novelraw Chapter 374: I... am back
Chapter 374: I... am back
Under the clear urging of several deans, Wang Mingyuan looked at the priceless treasure in his hand that carried his student's heartfelt intentions and nodded heavily. "I understand, thank you all."
Without further delay, he immediately turned and walked quickly towards his secluded cultivation chamber, preparing to absorb this Reforge Fruit right away to heal the lingering injury that had plagued him for years.
Inside Wang Mingyuan's secluded chamber, formation runes glowed, isolating the inside from the outside. Ye Hongyu personally stood guard outside.
Inside the chamber, Wang Mingyuan sat cross-legged, looking at the radiant, shimmering Reforge Fruit in his hand before placing it into his mouth.
The fruit melted upon contact, a stream of warm, sweet liquid flowing down his throat and transforming into a vast, oceanic surge of vitality that erupted within his body.
This power was gentle yet immense, far exceeding his imagination. The medicinal potency surged toward the deep-seated, frost-bitten lingering injuries that had lain dormant in his meridians for over a decade, nearly two decades.
That stubborn, invasive cold energy rapidly dissolved before this creative, life-giving vitality, turning into wisps of cold mist that dissipated.
Wang Mingyuan's meridians, eroded by the cold energy, were nourished by this surge of vitality and repaired at a visible speed, becoming even more resilient.
The spiritual energy that had seemed stagnant due to his injuries was injected with boundless vigor and began to surge wildly.
Tide Realm sixth stage, seventh stage, eighth stage...His realm was recovering at an unprecedented pace!
The power he had once lost once again filled his entire body, his limbs and bones.
When Wang Mingyuan's cultivation broke through the Tide Realm barrier as if splitting bamboo and stepped back into the Abyss Realm, hot tears he could no longer control spilled from his tightly shut eyes.
But this was not the end!
The heaven-defying medicinal efficacy of the Reforge Fruit was not merely about repair.
It was reshaping his foundation.
It was thoroughly igniting and integrating the latent potential that had stagnated for over a decade due to his injuries and illness.
Abyss Realm first stage, second stage, third stage...
His aura climbed step by step, growing stronger and stronger, more and more condensed.
Finally, the realm barrier that had been silent for far too long was fiercely shattered by this power accumulated over twenty years combined with the creative force of the Reforge Fruit.
Ocean Realm first stage!
A vast spiritual energy, far closer to the laws of heaven and earth, took form within his dantian and meridians.
Wang Mingyuan's soul sublimated at this moment, his perception of the surrounding world becoming unprecedentedly clear.
He suddenly opened his eyes, a sharp light shining within them, a powerful pressure belonging to an Ocean Realm expert radiating from his entire body.
He felt the sea-surge-like power within his body with disbelief, slowly raising his own hands and looking at his palms, now brimming with vitality.
"It's back... all of it... is back..."
Wang Mingyuan murmured to himself, his voice trembling with emotion.
Once, he was the youngest peak Abyss Realm professor at Vermilion Bird Academy, a genius looked up to by countless people, with a boundless future ahead.
But that accident caused his cultivation to fall, trapping him in the Tide Realm, turning him into a cripple.
For over a decade, on the surface, he focused on academia, pouring all his energy into research and nurturing students. But deep down, how many times had he felt that bone-deep unwillingness in countless late nights?
He thought his life would just be like this.
That he would watch his former peers, even juniors, surpass him step by step from within the shackles of the Tide Realm, eventually fading into obscurity as he aged.
But now...
That shackle that had bound him for twenty years was broken!
Not only had he recovered his former cultivation, he had taken a step further, entering the Ocean Realm that countless Awakened individuals dreamed of!
A torrent of emotions assailed his heart.
Wang Mingyuan clenched his fist tightly, feeling the real, tangible powerful force. A long-lost sense of heroic ambition rose once more from the depths of his heart.
All of this originated from that student who had now grown into a towering tree.
Wang Mingyuan stood up and pushed open the chamber door.
Outside, Ye Hongyu, who had been guarding for him, sensed the vast, oceanic aura emanating from him and showed a heartfelt smile on her face.
Wang Mingyuan looked at Ye Hongyu and also revealed a relieved smile, speaking softly, "Teacher, I... am back."
...
A dark red streak of light cut across the sky.
Su Zhan pushed his speed to the limit, streaking towards the direction of Black City.
The Vermilion Bird Academy behind him had long since disappeared from view.
Yet that brief moment of handing over the fruit had left a clear imprint in his heart.
Feeling the now-empty spot in his embrace where the Reforge Fruit had been nurtured and kept warm, a curve lifted at the corner of Su Zhan's mouth.
A wave of joy slowly rippled through the depths of his heart.
Finally... he had done something for his teacher.
Wang Mingyuan was an elder who had guided him meticulously, a teacher and a father figure.
After his identity was exposed and he was declared dead, it was Wang Mingyuan who, through Feng Jue and the others, indirectly gave him the most crucial support.
And before that, it was Wang Mingyuan who helped him deal with Qin Bai. Otherwise, he would have been tortured to death by Qin Bai long ago.
Otherwise, he might never have held on long enough to meet Mo Yuan.
This debt of gratitude had always been engraved in his heart.
Now, he finally had the ability to repay this kindness.
One Reforge Fruit, incredibly precious, could be called priceless. But using it to cure his teacher's long-standing hidden injury, to restore him to the ranks of the powerful...
In Su Zhan's view, it was worth it!
Seeing the shock that flashed in his teacher's eyes the moment he accepted the fruit, Su Zhan could guess what he was thinking.
He only knew that he had done what he should do, fulfilling a long-held wish.
This feeling of being able to use his own power to repay someone important brought a rare touch of warmth to his heart, which had grown somewhat cold from prolonged loneliness.
As for the injury to his own Awakened foundation?
He had already healed it in the Mist World using the first Reforge Fruit and achieved dual-element fusion breakthrough.
This second one was specifically sought out for his teacher from the start.
But... with his actions just now, didn't he know how suspicious it looked?
Of course he knew it was suspicious!
His actions were highly irregular and would invite much suspicion and investigation.
A strange Calamity-level Aberrant breaks into the heavily guarded Vermilion Bird Academy, makes no demands, gives no reason, and directly hands a priceless treasure capable of causing a bloody storm to Wang Mingyuan?
That practically writes the words "there's a problem" on his face!
The smart people among Daxia's higher-ups would never easily believe this was just goodwill.
They would inevitably investigate deeply, re-examine the identity of "Chen Qing," and would unavoidably once again think of that "deceased" genius, Su Zhan!
They would suspect whether this was an elaborate scheme, whether there was an unknown relationship between him and Wang Mingyuan, whether Su Zhan was truly still alive...
Once his identity was exposed, what awaited him would be an even more thorough, no-holds-barred eradication from the Daxia authorities!
After all, a "former hero" Aberrant who was alive and had grown to Calamity-level posed a far more terrifying credibility crisis and potential threat than a simply powerful Aberrant.
These consequences were things Su Zhan had considered the moment he threw out the Reforge Fruit.