Reaper of the Martial World

historical

Book 7: Chapter 164: Cleaning (1)

Dyon’s body was ravaged by pain, but it was nowhere near the range of putting his life in danger. It was as though the pain itself was just enough to remind him not to move, but not enough to make him wish for death.

For a man who had experienced his body being reconstructed on more than one occasion, this sort of pain was child’s play. Instead, what truly hurt Dyon was feeling Madeleine’s resolute decision to immediately attempt to build her 109^th meridian. Something that would be easy for him, could lead to endless months, maybe years, of pain for his wife.

‘Hurry up, let me go to her.’ Dyon grit his teeth. He had a feeling that Madeleine would do something like this. Although she hated to fight, she hated even more to not be by his side. Out of necessity, she grew stronger.

It was obvious to her and Dyon that the best time to form meridians would be in these early stages when the gentle effects of the pill were still in place. In the future, it would require ridiculous amounts of supplemental healing medicines. Knowing how short on money Dyon was and how this was a secret they had to guard with their everything, Madeleine didn’t want to place that burden on him any time soon, knowing she couldn’t rely on the Flaming Lily Sect.

The wife and husband sat across from each other, just a meter apart, but living through vastly different experiences. Dyon suffered through his with mere gritted teeth, but Madeleine had become deathly pale. In fact, it wasn’t just this…

The energy within Madeleine’s body was sucked dry in an instant. What once was a woman whose full curves would send your mind into another universe became a frail skeleton with loose skin hanging from her bones. Although she didn’t make a sound, not wanting to disturb her husband who sat across from her, the pain she was experiencing was unimaginable.

A deep guilt welled up in Dyon’s chest. His wife was remaining as silent as possible, believing that he was experiencing what she was, when the reality of the matter was that while her life was in danger, his wasn’t in the least.

Madeleine breathed haggard breaths. Due to the fact her robes no longer fit her properly, now hanging loosely from her once full frame, the weak vibrations of her sternum were clear to Dyon. Her skin had become such a ghastly shade of white that one could almost see through to the veins and bones below.

Dyon struggled to move his body, tipping forward to crawl to her side. Ignoring the pain that ravaged his own body, he erupted in a white, blazing flame, pouring his everything into Madeleine’s body.

It was at that point that he became shocked. He should have known that with Madeleine’s talent, a single meridian wouldn’t have pushed her into this state. This silly girl was actually attempting to form three at the same time!

Madeleine felt a comfortable feeling wash over her. She didn’t need to open her eyes to know that Dyon had come to her side despite the fact 90% of her nerves were fried.

Dyon forgot his own pain entirely. In his world, there was only the beauty in his arms. Even if she looked like nothing more than a dilapidated skeleton now, she was still perfect in his eyes.

**

Madeleine awoke in an incredibly weakened state. Although her meridian formation had just barely succeeded under Dyon’s constant care, it would take a very long time for her body to truly recover. The shock to her system was too much, and unlike Dyon, she didn’t follow the body path to a great height.

Unfortunately, although Amethyst was a beast, much like most beasts who reached great heights, she followed the dual human and beast path. As such, she passively relied on her body’s innate strength as a beast while pursuing human endeavors such as a powerful energy path and soul.

Obviously, Madeleine didn’t have such a strong innate body as a human. As such, such large-scale reconstruction was too much for her to handle in the short term.

One had to understand that although there were “only” three meridians formed, just those three represented millions of new links. In order for meridians to work efficiently, there were a myriad of connections between all of their counterparts. Although there was only one main connection, there were innumerable sub-connections. Madeleine’s body was essentially under complete reconstruction.

“It’s alright.” Dyon said with a smile. “You don’t have to sit up, take your time.”

Madeleine, who couldn’t see much more than vague shadows at the moment, felt relief when Dyon’s large, warm hands wrapped around hers. She knew that she was being reckless, but something told her that she needed to be in order to forge a greater path for herself.

“I did something stupid.” Madeleine said weakly.

Dyon laughed. “Yes. Very stupid.”

Madeleine sighed. She didn’t regret her success, but she regretted the fact she had slowed their progress.

All her life, Dyon had taken risks for her. So, how could she feel comfortable not doing the same? She was certain that even she didn’t know the number of times Dyon had risked his life for their sakes.

Lilianna watched this scene silently. Because of Madeleine’s weakness, Dyon accepted her into his Mind Eye. She couldn’t help but wonder how stupid she had to be to believe that this Dyon was an evil man.

“I’m sorry.” Madeleine said softly.

“Stop that. I would be a hypocrite if I blamed you.” Dyon caressed Madeleine’s greyed hair. Didn’t he just risk having his cultivation sealed once more? Had his gamble not paid off, not only his life, but the lives of the beast babies and Flaming Lily Sect disciples would have all been in great danger.

“Plus, I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve taken care of me. It’s my turn now.”