Chapter 108: Chapter 107: Another Advancement

Watermelon had already taken off his mask. As he put it, if he couldn’t make it through, he wanted to face death with his own face.

Now, Watermelon’s once-refined face had become savage and contorted.

Many people have probably tried putting a finger near a flame. Even from a distance, the heat is unbearable.

Burning a person to death is an extremely cruel act, and the sight of the body is often too gruesome to behold.

And Nirvana... was like having one’s soul seared by flames. It was countless times more painful than being burned alive!

"Martial Uncle, I... I can’t do this anymore! Please... please just kill me! Quickly, I can’t take it anymore!" Watermelon begged, biting through his lip until his mouth was filled with blood. "Kill me now! Please, kill me now!"

"Watermelon, you have to get through this! Think of your parents..." Bu Yunyan consoled him, her eyes welling with tears.

Before she could finish, Watermelon let out a wretched laugh that sounded utterly terrifying. "I know... Martial Uncle will... will definitely take care of them. I know. Bu, please, just run me through with your sword... I can’t take it!"

"Watermelon, you have to endure! Get through this, and your future will be limitless! Didn’t you say your dream was to become the top guild leader in the entire Cyan Dragon Kingdom? You’ll only get that chance if you make it through this!" Hu shouted, trying to encourage him.

"Bullshit! It’s all bullshit... To hell with being a leader, to hell with guilds... All I know is that I... I feel like I’m dying!" Watermelon snarled, his face contorted in a savage grimace. His entire body was soaked in sweat, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white as he curled into a ball on the floor.

The searing of his soul, the agony of Nirvana, left him unable to even take his own life!

"Shut your mouth! Don’t you want to see your master again?" Qin Li roared. "Watermelon, you’re a man! You’re going to get through this! Cut the crap. I know you can do it!"

"Martial Uncle..." Watermelon wailed, tears streaming down his face. "You have no idea what this is like! It’s so damn unbearable! I miss my master, I miss my grand-mistress! I’ve failed them! I’m going to die!"

"Make him eat the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core!" Qin Li’s own eyes were bloodshot. He felt utterly powerless watching Watermelon suffer, and his mood was foul.

"It’s... useless for him to eat it now," Leng Yao said coolly. "He can only rely on himself..."

As Leng Yao spoke, she seemed to recall something. She looked at Qin Li and said, "Wait, you’ve never experienced Nirvana yourself. Try... try transferring your Primordial Power into Watermelon’s body. See if a miracle happens."

Qin Li froze. ’That’s right, why didn’t I think of that?’ This wasn’t the time for hesitation. He let out a low growl at Watermelon, "Concentrating and Calming the Mind!"

With a sharp SMACK, his palm landed on a major acupoint on Watermelon’s back, and he began to channel a steady stream of Innate Purple Qi into him.

Instantly, Watermelon’s screams subsided.

Hu, Bu Yunyan, and Leng Yao exchanged a look, each seeing the pleasant surprise in the others’ eyes.

"It’s actually working!" Hu exclaimed.

"Leng Yao, you’re a genius!" Bu Yunyan hugged Leng Yao tightly, both of their faces breaking into excited smiles.

But they had no idea of the agony Qin Li was in. He didn’t have an especially large reserve of Innate Purple Qi to begin with; after all, his cultivation was only at the mid-to-high tier of the Earth Level. Meanwhile, Watermelon’s body was frantically absorbing the Innate Purple Qi, showing every sign of draining him completely dry.

Gradually, Watermelon’s screams ceased. He knew this was a golden opportunity, so he quickly calmed his mind and began circulating the One-element Heart Method. The pain from the Nirvana, which had been unbearable before, was now something he could endure through sheer willpower.

"Ah! What’s wrong with the Young Master?" Bu Yunyan was the first to notice Qin Li’s condition and cried out in alarm.

Qin Li’s face had lost all color, becoming as pale as a sheet of paper. Not just his face—even the color in his lips was visibly draining away.

At the same time, the temperature in the room began to plummet.

"This is bad! He’s overexerting himself!" Leng Yao cried out. She quickly produced a jade box, and as she opened it, a rich fragrance filled the room. Pinching the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core between her fingers, she said, "Yunyan, help me feed this to him!"

Bu Yunyan hurried to Qin Li’s side. "Open your mouth..." she said, her voice trembling.

But Qin Li’s mouth was clamped shut. The icy chill emanating from his body brought tears to Bu Yunyan’s eyes. Leng Yao snatched the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core back, then... placed it in her own mouth. Under the dumbfounded stares of Bu Yunyan and Hu, she lowered her head... and pressed her lips to Qin Li’s.

Qin Li’s body stiffened, and his lips parted ever so slightly. Heedless of her own embarrassment, Leng Yao used her tongue to gently pry open his mouth, then transferred the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core into it. Only then did she pull away and stand up straight, her face so red it looked like it might bleed. She offered a faint explanation, "I... The situation was urgent..."

