Chapter 1348 Huang Xiao Li After a moment of awkward silence, Huang Xiao Li brought out the medicine she spoke of and asked, "If you don't mind, please accept this medicine. It will help with your injuries." "Alright, I will accept it." Huang Xiao Li quickly continued after hearing his approval, "A-And if you don't mind, can you let me apply it for you? This is a lotion-type medicine." "..." Tian Yang wanted to refuse, but he agreed in the end, as he felt a little guilty for misunderstanding her situation, even yelling at her. "Okay. Come inside." Tian Yang moved away from the door, revealing the interior of his room. "T-This is your room…?" Huang Xiao Li expressed shock upon seeing the cramped room. "How can you sleep in such a depressing place?" "I don't. This is good enough for my cultivation." Tian Yang said. "Still… even my dog's house has more room…" Huang Xiao Li muttered. "You must be used to a rich lifestyle, huh?" Tian Yang commented. "Eh? Ah! Sorry, I didn't mean to…" "It's okay. Even if I had the money, I'd rather use them to improve my cultivation." Huang Xiao Li decided to stop the pointless chatter and entered the room. Sometime later, Tian Yang sat on the bed with his upper torso exposed, revealing the numerous scars on his body, both new and old. Huang Xiao Li, who sat behind him, was shocked by his badly damaged body. There were scars on nearly every inch of his body Tian Yang could tell that Haung Xiao Li was startled by his body, and he calmly said, "Should I do it myself?" "N-No! I will do it!" Huang Xiao Li swiftly opened the medicine and scooped some up with her finger, gently applying it to his open wounds. "This will burn a little," she warned him. Yet, Tian Yang did not even flinch at the pain. "You're strong, Senior Brother… Much stronger than any disciple I have come across…" Huang Xiao Li mumbled with a slightly rosy face as she continued to caress her slender finger on his body. "You're giving me too much credit. I'm weak and talentless." "That's not true! Despite having a weaker cultivation, you still faced the Leviathan, something most disciples wouldn't even dare to approach! Only those who have a strong dao heart would be capable of such a feat!" "What's the point of having a strong dao heart if you're physically weak? Having a strong dao heart won't prevent the strong from taking from you." "That's…" Huang Xiao Li didn't know how to respond to his words. "Regardless, I think you are strong. I watched your entire fight with the Leviathan, and I kept thinking about how strong you were the whole time!" Eventually, she uttered these words, her face flushed with redness. Fortunately for her, Tian Yang couldn't see her face at this moment. "Thank you…" A gentle smile appeared on Tian Yang's face, as he'd never received such compliments before. A few minutes later, Tian Yang covered his body and said, "I can apply the rest myself. Thank you." Huang Xiao Li nodded and handed him the medicine. "You'll need to apply the medicine twice a day for the next seven days, so I will come back later to help you again!" Seeing how enthusiastic she was about helping him, Tian Yang couldn't muster the strength to refuse her offer and silently nodded. "Then I'll see you again in 12 hours!" Huang Xiao Li left immediately after. After he finished applying the medicine to his lower body, Tian Yang returned to his cultivation. Over the next several days, Huang Xiao Li would visit him two times every day to apply medicine to his body. As time passed, Huang Xiao Li stayed longer than intended and even began sharing her own stories with him. As for Tian Yang, he didn't mind her presence at all, as Huang Xiao Li reminded him of Meng Lili during their time in the village. "Senior Brother, do you know what the other disciples say about you?" "You can stop calling me Senior Brother. Just call me by my name." "Then you can also call me Xiao Li!" "Alright, Xiao Li." "Anyways, they call you the 'Suicidal Maniac' because you're always accepting sect missions that are considered suicidal for your cultivation. I was even told that it was a sect elder who created that nickname!" "They say it's a miracle that you always manage to come back alive, and that you have a guardian angel by your side who protects you..." "Suicidal, huh? I guess that's how my actions seem to the others, not that I am denying it." "If you don't mind me asking, why are you going to such lengths to acquire strength?" "It's the only way for someone as talentless as me to keep up with those geniuses who are always a step ahead of me while doing much less. Honestly, I envy them. Of course, that includes you," Tian Yang expressed, maintaining a calm demeanor despite uttering such melancholic words. "M-Me?" Huang Xiao Li was taken aback. "Yes. After thinking about it, I recall hearing your name before. Huang Xiao Li, a genius who sensed spiritual energy in just a month. You ascended to become an Inner Disciple within a year of being an Outer Disciple, becoming the youngest Inner Disciple at 18 years old," Tian Yang acknowledged, recollecting details of Huang Xiao Li's remarkable achievements he heard from the other disciples. Huang Xiao Li blushed after hearing his compliments. "I, on the other hand, needed three whole years to sense spiritual energy. Then, it took me another eight years to become an Inner Disciple. My talents are pathetic in comparison—literally not worth mentioning." "Not everything in this world is about talent. In fact, geniuses tend to die faster than those without talents." Huang Xiao Li said, trying to comfort him. "If have managed to live this long despite my suicidal methods, what does this say about me? That I am worse than talentless?" "T-That's not—!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢 "I know. I am only joking." Tian Yang chuckled. "You're such a—" Huang Xiao Li was interrupted by a loud noise that resonated through the ship, immediately followed by a powerful tremor, akin to experiencing an earthquake. "This is an emergency announcement! We've encountered a Flying Leviathan! Brace yourselves for the worst!" The captain's voice carried a tone of dread as if he had already resigned to the bleak outcome.