Chapter 309: The Real Damage Only Just Begins

On the spectator stand, many judges wore expressions of difficulty.

In his eyes, the two people below were already very close; Zhang Suannai's broken blade was hovering right in front of Chen Shu, just a hair's breadth away from striking down.

"How should this be counted?"

The judges looked toward the bigwigs of the Spirit Sect and the Sword Sect.

"It is merely a friendly match; victory or defeat is not important. What matters is the process of giving one's all, and what is gained during this process," Vice Sect Master Du Heng said with a smile.

"Our Sword Sect is not a group of people who cannot afford to lose." The Sword Sect bigwig stared blankly ahead and added, "However, starting from the next session, the Martial Body Meet must allow Sword Sect disciples to carry their own Spirit Swords, otherwise, don't bother holding it."

"……"

The judges looked at each other in dismay.

"How about?"

"A draw?"

Two people said tentatively.

Just at this moment, a hoarse voice came from the arena:

"I concede!"

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

In the massive Martial Arts Arena, the scene was like hell, and those two people looked like two tiny black dots.

Zhang Suannai and Chen Shu were hovering face-to-face; she threw the short sword in her hand and said coldly, "This time counts as my loss, but don't get carried away because of it. It was just this once. If I hadn't been using the Royal Court's piece-of-trash sword, even if it were just an ordinary Spirit Sword, I could have beaten you. If I had used a Divine Sword, I would have certainly defeated you with ease."

"I'm over here."

"Oh, oh... this time counts..."

"To the left."

"Oh, oh... this time counts as my loss..."

"That's not necessarily true; it's possible you still could have rushed over, you just would have won very ungracefully," Chen Shu comforted her, then paused, "But I understand what you mean. You're trying to say, don't show off in front of you later, right?"

"Yes..."

"Hehe, rest assured..." Chen Shu smiled and spread his hands, "That is impossible."

"You... I..."

Zhang Suannai's eyes were open, but they were extremely dim, and even that small amount of light was rapidly fading.

Her body swayed in the air.

In that instant, through her tattered clothes, Chen Shu caught a glimpse of a bit of skin—of course, only a little, not as much as a low-cut outfit would reveal, nor as much as the swimsuits commonly seen on the beach, but it still made him feel...

An eyesore!

Chen Shu pursed his lips, drew a circle in the air, fished out a coat, and threw it over.

Zhang Suannai instinctively caught the garment.

This was the last of her strength.

Immediately, her figure became precarious and she toppled toward Chen Shu's direction.

"Hey, hey!"

Chen Shu hurriedly reached out his hands, using his Spirit Power to support her: "What are you doing? You're burning hot, don't touch me!"

Zhang Suannai didn't make a sound.

"Clang!"

The sound of a gong rang out.

Outside the Martial Arts Arena, the amplified voice finally came: "The winner, Yujing Academy, Chen Shu."

The outcome was thus settled.

"Whoosh..."

A streak of Sword Light flew over and landed in front of the two.

This was a man whose age was impossible to tell; he glanced at Chen Shu, but in his mind, he was recalling the Spirit Body Dharma Image Chen Shu had just used: "Not bad, kid, you're actually better at showing off than the people from our Sword Sect."

"Sorry."

"?"

The Sword Sect bigwig was stunned for a moment, then reacted, and couldn't help but fall into silence.

He actually admitted it so easily!!

Does he not even know how to be humble?

The Sword Sect bigwig remained silent and carried Zhang Suannai away.

Chen Shu's gaze followed his figure.

I heard this is the Sword Master of the Sword Sect's personal head disciple?

If that's the case, his status in the Sword Sect is probably about the same as Vice Sect Master Du Heng; he can be considered a bigwig in his own right outside.

It's just that the culture of the Sword Sect is truly unique; this bigwig not only looks young, but his mindset is also young—genuinely young, not just "downward compatible"—which makes it easy for people to overlook the fact that he has already lived for over two hundred years.

But then again, who says that elders must be weathered, steady, and respected by the young?

Chen Shu looked toward the spectator stand again.

Cheers were coming from that direction.

