Chapter 43: Brother Yu, a Real Man!

"Yu Le, you're awake!"

The six members of the Burning Heaven Squad spoke in unison. Aside from the wave of relief, their faces were filled with joy.

"Xiao Yuan, go call the doctor quickly," Han Yuesu urged. She then turned her head and gently held down Yu Le, who was trying to sit up. Her tone was tender as she said, "Don't move just yet. Wait until the doctor has finished the examination."

It wasn't just the original members of the Burning Heaven Squad who were taken aback; even Yu Le felt unaccustomed to such gentle treatment from Han Yuesu.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with me."

"Be obedient, good boy."

The others: ...

After a thorough examination, the doctor looked puzzled. "Are you sure he was wounded by a five-bone demonic beast?"

Geng Xiao asked in a muffled voice, "Doctor, is there a problem?"

"It's not that there's a problem; it's that he is merely at the ninth stage of the Bedrock Realm. How could he possibly take a direct hit from a five-bone demonic beast with his bare flesh and suffer no consequences at all?"

"It’s truly strange," the doctor muttered.

Huh? What!

The group widened their eyes.

After another meticulous examination, the doctor clapped his hands. "He’s fine now. Go ahead and discharge him. The burns on his body have been treated with special medicine. Apart from his heartbeat being a bit fast, there are no other issues."

Heartbeat a bit fast?

Yu Le instinctively touched his chest. Not only was it beating rapidly, but his chest felt burning hot.

Jiu Jiao... what kind of treasure did you leave me?

Yu Le could clearly feel that the energy of that mysterious substance had not been exhausted. Aside from the portion consumed at the gas plant, the rest seemed to have retreated into his heart.

He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing!

"Did you guys hear that just now?"

Gu Xiaoyuan's words broke the silence.

Su Rui gulped and said, "The doctor just said that Brother Yu is already..."

"Maybe the check-up was wrong?" Meng Huai held a skeptical attitude.

Aside from Yu Le, who had been at the seventh stage of the Bedrock Realm, the rest of the Burning Heaven Squad consisted of him, Gu Xiaoyuan, and Su Rui—all at the eighth stage of the Bedrock Realm!

Ling Xiao shook his head. "Impossible. The battlefield hospital doesn't just diagnose Bedrock Realm practitioners; it can even treat the injuries of experts in the Jade Realm. Their physical examinations are the most authoritative. Even if our guild's power-testing pod made a mistake, the hospital couldn't possibly be wrong."

"What are you all talking about?" Yu Le asked, confused, from his hospital bed.

His focus had been entirely on his rapid heartbeat, and he hadn't paid attention to the first half of the doctor's words.

Geng Xiao stepped forward and channeled a bit of dark energy to sense Yu Le's physical condition, giving a definitive answer: "The doctor's diagnosis is correct. The current Yu Le's physical strength has indeed reached the power of nine rocks. He is a bona fide ninth-stage Bedrock Realm practitioner!"

Gu Xiaoyuan looked on with admiration, Ling Xiao scratched his head, Meng Huai covered his face, and Su Rui slumped in defeat.

The varying expressions of the group were on full display at that moment.

Han Yuesu couldn't resist her curiosity. "Yu Le, what exactly was inside that bottle?"

Nothing comes from nothing.

Cultivation in the Bedrock Realm ultimately boils down to two things: external medicine and personal training.

Building-Body Spirit Liquid didn't have such miraculous effects. As for personal training, during the previous battle at the gas plant, Yu Le had truly escaped death multiple times. After swallowing the mysterious substance from the jade bottle, he had gone completely berserk.

If it wasn't some banned substance, then it was certain that it was a potent medicinal treasure that Yu Le could not fully digest at his current level.

Yu Le's rampage and his lack of injuries after the battle were the results of that medicinal power being released. Otherwise, no matter how impressive he was, he wouldn't have been able to beat up a two-bone demonic beast and withstand the direct impact of a five-bone demonic beast.

Yu Le was still in shock that he had reached the ninth stage of the Bedrock Realm without even realizing it. Clenching his fists, which felt stronger than ever, he murmured, "I don't know either. It was something left behind by my wife... oh, my ex-wife. I don't know exactly what it is."

Ex-wife?

The group keenly caught onto that word.

"You're divorced?" Han Yuesu couldn't help but ask.

Wait, why do you sound a little excited?

Mentioning this, Yu Le was silent for a moment before nodding and explaining his family situation to the group.

