In the afternoon, they went to cheer for Xi Ya as usual.
And Xi Ya did not disappoint, once again securing first place.
Moreover, after yesterday's battle, almost everyone who faced Xi Ya today conceded immediately.
It couldn't be helped; space-attribute magic was simply too broken for ordinary people.
If you attacked her, she would just open a spatial gate to redirect your attack right back at you—hitting her was basically hitting yourself!
Talk about infuriating!
Furthermore, Xi Ya's spatial slicing was unstoppable. Any defense was like bubbles before the spatial slicing power of her spatial gate.
This was because it wasn't Xi Ya's own strength, but the spatial power of the world itself. Below Six-star Saint-tier, there was virtually no way to block it!
In fact, if Xi Ya could somehow fit a spatial gate around a Saint-tier expert's head, she could even decapitate them!
Additionally, Zhang Ye also discovered that Xi Ya's mana recovery speed was absolutely terrifying!
Her mana capacity wasn't large—in fact, it was much smaller than others of her rank—but her recovery speed was countless times faster!
While others needed half a day to recover their mana after draining it, Xi Ya only needed a few seconds!
And that was just her natural recovery speed!
If she meditated, the speed would triple!
In other words, Xi Ya's mana recovery speed was actually faster than Zhang Ye's!
This left Zhang Ye quite astonished.
Xi Ya's talent didn't seem high, so why did her mana recover so quickly?
Could she also possess some kind of special constitution?
He quickly performed a deep analysis.
However, that wasn't the case. Xi Ya's constitution was extremely ordinary, and her aptitude was poor... actually, it was exceptionally poor!
She had the worst aptitude of anyone Zhang Ye had ever met!
Her meridians were completely withered, making it extremely difficult for mana to circulate. The difficulty of her cultivation was exponentially higher than normal!
If one were to quantify a person's aptitude and talent as a numerical value...
...where an ordinary person's aptitude was 100...
...then Xi Ya's was only 30.
A mere third of an ordinary person's!
This discovery made Zhang Ye's heart ache.
Why?
Because an ordinary person with an aptitude of 100 could reach Tier Three with enough hard work and sweat. Beyond Tier Three, however, hard work and sweat were far less important than opportunities and talent.
But Xi Ya... her talent was only a third of an ordinary person's. In other words, even normal cultivation to Tier One should have been incredibly difficult for her!
Yet, when Zhang Ye met her, she was already at Tier Five...
What did that mean?
It meant this girl had put in an unimaginable amount of effort, forcing her way up to Tier Five despite her terrible aptitude!
Just what had this girl gone through?
Zhang Ye didn't know, but he knew the hardship and pain behind it must have been immense.
How many “ordinary people” were there in this world?
Too many. More than half the population had aptitudes hovering around 100.
But how many of them could become Tier Five Mages?
They were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Forget Tier Five; even Tier Three mages were few and far between.
Thus, in the world of ordinary people, a Tier Three was already considered a “powerhouse.”
This girl, Xi Ya... it really made one's heart ache for her so much இwஇ!
But why did she have such a terrifying mana recovery speed when her aptitude was so poor?
This deeply puzzled Zhang Ye. So, after today's matches ended, Zhang Ye looked at little Xi Ya and said seriously, “Xi Ya, I need to examine your body.”
Xi Ya: “???”
Lina: “???”
Xi Ya's small face instantly flushed red, her small hands fidgeting nervously. “Ye... Brother Ye... I... I...”
Lina raised her eyebrows, staring at Zhang Ye.
(๑•̌.•̑๑) Something is off with Brother Ye!
Zhang Ye also realized his words were ambiguous and offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry, sorry! I just want to see if I can find the reason why your mana recovers so quickly. Maybe we can find a way to help you get stronger faster because of it.”
Hearing this, Xi Ya and Lina finally understood.
Lina sighed in admiration inwardly. As expected of Brother Ye.
Xi Ya's face remained bright red, but her heart felt incredibly warm.
She nodded obediently. “Okay...”
Zhang Ye smiled and said, “Let's go to the research institute then. It'll be easier to do the examination there.”
