188: Chapter 188 Golden Spirit

Qin Ye punched the cabinet door.

Boom!

The wooden cabinet instantly exploded.

Her youthful body vanished, black combat uniform once again covered her entire body, and the power of a Level 40 professional returned.

Qin Ye stood in the blood-soaked bedroom.

Her mother lay not far away.

The men in black stood frozen like solidified sculptures.

“The World!”

Qin Ye roared.

Dark golden Mental Power erupted.

A gigantic Stand appeared behind her, its fists imbued with terrifying power capable of piercing through Fifth-Tier SS-grade armor.

Qin Ye pointed at the adjutant who betrayed her father.

“Kill him!”

[The World] didn’t move.

It stood behind Qin Ye, its dark golden eyes looking down at her.

“I told you to kill him!”

Qin Ye roared again.

The Stand still didn't respond.

Time Stop was not activated.

The fists capable of shattering the Titan Furnace also did not rise.

Qin Ye suddenly turned her head.

“Can’t you hear me?”

[The World] finally moved.

It slowly lowered its head.

That face, somewhat similar to a human's but more violent and arrogant, approached Qin Ye.

A heavy voice echoed directly in the depths of her soul.

“Whom do you wish me to attack?”

“Them!”

Qin Ye pointed forward.

“The ones who killed my mother!”

“There are no enemies here.”

“They are right there!”

“Only your memories exist here.”

[The World]’s voice was devoid of emotion.

“Even if I shatter them, the memories will reappear.”

Qin Ye’s body stiffened.

Of course, she knew this was an illusion.

But she didn't want to hear it.

As long as [The World] punched, as long as those people were smashed to pieces, at least she could prove that her current self possessed the power for revenge.

“Then smash this memory along with them.”

Qin Ye said coldly.

“I don’t want to see it anymore.”

[The World] slowly raised a hand.

Qin Ye thought it was finally going to attack, and hope had just appeared in her eyes, but the Stand's finger stopped in front of her.

“Is your so-called strength truly for protecting others?”

“Or is it to prove that your past self, who hid, was not shameful?”

Qin Ye’s pupils suddenly constricted.

“Shut up.”

“Answer.”

“I told you to shut up!”

Qin Ye punched at [The World].

The Stand didn't dodge.

Her fist passed through its chest, causing no damage.

Instead, Qin Ye herself felt a sharp pain in her chest, and her body uncontrollably retreated two steps.

“You detest weakness.”

[The World] continued.

“So you conceal fear with arrogance.”

“You reject pity with irritability.”

“You prove yourself no longer the child hiding in the cabinet through countless battles.”

“Shut up…”

Qin Ye’s fists trembled slightly.

“You wish to dominate time.”

“Because thirteen years ago, you longed for that moment to stop.”

“You wish to obtain the strongest power.”

“Because you are always waiting for a self strong enough to go back in time and save your mother.”

“Shut up!”

Qin Ye punched again.

This punch still passed through [The World]’s body.

The damage synchronized back to her main body, and her right hand instantly felt a bone-shattering pain.

Qin Ye didn't stop.

She punched [The World] again and again, as if with enough force, she could make that voice disappear forever.

The Stand quietly endured the attacks.

Every punch's damage eventually returned to Qin Ye.

Soon, her hands were covered in blood.

“You cannot defeat me.”

“Because I am you.”

“Nor can you escape that wooden cabinet.”

“Because you have never truly come out.”

Qin Ye’s fist stopped in mid-air.

The surrounding illusion began to function again.

The blade fell.

Her mother’s body collapsed to the ground.

The adjutant, who was in charge, flicked the blood from his blade and left the room with the other men in black.

Young Qin Ye still hid in the cabinet.

She wasn't discovered.

She survived.

This memory ended here.

But Qin Ye knew that she had never truly left that cabinet.

Later, her father rushed back.

Later, she was sent to the best school, received the most precious resources, and possessed a professional level far exceeding her peers.

But whenever someone approached, she would first show her thorns.

Whenever someone was gentle with her, she would suspect betrayal hidden behind that gentleness.

Her teachers indulged her.

Her classmates feared her.

Her father carefully protected her.

Yet she took everyone's concessions as proof of her own strength.

Because as soon as she admitted she wasn't strong enough, the child who hid in the cabinet, covering her mouth, afraid to make a sound, would reappear before her.

“I wasn’t wrong.”

Qin Ye lowered her head.

But her voice had lost its former power.

“Mom told me to hide.”

“I was just a child then.”

“Even if I rushed out, I couldn’t save her.”

“Who said you were wrong?”

