Several hours passed. The turbulence within the system's protective barrier gradually settled, leaving behind a heavy stillness like the depths of a vast ocean. Zhang Wen slowly opened his eyes. His body had returned to the same appearance it had a few days ago, yet it was completely different. Every part of him was incomparably stronger. His muscles, tendons, and bones were dense and solid, as if forged from heavenly steel. A comfortable sensation flowed throughout his body, to the point that even without circulating his power, he could clearly sense the strength hidden within.
He carefully examined his physical condition in detail, stabilizing the foundation of power that had surged too rapidly. Then he cautiously sent the remaining Heaven Transcending Water, approximately 9.4 liters, back into the system's storage space. This emperor level treasure was something he had no intention of wasting even a single drop of.
Once everything was in order, Zhang Wen closed his eyes again. The aura radiating from his body was now entirely different from before, like a bottomless ocean. He moved slightly, producing a faint sound of bones grinding together, then began circulating the energy within his body continuously. Every meridian flowed smoothly without obstruction. The water energy rotated in perfect balance, with not the slightest resistance or stagnation.
At the same time, he sensed something even more important.
The restoration of his lifespan.
Ordinary cultivators at the Nirvana realm possessed lifespans of roughly thirty thousand years. Yet he had previously burned away nearly all of his own lifespan in the struggle to survive. Now, through the fusion of Heaven Transcending Water, his lifespan had returned in an astonishing manner. Although it could not compare to someone who had never suffered such loss, he could still live for nearly twenty thousand more years with ease.
Zhang Wen released a long, quiet breath, as if finally letting go of a burden that had pressed upon him for far too long.
However, in the next instant, another wave of power erupted violently within the room. A strange and distorted aura surged upward uncontrollably. Zhang Wen immediately turned his gaze as he sensed the anomaly.
It came from Ming Yuan.
Dark and murky energy seeped out from his old wounds, spreading a repulsive, sinister presence through the air. Zhang Wen focused his perception carefully and frowned slightly. That power resembled his own water devouring technique in its final effect, yet the method by which it extracted energy was entirely different.
"Origin devouring technique. Demonic power."
Zhang Wen murmured to himself, his expression immediately turning grave.
In that instant, after the sacred water had been absorbed by Ming Yuan, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood. His body convulsed violently before a scream of agony tore from his throat.
"Aaaaaaah!"
The cry echoed throughout the protective barrier, as if his very soul were being ripped apart.
Zhang Wen did not hesitate for even a moment.
"System. Bring out Heaven Transcending Water. Volume 0.1 liters."
Almost instantly, a spatial rift opened. Heaven Transcending Water flowed out in utter stillness. Even such a small amount caused the surrounding air to tremble. Zhang Wen raised his hand and compressed it into a thin, transparent stream before guiding it directly into Ming Yuan's body.
The moment the liquid passed through him, the demonic power within Ming Yuan let out sounds of violent disintegration, as if being corroded by heavenly acid. The foul and sinister aura vanished in an instant. The origin of the demonic power was completely purified, without resistance, without struggle.
The Heaven Transcending Water continued to circulate, repairing meridians that had been devoured, restoring the body's origin, reconnecting severed life force. Bones, blood, muscles, areas the sacred water could never mend, were all rebuilt. Even Ming Yuan's soul was nourished at the same time.
The chaotic aura gradually calmed. The agonized screams weakened little by little until only steady, rhythmic breathing remained.
When the final drop of Heaven Transcending Water seeped into Ming Yuan's body, the tranquil power like deep waters suddenly surged again. His body began adapting immediately. Muscles that had once withered slowly grew firm. Skin that had been deathly pale regained a healthy flush. Flesh regenerated visibly. Facial features that had collapsed under the touch of death gradually returned to wholeness, as if time itself were being pulled backward.
Ming Yuan's breathing grew stronger by the moment. Meridians that had been eroded were reforged. Life force flowed unceasingly. Then, cultivation that had long since collapsed began to awaken by force once more.
Qi Control.
Foundation Establishment.
Golden Core.
