Chapter 125: Added To The List

When Adam asked why someone with an SSS-rank cultivation talent would repeatedly activate Once Upon A Time, he wasn’t being insensitive.

He was being logical.

An SSS-rank talent meant dominance.

It meant smooth cultivation, rapid breakthroughs and overwhelming potential. With enough time and without being reckless, such a person would naturally climb to the highest ranks.

Power would come.

Influence would follow.

So why die?

Why reset?

Why gamble everything over and over?

Hearing her answer, though…

He understood.

“The Family,” Adam said quietly.

Remedy nodded.

“They’ve been using the lesser regions as sacrifices for their twisted goals,” she said. “And like you… I was one of the victims.”

Adam didn’t interrupt.

“Even though the memories are distant,” she continued, “I can still recall fragments of my first life.”

Her voice lowered slightly.

“And one thing is very clear.”

“In that life, I didn’t have an SSS-rank cultivation talent.”

Adam’s brows furrowed.

“No bloodline either.”

That surprised him more.

Remedy continued calmly.

“But because fragments of my soul kept returning through death… there was a buildup.”

“My cultivation talent gradually improved with each cycle.”

“And my bloodline awakened because of my recessive Spirit Race heritage.”

“Each fragment layering over the last until something greater formed.”

“But no matter how strong I become,” Remedy said quietly, “I always awaken at sixteen.”

“The memories. The talent. The bloodline.”

Her jaw tightened slightly.

“And by then… it’s already too late.”

Adam’s expression hardened.

“My sector is destroyed when I’m six.”

“I survive,” she said. “A few others do too.”

“And sometimes… I awaken earlier than I should have.”

Her lips curved faintly, in bitterness.

“That makes it worse.”

Because she knew.

She knew what would happen.

And still, she couldn’t stop it.

Adam asked the next question almost casually.

“When did you awaken this time?”

“I turned sixteen a month ago.”

Adam froze.

A month ago.

And she was already a Supreme Apprentice.

The implications were absurd.

Adam leaned back slightly, mind racing.

He had awakened a G-rank cultivation talent and after six whole months, he hadn’t even been able to reach the Apprentice rank.

Only after equipping a D-rank cultivation talent had he finally stepped into the Profound Apprentice realm.

And that was with unorthodox, borderline suicidal methods.

Methods that would have killed most people who attempted them.

But she…

She reached Supreme Apprentice in one month, Adam muttered inwardly.

And he was certain she hadn’t been focusing purely on cultivation. Her equipment alone proved that. She was kitted, prepared and resource-heavy.

This is what an SSS-rank cultivation talent looks like.

The appeal was undeniable.

With that level of talent, cultivation wasn’t a grind.

It was a glide.

Adam knew he would eventually get one.

If I find someone foolish enough at least…

But that would take time.

A thought surfaced.

What if I fuse lower cultivation talents to reach SSS?

He dismissed it almost immediately.

Fusion didn’t increase raw intensity.

All talent frequencies had the same base intensity. What differed were their wavelengths and patterns.

It was those patterns that defined talent characteristics.

Fusion worked by overlapping compatible frequencies, modifying the wavelength and structure to create a new pattern, a stronger expression.

But you couldn’t brute-force an SSS-rank by stacking weak ones.

It wasn’t additive.

It was structural.

Talent mechanics were fascinating.

But the laws governing them were rigid, almost frustratingly so.

Adam exhaled slowly.

Remedy had moved into the kitchenette again. She was washing the dishes quietly, movements slower this time.

It was obvious.

She needed to clear her head after speaking about her past.

Adam didn’t say anything.

I need to heal faster.

He was tired of lying down. Tired of staring at the ceiling.

At least his body wouldn’t develop bedsores, his body’s passive strengthening made sure of that.

The thought comforted him slightly.

Then heavy and sudden exhaustion hit again. And Adam slipped back into sleep.

****

Five days passed and Adam could barely walk now, but it counted.

He moved slowly along the wall, fingers trailing against it for support. His steps were uneven, controlled through sheer focus. Remedy hovered close behind him, arms half-raised as if ready to catch him at any second.

“I’m not going to fall,” Adam muttered.

“You said that yesterday,” Remedy replied flatly.

He ignored her and completed a full round around the room and made it back to the bed and sat down carefully.

“So,” he said, looking at her with a faint grin, “how long do I have, doc?”

Remedy closed her eyes briefly.

“Stop calling me that.”

Adam smiled wider at her expense.

She sighed at that fact before saying.

“In about a week, you’ll be good as new. The initial one-month estimate was shortened thanks to your new talent.”

Adam nodded.

Stone Cold wasn’t just defensive, it reinforced his cellular integrity. His recovery speed had increased noticeably.

Soon, he would move normally again.

Well… as normal as a Profound Apprentice with a three-star profound spirit and a Star Power of 28 can move.

A small smirk tugged at his lips.

I can’t wait to end this arc.

Remedy studied his expression.

“What do you plan to do after you fully recover?”

Adam met her gaze.

His fake death had bought him breathing room. The Family believed he was gone, but that advantage wouldn’t last forever, because if he stepped back into their radar too soon…

He’d die for real.

But he couldn’t ignore it anymore.

Before, he hunted monsters and planned for their extinction.

Because monsters had forced his mother into that final act.

Now…

He knew.

There were people behind it.

People who engineered disasters.

People who sacrificed entire sectors.

Adam answered calmly.

“I’ll go after the Family.”

Remedy held his gaze.

“It’s good our goals align,” she said.

Adam found that strange.

His hatred had been focused on monsters for years. Now it had a direction.

A name.

The Family.

And they were now officially added to the list of things he intended to erase from the face of the planet.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep