Yan puffed out his chest and began counting on his fingers with great seriousness. "Like how to look cool during a fight! And how to properly curse someone out to their face so they get really angry. Also, the top ten best ways to coax you when you're upset, how to tell when someone is lying about your greatness, and..."
The more Huai heard, the more intense the throbbing in his temples became. He shot a glare at Wuhe, demanding a silent explanation for these "lessons," but Wuhe had suddenly become intensely fascinated by a particularly uninteresting cloud in the sky, whistling softly to himself and avoiding Huai's gaze entirely.
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed outside the courtyard gate.
"Your Highnesses! Ling Tian requests an audience with you!" Ling tian himself announced.
"Come in," Huai said gently.
Ling Tian rushed into the courtyard, his face pale and etched with worry, his breathing heavy and ragged. Seeing his distressed state, both Huai and Wuhe frowned slightly.
Yan, however, immediately puffed out his chest. "What happened, Brother Tian? Did someone bully you again? Just tell me who it is, and I'll get justice for you!" He flexed his non-existent muscle again for emphasis.
Ling Tian gave the boy a weary, grateful smile. He knew Yan was powerful, but against a Galaxy General, they were all nothing more than ants.
Yan frowned, concerned. He didn't want anyone to bully his new guide on Sword Star. Who else would show him all the beautiful scenery?
"What happened?" Huai asked, his voice still leisurely and calm. To him, very few things mattered in the grand scheme of the universe, and he rarely interfered unless the survival of humanity itself was at stake.
Ling Tian stammered as he recounted the entire story , his grandfather's grave injury, the tyranny of the Summoning Beast Pavilion's ancestor, and the impending doom facing his sect. Huai listened to every detail patiently, his expression unchanging.
When Ling Tian finished, Huai's first question was, "So your sect has already invited the 'Sage of the Seven Needles'?"
Ling Tian nodded numbly.
"Then you shouldn't need my help," Huai stated calmly. "As for the one who attacked your sect, that is your own problem to solve. I will not interfere in such matters unless they are evil by nature or humanity itself is in peril."
The words hit Ling Tian like a physical blow. A wave of despair washed over him. Without a second thought, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed deeply, his forehead touching the cold stone of the courtyard.
"Your Highness, I beg you!" he cried, his voice breaking. "The ancestor of the Summoning Beast Pavilion is evil by nature! He didn't just injure my grandfather; he threatened to enslave our entire sect! The hundreds of planets we protect, the billions of innocent lives... they will all be either slaughtered or forced into servitude! This isn't just a sect dispute; it's a catastrophe waiting to happen! Please, I implore you to reconsider!"
Yan looked at his master, his own eyes welling up with tears. "Please, Master, help Brother Ling Tian," he pleaded, his lower lip trembling. "If... if he gets hurt, who will show me Sword Star?"
Ling Tian, still in a deep kowtow, nearly face-planted into the stone floor upon hearing this. He cried silently in his heart, 'Damn it! He just wants me to be his guide. That's all this is about!'
Huai let out a long-suffering sigh. He affectionately rubbed Yan's head before giving him a light flick on the forehead. Yan yelped in mock pain, covering the spot with his hand while grinning at his master.
"You little rascal," Huai said, a smile playing on his lips. "You just want him for your guide, don't you?"
This time, Yan had no witty comeback. He darted behind Wuhe and peeked out, his cheeks flushed now that he'd been caught. Wuhe simply chuckled, amused by the boy's antics.
Huai waved his hand, and a gentle, irresistible force lifted Ling Tian back to his feet. "I cannot guarantee that I will intervene," Huai said, his tone shifting back to one of calm authority. "I will go with you. But I will only take action if these people are as evil as you claim. I will judge for myself."
Ling Tian's face lit up with overwhelming relief and hope. He had seen Wuhe's terrifying power firsthand, but he had never seen Huai himself take action. Yet, he knew with absolute certainty that for a being as powerful as Wuhe to act as a mere bodyguard, Huai's own status and strength must be immeasurable.
With the decision made, Huai, Wuhe, and Yan left the quiet courtyard, following Ling Tian toward the main sect hall of the Shadow Sword Sanctuary.
The Shadow Sword Sanctuary's main sect was headquartered on its own planet, Shadow Star, a massive world nearly half the size of the current Blue Star. Using a powerful teleportation formation, Huai and his companions arrived in an instant.
They materialized on a grand plaza where Elder Bai Mo was already waiting anxiously. Seeing Huai and Wuhe accompanying his Young Master, he immediately began to bow.
Huai just waved his hand, and a gentle force prevented the elder from completing the gesture. "Has the Sage arrived yet?" he asked directly.
Bai Mo hesitated, but a quick, insistent glance from Ling Tian told him to answer truthfully. "Yes, Your Highness. He arrived a short while ago with the Sect Master of the Medicine Gatherer Pavilion, Yao Shen, and the Young Miss, Yao Lingxi."
Huai's interest was piqued. "Oh? So Lingxi is here as well?"
Bai Mo was taken aback. "Your Highness, you know her?"
