Elder White POV

The courtyard was quiet except for the sounds of students moving through their forms.

A woman stood in front of them, her long white hair resting over her back like soft snow.

Her red eyes were calm and cold as she watched each stance.

She corrected a boy's posture with a light tap on his shoulder.

"Lower your weight. You will lose balance like this," she said.

Her voice was steady, but without an ounce of warmth.

The students tried harder under her gaze.

Everyone feared disappointing Elder White.

She walked along the line of students, stopping now and then to adjust a foot or a wrist.

Then, without warning, something sparked inside her mind.

It was quick, like a flash of light.

Her red eyes widened a little.

She turned her head toward the distant mountains.

"Neo?" she whispered.

The students exchanged confused looks, but before they could speak, Elder White vanished.

She reappeared in front of a massive ancient building.

The wooden doors towered over her, carved with symbols older than the Eight Tiger Sect itself.

She pushed them open without hesitation and stepped inside.

The sect leader and several elders were sitting around a large round table, discussing something in low voices.

They stopped the moment they saw her.

"I am leaving the sect and going on a break," she said.

Her tone was calm as always, yet something in it felt different.

The sect leader blinked, stunned.

"Elder White, what are you talking about? You do know there is a bounty on your head. So what do you mean you are leaving?"

She looked at him with the same cold eyes.

"I am leaving the sect because I have to go somewhere."

The sect leader opened his mouth to speak, but she was already gone.

Silence fell in the hall.

The sect leader stared at the empty space she had been standing in.

One of the older elders stroked his long white beard.

"This is my first time seeing Elder White show so much agitation. Normally, she rarely shows any emotion at all and acts like a doll," he said.

The sect leader let out a slow breath and rubbed his temples.

"This is going to be a problem," he muttered.

…

Mars Everhart POV

Far away, a man with bright red hair stood on top of a high cliff.

A wide grin stretched across his face as he looked at the map in his hand.

The wind pushed against him, but he didn't seem to mind.

Behind him floated a fire spirit shaped like a small flaming figure.

"You crazy idiot. Just stop. Do you have a death wish?" the spirit said.

The man laughed.

"I want to live a long life, of course. But I want to fight too."

The fire spirit groaned. "You say that every time. And every time, I feel like I will die because of you."

The man looked at the map again and tapped a location.

"If we fight a strong cultivator, there's a chance I'll have a breakthrough."

"If you survive," the fire spirit spat.

The man's grin only grew wider.

Then, without warning, he jumped off the cliff.

Wind roared past him as he fell.

A glowing figure burst out of his body.

It was a technique spirit shaped like a phoenix.

The giant bird spread its wings and flew under him, becoming his foothold.

The fire spirit jumped onto the phoenix's back too, still complaining.

The phoenix turned into a ray of light and soared toward the horizon.

…

Neo's POV

On the other side of the land, Neo's body crashed into the ground.

He flew through several trees, breaking them apart, before rolling across the dirt and coming to a stop.

He lay there, unable to move.

Every breath felt heavy and painful.

His chest rose and fell in short, quick motions.

Breathing was difficult.

'Breathing?'

Something felt wrong.

'Why do I need to breathe?'

Neo could breathe, of course, but it had long been nothing more than a habit.

His body hadn't needed oxygen for a long time.

Yet now, he needed it.

Just like a mortal.

He tried to push himself up, but the world around him felt heavy, like he had sunk into the bottom of an ocean.

The air pressed in from every direction.

Even moving a finger took effort.

For someone with a Stage 8 body—someone who should have been able to cross universes with a few steps—he could not even stand properly.

This world was strange.

He tried again and finally managed to sit up.

There was no time to rest.

Neo forced himself to his feet.

"Heavenly Records… start healing me…"

He placed a hand on a nearby tree to steady himself and took slow steps forward.

Each step confirmed his suspicion.

This world was suppressing him.

He felt like he was only a bit stronger than a normal human.

He even needed to breathe, which meant the world had imposed some kind of Concept or Law on him.

He looked around.

The place looked like a regular forest, at least on the surface.

But nothing felt normal.

[Master, there is a problem.]

The voice of the Heavenly Record echoed inside his mind.

Neo kept walking, dragging his feet through the leaves.

"What is the… problem?" he asked, struggling to speak clearly.

[The healing… needs energy. What the Supreme of Darkness gave you was not a technique to heal you directly. It was a technique to generate energy and heal your body.]

Neo frowned.

"I… can… generate energy…?"

The Heavenly Record was silent for a moment.

It seemed confused itself.

Finally, it spoke.

[Master, this technique can burn your Life Flame. It will burn your Consciousness and Life Flame to create energy. You will produce a large amount. So…]

[You will be able to use some energy.]

Neo's expression tightened.

He still didn't understand fully.

[Master, Loan is taking away all the energy you have, and all the energy you will have.]

[But even Loan has limits.]

A faint wind stirred the branches above him as he listened.

[For example, let's say Loan can take away 10 units of energy from you each second.]

[Normally, you can only generate 1 unit of energy, even after doing everything possible. So Loan would take it all before you could use any of it.]

Neo kept moving, breathing hard.

[But this Life Flame Ignition Technique will burn your consciousness and Life Flame. You will generate 10.01 units of energy.]

[Loan will still take almost everything, but the small amount left—0.01 units—you can use before Loan steals it.]

Neo's lips were pressed into a thin line.

If the Heavenly Record was right, then even though he could use energy, it would only be a tiny amount.

Something so small that even weak gods would have more energy than him.

But he didn't have another option.

"Use the technique… I need to heal… or I will die…"

His current body was strong.

But it was injured so badly that nothing would recover on its own.

[Master, if you burn your entire Life Flame and consciousness, you will die permanently.]

[Only your Cursed Immortality would save you. But given that the person who cursed you is after you, there is a chance he can take the curse back. If that happens, you will not be able to resurrect.]

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