Chapter 37 - I Spend Everything
The silence lasted three days.
I loved it.
I also hated how lost I felt without numbers.
That bothered me more.
I had depended on the system even while distrusting it.
So I trained without it.
Mira corrected my stance.
Jace beat me with a wooden sword.
Fen made me cultivate until I could describe every sensation without a screen explaining it.
Sable hunted.
Pebble stole lunch.
Simple.
Then Lyra attacked the lower gate again.
This time she brought Lord Sen in chains.
Mira's father had turned against her.
Lyra opened the gate halfway before we reached it.
Red hands pulled through.
The First Defier was close.
I used the Free Core at full strength.
Cracks spread across it.
Mira shouted, "Stop!"
I kept going.
The core shattered.
All my cultivation exploded outward, sealing the gate.
I fell from Core realm to Mortal in one breath.
Lyra stared at me.
"You spent everything."
"Yep."
"For a temporary seal."
"Yep."
She looked genuinely confused.
That gave me hope.
Then blue light returned.
The system rebooted.
[Core destroyed.]
[Realm: Mortal]
[Hidden condition met: Power voluntarily abandoned.]
[Skill unlocked: NO RANK]
Fen went pale when he saw my expression.
"What did it give you?"
I smiled.
May you like
"Something Heaven doesn't know how to measure."
