Chapter 134: EX Apprentice and Master

Rainbow-colored streamers flickered atop Sigh Cliff, as if dominating the entire canopy of sky.

As the boy’s ability to think slowly returned, the moment his eyelashes fluttered, and the Spirit Energy Halo within his eyes brightened once more, what he saw was Hiliard’s face and the rainbow light filling the entire summit of Sigh Cliff.

"What... happened?"

Ian asked with effort yet felt that his body was not as heavy as he had imagined, "I remember... I won, didn’t I?"

"Mm."

Seated against the rock, the old Knight nodded with a smile. He answered calmly, "Indeed, you won—but was it really worth it, wrecking your body to such an extent?"

"Hahaha, look at what you’re saying, Teacher."

With a sigh of relief, Ian laughed heartily. He tried to sit up but found that the arm at his side was still sore and numb, as if he couldn’t control his body after drinking too much alcohol, so he gave up. "Aren’t we still alive? Doesn’t that make it worth it?"

"Foolish boy, unafraid of death..."

Hiliard snorted, his expression serious as he said, "Listen, Ian. I have removed most of the toxin from your body, but due to the spread of the thunder and the effects of the Sumo Wine Nucleus toxin, there will be extremely severe sequelae left in your body."

"You will lose many physical sensations, including most of your sense of smell, taste, and ability to perceive pain. This is almost irreversible, only until you reshape the Spiritual Neural Network in the future might you be able to heal it."

"Is that so?" When he heard this, even Ian, who had just been smiling, was stunned for a moment.

But shortly thereafter, he continued to smile nonchalantly, "Although it’s a pity, I really look forward to it... There are so many flavors in this world that I don’t know about, that I haven’t tried."

"To temporarily part with them now, the longer I wait, the more interesting it will feel when I taste them later."

"...Everything is interesting to you, you are just too optimistic,"

Hiliard said, momentarily stunned by his disciple’s reply, and then laughed at the response.

But he immediately became serious again: "These sequelae, I have already healed you of them just now; at most for a month or two, you might find food tasteless."

The old Knight spoke softly, "Take a look at your chest."

Ian looked down.

Then, he saw a wound at his chest that was slowly healing.

With the young man’s knowledge of human anatomy, he could tell that the wound had cut through the Flesh and Blood of his chest. On closer examination, it seemed that even the bone plate had been skillfully pried open and then closed up again.

From within the wound, faint golden mist was shimmering.

"What is this?"

Blinking in surprise, Ian looked up at the old Knight.

He intended to ask Hiliard what high-level Secret Medicine he had placed inside his body, wondering if it wouldn’t be better for him to take it himself—after all, not being able to taste or smell wasn’t a big deal, and he should let the situation look worse on his Teacher before discussing it.

But a bolt of lightning tore across the dark night, causing him to stare blankly at his own Teacher’s chest and abdomen, which bore a huge wound.

It was a gaping cut that could easily be described as ’gutted’...

What was strange was that there were no innards within Hiliard’s abdomen, only clusters of stone-like grey-white material.

And that wasn’t all.

From Hiliard’s legs up to his chest, the grey-white traces continued to spread.

Stripped of all color and wonder, the old Knight’s Body was gradually turning into the most Ordinary rock... lifeless stone.

"What’s happening?!"

Rising to his feet—Ian appeared to shake off all the pain and constraints on his body in an instant, staring in shock at the calmly smiling Hiliard.

Then, with the swiftest movement, he leaned forward, wanting to touch the enormous wound: "What has happened... Teacher, could it be... could it be..."

Even with Ian’s keenness and Wisdom, he hadn’t quite grasped what was going on at first.

Or perhaps he didn’t want to understand.

The youth touched the grey-white rocky materials. They were the stone, but not hard. It seemed that with the slightest force, they would completely disintegrate into dust, causing Ian to subconsciously retract his hand, not daring to touch any more of it.

He was completely panicked.

"Calm down... Ian, calm down. Haha, you’re actually much calmer and more rational than me. Probably the least I need to instruct you in is just that,"

In contrast to Ian’s panic, Hiliard indifferently watched the grey-white marks continuing to spread on his body, "Originally, even if you didn’t die, the excessive toxins would have caused you to lose your sense of touch, taste, and smell, as the toxins would have led to organ failure, and your brain filled with various impurities, likely turning you into a fool with sluggish thoughts."

"A mind like yours should not meet such an end. I believe firmly that your Wisdom can change this world."

"Therefore, I gave you my Heart Core and used the last of my Origin Quality to expel most of the toxins for you."

"How can it be given back?"

Without any hesitation, Ian supported his teacher leaning against the rock, his tone resolute and forbidding any doubt, "Most of my toxins have already been expelled."

"Tell me how to give it back."

Hiliard looked at Ian with a peculiar gaze. He seemed to want to smile, but his gaze pierced through Ian, as if looking at someone very far away in the distance.