Chapter 66 - Tier 1
[Increased time limit of Inner Sanctum to 5 hours]
[Soul Severance Rewarded!]
[Cultivation speed has increased to 4x]
[Mana and Qi capacity have fused to Origin Essence!]
[Congratulations Host for advancing to Mid Master Stage!]
[Rewarded: A page from the ’Book of Endless Refinement’]
[Title: Tier 1 Alchemist and Tier 1 Refiner Achieved!]
[Host will have 10% increased success rate in refining and creating things.]
"Pheww..."
Cale exhaled slowly, but his body was literally tearing apart. Every muscle cramped, every nerve felt like it was on fire. He hadn’t thought about the true cost of soul absorption was to be watching each memory, experiencing fragments of their lives. Some memories were beautiful. Most were brutal, crude, shitty—all of them violently compressed into his consciousness at once.
It would’ve destroyed him if he hadn’t developed Divine Consciousness early.
Walking back toward civilization, he forced his aching body forward. "But still, a Tier 1 Refiner and Alchemist... hehe, that does give me some confidence."
Another system message materialized:
[Merge Fire Rune Inscription into Myriad Battle Flow of Heaven and Earth?]
He sighed heavily. "Yeah, yeah, do it. What use is a fire inscription now anyway?"
He flicked his hand, and a ball of black flame materialized effortlessly in his palm. "I can just summon it without any inscription. Seriously, rather than ’merging,’ it should be called ’devouring.’"
***
[Name: Cale Regulus Midgar]
[Age: 18]
[Cultivation: Mid Master stage]
[Soul Cultivation: Peak Apprentice stage]
[Cultivation Speed Multiplier: 4x]
[Blank Points: 093]
[Body: Demonic Yin Soul Refining Body ]
[Abilities: Myriad Battle Flow of Heaven and Earth | Harem Bond | Dual Cultivation]
[Techniques: Great Dao of Natural Balance | Override]
[Passive Skills: Battle Adaptability]
[Spiritual Root: Fire (Awakened)| Sword (normal)]
[Race: Human: 41% (Awakened) | Elf: 32%(Awakened)]
[Bloodline: Human | Dragon | Elf]
[Creation: Tier 1]
[Origin Essence: Lvl.19]
[Artifacts: Ashes of Undying | Noxis]
[Inventory: ]
Checking his system interface, he noticed significant changes. A new artifact section had appeared. An inventory section too.
But this inventory was different from normal tropes, it catalogued items he’d personally produced or refined. Be it from Alchemy creations, refinement products or anything else.
’Right, Genesis... I should test that later. Might be useful for sword creation.’
***
Sael sat with his back pressed against an old tree, his body battered and bruised. The sigh that escaped him, he was utterly tired and exhausted.
Eleven of his followers were dead. Eleven of the strongest warriors his father had personally sent, now reduced to corpses scattered across the countryside. But what choice did they have?
The promise was intoxicating, a supreme family which was ten times bigger than their own royal family promised a great future once this continent fell, eradicated and remade under Wang family rule. Who wouldn’t gamble everything for that possibility?
Once his family witnessed the skills of these low-rank elders, submission became the only rational choice.
Just imagining what their high-ranking officials could do scared them.
His butler emerged from the shadows, his expression grim as death itself.
"What happened?" Sael asked, already dreading the answer.
"Young lord, we’ve lost two Expert Stage cultivators, let alone talk about the mortal soldiers with no cultivation. How can our family possibly stand against this? We’re doing all the grunt work while they contribute nothing. Shouldn’t they send at least a few warriors to support us?"
Sael’s laugh was bitter. "We’ve already gone too far to retreat now. All we can do is ensure we survive however this ends."
The butler’s shoulders sagged. He turned toward another family member, his voice carrying barely contained desperation. "Hall Master, should we even continue? At this point, shouldn’t we convince the family patriarch? How many Expert Stages do you think this entire kingdom even possesses?"
Sael looked at him and smiled wryly. "You’re thinking too small. We’re still trapped in our lowly perspective. Did you see those elders? They called themselves low-ranked. Do you understand what that means? If Apex Stage elders are merely low-ranked to them, you need to think in terms of the bigger picture."
A messenger suddenly appeared, bowing deeply. "Lord, the elders have decided to move against the academy student now. They’re requesting your support as well."
A predatory, hungry smile spread across Sael’s face.
"Finally. Finally I can kill that smug bastard. Father won’t reprimand me anymore, heh." His eyes gleamed with darker intentions. "And that woman traveling with him... slurp, keke. I should take her as a slave."
The butler’s expression darkened further. ’Always women in his mind. How is someone like him supposed to lead this family in the next generation?’
"What about reinforcements?" Sael asked the messenger. "What’s the Wang family sending?"
"A Grandmaster and an Expert Stage warrior, my lord. Though they mentioned it shouldn’t be necessary—the target is only at Master Stage."
Sael’s smirk widened. "Doesn’t matter. I’ll make them fight him. Given how strong he apparently is, he should have artifacts on him. If those two warriors return injured, we eliminate them and pin the blame on Cale."
"Understood, my lord," the messenger replied, bowing again before departing.
Sael leaned back against the tree, already savoring the thought of Cale’s death and Rexa’s subjugation.
***
Cale sat in the heart of the jungle, surrounded by trees and the sounds of nature reclaiming the world. His palms faced upward, and between them, Origin Essence swirled in controlled patterns.
Genesis.
The ability to create from nothing—or rather, from chaos itself. But theory and practice diverged a hell lot in this case. He understood conceptually what things were, how they functioned, their fundamental nature. A smartphone, for instance.
He knew its mechanics intimately, he doubted anyone ever used it to his level. But could he create one?
No. What he could manage was a mold—a shell without the consciousness that made it truly alive. All he could create was a replica, like a toy phone.
’And even that’s nearly impossible at my current level,’ he thought ruefully.
Right now, all he could produce were simplistic things. Paper. Pins. Rocks. The most basic materials existence offered. But one application had proven surprisingly useful, that was creating common spiritual herbs. The energy cost was still huge, but possible.
He focused, and a single spiritual herb materialized in his palm, literally spiritual, not just mimicry of the original.
"Heh, but the energy it takes is still massive," he muttered, setting the herb down carefully. "And entrapping energy inside each plant to make it a real spiritual herb, man that takes a huge chunk out of my reserves every time. Sigh, I’ve got a long way to go, huh."
He flexed his fingers, feeling the depletion. But acknowledgment of limits didn’t diminish his satisfaction. Genesis was just another tool in an ever-expanding arsenal, strength isn’t the only way cultivators fight.