small pattern on one of the petals.

And...

It's still black!

Li Luo studied it carefully for a long moment, but truly could not detect any change in that black line—it seemed as black as ever, and had not directly disappeared.

That's it?

Li Luo was a bit speechless, feeling the other party was making a mountain out of a molehill.

But while he was feeling speechless here, the Eldest Princess had already taken two quick steps forward, her pretty face grave as she asked, "Elder Shadow, are you certain? The black line here has faded somewhat?"

She could not afford not to take this seriously, because if the black line had faded, that meant the black lotus energy there had been dispelled somewhat. Yet all the healing masters they had invited before had consistently struggled to dispel the black lotus energy.

According to them, this so-called black lotus energy was extremely difficult to dispel even with dual phase power.

But why, then, had it suddenly faded somewhat now?

Although this change was minuscule, it was still a change.

The gray-robed elder, named Elder Shadow, deliberated for a moment and said seriously, "Your Highness, although I am quite old, these eyes of mine are still fairly sharp. Moreover, regarding the lotus mark on His Majesty's back, I have long since committed every subtle detail to memory over these years."

"Therefore, my perception cannot be wrong."

The Eldest Princess took a deep breath, her full curves rising and falling, then asked, "The reason?"

The gray-robed elder was silent for a moment, then his gaze turned toward Li Luo, and he said slowly, "Although it sounds rather unbelievable, this change may truly have some connection to this young friend here."

The Eldest Princess and Jiang Qing both turned incredulous gazes toward Li Luo. Faced with such a result, even they, for all their rationality, found it absurd for a moment.

"That shouldn't be possible, right?"

Even Li Luo himself let out a dry laugh.

This matter was simply too illogical. Those marquis-level powerhouses skilled in healing had been unable to resolve the young Emperor's innate defect, yet he, a mere little Xiangshi realm practitioner, could do it? That was simply impossible!

"Could it be due to His Majesty's own bodily recovery?" Li Luo tried his best to offer some alternative explanations, because he did not want the other party to inexplicably place the heavy responsibility of treating the young Emperor on his shoulders.

After all, if something went wrong in the future, who would be held responsible?

The gray-robed elder shook his head silently. Having attended the young Emperor for so many years, did he not understand the condition of the "lotus mark" on his back?

Over these years, the mutation of the lotus mark had been ongoing, the black lotus energy continuously spreading, and never once had there been any sign of the black lotus energy being dispelled.

Based on their years of experience, this Black Lotus Qi should be extremely stubborn and bizarre—so bizarre that even the dual-phase power of a marquis-level expert struggled to counter it. They had once invited the principal of the Sacred Profound Star Academy to act, but although that principal was a king-level expert, he himself was not skilled in healing, so there was nothing he could do. He had only said that this Black Lotus Qi might only be truly eradicated by a tri-phase power skilled in healing.

But such king-level experts were already rare, and king-level experts skilled in healing were even more exceedingly scarce.

Therefore, the scene that appeared today also gave the grey-robed old man quite a shock.

The grey-robed old man's gaze turned toward the Eldest Princess, awaiting her decision.

And the Eldest Princess's bright, captivating cheeks shifted under the lamplight. After a moment, her gaze turned directly to Li Luo, and she said decisively: "We cannot give up on any hope, no matter how slight."

"So, Junior Li Luo, please perform the treatment once more!"

If Li Luo's treatment truly had even a slight effect, then doing it again would inevitably produce the same result, and at that point they could determine exactly who that change had come from.

Hearing this, Li Luo's expression showed some hesitation.

The Eldest Princess hurriedly stepped forward two paces, gazing earnestly at Li Luo, and said: "Junior Li Luo, this matter truly is very important. If you can cure His Majesty, you will earn the friendship of our Wang Ting! When the time comes, whatever you wish to do, I will give you my support!"

Gazing at the Eldest Princess's breathtakingly beautiful face before him, Li Luo's lips moved slightly, and finally he said somewhat awkwardly: "But..."

"That just now was... the last drop."

He felt a little aggrieved—I'm just a tiny little Diviner-phase practitioner, how could you general-rank experts possibly understand my pain?