After transferring fifty million to Axel as his share, she kept four hundred and fifty million for herself.
Without hesitation, she donated one hundred million to her private charity.
It was a discreet foundation she had established quietly. Only those in desperate need could access its funds.
With the remaining three hundred and fifty million, Lana began considering investnt opportunities.
Upon returning to the university, she contacted Monica.
Unlike before, this ti there was no hesitation in her resolve.
The mory of Axel’s lifeless body collapsing before her eyes still haunted her dreams.
That helplessness, that crushing weakness, had burned itself into her soul.
’I will never be that powerless again.’
When she reached out to Monica, her voice carried quiet determination.
"I want to take on more practical missions."
Monica was thrilled.
"With you on the team, casualties will drop drastically," she replied enthusiastically. "This is fantastic."
The first task assigned to them was clearing a contaminated area.
Unlike ghost zones, which were fully controlled by ghosts, contaminated areas were places where ghosts had once nested but had already been expelled.
However, lingering negative energy remained, saturating the environnt and making it impossible for ordinary citizens to stay there for long.
As Lana stood at the edge of the site, she felt the air grow heavy.
She tightened her grip slightly.
’This is only the beginning.’
Since it was a contaminated area, Lana and Monica, along with several other awakened practitioners, were assigned a simple-sounding task, to release their energies in steady streams, spreading them across the environnt like invisible tides.
These waves of power, known as aether waves, would gradually cleanse the lingering corruption.
Once an area was fully saturated and purified by these waves, it would beco livable again.
That was their mission.
On the surface, it sounded easy.
Anyone hearing the description might assu it was nothing more than standing in place and channeling energy.
However, only those who had actually awakened understood just how exhausting and dangerous such work could be.
The first problem was uncertainty.
Even though the primary ghost that once ruled this zone had already been eliminated, no one could guarantee that sothing else was not hiding in the shadows.
Residual entities, fragnted spirits, or twisted remnants could still linger, waiting silently like predators beneath still water.
The second problem was far more imdiate.
To disinfect such a large area required an enormous and continuous output of aether.
Practitioners had to pour their energy without interruption, wave after wave, until their reserves were completely drained.
Most would be left utterly empty, their ridians aching as if scraped hollow, and only after exhausting themselves could they begin cultivating again to recover.
For many, it was a daunting assignnt.
But for Lana, it was an opportunity.
She had once studied the research paper published in the future.
According to it, when a person completely emptied their aether reserves and then refilled them through disciplined cultivation, the cycle created a subtle strengthening effect.
Each repetition pushed the practitioner closer to their limits, gradually expanding their capacity.
It was like forcing open a sealed door, little by little, until one day it finally gave way.
A thod of breaking through by exhaustion and renewal.
Because of that knowledge, Lana understood that this was one of the best exercises to accelerate her growth.
’I can’t waste this chance.’
Not only did she accept the mission willingly, she secretly hoped for sothing more.
’I hope there’s at least one ghost left behind... sothing I can fight.’
As the team stepped deeper into the contaminated zone, the air grew heavier.
Lana closed her eyes, raised her hands, and began releasing her aether.
The cleansing had begun.
The entire process lasted longer than anyone had expected, and it took them nearly two full days before they were finally able to cleanse the entire area and restore it to purity.
Among everyone present, Lana was undoubtedly the most exhausted.
Unlike the others, who occasionally stepped aside to rest and recover their strength, she had been continuously releasing waves of aether without pause.
Her breathing had grown heavier with every passing hour, yet she stubbornly continued to push her limits.
At first she could only sustain the aether waves for six hours before her body started trembling from exhaustion.
But Lana clenched her fists and forced herself to continue.
’Just a little longer... I can endure a little longer.’
Soon six hours beca seven. Her body felt as if it had been hollowed out, every muscle aching as though invisible needles were piercing through her veins.
Still, she persisted.
Eventually she reached eight hours.
By the ti she finally stopped, her face had turned pale and beads of sweat clung to her temples.
Slowly she began circulating her cultivation again, carefully drawing in ether from the surroundings to replenish what she had lost.
She had not slept even once during the process.
Working continuously like this had taken an imnse toll on her body.
Her shoulders felt heavy and her limbs weak, yet strangely enough, Lana could feel sothing else as well.
Her body seed to be digesting the ghost orbs far more efficiently than before.
The ghost essence that once resisted assimilation now flowed through her ridians more smoothly, as though it had beco accustod to her presence.
This realization caused a faint spark to appear in her tired eyes.
Without wasting ti, she took out a small notebook from her storage talisman and began writing down her observations.
By repeatedly releasing aether waves and then observing the ghost force inside her body after her ether reserves had been completely drained, the digestion of ghost essence beca significantly faster.
It was a phenonon she had never encountered before.
’So exhausting the aether completely... actually accelerates the refinent of ghost essence.’
Lana stared at the words she had written, her heart beating slightly faster with excitent.
This kind of unexpected discovery thrilled her.
anwhile, Mr. Crow stood so distance away, surveying the entire region. The land looked barren and lifeless.
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