Chapter 63: True Water Formula

After receiving preliminary treatment in the infirmary, where some medication was sprayed, the bruise on his left shoulder remained. Although it hurt less than before, it was still quite uncomfortable.

"We are all classmates; how could you hit him so hard!" Yan Ruoxun glared fiercely at Yan Ruotai.

The latter stood at the doorway of the infirmary like a misbehaving child, looking thoroughly apologetic. However, he defended himself verbally, "It was a sparring match on the arena stage. Taking a couple of hits and getting a few injuries is completely normal."

"You think everyone has thick skin and calloused flesh like you!" Yan Ruoxun retorted.

The medical staff member advised, "Don't attend classes for now. Go home and rest for a day or two, and come back once the bruising clears up."

The curriculum at Yanyuan Academy consisted of an equal split between practical combat and theoretical classes. In his current state, attending practical classes was out of the question.

As for theoretical classes, nobody wanted to spend the entire duration listening to a fellow student grimacing and groaning in pain.

Of all the things that could happen—on his very first day of class, before even attending a single lesson, he had to go home to recover from injuries.

Consequently, after asking for leave from Dean Yan Wentong, Shuisheng left Yanyuan Academy. Yan Ruoxun and Yan Ruotai initially offered to accompany him back, but he declined their offer. It was just a minor injury; there was no need for them to miss their classes as well.

...

Chang Bao had volunteered to the water delivery company to take over the water delivery duties for Courtyard No. 3 of Yanyuan Academy, and his request was approved. This was actually the result of him slipping a carton of premium cigarettes to the company manager behind the scenes. He had told the manager that the reason he fancied this particular area was that he had a girlfriend living inside. Aside from delivering water, he could visit her when he had free time, as he worried she might be sneaking around behind his back with other men.

Since they were both men, helping out with such a minor favor was a given. Having accepted the gift, the manager readily agreed.

Riding his electric tricycle and presenting his company employee badge, Chang Bao passed through the security checkpoint and entered Courtyard No. 3 of Yanyuan Academy. Today, he had three households to deliver water to, excluding Building 19. That was no obstacle. He parked his tricycle near another small building close to Building 19, pretended to go inside for a delivery, but instantly activated his camouflage superpower. He quietly approached the back garden of Building No. 19's courtyard and vaulted over the wall.

At that moment, his body took on the exact colors and lighting of the garden. At a glance, it was impossible to tell that a person was standing there, mistaking him for a plant that had blended seamlessly with the surrounding flora and fauna.

The Yan family members and guards monitoring the security camera feeds in the nearby buildings also failed to detect any anomalies here.

For ventilation, the windows on the ground floor of Building 19 were left half-open. Chang Bao quietly approached and leaped inside.

Sure enough, the small building was completely silent, without the slightest stir. The employer's information had been spot on; that kid had indeed gone to class.

There were eight security cameras on the exterior of the small building, while inside, there was only one in the ground floor living room and another at the stairwell between the first and second floors. Chang Bao only needed to use his camouflage superpower whenever he passed through their coverage zones.

The "True Water Manual" and the crystal ball were certainly not items that kid would carry with him to school. Therefore, Chang Bao started searching from the bedroom, room by room. After a long while, he came up completely empty-handed.

Little did he know that the crystal ball had already been opened by Mei Yulang. After extracting the "Returning Ruins Separation Water" from it, Shuisheng had placed the two half-spheres into his boundary stone ring space. The "True Water Manual" was likewise kept with Shuisheng wherever he went, alongside several other cultivation texts.

Finally, Chang Bao arrived at the study. Matching the titles of the books one by one, he began his search, and soon his head was spinning with frustration...

He was on the verge of a breakdown. Why were there so many books in this place!

A moment later, he heard someone approaching outside the small building, followed by the sound of a door opening.

