How Am I Still Alive?

Upon entering the Secret Realm, Lu Ping'an was still somewhat bewildered.

"....You have no idea of the true nature of 'life', nor do you understand what your ability means. The way you use your ability is foolish and inefficient, like using a dazzling sun as a match. What's most intolerable is that you don't even know what you've taken from me! How precious...."

The scolding of the big cat still echoed in his ears, and the relationship between the two had always been quite delicate.

Repeated questioning still yielded no answers. Only by provoking her could more useful information be obtained.

And her irritation became increasingly difficult to provoke as of late.

"What exactly is my ability?"

Somehow, after stepping into this Secret Realm, Lu Ping'an felt that the answer to this question had become increasingly important.

At first, he thought that the so-called Life-points were just an ordinary system, a component of a traveler.

But after truly understanding this world, he realized that everything was real, and the so-called system was merely the arrogant subconscious creation of the traveler, the manifestation of the "rules" Abnormal Ability.

In the beginning, Life-points were health potions.

Later, they were rejuvenating medicine and status replenishment.

For himself, they were life-saving medicine and painkillers.

Now, it could even increase the pollution threshold of one's life.

"....No, they're actually all the same thing. They are all life itself...."

In her rage, Chris had actually revealed the truth. Lu Ping'an's power was actually the opposite of hers.

After she failed in her attempt to elevate her own "Principles" into a universal "Truth," a false proposition as a counterexample was naturally born.

Only the author of that day's report was unable to see the whole truth.

"Life is selfish; it can abandon everything in order to survive, including but not limited to morality, law, and family."

This was Chris's open doctrine, her "Principles." But in the end, it's actually just one sentence.

"The continuation of life is the only and essential pursuit of living beings."

So, the opposite of her doctrine is not the nonsense guessed by the reporter, such as "sometimes life can be selfless, and sometimes it can be sacrificed for others" but rather a simpler, more consistent with Lu Ping'an's subconscious concept....

"....Life can be traded."

When he subconsciously said this, the whole world changed.

He vaguely felt that his connection with the "Secret Realm" had become more precise, and the ancient garden remains began to undergo silent transformations.

Life could be traded, stored, borrowed, invested, and paid in installments.

It was not special or sacred, but just a more precious special currency.

This was Lu Ping'an's doctrine.

"....So, it's a bank, not anything else."

The ancient hall began to regain its vitality, and the ancient characters of "Life Bank" replaced the past "Arena of Life."

Chris's doctrine, which lingered in the Secret Realm, was completely replaced by the new owner. The ground gradually began to rewrite, and the world was adorned with new makeup.

[How blasphemous! How absurd! Reckless man, does life mean nothing to you?!]

"No, it's very precious; most people only have one chance. That's why... we need to use it more efficiently."

[Bastard, heretic! Fool, arrogant madman (omitting countless swear words)...]

This was the root cause of Chris's constant rage: her grudges were even greater than her failure in Ascension.

In her view, how arrogant and cruel this "logic" was to pull life down from its sacred pedestal and reduce the supreme pursuit of living beings to a dirty equivalent!

Without a doubt, it was the most severe blasphemy against the benevolent Mother Goddess!

But she had to admit that, in terms of results, Lu Ping'an's doctrine was closer to the essence of life and more pleasing to the Mother Goddess... Therefore, all her anger and scolding could be classified as the impotent rage of a loser!

"Transforming life into Life-points and using them more effectively is the essence of my ability."

At this moment, looking at the distant mountains and dense forests, Lu Ping'an smiled.

He finally knew what he had gained and what he had taken from poor Chris.

"Copper-Iron Curse, Silver Decree, Golden Rules, Eternal Principles....Hehe, this is really a good starting point."

Now, Lu Ping'an understood everything.

In fact, the hint had existed from the beginning.

[....Received Decree-level (quasi-divine) special ability - Gift of Life and Return]

[Detected that the winner of the Sacrificial Ceremony, Lu Ping'an, has already lost his life. How can the winner of the Ceremony of the Mother of Life lose his life! Upgrading and readjusting the Mother Goddess's gift 'Gift of Life'....Burning the spiritual essence of the loser Kerdalais to make up for the deficiency!]

[The shortfall has been made up, and the Decree-level special ability has been upgraded to Rule-level special ability. Congratulations to Host Lu Ping'an for awakening the Rule-level (divine) special ability - Life Bank].

Opening the prompt panel of his system, the first column displayed hints and answers.

If it hadn't been for Chris's "sacrifice", his ability would still be the use of Life Source Force, limited to "bestowal" and "return".

And now the upgraded version is closer to the essence, more powerful, and yet unchanged in its inherent "Principles" - it is still about "effective use of life."

At this moment, Lu Ping'an also understood why, even though Chris was extremely reluctant, she had to admit that the "Gardener" was the most suitable Path for her.

Because, the seemingly harmless gardeners are, in fact, the most adept at manipulating life sequence...

"It's never been hard to get a gardener's job, Meow. Just plant a seed of a 'demonic plant' in the sacred land of the forest girl and wait for it to grow more than three meters. Choose a fast-growing species, and you'll be done in half a year, Meow. But it's time-consuming, too time-consuming..."

Lei Shuiyun's words still lingered in his ears, but Lu Ping'an laughed.

He took out a seed of the Demonized Ancient Pine from his pocket, threw it casually on the ground, and then moved on without looking back.

The next moment, a the ancient tree sprouted on the ground where they had passed and began to plunder the living space around it.

As Meow continued to talk endlessly, the ancient tree had already become a member of the forest.

Their journey had just begun, and only the mental prompting told Lu Ping'an that everything was already over.

[Beep, congratulations Host, the orientation ceremony has been completed, and you have gained the professional title 'Gardener'.]