Environmental changes.
The city twisted and vanished!
The sunlight near dusk shone down on them.
Su Ze blinked, his eyes aching from the sudden brightness after being in a dim environment for so long.
Soon, they heard noise, and all of them let out a sigh of relief.
It was freakin' Chinese! They were back!
Su Ze no longer forced himself to stay awake. His eyes closed, and he fainted.
After an unknown amount of time.
The glaring surgical lights shone on him, making him squint. He turned his head and saw a familiar scene: the anesthesiologist, holding a phone, stared at him in shock!
Su Ze's pale face showed a mix of emotions.
He was both surprised and delighted. Delighted because he saw the anesthesiologist playing with a phone.
Even more delighted because, freakin' hell, he saw the anesthesiologist playing with a phone!
The anesthesiologist was completely stunned! His face filled with terror and shock!
The dosage for supernatural beings and transcendents is difficult to control since everyone's physique is different.
As they grow stronger, they become less and less human, and their physiques become even more different!
Some Candle Realm experts can withstand a missile and walk away unscathed, finding a secluded corner to glance around and then spit out blood.
Others in the Candle Realm can also withstand a missile, but only once. The second time, there's nothing left—the missile explodes, and there's no trace of them.
The doctors operating on Su Ze seemed to sense something and turned to look at him simultaneously.
Even more terrifying for the anesthesiologist was the sight of Su Ze's dry lips moving as he weakly said, "Doctor... anesthesia... pain..."
The instrument nurse, a girl, had seen countless bloody scenes, but she had never seen anything like this. A patient being anesthetized woke up on the surgery table and even spoke!
For her, this was no less terrifying than a corpse in the morgue getting up to do radio exercises and telling the night guard, "Don't mind me, my body's a bit stiff, so I need to move."
At the moment Su Ze spoke, her pupils dilated, and she fell straight to the ground with a thud!
Su Ze didn't know when he fainted again. When he woke up, he felt something soft in his hand.
Turning his head, he saw Uesugi Akizuki's innocent face light up with a surprised smile. The warm sunlight hid half of her adorable face in shadow. She was smiling, but tears flowed down her cheeks.
Uesugi Akizuki gently held his hand, careful not to exert too much pressure, afraid that the fragile boy covered in cracks might break.
Su Ze sat up and gently hugged the girl.
The little witch hugged him silently, crying softly without a sound. Su Ze could only feel her trembling body.
Su Ze's fingers ran through her smooth auburn hair, gently stroking her back.
"Is that Brother Ze? Why the sudden change? You're falling behind!" Shen Qingsheng said, biting into an apple as he sat on the adjacent hospital bed.
Seeing Su Ze wake up, Shen Qingsheng showed no excitement; his expression was calm.
Since joining the Forerunner, they had become regulars at the hospital, almost like going home.
Meng Xingyao handed Su Ze a glass of warm water.
Su Ze took the water and drank it all in one go.
"Do you feel like this is a last-minute surge of energy before you kick the bucket?" Shen Qingsheng asked. "If you do, go ahead and give us your bank card password so we can withdraw some funeral expenses for you."
"4689..." Before he could finish, Su Ze rolled his eyes and fell straight back onto the bed!
"Doctor! Doctor! Defibrillator! The patient's not looking good! We need to at least drag him back from the Grim Reaper for a few seconds!"
"Forget it! I'll do it! I'll perform CPR! Today, I'll slap the Grim Reaper himself to let my buddy live a few more minutes! At least let him finish essential matters!" Shen Qingsheng rolled up his sleeves and stepped up to Su Ze, prying open his mouth in front of Uesugi Akizuki, who was stunned and shocked.
Uesugi Akizuki quickly reacted, gritting her teeth. She pushed Shen Qingsheng's head away with one hand while shielding Su Ze with her body.
"No... no hanky-panky! Absolutely not!" Uesugi Akizuki struggled to resist Shen Qingsheng's shameless behavior, her face a mix of shock and fear.
How could the naive Uesugi Akizuki stop the slippery Shen Qingsheng? He dodged her hand and was about to kiss Su Ze!