When they arrived at the research institute, Ke Ling immediately came to greet them. “Mentor.”
Zhang Ye nodded. Having spent some time with her, he already knew Ke Ling's personality—she pursued efficiency and hated wasting words. Thus, he got straight to the point: “Help me run a full-body checkup on her. Make sure not to hurt her.”
“Understood.” Ke Ling nodded and looked at Xi Ya.
Ke Ling's robotic, emotionless gaze frightened Xi Ya a little, causing her to shrink timidly behind Zhang Ye.
Zhang Ye squatted down and comforted her softly, “Don't worry, Xi Ya. It's fine. The checkup will be over very quickly.”
“Okay...” Hearing this, Xi Ya nodded her small head and followed Ke Ling to the examination area.
Aside from blood analysis, the checkup here utilized specialized magic devices to perform mana resonance body scans and mana collection analysis. It was completed very quickly, without even needing to take off her clothes.
A moment later, Ke Ling walked over holding a mana panel. “Her meridians are severely withered, and her mana circulation efficiency is less than a third of an ordinary person's. Furthermore, judging by her meridian strength and her current rank, her current meridians can barely withstand the mana of her current level. Cultivating and circulating mana will cause intense pain.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ye's pupils contracted. “What level of pain is it exactly?”
“Based on her internal neural distribution and stimulus sensitivity, it reaches a level 7 pain index. Depending on the intensity of her mana circulation, it can increase even further.”
Zhang Ye was speechless, looking at little Xi Ya, whose face was full of confusion.
A level 7 pain index...
He had already studied various professional fields of knowledge in this world, so he knew that pain here was generally classified into ten levels. Level 7 pain was already considered severe pain—a sharp, agonizing pain that would wake someone from their sleep and make it impossible to rest!
Yet, as long as Xi Ya cultivated or circulated mana, she had to endure this level of pain, or perhaps even worse.
At this moment, Zhang Ye's heart ached beyond measure.
He felt this was absolutely not something Xi Ya should have to bear.
For her to force herself up to Tier Five while enduring such agony... Zhang Ye truly couldn't imagine how much she had suffered.
He couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Xi Ya's hair, as if doing so could help soothe her pain.
“Can you analyze the cause of her meridian withering?”
“This requires attaching Divine Sense perception to mana, then injecting the mana into her body for a deeper examination,” Ke Ling said. She still maintained her robotic demeanor, showing absolutely no sympathy for Xi Ya's plight.
Zhang Ye also knew a bit about this.
Ke Ling simply had no emotions.
But now was not the time to dwell on that. Zhang Ye leaned down and said to Xi Ya, “Xi Ya, I'm going to perform a deep examination on you next. Don't resist, and if you feel uncomfortable anywhere, let me know, okay?”
“I understand, Brother Ye. I'll cooperate.” Although she didn't understand what Zhang Ye and Ke Ling were talking about, Xi Ya still nodded her small head seriously. She knew Zhang Ye was trying to help her, so she absolutely couldn't cause trouble.
Zhang Ye couldn't help but ruffle her hair again, feeling that this girl's maturity was heart-wrenchingly sweet.
He picked Xi Ya up and laid her flat on the mechanical lounge chair. Then, gently squeezing her small hand, he said, “I'm going to start now.”
“Mhm, go ahead, Brother Ye...” Xi Ya closed her eyes tightly, looking both frightened and determined.
Zhang Ye nodded and began to guide his mana. Beside them, Ke Ling had already expanded her Domain to record the mana parameters.
Lina looked extremely nervous. She had understood the conversation just now.
Because of that, her heart also ached terribly for Xi Ya, and her eyes welled up with tears.
She only hoped Zhang Ye could help Xi Ya so that she wouldn't have to suffer such pain anymore.
As the mana was injected, little Xi Ya's face flushed red once again at a visible rate.
It feels... so good...
She bit her lip tightly to keep herself from making any strange noises.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ye closed his eyes and focused entirely on controlling his mana, guiding it toward Xi Ya's meridians.
...
...
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