In the detached villa, a servant was wiping the bloodstains off Jiang Ce.
SQUEAK—
The door opened, and Wang Xinyao walked in gently.
"Aunt Mei, let me do it," she said.
"Yes, Miss," the servant replied.
Coming to the bedside, Wang Xinyao gently wiped Jiang Ce's face with a wet cloth, her heart heavy with sorrow.
The Wang Family, one of the Eight Great Families in Capital City, had arranged a child betrothal for Wang Xinyan and Jiang Ce, the then Young Master of the Jiang Family, when she was just ten years old. Everyone thought it was merely a strategic alliance for the Wang Family to curry favor with the Jiang Family, and that Wang Xinyao was nothing more than a tool.
But no one knew that for her, this marriage was the best arrangement she could have hoped for.
Wang Xinyao had followed Jiang Ce around since childhood, watching the halo-wreathed boy grow up step by step, and had silently given him her heart.
Even though Jiang Ce had now been expelled from the Jiang Family and the marriage contract had long been deemed worthless by the Wang Family, Wang Xinyao was still unwilling to give up. She had defied her family to secretly visit East Sea City time and again.
But she had never expected that the prodigious talent of yesteryear would fall into such a sorry state, his life already on a countdown to its end.
"Miss."
Amid her sorrow, the butler entered.
"Did you find out what happened?" she asked.
"Reporting to you, Miss. We've confirmed it. Young Master Jiang's wife has been colluding with that Liu Jiajun for a long time, scheming to harvest his organs. Even the fact that Young Master Jiang's illness progressed to this stage was because they deliberately delayed his treatment," the butler replied.
Upon hearing this, the usually arrogant Wang Xinyao's eyes revealed an unprecedented viciousness!
"If it weren't for my grandmother forbidding me from having any further contact with Jiang Ce, making it inconvenient to act, I'd have them sliced into a thousand pieces right now!"
The butler, a man over fifty, nodded slightly. "Miss, I will have someone keep an eye on them."
"Miss, it's time for your medicine."
As the butler presented the pills, Wang Xinyao's expression went vacant for a moment. A wave of sadness washed over her as she nodded, took the medicine, and swallowed it.
"This old servant will take his leave now."
After Wang Xinyao finished her medication, the butler sighed silently and turned to leave.
Once again, only Jiang Ce and Wang Xinyao remained in the room.
Looking at Jiang Ce's face, Wang Xinyao murmured, "Jiang Ce, we are both cursed by fate. My illness won't hold out much longer, and even if I were cured, my family would just force me into another marriage to stabilize its decline."
"Let me spend these last days with you."
Wang Xinyao couldn't help but grip Jiang Ce's hand. In the quiet of the room, she leaned over the bed and slowly fell asleep...
Meanwhile, in Jiang Ce's mind, a breathtaking scene was unfolding!
It was as if he were in a divine land. An endless darkness surrounded him, yet suns rose simultaneously from all directions. The sound of a great bell resonated in his ears, like a whisper yet also like a chanted scripture, shaking his very soul.
Suddenly, the eight suns merged into one, and a figure seemed to be sitting cross-legged within it.
What was that?
From above the crimson sun, a voice rang out!
"The Xuanyuan Nine Needles grasp the secrets of heaven and earth, embodying the infinite Dao. Under my golden needles, no ailment can persist. When all nine are used, even a departed soul can be restored!
"In addition, this scroll contains three other supreme techniques.
"The Xuanyuan Ninefold Jue: refine your essence into vital energy, and temper your body to be like a dragon!
"The Skill of Spiritual Vision: see for a thousand miles, and pierce through all things!
"The Dragon Seeking Skill: assess fortune, break misfortune, and pinpoint the dragon veins of the earth!"
Jiang Ce's pupils constricted.
I never thought what Father said when I was a child was true. The Jiang Family truly possesses the ancient Xuanyuan heritage, a power that allows its wielder to dominate for a hundred years. It's a pity that no one has managed to inherit it for the last thousand years. To think that I would be the one to receive it!
Hahaha! Heaven has not forsaken me!
He suddenly laughed wildly. Second Uncle, I bet you never imagined that the Jiang Family's most precious inheritance would end up with me, a discarded pawn, did you?!
With the Xuanyuan Nine Needles, I will reshape the world! I will turn the tides and take back everything that is mine!
A stream of rainbow light poured down into him.
