46: Chapter 46 Xuanjing Meeting!

In the desolate wilderness.

The night was thick. Wind whistled through the withered forest, whipping up gravel and dust from the ground with a fine, grinding sound. From a distance, even the moonlight falling into it seemed heavy.

Deep in the forest lay an underground air-raid shelter that had been abandoned for many years.

The entrance had long been hidden by vines and dead branches. Unless one were looking for it intentionally, no one would have imagined that such a place existed in this godforsaken area on the outskirts of Jiangcheng.

Walking inside, the chill grew deeper.

The walls were damp, with water droplets sliding slowly down the cracks in a rhythmic ticking sound. The air was thick with the smell of blood, medicine, and the decayed scent that only comes from long-term lack of sunlight.

And deep within this eerie, cramped base...

A group of black-robed people were kneeling on the ground.

They formed a semicircle, each with their head bowed. Their black robes were wide, sleeves hanging down, leaving only pairs of bloodshot eyes exposed, filled with a nearly pathological fervor.

In the center of the semicircle stood a stone platform.

On the platform lay an arm.

To be precise, it was a severed limb that had already been dissected.

The flesh had been peeled back, the meridians picked out layer by layer, and the fascia meticulously separated. Even every bundle of muscle fiber seemed to have been handled with extremely precise technique, spread out clearly.

But the truly bizarre thing wasn't its tragic state.

It was the fact that it was still 'alive.'

Though the severed limb was clearly detached from a body, it still maintained a certain eerie vitality. Deep within the muscle, it would twitch from time to time, the fascia would tighten slightly, and something seemed to flow slowly beneath the meridians, causing the entire arm to vibrate with extreme subtlety.

It looked like an arm that had been peeled open.

It also looked like a monster that hadn't quite died yet.

In front of the stone platform stood a white-clothed member.

Amidst the shadows of the kneeling black robes, his white clothes were exceptionally jarring and cold. He wore a deathly pale mask, revealing only a pair of narrow, gloomy eyes.

He looked at the severed limb on the stone platform and spoke in a flat voice that made everyone kneeling instinctively hold their breath.

“Remember the muscle tremors within this.”

“Understand, realize, and apply.”

“Processed by our techniques, this Outer Manifestation Vessel can only maintain its vitality for three hours. Whoever can comprehend the Art contained within it will be promoted within my Xuanjing Society.”

As his voice fell...

The eyes of the black-robed people instantly grew brighter.

Like a pack of starving wild dogs suddenly seeing meat.

Some Adam's apples bobbed, some fingertips trembled slightly, and the bloodshot lines in some eyes seemed to turn even redder. They stared at the severed limb, their breathing becoming heavy, as if they couldn't wait to pounce and swallow the bit of 'Art' hidden within it whole.

Just then...

A black-robed person walked in quickly from outside, leaned over to the white-clothed member's ear, and whispered a few words.

In the next second...

The white-clothed member's voice suddenly turned cold.

“Li Yuefeng's capture failed?”

The temperature of the entire underground space seemed to drop several degrees instantly.

The black-robed person kneeling on the ground had his forehead almost touching the floor, his entire body trembling.

“Yes...”

“An Outer Manifestation Vessel that hasn't even touched the 'Transcendent' yet, and you couldn't even take him down. What use does the Xuanjing Society have for keeping you useless trash?”

The white-clothed member's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like an ice pick stabbing into one's bones.

“Useless.”

“All of you are useless.”

“Currently, our Xuanjing Society lacks offensive Arts most. That Li Yuefeng is stationed within the Military Region, so there's usually no chance to strike. This time he finally left the Military Region, and you still couldn't bring him back.”

“Trash.”

The black-robed person on the ground shook even more violently, yet he still gritted his teeth and looked up, his voice trembling as he explained.

“He... he seems to have already begun to understand his own 'evolution.'”

“His Phenomenon Technique is already taking shape.”

“One of our members was heavily injured by a single punch from him. That force was so penetrating that it didn't even tear his clothes, but his insides were completely shattered...”

The white-clothed member looked at him coldly, his voice carrying a hint of dark mockery.

“An Outer Manifestation Vessel, experiencing an Phenomenon Technique?”

“Are you trying to excuse your own failure?”

“It's true!” The black-robed person broke out in a cold sweat and almost shouted it out.

He hurriedly signaled behind him.

Soon, two people carried up a limp black-robed person. Half of that man's mask was shattered, his chest was slightly caved in, and undried blood hung from the corner of his mouth. His aura was so weak it seemed he might stop breathing at any moment.

