Hearing Chen Ming's words, Dugu Yan, who was experiencing such close contact with someone of the opposite sex for the first time, suddenly remembered the dire state she was in.
Under the pressure of life and death, she instantly erased inappropriate thoughts from her mind and began cooperating with Chen Ming's actions.
Chen Ming's soul power was just shy of level 24, whereas Dugu Yan was close to level 30. The disparity in levels was already significant. Since the battlefield was Dugu Yan's body and meridians, the soul power Chen Ming could inject into her body was far inferior to her turbulent soul power.
Carefully, Chen Ming used his soul power to guide and slow the chaotic currents of Dugu Yan's soul power, attempting to consolidate them into more orderly streams. However, the results were far from ideal.
Deep within Dugu Yan's body was a poison ingrained in her very bones. Usually dormant, it only flared up when yin energy became too abundant. Today, not only was the yin energy unusually intense, but Dugu Yan's soul power was also in complete disarray, fully activating the poison in her marrow. It flowed freely through her body alongside her chaotic soul power.
Even under normal circumstances, Dugu Yan wouldn't have any effective way to deal with this venomous mixture of soul power and toxins, let alone now, while she was severely injured.
Realizing that conventional methods weren't yielding good results, Chen Ming gritted his teeth and decided to try something unconventional.
He closed his eyes and focused, awakening his innate spiritual sensitivity.
Chen Ming's spiritual power merged with his soul power, creating a unique, profound force. As this enhanced soul power flowed through Dugu Yan's body, it acted like a tiger among sheep. Wherever it collided with her chaotic soul power, Chen Ming suppressed it using his spiritual power, temporarily fusing the two and forcibly directing it to flow as he desired.
Unknowingly, Dugu Yan's martial soul had quietly manifested, resonating faintly with Chen Ming's Emerald Scorpion King martial soul. This resonance deepened the connection between the two, making Dugu Yan's previously chaotic soul power more receptive to Chen Ming's control and naturally more cooperative.
During the first circulation of her soul power through her meridians, Chen Ming had to painstakingly guide it. By the second circulation, Dugu Yan's soul power began flowing naturally in sync with his. By the third, her soul power had completely submitted and integrated with his, such that Chen Ming could control it with just a thought.
As her soul power slowly returned to her dantian, the main issues in Dugu Yan's body were finally resolved. Chen Ming opened his eyes, pushed Dugu Yan—whom he had been holding down—to the side, and collapsed against the stone wall, gasping heavily for air.
Chen Ming's soul power had not diminished in the slightest. Thanks to accidentally siphoning a small portion of Dugu Yan's soul power during the process, his soul power had unknowingly broken through to level 24.
However, his mental exhaustion was severe. He felt as though he had just stayed awake for three straight days and nights, utterly drained.
Combining soul power and spiritual power was already a high-level technique for soul masters and placed a significant burden on him. Moreover, Chen Ming hadn't just merged and controlled his power; he had also used it to guide and stabilize Dugu Yan's soul power, exponentially increasing the strain.
To prevent himself from passing out, Chen Ming forced himself to fight off the mental fatigue and pulled out a piece of Green Phosphor Snake jerky from his storage soul tool. He took a big, fierce bite.
As the pungent medicinal smell hit his senses, Chen Ming instantly felt more awake, though his face twisted into an expression of utter discomfort.
Looking at Dugu Yan lying on the ground, her eyes vacant and her whole demeanor resembling someone utterly worn out, Chen Ming couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed. Tearing off a piece of the jerky, he shoved it into her mouth.
The moment the jerky touched her tongue, Dugu Yan's body convulsed involuntarily, her eyes rolling back as if she was about to faint again. Instead of recovering, she seemed to be in an even worse state.
Seeing this, Chen Ming was nearly scared to death. He quickly gathered his focus and used his soul power to sense Dugu Yan's condition. To his relief, he realized her situation hadn't deteriorated—she had merely been overwhelmed by the horrifying taste of the jerky.
To prevent further mishaps, Chen Ming hurriedly pulled out a pill from his storage soul tool, one his family had prepared for treating internal injuries, and forced it into Dugu Yan's mouth. As the medicinal energy spread through her body, Dugu Yan finally regained her ability to think.
Looking at Chen Ming, drenched in sweat and exhausted, Dugu Yan realized he had saved her. Her heart was filled with gratitude, along with a faint, indescribable emotion.
She tried to sit up but discovered that her body was completely paralyzed, and she had lost all control over her soul power. Her face turned pale, and she almost fainted again.
"Your body is fine. I just paralyzed you a bit earlier to keep things under control," Chen Ming said, placing a hand over Dugu Yan's dantian as his carefully regulated soul power flowed into her body.
As the energy entered her, Dugu Yan finally regained some sensation in her body, and her mouth also regained partial functionality.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I would probably have died here," she said weakly.
"You should be grateful," Chen Ming sighed, propping her up and leaning her against the nearby stone wall.
"If I hadn't saved you, we're the only two people in this mimicry training area. Even though you got yourself into this mess, to everyone else, I'd look like the one who harmed you."
"How many heads do I have? How many heads do my family members have? Do you think we could survive the wrath of a titled Douluo?"
"You nearly went berserk. Do you think the only life you almost lost was your own? No—you almost dragged me and my entire family down with you!"
Hearing his words, Dugu Yan turned her head away in embarrassment.
She knew deep down that even if she died, her grandfather, Dugu Bo, would likely be able to figure out how she had died. But she also knew that if she did die, her grandfather would likely lose his mind and take out his anger on everyone around him.
"Let's rest for a bit. Afterward, I'll take you to find a healing teacher for proper treatment," Chen Ming said. "I've already calmed your soul power and temporarily suppressed that strange toxin in your body. Now it's just the damage to your meridians and internal organs from the soul power turbulence that needs proper attention. Judging by the resources of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, it should take three to five days, maybe a week at most, for a full recovery."
With that, Chen Ming pulled out a cup of juice and gulped it down. Hearing the sound of him drinking, Dugu Yan, who had been about to close her eyes, suddenly froze.
At this moment, she was pondering a very serious, even life-defining question that could determine her social standing and future reputation.