ABRIWMTHM Chapter 105

Shi Xing was falling.

He hadn’t completely lost consciousness.

In fact, ever since he entered the second phase of his maturity period, he had become less prone to fainting, but this hadn’t alleviated everyone’s concern. As his abilities grew, he still experienced discomfort in his body. He wasn’t unconscious anymore; however, the corresponding symptoms lasted longer, sometimes only a week or two, but at times, nearly two months.

He was falling, yet he felt something pulling at him, slowing his descent.

It wasn’t the energy of the wind.

Shi Xing could sense that.

He was too tired, exhausted, with no mental power left to use for accessing his partner’s talent through his mental sea.

But there was a constant stream of energy rushing in, supporting him ethereally.

Shi Xing felt like a feather, swaying slowly downward.

In fact, he was right about his feeling.

The energy dissipating in the air around him had, with his absorption, already formed a vortex of energy that surrounded him.

And the center of the vortex was him.

Chi Yao rushed out, followed closely by Er Ya, Fei Chu and Fu Qing, along with all the senior officers of Shi Xing’s team: Tan Jue, Ying Geng, and Xiang Fei, forming a line behind them.

Realizing something, Er Ya turned to Fei Chu and shouted, “Tell the remaining officers and troops behind not to come over; Shi Xing is still absorbing energy!”

Er Ya extended her hand, moving swiftly forward. The wind pierced through her fingers, hidden within the wind was the rapidly surging energy.

Fei Chu was taken aback, then immediately shouted into his communicator.

“Bi Zhou, use you as a boundary line and let the team retreat; the situation here is unusual.”

Bi Zhou was stunned. “Ah, then I…”

Fei Chu understood and chided, “You’d better not come, go back!”

Indeed, seeing that something was off with Shi Xing and Chi Yao, Er Ya and Fei Chu were in pursuit, and Bi Zhou instinctively followed suit.

With a clenched jaw, Bi Zhou replied, “Okay.”

“If anything happens, call me.”

Even though he hadn’t fully matured, his mental power wasn’t weak, ranking right after Chi Yao.

Fei Chu didn’t respond; there was only the sound of rushing wind on the communicator, and he couldn’t be bothered to answer.

Er Ya turned around and released a barrier, blocking most of those who had closely followed behind. Fei Chu quickly complied, loudly stating, “This situation is wrong; you all wait here!”

As the earliest commander to join under Shi Xing, Fei Chu’s position was only second to Shi Xing.

Ying Geng and Tan Jue replied quickly, “Understood.”

The whole team halted on the spot.

Er Ya frowned again, “No, this is bad…”

The barrier she released in the air was also dissolving. Apart from specifically absorbing individual mental power, Shi Xing had almost indiscriminately absorbed the energy in the air.

But the key was that he had already absorbed an energy from a D-Class 3s mutated beast; with so much energy…

Er Ya was afraid that Shi Xing wouldn’t be able to consume or digest it all!

“Can we catch up to Chi Yao?”

Er Ya asked Fu Qing.

Fu Qing replied earnestly, “It requires full throttle; he might feel a bit dizzy.”

Er Ya said, “Then go full throttle.”

In a daze, Shi Xing saw someone rushing towards him from the horizon, calling his name.

“Your Highness…”

Shi Xing murmured subconsciously.

Seeing Shi Xing falling, Chi Yao immediately plunged downward without hesitation.

As he got closer, he caught a rare anxious expression on Shi Xing’s face in a hazy moment.

Was he worried about him?

Chi Yao ultimately didn’t reach Shi Xing, interrupted by Er Ya who established a barrier to prevent his approach.

Er Ya shouted, “Don’t come near; he’s still absorbing the dissipated energy in the surrounding air.”

“If you touch him, it’s like the beast is siphoning his mental power; the situation will get worse. The capacity of the mental sea for energy is limited—it cannot handle such high-level mental power!”

Er Ya’s words quickly calmed Chi Yao down.

Discerning the situation, Chi Yao furrowed his brows tightly. Er Ya was correct; energy was converging towards Shi Xing, including the barrier released by Er Ya, which was collapsing into pure energy around Shi Xing, all flowing towards him.

“You retract the barrier!”

