Chapter 78: Shattering

Chapter 78: Shattering

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There is no anger on Ruan Goutins face. There is no satisfaction there either. He does not care at all about what he has just done. The disciple gasps in pain and clutches his chest, writhing on the floor, yet to Ruan Goutin, it is as if he is not even there. The disciple he just wounded is not worth putting in his eyes.

Liu Jin cannot be so callous.

It will be okay, Liu Jin says, trying his best to sound gentle. Hold still for a moment. It will all be well.

Liu Jin takes the disciples hand, fully aware that a single panicked swing from someone in the True Realm could separate his head from his body. The moment Liu Jin makes contact with the disciple and takes in the state of his body, a cold, sinking feeling spreads through his gut. He had suspected it from the moment he had seen the imprint of Ruan Goutins fist on the disciples chest. There is no denying it now.

Ruan Goutin just struck this disciples middle Dantian.

Striking someones Dantian is far from unheard of. To achieve this feat, only two requirements need to be met. First, the one doing it must possess great control over their Qi, so that they may be able to accurately send it into their opponents body.

Second and most important of all, the one doing it must be far stronger than their opponent.

Qi empowers and protects the body. This is especially true when talking about the three dantian. As a cultivator grows, the Qi around their dantian becomes denser, making it nearly impossible for a cultivator on the same level to damage them. Even if the target were to remain still and offer no resistance, it would be hard as long as their level was the same. To do so in the middle of a fight might as well be impossible.

When Yun Han wounded Cui Tian during the Eastern Port City Tournament, he more than met the two requirements. The same can be said of Ruan Goutin. As a high-ranking member of the Eternal Raging Valley, it is natural for him to be able to damage the dantian of someone in the True Realm.

However, the damage Yun Han did to Cui Tians dantian and the damage Ruan Goutin did to this disciples dantian just now cannot possibly be compared.

Twenty-nine Dragon Bone Needles go into the disciples chest in the blink of an eye, stopping the Qi around his Dantian from scattering. Liu Jins eyes are wide as he takes in the state of the mans Qi. This is

It is a complete disaster.

Cui Tians dantian was merely damaged by Yun Han. His injury hampered his ability to cultivate, but it was never something that could not be healed by a competent doctor. The only reason it was so damaging to him is due to the Seven Leaves Schools lack of resources.

This disciples dantian is on the brink of shattering.

If Liu Jin does not do something for this disciple within the next minute, he will lose his cultivation for good. His middle dantian will be completely destroyed. The Qi he has carefully cultivated will dissipate. It will never flow through his body again. His other two dantian will gradually deteriorate, unable to compensate for the loss.

In a few days, hell no longer be a cultivator.

This is not the type of damage someone can come back from. Even in the entirety of Five Bats City, Liu Jin doubts there is a single doctor who can fix something like this, and there is no way Ruan Goutin doesnt know that.

Ruan Goutin just sacrificed one of the Eternal Raging Valleys disciples without a second thought.

Already, the disciples dantian is starting to collapse. It is breaking piece by piece. If Liu Jin had been given at least a few days or even a few hours to prepare, he is sure he would be able to fix this.

He merely has fifty seconds.

The disciples body spasms, and Liu Jin sends a jolt of his Qi through the Dragon Bone Needles. He cannot allow the disciples Qi to disperse. As more of his Qi disperses, the dantian will weaken further and break apart even faster.

However, what is he supposed to do in such a short time!?

With every second that passes, the disciples condition worsens! If he tries to heal him right now if he makes a single mistake...

Is this really it?

Is he really so helpless?

No.

Fire rises with Liu Jin! Why is he allowing such defeatist thoughts to fester within him? He is the son of Liu Jianguo and the disciple of Old Jiang! The task before him is not an impossible one!

Identify every part of the broken dantian.

Bring them together.

Stabilize and repair.

Liu Jins Qi rises. Nine-Headed Snake Gods Veins pulse within him as he seeks to harmonize his Qi with that of the disciple. Although complex, the underlying principle is the same as when he refines ingredients. He just has to match the properties of his Qi to that of the disciples. By doing so, Liu Jins Qi slithers into the disciples meridians without encountering the slightest resistance.

He closes his eyes.

One. Four. Nineteen. Thirty-Eight.

Seventy-Five.Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

The disciples dantian is currently broken in seventy-five pieces.

Sweat shines on Liu Jins face and falls down onto the disciples body. As it does, Liu Jins Qi gently wraps around each fragment of his dantian. With it in such a fragile state, he needs to be extremely gentle. If he is too rough, hell just shatter the dantian further. However, if he is too slow, the dantian will break beyond repair. There is no room for error.

