Chapter 1000: Blood as precious as an elixir
Collector's Pocket World.
Bai Zemin appeared in his room when he activated the skill of the Collector's Pocket Watch. He couldn't help but feel grateful for this fact, it would have been a bit awkward to appear before Wu Yijun and Shangguan Bing Xue completely naked.
Although... Considering his current situation probably no one would care.
His upper body was covered in bloody wounds, some holes were so terrifying that they were halfway deep. Bai Zemin could even see part of his liver if he leaned forward a little but he had no desire to see such a thing.
Worst of all, however, and without a doubt, were his arm and leg.
Bai Zemin's left arm was completely gone almost from the shoulder all the way down, and although he still had his left thigh relatively healthy the rest of his leg had exploded during the battle against Thao Zhi.
With great difficulty, Bai Zemin put on a pair of shorts to cover his lower body and then went out into the courtyard using blood chains to move like a certain villain from a certain movie of a certain superhero able to climb buildings like a spider.
Bai Zemin met Shangguan Bing Xue and Wu Yijun, the two were trying to recover while looking at the three unconscious on the ground.
Seeing him arrive, Wu Yijun explained, "We helped Auntie and Evangeline drink potions to support their recovery... But we're having problems with Kong Jun."
"His body is practically completely paralyzed and he doesn't even move subconsciously." Shangguan Bing Xue pointed out with a frown, "All the potions were forced out when he coughed instead of swallowing."
"The same thing that happened with you in Oblon World." Bai Zemin nodded as he approached Kong Jun.
"Oblon World? Bing Xue, you were injured to the point where you couldn't drink potions?" Wu Yijun looked at her good sister in confusion.
"This... Yijun, about that..." Shangguan Bing Xue hesitated at the same time as in her heart she cursed Bai Zemin.
Bai Zemin naturally had no ill intentions or strange motives when he said what he said. His attention was focused on Kong Jun as he needed to be treated as soon as possible.
"First things come first."
He took out a health potion capable of increasing the body's natural recovery rate by 25% for 120 minutes and opened Kong Jun's mouth before spewing the contents inside.
"Oh no, you won't." Bai Zemin quickly used Blood Manipulation when he saw Kong Jun about to cough out the precious liquid and investing a good amount of Mana managed to control the throat muscles of the mighty weaver ant, forcing him to swallow the elixir.
The change was immediate as the speed and effectiveness at which Kong Jun's stem cells recovered and worked to form new tissues, and these tissues gradually tried to regenerate the damaged organs increased considerably.
Unfortunately, after a minute or two, Bai Zemin noticed that the power of the recovery potion was not enough.
'The energy from that damn beam is still in Kong Jun's blood and flesh continuously nullifying the effort of his stem cells.' Bai Zemin frowned but a second later his expression returned to normal.
Under the confused and perplexed eyes of the two women beside him, Bai Zemin knelt down beside Kong Jun and then extended his right hand until his palm was in front of the guardian's open mouth.
"What are you-"
"Ah!"
Shangguan Bing Xue was forced to swallow her words at the same time as her pupils contracted slightly while Wu Yijun covered her mouth letting out a muffled cry.
"... Actually, I am no longer completely human. Ah, I meant I'm not even a normal soul evolver at this point... To be honest, I don't know how to explain it." Bai Zemin watched as his red blood with a faint golden tinge fell like a waterfall from his outstretched palm and his face grew paler and paler as he weakly said, "Well, to say that my entire body is a treasure for a comparatively normal race like ants is not an exaggeration."
In less than 20 seconds, Bai Zemin had lost practically half of the blood left in his body and only then did he stop.
"This really is crazy." He said gasping for air as he slowly let himself rest on his back. "If I was a human I would have definitely died. Fuck its mother, I think I have like 1 liter of blood running through my body or so."
Wu Yijun, with a face as pale as a sheet not only from the lack of mana but mainly from the fear she felt quickly knelt down next to Bai Zemin and prepared to help him.
However, he stopped her.
"Yijun, help Evangeline first please." Bai Zemin was so weak that his voice was no more than a whisper. "I... am fine."
"You are fine?! You are dying!" Wu Yijun glared at him with tears in her eyes, but besides pain and fear there was also anger in her usually innocent and loving gaze. "You- When you started to become warmer and kinder I was happy! But now... Now you always end up like this! I- I know it's not right but sometimes I really wish you would stop risking your life even if others have to die!"
