The Earth-Split Demon Turtle had actually collapsed. This came as a great surprise to both Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan, but they also breathed a sigh of relief.
If the Earth-Split Demon Turtle had continued its assault, they might have truly ended up like the other students, their lives left here forever.
However, the two quickly realized what had happened. The turtle getting back up just now must have been a final, desperate resurgence. If they weren't mistaken, its life force was now rapidly draining away, and it would soon be dead.
"Xinlan, how are you feeling? You were injured so badly this time. Should you take another Holy Medicine?" Ye Tian asked Zhang Xinlan.
"There's no need. I haven't fully absorbed the effects of the Holy Medicine yet. An injury to the Heart Vein is incredibly difficult to heal. If it weren't for your Holy Medicine, I might have already perished. I won't die now, but I'll need some time to recover," Zhang Xinlan said.
Ye Tian glanced at Zhang Xinlan. He was about to say something more but swallowed his words. 'To have such a perfect woman by my side through thick and thin... it's truly moving.'
"Ye Tian, you're not lightly injured either. To be honest, I never expected you to possess such formidable Attack Power. It's truly forced me to see you in a new light. You're incredible, truly worthy of being the Young Master of Shen Li Palace," Zhang Xinlan said, forcing a smile onto her face.
Ye Tian knew she was in great pain. "Xinlan, I'm fine, don't worry about me. You should sit down and heal. I can be your Protector! Of course, I can also heal at the same time. I'll just let the Snake King out."
"Good idea. I need to heal as well, otherwise my strength will decline, and my old injuries might flare up," Zhang Xinlan said with a serious expression. She then sat on the ground and began to slowly circulate the Spiritual Power within her body.
Ye Tian checked his own condition and found that his Dragon Scales were slowly disappearing. This meant the passive state of the Divine Dragon Battle Body's Fourth Layer had deactivated, and he had returned to his normal appearance.
Seeing this, a wave of lingering fear washed over Ye Tian. He quickly scanned his surroundings and found that all the other students here were dead. Only then did he feel a little better.
It wasn't that Ye Tian was cold-blooded, but his secret absolutely could not be known by others right now. The Dragon Pearl—that was something the world coveted. If anyone learned that Dragon Scales could appear on his body, there was no telling how many people would hunt him down.
At that point, vast as the world was, there would be no place for him to hide. The fact that the Earth-Split Demon Turtle had killed them all saved him a lot of trouble. Although he felt a twinge of guilt, there was nothing to be done.
The law of the jungle is kill or be killed. To become strong, one must walk a path paved with death. Only those who have clawed their way out from a pile of corpses can be considered truly powerful.
With a thought, Ye Tian summoned the Snake King from his Storage Ring. The Snake King's appearance was a little different than before. After a flash of fiery red light, a small snake appeared beside Ye Tian.
The Snake King was shocked to see the state of Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan. It asked hurriedly, "Boss, what happened to you? Why are you so heavily injured?"
By now, the Dragon Scales on Ye Tian's body had vanished completely. He looked down at himself and discovered several bloody holes near his ribs. Although they were no longer bleeding, they had not fully healed.
Given his powerful Defense Power, this shouldn't have happened. It either meant he was truly far more injured than he thought, or it was a phenomenon that occurred only after some of his Dragon Scales were knocked off. He couldn't be sure.
"It's nothing, Snake King. Right now, Xinlan and I are both badly hurt and need to recover. You will be our Protector! Most importantly, don't let anyone touch the Earth-Split Demon Turtle's corpse. Its Earth Attribute Magic Crystal is very important to me," Ye Tian said to the Snake King.
The Snake King had noticed the enormous Earth-Split Demon Turtle the moment she appeared. However, she didn't ask Ye Tian about it right away, because she knew that the grave injuries Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan had sustained were surely related to that giant creature.
But the creature was now at death's door. Its eyes were closed, and it would probably be completely dead in a little while. Seeing the utterly ravaged landscape, she could only imagine how ferocious the battle must have been.
The Snake King scanned the area before saying to Ye Tian, "Don't worry, Boss. I will protect you with all my strength. Just focus on recovering! I'll go find a place to hide now."
Ye Tian nodded, then sat on the ground and began to circulate the Dragon Spiritual Power in his body. A sliver of regret entered his heart. 'I really should have let the Snake King out to help earlier. With her strength, she might have been able to fight the Earth-Split Demon Turtle to a standstill, and Zhang Xinlan and I could have helped her easily finish it off.'
'We wouldn't have ended up this injured, especially Zhang Xinlan... Her Heart Vein is damaged. I bear an undeniable responsibility for that.'
Meanwhile, the Snake King quickly flew a circle in the air before landing in a large tree, concealing her body. If any strangers were to appear, they would be met with a terrifying, purple Thunder Attack.
Time slowly passed. An hour later, the Earth-Split Demon Turtle finally lost all signs of life. The once-imperious Tier Five Demon Beast had fallen at Ye Tian's hands after all.
A thin mist began to rise from Zhang Xinlan's body. It was a watery vapor that slowly shifted in front of her, advancing and retreating in a very strange manner.
Her complexion, however, had improved significantly. The Recovery Power of a Five Veins expert was truly astonishing.
Ye Tian's recovery was even faster. After about an hour, his wounds were basically invisible, though his body still ached. This was likely because of the Dragon Scales that had been knocked off.
His Dragon Spiritual Power, however, was severely depleted, and he needed to absorb Spirit Stones to replenish it. Ye Tian simply took out a few Top Grade Spirit Stones and began to absorb them.
At dusk, the chirping of sparrows filled the air. Ye Tian and Zhang Xinlan were still recovering. Ye Tian was almost fully healed, but Zhang Xinlan still needed a little more time.
The Snake King didn't want these sparrows disturbing the pair, so she released a burst of her Fierce Beast aura. The presence of a Tier Five Demon Beast was terrifying, and the sparrows instantly vanished.
Just then, several figures suddenly appeared before the Snake King. "Quick, look! That big turtle's already been killed! I told you we'd be able to get something good out of this, but you didn't believe me."
"You've got some damn good luck, kid, actually managing to escape with your life. I wonder if those two you mentioned are dead yet? If they knew what you were doing now, they'd probably cough up blood in frustration," another person said.
"Every man for himself. So what if they saved me? To be honest, though, that woman was absolutely stunning. If she's not dead, you all will get to see her peerless beauty. But let's make a deal: the big turtle's Magic Crystal is yours, but the woman... she's mine! It would be worth dying to have a tender moment with a woman like that!" the student said…