Chapter 53: Mental-Energy Boost

When Wen Yuzhi woke up again, he realized the bed he was sleeping on had changed—again.

That stone slab he’d slept on inside the rocky cave... someone seemed to have forcibly pried it loose, then hauled it an absurd distance and moved it into his room.

And now Wen Yuzhi was sleeping right on top of it. A steady stream of energy poured into his body, leaving him warm all over when he woke. The mental sea that had been drained to the point of exhaustion also felt full again.

He even sensed that his mental energy seemed a little more condensed than before. He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it...

Just as that thought crossed his mind, Merita came in as usual to check on him. The moment she saw the cub awake, she lit up with delight and immediately turned and ran out.

Very soon, one Saint Clan after another was standing by Wen Yuzhi’s bedside.

Mansendis reached out first, touching the cub’s forehead. It wasn’t hot—so the fever was gone.

He let out a breath of relief, then tucked Wen Yuzhi’s messy hair behind an ear and gently stroked it with his fingertips.

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

The silver-haired sovereign’s voice was low, and it sounded as if he’d deliberately softened his tone.

With that warm, gentle touch landing on his head, Wen Yuzhi couldn’t help lifting his face and nuzzling against it twice.

Hearing Mansendis’s voice, he blinked and instinctively opened his mouth to answer, “Gu... n-no, I don’t....”

The cub’s young voice was still a little halting, but the words came out much clearer than before.

Mansendis noticed that, but still lowered his head and said to Wen Yuzhi, “Can Mu Luo do a more detailed examination for you?”

The scene of Wen Yuzhi suddenly collapsing had truly terrified everyone.

In that instant, Mansendis’s mind had nearly gone blank. When he caught Wen Yuzhi, even his hands were trembling slightly.

Especially when he saw the cub in his palm—face pale and almost translucent, breathing faint and weak.

A surge of panic had flooded Mansendis’s chest.

The silver-haired sovereign had never, ever been this shaken.

His expression had been frantic. In that moment he couldn’t care about anything else—he didn’t even have the patience to wait for the other Saint Clan to catch up. He shifted back into beast form and carried the cub back to the palace at the fastest speed.

Fortunately, after Mu Luo’s examination, it was confirmed Wen Yuzhi wasn’t in serious danger. The cub had only burned through too much mental energy while soothing that out-of-control Saint Clan, and that exhaustion had made him pass out.

A good, long sleep and some rest, and he should be fine.

But Mu Luo still couldn’t help nagging, “His mental sea has only just awakened. How could you let him do something that dangerous?”

Doing mental combing and soothing for an out-of-control Saint Clan—was that something a cub who’d only recently hatched should be doing?

“Do you know how fragile a cub’s mental energy is during the growth stage? If something like today happens again, his mental sea will be completely ruined!”

By the end, Mu Luo’s tone even carried a faint edge of anger.

Because from Mu Luo’s perspective, this was simply outrageous.

So outrageous that Mu Luo briefly forgot the ones standing in front were the infamous, ferocious Saint Clan of the universe—forgetting even that the one at the highest position among them was their sovereign.

And listening to Mu Luo’s near-scolding, Mansendis didn’t argue back. He didn’t get offended, and he didn’t get angry.

He silently accepted Mu Luo’s criticism.

This time... he really hadn’t done well enough.

He’d thought he could protect the cub, but he’d forgotten Wen Yuzhi’s temperament—there was no way he would stand by and watch a Saint Clan die in agony right in front of him.

Even knowing what mental-energy overdraft could do, in that situation, Wen Yuzhi would probably still have chosen to save that soldier.

Mansendis couldn’t blame the cub for that choice. And he couldn’t take his anger out on the soldier, either—the soldier hadn’t done anything wrong.

No one could have predicted a sudden mental sea collapse.

The fury that churned in his chest went in a circle and, in the end, Mansendis could only blame himself—blame himself for failing to take proper care of the cub.

And that night, while Wen Yuzhi was still unconscious, he developed a high fever.

Seeing the cub lying there, burning and unable to wake, instantly made Mansendis think of Kanirila—back then Wen Yuzhi had looked just as pitiful, calling for his mom over and over.

But now Wen Yuzhi was so weak he couldn’t even call for his mom anymore. Eyes squeezed shut, breathing ragged and faint.

And because the cub’s body was so small, many medicines couldn’t be used on him directly.

Mu Luo thought it through and could only choose the simplest method: physical cooling.

Mansendis stood beside the bed. Whatever Mu Luo told him to do, he did. He didn’t let Mond and the others help. The silver-haired sovereign personally rolled up his sleeves, soaked a towel in water, wrung it out, and wiped the cub’s forehead, the back of his neck, and even his hands and feet.