Although Hu and Bu Yunyan both had strange expressions on their faces, they couldn’t believe that the aloof and famously pure Leng Yao would make such a sacrifice for Qin Li. Still, their attention quickly returned to him. When they saw a hint of color finally returning to his face, the three of them let out a collective sigh of relief.

Qin Li had been conscious the entire time. He was fully aware of Leng Yao passing him the Inner Core with a kiss. The moment it entered his mouth, it slid down his throat.

BOOM!

A massive torrent of warmth erupted from Qin Li’s Dantian, spreading through his body!

His nearly-depleted Dantian was filled with astounding energy in a single instant!

All the while, Watermelon’s body, like a greedy vampire, continued to madly absorb energy from Qin Li. And so, the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core was put to its greatest possible use.

Qin Li himself had no idea how much time had passed. All he knew was that the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core seemed to contain an endless supply of energy; no matter how much Watermelon’s body absorbed, it showed no sign of depletion.

「Seven days passed.」

The servants had returned two days prior, and everything was back to normal, save for a fifty-meter radius around the room, which had been declared a temporary restricted zone.

At all times, one of the three—Hu, Bu Yunyan, or Leng Yao—stood guard here.

On the evening of the seventh day, Watermelon finally awoke. When he opened his eyes, two beams of brilliant light flared within them! He stood up and let out a long breath. At the same time, Qin Li’s hand naturally retracted, but he himself remained unconscious.

Bu Yunyan was on watch at the time. Seeing Watermelon finally out of danger, she broke into a happy smile. "Watermelon, congratulations! You finally made it through!"

As if he hadn’t heard her, tears suddenly streamed from Watermelon’s eyes. He turned and knelt before Qin Li, choking out, "Martial Uncle, you’re a man, too! You have to pull through!"

"Kid, what nonsense are you talking about? Your Martial Uncle took the Black Water Kui Ox’s Inner Core. He’s just in a state of seclusion, he’s perfectly fine!" Bu Yunyan shot Watermelon a look, though her own eyes were a little red. She understood what he was feeling. He had truly walked through the gates of hell and back, a feeling that was impossible to describe to others.

Besides, Watermelon surely knew that Qin Li had saved him. If Qin Li had ended up in danger because of it, Watermelon would never be able to forgive himself.

Hu and Leng Yao rushed over when they heard the commotion. Seeing that Watermelon was unharmed, everyone breathed a final sigh of relief. Hu looked at Watermelon, whose body was now radiating intense Primordial Power fluctuations, and asked with a grin, "So, a blessing in disguise?"

The corner of Watermelon’s mouth twitched. He sighed but didn’t speak.

Hu looked at him in confusion. "What’s wrong? You’re not satisfied? The Primordial Power fluctuations coming off you are easily at the high tier of the Profound Level. After your past Nirvanas, didn’t you always drop back to the Yellow Level?"

"Sigh... The Only I am Venerable Cultivation Technique... it’s completely gone from my body," Watermelon said with a helpless sigh. "All that’s left is the One-element Heart Method my master taught me. That means I still have my Profound Level cultivation, but... I don’t have a single combat technique left!"

"What? How is that possible?" The three of them stared blankly. They had never heard of anything like this—combat techniques just vanishing from one’s body for no reason...

Even if the Cultivation Technique that powered the combat techniques was gone, how could he forget the actual moves?

To their surprise, when Bu Yunyan voiced this question, Watermelon could only nod with a wry smile. "That’s right. I’ve forgotten them completely."

"Only I am Venerable... Only I am Venerable," Leng Yao muttered. "Could it be that only one person in the world can practice this Cultivation Technique? Why else would it have a name like that?"

Bu Yunyan and Hu nodded in agreement, looking at Watermelon with expressions full of sympathy.

Bu Yunyan smiled and said, "It’s alright. As long as you’re alive, there’s hope. You can learn any of our combat techniques! And if you don’t like them, I’m sure the Young Master can get you even more advanced ones!"

By now, Watermelon had started to accept it. While he could no longer use the Only I am Venerable combat technique, at least his life was saved. Plus, his cultivation realm was intact—he still had the strength of a sixth or seventh-tier Profound Level practitioner. Even with just his aura and basic fist fighting, an ordinary person would be no match for him.

Thinking about it that way, Watermelon cheered up. He had seen Hu practice before and thought his fierce, powerful moves were pretty good too. ’If worse comes to worst,’ he thought, ’I’ll just learn Hu’s combat techniques! I should probably wait for Martial Uncle to come out of seclusion first, though!’

But who would have thought that Qin Li’s seclusion would last a full month?

In a few more days, it would be the New Year. The servants at the Qin Residence had already purchased large quantities of festive goods in preparation. A peaceful, celebratory atmosphere settled over the entire Cyan Dragon City. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The huge scandal of the imperial family’s humiliation that summer had finally begun to fade from memory, as people prepared to celebrate a happy New Year.