56: Chapter 56 Awakening

By the time the water in the pool had completely quieted down, it was already early morning.

Commander Han Tieshan was leaning against the wall, having already changed shifts multiple times.

He hadn't left; while others rotated shifts, he did not.

The color of the pool water had changed.

The Marrow Cleansing Pool, originally full of divine marrow cleansing fluid, now had less than a third remaining, and its color was murky and dull; the concentration of spiritual energy had visibly thinned.

Wang Zongren had lost several pounds over these past few days.

He checked the test data every hour, and each time he finished reading it, he had to take a deep breath to steady his expression.

At this moment, he was standing in front of the instrument again.

Staring at the latest set of data.

"Commander Han Tieshan."

Commander Han Tieshan sprang up from the wall: "What is it?"

"The Dragon Essence signal inside his body has disappeared."

"Disappeared? What do you mean?"

"It didn't dissipate; it was completely absorbed. The entire curve has returned to zero."

Wang Zongren's voice was trembling, "That Dragon Emperor origin inside his body before—now, not even a trace of it can be detected."

"Where did they go?"

Wang Zongren pointed to another curve.

That was the curve representing Li Zhengyang's own life energy.

Seven days ago, it was so weak it was almost touching the baseline.

Now, it had surged to the top of the instrument's measurement range.

The numbers on the display were flashing because it had already exceeded the maximum measurement range of the instrument.

"It's off the charts." Wang Zongren spat out the three words dryly.

Commander Han Tieshan turned his head sharply to look at the pool.

The water in the pool was still murky, making it impossible to see the situation at the bottom.

Four guards stood at the four corners, on high alert the entire time.

The hall was so quiet that one could hear the sound of dripping water.

The next second.

A faint ripple spread from the center of the pool to the surroundings.

The water surface broke.

A head emerged.

Li Zhengyang opened his eyes.

There was no leakage of aura.

He just opened his eyes quietly.

But the four Martial King guards simultaneously took half a step back.

It was their legs reacting automatically.

That feeling was very strange.

It was like walking on a grassland and suddenly discovering a fierce beast beside you without knowing when it had appeared.

Reason tells you it has no hostility, but instinct has already reacted for you.

Li Zhengyang sat up in the pool and looked down at himself.

The charred skin had all peeled off, soaking in the pool water.

On the newly revealed skin, there were faint dark golden patterns.

He flexed his fingers.

Crack, crack-crack.

His joints made crisp sounds.

Commander Han Tieshan walked quickly to the edge of the pool, opening his mouth as if to say something, but his eyes turned red first.

Li Zhengyang looked up at him.

Then he opened his mouth and said the first sentence after waking up.

"Should the usage fee for the Marrow Cleansing Pool be deducted from my bonus?"

Commander Han Tieshan was stunned.

Wang Zongren was dumbfounded on the spot.

The four Martial King guards looked at each other, their expressions very subtle.

Lei Qianjue, leaning in the corner of the hall with his arms crossed, felt his shoulders shake.

Then he let out a short laugh.

Commander Han Tieshan came back to his senses and said speechlessly.

"You!"

He pointed at Li Zhengyang in the pool, his finger trembling, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "The first thing you say when you wake up is to settle accounts with me?"

Li Zhengyang stood up in the pool.

Water dripped off him.

He stood there stark naked, the dark golden patterns all over his body appearing as if they had melted into his skin.

"Commander Han Tieshan, I'm not settling accounts with you."

"I'm asking who is paying for this. If it's to be deducted from my bonus, I need to know in advance so I can budget."

Commander Han Tieshan almost choked on his breath.

Lei Qianjue laughed out loud, no longer holding back.

"Alright." Lei Qianjue walked over from the corner, swept a glance at Li Zhengyang, "The Marrow Cleansing Pool is military property, and you are personnel within the military establishment, so the usage fee will not be charged to your personal account."

Li Zhengyang nodded, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

"Find him some clothes."

Lei Qianjue waved his hand at the person beside him.

Wang Zongren scrambled to find a set of clothes and handed it over.

Li Zhengyang took it and put it on.

After putting on the clothes, he felt his pockets.

Empty.

"Where is my phone?"

Commander Han Tieshan: "Your phone was shattered long ago. With that hit from the Dragon Emperor, there wasn't a single thing on your body that was intact."

"What about my space ring?"

Li Zhengyang pressed on.

Commander Han Tieshan was taken aback: "What?"

"The spoils from the magical beasts I killed earlier were inside the space ring. Is the ring still there? No one touched it, right?"

Commander Han Tieshan's face twitched.

He suddenly wished it would have been better if this kid hadn't woken up.

"It's here." Commander Han Tieshan replied stiffly with one word, "Your personal belongings are all in the medical center's safe; no one touched them."

"Good."

Li Zhengyang responded and didn't say anything else.

He looked down at his hands.

Clenched his fist, then released it.

The dark golden patterns flickered beneath his skin.

The system panel floated in his field of vision.

It was much clearer than before, and the parts that had been shattered previously had mostly been repaired.

[Vitality Value: 598628]

[Realm: Martial Emperor Rank 1]

He stared at the numbers for two seconds.

Martial Emperor.

The Vitality Value required for each rank is ten times that of a Martial King.

He went over his accounts in his mind.

The money he had saved before was mostly burned through when he broke through to Martial King, and the thirty million borrowed from Commander Xiao Ding had also been completely poured into it.

Now he was essentially a pauper again, still owing a mountain of debt.

"What are you thinking about?"

Lei Qianjue's voice interrupted him.

Li Zhengyang looked up.

Lei Qianjue stood in front of him with his hands behind his back, his tone heavy.

"Come with me. There is something to discuss with you."