This method worked slower than medicine or injections, and it had to be repeated again and again without stopping.

All night—he didn’t dare leave for even a moment.

Around dawn...

Mansendis went to the King’s Pool and brought that entire stone slab back to the palace.

He replaced the bed beneath Wen Yuzhi with the slab so Wen Yuzhi could absorb a constant flow of energy.

Even so, this time Wen Yuzhi remained unconscious for nearly three full days.

For those three days, the aura around Mansendis grew colder and colder by the day.

The atmosphere throughout the palace became stifling and heavy. Mu Luo ran to the little Highness’s room three times a day—morning, noon, and night.

Luckily, before Mansendis’s patience completely ran out, Wen Yuzhi finally woke up.

After waking, the cub had no idea what had happened during those days of unconsciousness. But when it came to a physical check, Wen Yuzhi still obediently cooperated as Mu Luo stuck all kinds of dazzling instruments onto him.

Lift an arm, and he lifted an arm. Open his mouth, and he opened his mouth. Occasionally, the soft little wings on his back would brush against Mu Luo by accident.

Mu Luo only managed to force down the urge to reach out and pet the cub because the silver-haired sovereign was standing right there.

And when the results came out and Mu Luo saw the data, even Mu Luo couldn’t help being surprised.

“The little Highness’s body has no major problems, and the mental-sea overdraft has recovered. It’s just that this mental energy...”

The Saint Clan in the room had just started to relax at the first half of the sentence—but the moment they heard that “it’s just,” their hearts shot right back up.

One pair of vertical pupils after another fixed on Mu Luo, grave and tense.

Only then did Mu Luo unhurriedly deliver the rest: “The little Highness’s mental energy is more active than before. I think the little Highness can feel that as well.”

Wen Yuzhi nodded. He really could sense that his mental energy had changed.

...So was that change good, or bad?

Facing the cub’s nervous, anxious eyes, Mu Luo smiled gently. “The tests show your mental energy has increased quite a lot.”

So it was good?

Wen Yuzhi blinked.

Mu Luo also found it hard to believe.

This time, after fainting, the little Highness’s mental energy had actually improved.

Meaning—after this round of combing and soothing, even though Wen Yuzhi had overdrawn his mental energy, he’d also, in a way, gained a small blessing in disguise.

This wasn’t unheard of among other races, but it was still an extremely rare case.

So Mu Luo emphasized, “This kind of exception is very rare. In most cases, forcibly overdrawing mental energy inevitably damages the mental sea. In severe cases, it can even cause mental sea collapse.”

“And if I’m not mistaken, the little Highness’s fever this time was probably triggered by that mental-energy increase.”

A high fever like the cub had—so sudden, so fierce—while being unable to take medicine or get injections, relying only on continuous cold compresses to bring the temperature down... making it through without incident had already been very fortunate.

But one stroke of luck didn’t mean the next time would be lucky too. If anything went even slightly wrong, Wen Yuzhi might never wake up again.

Mu Luo was afraid this group of Saint Clan wouldn’t take it seriously, so Mu Luo laid out the potential harm clearly, point by point.

Mansendis had personally cared for Wen Yuzhi for those three days—he knew better than anyone what the cub had looked like then. Listening to Mu Luo’s earnest warnings, he took it in like a student listening carefully, committing every word to memory.

Wen Yuzhi also hadn’t realized his actions had been that dangerous. Hearing Mu Luo make it sound more and more serious, he took advantage of everyone’s attention being on Mu Luo to quietly raise a hand and, feeling a little shaken after the fact, touch his forehead.

Not hot.

Wen Yuzhi thought he’d been subtle, but Mu Luo had been watching the cub’s movements the whole time.

Seeing that small, sneaky little gesture, the last bit of anger in Mu Luo’s chest instantly deflated like a popped balloon.

Even if Mu Luo wanted to keep scolding, he couldn’t get the words out anymore.

He gave a light cough.

Under the cub’s uneasy gaze, Mu Luo’s tone softened again. “But there’s no need to worry too much. The little Highness’s mental sea is still in a crucial development stage. Using mental energy appropriately isn’t a bad thing—it counts as training.”

“Just... behavior like this time, overdrawing it like that, absolutely cannot happen again.”

As Mu Luo spoke, thinking about the Saint Clan’s terrible mental states—states that couldn’t be dragged out any longer—Mu Luo hesitated, then added one more thing:

“Soothing and combing the mental sea is fine. The little Highness’s mental-energy increase this time is probably related to that, too. But you absolutely cannot overexert yourself. Remember—moderation.”

“I will remember.”