[The World] asked.

Qin Ye suddenly looked up.

The Stand still looked down at her indifferently.

“Fear is not shameful.”

“Cowardice needs to be concealed by arrogance.”

“If you believe your choice back then was correct, why are you afraid to admit you were scared?”

Qin Ye opened her mouth.

She couldn't say a word.

She had been waiting for someone to tell her that hiding back then was not wrong.

But when she actually heard [The World] say it, she didn't feel the relief she had imagined.

Because she finally realized that what she truly couldn't face was never that choice.

What she couldn't face was the fear that had almost drowned her soul at that time.

She was afraid her mother would die.

Afraid enemies would find her.

Afraid of pain.

Even more afraid that after opening the cabinet door, nothing would change.

“I was afraid.”

Qin Ye’s voice was very soft.

[The World] didn't respond.

“At that time, I was truly terrified.”

She looked down at her blood-soaked hands, and tears fell without warning.

“I wanted to go out.”

“But I didn’t dare.”

“I hoped someone would come to save Mom, and I also hoped someone would find me and tell me everything was alright.”

“Later, Father came.”

“But by then, it was too late.”

Qin Ye took a deep breath.

For the first time, she didn't suppress her tears with anger, nor did she feel ashamed for exposing her weakness.

“I truly wasn’t born strong.”

“I just never want to be that child waiting for someone else to save her again.”

The surrounding illusion gently vibrated.

The bedroom, the blood, the fallen mother, and the figures of the men in black all simultaneously shattered into countless tiny fragments.

But the fragments didn't disappear.

They spun in mid-air, then reassembled.

Everything returned to the beginning.

A gloomy sky.

The dense sound of rain.

A loud bang came from the end of the corridor.

Her mother retreated, holding a broken long saber, blood continuously flowing from the wound on her shoulder.

“Xiao Ye, hide!”

Young Qin Ye turned and ran into the bedroom.

She skillfully opened the wooden cabinet, curled inside, and reached out to pull the cabinet door shut.

Just as the wooden door was about to close, another hand reached in from outside.

The cabinet door stopped.

Young Qin Ye looked up in terror.

Her adult self stood outside the cabinet.

No black combat uniform.

No champion badge.

No Magical Girl skirt armor.

[The World] also didn't appear behind her.

At this moment, Qin Ye was wearing the same white dress as her younger self, her hands slender, and she couldn't feel any professional power within her body.

She had become an ordinary person again.

“Xiao Ye…”

The child in the cabinet hugged her legs.

“Mom told me to hide.”

“I know.”

Qin Ye squatted down, maintaining eye level with her younger self.

“There are many bad guys outside.”

“I know.”

“You’ll die if you go out.”

“I know that too.”

Young Qin Ye’s eyes were filled with tears.

“Then why don’t you hide in here?”

The space inside the cabinet was small.

If they squeezed in a little more, it could barely accommodate two people.

Qin Ye looked at that familiar darkness.

For thirteen years, she had dreamed of this wooden cabinet countless times.

Each time, she would be trapped inside, listening to the sounds of battle outside, waiting for the unchangeable ending to arrive.

This time, the cabinet door was right in front of her.

As long as she went in, she could continue to hide.

She had no power.

Nor could she defeat the enemies outside.

No matter what she did, the outcome wouldn't change.

Qin Ye reached out her hand.

Her younger self thought she was about to enter the wooden cabinet and instinctively moved further inside.

But that hand just gently rested on her head.

“Because I’ve already hidden once.”

Qin Ye showed a smile that wasn't exactly pretty.

“This time, it’s my turn to go out.”

“You’ll die.”

“Perhaps.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Scared.”

Qin Ye answered without hesitation.

“I’m terrified.”

Outside the corridor, the battle had already begun.

The impact from colliding magic shattered the windows, and sharp glass flew into the bedroom.

Qin Ye stood up and used her body to shield the wooden cabinet.

Fragments cut her shoulders and arms.

Blood stained her white dress.

The pain was incredibly real.

Yet she didn't retreat.

“But courage, perhaps, has nothing to do with winning.”

Qin Ye reached out and closed the cabinet door.

This time, she stood outside.

“True courage is knowing you will lose.”

“And still not backing down.”

The cabinet door closed.

Qin Ye turned and walked out of the bedroom.

Her mother had already been cornered by several enemies.

When she saw Qin Ye, panic instantly appeared on her face.

“Xiao Ye!”

“Who told you to come out?”

“Go back!”

“Quick, go back!”

Qin Ye didn't answer.

She ran all the way to her mother, spread her arms, and blocked the long saber that was about to fall.

