102: Chapter 102 The Land of Gentle Comfort

Zhang Wen also fainted due to spiritual energy exhaustion.

...

When Zhang Wen opened his eyes again, the first thing he smelled was a faint medicinal fragrance mixed with a familiar gardenia scent—it was the smell of the hand cream Ding Siyi often used.

He moved his fingers and found himself lying in soft bedding, his left hand being gently held by someone.

Turning his head, he saw Ding Siyi asleep by the bedside. There were faint dark circles under her eyes, and her originally smooth hair was a bit messy; she had clearly stayed up for several nights.

At the moment he collapsed three days ago, in his blurred consciousness, he only remembered someone catching him. That embrace carried a familiar warmth and softness, along with uncontrollable trembling.

Looking at her exhaustion now, Zhang Wen felt a warmth in his heart. He wanted to reach out and tidy her hair for her, but found his whole body aching intensely; even a slight exertion pulled at his Meridians, causing pain.

This slight movement startled Ding Siyi.

She jerked her head up, her eyes still filled with the confusion of just waking up. The moment she saw Zhang Wen's eyes open, that confusion was instantly replaced by pleasant surprise, and her eyes reddened at once: "You're awake?!"

Her voice was heavily raspy, as if she hadn't spoken properly for a long time.

Seeing Zhang Wen trying to sit up, she hurriedly pressed him down: "Don't move! Senior Sister Wen Yue said your spiritual energy exhaustion was too severe, and your Meridians were almost shattered by the backlash of the Thunder Power. You need to stay lying down."

As she spoke, she got up to pour a glass of warm water and carefully moistened his lips with a cotton swab.

When her fingertips touched his dry, cracked lips, Zhang Wen could feel her trembling slightly.

"How long have I been asleep?" His voice was as dry as sandpaper rubbing together.

"Three days."

Ding Siyi's eyes grew even redder. "You scared me to death when you collapsed... Vice Principal Zhou said you forcibly channeled your spiritual energy and almost cost yourself your Foundation."

She paused, her voice lowering, "While I was watching over you, I was always afraid that you'd be like that time in the Sunset Forest, falling asleep and never waking up."

Zhang Wen's heart felt as if it were being tugged by something.

He squeezed her hand back; though he had little strength, his grip was steady: "This time is different. I won."

Ding Siyi was amused by his serious expression and let out a "pfft" laugh, but tears fell along with it.

"Who cares if you won or not? I only want you to be okay."

She wiped away her tears and brought over the medicine bowl from beside her.

"Senior Sister said you could drink the medicine once you woke up. It's a bit bitter, so I've prepared some candied fruit for you."

The medicinal liquid was thick and black, and a bitter scent wafted from it as it drew near.

Just as Zhang Wen was about to open his mouth, Ding Siyi suddenly remembered something. She scooped a spoonful of medicine, took a small sip herself to test the temperature, and then brought it to his lips.

"It's not hot anymore. Drink slowly."

As the bitter medicine slid down his throat, Zhang Wen didn't find it hard to swallow.

Looking at Ding Siyi's focused profile, he suddenly remembered the overwhelming cheers on the arena three days ago.

At this moment, he understood that compared to those mountain-shaking waves of praise, the worry and protection of the person before him were the most solid reliance.

After the bowl of medicine was finished, Ding Siyi indeed handed him a piece of candied fruit.

As the sweet and sour flavor dissolved on the tip of his tongue, Zhang Wen suddenly grabbed her wrist and gave a gentle pull.

Ding Siyi was caught off guard and tumbled onto the edge of the bed, bumping right into his embrace.

"Mm..."

Just as she was about to speak, Zhang Wen pressed the back of her neck, and a kiss carrying the taste of medicine landed softly on her lips.

His kiss was very light, carrying a cautious treasure, as if afraid of hurting her, yet also as if confirming something.

Ding Siyi stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. She raised her hands to encircle his waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck, saying muffledly, "You've only just woken up and you're already being naughty."

Zhang Wen chuckled, his voice carrying the sigh of a survivor: "Thank you, Siyi."

Ding Siyi didn't speak, she only held him a bit tighter.

The sunlight fell upon the two of them through the window lattices, warming the bedding. The gardenia scent mixed with the medicinal fragrance also became exceptionally sweet.

