Battle Frenzy

Wang Zhong had gone into closed-door cultivation for three full days…

Your Soul Power at the Heroic Soul Stage was in a constant state of outward circulation. If you didn’t cultivate for a long time and didn’t practice with your Soul Power, it would lose its cohesion and start to dissipate, which meant that your Soul Power capacity would start to regress. Although it wouldn’t decrease all the way back to the level of the Casted Soul Stage, it was easy to lose around ten percent of your Soul Power.

This dissipating characteristic might not be very obvious to ordinary people at the Heroic Soul Stage, but with Wang Zhong’s meticulous control of his Soul Power, he could sense every trace of Soul Power movement. However, he could sense that the ‘dissipating’ feeling of his Soul Power was gradually going away now and that the cohesion of his Soul Sea was being greatly enhanced. It seemed very stable and peaceful, making Wang Zhong feel like he repaired a house that used to leak. Wang Zhong’s Soul Sea seemed to be in a state whereby he could freely open or close it. It was very warm and tranquil, making Wang Zhong suddenly snap out of his deep level of meditation.

The Kraken fats in the gourd had been used up completely, and the steam in the small dark room had been thoroughly absorbed by Wang Zhong.

A sensation that he had never experienced before lingered in his chest. He stretched out his left hand and clenched his fist. By merely clenching his fist, he could faintly hear the sound of thunder. No matter how slight it was, the thought that he could trigger anomalies with pure power was something that Wang Zhong didn’t even dare to imagine in the past.

Without a doubt, he had reached the Peak Heroic Soul Stage!

Ten thousand Grassos was just a theoretical estimate of the Heroic Soul Stage limit. Everyone’s ‘ten thousand Grassos’ was different. Some people had over nine thousand; some had ten thousand exactly, while some had more than ten thousand. However, your Soul Power would completely stabilize at this stage. When you fully released your Soul Power, there would be visible bolts of lightning in your Soul Power. This was a natural phenomenon caused by the cohesion and accumulation of your Soul Power. The peak value of your Soul Power would no longer change, but with long-term cumulative training, there would be changes to the bolts of lightning in terms of quantity and color. Of course, this wasn’t just visual effects but was related to each individual’s capability. Two people might both be at the Peak Heroic Soul Stage but have a vast difference in power.

Some impressive people at the Peak Heroic Soul Stage would be able to take on people who just entered the Heavenly Soul Stage.

Wang Zhong could sense the changes to his Soul Power. He had finally reached the Peak Heroic Soul Stage. This feeling was fantastic, not because he had gotten more powerful, but because he felt complete. From his Soul Sea to his physical body — as well as his body adapting to this new state — everything felt complete and comfortable. This power that he wielded now was just nice, not too much or too little.

With the support of such an abundant amount of Soul Power, Wang Zhong could complete a lot of things. Of course, now was not the time for that. Looking at the time on his Skylink, he realized three full days had passed.

Wang Zhong came out from the small dark room to find Lan Daier taking a nap beside the table in the middle of the hall. There were various sets of observational data placed on the table. It seemed that Lan Daier had been keeping tabs on his rate of absorption these past few days. This seemed to have exhausted her.

Unlike her usual alpha-female image, Lan Daier seemed rather gentle when she was sleeping, looking just like a little girl. Her soft lips parted as something gleaming and transparent could be seen.

Wang Zhong thought it was quite funny, so he took his Skylink out to take a photo. With a snap of the camera, Lan Daier woke up immediately. “You’re out? What are you doing?”

“Well done, Wang Zhong!” Simba’s eyes lit up in Wang Zhong’s Soul Sea. “I’ll pay ten million for this photo!”

She noticed Wang Zhong’s little action but didn’t blame him and just grinned. Right after, she could sense Wang Zhong’s perfect jade-like Soul Power.

Wang Zhong was really at the Peak Heroic Soul Stage now. When she had just reached the Peak Heroic Soul Stage, she was awfully excited, but this guy seemed to be quite calm.

“Seems like you have a good appetite. I originally thought you would need another course of treatment. Well, let me take a look.” Lan Daier smiled while nodding her head. “The signs that you have reached the Peak Heroic Soul Stage are very clear, which means you must have had a very solid foundation in the Casted Soul Stage. Congrats, it seems like you will have no problem becoming a Holy Disciple.”

“Thank you, Sister Daier.” Compared to what Lan Daier had done for him, his ‘thank you’ paled in comparison. Wang Zhong wasn’t an idiot. He knew that the courses of treatment recently couldn’t be bought with Holy Coins. Even if someone offered her Holy Coins, Lan Daier wouldn’t necessarily respond since she wasn’t in need of Holy Coins. In the Holy Land, most deals between Teachers were in the form of favors. Holy Coins were only the most basic requirement.

