"It's really not working anymore…" a black-haired woman muttered, her voice low and strained, as though even speaking the truth aloud weighed heavily on her heart.
She sat cross-legged atop a quiet cliff, thin strands of spiritual energy swirling weakly around her body before dispersing into nothingness.
No matter how many times she guided it, no matter how carefully she circulated her technique, it simply would not respond the way it once had.
Ever since she left Clear Moon City, her cultivation had come to a complete halt.
The realization had shaken her deeply.
Before… things had been different and unnaturally easy.
She didn't need long hours of meditation or life-and-death struggles to grow stronger.
All she needed was time.
A single night's rest could grant her progress equivalent to a year of bitter cultivation.
Each sunrise brought with it a visible leap in strength, as though the heavens themselves favored her existence.
