Lu Ming had never been more aware of his arms in his entire life.

  Or rather, the fact that he couldn't move them.

  Both were encased in hard casts from shoulder to wrist and propped up on pillows at his sides. The heavy plaster felt like he was wearing stone sleeves.

  "You're an idiot," Yao Mei said for the third time, though her tone held more concern than anger. She sat on the stool beside his bed, checking the alignment of his casts.

  "A complete and utter idiot."

  "A victorious idiot," Chen Bo added from his position leaning against the wall. The stocky boy was grinning despite his words. "Did you see how far Liu Wei flew? I thought you were going to send him all the way down to Clearwater City!”

  Lu Ming managed a weak smile. The memory of that moment, of the execution of his father's technique, as well as the look of shock on Liu Wei's face as he went airborne, it almost made the pain worth it.

  Almost.

  "Sister Qiao said that your biceps and triceps are completely torn," Yao Mei continued. "Even with medicinal pills, you're looking at a month of recovery. Maybe more."

  "She said two weeks with the pills," Lu Ming protested.

  "She said the pills would reduce it by two weeks. That still leaves you with at least a month of being useless." Yao Mei's expression softened slightly. "Your legs have micro-tears throughout the quads and hamstrings too, though those should heal faster."

  Lu Ming tested his legs, feeling the deep ache that confirmed her diagnosis. She was right, as usual. His body had adapted somewhat to the Phantom Step footwork he'd been practicing, so the damage there was manageable. But his arms had never channeled that much force before. The Coiling Dragon Strike required every muscle fiber from his fingertips to his shoulders to work in perfect synchronization, all while handling power meant for someone at least two stages higher.

  He'd known the risks, and he'd done it anyway.

  "I didn't have a choice," he muttered. "Liu Wei wasn't going to stop. Not until he'd broken something worse than my arms."

  Chen Bo's grin faded. "We know. Doesn't mean we have to like watching you destroy yourself."

  "And now you have a target on your back," Yao Mei continued. "Everyone saw what you did. Liu Wei's friends and his clan are not going to just let this go. You humiliated him in front of the entire outer sect."

  Lu Ming had thought about that. Extensively. The price of winning hadn't just been his arms, it had been his anonymity. Before today, he'd been a nobody, just another outer disciple from common stock trying to survive. Now he was the Body Tempering Stage One cultivator who'd defeated someone a full stage above him. That kind of reputation attracted attention, both good and bad.

  But he'd deal with it. He'd prepared for this possibility, had contingency plans for various scenarios. Well, as much as someone could prepare when they were stuck in bed with two broken arms.

  "I'll be ready," he said with more confidence than he felt.

  Chen Bo opened his mouth to respond, but movement in the doorway caught their attention. The medical disciples near the entrance had suddenly started whispering to each other in hushed voices. Lu Ming leaned forward as much as his injuries allowed, trying to see what had caused the commotion.

  A figure approached down the hallway. Even from a distance, Lu Ming recognized that confident stride.

  Cao Chang.

  The Cao Clan heir moved through the medical pavilion like he owned it, which in a sense he did. The Five Great Clans owned everything that mattered in this sect. Medical disciples bowed as he passed by.

  What was he doing here?

  Then Lu Ming heard a groan from the room across the hall, followed by confused muttering.

  Liu Wei was waking up.

  The timing couldn't be a coincidence. Had Liu Wei somehow sensed Cao Chang's presence? That seemed impossible, but then again, everything about cultivation seemed impossible until it wasn't.

  Lu Ming watched as Cao Chang paused outside Liu Wei's room. Through the open doorway, he could see Liu Wei struggling to sit up, his face pale and confused. The moment Liu Wei's eyes focused on Cao Chang, his expression transformed into something between fear and shame.

  "C-Cao Chang," Liu Wei's voice was hoarse. "I apologize for my failure. I should have been stronger, I should have anticipated—"

  "I tried to warn you." Cao Chang's voice was flat and utterly devoid of any emotion. "You were too busy posturing to listen. I hope you've learned your lesson."

  There was something in those words that made Lu Ming's skin prickle.

  Liu Wei’s arrogance had drained from his face, replaced by an uneasy awareness. He opened his mouth as if to respond, then closed it again, apparently deciding that silence was the safer option.

  Cao Chang turned away from Liu Wei's room without another word, his gaze sweeping across the hallway until it landed on Lu Ming's doorway.

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  Their eyes met for a brief moment.

  He had expected Cao Chang to say something, but instead he said nothing at all. He simply turned to address one of the nearby medical disciples, a young woman that appeared to have been one of the newer recruits.

  "Fetch Sister Qiao," Cao Chang said.

  The medical disciple's eyes widened. "Right away, Young Master Cao."

  She ran down the hallway. Within moments, Sister Qiao herself appeared from her study.

  She was beautiful in that mature way that made most of the male disciples stumble over their words. Tall with long dark hair pulled back in a practical bun. She had a beauty mark on her left cheek, and a figure that her medical robes did little to conceal.

  Lu Ming found his eyes tracking her movement before he could stop himself. The quick elbow to his ribs from Yao Mei reminded him that gawking at a maiden was not polite.

  "Young Master Cao," Sister Qiao's voice carried a blend of respect and courtesy. To Lu Ming's surprise, she actually bowed in a manner that was reserved to Elders. "How may I be of service?"

  "I have questions regarding the patients," Cao Chang said simply. "In private, if you would."

  "Of course. Please, follow me."

  Sister Qiao led him toward the back of the pavilion toward the private consultation rooms where the more complex cases were handled. The doors closed behind them, cutting off any chance of overhearing their conversation.