Mansendis gave a slight nod. Thinking about how Mu Luo had been genuinely attentive and diligent with the cub, he decided he would raise Mu Luo’s monthly pay again.

After Mu Luo left, Mansendis turned back and saw Wen Yuzhi looking at him.

Before the cub could ask, Mansendis spoke first. “That soldier is fine. Mond has already arranged for Woke to stay in the palace.”

In a sense, with that powerful recovery ability, Woke’s current condition was even better than Wen Yuzhi’s. There had basically been no further loss-of-control episodes.

Mu Luo had been observing Woke these past few days as well.

After all, this was the first case—after mental sea collapse—of someone being brought back.

Calling it extremely valuable wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Wen Yuzhi had only been worried that after he passed out, something might happen to Woke again. Hearing that Woke was recovering ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) well, he could finally relax.

He found his little board and wrote:

[Then can I keep helping you comb through everyone’s mental seas in the future?]

Mu Luo had said that using mental energy appropriately right now wasn’t a problem.

Wen Yuzhi immediately thought of how the Saint Clan’s mental seas seemed, more or less, to have issues—and his mental energy could soothe most of them.

Mansendis didn’t agree right away. He lowered his head and looked straight into Wen Yuzhi’s eyes.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

Afraid of the out-of-control Saint Clan—afraid of those ugly, ferocious forms when they lost their minds.

—Aren’t you afraid?

Wen Yuzhi nodded, then shook his head.

Fear... was there, a little.

But more than that was sadness.

Sadness for the pain the Saint Clan endured.

He hadn’t personally experienced a mental-energy riot, but just looking, he could tell it was a brutal kind of torment.

And the Saint Clan had already been living in that pain, again and again.

If it were before he came to Dark Tower Star, knowing this would only have made Wen Yuzhi think the Saint Clan were pitiful—he wouldn’t have felt much beyond that.

But after living on Dark Tower Star for this long, he’d already begun to see these Saint Clan as family, and this place as home. Looking at it now, he couldn’t stay detached anymore.

He thought about how many Saint Clan were still in the supervision ward, all in terrible condition. If not today, then tomorrow—they would end up like Woke, losing all reason, and dying in drawn-out agony.

Wen Yuzhi didn’t want to see that happen again. He knew his thinking was naïve.

But he wanted to help everyone—if only to ease even a little bit of their pain.

The cub didn’t speak, but the thought was almost written plainly in his eyes.

Mansendis was silent for a long time, and in the end, he agreed.

“If you want to do it, then do it. Later, I’ll also have Mond teach you how to use your mental energy.”

Then, just as Wen Yuzhi’s eyes were about to brighten, the silver-haired sovereign added blandly, “But not for now. You just woke up. Rest properly for two more days first.”

Mond, standing to the side, smiled and chimed in, “This subject will strictly supervise the little Highness.”

And Mond’s “strict supervision” really was strict.

Wen Yuzhi couldn’t even go out to the courtyard for a stroll after eating.

After this illness, the Saint Clan—already extremely careful with him—became even more careful.

Wen Yuzhi felt like, in Mond’s eyes, he’d basically turned into a fragile porcelain doll that would shatter with the slightest breeze.

Everyone was afraid something would happen to him.

But lying in bed all day was boring, so all Wen Yuzhi could do was stare at Yiluo and Feier, who were tasked with watching him and not letting him out of bed.

After a brief standoff, Wen Yuzhi decisively looked away and asked Mond on the board:

[Is my light-brain fixed?]

That night in the council hall, his light-brain had been left there.

Thankfully, Mond had later picked it up near the throne. The chip inside hadn’t been lost, but the light-brain itself had been damaged, so Mond had taken it to be repaired.

Wen Yuzhi hadn’t had much need for a light-brain lately, so he’d pushed it to the back of his mind.

Only now did he remember—his light-brain should be almost fixed, right?

“It’s already fixed.”

Mond had left the palace earlier specifically to retrieve it.

Ordinary repairs could be done within the palace, but to change its size—so it would fit Wen Yuzhi’s current body—Mond had to make a trip to Esoris, where the repair technicians could handle it.

Now that it was repaired, like the crown, it could automatically adjust its size according to the wearer.

Mond also placed contact links for Mond and Mansendis under the emergency-contact section.

In the future, if anything happened, Wen Yuzhi could contact them directly through the light-brain.

After receiving the repaired light-brain, Wen Yuzhi added Alvin’s and Mu Luo’s contact links too—along with everyone else. Yiluo and Feier weren’t left out.

In an instant, the contacts section on his light-brain became livelier than it had ever been.

He made a separate label for the group:

[Family]

But that also made the only pure-black avatar that wasn’t placed inside [Family] stand out as especially distinctive.