by <unknown>
“A young person such as this should have a future radiating with glory, but due to an accident, he lost the chance to tread onto the world of cultivators. His brain received a bizarre mental attack, ripping his pineal gland completely to shreds, dropping his Actualization Quotient down to 7%, to the level of a low-grade elementary school student. Even if he does regain consciousness, he might not be able to ever cultivate again!”
The article was written in a tone of utter regret.
And on the online forums, netizens were engaging in all sorts of discussions.
Quite a few people felt regret for Li Yao one after another. “What a shame. If this accident never happened, he probably would have already been specially enrolled in one of the Nine Elite Universities. It really is too cruel!”
There was also quite a large portion of people who took joy in his misfortune. They spoke with scathing words, “Who told him to be this arrogant? To flip the enter command center of the Blue Team? And kick several dozen people out of the competition? How awesome he was! And now you know what? This accident has just sent him back to where he belongs!”
However, to the majority of people, this was an extremely insignificant matter.
The gargantuan news only lasted with liveliness for three days in this explosive information era of today. Additionally, the entrance exams were coming up. Everyone was training and cramming to the very end. Who would still pay attention to the news of other people?
Wasn’t this just the downfall of a genius?
With the Federation being so large, there were quite a few of the powerful, a few geniuses who experienced all sorts of circumstances, fell into a Qi Deviation, were eaten by Demon Beasts, or were silently killed in guild infightings.
What was Li Yao worth when compared to them?
After a few days of liveliness, the accident that happened on Devil Flood Dragon Island soon sunk to silence. Li Yao, this fleeting Fiend Star, was also forgotten by everyone.
……
A week later. In Floating Spear City’s First Hospital. In the intensive care unit.
A giant metal medical treatment pod was engraved with circles and circles of arcane glyphs on the exterior, forming a giant glyph array.
Over a hundred creamy white crystals were embedded around the Glyph Arrays. They vibrated faintly, emitting ripples that caused one’s mind to be relaxed.
Li Yao laid motionless in the medical pod. The body that lay under the white bed sheets appeared extremely weak and shriveled. Tubes were stuck all over his body. A Soul Calming Talisman was stuck to his forehead.
His eyelids pulsed madly underneath the talisman. He was immersed in an incomparably intense nightmare.
Zhao Shude and Xie Tingxian stood next to his bed. They listened to a white gowned doctor explain Li Yao’s condition.
“Student Li Yao’s body hasn’t actually received much damage, but he is injured from a mental attack by a mutated large-eyed ape. His spirit root is completely lacerated. His neural field has entered into a state of incomparable disorder!”
“His body has automatically sunk into a state of deep sleep in order to protect his brain. Under this state, his brain is like a black hole that’s crazily absorbing energy from his meridians, limbs, and bones all over his body. Look. No matter how much of the strengthening drug and high-energy nutrient solution we inject into his body, it's no use.”
“His mind can consume the equivalent of a month’s or even a year’s volume of energy for an ordinary person’s mind in a second!
The white gowned doctor spoke with admiration.
Zhao Shude asked with a deep frown, “Doctor Gu, from your experience, when will Student Li Yao awaken in the end? Also, his spirit root has been torn, leaving only an Actualization Quotient of 7% left. What are the odds of his spirit root recovering after he awakens?”
The white gowned doctor spoke with a bitter laugh, “Headmaster Zhao, I am truly ashamed. I have never encountered Student Li Yao’s circumstances in my many years since I entered the world of cultivators! The large-eyed ape who attacked him had injected a doping drug to mutate into a mutated form. But this doping drug is formed from a chaotic mess of inferior drugs. No one knows the specific composition, and no one knows how warped the mental attack of this large-eyed ape came to be. And what is even more unknown are the effects on the person’s brain… Under these circumstances, we can only wait!”
The gloominess on Zhao Shude’s face grew more and more concentrated. He spoke somewhat despairingly, “Doctor Gu, you are the number one Meditation Healer of Floating Spear City. You have great academic roots in the field of the mind. Even you are clueless?”
