Dragon Emperor, Martial God

As the saying goes, ‘If you keep playing with fire, you will inevitably get burned’. Similarly, it can be said that ‘Overconfidence is Man’s greatest enemy’.

All along, Ling Yun had always been the one to absorb spiritual energy from others. To experience the opposite was a first for him and he could not help but feel slightly troubled.

Furthermore, the energy absorbed from him was no ordinary spiritual energy. It was a boundless energy that when congested enough, could even bring about Armageddon itself. It was also capable of tempering a mortal’s flesh and allowing one to be within reach of divinity. This is immortal spiritual energy!

This was a heavy loss for Ling Yun. It was no wonder that Ling Yun was appalled.

He could feel the spiritual energy in his body continuously flowing into the brush. His face was miserable and he felt like crying.

His first reaction was to throw the brush away from him but the brush stuck to him like glue. No matter how hard he shook it, it refused to part from his hand. Ling Yun felt both curious and angry. However, what came along with both emotions was, in fact, a wild joy. That was because, without question, this brush was a treasure and an extremely rare one to boot!

To be able to absorb spiritual energy was no common feat.

Yet, at that moment, he had no room for further thought as he could feel most of his spiritual energy leaving his body! Ling Yun utilized every technique he knew as he frantically tried to control the flow of what remained of the spiritual energy in his body. However, at Physique Tempering Stage Level 3, he could forget about controlling immortal spiritual energy, he could hardly even control the flow of normal spiritual energy!

Thus, he could only agonize and watch on in silence as he prepared to lose every single drop of spiritual energy in his body.

Fortunately, the brush stopped it’s absorption suddenly. Leaving a little amount of spiritual energy in the three main areas of his body.

Screw this brush! If Liu Li had not been present, he would have yelled a few days’ worth of vulgarities at the brush. As for Liu Li, all she saw was Ling Yun’s miserable expression after she gave him the brush. Even though she had expected it, she could not help but let out a sigh.

“Seems like mother was right, no one would appreciate this worthless brush…” Liu Li whispered softly to herself.

Liu Li held an awkward expression as she spoke to Ling Yun, her voice filled with sincerity.

“Big Brother, if you dislike this gift, you can just throw it away. Don’t worry, I will repay you for all the help that you have given me. Even if I fail to do so, once this child of mine grows up, I’ll make sure he repays you for the things you’ve done for us.”

To her surprise, Ling Yun smiled exuberantly, before answering, “Mrs. Liu, don’t worry about it, I actually like this brush a lot. I have also been thinking of picking up calligraphy recently. So this is a perfect and timely gift! There’s no way I’ll throw it away!”

Liu Li looks confused as she asked, “Then why did you look so…”

Ling Yun understood the misunderstanding his expression had given Liu Li. Thus, he hurriedly added in a righteous tone, “Mrs. Liu, my mother always taught me not to desire repayment from one’s own kindness. I had intended to reject this precious gift from you but this brush was just too irresistible. That was why I hesitated and held such an expression…”

Having found such an amazing treasure, it was understandable why Ling Yun was willing to be so thick-skinned. To add on, he had almost been sucked dry of spiritual energy by the brush. If he did not accept it, it would be the same as suffering double the loss after going through so much trouble. This was what Ling Yun thought.

The ignorant Liu Li was moved by Ling Yun’s ‘benevolent and kind’ personality. Unable to restrain herself, she stood up and exclaimed, “Big Brother, please don’t think that way. You’re not only my savior, you even went the extra mile and cured my illness. You even gave me money! I’m the one who should be feeling bad for repaying you with such a meager gift!”

After all, had Ling Yun rejected her gift, she would have thrown away the brush. Such was the worthlessness of the brush in her eyes. Thus, for her to repay him with such a ‘worthless’ item, she felt that she was the one that should be feeling ashamed of herself.

“Mrs. Liu, this brush of yours, I really like it a lot. To be able to have it, I should be the one thanking you. That being said, I want to do something for you as well. If it’s possible, can you tell me about your husband’s condition? Perhaps I might able to do something about it,” Ling Yun replied softly.

Now, Ling Yun was convinced that good deeds bring about good karma. This incident alone was proof of it. After all, be it beating up the enforcement officers or giving Liu Li money, all of it was effortless for Ling Yun. He had only acted because he couldn’t stand what had been unfolding before him. Thus, he had not even expected any reward in the first place.

Hence, now that he actually receive repayment for his deeds, the situation had changed. Ling Yun was not a person who would willingly receive a gift from others and act ignorant when they face a crisis. It was against his morals, so he wanted to help Liu Li treat her injured husband.

Upon hearing what Ling Yun said, Liu Li was stupefied. She immediately grabbed his hand. Her voice quivered as she spoke.

“You mean to say, you might have a way to heal my husband’s condition?!”

“Mrs. Liu, I can’t promise you that but at the very least I can improve his current condition by a certain extent. Now, would you mind explaining his condition?” Ling Yun said, his voice filled with sincerity.

Liu Li immediate explained everything with regards to her husband’s condition. Once done, she anxiously pleaded, “Brother, if you can cure my husband, I’d be willing to do anything…”

As Ling Yun gazed into her eyes, he could sense the deep love that Liu Li and her husband had for each other. Deep in his heart, he was moved by the true love between the poor couple. Thus, before Liu Li could even finish her plead he raised his hand to stop her.

“Mrs. Liu, that’s enough. Don’t worry, I already have a rough idea about Mr. Li’s condition. I should be able to wake him up from his coma.”

