After losing the Vermilion Bird Seed, I also lost the power to manipulate fire. The Fire Sea spread across this battlefield weakened and extinguished, the firelight quickly receding around me.

My body automatically exited the Crown Form. An unprecedented weakness invaded me from the inside out. Previously, I was an Impermanence capable of destroying the world, but now I was as weak as any mortal. This sense of loss made me even feel as if my existence was about to vanish.

Strangely enough, I actually found some nostalgia in it. A long time ago... or maybe not that long, just five years ago. Back then, I wasn't a supernatural power user who could manipulate fire, nor was I any sort of Impermanence. I was just an ordinary middle school student.

I liked the unsolved mysteries collected in magazines and books, enjoyed delving into Mysticism, and yearned for the Magic and superpowers in fantasy stories. I longed for adventures that surpassed my own life, fascinated by the supernatural powers depicted in comics. So I imitated various cultivation methods, carrying diverse feng shui and mystical items, and often even brought candles to school, thinking I could light them with the power of my mind by staring at the wick.

While I devoted myself to fantasies, perhaps I had already realized it. In truth, in this world, neither Magic nor superpowers exist, and even less so are there any bizarre abnormal events. Through such logically flawed mystical practices, one cannot truly obtain supernatural power; the grand adventures depicted in Magic stories are merely fabrications by those who feel deeply bored with real life.

However, there was no need for me to feel deeply disappointed by this. Because even if the supernatural powers as wild as imaginations don't truly exist, and city legends and ancient tales are all concocted fabrications, "unbelievable adventures" still exist in this world.

The forests and oceans filled with countless unknown and thrills, the society intertwined with numerous interests and calculations, the research fields gradually pushing global civilization's transformation... I originally lived in a world full of variables, with adventures beyond my shallow understanding too numerous to count.

Just because my life was boring, I thought perhaps the whole world was as boring as my life; that's much too naive and narrow. Back then, I might have been just a student bored sitting in the classroom day by day, but in the future, by striving hard, there might be no reason I couldn't head to those grand and dynamic places.

So, it's about time for me to grow up. To set aside those unrealistic delusions, tuck away childhood dreams in a box and in my heart, and step forward towards the future grounded.

This doesn't mean surrendering or giving up on reality, nor does it mean abandoning my Dreams. The "unbelievable adventures" that I ardently pursue, which transcend my own experience and life, are inherently everywhere in this world. Letting go of the Magic World that is as peculiar and richly colored as fairy tales saddens and pains me immensely, but as long as I take this step, the future that awaits me is a far broader, more exciting world than the obsession I had during childhood.

I could strive to become a brave war correspondent, or a skilled adventurer, or even consider being a mercenary licking the blade's edge or an unrestricted criminal as a path. And although I lack talent in that area, I might also attempt to become a scientist, or become an elite seeking a place in the fields of politics and commerce.

Though it sounds like a child's naïve daydream of an infinite future, I am still young, and with unwavering determination and action, anything is possible. Even if I fail on these paths and fall spectacularly, that's a choice I've made myself. The key is not to regret the life choices I've made until the very last moment.

This truth, honestly, I had already figured out at fourteen, but...

I had a dream.

And now, having made my decision and come in front of Shan Liangyi by my will, while watching the essential power for setting sail in the Magic World vanish from my body right before my eyes, amidst deep loss, I also felt as though I was finally liberated from something.

Like waking up from an exceedingly lengthy dream.

Confronted with Shan Liangyi's questioning, I responded only with the feelings from my heart.

"I really have… wasted a long time." I said.

"Preposterous!" Shan Liangyi sniffed coldly.

The deep yellow Mana barrier in front of me suddenly expanded and exploded, throwing me far away.

I had made a decision equivalent to abandoning all my powers and past obsessions and paid the actual price, also feeling my heart rejuvenated. Perhaps my actions aligned with the Old Fist God's concept of the Great Renunciation.

But reality is harsh. Losing even the foundation of my power, how can I speak of taking it a step further?

The current me no longer has the power to manipulate fire, yet my body and soul have not reverted to the flesh and blood of a mortal, still being a highly dense Fire Elemental body.

Clearly, with the Vermilion Bird Seed as the cornerstone having vanished, the fire constituting my body would lose its command. Not only could I no longer manipulate my limbs, but even maintaining my vital activities was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Losing the Power Seed might just mean losing power for other Great Impermanence Level Liangyi Inheritors, but for a "Fire Element Life" like myself, it is a death sentence.

I had anticipated this development too. And even if I could revert to my flesh and blood properly, the result would likely be the same. In any case, since I reverted to a mortal body on the battlefield of the Great Impermanence, naturally, I could not expect to continue living.

Upon receiving the impact, the Fire Elemental body, already in a perilous state, instantly shattered, exploding like fireworks as it flew backward. When I killed Ming Zhuo earlier, I said that maybe I would have my turn in the future. Unexpectedly, my words came true so swiftly.

I saw the expression of despair on Mazao's face in the distance and saw Zhu Shi struggling to come to aid, but he was pinned to the ground by Shan Liangyi's gravity.

Being liberated from my narrow delusions of abnormal world adventures at the last moment of my life, my spirit felt a sense of unprecedented relief, like swimming from a small tank into the ocean. Even the enlightenment I once gained in the fifteenth-floor basement couldn't compare to this moment. Saying "to hear the Way in the morning, one may die at dusk" may overly beautify my heart, but at least I do not regret my life.

Although not regretful... there are still some regrets.

I don't want Mazao... don't want the girl I love to fall into despair, and even more so, I don't want her and Zhu Shi to be killed by Shan Liangyi next.

I still want to fight to protect the people important to my heart. Even if it's just the last bit of strength, I want to do something, change something. Dying immediately afterward is okay, this is my final wish.

I desperately tried to summon new flames, then noticed something very strange.

Logically, I had lost all my powers, even the ability for Innate Manifestation should have been entirely seized by Shan Liangyi along with the Vermilion Bird Seed transferring, and now my body and soul were in a state of complete destruction. Due to inertia of thought, I didn't initially find anything amiss, but I belatedly realized the anomaly.

Why am I not dead yet?

And the second anomaly quickly followed.

With my desperate call, flames emerged from the void.