The following morning, Yuan went to meet up with Chu Liuxiang and Meixiu before going to the training area.
"How do you feel?" Yuan asked Meixiu as they walked to the training area.
"Much better." She nodded with a confident smile.
However, she still looked as pale as yesterday, which made Yuan worry a little.
"Are you sure? You should probably stay back and rest today." Chu Liuxiang said to her.
"Really, I am fine. I have experienced much worse before." Meixiu said.
"If you say so."
Once they reached the training area, Yuan would take a seat in the middle of the place and said to those that were already there, "I will begin now. Those that are not here right now can join later."
He waited until everyone there was sitting around him before he started to release his killing intent.
This time, he started out with weak killing intent and gradually increased it.
Even though the disciples had spent all day enduring the same killing intent yesterday, they did not feel any better today when being pressured by the killing intent.
In fact, it felt even worse for them, who were exhausted yesterday and haven't fully recovered.
Regardless, almost everyone that was there yesterday was also there today with a few exceptions, such as those that got sick or were too traumatized by yesterday.
However, about an hour into their training, Yuan suddenly stopped his killing intent and stood up in a panicked manner.
"Meixiu!"
He jumped over the crowd of disciples and landed in front of Meixiu, who'd just collapsed onto the ground.
His reaction was instantaneous, as he'd been keeping his divine sense on her the entire time.
"Haaa… haaa…"
Yuan could hear Meixiu breathing heavily, almost as though she was having trouble breathing.
"Is there a doctor here?!" He shouted out loud.
"Here!"
Because of their dangerous training method, the Qi Family made sure there were plenty of doctors on standby just in case anything were to happen.
Over a dozen doctors quickly surrounded Yuan and checked Meixiu's condition.
"She collapsed from exhaustion, and she has a fever. It's nothing life-threatening." The doctors explained to Yuan after their assessment.
"I see… Thank you."
Yuan picked up Meixiu before speaking out loud, "Sorry, but I am going to have to end today's training earlier than usual."
"Don't worry about it. If you need anything, let us know. There will be a doctor available for you around the clock until she is recovered." Qi Man said to him.
Sometime later, Yuan carried Meixiu back to her room and placed her on the bed.
"I knew something like this was going to happen when I saw her condition…" Chu Liuxiang sighed as she stood beside Yuan.
"I don't understand. Why is she working herself to such an extent?" Yuan shook his head.
If anything, Meixiu's workload has dramatically decreased since they left the Yu Family, so it didn't make sense for her to collapse from exhaustion. Just what on earth is she doing that's causing this?
"I'm sorry…" Meixiu suddenly mumbled in a low voice.
And she continued, "I didn't want to fall behind you and everyone else, so I worked extra hard to improve my cultivation."
"…" Yuan was speechless. He didn't think Meixiu would be worried about such a thing.
"How silly." Chu Liuxiang suddenly said, and she continued, "If you want to catch up to Yuan, you'll be chasing for the rest of your life, and even then, you won't catch up. If you're talking about everyone else, you've already caught up."
"You're a Spirit Warrior, right? There aren't many Spirit Warriors in this world even today. The Six Spiritual Families, the Chu Family, and the Qi Family— they're all abnormal families that have a huge advantage over everyone else because of their prior knowledge on cultivation. If you take them out of the conclusion, you're one of the top cultivators in the world, so you shouldn't worry about catching up."
Yuan then said, "I don't want to sound arrogant, but Lulu is right, Meixiu. I can consume demon cores, and a single one of them increases my cultivation by leaps and bounds. Unless someone has the same physique, I cannot imagine how they'll achieve the same results without consuming a massive amount of treasures, and such treasures are not easily attainable in this world."
Meixiu had no response, as everything Yuan and Chu Liuxiang said was the truth. It was simply foolish of her to try and catch up to Yuan, who has heaven-defying talents that allowed him to achieve Spirit Grandmaster within a couple of months after he started cultivation.
"Anyways, get some rest. Seeing you like this, I also feel like resting some more. Yesterday's training was too stressful." Chu Liuxiang said a moment later.
"Sorry…" Yuan felt the need to apologize for some reason.
"Don't you dare make the training easier just because of this, though."
"I won't." Yuan smiled.
"If you need me, I will be right next door." Chu Liuxiang returned to her own room shortly after.
Once they were alone, Meixiu spoke in a low voice, "Yuan…"
"What's the matter? Are you in pain? I will immediately get the doctor—"
"No, that's not it." She quickly stopped him.
"My body is still soaked in sweat. I cannot go to sleep like this, and it'll dirty the bed…"
"Oh, sorry."
"Can you turn on the water for me so I can take a quick shower? I will be there in a bit."
"Of course."
Yuan went to the bathroom and turned on the shower for her.
Sometime later, Yuan returned to the room to see that Meixiu had just stripped naked.
"Can you help me to the bathroom? I cannot exert any strength for some reason…" Meixiu suddenly asked him.
Yuan nodded, and he asked, "Do you want me to wash your back as well?"
Meixiu's face flushed slightly redder after hearing his question, but she didn't refuse.
"If you don't mind," she nodded.
