Chapter 126: Alice, the Mood Ruiner

Looking at the three shattered nameplates scattered on the ground before him, indistinguishable from one another, Hill couldn't help but click his tongue as he gazed toward the sky.

"Huo Ye—just from that name alone, one can somewhat understand why the Lord of Calamity is looking for him. Oh, King, my King, you really are… never mind, it’s all the same. I only need to offer my loyalty to the King."

Immediately, he recalled Huo Ye’s appearance, as seen through Kachi’s vision. That human seemed familiar; he had perhaps devoured one of his companions in the past. To kill a Calamity-level Kachi alone at such a young age—he might become a major threat in the future. He must kill him if the chance arises!

The opportunity was too good to miss. Using the nameplates, Hill synchronized his senses with those three Ultimate-level entities. This method was not difficult to execute, nor did it require taking over the subordinates' consciousness; as long as the owner of the nameplate remained alive, it could be used at will.

The three students of whom Bancroft was so proud were surely destined to be the ones to oppose their Twelve Calamities in the future. They had to be nipped in the bud.

He did not yet know that the Huo Ye mentioned by Qimu was the very same boy who looked familiar—the one he had marked for death.

***

The moment the battle ended, Huo Ye felt as if he had let out his final breath. Suddenly, his body went limp, and he collapsed onto the ground, his head bowing heavily. He fell asleep right there. When he finally woke up, he found himself lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV drip of glucose, his external injuries mostly healed.

However, the side effects of the "Lamp-Burning Life Exhaustion" technique remained. Once this move was used, Huo Ye’s bodily functions would decline, leaving him weak for at least a month. While sub-level stem cells could quickly heal physical trauma, they were powerless against a technique like Lamp-Burning Life Exhaustion, which caused the cells to devour themselves. It was only thanks to Huo Ye’s unique constitution that he survived; otherwise, beyond the weakness, he would have lost years off his lifespan.

Eddie had developed this technique as a contingency for opponents he could not defeat, though he had never used it himself until now.

As soon as he opened his eyes, Huo Ye felt an all-encompassing ache, a sensation nearly unprecedented for him. Usually, even if his muscles were fatigued from lactic acid, his sub-level stem cells would metabolize it rapidly; his exhaustion was typically purely mental.

But this was different. The pain of his cells consuming themselves felt as if countless tiny needles were piercing his muscles and bones, an agonizing itch radiating from the inside out.

"Calamity-level… did I really defeat one?" Huo Ye found it hard to believe, so much so that he began to ponder it as soon as he woke. Fighting a powerful opponent was a stroke of good fortune; the experience gained from such a life-and-death struggle—that flash of inspiration in a critical moment—was far more valuable than ordinary training. He had just been promoted to S-rank and already fought a Calamity-level battle; perhaps once he recovered, his strength would advance by leaps and bounds.

He looked around. There was no one nearby. He must have been unconscious for a very long time; otherwise, someone would surely be keeping him company. He glanced at the digital clock on the wall. It seemed like… ten days! Good grief! I’ve been out for ten days!

Huo Ye was stunned. It was the first time in his life he had been unconscious for so long. What was that? Had he taken a stroll across the Bridge of Helplessness? Ignoring the pain in his body, he gritted his teeth and sat up, only to find his bones aching, as if fractured. Even his left eye, which had gone blind during the battle, still saw things somewhat blurrily.

"Is this a side effect? No way… such injuries should heal after a few dozen bottles of glucose." Huo Ye had always treated fatal wounds lightly, a mindset formed by his years of rapid regeneration. But now, he understood: while Lamp-Burning Life Exhaustion could boost his combat power in the short term, it also damaged his sub-level stem cells' self-healing ability. That was why his wounds had not yet healed.

Huo Ye suddenly recalled what Kachi had said: his healing ability was inferior even to that of an ordinary Ultimate-level entity; in the end, he was just a fragile human.

"I must be more careful in the future," Huo Ye warned himself, then prepared to swing his legs off the bed.

But the moment his feet touched the floor, he felt his legs turn to jelly. His entire body lacked strength, and he began to collapse toward the ground.

Just as his knees were about to hit the floor, his descent was halted. Huo Ye looked at the person supporting him. It wasn't Alice or his mother as he had expected, but… Shangguan Yudie.

Shangguan Yudie helped Huo Ye sit back on the bed. Huo Ye asked her a few questions and learned what had happened during his absence.

Since defeating Kachi, Huo Ye was, without question, the top student in the academy’s examination. Some said Huo Ye was just lucky to have been assigned a Calamity-level challenge, and that defeating it naturally made him number one. Look at Tan Xiao—the top-ranked student in the academy—who ended up with some old man he could handle with ease. It was said that many who watched Tan Xiao crush that Ultimate-level old man left in disappointment; a good show had been ruined just like that.