Her body was still trembling.

Her legs had also lost strength due to fear.

But she didn't move aside.

The adjutant in charge looked at her coldly.

“Kid, do you want to die?”

Qin Ye looked up.

The long saber was already before her.

She could see the nicks on the blade and her own pale face reflected in the metal.

No one would come to save her.

Time would not stop either.

The only thing she could do was clench her fists.

Then swing them out.

Her slender fist collided with the blade.

This scene seemed incredibly absurd.

The strengths of both sides were not on the same level at all.

But just as the fist was about to be cut off by the long saber, the entire world suddenly fell silent.

Raindrops froze in mid-air.

Her mother’s anxious face remained in place.

The blade was less than an inch from Qin Ye’s finger.

A tall shadow covered her body.

[The World] stood behind Qin Ye.

Its dark golden fists hung at its sides.

It didn't attack the enemy for Qin Ye, but quietly watched that fist, which knew it would shatter, yet still swung out.

“You already know fear.”

“Yes.”

Qin Ye looked at the blade almost touching her.

“Do you still choose to move forward?”

“Yes.”

“Even if you fail?”

“Yes.”

“Even if no one witnesses it?”

Qin Ye was silent for a moment.

Then, she smiled.

“So what?”

“I’m not throwing this punch for others to see.”

Dark golden light illuminated the entire corridor.

[The World]’s arrogance gradually receded.

This Stand, which had always looked down on Qin Ye since its birth, slowly lowered its head for the first time.

Not out of obedience to the weak.

It acknowledged its host’s will.

Crack.

A crack appeared on the surface of the long saber.

Immediately after, the entire illusion shattered like a mirror.

Mother.

Enemies.

Mansion.

Wooden cabinet.

All scenes transformed into countless specks of light.

Before the world completely collapsed, Qin Ye suddenly felt someone gently hug her from behind.

It was her mother’s familiar warmth.

“Xiao Ye.”

The voice from memory was still gentle.

“You’ve done very well.”

Qin Ye’s tears welled up again.

She wanted to turn back.

But there was no one behind her.

Only a young hand reached out from the broken cabinet door, gently grasping the corner of her clothes.

Qin Ye lowered her head.

Her younger self stood there.

The child’s face was still tear-stained, but the fear in her eyes had faded considerably.

“Will I still have to hide in the future?”

Qin Ye asked.

The child thought seriously for a moment.

“If I can’t win, I still have to hide.”

“…”

Qin Ye found that she couldn't refute it.

“But I’ll remember to go out.”

Young Qin Ye added softly.

“Because there’s someone waiting for me outside.”

Qin Ye squatted down and hugged her.

“Alright.”

“It’s a deal then.”

The child’s body turned into golden specks of light.

They didn't disappear; instead, they all merged into Qin Ye’s chest.

That fear, which she had denied for thirteen years, finally became a part of her soul.

No longer needing to be concealed.

No longer needing to be forgotten.

The pure white Mental World reappeared.

Qin Ye stood before the philosophers stone, her eyes slowly opening.

Behind her, [The World] fully manifested.

The Stand’s physique hadn’t changed, nor had its dark golden armor become more ornate.

But its aura was more stable than before.

Previously, [The World] was like a violent beast forcibly restrained.

It could tear apart the soul anchor at any moment due to Qin Ye’s mental instability.

Now, that power was still overbearing, still full of oppressive force, but it would no longer devour its host in turn.

[Trial subject has achieved mental self-consistency.]

[Stand and host soul wavelength have achieved deep synchronization.]

[Golden Spirit is stabilizing.]

Golden light spread from Qin Ye’s chest.

All mental cracks caused by fear were filled in little by little.

A brand new Characteristic was generated deep within her soul.

[Obtained Characteristic: Golden Spirit.]

[Mental structure highly stable.]

[When facing fear, illusions, and mental pollution, the probability of Stand forcibly dissipating is significantly reduced.]

[Mental Power utilization efficiency increased.]

[Time Stop consumption reduced.]

[Law of Time control precision increased.]

Qin Ye closed her eyes.

She didn't feel a surge in Mental Power.

The ultimate limit of Time Stop hadn't significantly increased either.

But the heavy feeling, as if forcibly dragging the entire world, that she experienced every time she used her ability, had greatly diminished.

Previously, pausing for one second required crudely severing time for the entire area with Mental Power.

Now, she could accurately judge every node on the timeline.

Like holding a flowing river.

There was no need to build high walls to block all the water; by just nudging it at key points, the entire river could temporarily deviate from its original direction.