In the makeshift medical room.

Lin Guang lay somewhat weakly on the portable bed, eagerly watching Doctor Kaiwen in a white coat applying medicine to Vishdair, who sat nearby.

After the battle, Vishdair's injuries weren't too severe. Mostly, she had some surface wounds on her hands from a direct clash with the Molten Dragon Lizard's skills, so a little medicine and bandaging sufficed.

Typically, given Vishdair's usual behavior towards Doctor Kaiwen and having just experienced such a victory, she would more than likely throw some snarky remarks.

But for some reason, she sat there quietly, looking unexpectedly demure.

"Doctor Kaiwen..."

Watching her finish treating the wounds swiftly, Lin Guang spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, wanting to ask a question, but was suddenly stopped by her expressionless gaze: "No talking, and don't move."

Lin Guang froze in place, no longer moving.

He wanted to say he didn't actually need to stay reclined, but he was almost certain that Kaiwen's mood was not too good right now.

Better to keep quiet.

"Look at me."

Doctor Kaiwen came to Lin Guang's side, then leaned down, placing her hand on his chin and using a pen to check his pupils.

Then she placed her left hand on Lin Guang's chest. A faint green ripple flashed over her, seemingly confirming his respiratory system was fine, before finally beginning to examine his right arm—since after forcibly unleashing the Explosion Fist, his right arm suffered not only burns from the Fire Attribute Ether but also significant muscle and bone backlash, and a strained tendon.

"Consider yourself lucky."

After the examination, Kaiwen let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief, then picked up another bottle of medicine, applying it to his forearm's burned skin before bandaging it.

"Alright, you can move now. It won't affect you receiving your award on the podium later."

Relieved, Lin Guang got up from the bed, stretching his body a bit.

"Thank you, Teacher Kaiwen."

Though unsure why Doctor Kaiwen seemed a bit upset, expressing thanks couldn't hurt.

"..."

She looked at Lin Guang with some helplessness and said, "Do you know why there are so few offensive skills in Low Tier Artificial Spirit Patterns?"

"It's because the bodies of ordinary Low-star Spirit Masters are very fragile; a slight mistake could leave them with injuries that are difficult or even impossible to heal, making it unsuitable for them to attack and defend like Spirit Beasts. Do you understand?"

"Try to avoid doing this kind of thing in the future."

Lin Guang was a bit surprised.

Doctor Kaiwen didn't ask why he was able to do it, nor why he acted so aggressively. Instead, her first response was to remind him to be safe.

He blinked, finally realizing.

So the earlier irritation was because Doctor Kaiwen was concerned about him?

Realizing this, he felt a warmth in his heart, his pale face breaking into a smile as he nodded, "I got it."

Doctor Kaiwen, seeing the smile on Lin Guang's face, seemed like she wanted to say something more, but somehow closed her mouth, as if losing the desire to speak, only reminding him to rest well before turning to open the door and walking out.

Getting up from the bed, Lin Guang felt a bit baffled and wondered, "Why leave in such a hurry?"

Vishdair, looking at her own hands and trying to clench her fists, then feeling the sensation at her injuries, commented, "Who knows? She's so moody, must be menopause."

Lin Guang didn't respond.

Vishdair was about to continue speaking when she suddenly noticed Lin Guang approaching, now standing in front of her.

Only then did she see the radiant smile that had appeared on Lin Guang's face at some point.

Lin Guang looked into the amber eyes of the silver-haired girl: "We won."

For some reason, seeing that unblemished smile on his slightly pale yet handsome face, Vishdair started slightly, her heart involuntarily skipping a beat.

Then, she was pulled into a tight embrace by the boy in front of her.

"Wait, I'm still really hot..."

At this moment, the heat on Vishdair's body hadn't completely dissipated; conservatively estimated, it was still at sixty to seventy degrees. Lin Guang hugging her so rashly could likely get him burned.

Unexpectedly, the usually rough-and-ready Vishdair noticed such a minute detail, her tone carrying a trace of panic.

But in his voice by Lin Guang's ear, there was no hint of pain, only calm and joy.

He whispered, "We really did win."

Feeling the intense heartbeat from the young man's chest, Vishdair's lips slowly curved up, eventually speaking in her usual tone.

"What nonsense are you saying?"

"With me here, losing was never an option."

"..."

Knock, knock, knock.

The embrace between the boy and girl was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.

Lin Guang let go, not sure if it was his imagination, but Vishdair seemed a bit displeased, and when he opened the door, he was suddenly left in a daze.

That was a figure Lin Guang was extremely familiar with.

A black suit, slicked-back hair, and that face of a refined and graceful middle-aged man.

"Hua Bo Curator?!"

Lin Guang's eyes slightly widened, while Vishdair suddenly constricted her pupils, remaining motionless.

Through the contract, Lin Guang noticed Vishdair's abnormal state—probably due to her sensing the overwhelming presence of Curator Hua Bo—Lin Guang tried to calm her down but failed, so he let her go out to take a walk, and then looked at Curator Hua Bo with curiosity.

