Yun Aoxue's pupils contracted, and she suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
She couldn't believe she'd forgotten about that. As a First Grade Soul Refiner, she recalled reading in an ancient text that Green-Tailed Scorpions were extremely sensitive to their own poison. They could sense it from ten li away. If she didn't clear the poison from her body, she would undoubtedly attract them.
The problem was, Yun Aoxue couldn't take a detour. She was running out of time. If she took the long way around, she would likely perish before making it back. And if she died, the remaining students would be doomed to die in Black Wind Ridge that night.
Yun Aoxue was caught between a rock and a hard place, her heart torn with indecision.
Ye Xuan smiled leisurely and said, "Teacher Yun Aoxue, there's actually nothing to worry about. With me here, I can help you completely force out the Green-Tailed Scorpion's poison within five minutes."
"What? That's impossible."
Yun Aoxue, still conflicted, was stunned for a moment before blurting out the words without thinking.
'Is he kidding? Even though Green-Tailed Scorpions are only Tier One Demon Beasts, their poison is terrifying. At my peak, it would take me at least thirty minutes to expel it all. I've been poisoned for over an hour now; the toxins have seeped deep into my body. There's no way I can purge it all in under half an hour.'
"Believe it or not."
Ye Xuan's eyes were smiling, and the confidence in his words made Yun Aoxue's focus waver for an instant.
His gaze was lofty, like a god looking down upon the mortal world, and it gave Yun Aoxue the sudden urge to prostrate herself in worship.
'He's just a junior student, how could I possibly feel this way?' Yun Aoxue's body trembled as a storm raged in her heart. She steadied herself and gritted her teeth. "I'll trust you this once. But you only have five minutes. If it takes any longer, we leave immediately."
"Follow me." Ye Xuan gave a noncommittal reply and walked into the cave.
The other students wanted to follow and see what was happening, but Leng Yingying stopped them. "We'll wait here. Don't disturb Teacher Yun Aoxue's treatment."
"Senior Sister Leng Yingying, do you really believe Ye Xuan can help Teacher Yun Aoxue expel the poison? Isn't he just trying to pull something?"
Wang Yue snorted, his face a mask of disbelief.
"That's right. Since when does that piece of trash, Ye Xuan, know how to heal people?"
"If you ask me, that kid is definitely just putting on an act."
A few students who were on good terms with Wang Yue looked on with disdain.
"Whether he can or not is none of our business. Any more nonsense, and don't blame me for being rude."
Leng Yingying's icy gaze swept over the crowd, and the area instantly fell dead silent.
Angering Senior Sister Leng Yingying would lead to dire consequences.
'Maybe that kid really does have a way,' Leng Yingying prayed silently, recalling what had happened to her earlier.
"Teacher, please take off your Soft Armor and outer clothes."
Upon reaching the depths of the cave, Ye Xuan said this directly.
"Ah!"
Yun Aoxue cried out in surprise, giving Ye Xuan a strange look.
Ye Xuan rubbed his nose and said helplessly, "Your wound is under your left rib. How am I supposed to treat it if you're wearing your outer clothes and Soft Armor?"
Yun Aoxue's body shuddered. She stared at Ye Xuan, truly and utterly shocked.
To prevent the wound from tearing, she had hastily bandaged it and covered it with her clothes and Soft Armor. She never expected Ye Xuan to pinpoint the location of the wound with a single glance. For a moment, she even wondered if Ye Xuan had been watching when she was injured.
Gritting her teeth, Yun Aoxue slowly removed her outer Soft Armor and blue tunic.
In an instant, an expanse of snowy white skin filled Ye Xuan's vision, accompanied by a faint, pleasant fragrance. At the junction between her left breast and her ribs, there was a small wound from which blood, tinged with green, was seeping.
'That's at least a 36D. Tsk, tsk, Teacher Yun Aoxue has a great figure.'
Gazing at Yun Aoxue's impressive figure, Ye Xuan marveled inwardly. Teacher Yun Aoxue already had a curvy and well-proportioned body with her clothes on, but he didn't expect it to be this spectacular underneath.
"What are you looking at?"
As a Tier Two Martial Artist, Yun Aoxue's senses were incredibly sharp. Feeling Ye Xuan's gaze sweeping back and forth across her chest, she was overcome with shame and anger. Her cheeks flushed red as she hissed in a low, furious voice.
"I'm observing the wound," Ye Xuan said without batting an eye, his gaze steady. Suddenly, his right hand shot out like lightning, tapping on the left side of Teacher Yun Aoxue's chest.
TAP, TAP, TAP...
The blur of his fingers streaked through the air, so fast that Yun Aoxue barely had time to react. By the time she came to her senses, Ye Xuan had already retracted his right hand.
Under Ye Xuan's rapid taps, the side of Yun Aoxue's torso, still covered by her inner garments, first contracted inward and then gently trembled outward.
'Good flexibility. As expected of Teacher Yun Aoxue.'
Ye Xuan continued to muse to himself.
"You..."
Yun Aoxue flew into a rage. 'No one has ever dared to treat me like this in my entire life!' she fumed internally.
