Chapter 103: What Exactly Is Source Power?

When Zhang Ning woke up the next day, he felt incredibly refreshed. Of course, this was obvious—anyone who slept from the afternoon until the next morning would feel that way. But seeing Third Senior Brother sitting calmly beside him was truly one of the happiest moments Zhang Ning had experienced lately.

Zhuge Yi had clearly been up for quite some time already, holding a book and furrowing his brow as he read carefully. Judging by his focused expression, he had already immersed himself back into work. Every time Zhang Ning saw Zhuge Yi like this, he couldn’t help but marvel—this was almost like a perpetual motion machine! But now, seeing him so composed, Zhang Ning felt deeply reassured.

However, as soon as Zhuge Yi spoke, Zhang Ning immediately shrank back, intimidated. Without looking up, Zhuge Yi said, “I heard from Fourth Junior Brother that you went to that other world to avenge me.”

Hearing this, Zhang Ning quickly curled up on the bed and said, “I acted on my own accord. I’m sorry, Senior Brother. Please don’t be angry with me.”

But Zhuge Yi showed no sign of anger at all. Turning to look at him, he said, “I should be the one thanking you, not angry… But you were too impulsive. I don’t know what you went through in that world to succeed in your revenge, but I’m sure it wasn’t easy. Still, you must understand that the life and well-being of the child of a noble family are a hundred times more important than that traitor’s matter. So, this must not happen again—you are not allowed to risk yourself like this for me.”

Only then did Zhang Ning believe Zhuge Yi wasn’t angry. Because Zhuge Yi’s words felt incomplete, Zhang Ning cautiously raised his head and glanced at him, only to see Zhuge Yi’s eyes drifting away as he said, “Originally, it should have been your Senior Brother protecting you, but you’ve already learned to protect me first.”

Zhuge Yi’s tone was just like... the gentle and caring one Zhang Ning had always longed for.

Tears welled up in Zhang Ning’s eyes. After a moment, he said, “As long as I didn’t cause you any trouble, that’s enough.”

Zhang Ning knew that it should have been Third Senior Brother Zhuge Yi himself who avenged him; otherwise, those who knew the truth would think poorly of him. But at the time, Zhang Ning was so furious he could not control himself. He felt he couldn’t wait even a moment longer. Afterwards, guilt for his impulsiveness rose in his heart, but Zhang Ning did not regret it in the slightest.

Seeing Zhang Ning’s deep efforts and hardships to avenge him, yet his greatest fear was causing trouble for him, Zhuge Yi couldn’t help but smile warmly and reply, “Of course not.”

In truth, there were still some unresolved matters regarding Chen Zili, such as the remnant soul of the Martial Sovereign within him. This generation’s Sovereign aside, going back a few generations, the pillars of the Azure Realm were all Martial Saints in cultivation. Though this might sound ironic—as if great calamities were necessary to produce talents—it was nonetheless true. So where had that Martial Sovereign remnant soul come from?

If these matters weren’t clarified, there might be future troubles. But Zhuge Yi certainly wouldn’t let that happen; otherwise, it would be like blaming Zhang Ning. Besides, even if there were subsequent problems, they would fall upon himself, having nothing to do with Zhang Ning anymore.

Zhuge Yi didn’t notice Zhang Ning’s subtle gesture of rubbing his forehead just now.

After a while, Zhang Ning finally calmed down and awkwardly shifted the topic, “Senior Brother, where does the fragrance in this room come from? It’s amazing—just a whiff, and it feels like the chaotic energy inside my body is being smoothed out.”

Although Zhang Ning knew he carried “Shadow Universe Energy” within him, he was not deeply familiar with it and confused it with the flow of internal energy. Seeing Zhang Ning’s internal energy in disorder, Zhuge Yi’s expression changed slightly. He immediately reached out to probe Zhang Ning’s energy flow and only relaxed after a while, saying, “There’s truly no problem now. I hadn’t noticed your internal energy was disordered before.”

Zhuge Yi’s tone held a hint of self-blame. Then, as if recalling something, he relaxed his brow and said, “You misunderstood. The incense in my room,” Zhuge Yi pointed to the stick of incense that had been burning continuously, “is for replenishing blood and essence. It’s specially used for treating severe injuries where recovery is difficult. I used some breakthrough pills during a previous battle that consumed a lot of my essence and blood. Burning this incense helps me recover without aftereffects. For healthy people, it makes them feel vigorous, but it doesn’t smooth internal energy. So if you feel your internal energy flowing better…”

Zhuge Yi paused, gazing softly at Zhang Ning, but the corner of his mouth betrayed a smile he couldn’t suppress.

Zhang Ning knew this was one of Zhuge Yi’s quirks; he had noticed it before on the Great Belly Boat. So he asked with a teasing tone, “Why, Senior Brother?”

As expected, Zhuge Yi continued with a seemingly unrelated remark, “Master came by last night.”

Only then did Zhang Ning suddenly realize and exclaimed, “Ah!”

Truthfully, Zhang Ning found Master Chu Hanyu’s actions both unexpected and yet entirely plausible. After all, in Zhang Ning’s mind, Chu Hanyu was the type who harbored love silently and awkwardly. It made sense that she might quietly slip into a disciple’s room at midnight to help smooth the meridians, then leave without a word. Although knowing this, a smile quickly spread across Zhang Ning’s lips.

Zhuge Yi looked at Zhang Ning with a teasing glance, making Zhang Ning’s cheeks feel as if they were burning. Then Zhuge Yi said, “So you really like Master, huh?”

Zhang Ning felt embarrassed at first and was about to reply, but suddenly realized something. He rolled off the bed, walked over to Zhuge Yi, squeezed his hand, and said, “I like Third Senior Brother a lot too!”

Zhuge Yi was momentarily stunned, then heard Zhang Ning continue, “Third Senior Brother is so good; it’s only natural that Zhang Ning likes you. If anyone doesn’t, that’s their problem!”

Zhuge Yi was touched and amused by how Zhang Ning had circled around his feelings with such care and effort. “Thank you, Ning,” he said.

Zhang Ning’s expression turned serious as he looked into Zhuge Yi’s eyes and said, “Senior Brother, no matter what others do, I will never betray you in the future!”

The smile on Zhuge Yi’s face slowly faded. Zhang Ning seemed unaware and continued, “I promise you, Senior Brother, no matter what happens, I will never let you be so heartbroken and sad again! I won’t do that myself, and I won’t let anyone else do it!”

Zhuge Yi wasn’t sure what expression Zhang Ning wore then, but he found Zhang Ning’s gaze a little too intense to meet directly. After a long silence, he decided to treat it as youthful bravado and said lightly, “Alright, I understand, Ning.” He ruffled Zhang Ning’s hair.

Seeing Zhuge Yi’s relaxed demeanor, Zhang Ning knew he hadn’t taken his words seriously. Since he had no way to prove himself at the moment, Zhang Ning let the matter drop. But a twinge of regret stirred in his heart, and suddenly he thought of something else. He rolled his eyes playfully and asked in an endearing tone, “Senior Brother, I want to ask you something.”

Zhuge Yi’s voice was gentle. “What do you want to know, Ning?”

Zhang Ning asked, “What exactly is primal energy?”