The white-clothed member crouched down and pressed his hand against the chest of the heavily injured man.

A moment later...

The look in his eyes finally changed.

There was indeed a residual force within, not yet fully dissipated.

It was an Art.

And it was an Art extremely suited for slaughter.

The white-clothed member slowly stood up, his gaze finally carrying a hint of heat.

“This Li Yuefeng, the Outer Manifestation Vessel he evolved is indeed powerful.”

“It's just... he actually comprehended the Art within it.”

“He must have come into contact with something.”

He stood with his hands behind his back, silent for a moment, then suddenly turned and asked:

“Where did he go after leaving the Military Region, and for what?”

Someone nearby immediately responded.

“Jiangcheng No. 1 Peoples Hospital.”

“He sought out Zhou Jingtang.”

Zhou Jingtang.

As soon as this name came out, even the white-clothed member fell silent for a moment.

Someone nearby quickly pulled up the files and handed them over. The white-clothed member scanned them, his brow slowly furrowing.

A titan of the medical world.

Nationally renowned.

Particularly skilled in the changes of bones, nerves, and muscle groups. He specialized in seeing the big picture through small details, and had achieved miracle-like results in many medical diagnoses.

The white-clothed member finished reading the file and slowly closed it.

“Interesting.”

“An Outer Manifestation Vessel in the Military Region.”

“A semi-retired old medical freak.”

“And... an Art that is currently taking shape.”

The light in his eyes grew increasingly deep.

...

At the same time.

The lounge of Jiangcheng No. 1 Peoples Hospital.

The afternoon sun spilled in through the glass windows, making the floor shine white. The air held a faint scent of disinfectant and coffee. There weren't many people in the lounge; a few on-duty doctors were looking down at medical records, and the nurse's station occasionally rang with a telephone.

Sister Su Bei was sitting by the window, a thick Neurology textbook spread out before her, along with a stack of printed case files.

Her brow was slightly furrowed as she bit her pen cap, clearly tormented by the pile of materials until her head hurt.

“Your mentor left that for you?”

Across from her, Su Ye glanced at it, his tone calm.

“Yeah.” Sister Su Bei nodded, her voice tinged with a bit of helplessness. “She wants me to write out the differential diagnosis and treatment path for these cases, and said she’ll randomly pick one for me to present during the next ward round.”

She paused there, then sighed softly.

“Actually, she probably just wants to make things difficult for me.”

This was said very quietly.

But Su Ye understood.

Standardized residency training was said to be about learning, rotations, and cultivation, but in specific departments, it often boiled down to social politics. If your instructor liked you and was willing to teach, you’d learn fast and have a smooth time. If they didn’t like you, they could easily pile on extra work or trip you up, and you just had to take it.

Sister Su Bei's mentor clearly didn't like her much.

Su Ye didn't say anything. He took the case files and scanned them briefly.

Sister Su Bei was still worrying about where to start, but Su Ye had already read through several cases from beginning to end. The location of the lesions, the evolution of symptoms, the test results, and the drug reactions—a complete picture formed in his mind almost instantly.

“Here.” He raised his finger and pointed to one of the pages. “Your mentor is intentionally leading you toward multi-system lesions, but there's no need. The core is still nerve root compression, it’s just masked by peripheral symptoms.”

Sister Su Bei was startled and hurriedly leaned in to look.

“And this case.” Su Ye flipped another page. “On the surface, it looks like a drug reaction, but it’s actually an illusion after the natural progression of the disease. When you write it, straighten out the timeline first before discussing the impact of the medication, otherwise she’ll catch you on logical loopholes.”

He didn't speak quickly.

But every sentence landed precisely on the most critical point.

The more Sister Su Bei listened, the brighter her eyes became.

She was smart to begin with, but she had been a bit rattled by her instructor's pressure. With Su Ye’s clarification, the tangled mess of threads was straightened out almost instantly.

“So that's how it is...”

She looked up at Su Ye, her eyes filled with a fitting sense of admiration—not exaggerated, but very sincere.

“You’re really amazing.”

Su Ye returned the materials to her, his tone very flat.

“It's not that I'm amazing, it's just that you were led astray just now. Go through it yourself once more and you'll see.”

Sister Su Bei pursed her lips and smiled, saying nothing more, but that slight sense of worship could no longer be hidden.

Just then...

Su Ye's phone on the table vibrated.

He looked down.

It was a message from Zhang Yuanping, just one short sentence.

“There's a patient who specifically asked for you.”

Followed by a name.

“Li Tong.”

Su Ye's heart skipped a beat.