He left…
Why was he acting differently?
Was I at fault?
No. It was his fault. He was rushing for no reason. I'm sure he'll come back after he calms down a bit.
Or so she thought.
The whole night passed, and Gu Chaun never came back.
Gu Xue thought maybe he had collapsed again, but this time she didn't feel like helping him.
If he was still pushing himself that recklessly, then there was no point in helping him.
Gu Xue sat down and began refining Qi.
After two hours, she refined 7.2 million Qi, instantly reaching late-stage Foundation Establishment.
Feeling satisfied with her progress, she looked around the room — it was the same as before, meaning Gu Chaun still hadn't returned.
She didn't mind. If he wanted to train outside, that was his choice.
She still didn't feel like it was her fault.
Yawning, she noticed how sleepy she'd been lately. The only reason she could think of was that her memories were slowly starting to return.
After that thought, she fell asleep — and slept for twelve hours straight.
When she woke up, it was already night.
Gu Chaun still hadn't come back.
She felt a bit lonely and began to wonder whether she had been right or wrong.
The answer in her mind was simple — she was right. Their progress had already been fast enough.
She decided to cultivate again and attempt her breakthrough to Core Formation.
After an hour of refining, she was ready — but when she tried… she failed.
The loss wasn't huge, only around 3 million Qi, which meant she could try again after an hour of refining.
But she postponed it for tomorrow; her mood wasn't right after the failure.
She slept and woke again. Nothing had changed.
Gu Chaun still hadn't come back. She didn't think too much about it and started cultivating again.
This time, after gathering Qi for an hour, she tried once more — and succeeded.
Power surged through her body. She smiled, feeling truly happy for the first time in days.
She decided to rest for the day and slept again.
This cycle continued for three more days.
---
It had been five days since Gu Chaun left, and he still hadn't returned.
Gu Xue was finally starting to feel uneasy.
She left the inn to look for him. While wandering, she noticed an arena.
It was hosting matches for mid–Core Formation cultivators.
The rules were simple — defeat Long Wei, the arena's champion.
If you won, you earned 250,000 Qi stones.
If you lost, you had to pay 100,000 Qi stones.
A high-risk, high-reward match.
She was suspicious and didn't join right away. Instead, she watched.
Every challenger was defeated by Long Wei. He wasn't particularly skilled, but his physical strength was far beyond others in his realm. In a prolonged fight, no one could beat him.
She saw many cultivators reluctantly pay their 100,000 Qi stones.
She thought it was staged — until someone actually beat Long Wei and received their reward from a government official.
Seeing that, her doubts vanished.
If the Velora government was directly involved, it couldn't be fake.
So, she joined.
---
One by one, participants were defeated.
Then it was her turn.
Gu Xue was confident. After watching all the matches, she believed she could win.
She took her stance. Long Wei did the same, smiling arrogantly.
Gu Xue dashed forward, aiming at his weak points.
Long Wei easily blocked with his sword.
Her guess was right — his strength came purely from physical power.
All she needed to do was overwhelm him with speed and firepower.
She activated her technique — Frozen Wind Blades.
It absorbed water from the air, froze it using Qi, and formed blades of ice. The technique was powerful but depended on the surrounding environment — without moisture, it was useless.
It had three levels:
• First level — 100 nodes
• Second level — 500 nodes
• Third level — 1000 nodes
Ice blades formed instantly, shooting at Long Wei.
He tried to defend, but dozens of cuts appeared on his body.
If it continued, he would lose.
He tried counterattacking, but Gu Xue dodged every strike effortlessly.
Her speed really was superior.
It seemed victory was within reach.
Then, suddenly, Long Wei dropped his sword.
Before she could react, his speed increased fivefold.
Even Gu Xue, proud of her agility, couldn't keep up.
He appeared before her and struck her abdomen.
Blood spilled from her mouth as she crashed to the edge of the arena.
"You hid your strength, didn't you? You lost on purpose — just to make everyone think this was real! Is this even fair?" she shouted at the official.
The government official, a middle-aged man, calmly said,
"He hasn't broken any rules. Concealing one's strength isn't a violation."
"But he lost on purpose!" she yelled.
"That's also his choice," he said coldly. "If he wants to lose money, who am I to interfere?"
Gu Xue couldn't argue. He was right.
Long Wei smiled smugly.
"Now it's your turn to lose," he said and rushed forward.
She couldn't move. Her Qi was chaotic. Her body weak.
She had lost — lost to someone in the same realm.
At that moment, Gu Xue finally understood what Gu Chaun had been trying to say.
She regretted fighting him.
She regretted rejecting him when he tried to give her Datas v2.
Maybe if she had accepted it… she could have won.
Then everything went black.
---
When she woke, she heard Long Wei's voice.
"Pay me 100,000 Qi stones."
"I don't have that much," she said weakly.
She only had 6,000 Qi stones, and even if she sold all her beast cores at the inn, it would barely reach 40,000.
"Do you have anything else worth that much?"
"No."
"Then you'll have to follow the law," he said coldly.
"Law?" she asked, confused.
The middle-aged official stepped forward.
"Anyone who can't pay their debt must become a prostitute until the debt is repaid."
"What kind of law is that!?" she shouted.
"The Velora population is at an all-time low," he explained calmly.
"People are leaving the planet, so the ruler made this law to stabilize population numbers. Once you pay the debt, you'll be freed."
He walked closer.
"Since you can't pay, you have no other choice," he said, then turned to Long Wei. "The 100,000 stones will be transferred."
"No worries," Long Wei said with a grin.
Gu Xue had already lost hope.
There was no way she could fight someone at late Core Formation.
Then—
"Wait."
A voice came from behind. Everyone turned.
A man stood there, covered in blood.
His breathing was rough, each step leaving a trail of red.
It was Gu Chaun.
"Take this… and leave her," he said weakly, tossing a bag forward.
The official caught it and opened it. Inside were multiple 2-star and 3-star beast cores, some even 80% purity — easily worth far more than 100,000 Qi stones.
The official frowned. He didn't want to give her back.
Gu Xue was beautiful, her cultivation not low. Selling her would bring over a million stones.
Normally, he would've silenced Gu Chaun and covered it up.
But something stopped him — instinct.
Even though the man before him was only mid Foundation Establishment and severely injured, his presence was terrifying.
He was still cultivating, even while half-conscious, and his aura carried the weight of countless battles.
The official analyzed further.
Gu Chaun had 3-star beast cores, some nearly 80% complete — that meant he had fought beasts as strong as late Core Formation.
The man trusted his instincts and handed Gu Xue over.
The moment he did, Gu Chaun grabbed her and vanished.
A loud explosion echoed right after.
Everyone froze.
The official felt something cold on his neck.
He touched it — an ice blade.
If its owner had wanted, his head would already be gone.
He glanced around and saw every spectator also had thin ice blades hovering near their necks.
A moment later, they all melted.
Cold sweat dripped down his back.
He took a deep breath and muttered one word.
"Monster…"