Chang Bao received a shock of monumental proportions. Wasn't it said that the kid had gone to school? Why was he back just a short while after leaving? It was currently 8:45 AM. Subtracting travel time, this kid had only stayed at Yanyuan Academy for half an hour??? This made no sense at all!

In his panic, he could no longer afford to hesitate. He hurriedly activated his mimicry superpower once more, carefully skirted around the surveillance range of the cameras, rushed to the second floor, and hid in the upstairs bathroom. The bathroom window was also open, and he prepared to jump down from there to make his escape.

He didn't leave immediately because he was unwilling to return empty-handed after making so many preparations for today.

Alternatively, if those two items weren't in the room, they were very likely on the youth's person. Since the youth had returned, perhaps the heavens were helping him wrap this matter up once and for all.

Chang Bao made up his mind.

His three companions were no benevolent souls, and he was even less so. In the face of massive profits, killing people and looting their goods was something he would never hesitate to do, provided he wasn't caught or exposed to danger.

...

Shuisheng intended to take a bath.

Sparring against a strength-attribute competitor in the arena was quite physically demanding. He had worked up a sweat, accumulated quite a bit of dust and dirt on his body, and soiled his clothes.

Taking a scalding hot bath would help promote blood circulation and disperse stasis. That was what the medical staff member had said.

The water heater in the bathroom was normally kept running continuously to ensure a constant supply of hot water. Shuisheng felt this wasted electricity, and besides, he didn't need hot showers all the time. For a water-attribute superhuman, any water temperature was perfectly fine. Therefore, he only turned it on when he actually wanted hot water.

After switching on the water heater, he grabbed a bottle of medicinal liniment, applying it to himself while reading books in the study.

He had to admit that Chang Bao's superpower truly possessed unique merits; up until this moment, Shuisheng still hadn't noticed that an outsider had broken in.

That was until he entered the study and felt that something was amiss with his books.

The placement position of each book remained unchanged. Yet he simply felt something was slightly off about the gaps between the books... For certain books, to facilitate frequent reading, he intentionally left a slightly larger space between them and the adjacent volumes...

Yet...

Had they shifted?

The high-end water heater in the small building heated water with high efficiency. Within ten-odd minutes, the water was ready. He grabbed a set of clothes and a towel and entered the ground-floor bathroom.

Scalding bathwater gushed down from the showerhead, washing away the dirt, grime, and dust from the youth's head, face, and body, and pounding against the bruised area on his left shoulder. The physical exhaustion and muscle soreness caused by the combat, as well as the pain from the bruises, seemed to be washed away entirely by the flowing water.

The water trickled and flowed down his athletic physique, which was slightly tounced a shade darker than that of city dwellers. It felt like the soothing touch of spirits, bringing him waves of pleasure and comfort.

Water possessed the most natural affinity for a water-attribute superhuman.

Amidst the comfort, a playful impulse arose in him.

He reached out and cupped a pool of water in his palm, where a faint, hazy light of light blue flickered. Using the power of the "Returning Ruins Separation Water" to control his supernatural energy, he manipulated the pool of water to change its shape and swirl repeatedly within his palm. Although an extra layer of complexity had been added, it felt far more precise and powerful.

That pool of clear water seemed as though it were a part of his own body.

After a short while, he began to feel a slight fatigue. He knew this was a sign that the meager amount of supernatural energy left in his body was about to be exhausted. After all, the consumption from the previous arena match had been too heavy, and he had yet to fully recover.

Suddenly, beneath the gushing stream of the showerhead, fragments of text from the "True Water Manual" flashed through the youth's mind. Ever since he had acquired this cultivation manual, he had studied it diligently. First memorizing it by rote, then slowly digesting it. The entire book consisted of eleven thousand four hundred and forty-one characters, and he had memorized every single one of them fluently.

"Your current appearance is not your original appearance."

"Life originates from water, and ceases in water."

"Water flows ceaselessly, washing away all evil deeds and allowing dust-stained things to return to their original state."

"True water is supreme."

This was the overarching summary on the very first page of the book.