Chapter 89: The Sovereign of Devour
As soon as these words came out, the eyelids of most people present twitched, and the way they looked at Hua Yi completely shifted.
Only Luo Shizhen truly felt that Hua-laoshi was such a genuinely good person.
Faced with Hua-laoshiâs proactive self-sacrifice, he nodded with absolute determination, his eyes filled with earnest sincerity.
“Alright, Hua-laoshi. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be careful!”
With sheer, blunt innocence, he managed to steer the slightly awkward atmosphere right back on track.
Hua Yi let out a soft chuckle and said nothing more, letting Luo Shizhen carefully support his arm.
The wound he had sliced open was incredibly deep, but in this short span of time, it had already begun to heal slowly.
While this speed would naturally be considered extremely fast for an ordinary person, for an Awakenerâespecially a High-Rank Awakenerâit could only be described as painstakingly slow.
“Is it because of the pollution?” Luo Shizhen asked.
His cultural classes hadn’t been for nothing, after all.
Hua Yi maintained his cooperative posture, his gaze lingering on the youth before him as if he couldn’t feel any pain at all.
“Probably. The Devour ability can tolerate more pollution, so wounds always heal the slowest.”
He explained logically:
“Therefore, I’m the best guinea pig. If it were anyone else, their wound would have healed before we could even test the medicine.”
Luo Shizhen nodded, once again thinking how truly noble Hua-laoshi was, his fingers cautiously touching the edges of the wound.
Hua Yi had never allowed anyone else to touch him like this.
On one hand, he simply disliked physical contact.
On the other hand, once an Awakener came into contact with this pollution, it was highly likely to infect them as well.
Compared to other Awakeners who, once infected, couldn’t digest the pollution and could only watch it accumulate until they died, it was naturally best for this pollution to remain on Hua Yi.
Thus, when those warm, dry fingertips touched him, Hua Yi’s first instinct was to pull his arm back.
But his reason quickly reminded him.
Luo Shizhen was a Purifier; he wouldn’t be corrupted by the pollution.
Hua Yiâs tensed arm slowly relaxed again, allowing the young man to gently trace every detail of the wound as if studying an antique vase.
Hua Yi didn’t care about the pain radiating from the wound, but inexplicably, the sensation brought by that gentle touch was impossible to ignore.
He could distinctly feel that the young Purifier’s touch was incredibly soft, as if deeply afraid of causing him any more pain.
The blonde, blue-eyed man said with a serious expression, “You can use a bit more force. It’s fine.”
Luo Shizhen replied, “No need for force, I just want to measure the edges of the wound.”
The last time he had seen a wound seething with black pollution mist like this was on Big Brother.
But thinking back, Big Brotherâs pollution at that time wasn’t considered heavy; it was actually quite mild, leaving only a tiny scratch.
But Hua-laoshiâs wound was a full palm-span long, with thick black mist billowing out, making Luo Shizhen instinctively take a sniff.
It smelled delicious, though the amount was truly overwhelming.
Although there was only one wound, Luo Shizhen could faintly sense that if the current him were to eat it, he would definitely be stuffed to bursting and still wouldn’t be able to finish.
It was simply as vast as the sea.
If all the pollution inside Hua-laoshi’s body were to be exposed, he would probably drown in food, wouldn’t he?
No wonder the textbooks stated that High-Rank Guardians required equally High-Rank Energy Users to clear their pollution.
Still, clearing a little bit was better than nothing; Luo Shizhen was never a picky eater.
He tentatively placed the “fruit” he had been clutching in his hand onto Hua Yi’s wound.
The “fruit,” only the size of a fingernail, was a tiny little lump, but it was extremely nimble. The moment it made contact with the pollution, it immediately began to devour it.
First, it ate the overflowing parts around the perimeter, then drew closer, tunneling directly into the wound and swallowing the seething black mist in massive gulps.
The Qi body was invisible to the naked eye and could only be perceived through the senses, yet everyone could clearly see that Hua Yi’s originally bleeding wound, which had been healing relatively slowly, snapped closed significantly in an instant.
“It works!”
Luo Shizhen carefully cupped Hua-laoshiâs arm. Seeing his wound healing rapidly, he looked up at Hua Yi in pleasant surprise.
Hua Yi was slightly stunned.
Yongzhou had also been researching various methods to clear pollution, but every study required countless experiments just to yield a tiny bit of results.
Even when they did achieve results, the efficacy was laughably small.
For instance, glutinous rice could clear a portion of pollution, but it was only a tiny fraction; if there was even a bit more, glutinous rice was entirely useless.
Yet despite this, glutinous rice had still become the most popular bestselling product of the era. Virtually every ordinary person would carry a bag of glutinous rice whenever they went out, always ready for an emergency.
But now, Luo Shizhen had succeeded on his very first experiment on his wound.
He looked at the young man before him with a look of astonishment.
