Chapter 191: Trust, Sincerity (And Yongrui's Backstory)

My face reddened with embarassment, realizing that I was just accusing White of nothing. Here he was, sincerely going out of his way to save me some time, and then there's me, doing him injustice. He probably did that to help me finish all of my unfinished business as fast as possible and I wrongly indicted him of a crime he didn't even commit. Indeed, I sound like a very blameful man.

"T-t-thanks, you really found them." I stammered as I transferred all the items in the storage ring he gave me.

"No, you can have the storage ring. I got it from your disciple, I think her name was Ye Zhi or something. She said it's an extra Storage Ring and I could use it." White casually brushed off as he sat beside me. "Are you feeling any better? I just witnessed something that shouldn't be witnessed. It was nothing short of a miracle indeed."

"What do you mean?" I asked as I nervously gulped. Since I fell into unconsciousness before something happened, I have no idea what took place between Natalia, Zeng Meihui, and Xiang Xiaoqing.

"Oh, I just saw three girls fighting over the naked you, but that's beside the point haha." White once again casually talked about a very sensitive topic in an indifferent manner. Seriously, how could this guy remain so calm while talking about these things?!

"In any case, how did you do that?" White continued.

"Do what?"

"You know, bring a zombie back to being a human."

"Oh, so you saw that, huh. Did you tell anyone about it?" I asked, fully knowing that he must've relayed it to everyone in the Tang Shelter since it was an incredible feat. Even I don't know if there was someone who could do that in the past. Throughout the history of cultivation, I've never heard anyone healing an infected back to being human.

"No, I thought it'd be best if I didn't tell anyone. I also told that girl— Natalia, right? Yeah, I told her to not tell anyone about it. She agreed and decided to keep her mouth shut, all the while distancing herself from everybody else."

"I see, thanks for that. I wouldn't want to be kept here so I could heal every rabid human they bring me. Good call, White." I sighed in relief as I once again sank on the bed. Once again, I noticed the mysterious package wrapped with talismans. It was one of my most prized possession. Nothing could compare to it.

"When you brought that girl back, I thought that you were going to die. You purposefully destroyed your Original Qi Core and it almost lost all the Qi Energy it had in store. I was about to jump in and saved you but you started cultivating. Seeing you heal yourself that quickly made me back off a little. When I saw that, I immediately realized that you don't need my help."

"To be honest, I really did almost die back then. If it weren't for my vast knowledge about cultivation, I would've died. Also, I did get some help but that's beside the point." I told him. "Well, back to your question, you wanted to know how I did it, right?"

White nodded.

"Unfortunately, it's a skill I learned from my Healing Element... and it's only exclusive to me. I can't teach it to anyone, nor can I record how it's done. Even with the Boundless Calligraphy— which can record every known cultivation technique and martial arts there is— I still can't record it. It's a skill that's exclusively for me."

"I see, well that explains why it was very powerful. A lot of exclusive skills can split the earth and crack the heavens. This exclusive skill in the Healing Element is not that surprising compared to other exclusive skills that I know." For some reason, White accepted my reason as if it was normal. He probably didn't have any thoughts of using me... and even if he did, he didn't want to show it as a sign of respect... or maybe he's just hiding his true intentions. In any case, at least he's not overly forcing me to reveal how I did it.

"Oh, now that you mentioned it. You did tell me that Natalia's already here, right? How is she? Is she doing all right?" I asked.

"About that?" White uneasily fidgeted on his seat. "Apparently, she tried distancing herself from others but those two who found her with you while you were naked are constantly looking for her. Currently, she has her cornered and they're asking her all sorts of questions... most of them are about you, for some reason."

"Even though she was being pressured to answer against her will, she still kept quiet about everything. She didn't even bat an eye towards my direction while I was signaling to her. I was furiously trying to tell her not to say a word about your skill but she wouldn't look at me. And of course, she wouldn't answer either. She's probably trapped between a rock and a hard place. Or maybe there's something else that makes her act like that. I don't know. You should probably check up on her. It's not like the two women who found her bore any resentment to her at all. They were just curious as to what your relationship with her is."

Well, and there's that. I guess I wouldn't be able to relish the benefits of this soft bed. But then again, I'm genuinely worried for my Natalia. She's not the expressive type, nor is she the talkative type. In the past, she only opened her heart to me, relying on me every time she was troubled, and approaching me every time she needed my guidance. As her Sect Master, I knew I had the obligation to get closer to her... and she probably only got closer to me because of my status.

Before she got into my Sect, I met Natalia during a student exchange event in a nearby school for young cultivators. Previously, if you were below nineteen, you still need to go to school and study the basics of cultivation. I was a different case, however, when I was seventeen, I was already under Tang Sect's previous master. My parents died from a fire and I was adopted by Master since he was a close friend of my dad. And then two years after that, my Master died— or killed, I have no idea. He just mysteriously died.

And for some reason, I was given the opportunity to become the Sect Master of the Tang Sect. At the time I turned twenty, I officially became the Sect Master of the Tang Sect. Because of that, I had to work twice as hard compared to others since I'm not exactly a genius. I spent all my time, my childhood, and my late adolescent life cultivating so no one would catch up to me. I also studied different types of cultivation techniques and martial arts to further improve my knowledge regarding cultivation. A lot of disciples in the Tang Sect were like vultures, waiting for me to drop down my guard so they could sweep the rug off my feet and replace me as the Sect Master. I, for one, couldn't allow that to happen.

After all, if someone were to replace me as a Sect Master, there's a good chance I'll be banished and by then... I'll have nowhere else to go to. Being banished from your own Sect is basically being disowned. With no parents and no backing, I might as well die on the streets. That's the most awful thing to ever happen to a cultivator like me... and so I couldn't afford to give my position up to anyone else. I was Master's favorite... and so a lot of his disciples hated me to the Core.

I couldn't trust anyone... only myself.

But my hard work paid off and I managed to reach the Dao Realm before I turned twenty-five. Everyone accepted me as the Sect Master and Tang Sect grew to a terrifying degree. Even though I was young and unfit as a Sect Master, everyone regarded me as a genius so no one complained about me being a Sect Master. And with my above-average looks, I was basically the mascot of the Tang Sect.

Wait! I'm getting off-track here! Why am I reminiscing my past when I'm supposed to reminisce about Natalia's past? Sigh~ Forget about all those things Yongrui. It might've been hellish back then, but through hard work, you managed to find a place where you belong. Unfortunately, it was lost during the outbreak but at least there's the Tang Shelter... and now you're strong enough to recruit more disciples under your name. Forget about the past, thanks to Hui-ying and the System, you still got it going. Chin up, Yongrui!

Now, back to Natalia, where was I? Oh yes, I met her back when I was tasked to oversee a student exchange event. Not to brag but I was the most handsome Sect Master back then... and so I was given the opportunity to greet the new students from all over the world. There were at least ten foreigners who came to a nearby school for the student exchange. But the only one I noticed was Natalia.

Because even though she was just eighteen, she was already in the Ancient Realm... and she's got one of the most condensed Original Qi Core at such a young age.