Arthur's body was still recovering from the violent extraction of lifeforce, and even though his regeneration had already begun restoring what was lost, the lingering weakness was impossible to ignore. It wasn't pain in the traditional sense, but rather a hollow, almost unsettling feeling of emptiness, as if something fundamental had been carved out of him and was only now slowly being rebuilt.
His breathing remained steady, but there was a heaviness in his limbs that reminded him just how close he had come to crossing the threshold of death. If it had been anyone else, the outcome would have been simple, they would have died the moment their lifeforce was forcefully torn away.
The fact that he was still conscious, spoke volumes about the abnormality of his existence. Arthur leaned back slightly, resting his back against the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on the system panel hovering silently before him, its faint blue glow reflecting in his eyes as he focused on the information he had paid such a steep price to obtain.
The first lines that appeared detailed about the concept of the soul itself, and that alone was enough to draw Arthur's full attention and he read through them slowly. Unlike mana, spiritual energy, or any other forms of energy he had encountered, the soul was described as something fundamentally different, existing beyond conventional systems of power.
It was not energy, or matter, not even a force that could be measured through ordinary means. Soul is the ultimate metaphysical "blueprint" of an entity, acting as the fundamental bridge between consciousness and existence. Unlike the mortal body, which is a physical vessel, or the "spirit," which often represents life energy (mana, qi, or lifeforce), the soul is the core repository of identity, memory, and existence.
Arthur's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued reading, his thoughts already beginning to connect the implications. The distinction between spirit and soul was laid out with striking clarity. Spirit was described as the driving force, the energy that allowed life to function, comparable to electricity powering a machine. It was replaceable, expendable, something that could be replenished or consumed.
The soul, on the other hand, was the driver itself, the consciousness, the identity, the "self" that existed beyond the mechanics of life. It was not simply another layer of energy but something fundamentally higher in nature. It contains the consciousness, and the actual person.
And Soul Tiers represented the qualitative stages of a being's existential authority, defining not just strength, but the scope of their existence across reality itself. Lower tiers of soul were bound within the limitations of standard space-time, operating within three or four dimensions as most beings did.
But higher tiers… those transcended such constraints. They existed across additional dimensions simultaneously, their presence extending into layers of reality that ordinary beings could neither perceive nor interact with. Five dimensions, six, even eleven or beyond. Arthur became contemplative as he read through it, his mind instantly connecting it with everything he had experienced so far.
"…So that's why," he murmured quietly.
It explained things he had never fully understood before. His survival across different systems, his resistance to forces that should have overwhelmed him, the way he had endured transformations that would have destroyed others completely. He had always attributed those things to his body, to his abilities. But this… this suggested something else entirely. It wasn't just his body that made him what he was. It had always been his soul.
The panel shifted, presenting the classifications of Soul Tiers that he could currently access. The list was short, but each stage carried a clear progression. Mortal Soul, Awakened Soul and then… Lord Soul.
Arthur's gaze stopped there, that was his current level.
He leaned forward slightly, his attention sharpening as he read the details associated with it. A Lord Soul had achieved partial conceptual stability, a state that allowed it to resist external soul manipulation from anything below its level. It granted a form of continuity that extended beyond the destruction of the physical body under certain conditions.
The soul itself had condensed into something semi physical, its density so immense that its existential "mass" exceeded the space it occupied. It no longer relied on the nervous system to process information; instead, it functioned as a super processor, capable of perceiving the entire surface of a planet simultaneously without any limitation.
At this stage, the soul began to develop what was referred to as an "Inner Space." It wasn't a full universe yet, but it was a self-contained domain within the soul itself, capable of storing vast amounts of energy and matter, acting as a walking battery. A living reservoir, a core that existed independently of physical limitations. The implications of that were immense, far beyond what most cultivators in this world would even consider possible.
And then came the final line that made Arthur pause again. The highest level of power a being with a Lord Soul can achieve is Tier 5-B, that is at the Planet level.
