binnovel Chapter 21 Awakening
Chapter 21 Awakening
Yunlan slowly woke up and quickly looked at Li Chenglong beside her. She saw that apart from his torn clothes, Li Chenglong's injuries had healed. Seeing that Li Chenglong's breathing was steady, Yunlan nudged him, trying to wake him up. At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the Sea of Spirit: "Sister Yun, although Brother Li's injuries have been healed, the battle took a heavy toll, so he needs three days to recover before he can wake up. Also, although Xiaolong and I worked hard to heal Brother Li and open the twelve main meridians in your bodies, two problems have arisen. First, your lives are now essentially fused together. You'll feel it soon enough; if one of you dies, the other will die as well. Second, because of the excessive power consumed, you will both be reduced to the initial stage of Level Four, and some of your skills may have been reforged. However, this is both a bad and a good thing. Your foundation is now much more solid, and no one of the same level, whether an ability user or an awakened being, can defeat you. Finally, Xiaolong and I will give you another treasure: the dragon and phoenix rings on your hands. This is both a testament to your love and a storage space, and this storage space is even better than the previous one. We wish you success in leading the people of Blue Star forward. We will be watching over you."
As the sound faded, Xiao Feng's figure also vanished. Yun Lan immediately used her spiritual power to investigate, discovering that apart from two more ornate martial arts towers adorned with dragon and phoenix carvings, there was no trace of Xiao Feng in the Sea of Spiritual Power. "Xiao Feng, Xiao Feng, where are you? Come out quickly!" Yun Lan called out in the Sea of Spiritual Power. However, she knew in her heart that Xiao Feng and Long Ling had probably exhausted their energy to save them and disappeared. Yun Lan wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and sensed herself: Yun Lan, Level 4 SS-rank Dragon-Phoenix Body Awakener, Constitution 167, Strength 155, Agility 164, Spirit 170. Flaming Phoenix Spear Level 4, Explosive Dragon-Phoenix Rush Level 2, All Weapon Mastery, Fire Rain Meteor Level 4 (Max Level 9), Eye of Exorcism, Dragon-Phoenix Body, 12 Main Meridians Opened 4.
Yunlan raised her right hand and looked at the red phoenix-shaped ring pattern on her ring finger. With a thought, she probed into the ring and found that it was as large as an 11-a-side football field. Incredibly, unlike her previous storage spaces, the top of this storage space had several glowing stones that illuminated the entire space. Although it was bright, it was very gentle, and she could feel a breeze blowing through it. There were even some unknown flowers blooming.
Hearing the noise inside, Li Xue gently knocked on the door. Yun Lan snapped out of her thoughts and opened it. The doorway was already crowded with people, mostly members of the superhuman team and some of the garrison troops, including several representatives of the survivors. Seeing Yun Lan open the door, Li Xue quickly asked, "Sister Lan, how is my brother?" Wu Gang and Zheng Aiguo also hurriedly asked, "Yes, how is the captain?" Zheng Yong, Wang Yousheng, and Yun Qian didn't say anything, but their expressions showed their concern was no less than the others. Yun Lan smiled slightly, "Captain Li is safe and sound, but he needs to rest for three days before waking up, so we can't disturb him." Yun Lan paused and continued, "I'm going to get some water to wipe Captain Li's body. You can all leave now and go back to your posts." Wu Gang quickly said, "Just let us in for one last look, just one look, we'll definitely keep quiet."
Seeing the eager expressions on everyone's faces, Yunlan couldn't bear to refuse. Besides, according to Xiaofeng, the illness had healed and there was no danger. She could only say, "Then only a few of you can go. Make sure it's quiet. Xue'er, you keep an eye on them." Everyone was delighted to hear this. Li Xue, Wu Gang, Zheng Aiguo, Zheng Yong, Wang Yousheng, Yun Qian, Hao Dahai, and two representatives from the survivor team slowly went in. Once inside, they saw Li Chenglong lying peacefully on the bed. His injuries had completely healed; apart from a slightly pale complexion, everything else seemed normal. To maintain a quiet environment, no one spoke, only exchanging glances, unable to hide their excitement. Fifteen minutes later, everyone except Li Xue left. Zheng Yong said, "Captain Li has survived a great calamity; he's bound to have good fortune. Brother Wu Gang, I'm planning to send two soldiers here. Firstly, to avoid too many people disturbing Captain Li, and secondly, with the increasing number of people, there are bound to be some dangerous individuals. It's also for safety. What do you think?" Wu Gang nodded, "Company Commander Zheng, you've considered everything very carefully. Let our superhuman team send some." Yun Lan then came out with a washbasin, "No need. Leave Captain Li to me. We just arrived in Qing'an Town today; there's too much to do. You should all go back to your posts." Zheng Yong nodded, "Alright, let's go then. Yun Qian, have someone bring the food over later. It's already 6 PM; Yun Lan and Li Xue, you haven't eaten all day. Have something to eat later." Upon hearing this, Yun Qian quickly went to make the arrangements.