By doing so, Shi Xing would absorb more after the collapse.

Seeing Chi Yao’s reaction, Er Ya willingly retracted her mental power.

A gust of wind surged up from beneath, nearing Shi Xing and losing restraint, only to serve to stop his falling tendency.

Within a few seconds, or perhaps more than ten seconds, Shi Xing’s body finally achieved balance under the wind’s effect, floating in mid-air.

Knowing that Shi Xing would absorb mental power, Chi Yao didn’t dare use mental power to control the wind too closely and could only do this much.

During this time, Er Ya, Fei Chu, and Fu Qing also gradually reached Chi Yao’s side.

Er Ya said, “I’ll clear the energy in the surrounding air to reduce his absorption.”

Chi Yao nodded; Er Ya estimated the radius of Shi Xing’s forced absorption of mental power and released his mental power outside of that radius to initially absorb the energy gathering towards Shi Xing.

Fei Chu asked, “What do we do now? We can’t just let the wind hold him up; too long of blowing might make the star sick, right?”

Fu Qing was taken aback, slowly admitting, “There’s a high possibility of that.”

Shi Xing’s body really couldn’t withstand too much upheaval.

Fei Chu was troubled: “After fighting for so long, there’s a ton of dissipated energy left from the battle over there. Are we seriously going to put the star into space?”

Er Ya immediately rejected his proposal, “That’s impossible; there are energy disturbances in outer space—are you sure it won’t attract more?”

“Moreover, his energy exchange is significant now; just releasing some mental power on a barren star attracted a D-Class mutated beast, which was just dealt with. Can you guarantee that while in outer space, a more powerful entity won’t be drawn?”

Fei Chu was speechless.

He couldn’t guarantee it.

Fu Qing suggested, “Send a drone to come over to catch him first?”

Chi Yao shifted his tone, “Sure.”

It was a plan.

Ye Jun personally operated a drone to come over to prevent Shi Xing from absorbing the crystals in the energy chamber. Outside of the energy chamber, Er Ya’s barrier overlapped with Chi Yao’s, firmly securing the power source.

Moments later, Shi Xing fell into the drone, propping up his hands against the dome faintly.

Er Ya noticed something, “He hasn’t lost consciousness.”

Chi Yao’s voice was soft, “He hasn’t fainted but feels terrible.”

Faintly, Chi Yao could feel the muddled thoughts of Shi Xing; he wasn’t unconscious, but he had little conscious awareness left.

Er Ya was stunned, “Connection?”

Chi Yao nodded.

At a critical moment, the bond between the Blue Star human and the partner could create some resonance.

Shi Xing had experienced too much today, from testing formations against an SS-class beast, testing new combat strategies, then establishing a barrier, and finally being pulled away by the mutated beast’s abilities…

Chi Yao furrowed his brows, shaking his head, dismissing these disturbing thoughts as he descended alongside the ship carrying Shi Xing.

The clouds in Shi Xing’s eyes receded further.

His body transitioned from the comfortable absorption of energy to an uncanny sense of discomfort again.

It appeared that there were no external injuries, but the dramatic fluctuations of energy within his mental sea made Shi Xing feel as if his internal organs had shifted places. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly where it hurt, but he felt discomfort everywhere.

His body felt heavy, as if filled with lead, making even the smallest movements exhausting.

Shi Xing’s breaths were heavy, reminiscent of an old bellows, inexplicably giving a sense of dilapidation.

During this, Er Ya used her mental power to scan Shi Xing’s mental sea. As she had predicted, after absorbing the mutated mental power from the beast, Shi Xing’s mental sea once again sealed itself.

From the outside, she could sense its interior filled with an incredible amount of energy, but it was entirely inaccessible.

It was both a protection from outsiders and a form of self-preservation.

But throughout the descent, Shi Xing’s absorption of energy hadn’t slowed.

Perhaps owing to absorbing Chi Yao’s mental power, Shi Xing could also utilize his talent abilities. Normally, that was a good thing, but right now… Chi Yao felt the winds around them converging towards them, the wind speed not great but carrying the dissipated energy within the air.

A few minutes later, the drone landed.

The orders issued to the troops had already landed more than a thousand meters away.

Bi Zhou arrived with what Chi Yao needed.