Lan Daier waved her dainty hand. This time, she didn’t give Wang Zhong a body checkup. She was too tired, yawning consecutively. “Okay, no need for any more words. You should head back now that you’re done. I have to go back and get my beauty sleep. Staying here the past few days has made my skin become rougher!”

Wang Zhong knew he would seem like a hypocrite if he said any more, so he bid goodbye to Lan Daier. When he stepped out of the laboratory, a genuine smile appeared on his face. He was filled with joy and felt like he was treading on clouds on the way back to the warehouse. The sun seemed exceptionally bright, and the air seemed exceptionally wonderful.

He had finally reached the Peak Heroic Soul Stage. He thought it would take him a long time but didn’t expect it to be so easy. Resources were essential to one’s cultivation journey indeed. Of course, Wang Zhong wasn’t obsessed with this ‘shortcut’. It was just that this was a way to cultivate too, and it was especially suitable for him at this stage. You were just asking for extra trouble if you wanted to take the harder way out.

He continued to observe the complete state of his body. It was only now that he understood what Lan Daier meant previously when she said he should try to reach the Peak Heroic Soul Stage before everyone else.

If you compared your body to a water tank and your Soul Power to the water in the tank, then your soul, perception, and mind were like frogs trapped in the water tank. When the tank was half-filled with water, you could only see the round opening of the top of the tank no matter how much you jumped. Your view of the world was limited to that as well. However, when the tank was fully filled with water, you could swim to the top of the tank and even jump out of this small tank that trapped you, seeing the outside world for yourself.

Not only had his Soul Power increased, Wang Zhong could even get a slight feel of the power of the heavens and earth. Although it was very fuzzy, he could feel it. This was the transition stage before reaching the Heavenly Soul Stage. Using this angle to view the world, himself, and his cultivation, his feelings and his thinking were completely different. The problems that had previously been bothering him on his cultivation journey didn’t require anyone else to answer them for him now. He only had to put a little thought into it before he could naturally grasp the crux of the problem accurately and even discover the correct answer.

At the same time, his completed Soul Sea caused its endurance, stability, and even overall quality to change dramatically.

It was time to learn more about Cellular Cosmology and build the fortress for his Soul Core.

Wang Zhong was initially full of confidence, but to his surprise, difficulties resurfaced.

At the start, he merely tried a little harder before he felt that the end was near. However, this supposedly short distance became extremely far away after he continued to dive into the detailed process. Not only was this the case for his micro-meditation in Cellular Cosmology, he also met the same problem while constructing his Soul Core.

Wang Zhong could confirm that his Soul Power foundation was absolutely sufficient since it was nourished by the Fate Stone. This extreme level of nourishment was at the top of the ranks even if you considered the entire history of the Holy City. However, if he still couldn’t cultivate according to Cellular Cosmology and still didn’t have enough Soul Power, then was it really like everyone said, that Cellular Cosmology was just a bottomless pit that couldn’t ever be filled? Was it just a tragic scam that only worked in theory?

Or was this something that a person at the Heroic Soul Stage should never have touched?

Wang Zhong didn’t believe that. Deep down in his heart, he trusted this theory very much and was very willing to try it out. Essentially, those who achieved success were stubborn people who never looked back until there was a dead-end. Even if there was a dead-end, they would still press on.

Wang Zhong thought that he hadn’t done it thoroughly enough. It seemed like he had tried his best; however, deep down, he was still worried that he would completely fall into an unconscious state if his Soul Power was spread out too much. If that really happened, no one would be able to save him, not even the Sacred Teachers, and his soul would really be obliterated then. This worry caused him to have reservations, and he was unable to put out his best effort. This hesitation might be the key as to why he didn’t succeed.

He decided to thoroughly indulge himself in it for once.

Cultivation required great perseverance and courage. If you really wanted to accomplish something big, you had to be ready to put everything at stake. Of course, that was a better way to put it. Frankly speaking, it just meant that Wang Zhong was out of his mind for considering it.

Simba was playing happily with the Headless Knight and others. He didn’t have any free time to bother with Wang Zhong. Now that little Wang Zhong was all grown up, Simba decided to leave him to his own devices… since Wang Zhong didn’t listen to him anyway.

Make it or break it!

Wang Zhong was ruthless to himself. He no longer subconsciously tried to control the flow of his Soul Power and just let it madly spread outward.

Spread, spread, and spread further!