His eyes lingered on that statement, his mind instinctively comparing it to the cultivation system he had encountered in this world. He already knew that the Great Extreme Immortal realm corresponded roughly to Tier 5-C, a powerhouse at that level capable of destroying a moon. That alone was already considered the pinnacle for cultivators on the planet he was currently in. But this… this suggested that even beyond that, there were higher realms, and those realms aligned directly with the growth of the soul itself.
"…So the soul defines the ceiling," he muttered under his breath, his thoughts aligning with the information.
His curiosity was piqued immediately, and without hesitation, he directed his attention back to the system. "System," he said calmly, "show me the cultivation realms above the Great Extreme Immortal realm in this dimension."
A faint distortion appeared in front of him as the now-familiar vortex manifested once again. This time, however, Arthur didn't hesitate. He reached out and touched it directly, his expression unchanged even as the sensation of lifeforce being drawn from him returned. It wasn't as violent as before, but it was still noticeable, a steady drain that left a faint dizziness in its wake.
When the vortex disappeared, only about twenty percent of his lifeforce was absorbed and another panel appeared before him displaying the list of cultivation realms in this dimension.
The realms were listed clearly.
//--------------------//
Great Eternity Immortal – Low 5-B (Small Planet Level)
Immortal King – 5-B (Planet Level)
Immortal Monarch – 5-A (Large Planet Level)
Immortal Emperor – High 5-A (Brown Dwarf Level)
//--------------------//
Arthur read through them slowly, committing each detail to memory. The progression was clear, each realm representing a leap not just in power, but in scale. And more importantly, it aligned perfectly with what he had just learned about Soul Tiers.
He didn't stop there. His gaze remained focused as he asked another question. "What is the next requirement to advance my Soul Tier?"
Another vortex appeared, and as he touched it, only a small portion of his lifeforce was taken and the response came almost immediately.
[Before advancing to Immortal Monarch realm, the host needs to evolve Soul Tier.]
Arthur absorbed that information as his mind began to process his next plan of action. "So the bottleneck isn't just energy or cultivation… it's the soul itself," he murmured quietly. That meant no matter how much power he accumulated, no matter how refined his techniques became, he would eventually hit a wall if his soul didn't evolve alongside it.
His gaze shifted slightly, his thoughts already moving ahead. "Then the priority is clear…" he said under his breath. "I need resources that can evolve my soul."
An idea formed in his mind almost instantly, and he acted on it without delay. If the system truly held knowledge of the entire multiverse, then there was no reason for him to search blindly. He could simply ask about the locations where these kinds of resources could be found.
"System," Arthur asked, "provide me with locations where I can find resources capable of evolving my soul to the next tier."
After sacrificing another fifty percent of his life force Arthur got three sets of coordinates for the possible locations of resources that could help in soul evolution. His eyes scanned them carefully, committing each one to memory without hesitation.
"…Three locations," he muttered. "That should be enough."
He closed the system interface with a simple thought, letting the blue glow fade from his vision, and the room returned to its normal state. He remained still for a moment longer, allowing his lifeforce to recover once again, the regenerative process already working to restore what had been lost.
But he didn't rest. Instead, he took out hundreds of spirit stones in a single motion, scattering them across the room. The faint glow of spiritual energy filled the space instantly, the density of energy rising slowly. Arthur closed his eyes, his posture straightening as he began absorbing the energy at full capacity.
Streams of spiritual energy flowed into him continuously, refined and converted into Aether without pause. Time… was no longer something he could afford to waste.
Each batch of spirit stones dissolved within minutes, their energy consumed almost as soon as it was released. Arthur frowned slightly as he noticed the rate of consumption, a hint of irritation surfacing beneath his otherwise calm demeanor.
"…Too slow," he muttered.
And without hesitation, he took out even more. Soon, the entire room was filled with spirit stones, their glow illuminated everything around him. The density of spiritual energy reached a point where the room was covered in mist like substance. And he continued cultivating through the night.
***
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