It was an emergency robot reserved on the battleship.

The battleship opened, and the robot carried Shi Xing, placing him on a military inflatable cushion.

Seeing Shi Xing’s face, Chi Yao’s heart constricted, and instinctively took a step forward but restrained himself.

Shi Xing still retained consciousness.

He could perceive his own discomfort, but for specifics, he would probably need to sit up…

Shi Xing propped himself on the inflatable cushion, knowing people were present in front of him; lying down was inappropriate, and he wanted to sit up but had no success.

With a soft hiss, Shi Xing couldn’t help but curl his body.

After half a year of recovery, but the high intensity of daily training still left Shi Xing with minimal body fat. When he bent, the outline of his spine was clearly imprinted through the thin combat suit, and this scene made Chi Yao’s hand beside him clench tightly.

“Robot,” Chi Yao reminded.

Shi Xing stretched out his hand, and the robot received the action command and finally helped Shi Xing up.

Sitting up, everyone finally saw Shi Xing’s pale face covered in cold sweat.

Er Ya said, “He consumed too much today.”

Now that he was no longer floating in mid-air, his senses returned to normal, and Shi Xing finally realized what was wrong with him.

He was still absorbing energy.

The dissipated energy in the air.

He… couldn’t stop.

Shi Xing stared blankly at his hands; in his daze, his talent activated. He saw the energy density in his body far exceeding normal levels, presenting a strange orange-red hue in his vision, blinding and akin to a danger signal.

Sensing something, Shi Xing was stunned and looked up.

Chi Yao and Er Ya followed suit and raised their heads.

The scene before them was suffocating.

The clouds were continuously converging towards them, forming a natural vortex overhead, extending downward.

At the bottom of the vortex, right in front of Shi Xing.

Of course, the principle behind it had nothing to do with the clouds; it was Shi Xing absorbing energy, which activated the wind elements. The winds on this planet were carrying energy towards them, thus gathering and causing this stunning visual effect.

But this also indicated…

Before Er Ya, Chi Yao released his perception of mental power, affirming, “The energy above the clouds is gathering and coming down.”

Shi Xing was still absorbing energy indiscriminately.

“Star, you have to stop,” Er Ya said.

“The star beast is already dead; you’re safe now. Calm down and focus on stopping the absorption of energy.”

Shi Xing weakly nodded, trying.

Dozens of seconds or even minutes went by, and when he opened his eyes again, raising his hand, the energy density in his body had grown even larger.

Looking up at the sky, the clouds were continuously pressing down, and for a moment, Shi Xing felt a suffocating sensation, and his hand gripped tightly for a brief moment, though he didn’t visibly show it, he spoke.

“You’re too close; my sense of mental power is very sensitive right now.”

“I… need you all to step back a bit and give me some space.”

His throat moved; Shi Xing’s voice was faint but held firm, “Step back a few hundred meters; don’t disturb me.”

Er Ya felt something was off.

Chi Yao’s gaze fell on Shi Xing’s hands, his expression subtle.

Er Ya promptly rejected, “No, you’re in no condition for this. If you faint, the remaining absorbed energy will collapse your mental sea.”

Watching Shi Xing taking deep breaths with closed eyes again, Er Ya said, “Someone must guarantee that you’ll stay awake…”

Before she could finish, Chi Yao waved his hand back and spoke, “You all step back; I’ll stay with him.”

His mental power, carried by the wind, pushed everyone back midsection, the force not large but the level of suppression left them unable to resist.

When Shi Xing opened his eyes again, what he saw was Chi Yao.

Shi Xing was taken aback.

His fingers contracted again as he called out, “Your Highness.”

Chi Yao nodded, his gaze fixed intently on Shi Xing’s face, observing him, only saying, “They’ve retreated; you need to focus and stop. I’ll stay with you.”

Shi Xing’s hand back became tense, his knuckles turning white.

“Your Highness, maybe you…”

“Shh, concentrate on your mental power.”

Staring directly into those gray eyes, Shi Xing felt as if he was being seen through.

Gritting his teeth, after a moment, he nodded and tried.

Once, twice, three times…

Shi Xing’s combat suit was soaked in sweat, tightly adhering to his body.

