Chapter 2528: Reputation On the Line

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Central Region, Central Academic City, Morningstar University District, Morningstar University Campus, Garden of Beginning, Time Vestige, Morningstar University 2nd Campus

"That’s it, I’ve had enough of this," I snapped, reaching out to grab Lucine by her pale white, thin wrist, uttering, "Celestial Blood Fate Domain."

Soon, the entire time vestige was dyed in shade of red and before Lucine could even react, I seized her soft, slender wrist and pulled her into my embrace. She let out a startled gasp. "Wyatt, what are you doing?" she exclaimed in shock.

Lucine’s immaculate eyes widened in shock, and her soft white hand strained to break free from my grip—but it was pointless. The moment she was pulled into my embrace, feeling my warmth and catching my scent, her lips tightened in a strange, conflicted tremor. Her eyes grew misty as she struggled harder, offering resistance that was more emotional than physical.

With my thousand and twenty-four curses already used to seal Slay, I had to rely on my celestial rule domain to suppress Lucine’s strength and overpower her. Fortunately, Lucine wasn’t trained in martial arts and had never developed her physical abilities. My Celestial Blood Fate Domain was the perfect counter to someone like her.

"What am I doing? I’m going to forcefully cure your time-rule dementia," I said. "And if you dare resist my treatment, I’ll blow this entire time vestige to hell while we watch from the temporal river." I leveled the threat at her before she could fully process if I was still capable of displaying the same strength I had used against Slay.

"If you want to kill me, just say it. Don’t hide behind excuses about curing my time-rule dementia—it’s pathetic," Lucine snapped. But despite her words, she stopped struggling and stayed in my hold, still as a cornered cat pretending not to be afraid. Her proud expression didn’t match the way her body quietly surrendered to the moment. She was the last living royalty of the Morningstar University after all.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off if not for her fear that I might unleash my full power I used to face Slay, not to mention the Celestial Blood Fate Domain. Sometimes a person’s own mindset becomes their prison. In Lucine’s case, after watching me take down Slay—someone who had toyed with her—with effortless ease, she’d already decided that I wasn’t just stronger than her, but stronger than anything the combined forces inside the time vestige could muster.

So when I applied even a little pressure, she folded instantly, convinced that resisting would be pointless and would only make things worse for her. This was the power of suggestion. With my arrogant, cutting words, I made her believe I could still summon the same strength I’d shown against Slay. And it wasn’t hard especially since she had already witnessed firsthand just how much power I could bring out when I needed to.

It wasn’t just Lucine whom my celestial rule domain was suppressing. Even the card apprentices who had been watching our heated exchange from afar—those who had immediately tried to rush over when I pulled her into my embrace—were caught under its influence. Luckily for me, the strongest among them were only elite card demigods. With my celestial rule domain striping away their soul energy and rule power privileges, they struggled just to approach me as I held Lucine hostage above Morningstar University’s second campus.

They glared at me from below, scrambling in all directions as they searched for a way to reach us and rescue their ex-Dean.

"Shut up. I regret the moment I told you I could cure your time-rule dementia. I have no idea what possessed me back then. But congratulations—you’re the first person in all five regions to receive my services for free," I said as I kept a close eye on the card apprentices inside the time vestige, making sure those little troublemakers weren’t plotting anything stupid while I forced Lucine to undergo my treatment and also change the course of the time vestige back to our present.

"Wyatt, I am sorry," Lucine apologizedand and just when I wanted to remind her it was too late to apologize she began, "I was wrong. You are not a con artist trying to trick me. Clearly, you are a mental patient. I believe you believe you can cure me. It seems my teasing and constant rejection elevated your condition."

"Shut up, you dementia patient. I know how insane this sounds, but everything will make sense once you’re cured of your time-rule dementia. Then I will collect my debt with interest," I said, sending her a list of ingredients. "Have one of your trusted students fetch these—the real versions, not any substitutes from Labyrinth of Myriad Pasts."

The time vestige didn’t just store counterfeit ingredients from various pasts—it also held genuine ones meant for real experiments. After all, where else could you find a perfectly controlled environment like this? They ran trials here, conducted research here, and even did the volatile projects that would be far too dangerous to handle in the outside world. Not to mention the benefit of the time differential.

Honestly, the time vestige would make an excellent place for a sweatshop.

"Wyatt, these things are costly. Do you have the money to pay for them ?" Lucine asked after going through the list of ingredients I shared with her.

"Why would I pay for those ingredients? I am using it to cure you. If anything Morningstar University should pay for them if they are not willing to pay for them then you pay from your pocket," I argued, I was crazy enough to force my services on to her for free but I wasn’t stupid enough to also pay for it.

The reason I was going this far to cure Lucine’s time-rule dementia was simple: I had reached out to help her again and again, and each time she shot me down. If she had just rejected me, I could have accepted that. But she rejected me while insisting I was a con artist trying to deceive her. If I didn’t cure her now, she—and plenty of others—would take that as proof that I really had been trying to trick her and that I was a con artist

That, I couldn’t tolerate.

Only I knew the internal battles I fought back when the five regions branded me as the Silver Milk Fraudster. At the time, I could understand why people believed it. But now?

Now it was just infuriating.

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