"Doctor, lately I've been feeling soreness in my lower back and knees, weakness in my limbs, and dizziness."
"What do you think is wrong with me?"
Huo Yuhao glanced at the man's complexion, took his hand, checked the color of his palm and fingernails, and confirmed the diagnosis.
"Kidney deficiency."
"Cut back on that kind of activity. Brew tea daily with cinnamon bark, Golden Sunflower petals, and snake fruit. Drink three liters a day, and you'll recover within a month."
"If you can afford it, buy whale rubber to eat. A small piece of hundred-year whale rubber will make sure you never suffer from kidney deficiency again."
The man gave an awkward smile.
"Just give me some herbs for tea. Forget hundred-year whale rubber —I can't even afford ten-year whale rubber!"
...
During this period, ever since Huo Yuhao healed the hunter's wound, the entire southern district of Xuanfeng City had come to know that there was an exceptionally skilled doctor here.
Even injuries left behind by the highly toxic Carrion Spider—a Spirit Beast—could be healed instantly, with no lingering aftereffects.
Coupled with the affordable prices and additional Martial Soul consultation services, many people flooded into Huo Yuhao's clinic for treatment.
Among them were a significant number of Spirit Masters.
Nearby the southern district was a large Spirit Arena, and injuries during Spirit battles were inevitable.
When those Spirit Masters discovered a clinic right next door that could instantly heal injuries with no aftereffects, they were ecstatic.
Even if they were beaten half to death in the arena, they insisted on being carried to Huo Yuhao's clinic.
Although the Spirit Arena provided free medical services, the quality was average, and serious injuries often left hidden complications.
For Spirit Masters, they would rather endure pain a little longer than leave risks buried in their bodies—
Anything that might affect their future potential.
Huo Yuhao was more than happy to treat these injured Spirit Masters.
These individuals possessed far greater spiritual power and Spirit Power than ordinary people, meaning that when using the Reversal Technique on them, Huo Yuhao barely needed to expend his own spiritual power.
Moreover, the genetic information provided by Spirit Masters far exceeded that of ordinary people. The progress of his "special information" was skyrocketing, and it wouldn't be long before new data was unlocked.
At the same time, through his ongoing research into the Reversal Technique, Huo Yuhao discovered that Spirit Power itself could also be reversed.
However, reversed Spirit Power was extremely chaotic and could only be forcibly stabilized through the expenditure of massive amounts of spiritual power.
When reversed Spirit Power touched plants, they rapidly withered, decayed, and ultimately turned into ashes.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao conducted further experiments on animals and inorganic matter.
Ordinary animals showed obvious degeneration before decaying into dust under reversed Spirit Power. Inorganic materials lasted longer, but eventually fractured and disintegrated as well.
Decay, deathly stillness, and degeneration were the defining traits of reversed Spirit Power.
After long contemplation, Huo Yuhao decided to name it "Entropy Force."
The unordered opposite of all ordered energy—this was entropy.
Huo Yuhao also attempted to combine Spirit Power with entropy force.
However, just as he was about to proceed, an intense sense of dread surged through him, forcing him to stop.
It was as if some unseen voice was warning him not to do this—at least not now.
After some thought, Huo Yuhao halted the fusion experiment, deciding to try again only after becoming stronger.
He then turned his attention to researching how entropy force could be properly used as an offensive method against enemies.
...
Xuanfeng City, Western District
Within Xuanfeng City, the southern district was where Spirit Masters gathered—filled with Spirit arenas and markets.
The eastern district was home to taverns and brothels, bathed nightly in neon lights and indulgent decadence.
The northern district was the center of power, where the City Lord's residence stood.
The western district, however, was where commoners lived.
The roads were narrow, houses crowded and irregular, sewage flowed openly—making it seem like a different world entirely compared to the rest of the city.
Inside a small house in the western district, a woman lay on a bed.
Her face was pale, her lips devoid of color, and her golden hair was dry and lusterless.
Judging from the interior furnishings, this family's poverty was no better—if not worse—than that of Huo Yuhao's family back in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
At this moment, the woman was so weak that she couldn't even let out a groan. Cold sweat covered her entire body, and her life force flickered like a candle in the wind.
Before long, the wooden door creaked open, and sunlight spilled in, filling the room with brightness.
Then a hurried female voice rang out suddenly:
"Mom!!!"
A stunningly beautiful girl with long, golden, wavy hair dropped the bag of bread she had been carrying and rushed to the bedside, tightly gripping the woman's hand.
"Mom, how are you?"
The girl was so anxious that tears were about to fall. When she had left the house earlier, her mother had been perfectly fine—how could she suddenly be like this?
The woman half-lowered her eyelids, struggled to lift her arm, and gently stroked the girl's head, saying weakly:
"Nannan, it's alright… it's an old problem."
"It'll pass in a moment."
Jiang Nannan didn't believe that at all. The two of them had relied on each other for more than ten years, and she knew her mother's illness very well.
Her mother had a congenital heart condition and would occasionally suffer bouts of pain, but it had never been this severe.
Jiang Nannan realized that her mother's condition had worsened again. She bit her lip tightly, eyes brimming with tears, and said to her mother:
"Mom, wait here. I'll go find someone to treat you."
"I've saved up a little money from working and studying at Shrek Academy. I'll definitely be able to cure you."
After saying that, Jiang Nannan helped her mother out of bed and carried her on her back toward the northern district.
Although she was an Agility-type Spirit Elder, she worried that her mother wouldn't be able to withstand high-speed movement, so she advanced carefully.
Upon reaching a medical clinic in the northern district, she gently laid her mother onto a bed with the help of the clinic's apprentices.
This could be considered the finest clinic in Xuanfeng City, one that had existed for hundreds of years. The clinic master's inherited Martial Soul was the Nine Jade Vines.
It was a powerful healing-type Martial Soul, and the clinic master himself had reached the level of a Spirit Sage.
After tucking her mother in, Jiang Nannan went straight to the medicine room to look for the clinic master, hoping to ask him to personally provide treatment.
The clinic master was named Xu Wei. He was currently studying a prescription, and when he saw someone approach, he removed his glasses.
"You're Miss Jiang?"
Jiang Nannan was slightly startled. With reddened eyes, she looked at him and said:
"You know me?"
Xu Wei chuckled softly, stroked his beard, and said,
"There aren't many people in Xuanfeng City who can enter Shrek Academy to study. Of course I remember you."
Jiang Nannan bit her lip lightly, then bowed deeply to Xu Wei.
"Clinic Master, I beg you to treat my mother."
"No matter the cost, I am willing to bear it!"
Seeing her like this, Xu Wei thought for a moment, then stood up and headed toward her mother's bedside, preparing to take action himself.
To him, Jiang Nannan's potential and future were worth helping. Forming a bond of goodwill now might bring unexpected returns in the future.
Upon reaching the bedside, relying on his many years of medical experience, Xu Wei immediately determined that the problem lay with the heart.
However, the specifics would only become clear after trying.
He summoned his Martial Soul. Two yellow, two purple, and three black Spirit Rings—seven in total—appeared beneath his feet, and a blue-gree light enveloped Jiang Nannan's mother.