With the absorption of energy and constant failed attempts, the corners of Shi Xing’s eyes flushed crimson, and the discomfort in his body increased, driving tears to the corners of his eyes.

Drawing in another large breath, Shi Xing shook his head, “No, I can’t concentrate.”

Pausing for a moment, lowering his head, he reiterated, “Your Highness, your presence is too distracting for me; you should be like them…”

“Where’s the disturbance?”

Chi Yao’s question was even somewhat cold.

Shi Xing paused, explaining, “Your mental power’s presence is too strong.”

“So?”

“It’s interfering with me, making it impossible for me to concentrate and stop.”

Chi Yao fell silent, the long silence made Shi Xing’s heart rise with anxiety.

When he spoke again, Chi Yao’s tone was somewhat chilling, “Look up and say that again.”

Shi Xing’s heart skipped a beat.

“Look up.”

Chi Yao’s command was firm.

His eyelashes fluttering, Shi Xing lifted his face, his eyes rimmed with red, not knowing when physiological tears began to spill.

And Chi Yao, however, remained exceptionally calm.

The moment Shi Xing saw the expression on Chi Yao’s face, he was certain; the prince saw through him.

He… hadn’t deceived the other party this time.

Perhaps he had been deceived too much; there would be a premonition, some methods could work once, but never again.

Chi Yao reached out and grasped Shi Xing’s hand, which was placed in front of him. Shi Xing had no strength; his palm was turned over effortlessly, revealing blood as he had kept his fist clenched to remain awake, causing his nails to dig into his flesh.

Chi Yao looked at his hand, exhaled softly, then gazed directly into his eyes, those gray hues seemingly piercing through to his innermost thoughts.

“Is it because our presence disturbed you, or because you’re unsure if you can stop, and for safety’s sake, you wish to send everyone away?”

Including everyone, himself included.

Shi Xing didn’t speak.

Words eluded him.

However, this silence didn’t last for a few seconds. Sensing something, Shi Xing widened his eyes, “Your Highness, let go of me, I’m…”

Chi Yao, unperturbed, completed his sentence, “Yes, you’re absorbing my mental power.”

Shi Xing flailed his hands wildly, but Chi Yao held onto him, with the physique of an imperial person, he couldn’t break free at all.

Chi Yao articulated his true situation, “You can’t stop absorbing energy.”

Chi Yao’s mental power streamed into Shi Xing’s body at a swift pace.

Shi Xing felt it.

Using his other hand to pry off Chi Yao’s tightly clasped fingers, Shi Xing struggled, “Let go…”

But Chi Yao was unmoved, insisting resolutely, “No, you stop.”

“If you don’t want to absorb my mental power, then stop yourself.”

Unable to escape Chi Yao’s grasp, feeling uncomfortable and anxious, plus being seen through by the one he loved, Shi Xing’s emotions broke down, ultimately admitting, “I won’t, I really won’t.”

Rather than saying that he managed to connect his energy channels in a critical situation, it would be more accurate to say he was driven entirely by instinct and survival urges to act, gradually finding his breath…

“From the start, I couldn’t learn this ability, and I still don’t know how to retract it…”

He had tried but to no avail.

No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t feel Er Ya’s method.

“Let me go!”

“If this continues, I’ll drain your mental power dry.”

If this continued… he would endanger the prince.

Like the imperial citizens and star beasts, their bodies were filled with mental power; he could now sense that continuing like this in this uncontrolled manner… Shi Xing shook his head, flailing in panic, pushing against Chi Yao.

Chi Yao didn’t feel much force, but the veins on Shi Xing’s temples could be seen clearly, indicating how strenuous this was for him.

This scene was not without impact on Chi Yao.

He wanted to caress Shi Xing’s cheek; his fingers twitched, yet he restrained himself.

Hardening his heart, he declared firmly, “I won’t let go.”

“Two choices.”

“Either you calm down and retract your abilities, or…”

Pausing briefly, Chi Yao’s tone lowered significantly, “Let it be as it is.”

Shi Xing didn’t understand, “What do you mean by ‘let it be as it is’?”

Fixating deeply on Shi Xing, leaning closer towards his partner, though it was a gentle gesture, Chi Yao’s words were cruel and realistic.

“Simply put, I’ll be drained of all my mental power by you.”