Liu Li could not believe what she heard. She simply entered a daze as she stared silently at Ling Yun, tears welling up in both eyes as her lips quivered. In the next moment, she bent her knees as she tried to kneel down before Ling Yun.

In response, Ling Yun frantically tried to pull her up.

“Mrs. Liu, please stop. It is only right for me to extend a helping hand to those in need. How about this? Because I’m left in charge of the clinic for today, I’ll not be able to leave here. Not to mention, I’ll have to make certain preparations before I can treat your husband. So once I’m done with the preparations, I’ll visit Mr. Li at the hospital, will that be fine with you?”

Liu Li was desperate for him to cure her husband. With her heart filled with anxiety, she was dying for Ling Yun to go over to the hospital immediately. However, upon hearing that he needed to carry out some preparations before he could carry out the treatment, she calmed down. The fact that Ling Yun needed time to prepare meant he had a plan in mind. It showed that he knew what he was doing and that he simply needed time to strike the problem at its core. Therefore, things could not be rushed.

“Mrs. Liu, here’s my phone number… You’ll have to be on guard just in case those enforcement officers come back for revenge. If anything happens, just give me a call and I’ll rush over in an instant.”

Upon hearing his mobile number, Liu Li had another shock. Who exactly is this kid? Is he not an ordinary teenager? How does he have such a good number? Yet, looking back at all that had happened, she was at convinced. He was a person that could easily take out seven enforcement officers single-handedly and he had even cured her body of her weak constitution. How could a person like that be ordinary in the first place? Now, she was sure that Ling Yun was no doubt her guardian angel. Thus, after exchanging numbers with Ling Yun, she left the clinic, singing praises of him.

Once she had left, Ling Yun closed the clinic door and in a flash, he removed all the needles stuck on the poster. Once he kept the needles, with the brush held tightly in his hand, he raced to his room.

The truth was, all that preparation he mentioned was just excuses to give him time to inspect the brush thoroughly.

This was unavoidable. After all, what was the most precious in Ling Yun’s body? Immortal spiritual energy! Comparing that to the spiritual energy from the Shichiyou herb, it was similar to comparing a radish to a rare medicinal reishi mushroom! To make things worse, that precious immortal spiritual energy of his had mostly been absorbed by the brush. Of course, he had to prioritize it above all else!

The brush was about a foot and three inches long. Even though it was obvious that the handle was made from stone materials, even for the knowledgeable Ling Yun, he did not know what exact material it was. The brush’s handle was grayish white. It was quite thick and solid, hence it felt quite heavy. Yet, when held in a calligraphy hold it was surprisingly comfortable. The stone handle had brown scribble-like patterns on it. It was possible that someone might have painted it on or it may also have been formed naturally on the rock material. It looked so natural that it was hard to tell.

The tip of the brush was pure white, and similarly, Ling Yun was unable to determine what fur the tip was made from.

The tip of the brush and its handle came together naturally to form a single entity. It looked complete and flawless. Be it holding it tightly or loosely, the firmness of the brush did not change. The tip was always pointed and sharp. Just by holding it, Ling Yun felt as if he was holding on to a weapon rather than a brush.

Unable to hold himself back, he held the brush in his right hand as if he was holding a pen. He then gently stroked the tip of the brush across his left palm. What he felt was a piercing pain similar to when a needle pokes into one’s skin. Ling Yun could not help but wonder how exactly a tip so sharp would allow one to write on paper? Wouldn’t the paper simply tear apart?

Thus, he took out a bowl of water and a few pieces of paper. He then dipped the tip of the brush into the water before writing randomly on the paper. It was a moment of miracle. The perfectly conical tip of the brush was neither fat nor thin after coming into contact with the water. The moment it touched the paper, it flowed smoothly like water, allowing one to draw circles without breaks and leaving no damage on the paper.

What a treasure! Ling Yun smiled to himself. He had been worrying about where to find wolf fur to make a brush for talisman crafting. Now, he had found the perfect alternative!

In fact, Ling Yun was also really curious about the hardness of the brush handle. He even thought of trying to use both hands to see if he could break the brush into two. However, he eventually extinguished the thought. Even if he really were to test it out, his top priority was still the regaining of the absorbed immortal spiritual energy within the brush.

In addition, he also wanted to try sending the spiritual energy within him into the brush. However, he was still not at the level required to be able to control the flow of spiritual energy. Thus, he could only put the thought on hold.

If only I had been able to rise straight to Physique Tempering Stage Level 4 just now, I would have been able to control the flow of spiritual energy now! Such a shame…

Ling Yun kept the brush on him. It was a treasure among treasures. Thus, there was no way he was going to leave it anywhere!

After picking up <Huangdi Neijing> as well as the <The Spiritual Pivot>, he returned to the clinic. After opening the doors, he prepared to research more about traditional Chinese medicine.

The time now was three o’clock in the afternoon.

At that moment, Ling Yun’s phone rang.

“Brother Ling Yun, where are you? I’m so bored, can I come over and play?” A coquettish voice that could make one’s hair stand on its end came from the other end of the phone. It was the voice of the spoiled lady Xue Meining.

“I’m at home studying. Why don’t you stop playing around for once and keep your grandfather company?” Ling Yun replied.

“Grandpa’s content with his life now and doesn’t need me to keep him company. Where’s your house? How about I come over and study with you?”

Ling Yun paused for a moment as he considered her offer. His sister was going back to school tonight and he had to bring all the medical books back to the apartment. Also, the new apartment was in need of a cleaner.

After much deliberation, he replied, “My house is along Linjiang Road… If you’re free, you can come over.”