Human Genius? Sorry, I’m a Deviant-Chapter 223: Helplessness

Liu Ziming and the others felt a spark of hope ignite in their eyes.
The doctor's next words ruthlessly crushed that hope:
"However, this type of fruit only grows in the deepest parts of the Mist, in those absolute forbidden zones that even Ocean Realm experts dare not set foot in lightly.
We know very little about it. There are no specific distribution maps, no clear methods of acquisition, and we cannot determine when or where it will next appear.
Obtaining it... cannot be described with just the word 'difficult'. It's almost like betting your life on an elusive legend."
Su Zhan and the others felt as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped on them.
"Moreover, even if you are fortunate enough to find it, such treasures nurtured in those places are inevitably guarded by powerful Mist Creatures."
The doctor glanced at their ashen faces and added, "Additionally, there is one point I must make clear to you: the Reforge Fruit cannot be stored for long periods outside the Mist environment.
It is nurtured in the deep Mist environment. Once picked and removed from the Mist, the power it contains begins to rapidly dissipate.
It must be consumed within one day of being picked to achieve optimal effect.
At most three days—if not used by then—it will completely wither and lose all efficacy.
Because of this characteristic, the three fruits obtained in Daxia's history were all used immediately during extremely special and urgent circumstances. It was fundamentally impossible to stockpile them as strategic resources for future generations.
Therefore, do not expect there to be any inventory waiting for you in the academy's treasure vault or Daxia's national treasury.
If you want to obtain it, there are no shortcuts possible.
It cannot be purchased with money, exchanged for power, or waited for distribution.
The only path is to rely on yourself, venture deep into that deathly forbidden zone, search within the Mist, compete for it, and consume it yourself within the extremely short time after obtaining it."
Su Zhan understood perfectly clearly.
His path as an Awakened individual had perhaps reached its end.
Spiritual energy meridians foundation damaged... cultivation unable to advance even an inch...
Su Zhan looked inward at himself.
The meridians that should have been flowing with vigorous spiritual energy were now withered and feeble.
Could it be... that after exhausting everything, this was the result he received?
The Awakened identity he worked so hard to fake, carefully maintaining—his very foundation for standing in this world... was it just ruined like this?
From now on, could he only watch helplessly as Feng Jue, Liu Ziming, Xu Hao, and the others broke through step by step, growing stronger?
While he himself remained forever stuck at Stream Realm second stage?
He might even gradually regress due to the foundational damage, eventually becoming completely useless, someone without even the ability to protect himself?
Just thinking about such a future made him feel suffocated.
Within Su Zhan's body.
Lurked another power.
That power belonging to the Aberrants.
Cold, violent, filled with devouring desire.
It was exceptionally active right now.
He could switch forms at any time, obtaining power with potential thousands upon thousands of times greater than an Awakened individual's.
But this power—did he dare use it frequently?
Dare let people discover it?
Once exposed, he would become a monster that everyone would want to eliminate!
"...I understand."
Wang Mingyuan let out a heavy sigh and patted Su Zhan's shoulder. "Let's go."
Holding onto a thread of unwillingness, and also to eliminate any possibility of misdiagnosis.
Wang Mingyuan utilized his connections and network.
He took Su Zhan to almost five or six of Vermilion Bird City's largest hospitals and private clinics with the most advanced equipment.
They visited highly respected senior professors.
Consulted authoritative experts specializing in the field of foundational damage.
Yet every latest examination was like a carbon copy, no different from the initial one.
Every doctor or expert, after careful examination, ultimately shook their heads and spoke almost identical words:
"Meridian foundation damage, extremely severe degree, irreversible."
"Spiritual energy foundation destroyed, the path of cultivation... sigh, it will be difficult."
"Sorry, Teacher Wang, with current medical methods and resources, we are powerless."
"Perhaps... only certain legendary things might have a chance, but that is too difficult..."
They walked out of the last hospital.
Liu Ziming, Xu Hao, and Feng Jue all hung their heads in silence, a sense of powerlessness and guilt rising in their hearts.
Repeated confirmations.
Had thoroughly verified this diagnosis.
"Let's go back."
Wang Mingyuan's last shred of wishful thinking was completely shattered. "Return to the academy first. No matter what, we must stabilize your physical condition first."
This time, no one raised any objections anymore.
The cold reality was already indisputable.
Su Zhan returned to the dormitory alone.
Liu Ziming still wanted to follow him inside.
Wang Mingyuan reached out and stopped him. "Let him be alone for a while. From now on, he can only rely on himself."
...
Su Zhan didn't know how he followed Teacher Wang Mingyuan back to the academy, nor how he parted ways with Feng Jue and the others, walking back to his dormitory alone.
"Click."
The door closed softly behind him.
Su Zhan seemed to have all his strength drained away, leaning back against the cold door panel, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor.
He didn't turn on the light, allowing the darkness to swallow the entire room.
He sat there motionless like that, his eyes empty as he stared at the floor ahead, without focus.
Countless chaotic voices echoed in his mind.
"Spiritual energy foundation destroyed..."
"The path of cultivation... will be difficult..."
"Irreversible..."
"Powerless..."
It's over.
Truly over.
The Awakened identity he worked so hard to fake, carefully maintaining.
He thought he could rely on this to get on the right track in this world.
Now, it was just severed like this.
Su Zhan sat like that in the shadows behind the door for who knows how long.
The light outside the window gradually changed.
Yet he remained completely unaware.
The advantage of a single room was now fully apparent.
No matter how broken and desperate he felt at this moment, no one would see him, no one would disturb him.
He was alone, chewing on this cruel fate.
...
Su Zhan sat in meditation for an unknown length of time.
The emptiness in his eyes was gradually replaced by a surge of unwillingness.
He did not believe in fate.
Or rather, he could not accept being sentenced to death by fate like this!
Su Zhan stood up from the floor, walked to the center of the room, sat down cross-legged, and forced himself into a cultivation state.
He closed his eyes, operating the basic cultivation method taught by the academy with all his might, attempting to absorb the free spiritual energy in the surrounding air.
He could indeed sense the presence of spiritual energy, and could even barely draw it into his body!
That meager spiritual energy flowed laboriously through his atrophied meridians.
Su Zhan could preserve this spiritual energy.
It truly existed within his body and did not immediately disappear.
But...
Su Zhan clearly felt.
No matter how hard he tried, his realm barrier remained completely motionless, and the total amount of spiritual energy in his dantian showed no tendency to increase at all.
Su Zhan refused to believe it was hopeless, absorbing more spiritual energy even more frantically.
That spiritual energy which exceeded his current meridians' carrying capacity rapidly leaked away.
Multiple attempts were all futile.
Instead, the influx and loss of spiritual energy would aggravate his injuries, bringing waves of dull pain.
Su Zhan suddenly opened his eyes.
Preservation... but unable to progress.
Absorption... but only leading to loss.
This feeling of being able to clearly sense the existence of power, yet being forever imprisoned in place, was even more torturous than complete loss.
In other words.
He could use spiritual energy, could use his Life Soul, almost the same as before.
But... he could never advance again.
His Awakened realm would remain forever at Stream Realm second stage.