The gowned doctor spoke, “The brains of men are the most complicated and mysterious organs. The field of the mind is even more of a mysterious world incomprehensible by the ordinary person!”
“From the growth of Cultivator Civilization until now, we know the human body like the back of one’s hand, but the brain remains an uncrackable forbidden area!”
“I’ve tried to enter Li Yao’s neural field, but I’ve been obstructed by a wild power each time that nearly sent me to descend to Qi Deviation. It looks likes that doping drug is utterly ferocious to be able to strengthen the large-eyed ape’s mental attack to the peak!”
“No one knows when Student Li Yao will awaken under these circumstances. If his luck is good, he could wake up tomorrow. If his luck is bad, he might spend his entire life in this deep sleep. Nothing is certain.”
After pausing, he continued, “However, there are actually several hundreds of this sort of cases where a critical injury leads to the pineal gland to be torn and Actualization Quotient falling substantially in the past 300 years. The majority of those with torn spirit roots were completely unable to cultivate, becoming cripples. Only an extremely few people were able to recover. At most seven or eight I guess. Therefore, when you ask if Student Li Yao can continue cultivating, my answer is… the probability does not exceed 1%!”
Zhao Shude let out a long sigh. His despair was overflowing in that sigh.
He walked to the corner and turned on the micro crystal processor on his wrist. A cultured and refined middle-aged man appeared on the hologram. It was Crimson Nimbus Guild’s elder, Zhou Yin!
“So there’s no hope?” Zhou Yin could guess from looking at Zhao Shude’s expression. He asked calmly.
“Yea. The doctor also doesn’t know when he’ll wake up. Even if he does wake up, the chances of him cultivating again are less than 1%,” Zhao Shude spoke with complete pity.
Zhou Yin nodded his head and spoke without a change of expression, “It’s somewhat of a pity. However, there’s nothing to be done about it. The world of cultivation is cruel. There are countless geniuses born every second and every second there are countless geniuses who fall. To become a cultivator, one can’t do without having talent, diligence, connections, and luck. He’s a genius, but he lacked luck. Who could be blamed? From now on, all resources we were originally going to throw to him shall be revoked. I remember that your school has Helian Lie and Si Jiaxue who aren’t too bad. Take those resources and give it to these two then!”
“Yes. Your orders are my command, Elder Zhou. Oh right, this Li Yao and Helian Lie have created another misunderstanding on Devil Flood Dragon Island. Board Member Helian is really not happy. What if Li Yao wakes up and they…”
Zhao Shude asked probingly.
Zhou Yin laughed utterly moderately and spoke, “I originally looked upon Li Yao with favor because I took him for young talent worthy to be fostered. But at the present, he’s already become trash. What sort of connection does he have with me now? There’s no need to mention his matters with me anymore.”
“I see.”
Zhao Shude shut his crystal processor. He walked to the side of the doctor and spoke, “Since even Doctor Gu has explained as such, then I can only wait and see what happens. Doctor Gu, I’m going to leave then… Professor Xie, how about you?”
Xie Ti
ngxian hesitated a moment before saying, “I’ll continue waiting.”
Zhao Shude nodded and headed outside.
The instant before he stepped out of the room, he turned around to take another look at Li Yao in the medical pod.
Crimson Nimbus Second’s Headmaster Zhao Shude’s expression turned incomparably cold — it was as if he was looking at a pile of trash.
Chapter 71: The Transformation of the Fiend Star Yao! |
Two weeks later in Floating Spear City’s First Hospital.
Li Yao slept deeply like a baby in a medical treatment pod, except the eyeballs beneath his eyelids shook like crazy as before, showing that he was still continuing to cultivate in the Dream of Grandeur.
Xie Tingxian looked at Li Yao with a face of complete loss. In the end, he faced the doctor to confirm. “Doctor Gu, has there still been no signs of Student Li Yao turning around for the better?”