Stared down by Yun Aoxue's furious gaze, Ye Xuan's expression remained unchanged. He said calmly, "Relax your mind, undo your Profound Qi seal, and use your Profound Qi to envelop the Green-Tailed Scorpion's poison. Then, force it out bit by bit."
The moment he finished speaking, the enraged Yun Aoxue noticed that after Ye Xuan had tapped the area, the completely numb wound began to ache. A tingling sensation spread from it, and trickles of greenish blood began to flow out.
"This..."
Yun Aoxue was shocked to find that the Green-Tailed Scorpion poison in her body was automatically and slowly being expelled. Astonished, she completely forgot about teaching Ye Xuan a lesson. She immediately sat down cross-legged, followed his instructions to undo her Profound Qi seal, and began to force out the poison.
Ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute.
In just one minute, Yun Aoxue found that she had already expelled seventy to eighty percent of the poison from her body. Only a small amount of residual toxin remained at the wound, refusing to come out.
"Apply this to the wound."
Ye Xuan handed Yun Aoxue a poultice made from some unknown mashed plants, then gently rubbed his right hand.
'This body is still too weak,' Ye Xuan sighed helplessly.
What he had just performed was the Poison Detoxification Acupoint Method, a technique he had created in his past life. It used acupoint stimulation to expel toxins from the body. This technique required a certain level of physical strength. Having only opened a single Profound Vein, forcing himself to use it had left his right hand throbbing with sharp pains and spasms.
As the poultice was applied to the wound, a cooling sensation spread out. Yun Aoxue was amazed to find that the residual poison at the wound was being drawn out of her body by the herbs. Thirty seconds later, Yun Aoxue shot to her feet, her eyes wide with horror-struck amazement.
Now, apart from a slight ache, she couldn't feel any trace of poison at the wound site.
"Less than three minutes... all the poison is actually gone."
Yun Aoxue muttered to herself. Usually as cold as ice and with a heart as calm as still water, she was now so dumbfounded her jaw nearly hit the floor.
She looked at the perfectly calm Ye Xuan with an expression of utter disbelief, as if she were seeing him for the first time.
'A unique technique, a magical poultice... Could it be that Ye Xuan has the potential to become a Soul Refiner and an Alchemist?'
On the Celestial Profound Continent, Soul Refiners were truly noble existences. Their futures were far vaster and brighter than those of Martial Artists. If Ye Xuan truly had the potential to become a Soul Refiner, yet had always been called trash, it would be the ultimate irony.
In that moment, Yun Aoxue felt an overwhelming urge to question Ye Xuan, to understand him completely, from top to bottom.
After all, she herself was a First Grade Soul Refiner, but all she could do was suppress the Green-Tailed Scorpion's poison. To expel it all in less than three minutes like Ye Xuan did... it was something she had not only never seen, but had never even heard of. That was a feat that should only be possible for a Third Grade Soul Refiner or higher.
'Just what is this kid hiding?'
"Huh? Where's Ye Xuan?"
When Yun Aoxue came back to her senses and looked for Ye Xuan, there was no sign of him in the cave.
"That little brat," Yun Aoxue said, gritting her teeth as she put her tunic and Soft Armor back on.
"Let's go!"
Two minutes later, Yun Aoxue was ready. She led the remaining students toward the campsite. Along the way, her eyes kept darting toward Ye Xuan, making a chill run down his spine. 'I think this girl has her sights on me. She doesn't expect me to take responsibility for this, does she?'
Ye Xuan speechlessly rubbed his nose. If he hadn't wanted to leave Black Wind Ridge safely, he wouldn't have bothered revealing so much.
As they neared the campsite, another teacher came out looking for them. The two groups met up and returned to the camp without further incident.
After such an unexpected accident during this training exercise, the teachers from Xingxuan Academy had no intention of letting the students continue. Once all the students were gathered, the group departed that very night, leaving Black Wind Ridge and heading for Blue Moon City.
After the day's ordeal, all the students were exhausted and fell asleep in the spacious carriage. Only Ye Xuan was still full of energy, sitting cross-legged in the swaying vehicle.
'After such a busy day, I finally have some free time. We only ran a few dozen li, yet this body is already so tired and sore. Its constitution is just too poor. Plus, it seems like there isn't a single shred of Profound Qi in my body. I need to give it a thorough inspection.'
Since his rebirth, Ye Xuan had first been busy scouting his surroundings, then he had been rushing around with Teacher Yun Aoxue. Only now did he finally have a moment to himself to conduct a proper self-examination.
He had discovered that his body seemed rather peculiar. As a Martial Artist who had opened one Profound Vein, he shouldn't be completely devoid of Profound Qi. As he focused his mind, information about this body flooded his memory.
Ye Xuan, a disciple of the Ye family from Cyan Mountain Town, a town under the jurisdiction of Blue Moon City. The Ye family was a powerful clan in Cyan Mountain Town, with a renowned and prestigious history stretching back over a hundred years.
His father, Ye Zhanyun, had once been the number one genius of the Ye family. For some unknown reason, he was severely injured during a training expedition, his meridians were all severed, and he became unable to cultivate the Martial Dao. He ended up becoming a deacon in the Ye family, managing some of its business affairs. The current Patriarch of the Ye family was Ye Xuan's uncle, Ye Zhanxiong.