Suddenly, bubbles gurgled out of Su Ze's mouth!
"Damn it! You're playing dirty, aren't you!" Shen Qingsheng jumped back in fright.
Su Ze hugged Uesugi Akizuki like a pillow, retreating, his face full of panic. "You're the one playing dirty, alright?"
Shen Qingsheng rolled his sleeves back down, returning to his bed to continue playing games.
Bantering was their way of greeting each other.
"What about the other two who came back with me?" Su Ze asked, thinking of Mo Ziang and Xuanyuan Jin.
"That monk woke up before you. He sat by your bed and chanted scriptures all night, leaving just this morning," Meng Xingyao said.
"I thought he was trying to perform an exorcism on you," Shen Qingsheng said with a look of regret. "I had already started preparing your funeral when you woke up."
"How badly do you want to eat my funeral feast?" Su Ze complained, then asked, "What about the other one?"
Shen Qingsheng was silent for a moment before saying, "He was severely injured and has been sent to the Phantom Prefecture. Is he one of the Phantom Brigade?"
Phantom Prefecture was the headquarters of the Phantom Brigade, so Shen Qingsheng guessed it right away.
Su Ze nodded, helping Uesugi Akizuki wipe away her tears. "Stop crying. Let's go home."
As they left the hospital, the golden sun had already set halfway behind the mountains.
The cracks on Su Ze's body rapidly healed as soon as he woke up, leaving only faint traces. When his energy and mental strength were at their peak, his body could showcase incredible healing abilities.
"Want a ride?" Meng Xingyao drove up in a sports car.
Su Ze held Uesugi Akizuki's hand as the sunset elongated their shadows on the street. "No, I think we need to slow down our pace of life. Going too fast isn't good."
"Yeah, men, going too fast isn't good," Shen Qingsheng said, getting into the passenger seat, "Huaxia University."
"..." Meng Xingyao turned her head to stare at him. Finally, Shen Qingsheng felt uneasy. "What's wrong?"
"Are you calling a cab? Do I look like a rideshare driver to you?"
"Sister, don't be so sensitive. If I don't give you money, then you're not a rideshare driver, are you?" Shen Qingsheng shrank his neck.
Meng Xingyao couldn't help but laugh softly. Just seeing Shen Qingsheng made her want to smile, as if the man was naturally hilarious.
Looking out the window, she watched as Su Ze and Uesugi Akizuki walked farther away, toward the setting sun. Meng Xingyao reversed the car and drove toward Huaxia University.
"Candle Realm Peak?!" Su Ze exclaimed, pinching Uesugi Akizuki's cheek in surprise.
Just now, he had sensed a fluctuation in Uesugi Akizuki's energy, and upon probing, he was genuinely shocked!
Seeing Su Ze's astonishment, Uesugi Akizuki's delicate face showed a slightly proud smile. She raised her left hand, and her wide sleeve slid down, revealing her slender, pale arm with smooth, soft lines, as if saying, 'Impressed?'
Su Ze was speechless for a moment, not sure whether to feel proud or sad.
Before Su Ze left, she was still at the Candle Realm Mid stage. In just half a month, she had reached the Candle Realm Peak!
One could imagine how much effort Uesugi Akizuki had put in.
"I... can protect you!" Uesugi Akizuki said with some stuttering but great seriousness. The little witch opened her arms and hugged Su Ze. Her auburn hair glowed beautifully in the sunset.
Because of Su Ze's words, she had not slacked off in the past two weeks, whether in class or during her training sessions with Meng Xingyao. She had studied with full effort!
When she learned that Su Ze had returned but was hospitalized, she had stayed by his side the entire time. Seeing the cracks all over Su Ze's body, she felt both heartbroken and furious!
She inherited the domineering personality of her ancestor, Uesugi Chikaharu, but it was overshadowed by her innocence.
But when Su Ze was beaten to such a state and lay in the hospital bed, her anger was buried deep within her. No one knew what she was thinking. She looked as usual, her face appearing innocent and adorable.
But inside, her anger burned like a wildfire!
This made her even more determined to become stronger.
Now, with her Candle Realm Peak strength, she had the confidence to say this to Su Ze!