Huai simply nodded as Ling Tian gestured for them to follow, leading the group into the depths of the main sect.
Inside a lavish, tranquil courtyard, Sect Master Ling Zhan was personally entertaining his important guests. Seated across from him was Yao Shen, the dignified Sect Master of the Medicine Gatherer Pavilion. Beside Yao Shen sat the fabled 'Sage of the Seven Needles,' Mu Feng. Since officially becoming an elder of the Eternal Sect, the ravages of time had been reversed for him; he now appeared as a handsome man in his early thirties.
Mu Feng laughed heartily. "Hahaha! Sect Master Ling, there is no need for such grand courtesy!"
Ling Zhan waved his hands, his expression a mixture of embarrassment and sincerity. "How could I not? You are a renowned 4th-tier physician, celebrated throughout the Red Lotus Galaxy. Such a figure must be revered by all."
Mu Feng shook his head, a look of genuine shame on his face. "No, no! That title... I truly dislike that title. What 'Sage'? If I were a true sage, every sage in history would rise from their graves to spit on me collectively."
After joining the Eternal Sect, his worldview had been shattered. He had discovered the true meaning of profound medicinal knowledge in the sect's own Medicine Hall. He had met countless physicians there, any single one of whom could shake this entire galaxy with their skill if they ever left the sect. How could he, with his meager abilities, dare to accept the name of 'Sage' in their shadow?
Ling Zhan, completely missing the genuine crisis of confidence in the man before him, simply took it as a sign of profound humility, which only deepened his respect.
Lingxi, however, knew better. She lightly covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a chuckle. Her father, Yao Shen, sitting beside her, saw her reaction and sighed internally. Since his daughter's miraculous recovery and return, he had heard everything, the impossible stories about the Divine Physician and the unfathomable existence of the Eternal Sect. The tales were so bizarre, so far beyond the scope of his reality, that his mind struggled to even process them.
And now, one of the sect's outer elders was sitting right in front of him, hailed as a peerless sage across the galaxy, all thanks to the guidance of that same mysterious Divine Physician whom no one had ever seen.
Suddenly, Ling Zhan dropped to his knees, performing a full, heavy kowtow towards Mu Feng. Flustered, Mu Feng moved to help him up, but Ling Zhan continued speaking from the floor, his voice thick with desperation.
"Your Highness! Please, you must help us! My father, Ling Wei, is on the verge of death. Every 5th-rank physician in our sect has already failed to treat him. You are our only hope! Only you can perform a miracle, or else we will be forced to submit to the Summoning Beast Pavilion..."
Mu Feng sighed, the weight of the expectation heavy on his shoulders. "Sect Master Ling, please, stand up," he said, moving forward to offer a hand. "You must not kowtow to me. It is a physician's duty to treat the sick. I will do my best, but I must be honest, with my humble knowledge, I don't know if I will be able to fully heal him."
With Mu Feng's help, Ling Zhan rose to his feet, his heart swelling with even more respect for this powerful yet humble Sage.
"This way, please," Ling Zhan said, his voice regaining a sliver of hope. He then led Mu Feng, Yao Shen, and Lingxi toward the secret chamber where his father, the Old Ancestor, now lay in a devastating state.
Upon entering the secret chamber, they were hit by the coppery stench of blood, so thick it almost choked them. A dozen of the sect's highest-ranking physicians scurried around a large stone bed, their faces pale with exhaustion and despair. They worked frantically, trying to heal the mangled form of Ancestor Ling Wei, but their efforts were futile. For every wound they managed to suture, another would tear open elsewhere on his ravaged body.
Seeing their Sect Master arrive with the legendary Sage of the Seven Needles, the physicians immediately stopped their work and bowed. "We greet the Sage! We greet the Sect Master! We greet the Medicine Gatherer Pavilion Master!"
The three visitors nodded in grim acknowledgment.
Without a word, Mu Feng moved past them and approached the bed. The sight was horrific. The stone slab was completely soaked in crimson, and blood was still slowly seeping from the bedding, pooling on the floor in a morbid red puddle. Mu Feng had seen countless gruesome injuries in his long life, but never anything like this. The most miraculous part was that the person on the bed was, somehow, still breathing.
He drew a long, slender silver needle from his kit and gently inserted it into the back of Ling Wei's hand. As he channeled his energy through it to read the body's internal state, his expression shifted from professional calm to utter shock. His throat went dry, and a cold sweat broke out on his brow as the full extent of the damage was revealed to him. He quickly withdrew the needle, his hand trembling slightly.
He turned to face Ling Zhan, his eyes wide with a horrified disbelief.
"Every single bone in his body is shattered," Mu Feng said, his voice a strained whisper. "His meridians have been violently torn apart by some external force. And... and his very life force has been stolen... His dantian... it's been turned to dust."
He locked eyes with the terrified Sect Master. "This wasn't just an attack. The person who did this wanted him to suffer before death. They didn't want him to die a natural or quick death."
A collective gasp of horror echoed through the chamber. The other physicians finally understood why all their efforts had been useless. It wasn't a failure of their skill; it was a confrontation with an injury so malicious and absolute it defied the very principles of healing.