Yunlan fetched some water from the first floor and used her supernatural ability to heat it up. Before she even reached the door, she saw someone sneaking around peeking inside. However, because it was already dark and the building's power hadn't been fully restored, she couldn't make out who it was. So she immediately shouted, "Who's there!" The figure heard this and hurriedly tried to run away, but Yunlan put down the basin and quickly caught up with him, subduing him. "Ouch! That hurts." A girl's voice came. Yunlan looked through the dim light and saw a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old being pinned to the ground. However, Yunlan didn't let go: "Who are you? Why are you here?" The girl hurriedly said, "I was sent by Sister Yunqian to deliver food to you, but I knocked on the door and there was no response, so I peeked through the crack to see if anyone was inside." Yunlan saw several food containers on a nearby chair and released her grip: "I'm sorry, thank you for bringing us the food." The girl stood up, dusted herself off, and said, "It's alright, it's alright, I'll be going now."
Yunlan first placed the lunchbox at the door, then went to get the water and went inside. Suddenly, she found Li Xue collapsed beside Li Chenglong's bed. She quickly ran over, helped Li Xue up, and sat her on the sofa. Upon checking, she found that Li Xue's special energy was completely depleted. Yunlan quickly took out two crystals and put them in Li Xue's mouth, then took out a bottle of water from her ring and fed her some. Li Xue slowly woke up. Yunlan hurriedly asked, "Xue'er, what happened to you? Your superpower is almost completely depleted." Li Xue said with tears in her eyes, "I wanted my brother to wake up sooner, so I used my healing power many times, but he is still asleep. I also fainted because I ran out of energy." Yunlan patted Li Xue's head and smiled, "Brother Long is asleep this time to recover better, so we can't rush it. Someone just brought food. Here, eat some quickly. I'll help Brother Long wash up and change his clothes." Yunlan first brought in several lunch boxes and put them on the table, telling Li Xue to eat quickly. Then she moved a chair, placed a basin of water on it, and carefully wiped Li Chenglong down. Then she took out thermal underwear, thermal clothes, and cotton clothes from her ring and put them on Li Chenglong. After all, the northern winter in January is still very cold. Although Qing'an Town is further south than Kyoto, the temperature drops to minus five or six degrees Celsius at night.
After finishing her work, Yunlan sat down at the table, opened her lunchbox, and started eating. Li Xue glanced at Li Chenglong, then at Yunlan's right hand, and chuckled. Yunlan was a little confused: "You were crying just now, and you're laughing now? What are you doing?" Li Xue pointed to Yunlan's right hand and smiled, "Sister Lan, what happened to your finger?" Yunlan blushed slightly and explained the whole story. Li Xue said sadly, "Longling and Xiaofeng just disappeared like that, will they never come back?" Yunlan said firmly, "No, I believe they will definitely come back."
Yunlan thought for a moment and then said, "The fact that my life is intertwined with your brother's is something only the three of us are allowed to know. No one else can be told. The main reason is that my strength is still some distance from Brother Long's, and I'm afraid others might target me to target him. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid something might happen to Brother Long because of me. You understand, Li Xue? If anyone asks about these dragon and phoenix rings, we'll claim it's proof of the abilities Brother Long and I have awakened." Li Xue nodded, "I definitely won't tell anyone about that. But Sister Lan, since we've already established this relationship, why don't I talk to my brother and you two get married? That way, so there won't be so many girls eyeing my brother. I can tell that Sister Yunqian also likes him." Yunlan shook her head, "Brother Long has already said he'll marry me when the world is at peace. I need to become stronger so I can always stand by Brother Long's side." Li Xue also clenched her fist, "I need to become stronger too." The two of them finished their dinner while talking.
After dinner, Li Xue tidied up her things, preparing to return them to the temporary kitchen. Yun Lan said, "When I brought the water earlier, there was a little girl outside the door. She said Yun Qian sent her. If you see Yun Qian, tell her I'm looking for that little girl." Li Xue nodded and went out. Yun Lan sat back on the bed, tucked Li Chenglong in, and then began studying her new skill, the Eye of Evil Extermination. Eye of Evil Extermination: Concentrates energy in the right eye, igniting a single target with black flames—boundless karmic fire, burning everything in its path. "What a powerful skill!" Yun Lan thought to herself.
