"Silly girl, don't cry! Your big brother is perfectly fine." Tang San wanted to reach up and pat Xiao Wu's head, but found that he couldn't lift his arm no matter how hard he tried.
In truth, when he had faced Huo Wu, he hadn't even intended to win the match. There was a saying—always leave a way out for others. He had already defeated six of their members, and the final victory in this advancement round would inevitably belong to Shrek Academy. So why push things to the extreme? Sweeping all seven opponents in a row would certainly feel exhilarating. But the enmity between both sides would be permanently branded in its wake. That wasn't what he hoped for.
After all, he held no ill will toward the Blazing Fire Academy.
So during the match, Tang San had originally planned only to drain as much of Huo Wu's Soul Power as possible, letting the bout end with Shrek Academy's next entrant. But who could have anticipated that Huo Wu would target him with such ferocity, ultimately driving things to this point.
When Dai Mubai carried Tang San on his back and exposed the latter's posterior, nearly everyone from Shrek Academy drew in a sharp breath at the same time.
The clothes on Tang San's back had been completely shredded. Beneath them was nothing but a mass of blood and mangled flesh—in some places, the bone was already visible. Even his arms had been stained crimson with blood, hanging limply at his sides.
What manner of pain must this be? Yet at this moment, Tang San's face still wore that same calm smile, as though these wounds had been inflicted on someone else entirely. Only the sweat continuously pouring down his forehead revealed to everyone that the one who had truly been hurt was him.
The white sphere of light from Huo Wu's attack had been even more powerful than Tang San had imagined. Had it not been for his Eight Spiders Lances, had his body not been tempered by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, this time would have left him gravely injured even if it hadn't killed him.
Though his current wounds appeared severe, they were mostly superficial flesh wounds. His bones and internal organs had not sustained serious damage.
Only now did the referee step onto the field, simultaneously calling for medical staff to treat Tang San while announcing that the winner of this match was Huo Wu.
Before Shrek Academy's second contestant could even appear, Huo Wu declared that she was forfeiting the remainder of the competition. Whether it was due to the state of her depleted Soul Power or her state of mind, she had neither the desire nor the ability to continue fighting.
At this point, the people of Shrek Academy didn't even have the bandwidth to resent Huo Wu. The only thing on their minds was Tang San's safety.
Tang San was carried away lying face-down on a stretcher, and with that, the match truly came to an end. Although he hadn't performed particularly well in the final bout, in the six matches prior, he had long since won over everyone.
Moreover—had he truly lost that last match?
He could have used Huo Wu's own body to block the attack. With his level of control, all he needed to do was channel some Soul Power into her body and let that white sphere detonate inside her, and he would have been completely safe. It wouldn't even have constituted a rule violation.
After all, that terrifying attack had been launched by Huo Wu herself, not by Tang San.
"Is my brother really going to be alright?" Inside the camp quarters, Xiao Wu asked the imperial physician from the Tian Dou Empire with a face full of worry.
The physician was a woman in her mid-forties. It was easy to see that she had been quite beautiful in her youth. She offered Xiao Wu a gentle smile and said, "My dear girl, that's the seventeenth time you've asked the same question. Don't worry. Your brother has no serious problems—just flesh wounds. His bones are intact and did a fine job protecting his organs. It's quite remarkable, actually. His muscle elasticity is at least three times that of an ordinary Soul Master. How did he manage that? Right now he's simply lost a fair amount of blood and needs to rest. In five days at most, he'll be able to move normally. That said, it would be best not to let him compete again during this advancement round. If his wounds reopen, that would be troublesome."
"Thank you, Auntie Doctor."
The physician smiled faintly, picked up her medical kit, and said, "All right, take good care of him. I'll be going now."
Xiao Wu watched the physician leave, and only then did the tension in her expression ease somewhat. By now, Tang San had already fallen into a deep sleep.
Looking at his still-pale face, waves of heartache like the slash of a blade continuously washed over Xiao Wu. She would rather have been the one injured than see Tang San suffer such terrible wounds!
The Great Master waved his hand to the Shrek Academy members in the room and said, "All right, the rest of you go get some rest. There are still matches tomorrow. Only Xiao Wu needs to stay here and look after Xiao San."
Only then did everyone quietly and carefully file out of the room. As long as Tang San was going to be fine, they could rest easy.
Inside the room, only Xiao Wu, the Great Master, and Tang San remained. The Great Master gazed at Tang San, who was lying on the bed in a deep sleep, and smiled softly. "Xiao San actually did the right thing."
Xiao Wu looked up, confused, meeting the Great Master's gaze. "Great Master, you're saying he did the right thing? He could have made that Huo Wu take the hit!"