“You can’t stop either, and once you absorb too much energy, your mental sea will collapse.”

Shi Xing trembled, “Your body will disintegrate.”

You’ll die.

Chi Yao remained calm, “Yes, won’t your mental sea collapse as well? It’s the same.”

Shi Xing was shocked that Chi Yao could so easily say such things; his chest rose and fell dramatically, and his mind was frustratingly blank.

Chi Yao’s tone held a kind of detached composure, “You are the one I brought out from the tree nest; if anything happens to you, I, as the responsible person, cannot be fine with it.”

“Besides, Blue Star humans who inadvertently die within the empire are generally those who die alongside their partners.”

After a beat, he flashed a smile at Shi Xing, even showing a hint of playfulness, joking, “Dying together isn’t a bad thing.”

Seeing that smile, Shi Xing felt as if something had frozen him, trembling uncontrollably.

“Don’t, don’t say that!”

Realizing that Chi Yao wasn’t joking, Shi Xing’s teeth were chattering.

Fear, beyond description, rose within him.

Even more than facing a mutated star beast.

Chi Yao’s smile retreated, once again asserting dominion, providing him the only option he could offer, “Then you retract your powers and stop.”

Driven to a dead end, aware that there was no room for negotiation, Shi Xing nodded, uncontrollable tears spilling down, finally responding to Chi Yao, “I can control it; I can manage it.”

Seeing Shi Xing shift his mindset, Chi Yao let out a sigh of relief, “Good, Doctor Shi, save me.”

His tone even carried a hint of warmth.

Shi Xing didn’t know how Chi Yao did it.

But he sensed the steely determination within him, which pierced through him deeply.

Shivering, he refocused his mental power; this time, Shi Xing had no distracting thoughts.

In the next moment, seeing the clouds pressing too low, Chi Yao opened the barrier, isolating the energy.

Feeling the disappearance of the mental power flowing from Chi Yao, Shi Xing closed his eyes, no longer futilely struggling, instead tightening his grip on Chi Yao. After two fruitless attempts, he actively called out to Er Ya, asking her to verbalize a method.

The communicator failed under the energy vortex, but fortunately, being close allowed Er Ya’s voice to still reach through mental power.

“Take a deep breath and push the energy outwards.”

“Interrupt the absorption.”

“Imagine you are treating someone else, attempt to release mental power; this is the opposite process of absorbing mental power.”

Er Ya shouted, providing Shi Xing guiding points one sentence at a time.

After several attempts, Shi Xing felt drained, Chi Yao held Shi Xing gently, accepting the only solution. Shi Xing finally leaned his forehead against Chi Yao’s chest, seeking strength.

In the depths of difficulty, he repeated to himself, “I can do it, I can.”

At such moments, it was only his faith driving him.

Chi Yao felt pained.

But he was more resolute.

Following Shi Xing’s words to deepen the suggestion, “Yes, you can.”

“You still have to heal me.”

Those words ignited Shi Xing’s numb nerves, and he nodded, “Yes, I still need to heal you.”

Chi Yao: “Become the strongest therapist in the empire.”

Shi Xing smiled; physiological tears streamed down in pain as he nodded emphatically, “Yes, become the strongest therapist in the empire.”

Chi Yao rarely felt negative emotions about himself, but at that moment, he didn’t feel he was in a glorious position.

Deep within his heart, he thought that using himself as a bargaining chip, he ought to be despicable.

But if given another chance, he would still do so.

In silence, Chi Yao intertwined his fingers with Shi Xing’s, slightly adjusting their angle before fitting his fingers into Shi Xing’s gaps, their fingers interlocked.

The dryness of Chi Yao’s palm conveyed a reassuring warmth to Shi Xing.

Processing Er Ya’s words, Shi Xing mechanically thought, heal, heal…

He could.

He had used it countless times.

He could do it.

Round and round, tireless.

After what felt like an eternity, the absorption process slowed imperceptibly, and Shi Xing finally felt resistance, keeping his eyes closed and continuing to push his mental power outward.

When Chi Yao noticed the flow of mental power had slowed down, he lowered his head to look at Shi Xing.

Shi Xing took a deep breath, continuing to resist instinctively.

