Talented Martial Hero
Chapter 197 Stunning Strength (Part Two)

Scott was of the dragon's blood and he was just half a step away from the Grand Realm level, so it was a given fact that he was physically much stronger than Darren.

"Let's leave this place, Scott.”

Darren pulled Scott to his feet and held him tightly in his arms as he flew upwards. He had to leave the place immediately. As a human with blood and flesh, he would be scorched to death by the hot temperature from the lava if he lingered there for long. Darren felt astonished that with powerful one hit, the man was able to drive Scott to the center of the earth. Such was the strength of a Grand Realm warrior. Such power was sure to drive fear into anybody's heart.

A gush of air filled Darren's ears as he flew up with Scott at an extremely fast speed towards the surface of the earth. The moment they reached the surface, Darren felt the man’s gaze burning through him.

"Spare his life, please.”

Darren stared at the man's face for a long time before asking for mercy.

The man looked into Darren's eyes with a look full of both arrogance and coldness. Half hidden in the black smoke, the man kept silent for a while. Then, a voice resounded in Darren's mind, "You owe this to me."

Then the man turned around and walked away, still afloat in the air.

With each forceful step of his, the sky rumbled, making thunder-like noises as the air stirred.

Soon, the man completely disappeared from Darren's view.

The moment the man was out of sight, Darren was finally able to let out a sigh of relief.

Darren took in deep breaths as if he had never breathed better air before. It was as if he had just crawled out from under a gigantic mountain.

He had no idea why the man in black armor accepted his pleas and spared Scott. Nor did he understand what he meant by "You owe this to me." All he knew, and all he cared about in that moment was that Scott had to live, and he must do everything in his power to save him.

Darren went back to check Scott's injuries, and found him already woken up from his coma. To his surprise, Scott was staring at him with suspicion.

"Scott..."

Darren looked down at his body in transformation form—still ridden with scales. He had no idea how to explain this to his friend.

He was fully aware that it would still be easy for Scott to kill him in spite of his severe injuries.

But he trusted Scott, and he knew he would never do anything to hurt him.

The suspicion in Scott's eyes gradually became replaced with gratitude. Using all the energy he could muster, he sat up, and immediately closed his eyes and fell silent. His injuries were so severe that he was rendered unable to speak or move.

Two months had passed away since the end of the fight.

In the past few months, Scott did not move at all. He just sat there silently, repairing all of his injuries with the remaining energy in his body. Having nothing else to do during that period of time, Darren resorted to practicing his martial arts

The fierce fight between Scott and the man in black armor had astonished him greatly. The power that the man possessed was indeed beyond his wildest imagination. As a result, his desire to improve his skills and reach higher levels of martial arts became more and more intensified.

During the past two months, Darren repeatedly practiced the Nine Changes of the Demon and gained a better understanding of the third level of the skill. His physical condition and his ability to use the demonic internal force were also greatly reinforced.

More than that, he was also able to improve his blade skill to the third level as well. With the promotion of his blade intent, his overall strength was also upgraded to a much higher level Another half a month flew by. During this time, Darren was able to upgrade his current strengths as much as he possibly could. Since there was nothing else for him to improve, he stopped practicing all of his skills.

All throughout the time they were there, Scott merely sat in silence, motionless as a rock. There were still scars and wounds all over his body, making it apparent that he had not yet recovered from his injuries. Based on Darren's estimation, Scott would need a couple of years for him to fully recover this way.

"It has been a long time since I left. Elsa must be worried about me,"

Darren murmured as he secretly counted the days he had spent here.

But he had no idea how he could leave. He did not know the entrance nor the exit of this place as he was merely brought there by an explosive force.

"There is nothing I can do for Scott here. If only I can help him with his recovery, we will be able to leave this place earlier.” Darren sighed in frustration.

"How stupid I am. I forgot!" Darren palmed his head as an idea suddenly struck him. He still had the majority of the red fruit in his Space Ring, and he could use it to heal Scott's injuries. Without hesitation, he took the remaining part of the red fruit from his Space Ring.

"Scott." Since Scott was unable to hear him, Darren communicated with him using his spiritual sense.

Scott finally opened his eyes but remained silent. It was extremely dangerous to wake anybody from their healing process, as the mighty healing power could hurt the person to the point of no return due to the interference. That was why Darren refrained from waking up Scott for the past few months

"Excuse me, Scott. I forgot about this fruit. It has tremendous healing power. Take it now,” Darren said while passing the remaining red fruit to Scott's mouth.

Instead of hearing a response from Scott, Darren felt a soft force pushing his hand away from Scott. "Take this fruit, Scott. It will heal your injuries much faster!" Darren passed the fruit once again to Scott's lips.

Once, Darren had fed Scott with a small part of the red fruit, and it healed his badly wounded body at once. Since he had more of the fruit now, he assumed that its healing power would be much stronger than the small part he had previously given Scott. Darren could not understand why Scott was refusing his offer.

"No," Scott's lips trembled as he struggled to speak.

Scott refused it again. After a little while, he balanced the energies inside him and temporarily stopped healing himself. Then he said, "It's too precious, Darren. I cannot take it. Keep it for yourself."

Darren rolled his eyes at Scott upon hearing his words. He did not expect that that was the reason why Scott was refusing his offer.

"It's just a fruit with healing power. I don't think it is as precious as the friendship between us. You treat me as if I were your blood brother. And I see you the same way. I'll do anything for you no matter the cost!"

Darren meant it sincerely. The boy's words reminded Scott of the time he used to spend hanging out with his brothers when he was young. Darren looked so candid and sincere in saying it, and so Scott could not help but feel touched even though he was a tough man with a mind of iron and steel.

"You're my good brother, Darren.” Scott spoke to Darren passionately. Although this boy was comparatively weak in the level of martial arts, he had already saved his life twice. Scott vowed to never forget it.

"We are good brothers, so please don't refuse me again.” Darren ginned at Scott.

"No, Darren, you keep the fruit for yourself. It will prove to be invaluable to you in the future. It might even be the cornerstone for you to achieve the Grand Realm level. For me, however, the fruit is of less importance. It can only purify my dragon blood to a higher extent. It would be a waste of a precious fruit if it cannot help me achieve the Grand Realm level successfully anyway." Scott was determined to refuse Darren's offer.

"Achieve the Grand Realm level successfully?” Scott's last sentence captured Darren's attention. "What do you mean, Scott? You mean you can improve the level of your cultivation base to the Grand Realm with the help of this fruit?" Darren asked, the curiosity plain in his voice.