Inside the hospital, Li Guohai looked at Zhao Rou, whose eyes were red from crying, and his heart ached for her.
But he still put on a stern face and said, "Xiaorou, didn't I tell you before? Don't go begging the Zhao family again. Why are you still doing this?"
With tears on her face, Zhao Rou said, "Brother Hai, I had no choice. I could only go and beg the Zhao family."
In her heart, the Zhao family was the only one who could save Li Guohai.
Now, as time passed, Li Guohai's condition was steadily worsening, and the anxiety in her heart grew with each passing day.
She could only place her slim hopes on the Zhao family, even though she knew the chances of them helping were very small.
Back then, if she hadn't threatened to kill herself, Zhao Qianxing might have really had Li Guohai thrown into the river to disappear forever.
His heart aching, Li Guohai wrapped his arms around Zhao Rou and said, "Life and death are determined by fate, Xiaorou. Don't overthink things. Every extra day we have together now is a blessing."
He had already come to terms with his fate, but the one thing he couldn't let go of was his worry for his wife.
BUZZ...
Just then, Zhao Rou's phone suddenly started ringing.
She glanced at it and said, "It's a call from Yangyang."
She wiped away her tears, composed herself, and then answered the call.
"Hello, Yangyang."
"Mom, I have some great news for you and Dad. I went out to sea earlier, and on my very first cast, I was lucky enough to run into a huge school of large yellow croakers... I've already sold all of them now, for a total of twenty million!" Li Yang said with a smile, reporting the good news to his parents.
"Twenty million?" Hearing her son's words, Zhao Rou froze. A trace of disbelief appeared in her eyes, but it was quickly followed by delight.
"Really, Yangyang? I'll tell your dad right now," Zhao Rou said joyfully.
Li Guohai had also been listening closely to what Li Yang was saying on the phone. He looked at Zhao Rou in pleasant surprise and asked, "Yangyang made twenty million selling large yellow croakers?"
"Mhm." Zhao Rou nodded and said with a smile, "The fishing boat is already on its way back. All the fish have been sold."
Over the phone, Li Yang heard Li Guohai's voice as well. He said with a laugh, "Dad, I don't know why, but my luck has been incredible lately. I made such a huge haul right off the bat. A few more trips out to sea, and I'll be able to earn enough for an Anticancer Agent for you!"
Hearing this, Li Guohai couldn't help but smile. "Alright, Yangyang. Dad will be waiting for your Anticancer Agent."
Speaking of which, Li Yang's luck really had been exceptionally good recently. First, there was the meter-long giant lobster, then the rare Dragon Palace slit shell, and now a whole school of large yellow croakers.
Of course, Li Guohai was just saying that to be encouraging. Unless Li Yang managed to run into a fortune like a school of large yellow croakers several more times, the Anticancer Agent would still be out of reach.
Still, he was overjoyed at that moment, so he decided to just go along with what his son was saying.
After hanging up, Li Guohai smiled. "Xiaorou, our son is really something else. The money he's earned in such a short time is several times what I've made in decades."
He was happy. With so much money on hand, he no longer had to worry about his wife and son's future.
"Yangyang has changed a lot recently," Zhao Rou remarked suddenly after a moment of thought.
In the past, not much ever happened with her son, but now all sorts of things were cropping up one after another.
Li Guohai, however, just smiled and said, "Finishing high school means he's starting to engage with the real world. It's a good thing for him to be active and try different things at this age."
He was very supportive of Li Yang's endeavors.
"Maybe our son really will earn enough for an Anticancer Agent someday," Li Guohai said optimistically.
A flicker of hope also appeared in Zhao Rou's eyes, but it remained very faint.
...
'Dad has about three months left. In these three months, I should be able to get an Anticancer Agent,' Li Yang thought to himself.
Lost in these hopeful thoughts, Li Yang soon arrived home.
He sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate!
As the Cultivation Technique activated, he sensed a strange energy in the air around him, which he then continuously drew into his body.
This energy circulated within him, slowly merging into his physical form.
Under the influence of this energy, the very cells in his blood seemed to be slowly transforming. As the blood circulated throughout his body, it in turn tempered his entire physique.
At a certain point, Li Yang suddenly opened his eyes, an expression of immense joy on his face.
'The second stage of tempering is complete!'
He had now successfully completed the second of the four stages of the Body Refining Chapter, the Cultivation Technique that flowed from the mysterious small sword in his mind!
'Such incredible power!'
Clenching his fist, Li Yang could feel an extremely powerful force welling up inside him.
After completing the first stage of tempering, his physical fitness was several times that of an ordinary person. Now, it was at least a dozen times greater!
With a single punch, he could probably leave a fist-sized dent in a steel plate!
'I wonder if I can block a bullet now?'
As his cultivation progressed, Li Yang looked no different from an ordinary person, but the moment he activated his Cultivation Technique, his body would become as hard as steel. Even a sharp knife wouldn't be able to break his skin.
Li Yang had carefully researched the penetrating power of bullets. At his current level, a bullet probably couldn't pierce his body!
Of course, no one was yet aware that a superman-like being existed in the small Coastal City!
Li Yang never revealed his abilities. Keeping a low profile, cultivating quietly, and silently growing stronger was the only way to go!
For now, his cultivation faced no obstacles. All he had to do was follow the steps and continue to practice. He had to at least complete all four stages of the Body Refining Chapter. How powerful would he be then?
By then, even if his special abilities were discovered, his capacity to handle the risks would be vastly increased.
'Huh? The octopus clone has also completed its second stage of tempering?'
While Li Yang was celebrating, his octopus clone at the bottom of the sea had also been cultivating silently.
Streams of energy were absorbed into its body, and it finally finished tempering its entire form once more.
BOOM!
As the second stage of tempering concluded, its genes seemed to undergo a change, and its entire body began to expand rapidly!
Before, a single one of its tentacles was 1.6 meters long. But in just a short time, the length of its tentacles began to increase, reaching 2.5 meters in a matter of minutes!
At this point, its entire body length went from four meters to over five, nearly six meters. Its size had more than doubled in an instant!
In the ocean, a giant octopus nearly six meters long waved its tentacles. The small fish and shrimp nearby were terrified, staring in horror at the suddenly enormous creature, having even forgotten to flee.