Chi Yao tightened his hold on Shi Xing’s hand. Shi Xing did not resist; instead, using the force to bury his face deeper into Chi Yao’s embrace.

In immense pain, the world became void, and Shi Xing could only feel Chi Yao’s presence.

Little by little, bit by bit…

When Chi Yao’s mental power was no longer being absorbed by Shi Xing, Chi Yao finally retracted the barrier.

As soon as the barrier opened, the wind seemed to settle down considerably.

The moment the wind completely ceased, Shi Xing was just about to let go, but Chi Yao pulled him back, “Don’t stop.”

“Continue, release your mental power.”

“You’ve absorbed too much; you must release some.”

His words remained firm, Shi Xing frowned, “But I feel terrible.”

Pressuring Shi Xing like this also left Chi Yao unsettled, “I know.”

After a brief pause, his tone suddenly softened.

“But I can’t bear the thought of you having an accident—completely, I can’t accept it.”

As a monarch, Chi Yao rarely spoke of such subjective things, emphasizing facts and evidence.

“So, even if this satisfies my selfish desires, Star, release the excess energy.”

When he spoke those final words, his tone was somewhat coaxing but also pleading.

Shi Xing’s heart was squeezed, turning soft.

Pressing his forehead back against Chi Yao’s chest, regardless of how terrible he looked, he nodded vigorously.

As time passed, Er Ya and Fei Chu previously approached again.

Chi Yao embraced Shi Xing, allowing Er Ya to feel Shi Xing’s mental sea.

Er Ya sensed it and was stunned.

Chi Yao asked, “Do we need to release more energy?”

Er Ya replied, “For safety, it’s better to empty the wandering mental power on the surface of the mental sea.”

The absorbed energy was already settled; the ones that hadn’t been absorbed should better be released.

Chi Yao nodded; Shi Xing replied mumbledly.

Eventually, as Shi Xing showed signs of exhaustion, the flow of his released mental power gradually slowed.

But even before Er Ya said it was fine, Shi Xing did not stop, no matter how difficult it was.

Having been tossed around to the brink of exhaustion, he was merely holding on through sheer will.

After a long while, ensuring that Shi Xing posed no danger, and that there was no danger to others, Er Ya helped him extract the last of his mental power.

“It’s fine; you can stop now.”

Er Ya’s words reached Shi Xing’s ears like a heavenly sound.

Releasing the pressure, he collapsed onto Chi Yao, even though he still had consciousness, Shi Xing had no strength left.

“Medical box, bring me some wipes,” Chi Yao instructed.

Fu Qing responded, acknowledging the request and went back to the main ship for supplies.

Taking a breath, Chi Yao unconsciously tightened his hold on Shi Xing, the grip oddly a bit constrictive.

Er Ya took a few steps aside, glancing up at the cumulonimbus clouds overhead, feeling a bad premonition, asking Fei Chu, “Do you sense any energy turbulence on this planet?”

Exhausted from expending mental power, she did not want to use it again.

Fei Chu tested, “I can feel it; it’s turbulent.”

Er Ya sighed, already knowing that they couldn’t manage the dissipated energy from Shi Xing during that time, she decided not to dwell on it, preparing to return to assess whether to leave the planet immediately or activate all defensive barriers.

After all, this amount of energy fluctuation would likely attract more than just one or two star beasts.

Fu Qing returned.

Chi Yao personally helped Shi Xing meticulously wipe his face clean, wrapping him in a military blanket and lifting him up.

Unconsciously, just as he stood up, Chi Yao swayed slightly.

Er Ya was stunned, “You…”

Then she saw Chi Yao shaking his head at her, realizing something, Er Ya fell silent.

Chi Yao carried Shi Xing to the main ship.

When she finally let go of her worries, Er Ya swayed as well, purely due to exhaustion.

Fei Chu supported her.

Fei Chu suddenly commented, “What were you two discussing earlier?”

He had caught on to the verbal sparring between Chi Yao and Er Ya.

Er Ya shot Fei Chu a glance and laughed, “You wouldn’t want to know.”

She had wanted to say that Chi Yao’s mental power was running low.

But Chi Yao didn’t want Shi Xing to feel guilty, so he shook his head at her.

Tsk. Love, after all.