Chapter 213: Soul Level

"Master, thank you."

"We... we can feel the slave marks within us fading."

Sosia and Sonis were extremely excited.

This revelation finally helped the apprentices understand what had transpired.

It was indeed these two women from the Red Falcon tribe who had brought a savior!

Sterl, however, paid no mind to the reactions of the apprentices around him.

What had just occurred was simply him using Moon Law to pause everyone's thoughts; he then created an avatar to accept Edward's control, allowing him to obtain The Method of Soul Refinement.

There was no other way; the Hall of Valor was fraught with complications.

Everyone was considered a friendly unit, otherwise, Sterl could have killed Edward, selected his drops using the Fate Token, and skipped the extra step of apprenticeship.

As for coercing Edward into handing over the soul cultivation spell, that would not only take much more effort, but what if he logged off?

At most, Sterl could only ruin his account.

In reality, Sterl was feeling quite pleased at this moment, as he had gained a substantial reward. After acquiring The Method of Soul Refinement, even though he did not obtain the subsequent secret techniques of the soul tribe, the method itself was upgradeable.

Sterl felt he might still have an opportunity to enhance this ability, and perhaps...

He sensed that the potential for cultivating special skills related to the soul was very high, and if he invested enough points, he might even surpass the secret techniques of the soul tribe.

However, Sterl was also experiencing a delightful frustration: ever since joining the Hall of Valor, he had continuously acquired high-potential skills and items, yet he found himself lacking in opportunities to invest points!

It could only be said that the Hall of Valor was indeed full of surprises and treasures!

At the same time, he had just been affected by the backlash from his avatar, leaving him with a splitting headache. He decided to use The Method of Soul Refinement to upgrade his soul level.

After learning The Method of Soul Refinement, Sterl discovered a new soul level panel had appeared on his status screen. Upon completing the upgrade--

[Soul Level: 5]

[Soul Experience: 121/1000]

[Note: Gaining soul experience is extremely difficult; please use with caution.]

However, Sterl found it strange that after raising his soul level, there were no changes in his attributes, nor did he receive any new bonuses or buffs.

If he had to say there was any change?

It was that he felt a significant increase in his control over his body.

With a soul level of five, the Flowing Water Law blades he gathered became smoother and more refined, the time required to charge them decreased by about one-third, the final power increased by roughly one-fifth, and the energy consumed was reduced by about one-sixth.

All of this had nothing to do with "proficiency"; it was simply as if Sterl's body were a machine.

At this moment, as his will controlled the machine, it felt as though he had applied lubricant, significantly reducing the loss from intermediate steps.

But that wasn't the greatest improvement.

The most significant enhancement came from the fact that just before the Flowing Water Law blades dissipated, Sterl harnessed Moon Law to freeze Edward's life, allowing both his life and soul to be consumed by the Fire of Ten Thousand Souls.

The last time he used two Laws simultaneously was to instantly kill Octavius.

At that time, Sterl felt the energy expenditure was terrifying. However, this time, with the efficiency of Moon Law's consumption reduced and its effectiveness increased, there was a sense that the two Law Powers were subtly compensating for each other, merging into one!

After all, both Laws had long been engraved in Sterl's body, and now it felt as if the power of the soul was acting as a binding agent, giving birth to an entirely new existence!

"Master, would you like us to search this palace and retrieve some treasures?"

"That would be good, thank you." Sterl nodded casually, and the apprentices nearby also brightened at the sight.

"Sir... sir!"

"We know where Edward's resources are hidden."

Sterl looked at this group of people, each wearing extremely flattering smiles, their eyes filled with gratitude. According to Edward's plan, they were all meant to become sacrifices to the flame below.

Now, they had finally cleared the fog and seen the dawn; they were saved!

Sterl glanced at these individuals, shook his head, and sighed.

None of these players had talents that could compare to Sosia and Sonis, and their combat abilities were far inferior to those players he had met during the extreme trials. They were not fit to form a guild at all.

Then...

A silvery moonlight seemed to flash through everyone's eyes.

Soon, only six of Edward's remaining apprentices were left.

In Sterl's hand, he held a pure white, translucent soul flame, having stored it in his small world. Once everything was completed, everyone finally regained their consciousness.

[Fire of Ten Thousand Souls (C Rank)]

[Category: Unique Item]

[Effect: Absorbing it grants a large amount of soul experience and endows your soul with the properties of flame.]

This soul flame had a special plus sign, allowing for a forced stat increase!

As for how this flame was born, it was due to the earlier explosion of Moon Law, where Sterl had halted everyone's thoughts and then sacrificed those apprentices of Edward with stronger soul powers one by one into the Fire of Ten Thousand Souls until the cultivation progress was filled.

After all, Sterl's biggest flaw was his kindness.

If he simply threw people into the fire, what if the remaining apprentices held a grudge against him? Sterl would have to silence them.

He wanted to spare the last six individuals, so he could only complete the cultivation of the Fire of Ten Thousand Souls under the effects of Moon Law.

Indeed, at this moment, the apprentices looked at their disappeared comrades, each one panicking.

"Wait, is Edward still not dead?"

"Teacher, I didn't betray you! Spare my life!"

"Please don't kill me, I won't dare again."

...

One by one, they knelt on the ground, banging their heads repeatedly.

As for Sterl, he couldn't be bothered to pay attention to these people; he merely stood to the side. The group of apprentices dared not approach him any further, fearing that Edward might return for revenge.

Soon, Sosia and Sonis returned, showcasing their findings. They had barely managed to obtain anything of value--just some scattered low-tier items and equipment.

It seemed Edward's inventory had become full.

Without hesitation, Sterl took the two back to his manor. After arranging accommodations for the pair of sisters, he finally had time to properly digest all his previous gains.

However, a prompt popped up before his eyes--

[You have officially joined the Hall of Valor for 24 hours. Your identity level has been set to Glorious. Would you like to check your current level benefits?]