Pei Yan returned to the hospital room, eating the meal that Wang Wenze had brought him while watching footage on his tablet of his battle with Xia Yuzhan. After finishing three large bowls of century egg and lean meat porridge and six buns, the video also reached its end. Pei Yan watched his fallen self on the screen and put down his bowl and chopsticks in silence.
After a while, he turned to Wang Wenze sitting beside him, "Brother Wang, should I go check on her?"
"Check on who? Xia Yu? You're the one who got knocked out by her, remember?"
Pei Yan, holding his still slightly aching forehead, complained in frustration, "I mean, where am I now? I watched the video and I bled a lot. Her injuries seemed much worse than mine, I really feel bad about it! Why did such a thing happen shortly after we just met!"
"You've still got a conscience, kid; I didn't buy this fruit for nothing!" said Xia Yuzhan, who entered the room carrying a fruit basket with Ye Jiumu and Liang Qian, all smiling.
Seeing the three come into the room, Pei Yan quickly tried to get up to greet them but was pressed back onto the bed. Wang Wenze was busy bringing chairs for them. Pei Yan looked at Xia Yu, smiling at him from a chair, and asked, somewhat embarrassedly, "Is your hand okay? I saw in the video that you seemed quite badly injured, bleeding a lot."
"It's fine!" Xia Yuzhan replied nonchalantly, holding out her hand for him to examine. Upon close inspection, Pei Yan was surprised to find that the hand, which had once been a bloody mess from his attack, didn't even have a scar, and he exclaimed in astonishment, "You're like Wolverine! Such incredible healing ability."
"Actually, after everyone gains endowments, self-healing is greatly enhanced beyond a normal person's. It's just that the speed and strength of healing vary according to the abilities. I happen to be one of those with a super-strong healing ability." Xia Yu then picked up a fruit knife from the table and swiftly cut a gash in her right palm in front of Pei Yan.
As the knife sliced through, blood instantly flowed out. Xia Yuzhan grabbed a tissue nearby, gently pressed it on the wound to absorb the fresh blood, and then stretched her hand out again.
Though startled by the girl's reckless behavior, Pei Yan extended his neck to take a closer look. He saw the freshly inflicted wound complete the entire healing process, scabbing over in mere seconds—a process a normal person would take a day or two to achieve. The wound in the palm had become a dark red scab, which Xia Yu then forcefully scraped off with her left hand, leaving a faint, milky white strip, faintly proving the pain it endured moments ago.
After finishing her demonstration, Xia Yuzhan handed the knife to Ye Jiumu next to her. He awkwardly received the fruit knife, watched Xia Yu turn to take an apple from the fruit basket, contemplated Pei Yan on the bed, and then gritted his teeth and made a cut on his own hand.
"What are you doing?" Xia Yu asked, seeing the action from the corner of her eye, looking at Ye Jiumu as if he was an idiot.
"Ah, didn't you tell me to show him this ability too?"
"I meant peel an apple for him!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Everyone in the room burst into laughter except for the innocent Ye Jiumu. Amid the laughter and banter, Pei Yan noticed that Xia Yu was indeed not wrong, as Ye Jiumu, constantly dabbing the blood with tissues, had healing abilities a lot slower than Xia Yuzhan's.
"How did it feel drawing with Xia Yu?"
With an apple peeled and handed over by Liang Qian, Pei Yan took a bite and mumbled, "Want the honest truth?"
"Certainly!"
"A bit happy, but mostly scared!"
"Scared?"
"Yes, scared. I never thought I'd become so strong, nor did I think I could hurt a girl that badly!" Pei Yan said, looking at Xia Yuzhan, who seemed unconcerned but left him with lingering fears.
Listening to Pei Yan, Xia Yuzhan shrugged nonchalantly, sat up, patted his shoulder, and advised, "I understand the male chauvinism mentality you have, and I don't want to refute it. But remember, sometimes a fight is just a fight, so don't carry too much of a psychological burden. We're just sparring among ourselves, don't take it to heart. Also, let me advise you one last thing: don't underestimate women. In the Daoist Realm, that's fine, but in the Magic Realm, women are a much stronger presence than men. If you hold onto that mindset, you'll suffer big time."
Pei Yan nodded, feeling the sincerity of the advice. After speaking her mind, Xia Yuzhan got up, nudged Ye Jiumu, and bid farewell, "Alright, you've been checked on, and since you've just woken up, use this opportunity to rest well. I hear you'll have a lot of training lined up, and I look forward to facing you again once you've advanced in awakening, but I won't hold back then!"
"Alright! It's a promise!"
Two days later, fully recuperated, Pei Yan once again stood on the training field in Jiezhi Space. Hu Wenjun and a middle-aged man in a lab coat and glasses approached him, pinching his shoulder, "How's your recovery?"
"It's been fine for a while, no issues at all!"
"That's good. Let me introduce you. This is Li Yaohang, the scientist in charge of your current training. You can call him Engineer Li." Hu Wenjun nodded contentedly, gesturing to the person next to him.
Facing the outstretched hand of Li Yaohang, Pei Yan quickly shook it, greeting, "Hello, Engineer Li!"
"There's no need to be so formal. We'll be spending a lot of time together, so just call me Engineer Li. We completed blood tests while you were unconscious, and, combined with a comprehensive examination of your body, there's no need to worry about heavy metal poisoning. You're in excellent health, even better than most people your age. If you're still in doubt, we can provide a health report." Engineer Li adjusted his glasses and earnestly stated.
Pei Yan scratched his head embarrassingly after hearing this, "Oops, when I joked about it, I didn't think you'd take it seriously. I've absorbed enough metal to make ten cars; if I were to have metal poisoning, I'd be long gone."
"You were joking, but we can't treat it like one. Since you're in good health, can we begin today's testing and training?" Li Yaohang said, looking at Pei Yan and then at Hu Wenjun.
"I'm good to go, ready anytime!"
Five minutes later, having finished demetaling behind the curtain, Pei Yan stood in front of Li Yaohang. His appearance immediately drew the attention of the team of scientists, who crowded around to closely observe every inch of Pei Yan's mechanical form. A few female staff even reached out, marveling at the intricate details with awestruck admiration.
Although Pei Yan lost tactile sensation with his body after mechanization, he couldn't feel physical discomfort from their probing. However, the voyeuristic manner of observation made his scalp tingle, and after holding out for several minutes, he finally couldn't resist politely asking, "Can we start the test now?"
This question snapped Engineer Li out of his trance. He adjusted his glasses and smiled, "Yes, Xiaosun, bring over the equipment we prepared!"