Enraged, Qi’s eyes were bloodshot, and the wound on his face burst open, oozing pus and blood.
"Qi, don’t get agitated, we just saw you faint and wanted to wake you up, it was me, I was the one who removed your Magic Cloak," Gu Feng took all the responsibility upon himself.
"Gu Feng, there’s no need to apologize, we did nothing wrong. Qi, it was I who removed your Magic Cloak. You were unconscious just now, and it would have been very dangerous if we didn’t act in time," compared to Qi’s agitation and Gu Feng’s reluctance, Yun Sheng’s tone was normal, as if Qi’s face had no effect on her whatsoever.
While speaking, Yun Sheng quickly stepped forward and grabbed Qi’s arm.
Qi had never had such close contact with anyone, and as if tainted by something filthy, he tried to shake it off.
Little did he know that Yun Sheng’s Qi Power was astonishing; as she grabbed Qi’s hand, the Marrow Jade Technique in her body was slowly transferred into Qi’s.
Qi, who was previously restless, felt a surge of cool inner strength that rushed through his entire body.
This inner strength was not Magical Power nor fighting spirit, but a mysterious power that Qi had never experienced before.
The Magic Wand in Qi’s hand unconsciously drooped, and he instinctively looked towards Yun Sheng.
A pair of eyes as black as Moyu jade, calmly watching him.
For some reason, Qi felt the previously restless emotions in his heart gradually settling down.
Although the sun was blazing fiercely, there was not a hint of irritation, and Qi felt as if he was standing on the vast, boundless surface of the sea.
Feeling that Qi’s heart rate and breathing were gradually returning to normal, Yun Sheng finally let out a sigh of relief; this kid really was a handful.
"Go back and rest for a while, drink some saltwater with sugar, rehydrate, and you should be fine," Yun Sheng’s crisp voice echoed in his ears, and with that, she let go of her hold on him.
Qi glanced at Yun Sheng, seeing her rosy cheeks and tender skin accentuated under the scorching sun, he couldn’t help but gaze at her, entranced, until Gu Feng gave him a push, and Qi came back to his senses.
"Thank you," Qi said in a mosquito-like buzz.
Yun Sheng glanced at him, "Qi, if I’m not mistaken, the wounds on your face are due to poison, right?"
Qi did not speak; he just took the Magic Cloak from Gu Feng’s hand and put it on without a word.
"If I tell you that I know a way to heal your face, but at the cost of discarding your Poison Skill and making you an ordinary person, would you be willing to do that?" Yun Sheng had noticed earlier that Qi’s poison was not incurable.
Yun Sheng had carefully examined Qi’s poison, which seemed to be due to his cultivation of Poison Magic.
Qi’s Poison Magic Soul imbued every kind of magic he cast with a toxic effect, but the continued presence of the Poison Magic Soul had made him unconsciously absorb external toxins, putting a tremendous burden on his body.
Although for now the poison was only accumulating in Qi’s refinement, as Qi’s magical abilities grew more profound, the impact of his Poison Magic Soul would become increasingly significant. Eventually, his body would collapse under the strain, and those poisonous lesions would spread throughout his body.
"No, if I lose this Poison Magic, I’d rather live my whole life with this face," Qi was more stubborn than Yun Sheng had imagined.
"Qi, nothing is more important than your life," Yun Sheng continued to persuade.
"You’re wrong, there is something more important than my life, and that is strength," Qi said without hesitation, dragging his injured body forward.
Yun Sheng and Gu Feng stood still, Gu Feng sighed and said, as if to himself but also to Yun Sheng, "Qi is actually the most stubborn one among us three. Unless you can find another method to treat him, he will never let you treat him," he quickly caught up to Qi, supported him, and this time, Qi did not push Gu Feng away.
As usual in the evening, the martial artists of the Outer Hall carried out their nighttime combat training.
Unexpectedly, the annoying Zhang Zipo did not show up this time.
Upon inquiring around, some said that after Zhang Zipo left the training grounds in the afternoon, he suddenly broke out in a body full of red bumps. The bumps were itchy and painful, resistant to whatever methods Zhang Zipo tried to use to get rid of them.
Having no choice, he had to take leave and rest in the Inner Hall.
As the news spread, the happiest were none other than the female warriors.
Zhang Zipo was a lecher, a nightmare for them.
After hearing this, Yun Sheng just gave a knowing smile.
She was fully aware of the situation that had left Zhang Zipo and the Medicine Hall helpless. The "poison" that afflicted him was actually not poison at all.
It was merely a Yin-type fragrance powder that Yun Sheng found in Doctor Fan’s prescription book.
This powder, made from four or five kinds of special Yin-property medicinal herbs, truly nourishes and beautifies women, but if a man comes into contact with it, he is easily allergic, and such allergies reoccur repeatedly, lasting over a month.
Subsequent exposures still lead to allergies, with each instance being more severe than the last.
People of Wuji Continent do not know about allergies, but Yun Sheng understood it very well.
In the following days of training, without Zhang Zipo’s harassment, the training for Yun Sheng, Gu Feng, and Qi became much more relaxed.
The three of them gradually adapted from their initial discomfort with the Martial Arts Hall training, living and eating together with the other martial artists of the Outer Hall, and taking on the same training tasks.
The martial artists of the Outer Hall, too, went from initially rejecting the three to gradually accepting them. Especially for Yun Sheng, who quickly got along with the female warriors of the Outer Hall thanks to her medical skills.
Soon, a month passed. Aside from Yun Sheng, who seemed unchanged, Qi and Gu Feng both underwent some changes.
Their originally frail mage constitution improved; both grew taller and their skin tanned to a bronze hue. Their nighttime combat training allowed them to grasp some basic martial arts, which was very beneficial for their development.
It now appeared more like they were undergoing Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts instead of being ordinary mages, standing out among the martial artists of the Outer Hall.
Not one of the three had been given any additional punishments.
On this day, after completing their daily training as usual, Lei Hu called the three of them over, "You’ve also been here for a month, as per tradition, today you should go to the Medicine Hall to collect a portion of Beast Blood for Beast Blood Fusion."
Yun Sheng learned after arriving at the Martial Arts Hall that Beast Blood Fusion was not exclusive to martial artists; any healthy person, as long as they were not old, weak, sick, or disabled, could enhance their physique through Beast Blood Fusion.
According to the rules of Wuxuan Wuji Hall, every student of the Outer Hall Academy can go to the Medicine Hall to collect a portion of Beast Blood at the end of each month.
Yun Sheng was also quite interested in Beast Blood Fusion, and upon hearing Lei Hu’s words, she walked to the Medicine Hall with Gu Feng and Qi.