"Why are you...?"

That magnetic voice resonated: "Do you mind if I say a few words?"

"Ah, of course not, please have a seat."

The two sat facing each other at a portable small table in the center of the room, Hua Bo took out a small box from his pocket and explained, "Inside is a premium Tier Two Spiritual Artifact that can slightly improve the meditation efficiency for Spirit Masters under Three-Star. I want to give it to you, and satisfy my curiosity."

Startled for a moment, Lin Guang's first reaction was to shake his head, "No work, no reward."

"No, in a way, it already belongs to you."

Curator Hua Bo smiled and shook his head, making an explanation, "I wasn't originally planning to attend the competition today."

"But Principal Liang Xing of Yizhong used a personal favor to get me to invest, so I had to come."

He leaned back slightly, resting on the back of the chair, appearing very relaxed, "Originally, this Spiritual Artifact was the prize I prepared to reward the winner of Principal Liang Xing's planned victory, and then politely refuse his request..."

"But since you won, it saved a lot of trouble."

Lin Guang nodded in understanding, "I see."

—He had won against Yizhong, which also helped Hua Bo out of a bind. Given this performance, it seemed that Liang Xing wouldn't have the face to talk about investing further.

However, after hesitating for a while, Lin Guang still shook his head, "Mr. Hua Bo, you have been kind to me, I cannot accept this. If you have any questions, just ask."

This time, it was Curator Hua Bo's turn to be stunned.

Lin Guang then briefly explained that he came out of the welfare home and had benefited a lot from the scholarship Hua Bo had set up as well.

"..."

The middle-aged man's always graceful demeanor changed, seemingly reminiscing the past, and after a moment, he returned to himself, the smile fading from his face, looking at Lin Guang's face, "So you were one of those kids."

Then, he shook his head somewhat heavily, "Sorry, I couldn't hold on long enough at that time."

Lin Guang knew what he was referring to.

Ten years ago, when the Demon Race launched an invasion during the beast tide, Curator Hua Bo was in the Spirit Beast Protection Area in the suburbs of Zhen Sheng overseeing the beast tide.

Upon receiving the first-hand news of the Demon Race's invasion, he went directly into the wilderness, alone guarding the road that the Demon Race army must pass to reach Zhen Sheng City, ambushing them unexpectedly.

And at that time, facing the siege of several Tier Six demons, Hua Bo, with only Five-Star strength, managed to hold his ground with his contracted spirit beasts for a whole hour, and later even retreated unharmed, killing countless demons and buying the Spirit Master army of Great Xia the most crucial time.

Many believe that without this crucial hour, even if Zhen Sheng City would not have been completely destroyed by the Demon Race, the later damage would have been several times more than it is now.

"You've done more than enough."

Lin Guang paused for a moment, comforting in a soft voice.

He knew the other had done everything he could.

"..."

Curator Hua Bo shook his head, not continuing this topic, and directly placed the box beside Lin Guang. Seeing him do so, Lin Guang could only give up and asked, "What would you like to know?"

Hua Bo nodded, "A very simple question."

"Throughout the entire battle, you never gave your partner a single command. From your interaction just now, it seems this is not a communication issue, nor is there any benefit, so what was your reasoning?"

"... You've noticed."

"I indeed deliberately refrained from communicating, letting her act freely."

Lin Guang felt a bit embarrassed that his behavior had been discovered, also a bit surprised.

This was his own little secret, he thought no one would notice, but it was suddenly brought up, making him a bit embarrassed, and he raised his left hand to scratch his cheek which had peeled a bit from the high-temperature burn.

"You're right." Lin Guang candidly admitted. "Doing this indeed isn't advantageous. It requires me to concentrate on observing her actions and use the Barrier at the most appropriate time, which demands a high degree of timing and proficiency in the Spirit Rune Secret Technique."

"Then why did you choose to do so?"

Though it was the questioning side, Hua Bo had already observed the answer from his expression the moment the question left his mouth, consequently, he couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth lift slightly.

Lin Guang also smiled in return, but it was a smile that carried a bit of the rarely shown, spirited arrogance.

"From the very beginning when no one believed in me, I wanted to do it this way—I certainly could secure victory in a more stable, easier manner, but I just wanted to crush their strengths in this overwhelming way, in the most indisputable, head-to-head manner."

"The principal wanted me to win by the 'Evil Dao', I understand, because he has to be responsible for the greater situation, but for me, it's completely unnecessary."

"It's very simple, because from a Spirit Master's standpoint, it's an indisputable fact that I'm much stronger than him, victory is merely something in the palm of my hand."

"So before the match, I only said one thing to her, 'Attack with everything you've got, leave the rest to me.'"

With a look of approval in Hua Bo's eyes, he gave his conclusion, "As long as I'm strong enough, then no matter which way I choose to win, as long as I do not betray my principles, it can only be seen as the victors' leisure."

"From now on, I will also exert all my efforts to become stronger, to do everything I want to do, and continue recklessly onward!"

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