From afar, Chen Shu received the gaze of the Vice Sect Master, received the gazes of Qingqing and Xiaoxiao, saw the many silly group members having a good time, and saw Teacher Shi Qian and Teacher Fu Jia standing up to applaud... this should be enough to live up to them, right?

Then, medical personnel rushed over.

Only then did Chen Shu react.

In fact, his whole body was covered in wounds; most came from the Sword Qi and Sword momentum carried by that strike from Zhang Suannai. There were many wounds, but they were all very small. Besides those, there were the wounds left by the few streaks of Sword Light he hadn't managed to dodge; those were a bit larger, but thanks to the robust physique brought by the Beast Pill, they hadn't formed any piercing wounds.

This could also be considered a benefit brought by the Beast Pill.

In fact, both of their physiques were very strong; under normal circumstances, a Sword Cultivator cannot withstand a Spirit Cultivator's attacks, and a Spirit Cultivator cannot withstand a Sword Cultivator's attacks.

The pain gradually surged up.

……

Zhang Suannai's injuries were much more severe.

The high temperature had not only caused burns to her skin but also severe damage to her internal body; furthermore, the Spirit Power of the Small Blazing Sun Art was incomparably tyrannical, and when added to the blast injuries received from hard-tanking the Tracer Technique, the systemic damage brought by the Thunder Method bombardment, and the residual Spirit Power from the True Fire Technique...

When she stepped off the Arena, her consciousness began to blur.

And once her body no longer had the support of Spirit Power, it immediately showed signs of atrophy and decay; her eyes went completely blind, and she could no longer speak.

Yet she still did not feel that she was inferior to Chen Shu.

Although there was a significant difference in their states after the fight, for a high-output system, it was entirely possible to kill an opponent with full health while having only a sliver of health left—if Chen Shu hadn't withdrawn the Small Blazing Sun Art at that time, as long as she had rushed to his side, the outcome might have been reversed.

But she had been defeated in this manner.

In the last half-year, she had worked so much harder than him, yet she had actually lost to him!

Not to mention she still had the protagonist's halo...

Zhang Suannai felt miserable inside.

Especially since she had been so arrogant before the match.

Thinking of the things she had said and the posturing she had done, she just wanted to call the medical staff to give her a hundred shots of tranquilizers.

It wouldn't even matter if she couldn't wake up.

But she couldn't speak.

Zhang Suannai closed her eyes, feeling the doctor auntie remove the residual Spirit Power, use a Healing Technique, soak her in precious essences, apply ointment, and then wrap her entire body in bandages, leaving only her nose exposed for breathing—not even sparing her eyes.

While treating her, she spoke to her.

The doctor auntie's gentleness warmed her heart.

"That's about it."

The doctor auntie's voice was gentle: "Next, you need to enter the Spirit Healing Room to recover there; the process might be a bit dull, but don't worry, I will come every two hours to use a Healing Technique on you and tell you your condition."

Zhang Suannai nodded with effort.

"Don't move!"

"……"

Can't speak, and not allowed to move.

How is one supposed to live like this?

Zhang Suannai felt the hospital bed beneath her being pushed, the wheels rumbling; if she were in her original state, even lying down with her eyes closed, she could clearly sense how far she had moved and how she had turned, but now her mind was chaotic and drowsy, and the little processing power she had left was occupied by "how those silly group members are discussing me now" and "what will Xiaoxiao think of me."

"We're here."

The doctor auntie said to her: "Rest well. I see your constitution is very strong; you might be able to have the gauze removed tomorrow and recover some normal physiological functions. You'll have to wait until tomorrow before you can eat or drink; today I will give you nutrient solution."

Zhang Suannai was naturally silent.

The doctor auntie left.

The surroundings were very quiet.

Zhang Suannai's heart became tranquil for once.

Ten seconds later—

Tranquil my ass!?

Why is that silly vegetable also in this Spirit Healing Room? Does your massive Military Academy hospital only have one Spirit Healing Room?

Do you know what an opponent is??

Do you know what avoiding suspicion is??

Zhang Suannai screamed internally, but her body lay quietly on the bed, wrapped like a mummy; the only skin exposed on her entire body was below her nose, and she could neither move nor make a sound, nor show any expression.

"This is fine too..."