The doctor shook his head. “Professor Xie, you’re quite considerate. However, this type of heavy damage to the neural field where the spirit root has been torn is different from an ordinary illness. The passing of time won’t necessarily cause things to turn for the better! Look. This is the report of his most recent days. His brain waves are undulating in a bizarre motion. His Actualization Quotient has been fluctuating sharply. The highest it reaches is 17% and then 10 minutes later it falls to 4%. This shows that his neural field is becoming more and more unstable. Or in other words, his mind is in the middle of launching a more and more fierce storm. Even if a patient like this awakens, do you feel he will still be a genius that’s needed by your school?”
Xie Tingxian hesitated for a long time. He let out a long long, long long breath. He walked to the corner and turned on his micro crystal processor to contact Deep Sea University.
An utterly short and petite old woman, who wore an utterly old and strange gold threaded robe, appeared on the hologram. She seemed to be blind; her eyes in her deep sockets flashed with a purple flame. From time to time, the flames escaped the eyes, shooting out a terrifying radiance.
Xie Tingxian’s expression turned extremely respectful in front of this old woman. He spoke with great difficulty, “Dean Chu, is it possible to give me a week’s more time?”
“What do you say?”
Within the hologram, the blind old woman spoke dryly. Her throat seemed to have been slashed by a blade; it was incomparably hoarse and ear-piercing. “I admit that this kid you’ve taken a liking to is a genius, but now he has become like this. There’s no need for you to waste further time? We of Deep Sea University are the Federation’s strongest. Our university possesses the greatest of inner resources. Who knows how many young geniuses there are every year who sharpen their minds to want to enter our school. What’s the worst that could happen if we miss one genius? You have quite a few projects still within the school. They’re waiting for your direction upon your return. One of them is a major military collaboration project, pertaining to the newest Individual assault artifact… If all the Federation’s soldiers can use an artifact designed by our university… You should know how much that’s worth.”
“I understand. I’ll return today.”
Xie Tingxian’s eyebrows frowned into a knot. He closed his crystal processor and hesitated for a long time before he finally made a resolution. He faced towards the doctor and said, “Doctor Gu, if Student Li Yao wakes up, make sure the first thing he does is contact me. This is my e-crane number. Many thanks.”
After finishing his words, the refining expert of Deep Sea University, Xie Tingxian, also walked out of the ward.
This time, he didn’t look back.
……
A third week passed.
Ding Lingdang let out a great, bored-to-death yawn. The yawn even caused tears to flow down. She glared like a tiger at the doctor by her side.
Cold sweat seeped from the forehead of Doctor Gu. He spoke stammeringly, “T-t-t-terribly sorry, Miss Ding. Although you’ve accompanied the patient in the hospital for three weeks, although everyone else has already walked off leaving only you here night after night, I can’t agree to your proposed treatment.”
“Why?”
Ding Lingdang crossed her fingers, cracking them to create pops. “Anyway, your conservative treatment methods are damn near useless. You might as well let me rip open this medical treatment pod, drag this kid out of there, and let me beat him up for a change. Who knows? He might be hit wide awake. This is precisely what’s called giving medicine to a dead horse!”
“Nope. No can do. Really it’s impossible. You better not mess around! Someone help!”
……
A fourth week passed.
In the depths of his neural field, Li Yao continued to cultivate madly around the clock. He engulfed Ou Yezi’s memories with incomparable savageness.
Having experienced thousands upon thousands of repetitions, he had already decomposed, swallowed, digested, and assimilated all of Ou Yezi’s memories of when he had sunk to being a low level worker in the Hundred Smelting Guild.
Most noteworthy was the One-Hundred-And-Eight-Hands Chaos-Gale Hammer Technique. He trained again and again, bringing it to perfection, to a point more skillful than the Titan.
Li Yao even changed the direction of Ou Yezi’s memories several times. In the spars against the Titan, he ferociously pounded the Titan to the ground, beating forth a blood nose and face, letting out some anger.