  Lu Ming stared at the closed doors, his mind racing. What could Cao Chang possibly want to know about their injuries? Was this about the Coiling Dragon Strike? Had he figured out that it was a Qi Condensation technique somehow? The possibilities spiraled through his thoughts, each one more concerning than the last.

  "That was weird," Chen Bo said, voicing what they were all thinking.

  "Everything about today has been weird," Yao Mei muttered. She was still glaring at Lu Ming for his earlier lapse in attention.

  Regardless, for now, all he could do was wait, wonder, and try not to think about what Cao Chang and Sister Qiao were discussing behind those closed doors.

  Sister Qiao had dealt with many difficult patients in her career as the outer sect's primary physician. Arrogant young masters who demanded special treatment. Injured disciples who refused to follow her medical advice. Even the occasional Elder who thought their cultivation level exempted them from basic anatomy.

  But being summoned by Cao Chang felt different.

  She led him into her private consultation room, a space she kept meticulously organized. Medical texts lined the shelves, herbs and compounds arranged by category, diagrams of meridian systems covering one wall. The room smelled of medicinal alcohol and dried flowers, a combination she'd long since stopped noticing.

  Cao Chang entered behind her, his eyes immediately scanning the room with the same intensity she'd seen him display in the hallway.

  She closed the door and turned to face him, maintaining the proper posture of respect.

  She was a Qi Condensation Stage Three cultivator, which gave her decent status in the sect hierarchy. But in the face of the Five Great Clans, especially their direct heirs, cultivaiton realms meant very little.

  Cao Chang could summon Cao Yen, his cousin, an inner disciple with Foundation Establishment cultivation, and the full might of his clan to have her entire family destroyed with a single command if she displeased him.

  Such was the way of things. Power was absolute, and the Cao Clan had power in abundance.

  "Young Master Cao," she said, keeping her voice steady. "What would you like to know?"

  "Lu Ming's condition after the backlash," Cao Chang said without preamble. "Be specific. What exactly happened to his body when he executed that technique?"

  Sister Qiao blinked, surprised by the directness. Most young masters would have danced around their questions, trying to appear casual while fishing for information.

  "Complete tears of the biceps and triceps in both arms," she began, falling into the clinical mindset.

  "The muscle fibers separated from the bone at multiple points. I've seen similar damage from cultivation breakthroughs gone wrong, when the body tries to channel more spiritual energy than the meridians can handle."

  "But Lu Ming didn't use spiritual energy," Cao Chang said. It wasn't a question.

  Sister Qiao paused, studying him more carefully. How had he known that?

  "You're correct. The damage was oh a physical nature, which makes it all the more unusual. His muscles tore from mechanical stress alone as he was generating forces that exceeded his own structural limits."

  "What bout his legs?"

  "There’s micro-tears throughout the quadriceps and hamstrings, but the damage is less severe. His body seems adapted to explosive movement, probably from regular training in footwork techniques. The legs could handle the strain better than the arms."

  Cao Chang nodded, as if this confirmed something he'd already suspected. "What is his recovery timeline with medicinal pills?"

  "Four to six weeks for full recovery. The pills will accelerate healing, but torn muscle requires time to rebuild properly. Push it too fast and he risks permanent damage."

  "And Liu Wei's condition?"

  The question caught her off guard. She'd expected him to focus on Lu Ming, given how unusual that fight had been. But apparently Cao Chang's interest was broader.

  "Cultivation backlash from forced technique disruption," she explained. "His circulation is in chaos. The meridians are inflamed, especially around the dantian where the backlash originated. He'll need three weeks minimum before he can cultivate safely again."

  "Interesting." Cao Chang pulled out a small notebook from his pouch and began writing. He was taking notes like some kind of scholar. Didn’t the Cao Clan look down on what they called, “scroll” cultivators?

  "The backlash came from having his technique interrupted mid-execution?"

  "Yes. When Liu Wei channeled his full power into the Tiger Rends the Sky technique, he committed his entire base to a single strike. Lu Ming's counter not only stopped the technique but shattered it, causing all that gathered energy to rebound through Liu Wei's own meridians."

  "A technique designed to devastate the opponent instead devastated the user." Cao Chang continued to to jot down more notes. ‘

  Sister Qiao found herself nodding before she realized she was doing it. "That's an accurate assessment, Young Master Cao Chang.”

  They continued like this for another ten minutes, Cao Chang asking questions about meridian damage, recovery rates, and the effects of different medicinal compounds on torn muscle versus disrupted qi flow.

  The arrogance she'd heard about, the public displays and foolish challenges that had marked Cao Chang's early days in the sect, those behaviors seemed to have vanished.

  Or perhaps not it had transformed.

  Instead of challenging others openly and grating people with overt displays of superiority, he'd turned that intensity inward. He resigned himself to ggathering knowledge and accumulating power from the shadows.

  What a dangerous young man he had become. What had caused this sudden shift in approach? She had no idea, but she suspected the results would be significant.

  Finally, Cao Chang tucked his notebook back into his robes. "Thank you, Sister Qiao. Your expertise has been most informative."

  "I am honored to serve, Young Master Cao."

  He turned toward the door, then paused with his hand on the handle.

  "I will be back for you."

  Sister Qiao felt a chill run down her spine.

  The words themselves were simple, but the certainty behind them was absolute.

  She bowed deeply, more deeply than she had before. "I await your return, Young Master Cao."

  The door closed behind him, leaving her alone in her consultation room with a profound sense of unease.

  That young man was going to reach the heavens, she was certain of it now. The only question was how many people he would step on along the way.

  Would she be one of them, or would she be wise enough to become useful to him instead?