Bai Zemin looked at her through his half-closed eyelids and couldn't stop the corner of his lips from curling slightly into a practically invisible smile.
'Really... she's a great woman.' For the first time, Bai Zemin admitted when he was on the verge of fainting that maybe, just maybe, he might become a little uncomfortable to see a man monopolizing such kindness and gentleness.
Before fainting, Bai Zemin used what little will he had left to tap into his spatial storage ring and pull out a skill scroll.
At the same time as his eyes closed, the skill scroll exploded into particles of light as it came into contact with his hand and in an instant all those particles of light entered his body, soul, and formed a new rune.
[You have learned the passive-active skill Restoration. You have 19 free slots to learn active skills].
Wu Yijun gritted her teeth and shook her head, "You can get angry later if you want."
She was very sorry for Evangeline as she really liked her even though they hadn't talked much. In fact, it could be said that Wu Yijun considered her a friend.
But... Between Evangeline's life and Bai Zemin's... the priorities in the Asian beauty's heart were more than clear.
"Yijun, wait."
"What."
Wu Yijun looked at her best friend who had just stopped her. Her expression was not particularly kind and her words were not directed in the form of a question but of annoyance.
Shangguan Bing Xue couldn't help but smile bitterly at the sight of the usually gentle Wu Yijun's annoyed expression. It was as if her two arms turned to dust and the wounds on her body didn't matter at all... although truth be told, her injuries weren't really serious with the biggest problem being the pulverized bones on her two arms.
"Cool your head a bit, busty girl." Shangguan Bing Xue sighed and nodded forward, "Take a good look."
Wu Yijun frowned slightly and looked at Bai Zemin's body attentively as she was suggested to do. It was then that she realized that Bai Zemin had not made his earlier decision as hastily as it might have seemed.
"This... What's it all about..."
Around Bai Zemin, small crimson-colored particles seemed to form seemingly out of nowhere and like magnets of opposite poles were attracted to him.
These particles of light were absorbed by Bai Zemin's body, and it was not difficult at all to notice how very slowly his aura began to stabilize. In fact, Wu Yijun and Shangguan Bing Xue noticed that the blood he had lost before was being replenished very quickly.
"It seems that Bai Zemin's evolution was not just a class evolution. The reason it took him so long to breakthrough was because of those absurd requirements, but looking at this kind of power I think it's understandable. Even his original race was modified." Shangguan Bing Xue looked at Kong Jun and noticed that Kong Jun's severe wounds were slowly starting to stabilize thanks to the blood Bai Zemin had fed him.
'I wonder if I will undergo such a great change when I advance to Third Order.' Shangguan Bing Xue wondered. However, thinking better on a particular requirement that the soul record was asking her to complete in order to advance... 'Although I'm likely to be stuck even forever' She sighed.
Trying to put such thoughts aside for later, Shangguan Bing Xue lay down next to Bai Zemin and closed her eyes as she said softly, "I can feel the surrounding mana being absorbed into him to help him recover. I wonder if it has something to do with the skill scroll Bai Zemin learned a minute ago or if it is due to a feature of his class in particular."
Wu Yijun looked at Bai Zemin and subconsciously clenched her fists, "In the previous battle... In the previous battle, I was able to do practically nothing."
Shangguan Bing Xue softly opened her blue eyes and looked at her friend standing up and walking towards Evangeline.
"I thought all my life that the day I loved someone I would never get to feel unworthy or less than, but with each passing day I realize how stupid my thoughts were... Not only can I not help the one I most want to help, I can't even fight shoulder to shoulder with you, Bing Xue. In our entire faction you are probably the one who is best suited to him on the battlefield." Wu Yijun stretched her hands forward and whispered, "Revitalize."
Shangguan Bing Xue watched as all the grass and the few trees in sight suddenly glowed with a faint light green glow, and moments later, a ball of light of the same shade of green covered both of Wu Yijun's hands.
Soon, Evangeline's body began to improve and it surely wouldn't be long before she was out of the mortal danger zone.
Shangguan Bing Xue slowly closed her eyes and whispered in her heart: 'Yijun, you are very powerful and impressive... It's just that your forte is not in fighting particularly strong enemies. But there are things that neither I, nor Bai Zemin, nor any other member of our faction can do but you can.'
Just as Shangguan Bing Xue was about to rest and relax now that things were mostly settled, her friend's somewhat anxious voice brought her back to reality.
"B- Bing Xue, is it me or.... Is it just me or has Bai Zemin's hair changed?"