Quickly yet carefully.

Firmly yet softly.

The disciple keeps his eyes on Liu Jins face for a while. Whatever he finds there, it is seemingly satisfactory as he relaxes slightly.

Thank you. Ren He and I joined this branch at the same time. It would have been a great tragedy if he had lost his cultivation.

As the disciple speaks, it occurs to Liu Jin that Ruan Goutin may not have believed in Ren Hes recovery. That is most likely why he is being made to stay here. To make sure Ren Hes condition will not suddenly grow worse in a few hours.

There is no need to thank me. I am a doctor. I only did what was expected of me. How could I allow someone to be crippled in front of me? Although... I guess Branch Master Ruan certainly would allow such a thing to happen.

The way the disciple flinches tells Liu Jin all he needs to know. There was no one waiting there in case he failed. There was no magical cure.

Ruan Goutin truly had gambled with the life of a member of his own Sect.

You say very dangerous words. The disciple shoots him a warning glare. It would be wise to avoid speaking carelessly here. One never knows what Branch Master Ruan may hear.

Liu Jin steps into the cell and sits on the bed. The tips of his shoes almost touch the wall.

Apologies. I will be sure to heed your words.

See that you do. The disciple is about to close the door when Liu Jins voice stops him.

May I ask what happened to the doctors who failed Branch Master Ruans test?

There is a small pause before the disciple answers.

They were not lucky enough to be shown this room.

Liu Jin closes his eyes. I see.

It is a possibility Liu Jin had considered, but to have it confirmed what a pity.

Am I the first one to be shown this room then?

The fourth, replies the disciple. Though whether you will be the first to return to it after Branch Master Ruan calls on you is not something I can say.

And my servant? Is he being treated similarly?

Your servant is exactly that, yours. So long as you keep pleasing Branch Master Ruan, there will be no reason to do anything to him.

I see. You have my thanks.

The door is closed, the lock secured. The echo of the disciples steps grows fainter until Liu Jin cannot hear it anymore. Even so, Liu Jin waits a few more minutes. He waits and waits.

And sighs.

His whole body sags as Liu Jin lets out the biggest sigh of his life. He has felt more emotion during the past minutes than he has in the past week. Liu Jin places both hands on his forehead and retreats further into the bed.

This is not good.

The plan had been a simple one. Call Branch Master Ruans attention and be invited to the local branch of the Eternal Raging Valley. There, he would be able to offer his services. To Liu Jin, the problem with Branch Master Ruan was already obvious.

He is wounded.

It wasnt just the way he was dragging the citys doctors to his Sect that betrayed him. During the auction, Branch Master Ruan never once flared his Qi to scare away the other bidders and merely chose to rely on the Eternal Raging Valleys reputation.

The Earth Realm Dragon Core would normally be useless to someone in the Emperor Realm unless he was buying it for someone else or planning on using it to create medicine. Similarly, all the items Branch Master Ruan acquired during the second auction had medical applications.

Liu Jin is fairly sure he is not the only one to figure this out. He is just the only one who decided to do something about it. It is why he made the Pill of Bliss. It was the perfect item to test his theory. An Emperor-class cultivator like Branch Master Ruan would not benefit much from the boost it would give to his cultivation. However, if he were suffering from an ailment, itd be a different story. Branch Master Ruan would then want to know where he could acquire more.

It just seemed natural at the time. By treating Branch Master Ruan, hed be able to stop the other doctors in the city from being taken, and Branch Master Ruan would probably free the ones he had captured once he was well.

However, the situation is far worse than Liu Jin had imagined.

While Patriarch Xiao Zheng had certainly allowed Outer Disciples to be placed in situations where they could come to harm, he had never gone out of his way to actually damage them so irrevocably like Branch Master Ruan had done. The level of callousness and cruelty he had shown had been outside Liu Jins expectations.

Liu Jin had expected to deal with someone callous and arrogant yet sane enough to act in his own best interests. Branch Master Ruan is most certainly not that. He hides it well, but Liu Jin is pretty sure Branch Master Ruan is far less in control of himself than Patriarch Yun Peng ever had been. He is a danger to himself and everyone around him.

Crushing people without care just like

Liu Jin shakes his head, trying to break away from the emotions suddenly threatening to overwhelm him. Why is it like this now? Certainly, he had been getting better as things calmed down, but now...

No, its no use thinking about that. Keep calm. He needs to keep calm. Though precarious, Liu Jins situation is not as bad as it could be. He has proved his skills to Branch Master Ruan. Tomorrow, hell probably be called to the throne room once more. He just needs to wait, and then hell Hell...

...

Just what is he doing here?

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