A dozen minutes later, Li Xue knocked on the door and came in, saying to Yun Lan, "I brought the little girl; she's outside." Yun Lan smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble. I'll go take a look; you rest here for a while." Yun Lan went out. She hadn't seen clearly in the dim light, but now that the power was back on, she could finally see the little girl: "What's your name? How old are you?" The girl timidly replied, "My name is Chen Xiaoke, I'm 15." Yun Lan was surprised: "You're the sister of Chen Liren, who sacrificed his life?" Chen Xiaoke's expression darkened: "Yes, my brother sacrificed himself this morning. He joined the superhuman group the day before yesterday." "The team came back and kept saying how amazing Captain Li was, and that they wanted to work hard to become like him. But my brother isn't here today, sob sob..." Yunlan hugged Chen Xiaoke tightly. "It's okay. Captain Li said when your brother sacrificed himself that his sister is my sister. When Captain Li wakes up, I'll take you to see him." Chen Xiaoke's eyes widened. "Thank you, Instructor Yunlan. I really want to see Captain Li, whom my brother admires, up close, and talk to him." Yunlan patted the girl's head. "You'll definitely get to see him then. Alright, it's too late now, go and rest."
After seeing Chen Xiaoke off, Yunlan came in and said to Li Xue, "I'll keep watch tonight. You go to the next dorm and get some rest." Li Xue said, "Okay, I'll take over tomorrow night." She then left and closed the door. Yunlan went over and locked the door, then went to sleep next to Li Chenglong.
Three days passed quickly. Under the organization of Zheng Yong and Wang Yousheng, more than a thousand survivors had settled down here. In fact, the conditions here were better than those in the hospital, because the houses in the complex were newly built, with many rooms, many of which had been renovated, enough to house at least three thousand people. Moreover, with the arrival of the large group, many survivors from Qing'an Town also joined in. However, the downside was that Qing'an Town was too remote, and supplies were scarce. The supply scouting teams had to travel very far each time.
Li Chenglong felt as if he were having a series of dreams. First, he dreamt he was in a dark abyss, and no matter how much he called out, there was no response. Then, three beams of light gradually reached in and slowly pulled him out of the abyss. Afterward, he seemed to enter a wondrous world, with dragons and phoenixes flying overhead and various birds and beasts roaming the ground—a scene of great prosperity. Suddenly, he dreamt that the Dragon Spirit told him to wake up quickly. He also dreamt of his days with Yunlan in the army, and of his days with Li Xue in the courtyard of Qing'an Town. As he dreamt, he suddenly noticed a giant dragon charging towards him from above, and he was startled, opening his eyes.
The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a familiar and beautiful figure lying on the sofa, fast asleep. Li Chenglong didn't disturb her. He first checked himself and found that his injuries had completely healed. Then he activated the True Dragon Eye to scan himself: Li Chenglong, Level 4 SS-rank Dragon-Phoenix Body Awakener. Constitution 170, Strength 167, Agility 160, Spirit 165. Dragon Emperor Sword Level 4, Super Dragon-Phoenix Slash Level 2, All Weapon Mastery, Evil-Slaying Bow Level 1, Galaxy Starburst Level 4 (Max Level 10), True Dragon Eye, Dragon-Phoenix Body, 12 Main Meridians Activated 4. Just as Li Chenglong was surprised, a message from the Dragon Spirit came from his spiritual sea, the content of which was roughly the same as what Xiao Feng had left for Yun Lan. Only then did Li Chenglong understand the cause and effect, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.
After a moment's thought, Li Chenglong decided to stop overthinking and focus on carrying the will of Long Ling and Xiao Feng forward into the future. He quietly got out of bed, put on his shoes, and gently carried Yun Lan, who was fast asleep on the sofa, to the bed and covered her with a blanket. "Thank you for your hard work. I promise I'll never let you suffer like this again." Li Chenglong looked at the dragon-shaped ring on his left hand, then at Yun Lan's right hand, smiled, and gently kissed her cheek before quietly leaving. It was lunchtime, so the second floor of the town office building was mostly empty. Li Xue had just gone to get lunch for Yun Lan. Li Chenglong had been here before and was familiar with the place, so he stretched a few times and began walking downstairs.
Upon reaching the ground floor, they saw several food distribution points, with people queuing up in an orderly fashion to receive their meals. Several soldiers were maintaining order nearby. Yun Qian, who was also helping out by distributing steamed buns to some children, suddenly saw Li Chenglong standing at the top of the stairs. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes: "Brother Li, you're finally awake!" Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Li Chenglong, still somewhat pale, smiling at them. They all cheered and applauded. The applause lasted for over two minutes. Li Xue, Zheng Yong, Wu Gang, Zheng Aiguo, Yun Qian, Hao Dahai, and others stepped forward, looking at Li Chenglong with joy. As the applause gradually subsided, Li Chenglong shouted, "I'm back!"