My Auto Cloning System-Chapter 100: Double Jump

The air in the recovery ward smelled like burnt sage, iron, and bitter, concentrated medicine. Yin Zhe slowly opened his eyes, his lashes feeling heavy and stiff, like they were stuck together with dried sea salt. (Blink... blink...) The ceiling of the Iron Vein infirmary was not made of wood or stone, but of smooth, with white jade that glowed with a soft, and pulsing light that was designed to help patients knit their bones back together. He felt a sharp, and throbbing heat in his chest, it was a painful reminder of the "hug" from Lin Xue's ice sword, but the sensation was already beginning to dull.

"Oh... man. I feel like I got hit by a merchant carriage filled with lead bricks," Yin Zhe groaned, with his voice sounding like sandpaper rubbing against a dry board. (Cough! Wheeze!) He tried to sit up, and his joints popped in the quiet room like dry twigs snapping under a heavy boot. (Pop! Crack! Snap!)

[Burned Reactive points +1] (from the fire seed)

[Watched Reactive points +1] (A young medical disciple was staring at his chart from the doorway)

Yin Zhe slowly looked around and saw that the room was a hive of frantic activity. Disciples in clean white robes were scurrying between the rows of beds, and carrying wooden trays piled high with clean bandages and glowing jars of blue ointment. At the foot of his own bed sat a small, lacquer-finished box with golden hinges and a tall glass bottle filled with a swirling liquid that looked like captured starlight.

Enforcer Wu Tiao walked over, with his boots clicking rhythmically on the jade floor. (Click... clack...) He looked even more tired than the people lying in the beds, with deep bags under his eyes. He reached into his belt and handed Yin Zhe a small, wax-sealed scroll. "You're in the Top 25, kid. Don't make me regret signing that paperwork. The Palace is giving every winner an Advancement Pill and a bottle of 13th Grade Spiritual Essence. These things are worth more than a mansion in the capital, so don't you dare go trading them for gambling chips or street snacks."

Yin Zhe's eyes sparked with a greedy light as he looked at the lacquer box. "An advancement pill? For free? I love this school! Maybe I should get stabbed by a pretty girl more often if this is the standard reward. Does it come with a side of spiritual fruit too?"

Wu Tiao rolled his eyes so hard it looked painful and let out a long, and weary sigh. (Sighhh.) "Just get out of here. You have matches tomorrow, and the competition only gets more violent from here. Go rest before you collapse again and make me carry you."

Bao Zi and Ren Tie were waiting by the heavy, And iron-studded oak doors of the ward. Bao Zi looked like his eyes puffy and red, while Ren Tie stood tall and stoic, though his expensive mountain-print robe was torn at the shoulder and stained with dust.

"Yin Zhe! You're actually alive!" Bao Zi squeaked, nearly tripping over his own oversized boots to reach the bed. (Stumble!) "I thought your heart had been turned into a block of ice! I was already trying to remember my favorite poems to say at your funeral! I even picked out a nice spot under a tree!"

Ren Tie gave a stiff, and formal nod, though his lips twitched into a tiny, and rare smile. "You fought well, Yin Zhe. Even if your methods are... deeply questionable and lack any sense of noble dignity. We are heading back to the common quarters to begin our own cultivation. We cannot let you be the only one among us who is getting stronger by the hour."

"Yeah, yeah. Go work hard, boys. Don't let the bedbugs bite your noble butts," Yin Zhe joked, while waving them off with a lazy, and trembling hand. He watched them walk down the long, arched stone hallway until their footsteps faded into the distance. (Tap... tap... tap...)

Yin Zhe finally made his way back to his private "inn Room." The room was small and simple, with cold stone walls and a single straw mat for meditation, and other furniture, but it was quiet and offered the privacy he craved. He shut the door and slid the heavy iron bolt into place. (Clack-shhh!) He sat down on the mat, while crossing his legs, and reached into his inner pocket. A small, cold, and scaly head popped out from his collar. The blue-scaled lizard wiggled its way out of his shirt and hopped onto his lap with a light thump. Its scales were a deep, and beautiful sapphire blue, and they flickered with tiny, dancing sparks of blue electricity. (Bzzzzt! Snap!)

"Hey there, buddy. Did you miss me while I was busy being a human pincushion?" Yin Zhe whispered, while stroking the lizard's smooth head with his thumb. The lizard leaned into his touch and let out a tiny, but happy hiss that sounded like steam escaping a kettle. (Hsssss!) "I can't keep calling you 'the lizard.' It's not very dignified for a dragon-in-training like you. Alright From now on, your name is Little Blue. What do you think? It's simple, catchy, and fits your color. No complaints right? Good."

Little Blue flicked its forked tongue out and licked Yin Zhe's wrist, the tiny scales feeling like cold silk. It didn't speak, but its bright and

golden eyes seemed to shine with a weird kind of intelligence. Yin Zhe picked up the lizard and set it firmly on his lap. It was time to get down to business.

He opened the lacquer box with a cautious finger. Inside the box sat a single pill the size of a large marble, glowing with a soft, and internal golden light and smelling like fresh rain on hot pavement mixed with ancient earth. This was the Advancement Pill.

"Alright. Let's see if we can break some records today," Yin Zhe monologued to himself, his heart was starting to beat faster. "Most people lose 50% of a pill's power because their bodies are like leaky buckets, they can't catch the energy fast enough. But I have a giant funnel."