Fang Rou cried when she saw the passed-out Xiang Ning. She could no longer hold her tears in. She didn’t want him to see her crying, but it didn’t matter now that he was unconscious. She rushed forward and gently hugged his head. His face was a deathly white as numerous wounds scarred his body. He had lost so much blood that it no longer flowed out from the innumerable cuts on his body. He was in critical danger!

Even his pulse was on the verge of flatlining.

Everyone fell silent as they saw what had happened regardless of where they were.

“He… he’ll be fine, right?”

“Grandpa, Xiang Ning will be fine, right?”

“Teacher, will Xiang Ning be alright?”

Everyone was worried. They wanted him to be fine, but would he really be fine? It was a bad ending, but at the very least he was still alive for now.

The old general opened a path. “Little miss, it’s imperative that we send him for treatment now.” He didn’t want to provoke Fang Rou. Xiang Ning was much too important for them.

Back in the fortress, Xiang Ning was immediately sent to the emergency department for treatment. Only Lei Zhongyuan was standing outside the room, the rest had been sent back to the dorms—including Xiang Xiaoyu and Fang Rou.

But Lu Shiyu was an enigma to Lei Zhongyuan. She was a girl who came from Azura and had a family background so mysterious that not even he had access to it. At first, he had paid no attention to it, but he was now curious.

Lu Shiyu was currently slaying beasts left and right outside the fortress.

“Instructor, you need to rest. We have nurses looking after him, he’ll be fine,” the head nurse reassured him.

Indeed, Lei Zhongyuan was wrapped from head to toe in bandages. How could he not know that Xiang Ning was in danger? He’d known, and had long wanted to rush to rescue Xiang Ning so badly, but he’d been tied down. 

Just as the three tier six beasts were advancing toward the fortress, a single Beast King had hidden among the fifty-thousand-strong beast army. During the fight, it had run out and aimed at the weakest section of the defensive perimeter in an attempt to break through. When Lei Zhongyuan and the rest had discovered the Beast King, it was already within the outer perimeter of the fortress.

The outer walls of the fortress could only withstand three attacks from a Beast King. The entire fortress had been in great danger, as there wasn’t a single tier seven martial artist there. Instead, only eight tier six martial artists were present, including Lei Zhongyuan. They had to defend the fortress at all costs!

The result? They had managed to repel the attack. The Beast King only landed a single attack on the outer wall and caved it in, causing significant damage. As for the people? Two of them had perished during the battle while the rest suffered heavy injuries!

“I’m fine, what’s his condition?” Lei Zhongyuan was more worried about Xiang Ning.

“We’re still observing him, but he’s passed the critical stage so it’s a relief,” the head nurse consoled him.

Lei Zhongyuan sighed in relief. The head nurse entered the office and saw the doctor in a bad mood. “Director, how is he?”

“Even the recovery capsule couldn’t completely heal him.”

“Does that mean… his cultivation’s crippled?” The chief nurse was concerned, too. “Is there really no other way?”

“It was already a miracle to ensure his life remained intact. We’ve done our best,” the director sighed. The current Xiang Ning was utterly crippled, even though they had used an absurd amount of resources and numerous director-level doctors to save him from death’s door.

The chief nurse fell silent. “To a martial artist, that’s no different than dying.”

All of the hard work to improve his cultivation had gone to waste. It was impossible for Xiang Ning to cultivate further with his current condition. He wouldn’t even be able to do any strenuous activity in the future.

“Regardless, it’ll be a new life for him.” The director fell silent. Both of them had read his background and watched the livestream. His contribution was no small feat, so much so that both of them even had to thank him. If the defensive perimeter had fallen, the fortress would be destroyed by the stampede with the strength of the Simian Sage.

......

Time slowly passed. Outside the fortress, Li Zimo and Wu Rui tried pulling Lu Shiyu back. “Enough, don’t go out anymore!”

Lu Shiyu was caked in so much mud and blood that not even she knew whether it was hers or the beasts’. She was as red as a rose growing among a pool of blood on the battlefield. A single drop of blood slid down her scythe.

She took a deep breath—she needed to do this or she would go crazy. Her heart had broken when she saw Xiang Ning on the verge of death. It was because Xiang Ning held a special position in her heart, so much so that not even her family could replace him. He was the sole reason why she had returned to Earth.

“Relax, I’ll be fine.” She dismissively waved them away. “How’s Xiang Ning?”

“It’s been days, and you’re still asking about it. He’s past the critical stage and will live on,” Li Zimo and Wu Rui chorused.

Lu Shiyu felt a slight relief when she heard that. Suddenly, their communicators rang. They ran the moment they saw the message.

......

It’d been seven days since Xiang Ning had fallen unconscious and the stampede was still ongoing. The Beast Kings had suffered major injuries, thanks to the joint effort of the eight tier six martial artists and the cannon fire of the fortress. The beasts could only launch small-scale assaults at Fortress One, as their number had been reduced. 

The other participants had taken the chance to slaughter the remaining beasts. The train that had been surrounded by beasts was finally rescued after the Simian Sage was killed. Out of the five carriages, only two remained. Everyone else in the three carriages had fallen in battle.

But it was no longer important to them. Xiang Ning was the only thing on everyone’s mind. 

Everyone saw the three teenagers running through the halls. They hadn’t slacked off and their cultivations had improved a lot over the past week. They arrived at the infirmary with the other members from Marsh City, including Jiang Youyou and Xiang Xiaoyu. All of them had gotten the same message and were impatiently waiting.

MC cultivation is crippled noooooooooo

Wait I just realized he still has Refresh. Nvm.