Chapter 7: A Person of Influence

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Back in the hospital room, Chu Yun stood by the window, gazing out at the cold city, lost in thought.

The illness afflicting Chu Yun’s mother was viral in nature. To be precise, after the nuclear wars, the earth was plagued with environmental degradation everywhere. For instance, the area surrounding the slum where the mother and son lived was once contaminated by nuclear pollution—a sickness not truly an illness, and all the harder to cure.

Probably only high-grade alchemists from the Second or Third Civilization could refine and produce the serum that could treat such diseases. Yet, there were only a handful of such experts on this planet, all in the service of the most powerful families. Who would care about the life or death of a woman from the slums? As soon as such medicines were produced, they would be bought up and monopolized by wealthy families whose constitutions were unsuitable for cultivation—families like the Chus would never have access to them.

Even the Ye family would likely find it difficult to procure such a serum. There were many people suffering from chronic viral illnesses like Chu Yun’s mother, but given the planet’s current state, no one cared how many died each day.

“Mom, promise me you’ll never do anything foolish again and refuse your medicine.” Chu Yun knew his mother was awake and feigning sleep; suddenly, he turned to look at her on the hospital bed and spoke.

With her back to him, his mother secretly wiped away tears.

What else could she do?

With such a persistent, viral disease, all she could do was wait for death. The medicines could only delay the inevitable; they did nothing to address the root of the illness.

Chu Yun walked over to the bed, gently straightening her bedding as he said, “Believe me, I will make you well again.”

He considered this a debt of gratitude owed for inhabiting this body. No matter what, he had to take good care of Chu Yun’s mother.

“Son, I’m just a burden to you,” she sobbed quietly. “I don’t want to be your dead weight.”

“Mom.” Chu Yun patted the back of her hand and smiled gently. “You’re not a burden, you’re my responsibility. If I can’t even take care of my own mother, what else could I possibly do well? All right, take your medicine on time, I’ll come visit you regularly, and I’ll get that serum for you.”

After comforting his mother, Chu Yun gave some instructions to the hospital staff before leaving. Carrying an armful of broken-down instruments, he bought some electronic repair tools and then locked himself in their slum apartment to repair the laboratory equipment.

That whole night, using those crude instruments, he managed to create three doses of basic Body Refinement Elixir.

One of them failed—he was a bit out of practice, and the old, faulty machines didn’t display enough data, leading to a failed batch during mixing and refining. Still, as a former king, though the equipment was simple, his skills remained intact.

From materials for three doses, he produced two. He immediately consumed them both, and with a speed impossible for ordinary people, he forced open all the meridians in his body.

In that moment, an old, familiar feeling returned. This body was so weak—so feeble that he couldn’t muster any strength at all. Now, after fully absorbing the Body Refinement Elixir, his blocked blood vessels were flushed open, and he experienced a long-forgotten sense of clarity and vigor.

After cleansing himself, Chu Yun leapt out of the riverside pool and shouted up at the sky, “I, Ye Xinghe, have returned to life!”

That night, Mo Yu called and asked him to come out for some fun.

Chu Yun didn’t refuse and went to find Mo Yu at a bar.

When he arrived by hover-bus, he spotted Mo Yu in the noisy bar hall, drinking with three or four others—most of whom looked older than Mo Yu.

“Old Yun, come, let me introduce you. These are a few upperclassmen. They know the ones who roughed you up last time, so if they give you trouble again, these seniors will have your back,” Mo Yu said, pulling Chu Yun over by the arm. “Right, Senior Gao?”

As he spoke, Mo Yu nudged Chu Yun in the side, signaling him to raise his glass and toast.

Chu Yun didn’t react—perhaps because humility simply wasn’t embedded in his soul.

One of the men, seated in the center, legs crossed, seemed rather perfunctory about Chu Yun’s arrival and introduction. In truth, these upperclassmen from the same academy had little regard for a “campus celebrity” like Chu Yun and showed no intention of befriending him.

Suddenly, Senior Gao seemed to spot someone and stood up, saying to his two companions, “Let’s go—Duanmu Ci just arrived.”

The other two, seeing the focus of everyone’s attention enter, perked up and hurried after him, paying no mind to Chu Yun or Mo Yu as they left.

“Senior Gao, will you be back later?” Mo Yu called after them, but the three strode off without responding.

Only then did Mo Yu turn to look at the man who had just entered—a charismatic and imposing figure.

Chu Yun also noticed the man, who seemed about their age.

“Who’s he?” Chu Yun asked curiously, having little impression of the man who drew such a crowd.

“He’s a legend at our school—your equal in fame,” Mo Yu replied, sitting down and pouring drinks for both of them. “But he’s the top student, while you’re at the very bottom.”

He handed a glass to Chu Yun, then added, “He’s also the man your fiancée admires.”

Chu Yun frowned slightly.

“You didn’t know, did you?” Mo Yu chuckled, gossiping. “He’s our age, but his strength and talent are monstrous. He was fast-tracked into the upper grades, and he’s the strongest student there—the star of our academy. He’s the upper limit, you’re the lower. Back in elementary school, he was classmates with your fiancée, Ye Linglong. I’m sure she had a crush on him—it’s only natural. With his talent and powerful family, he’s a strong contender for the future city lord. What woman wouldn’t dream of him? But don’t worry, the Duanmu family looks down on the Ye family, and would never allow Duanmu Ci to marry Ye Linglong. There’s no way they’ll end up together.”

Chu Yun nodded nonchalantly.

Duanmu Ci, the man now surrounded by admirers, was never short of female company.

In this environment, women clung to the strong for survival—like leeches, impossible to shake off. It spoke to how hard their lives were. Often, it was common to see four or five women vying for the attention of an outstanding man.

“Were you trying to introduce those seniors to me, so they could look out for me at the academy?” Chu Yun casually asked after clinking glasses.

“Oh, so you’re not a complete fool—you realize how much I care?” Mo Yu rolled his eyes. “But you just sat there without toasting them, and now you see—they’re gone.”

“I know you mean well, but I really don’t need it. These days, without strength, none of these connections matter,” Chu Yun replied with a smile.

Mo Yu sighed helplessly. “I can’t argue with you. There’s one more assessment this year. If you fail again, you’ll really be expelled. Think carefully—in this environment, you need to build good relationships with your classmates, or you’ll end up offending the wrong people. The students’ family backgrounds represent the city’s elite. Once you leave school, you lose your best chance to climb the social ladder.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Chu Yun shrugged indifferently.

After all, the knowledge taught at school was useless to him. If there was any advantage to staying, it was that his current strength made the academy a safer haven. As the continent’s hope, the various lords all agreed that martial academies and their students were to be specially protected—no violence was allowed in the academy, for these children could one day become the hope of the land.