"Are you human, or are you a ghost!"

Anyone who saw a person in a dream and then opened their eyes to see that same person would be overcome by a sense of unreality. The moment the words left his mouth, Zhang Haiyuan realized something was wrong. His years of combat experience had sharpened many of his abilities into pure instinct. The analytical judgment born from that experience had become a new kind of intuition, and it was this gut feeling that told him the people before him were real.

Instead, he asked, "What just happened to me?"

Seeing Zhang Haiyuan awake and aware, Zhang Cheng was thrilled. Fearing a repeat of what had happened before, however, he maintained a calm facade as he approached. "You fell unconscious again this morning. We had no choice but to bring you here."

"Let me introduce you," Zhang Cheng said, gesturing toward Wang Jian. "This is Elder Xu's disciple. He's the one who just saved you." He then immediately turned to Wang Jian and asked, "Is his condition stable now?"

"Yes." Wang Jian nodded and rose from his seat. Instead of explaining to Zhang Cheng, he smiled at Zhang Haiyuan. "I think Zhang Haiyuan himself would know best."

"Wait, so everything I just saw was real?" Zhang Haiyuan asked, a look of horror on his face. "How did you do that?"

His reaction reminded everyone of the incredible scene they had just witnessed. Noticing Zhang Cheng's confusion, Zhang Haiyuan recounted his experience within the consciousness space. "I thought I was dreaming. Then I opened my eyes and saw a living person standing right here, which was even more terrifying, so that's why I..."

Zhang Haiyuan shrugged, now feeling completely unburdened. After Wang Jian had removed that Mo Chi, his entire body felt incredibly relaxed. "I'm sure he's cured me. I feel like I've slept for days and I'm full of energy. Even my body feels... strange," he said, struggling for the right word. "Logically, I should be incredibly weak right now, but I don't feel that way at all. On the contrary, I feel like I've been training for years."

Wang Jian laughed. "There's no need to be surprised. Although that thing kept you in a coma for so many days, when I destroyed it, it released a significant amount of its energy back into you. If you need a way to think about it, just consider it a significant boost to your physical fitness.

"If you're still worried, you can wait and see how you feel tomorrow. At that time, however, I hope you'll answer a few questions for me..."

With that, Wang Jian paid no more mind to Zhang Cheng and Zhang Haiyuan and turned to leave. He couldn't afford to linger; treating Zhang Haiyuan had already caused him to miss the optimal window for his Cultivation. If he slacked off any further, who knew when he would reach the next realm? His casual departure, like flicking dust from a sleeve, left Sun Fu and the others deeply unsettled.

Sun Fu hurried over to Xu Changqing, adopting an extremely humble attitude. "Elder Xu, is it too late to invite your disciple to join the National Medical Group?"

"What do you think?" The corners of Xu Changqing's mouth twitched. "He won't be joining any National Medical Group. You can forget about it."

Sun Fu's expression collapsed. He murmured to himself that this was bound to happen, and he was filled with regret. If only he had known this young man could shatter one's worldview so completely, he would never have done something so foolish. He had originally thought it was a simple matter of blocking a qualification to annoy Xu Changqing. At worst, he'd face an investigation from the higher-ups, but he wasn't afraid. He had a perfectly logical justification: how could someone join the National Medical Group without sufficient age and status? But reality hadn't played by his rules. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Sun Fu also realized a grave problem: he would be in deep trouble for causing the National Medical Group to miss out on a figure of this caliber. With so many doctors present, he would be ruined the moment word got back to his superiors. Even if Xu Changqing didn't pursue the matter, others certainly would. However, given his family's ancestral medical texts, the higher-ups wouldn't make things too difficult for him. Even so, his current position was definitely no longer secure.

Xu Changqing shot him a glance before following Wang Jian out the door. He, of course, knew that Sun Fu didn't actually care whether Wang Jian joined the National Medical Group or not. But if it weren't for Sun Fu's machinations, Wang Jian would have already listened to them and joined. With Wang Jian's current abilities, the National Medical Group could have flourished. But now... he had no intention of letting Sun Fu off easy.

After brushing Sun Fu off with a perfunctory reply, Xu Changqing dashed out the door to catch up with Wang Jian. He was stunned to find that he couldn't keep up with Wang Jian's pace and had to call out to make him stop.

"You brat, why are you walking so fast?

"Hurry up and tell your master what's going on with your Yang Soul."

Now that there were no outsiders, Xu Changqing dropped all pretense. As soon as they got home, he asked, "You can already cultivate a Yangshen, can't you?"

"Yes." Wang Jian understood his master's lifelong pursuit and nodded. "The Yangshen is still in the night-wandering stage. I predict the next stages will be object manipulation and daytime-roaming."

"That's it, that's it! The classics record the day and night wandering of the Yang Soul!" Xu Changqing clapped his hands in delight. "For you to reach this realm is a great blessing for our lineage."

"Master, I actually have another feeling," Wang Jian said. "A few days ago, when my Yang Soul was out of my body, I was drawn to an ancient tomb in the mountains. That place can prevent a Yang Soul from entering, so there might be treasures related to the Yang Soul inside. I want to have someone explore it."

"It can block a Yang Soul's entry?" Xu Changqing's expression changed. "If that's the case, the tomb is likely from before the Ming Dynasty, possibly even from the pre-Qin era. I've researched all the records. Mentions of the Yang Soul began to fade after the Qin Dynasty and disappeared entirely after the Ming Dynasty. Something with the power to obstruct you, hidden deep in the mountains… it's almost certainly a relic left by ancient hermits."

"Mm, that's what I was thinking." Wang Jian had considered the same possibility, and hearing Xu Changqing voice it solidified his conviction.

"By the way, Master," Wang Jian asked, "the root of the illness I found in Zhang Haiyuan was a living entity, and it seemed to be interested only in Yin Yang Power and the Yang Soul."

"A living entity?" Xu Changqing frowned. "To think that a living thing could exist in such a form, even capable of devouring a Yang Soul. I've never read of such a thing in the classics. However... since it could nourish Zhang Haiyuan in return, perhaps it could also nourish your Yang Soul. The appearance of such a creature isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"If we could find out what ancient artifacts they came into contact with, we might be able to trace this creature's origin," Wang Jian said.

Xu Changqing understood. "You're planning to ask Zhang Haiyuan about this tomorrow?"

"Exactly," Wang Jian replied. "Considering the nature of their work, the only connection could be that one mission. Furthermore, I have a premonition that the tomb they encountered and the one I discovered are likely to have something in common. They might even be related."

"If you have a premonition about this, it's almost certainly accurate. For us cultivators at your level, intuition is more valuable than what you can see," Xu Changqing said. "We must keep the matter of the new tomb a secret. However, given what you've demonstrated, getting access to the artifacts they recovered shouldn't be a problem."