Nascent Soul.
Spirit Formation.
His cultivation did not stop there. It surged onward, continuously, until body and soul were fused into one, before coming to an abrupt halt at Body Integration Level 1.
The waves of power slowly settled. The entire room returned to silence once again.
Zhang Wen calmly observed the scene before him. He gave a slight nod of satisfaction, then turned his gaze toward the status panel that appeared before his eyes.
[Name: Ming Yuan]
[Cultivation Level: Body Integration Level 1]
[Special Physique: Star Origin Body (Sacred Grade)]
[Luck: Black]
[Affinity: 100]
Not long after, Ming Yuan's body gradually stabilized. His appearance changed visibly. From a man on the brink of death, he transformed into a youth of around eighteen years old. Sharp features, fair and clean skin, well-defined muscles balanced in proportion. His short jet-black hair made him appear calm, steady, and quietly charismatic.
The moment Ming Yuan's consciousness fully returned, the first thing he did was not to inspect his cultivation, nor to rejoice in his renewed body.
Instead, he dropped to his knees before Zhang Wen without the slightest hesitation.
His body slammed against the stone floor.
Bang!
"I… I truly thank you… Zhang Wen."
He bowed his head again, his voice trembling to the point of breaking.
"For this kindness… I have nothing at all with which to repay you… Truly, thank you."
His voice faltered. His breathing shook violently. Tears flowed freely, impossible to restrain.
Scenes of despair surged through his mind. The days when death had been only a single step away. The people he once knew falling before his eyes. Some left without ever looking back. Some forgot his very existence. And some… deliberately abandoned him.
After his body was crippled and he could do nothing but lie on his bed awaiting death, not a single hand had reached out to help him. Loneliness and cold despair had swallowed him without mercy.
Yet on the darkest day of his life, on the day when even the heavens refused to look upon him, the only person who stepped into his world was Zhang Wen.
Ming Yuan no longer cared what this man's true intentions were. He did not care what price he might be forced to pay in the future.
He knew only one thing.
The one who had dragged him back from the depths of hell was the man standing before him now.
"From this moment onward… my life… belongs to you. If you command me to step into the abyss, I will not hesitate for even a breath."
Zhang Wen stared at Ming Yuan's kneeling figure for a long moment. Then he stepped forward, reached out, and firmly grasped the other man's shoulder, lifting him up with ease.
"Get up," he said casually.
Ming Yuan raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, tears still streaming down without stopping. Even though his body had fully recovered its strength, the shattered heart within him could not be healed overnight. Zhang Wen watched the scene in silence before speaking again.
"Our cultivation has returned, but it is not yet stable. You must first temper your body and stabilize your foundation. Otherwise, power that grows too quickly will eventually turn back and injure you."
Ming Yuan nodded faintly, yet his sobbing showed no sign of stopping. Tears poured down his face like a dam that had finally burst. The emotions he had suppressed for so long, the losses, the fear, the guilt, all merged into those falling tears. He could no longer hold them back.
Zhang Wen did not rush him. He did not offer unnecessary comfort. He simply stood there calmly and nodded slightly in understanding.
In this world, Ming Yuan was only about eighteen years old, the same age as him. Yet at such a young age, he had already endured tragedies far beyond what most people his age could bear. His family destroyed, the people he loved gone without return. If Zhang Wen had not come to Yellow Leaf City today, Ming Yuan would likely have died quietly before long, unnoticed by anyone.
On the other hand, Zhang Wen himself was fortunate as well.
This meeting with Ming Yuan was not a coincidence.
Although the scene before him differed greatly from what he had once expected, he had come here because, in his memories, Ming Yuan was someone who should have possessed golden luck. There was something indescribably similar between Zhang Lin and Ming Yuan, a feeling he could not put into words. Because of that, he had believed Ming Yuan to be one of those rare individuals blessed by fate.
Yet what he found instead was a man branded by the heavens with black luck, pushed to the brink of death.
At that moment, the system's voice cut in.
[Host, the system's protective barrier will expire soon. Prepare to withstand the impact.]