This included how he had accidentally found his wife, Feng Jiujiao, three years ago, and the fact that Yu An'an was not his biological daughter.

After hearing this, everyone's eyes widened.

"My Brother Yu, a real man!" Su Rui gave a thumbs up with his plaster-cast hand.

The others also looked at him with newfound respect.

Parents who go to great lengths for their biological children are not rare, but parents who strive for a child they know is not their own are worthy of admiration.

"I don't understand. A man as good as Brother Yu—which woman would be blind enough to choose to divorce him? And the key point is, when the daughter went missing, she acted so calm. Brother Yu, if you don't mind me saying, could it be that your ex-wife climbed up the social ladder and decided the daughter was a burden, which is why she orchestrated this whole drama?" Meng Huai speculated.

"Little Meng, what nonsense are you spewing? No parent is that heartless!" Ling Xiao scolded him.

But Meng Huai was stubborn. "Is it that rare? You've seen how fickle human hearts can be. Besides, the origin of Brother Yu's daughter is unclear..."

"Alright, that’s enough," Geng Xiao interrupted.

He then looked at Yu Le seriously and said, "You're a real man!"

Yu Le smiled slightly. He didn't hold any resentment toward Meng Huai's words because he had considered these possibilities himself.

Changing the subject, Yu Le asked about the situation after he had fallen unconscious.

After listening, his view was the same as Geng Xiao's. Since they now knew of the malicious intentions of the Thunder-Gallop Squad, the most important thing to do now was to collect evidence of their crimes. They needed to ensure a fatal blow; alerting the enemy or giving them a light punishment would not do.

"In the short term, the Thunder-Gallop Squad probably won't dare to act rashly. Taking advantage of this time, our squad should improve as a whole. We mentioned the distribution of the spoils earlier; Yuesu suggested allocating sixty percent of the earnings to you, Yu Le. Now that you've unexpectedly broken through to the ninth stage of the Bedrock Realm, you can start looking into purchasing a cultivation technique suitable for the Bone-Tempering Realm."

"Sixty percent?" Yu Le waved his hands quickly. "That won't do."

But the others didn't give him a chance to refuse, even mentioning that if it weren't for Yu Le's actions during the hunt for the Bristle-Demonic Rat pack, several of them would have died.

Sixty percent of the income was not only an investment in Yu Le, a favored soul of the Heavenly Martial Arts, but also a reward for his courage.

Seeing he couldn't decline, Yu Le hesitated and said, "I’d like to take the demonic cores directly. Could I have the demonic cores from the Bedrock Realm beasts?"

Geng Xiao was puzzled. "Why do you want the cores? I can sell them directly for cash."

Yu Le remained silent, not offering an explanation.

Naturally, he wanted to use the demonic cores to go fishing at the Yellow-grade fishing grounds.

Han Yuesu glanced at Geng Xiao, and Geng Xiao, seeing that Yu Le didn't want to elaborate, laughed it off. "Fine, I'll have Xiao Yuan calculate it, and we'll give you all the Bedrock Realm demonic cores."

"Then I’ll be troubling you."

As they went through the discharge procedures, Geng Xiao also informed Yu Le that all personal points from the demonic beasts hunted this time, including the two Bone-Tempering Realm beasts, would be credited to Yu Le.

A rough calculation showed that Yu Le's promotion to a one-star Mysterious-grade Demon Hunter was a certainty.

"Is this appropriate?" Yu Le said, feeling embarrassed.

The squad members were so good to him that he felt somewhat overwhelmed.

"Don't think too much about it. It's what you deserve. My, Yuesu's, and the others' Demon Hunter ranks have already reached the limits of our current strength. An empty title and accumulated points are useless to us. With the status of a one-star Mysterious-grade Demon Hunter, it will be easier for you to navigate society in the future."

Setting aside the aura brought by family background, the status of a Demon Hunter is definitely the fastest way for many commoner practitioners to gain social status, though it comes with many threats.

Returning to the Burning Heaven Guild, the group didn't even have time to rest. Gu Xiaoyuan walked over, holding a laptop. "The Thunder-Gallop Squad has sent the information about the 'Living Pearl'."

Yu Le, who had been talking to Geng Xiao, stood up immediately.

Regardless of the reason for Yu An'an's disappearance—whether it was as Meng Huai suggested, or if it involved the Ten Thousand Beasts Cult—Yu Le, who had been called "Father" for three years, had to find an answer for himself!

After confirming the information, Geng Xiao made a decisive call: "Yuesu, Yu Le, come with me."