Chapter 96 (1/2): The Price of Awakening

“Perfect Awakening? No way, is 0001 cheating again?”

“Stealing skills and now stealing realms? Can he really copy anything?”

“When your stats are absolute, no mechanism matters. Just look at Qiyu Teacher.”

“Feels like the plot’s mirroring the earlier fight, huh? Surely it won’t be Luo Xi’s body collapsing and the fight stopping again. That’d be lame.”

“Writers love symmetry, but I feel like this time the outcome should be reversed.”

As the barrage of comments fired off, the battle on screen had already reached its fever pitch.

The camera followed 0001 as he streaked through the sky.

While he rapidly switched between powers, intercepting Yun Ruoxi’s attacks, his inner monologue echoed in the background.

“Defeating the strong as the weak… It’s been a long time since I felt this.”

“To beat 219, there’s only one way: I have to reach Perfect Awakening too! Otherwise, with such a massive gap in Star Energy Index, I can’t break through her defenses no matter what!”

As 0001’s battle with Yun Ruoxi dragged on, he began to truly glimpse the nature of her “Perfect Awakening.”

For students who attended [Basic Introduction to Star Energy], Perfect Awakening wasn’t exactly a secret.

But up until now, only 0001 had managed to see through it.

Perhaps others had their suspicions too, but for most Star Energy users in this world, Perfect Awakening was Mirage Water and Moon—an unattainable illusion.

So they couldn’t believe it, couldn’t accept that someone at their side, even someone with a lower number, had achieved Perfect Awakening.

“It’s time. I’ve analyzed the essence of her awakening. Though I can’t replicate that intense psychic wave, there’s still a shortcut I can borrow.”

0001 suddenly appeared beside 0003, his voice cold as ice.

“Buy me ten seconds.”

“Alright.” 0003 stepped forward, staring at the rapidly advancing Yun Ruoxi, and declared with conviction: “Unless I die! Otherwise, she can’t disrupt you!”

In an instant, his body surged upward.

Three meters, four meters, five meters—

He forcibly surpassed his own current ability limit; veins bulged across his body, skin split open inch by inch, transforming into a bloody six-meter giant.

With speed unfitting for his size, he charged at Yun Ruoxi.

At the same time—

0001 landed and sat cross-legged, violet light swirling in his pupils as he switched to 0009’s power.

He suddenly bent his neck backward, “xx” markings flashing in his eyes.

To reach Perfect Awakening, he actually used a Psychic Attack on himself!

It was like holding a revolver with five bullets loaded and pulling the trigger to your own head.

Gambling on that one-in-six chance.

One misstep, and he’d fall into mental collapse, a madman.

But he did it anyway.

Because that victory in the arena was a bitter shame on his path of upholding the rules!

He knew how others saw him.

The war camp’s loyal dog, a soulless lunatic.

But only he himself knew—

Compared to anywhere else in the universe, only the war camp was the true heaven he had always searched for.

The rules here, though cold and cruel, were more fair than anything that had come before—no discrimination by birth, no privilege for the wealthy, not even “interference” like sympathy or pity.

All that mattered was talent and perseverance.

Was there anywhere more perfect than this in the world?

[But this should have been his opportunity…]

[Sir, he’s a genius!]

[The upper class has the right to donate for admission. Those are the rules. Your child will have another chance next year—just wait.]

[Remember, Hui Jin Star is never short on talent.]

Those words he could never forget echoed in his ears, followed by his father’s final, whispered sigh.

[But this is already the fourth time you’ve said that…]

Losing his chance for admission—in the class-rigid society of Hui Jin Star, it was like losing his entire future.

Year after year, always new members of the upper class!

Because of them!

His father’s despair led him to suicide… The root of all tragedy was society’s injustice!

Violet light flared wildly in 0001’s eyes.

Tormenting himself, he bombarded his own mind with those unforgettable memories.

His emotions soared to unprecedented heights.

Resentment, humiliation, inferiority, and fury all exploded at once, driving him to the brink of Perfect Awakening.

The brown-haired youth slowly rose into the air, a swirl of replicated power phantoms flickering in his deep violet gaze.

He swept his arm, and a flaming, storm-wreathed five-meter fire dragon roared at Yun Ruoxi.

Even from afar, the heat made the skin ache.

Yun Ruoxi turned to face it, ready to react, but was blindsided by a punch to her waist.

She turned in silence.

In just eight seconds, 0003—whose bones she had already crushed inch by inch—shakily rose to his feet again.

A smile cracked across his lips.

“The tenth second… is up.”

As soon as he spoke—

Before Yun Ruoxi could strike, he collapsed on his own.

The girl turned toward the oncoming fire dragon and dispersed it with a wave of telekinesis.

The next moment—

A muscular figure burst through the flames!

A single punch shattered nearly all her shields, sending her flying back over a hundred meters.

Swoosh!

Yun Ruoxi forcibly stabilized her body, wiped blood from her mouth, and her broken shield swiftly reformed.

She looked at 0001, charging furiously at her—his figure merging completely with that shameful memory from the arena.

Pain flickered in her eyes, and she clutched her head, screaming in agony.

Bang!

Another heavy punch landed.

0001 showed no mercy, sending Yun Ruoxi flying once more.

But his right arm snapped with a sickening crack, beyond even his healing abilities to restore.

Even after stepping into Perfect Awakening and following Yun Ruoxi’s path to it—

He had only pushed his bloodline concentration to 60% in such a short time.

But stacking three types of physical reinforcement powers at once was too much—

After just two blows, he was almost at his limit.

Yet his obsession with defeating Yun Ruoxi drove him to chase after the blue-haired girl as she flew backward, raising his fist for a third strike.

Glaring at the girl writhing in pain, he roared:

“Are you in pain? My pain is no less than yours! Xiaobai was my only friend!”

Red-eyed, he swung his fist a third time.

Bang!

The third punch shattered Yun Ruoxi’s shield completely.

She slammed against the great door she had come through, sliding down like a painting.

A huge mouthful of blood spilled out.

0001 staggered in front of her, trembling, wounds blooming all over his body as if he had been executed by a thousand cuts.

He seemed numb to pain, raising his trembling left fist once more.

“Let this punch be the end of our feud!”

He looked coldly down at the suffering girl. “Don’t worry—this punch… won’t kill you!”

Boom!

With the force of a falling meteor, his left fist came crashing down!

Meanwhile, in the control room, as 0001’s punch fell—

Dr. Shizhi shot to his feet, staring at the trembling [99%] on the screen and shouted:

“Climb to the top, 219! Now’s your moment!”

As his words rang out—

The number reset to zero, then shot up to 100% at terrifying speed.

[100%!]

The blood-red percentage flashed across the screen.

“One hundred percent!”

“Classic death-preventing cheat finally arrives!”

“Damn, 0001 really forced Xiaoxi to break through that last 1%!”

Crack!

The detection needle at Yun Ruoxi’s waist was instantly forced out by her surging psychic power.

All her data on the control room screen reset to zero.

The blue-haired girl slowly looked up. Before the red light in her ruby eyes devoured everything, she managed to reply:

“No—the only thing ending… is the coward I once was!”

She hugged her head and let out an earth-shaking roar. Terrifying psychic power erupted as blue flame, surging madly outward.

Bang!

The alloy door behind her buckled and collapsed.