Luo Shizhen, however, remained entirely focused on the state of the “fruit.”
After this tiny fruit tunneled into the wound, it quickly ate until it was stuffed, yet it showed no intention of coming back out.
Despite its tiny size, its presence was astonishing. Facing the “sea,” it plunged right in with immense excitement.
Luo Shizhen tried to summon it back, but he couldn’t recall a single thing.
This wasn’t particularly surprising; after all, this was equivalent to a detached piece of his Qi body. If it could truly be summoned back at will, it wouldn’t be called a separation.
He hurriedly took his phone out of his bag, opened his notes app, and recorded this characteristic.
Then he turned to look at Cheng Yunshao. “Cheng Yunshao, did you bring my silver needles?”
Cheng Yunshao nodded. “Brought them. They’re in the car.”
An unfamiliar young man immediately raised his hand. “I’ll go get them!”
Although he looked unfamiliar, he was wearing the uniform of Yongzhou. He was a staff member sent by Yongzhou out of concern to protect and monitor health status when Luo Shizhen entered his flow state.
Every Purifier was unimaginably precious. Let alone this kind of immersive clearing of massive amounts of pollution, even if Luo Shizhen suddenly lost his appetite, Yongzhou would dispatch someone to check his body for any issues.
These staff members had originally just been performing routine duties, never expecting they would happen to catch Luo Shizhen’s “fruit” bearing results, witnessing a live experiment utilizing alternative means to clear pollution.
The young man who ran to the car to get the silver needles was filled with excitement.
He didn’t suffer from severe pollution himself, but he knew that if there truly was another way to clear pollution, it would absolutely be a shot in the arm for the current state of affairs!
With this thought in mind, the young man quickly ran back, excitedly carrying the entire car on his shoulders.
Cheng Yunshao silently thought to himself that it was no wonder the guy hadn’t asked exactly where the silver needles were placed.
Luo Shizhen watched his car-carrying figure with deep respect. Once the man brought the car right in front of him, he praised from the bottom of his heart:
“Thank you, you’re amazing.”
He even peeked at the young man’s pectoral muscles, secretly comparing them to his own chest.
The young manâs face, which hadn’t even broken a sweat or changed expression after carrying a car all that way, instantly turned red.
His speech also became a bit stuttered: “N-No need for thanks, it’s what I should do.”
Hua Yi spoke up at the right moment: “What do you need the silver needles for?”
Luo Shizhen found the silver needles and opened them skillfully. At first glance, he looked exactly like a professional doctor.
“The silver needles are a medium. My Qi body can pass through the medium to check the internal condition inside you, Hua-laoshi. Is that alright?”
He went through the entire routine with practiced ease, and it was only after he picked up the needles that he remembered Hua Yi wasn’t one of those patients seeking medical treatment, quickly tacking on that last sentence.
Hua Yi raised an eyebrow. “No problem.”
“However…”
He looked at the silver needles in Luo Shizhenâs hand. “Using these requires taking off clothes, right?”
Luo Shizhen nodded. “Yes, they have to come off.”
He couldn’t exactly needle someone through their clothes.
Luo Shizhen was only a makeshift “divine doctor”; if he had to go through clothes, he wouldn’t even be able to locate the acupuncture points properly.
Hua Yi turned directly toward the car. “Then let’s go into the car.”
Luo Shizhen immediately followed him.
Outside, Rong Nian wanted to head inside but wasn’t sure if he should, nudging Xiao Shan:
“Should we go in and watch?”
Normally, Xiao Shan would have charged right in, but since Hua Yi was doing this for an experiment after all, he hesitated for a moment before deciding not to disturb them.
“Forget it. Shizhen put an immense amount of effort into this experiment and finally made some progress. Let’s not disturb him.”
Just as he finished speaking, Luo Shizhenâs earnest voice drifted out from inside:
“Hua-laoshi, you only need to strip your upper body. The lower body stays on.”
Rong Nian: “…”
Xiao Shan: “…”
The others: “…”
Three minutes later, Hua Yi was shirtless, completely unbothered as he displayed his beautifully defined muscles that practically radiated explosive power, lying flat on the reclined car seat.
Luo Shizhen held the silver needles, lowering his eyes as he carefully inserted them.
All the car doors were wide open, with Chu Xiao and the others standing just outside.
Maintaining his reclined position, Hua Yi completely ignored the gazes of the young men, letting out a laugh as he found that his mood had inexplicably improved significantly:
“Quite a magical experience, isn’t it?”
Translator’s Note
A quick note on terms: Hua-laoshi (čąčĺ¸) uses the standard honorific for “Teacher,” which is commonly used in these organizations out of respect, regardless of whether they are in a literal classroom. Yongzhou (ć°¸ćź) translates roughly to “Eternal Day,” the powerful guardian organization backing our main cast. See you in the next chapter for the shirtless madness!
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