Jiang Ce opened his arms wide, allowing the heritage to surge into him, cleansing his soul!
"The transference is complete. However, your body is still too weak to receive the entire inheritance. I will leave a Ring Spirit hidden within your ring. It will help you grow until you have absorbed the full essence."
Suddenly, the earth began to tremble. The world around him crumbled, and Jiang Ce lost his footing as his consciousness was violently ejected from that space...
He abruptly opened his eyes!
A streak of golden light shot from his gaze, lingering for a moment before fading.
Jiang Ce hurriedly sat up, feeling a profound and mysterious change throughout his body, as if he had been reborn from the ashes.
My injuries... They're all healed!
Not only that, but Jiang Ce could even feel the blood flowing through every single one of his veins! With a mere thought, a perfect image of his internal organs appeared in his mind. His lungs, once riddled with cancer cells, were now like new!
In his Dantian, a ball of "Qi" had formed. Although it was just a small cluster, he could feel the vigorous power it contained.
Jiang Ce was stunned, then burst into ecstatic joy!
I can't believe it's all real. To be snatched from the jaws of death... I've truly encountered the once-in-a-millennium Xuanyuan heritage!
To all of you who insulted me, abandoned me, deceived me, and hurt me, just you wait! I, Jiang Ce, am not some weakling who crumbles at the first blow!
Sooner or later, I will stand upon the summit of Ninefold Mountain and look down upon you all!
Jiang Ce let out a long breath and raised his arms to cheer, only to find a hand holding his own.
He froze.
Turning his head, he saw Wang Xinyao asleep by his bedside. At the same time, the reality of his situation crashed back down on him. In his rage, provoked by those adulterous scoundrels Chen Mei and Liu Jiajun, his heart had given out. At the last moment, it was Wang Xinyao who had saved him.
Looking at her sleeping face, Jiang Ce's expression grew somber.
Miss Wang, you're too foolish. I'm no longer the Young Master of the Jiang Family. Why would you go to such lengths for me?
Alas...
Jiang Ce gently released Wang Xinyao's hand and carefully covered her with the quilt.
Suddenly, he noticed Wang Xinyao's body becoming translucent to his eyes, revealing her internal organs and meridians with perfect clarity.
Is this...
Could this be the Skill of Spiritual Vision mentioned in the heritage? I never thought I'd be able to see through another person's body.
It was then that Jiang Ce noticed something horrifying. Wang Xinyao's heart was being constricted by what looked like threads of black ink. With every beat, those inky threads tightened their grip, causing blood to stagnate and putting her at risk of heart failure at any moment.
How can her illness be so bizarre? he frowned.
In the vast expanse of his mind, the medical knowledge from the inheritance flooded his thoughts, its pages turning rapidly before stopping on a single entry.
A term appeared in his mind.
Heart-Wringing Disease!
It was an extremely rare and fatal condition. Those who suffered from it would find their symptoms worsening with age. Every day, their heart would suffer greater pressure, causing immense pain as if a blade was twisting inside, ultimately leading to them dying as their heart bursts.
No one with this disease ever lived past the age of twenty-seven.
And Wang Xinyao... was already twenty-six!
I had no idea she was also suffering so much, Jiang Ce sighed.
But now that he had discovered it, there was no way he could ignore it.
Jiang Ce immediately sat upright and carefully lifted Wang Xinyao onto the bed. Relying on the supreme medical skills he had inherited, he gently placed his hand over her heart.
Activating his Spiritual Vision, the inky threads became perfectly clear.
Jiang Ce began to circulate his Inner Strength, slowly channeling it from his Dantian, through his palm, and into Wang Xinyao's body, letting it travel along her meridians...
Even though Jiang Ce had inherited the knowledge of the Xuanyuan Nine Needles, he was quickly exhausted and drenched in sweat.
After more than half an hour, his Inner Strength had finally cleared away all the inky threads. The previously constricted heart suddenly pulsed with vigorous life.
Next, Jiang Ce used his Inner Strength to try and expel the stagnant blood from Wang Xinyao's body.
Just then, Wang Xinyao stirred and began to wake from her deep sleep.
"Hmm..."
She rubbed her eyes. She had just had the strangest dream.
Wait... how did I end up on the bed?
Wang Xinyao was instantly wide awake. She immediately saw Jiang Ce sitting beside her, sweat pouring down his face, his eyes slightly closed as he occasionally let out heavy breaths...