Julius’s face twisted with anger the moment he heard her words.

His jaw tightened and his eyes flashed with disgust. "You are saying I serve you and my Rose gives up her body?" He let out a sharp, disgusted snort. "Are you retarded?"

"Think whatever you want," Miasma spoke, looking completely unbothered.

Her posture stayed relaxed on the throne.

"It’s just that if you wish to live, you will have to serve me." She finished with a light chuckle that cut through the heavy air.

Julius’s eyes narrowed sharply. His breathing grew a little faster. "And what if we refuse?" he asked, voice low and steady.

Hearing him, Miasma’s face turned cold and serious. Her smile faded away completely.

"Then you will die!" Her voice rang out strong and clear across the space.

She turned to Rosalina, who was staring straight at her with wide, fearful eyes. "And she will become my vassal whether she wants it or not!"

Her words echoed through the air like a heavy threat. Julius felt his heart sink even deeper into his chest.

A cold weight pressed down on him.

He could see that Miasma was dead serious. She did not think of them as any real threat at all.

Julius bit down hard on his lip until he tasted blood.

His mind raced, but he did not know what to do. Leaving Rosalina was not possible.

There was only one way out of this, he had to hold on until the dean arrived and buy them some time.

"I refuse!" Julius said. There was no hesitation in his voice.

Nothing was worse than handing over the woman he loved just to save his own skin. He turned to Rosalina.

His eyes softened as he looked at her, full of quiet pain. ’I’ve already watched you die once,’ he thought.

Then he faced Miasma again. His hands began to shine with bright compressed mana.

His eyes locked onto her with pure killing intent. A cold, determined grin spread across his face. "I will let..."

Right at that instant, Miasma’s eyes turned ice cold.

"It seems you still think I am at the early stage of domain manifestation... huh?"

The moment she spoke, Miasma released her cultivation. A suffocating aura burst out of her body like a heavy storm.

This aura was brutal and crushing. It pressed down on everything around them.

The table rattled, the bookshelves filled with materials shook violently, and the whole room trembled as if it was afraid.

Julius’s face turned pale in an instant. His breath hitched and his chest felt tight with sudden exhaustion.

All the compressed mana inside him vanished completely. Terror filled his eyes as despair flooded his heart.

"This... in such a short time...?" He sank to his knees, feeling the huge gap between them.

Rosalina was the same. She dropped to her knees beside him. Her face lost all its color. Despair clouded her eyes.

The last hope they held about the dean vanished instantly.

"Infinite core...?" she muttered, her voice trembling with fright.

Miasma grabbed her long auburn hair with both hands and tied it back neatly. She stepped back and sat on her throne once more.

She crossed her legs and lifted one hand to support her chin, looking down at them calmly.

"Choose!" she said. "Will you do as I say or..." She paused, her gaze locking onto Julius. "...die!"

The words struck Julius like thunder. His throat went dry and his whole body turned numb. He did not know what to do anymore.

There was no way, absolutely no way for them to survive this. They had been buying time for the dean, but now even if the dean arrived, what could he do?

She had already recovered her cultivation, and it was at the infinite core level. Even if the dean came, she could kill him without much effort.

The gap between a void core stage specialist and an infinite core was as high as the heavens. The dean would not stand a chance.

’It’s all over...’ Rosalina thought. Her heart sank deeper and deeper into the abyss of despair.

The woman before her was far more powerful than anything she had imagined.

Her gaze slowly drifted to Julius. He had lost all his hope. Despair and fear had frozen him completely.

Rosalina’s heart ached with heavy bitterness. ’Is this the end of our journey?’ she thought.

Her eyes filled with endless love as she looked at the man sitting beside her. But the circumstances were too cruel to dream about any future together.

Either way, they would be separated. If Julius listened to Miasma, they would still be torn apart.

If they refused, the outcome would be the same, death.

But if they chose the first option... at least he would stay alive.

A bitter smile appeared on her face as she reached out and gave a gentle kiss to his forehead.

She had made her decision. At least he would live if she sacrificed herself.

And who knows... if fate and luck favored them one day, they might reunite in the future.

The thought brought a small, painful spark of hope inside her chest, even as tears burned behind her eyes.

"I accept," Rosalina said. She stood up slowly, her voice firm and clear.

Julius was still frozen in place. He could not register what was happening around him anymore.

"Very good. It seems at least one of you is smart enough," Miasma stood up, her face brightening with satisfaction. "Now let’s..."

As she was talking, Rosalina cut her off.

"I have a condition," she said, looking straight into Miasma’s eyes without fear.

"You must let Julius out of here!"

Miasma let out a chuckle. Contempt filled her eyes. "What makes you think...."

Again she was interrupted. "If you don’t, then I will kill myself and destroy my body," Rosalina said.

Her eyes were dead serious. There was neither hesitation nor fear in them...only cold certainty. "And don’t think that I can’t do that just because you are here."

Miasma could feel the intensity of her gaze. She turned to Julius for a moment.

He was a genius with the all-seeing eyes, destined for greatness.

There was no one like him in the three floating continents or the four stationary continents, not in the past, not in the present.

Only Rosalina could compete with him in talent.

"It’s a pity..."Her gaze locked back onto Rosalina. "But what I need desperately is her, not him. Still, I don’t need to compromise."

She smiled. "It’s a pity, but I suppose I can do that! Now come here. We will leave. He will be rescued by that man in the tower."

Rosalina nodded. She turned to Julius, knelt down, and hugged him tightly.

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "This is goodbye... but don’t lose hope." She kissed the side of his neck, her lips trembling against his skin.

"Once you are strong enough... come and save me." She pulled back and kissed his forehead one last time, then stood up.

Even she did not fully believe it would be possible.

After what she had seen earlier, her avatar’s soul being destroyed when Miasma tried to take over, the future felt dark and uncertain.

Still, she held onto that small hope for him.

A bitter smile formed on her lips.

"Goodbye." She turned with one last look at Julius, her heart breaking inside her chest, and stepped forward.

"Come!" Miasma spoke, her face brightening with joy.

She watched Rosalina walk over, her eyes shining with excitement. Finally, her long wish of cultivating the invincible path was about to come true.

Now that Rosalina had agreed, she might not even need the soul severing sword.

She could possess her body without much effort. "Come, come, fulfill my long-lasting dream!"

Rosalina took slow steps forward. Her legs felt hollow, as if empty inside, just like her aching heart.

Every step hurt. But she did not give up. No matter what happens, at least he will live.

She took another step, then turned toward Julius. She flashed a soft, trembling smile.

"Make sure you don’t fall for another girl just because I’m not around," her voice shook along with her smile. "Remember me... and live a single life."

There was no reply from him. But she did not mind. She already knew his answer.

She knew him well. There was no way he would forget her, and no way he would live with someone else.

She would always stay in his mind. It was cruel, yes. But at least she deserved this much.

Wouldn’t she feel jealous if he turned to another woman just because she was gone? So it was cruel... but it was also exactly what she wanted.

"Goodbye..."

She turned away and kept walking. This time she did not stop. She moved forward until she was only a few steps away from Miasma.

Miasma was smiling ear to ear with pure ecstasy. Finally, Rosalina was so close. Once she got her hands on her, it would all be over.

"Supreme grade treasure!"

Suddenly, Julius’s voice echoed from behind. At the same time, a strong suction force appeared. It pulled only at Rosalina, dragging her backward.

"Infinite space!"