Zhang Wen knew that once he recovered from his injuries, an even broader world would be waiting for him.

But at this moment, he only wanted to linger in this brief moment of tenderness, feeling the real warmth in his arms—this was the thing he most wanted to protect while hacking through thorns and brambles.

Just as Zhang Wen was immersing himself in the warmth of Ding Siyi's palm, a cold mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind, breaking the tranquility of the sickroom:

"Congratulations to the host for achieving excellent results in the Quarterly Competition. Comprehensive performance rating: SSS-grade."

The mechanical voice paused for a moment, as if to build atmosphere, and in the next second, it suddenly rose half a pitch, carrying a hint of undetectable sharp radiance:

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining an SSS-grade evaluation! The rewards are as follows—"

"Reward 1: SSS-grade Spiritual Artifact 'sky-splitting startling thunder spear'."

As soon as the words fell, a blinding purple-gold Lightning Radiance exploded in Zhang Wen's Sea of Consciousness, and the phantom of a long spear slowly condensed.

The spear shaft was about seven feet long, forged from an unknown dark-gold metal. Its surface was entwined with dense thunder patterns, which upon closer inspection, looked like countless miniature thunder dragons swimming about;

The spear tip was triangular, and a wisp of purple-black Tribulation Thunder aura lingered at its sharp edge, as if it could tear through the sky;

Most peculiar was the butt of the spear, where a crystal the size of a pigeon egg was embedded. Lightning and electric arcs flickered constantly within the crystal, and the faint sound of thunder could be heard.

"Note: This spear contains an Ancient Thunder Crystal core, which can actively draw upon the Heaven and Earth Thunder Power within a ten-mile radius for one's own use.

It has 100% compatibility with the host's 'Nine Heavens Tribulation Thunder' Cultivation Technique, with no risk of backlash."

"Reward 2: cultivation advancement card (Subtle Realm exclusive)."

The phantom of a card shimmering with a pale purple glow emerged in his consciousness.

"Note: After use, it can directly Breakthrough the current Realm and promote one to the Peak of the Microscopic Realm. The process is gentle and painless, the Foundation is automatically stabilized, and there are no side effects."

"Reward 3: 20,000 Points."

A golden number "20,000" jumped out and landed steadily on the Points panel in his Sea of Consciousness. After stacking with his original Points, the total instantly broke thirty thousand again.

"Reward 4: Special Gacha Opportunity x1."

A wheel phantom flashing with seven-colored light slowly turned. Dozens of areas such as "Cultivation Technique Upgrade," "Physique Strengthening," "Spiritual Artifact Fragment," and "Rare Materials" were distributed on the wheel.

The light in each area varied in brightness, clearly indicating that the winning probabilities were different.

All the phantoms of the rewards hovered in the Sea of Consciousness for a moment, then turned into streams of light and sank into the depths of his consciousness, leaving behind clear imprints of information.

Zhang Wen could even feel the phantom of the "sky-splitting startling thunder spear" vibrating slightly at the bottom of his Sea of Consciousness, as if longing for a complete Fusion with his mind.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surge in his heart—the richness of these SSS-grade rewards far exceeded his expectations.

Especially that "sky-splitting startling thunder spear"; it was practically a killing weapon tailor-made for him. With this spear, his combat power could increase by at least thirty percent.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing his mouth curl up unconsciously, Ding Siyi reached out and poked his cheek, "Did you secretly find some treasure?"

Zhang Wen came back to his senses and met her curious gaze, a smile rippling in his eyes.

"You could say that. When I get better, I'll show you something new."

He didn't explain the System in detail—this was his greatest secret.

But he knew that with these rewards, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap.

In the future, no matter what kind of challenge he faced, he would be able to stand before Ding Siyi with more confidence and shield her from the wind and rain.

The sunlight outside the window was just right, and Ding Siyi tucked in the corners of his quilt.

"Recover from your injuries first. Vice Principal Zhou was just here to see you. He said that once you wake up and recover, you should go to the Principal's place; it seems he has important business with you."

Zhang Wen nodded in agreement, his fingertips gently stroking the warmth in his palm, his mind already made up.

Refine the rewards first, stabilize his Realm, and then go see the Principal—the path belonging to him had only just begun to unfold.