My Attitude System

The dense forest whispered secrets of the battle that had just unfolded. The rescue team, led by Sun Mei, pressed forward with urgency. Each step they took crushed the undergrowth, their collective worry for Sun Luo tangible in the air. Mei's heart raced, fear clawing at her as she imagined the worst.

"How far is it now?" Mei demanded, her tone sharp and commanding.

"Not far, Lady Mei," a guard replied hesitantly. "But… if it truly is a Spirit Lion, even the strongest among us would—"

"Silence!" Mei snapped, her hands trembling as faint embers danced around her fingertips, a testament to her fire cultivation. "We will find Luo, and he will be alive. Keep moving!"

Sun Yu, always the voice of reason, placed a calming hand on her shoulder. "Mei, take a breath. We'll find him. Luo's tougher than he looks, remember? He has that fire in him."

Mei nodded but didn't relax. She couldn't. "He shouldn't have been in danger in the first place," she muttered, her voice filled with a mix of anger and sorrow.

---

**The Lion's Den**

Sun Luo sat atop the massive, lifeless body of the Spirit Lion. The once-mighty beast lay motionless, its golden mane now stained with blood. Luo, battered and bruised, stared into the distance, his breaths shallow but steady. His hands, slick with blood—his and the lion's—hung loosely by his sides.

The system's earlier words echoed in his mind:

**"This system rewards attitude. Defiance, dominance, and confidence will fuel your growth. Your survival has activated this system. Rise above or remain forgotten."**

Luo's lips twitched into a faint, bitter smile. "Attitude," he muttered to himself. "Guess I've always had plenty of that."

A notification hovered before his eyes:

**+50 Attitude Points: Killing a Spirit Lion.**

His heart burned with a strange mix of pride and exhaustion. He had won, but at a cost. His body screamed in protest, his legs trembling under the weight of his fatigue. Yet, as the system's interface flickered out of sight, he clenched his fists. *This is just the start,* he thought.

The sound of hurried footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts. His head turned sharply toward the dense foliage, and moments later, the rescue group burst into the clearing.

---

**The Reunion**

"Luo!" Sun Mei's voice rang out, filled with relief and disbelief. She sprinted toward him, her eyes wide as she took in the scene before her.

Luo didn't move, his expression calm but cold. "I'm fine," he said flatly.

Mei dropped to her knees beside him, her hands trembling as she reached out to examine his wounds. "Fine? You're covered in blood, and you expect me to believe that?"

Sun Yu and the others stopped in their tracks, their gazes fixed on the lion's enormous corpse. Whispers rippled through the group.

"A Spirit Lion… defeated by Luo?"

"This can't be real. He couldn't even cultivate…"

"But it's right in front of us. He's sitting on it."

Sun Yu stepped forward, his voice quiet but firm. "Luo… did you really kill it?"

Luo met his gaze, his expression unreadable. "It was me or the lion. I chose me."

His words, simple yet powerful, struck everyone like a thunderclap.

---

**The Walk Back**

As Mei tended to his wounds, the group began their journey back to camp. Luo walked alongside them, his steps unsteady but resolute. The guards and cultivators around him kept stealing glances, their expressions a mixture of awe and uncertainty.

"How did he do it?" one whispered.

"Could his cultivation have returned?" another murmured.

Mei silenced them with a fiery glare. "Enough. Whatever you're thinking, keep it to yourselves."

But even she couldn't stop the questions swirling in her own mind. *How did he survive? Could this mean…*

---

**Ending Hook (Part 1)**

The tension hung thick in the air as they approached the camp. Everyone's thoughts lingered on the boy who had somehow accomplished the impossible. But in the camp, unaware of the coming storm, Sun Jian and Sun Hao sat by the fire, their faces painted with false concern.

"W-we tried to stop him," Jian stammered to a nearby guard, his voice shaky.

"Y-yeah, but he wouldn't listen," Hao added, feigning tears.

Inside, however, they reveled in their perceived victory.

*By now, the lion's finished him off,* Jian thought smugly.

*No one will ever suspect us,* Hao mused.

But as the rescue group entered the camp with Luo in tow, their smug expressions melted into shock.

The camp fell silent. Luo's cold gaze landed on Jian and Hao, a smirk tugging at his lips.

The storm was here.