Zhang Suannai thought to herself, I'll just stay still and let you think I've fallen asleep!

"Is she asleep?"

"She's awake."

"!"

Zhang Suannai gritted her teeth, her scalp tingling.

"Oh..."

The silly vegetable's voice continued to come over, continuing the previous topic: "Xiaoxiao, why would you think I would be beaten up by Zhang Suannai?"

"Because Sister Suannai said she was going to beat you up!"

"Tch, this person just loves to brag!"

"Exactly!"

"……"

Zhang Suannai lay numbly on the bed, feeling very puzzled; clearly her consciousness had been blurred just a moment ago, so why hadn't she fainted yet?

"Qingqing, fish ball."

"……"

"Thank you, Qingqing."

"……"

"Xiaoxiao, have a sip of milk tea too."

"Mm."

"Thank you, Xiaoxiao."

"Mm."

"Taozi, go do parkour on Zhang Suannai."

"Woof?"

"Forget it if you're not going."

"..."

"Qingqing, are the shrimp peeled?"

"Do you want to dip them in sauce?"

"Dip them a little."

"..."

"Mm, so delicious!"

The fragrance of the meal drifted to the tip of Zhang Suannai's nose, making her stomach rumble uncontrollably and her inner thoughts grow even more vivid.

What kind of ridiculous treatment is this!?

How is this fair! It's one thing for the Spirit Healing Room to allow family members to enter, but how can they be eating here too? Do the doctors at this school hospital have any integrity left?

And how could the injuries you sustained be that severe?

You can't even hold chopsticks?

How come I didn't know I injured you that badly?

"Give me the Mobile Phone."

You damn well can hold a Mobile Phone! But you can't hold chopsticks?

Wait! What are you trying to do with the Mobile Phone?

"Focus on eating."

It's a good thing Qingqing refused him.

My roommate is always so considerate at critical moments.

"Brother-in-law, here."

"Thank you, Xiaoxiao."

"You're welcome."

"Oh my..."

"Open your mouth!"

"..."

"Brother-in-law, do you want some milk tea?"

"I'll have a sip."

"Hahaha..."

Although the world was pitch black, Zhang Suannai seemed to imagine the scene at the bed next to her—that silly vegetable half-reclining, playing with his Mobile Phone, giggling at the discussions about himself in the group chat, with his two roommates on either side, one feeding him and peeling shrimp, the other holding milk tea, one gentle, one well-behaved.

It was highly likely that Taozi was curled up beside him too.

Imperial treatment.

Compared to herself right now...

For the first time, Zhang Suannai was furious that her imagination was so vivid.

"Qingqing~"

"Speak."

"You promised me that if I won, you'd wear a dress for me to see."

"Open your mouth."

"..."

Then came the sound of food being chewed.

The room fell into a brief silence.

Images continued to surface in Zhang Suannai's mind: that silly vegetable lying there eating while holding his Mobile Phone, glancing at his roommates. At the same time, her other roommate and Taozi were pretending to be nonchalant while quietly pricking up their ears.

But Zhang Suannai was stunned for a moment—

What? If he won, she would wear a dress for him to see?

So not only did he win the match, but he also won the chance to see his roommate wear a dress? How did he end up getting all the good things?

Ahhh, she felt so unbalanced inside.

So because I lost, my roommate is forced to wear a dress she has never worn before?

Ahhh, she felt so miserable inside.

If Zhang Suannai had known earlier, she would have fought to win even if it killed her.

Now that things have come to this, she could only pray.

"So the dress..."

Don't agree to him, don't agree to him...

"Mm."

The roommate's voice paused: "Given that you performed quite well... what kind of dress do you like?"

"Wear what you like."

"I haven't worn a dress since I grew up."

"Try it."

"..."

Zhang Suannai's heart calmed down once again.

This time, without a single ripple.

……

Golden Jasmine has initiated the Save Monthly Ticket Plan for you—

It's the end of the month again, and the monthly tickets you've accumulated are about to expire. If you have nowhere else to cast them, you can cast them for Jasmine. Otherwise, it's a waste if they expire—you'd lose a hundred million!

Ah no, it's double monthly tickets, you'd lose two hundred million.