But others argued that it was fortunate it was Huo Ye. If it had been Tan Xiao or Huo Xialan facing that Calamity-level opponent, they might have come out missing limbs, their futures ruined—things that happened all too often at Bancroft.

Huo Ye never cared for gossip; facts spoke louder than words.

During those ten days, Huo Ye’s performance on the field had also drawn significant attention. The revelation of his "Darkness Compatibility" had caused a stir, like a boulder thrown into a lake. However, neither Eddie nor the academy’s higher-ups had offered any explanation, and the tabloids couldn't dig up anything—after all, it was Huo Ye’s trump card, and it was normal for him to keep it quiet.

Consequently, rumors began to circulate that Huo Ye could use lightning-type abilities, perhaps making him an unprecedented dual-attribute user. Unfortunately, their limited perspective hindered their imagination—Huo Ye was a master of all seven elements.

"Brother Ye, your recovery has slowed significantly, but you’ve been getting better over the last two days," Shangguan Yudie said. She was always more talkative when she was alone with him.

"I can feel it. It’s just the side effect of cellular autophagy. It’s a miracle I didn’t die young. I don’t know how long it will take to recover. I used to spend the time others used for healing to train, and I even mocked them in my heart. Now the tables have turned, and it’s my turn. Thinking back, I’m not some immortal being, yet I fight like my life is worthless. I really should be more restrained."

As Huo Ye sighed, Shangguan Yudie nodded earnestly.

"You must. Be careful. You scared me to death back there."

"Heh, I saw you. You were… thinking of breaking the force field, weren't you?"

Once Huo Ye finished speaking, the two fell into a long silence. Huo Ye endured the pain to scoot a little further away. Neither dared to look at the other, as if they feared that if their eyes met, they wouldn't be able to speak, leading only to further awkwardness.

*Little Yu… should be… to me, but I still…* Huo Ye thought. He wanted to speak clearly to Shangguan Yudie. He wasn't a boy experiencing his first crush; it was best to clarify matters of the heart from the start. Otherwise, as both sides sank deeper, they might not even be able to remain friends in the end.

"Little Yu, I have something to tell you. I…"

Shangguan Yudie’s eyes widened, terrified that Huo Ye might say something she couldn't accept. Huo Ye’s tone suggested he was struggling. She felt she knew what he was struggling with.

She didn't really want to hear it, but avoidance never solved problems. So… she had to face it and then clarify her own feelings to Brother Ye. *I like you. If you don't like me, I’ll find a way to make you like me. I will never settle for a one-sided love, because that is just self-torture.*

But just as Huo Ye hesitated on how to phrase his rejection, the hospital room door was suddenly pushed open.

"Little Yu, didn't you say you were just checking to see if my brother was awake and then leaving? Why has it been so long? Ah!" Alice pushed the door open, her eyes tearing up the moment she saw Huo Ye sitting on the bed. Without a word, she rushed over, hugged him, and began to cry.

"Why did you just wake up now? I was worried to death! Didn't you always recover in just a few hours before? I thought you were going to be a vegetable! You scared me to death! Waaaah!"

Huo Ye helplessly patted Alice’s back to comfort her. "Alright, alright, am I not fine now? They say the good die young and the wicked live for a thousand years. A guy like me—sharp-tongued and petty, always rubbing salt into wounds—deserves to live a long life."

Alice burst into laughter, wiping away her tears. "Still the same old motormouth brother. Looks like you really are fine." She then turned and glared at Shangguan Yudie, scolding, "And you! My brother is awake, how can you be so calm? Could you show a little more emotion? You could have told me! I’ve been standing outside the hospital for half…"

Before Alice could finish, she realized something was wrong. Shangguan Yudie’s gaze seemed somewhat resentful. Had she done something to offend the mild-mannered Yudie? Could it be…

Alice suddenly remembered that when she rushed in, Huo Ye seemed to be about to say something to Shangguan Yudie, only to stop mid-sentence. *Oh no. Did I ruin their moment?* No, run! Run fast! Being hated by Shangguan Yudie was a small matter, but having her brother cut off her food supply was the real tragedy. It had been ten days of takeout; she was sick of it!

"Uh, you two continue. I'm going back to the club." Alice fled in a panic, forgetting to even close the door.

Shangguan Yudie looked at Huo Ye. The atmosphere had been ruined by Alice—what was left to continue?

"I’m leaving too. Rest well, Brother Ye."

"Right."