He set himself loose and indulged in it to the extreme, which made his awareness become groggier and more uncontrollable…

If meditation was a dream, then micro-meditation — which was a step further — was a dream within a dream. If you progressed further, it was a dream within a dream within a dream… It was an infinite cycle. As your consciousness went deeper inside your body, you would sink into a deeper level of dreams.

Previously, he didn’t have enough Soul Power, so he could only spread his Soul Power to three or four levels at most. However, as his consciousness sank deeper, he had entered an infinite cycle. It was like losing his direction in his body and dreams or rather, like walking into a maze of dreams.

As he sank deeper into his dreams, he went deeper into the maze too. Even his consciousness started to get fuzzy. Just like water pressure, as he sank deeper, there would be more pressure from the illusions too, and it was impossible for his soul to withstand all the pressure.

Wang Zhong’s consciousness started to lose its functioning. It was as if he fell into a deep slumber, couldn’t open his eyes, and was slowly being devoured by this world.

To him, everything lost its meaning. Other than the endless emptiness, he could no longer feel the world anymore, and he couldn’t even think according to human logic anymore.

He just felt dizzy and empty, as if he was falling into an infinitely deep space. Gradually, he didn’t even have any feelings anymore, but he couldn’t stop. He wasn’t conscious enough to control his Soul Power.

Spreading out, falling deeper, emptiness…

Just when Wang Zhong’s consciousness was about to dissipate into the emptiness, an extremely elastic force tugged at him. That was the muscle memory he had left behind when he tried to create a Soul Core numerous times. While his consciousness was dissipating, his muscle memory was still there. It was like a rubber band that was pulled to the utmost extreme. It suddenly bounced back now, knocking open countless closed doors in the maze behind him.

The consciousness that Wang Zhong had lost long ago suddenly returned to its original state in that instant, and a familiar feeling returned to his body again. It was as if he had just woken up from a nightmare.

Cold sweat was pouring out from every pore of Wang Zhong’s body. He laid on the ground and panted heavily, his heart palpitating wildly. All his muscles were sore, and he felt like he had fought against Mo Wen for three rounds. Immediately after, his head suffered intense bouts of pain as he sprawled out on his back. The only thing he could do now was pant.

He could sense how dangerous the situation was just now, but the corners of his mouth turned up to form a small smile. He was halfway to success!

Although he still hadn’t accomplished the first step of Cellular Cosmology, establishing his inner sight, he had succeeded in creating a Soul Core. Now that he thought about it, the experience was really scary. Of course, Wang Zhong wasn’t brainless nor reckless; he could sense that he hadn’t reached his limit. If he didn’t dare to take the risk, he would never succeed.

The risk Wang Zhong took this time was too great, leaving him with a lingering fear. However, he rejoiced right after.

You reap what you sow. To his surprise, he discovered that he had unknowingly constructed his Soul Core in the middle of his near-death experience. Perhaps his body took the liberty to complete it when he lost consciousness; otherwise, his muscle memory alone wouldn’t have been enough to save him.

At this moment, even if he didn’t enter the meditative state, Wang Zhong could clearly feel a glowing spot in his Soul Sea. It was as distinct as an imprint. This was his imprint!

It was lurking in Wang Zhong’s brain, having an effect of calming his mind. At the same time, it was glowing like a guide or rather, a fixed coordinate. It didn’t control his Soul Power but rather, his soul. This was the home for his soul. Wang Zhong had a feeling that whenever or wherever he was, no matter the circumstances, this Soul Core would guide his soul in the correct direction. This was a true Soul Core indeed. In the future, things like nightmares or illusions would no longer have any effect on him. No matter how lost he was, he would be able to find himself again.

Wang Zhong had once heard of a saying that most creatures would vanish into oblivion after they died, regardless of whether they had a soul or not. Their souls wouldn’t have anything to rely on even if they had one anyway. Only lifeforms that had an imprint could gain immortality. He didn’t know whether his Soul Core was considered a start to achieving immortality.

Of course, that flashed through his mind for just a moment. Realistically speaking, what he gained was that he could project his consciousness onto another thing or level without needing to worry that he would be lost. This might seem unrelated to battles, but this could help him achieve many unimaginable things, such as using his Soul Power and divine sense to explore places. He could go to any place no matter how far or dangerous it was. At the same time, regarding the microscopic world in Cellular Cosmology, he could set his mind at ease and charge forward to test his extremes.

After six hours of recovering, Wang Zhong couldn’t wait to try a second time again. As expected, when his consciousness was on the verge of dissipating, his Soul Core forcefully put together his consciousness again. Of course, his body’s condition was much better than when it happened the first time. Wang Zhong totally collapsed after the second time and fell asleep. His body had entered a period of intense fatigue, and he needed time to slowly recover.