Fortunately, every memory shard was independent from each other. When one memory shard was changed, it wouldn't affect the direction of the next memory shard.
After swallowing the entirety of the memories of being a low level worker, Li Yao was still not satisfied. He continued engulfing Ou Yezi’s memories of when Ou Yezi was a forge worker.
But with the passing of time, his soul grew weaker and weaker. He was completely thin and withered. He had a feeling he could disappear at any time.
“Not good. I’ve been immersed in the depths of my neural field for this long. I don’t know how many days had past in the real world. Can a week have already passed?”
Li Yao’s soul violently trembled with this fear. It was as if a strange fish on the deep sea floor was rushing dimly towards a bright light, suddenly emerging to the surface.
Finally, on the early morning on the thirty-third day, Li Yao faintly opened his eyes on the hospital bed.
He woke up!
The first thing that entered his vision was the yellow paper talisman stuck to his forehead. Li Yao pouted his mouth and blew, lifting the paper talisman up.
He discovered that his body was contained in an enormous glass cover. On the inner chamber of the glass were over a thousand glyph scripts engraved and packed. The creamy white crystals surrounding him drove the glyphs, causing a faint resonance.
A ripple permeated through the void that caused one to feel utter comfort.
The faint scent of disinfectant medicine permeated through the air. He faced towards the windows and discovered that it was the greatest darkness right before the approaching dawn. A few stars were vaguely flickering in the darkness.
Li Yao didn’t know how long he had been lying down. His body was completely empty and lacked strength.
However, his brain was filled with a complete abundance of energy. His soul had solidified to have true substance. It was a type of indestructible feeling.
It was like…
A giant door had been forcefully pushed open. His neural field expanded to a limitless state. A new world had been born in the depths of Li Yao’s neural field. With every pulse, his mind was filled with an incomparably tyrannical strength!
This time, Li Yao’s five senses changed to become utterly sharp. His computational abilities rose to the utmost limits. He could recall trifling past events of memories from a dozen or so years ago. He could calculate out an utterly complicate math sequence problem. And, he could easily hear two nurses whispering outside the ward in the hallway.
“Hey did you know? T
he fellow who’s sleeping inside is that famous Fiend Star Yao!?”
“You’re saying that misfortunate Li Yao then. I know him. But why does everyone call him Fiend Star Yao?”
“Rumor has it that he was originally the rising star of Floating Spear City who had everyone’s attention. The Nine Elite Universities were scrambling over him. Everyone took him to be the second Fiend Blade Peng Hai. But due to an accident, his spirit root tore and he entered into a coma. His Actualization Quotient fell to the bottom — all that’s left is 7%. He’s practically become crippled. All of a sudden, the university who had all wanted to specially enroll him all retreated. He came from being a rising star to becoming a fleeting meteor. Mhm. An especially jinxed meteor. So they all call him the Fiend Star!”
“So that’s how it is. Now that I know all this, I think he’s quite pitiful. I’ve heard he’s the same as Peng Hai. They both were poor kids who came from the slums. You see. A destitute kid who was able to soar to great heights with a single step, like a fish becoming a dragon, who was looked by the Nine Elite Universities with favor, who looked to be destined to walk the road of cultivators and burst into the upper-class circle… Yet at the most critical point, he was beaten by an accident to his original state! If I were him, I would prefer to keep sleeping and never wake up. If I wake up and discover that I’ve fallen this far, I’ll absolutely commit suicide!”
“Who says that won’t happen. His Actualization Quotient fell to 7%. It’s impossible for him to cultivate… Even I have an Actualization Quotient of 21%!”
The two nurses laughed together.
Li Yao lay motionless on the bed. He listened silently, his eyes filled with doubt and ridicule.
“My Actualization Quotient fell to 7%!? What jokers! I feel that right now I’m great to the point of simply exploding!”
He looked around. There was actually a small balcony connected to this room.
Li Yao pulled off the tubes connected to his body and pushed open the glass cover. He quietly got off the bed and quietly tiptoed to the balcony, closing the door behind him.