Chapter 395: Breaking Through! [2]

The breakthrough to the Spiritual Manifestation stage had opened the channel between his mind and his body, but the spiritual core itself was still fractured, and he had to retract and gather his scattered mental power to finish the process.

Soren directed the stray strands of energy floating through his soul space, pulling them back toward the center. Like rivers flowing back to their source, the golden light streamed inward, pooling in the fractured core, filling its cracks, and coating its surface.

’Now, I have to hammer it...’

He narrowed his eyes and shaped a portion of his mental force into a golden hammer. He gripped the weapon and raised it high above the core.

’Hmm...’

Unfortunately, the scripture hadn’t described this part in detail. It mentioned reforging the core after the breakthrough, but the exact method was left to the cultivator’s intuition. One wrong move might completely shatter the core, but yeah, he had to figure it out himself. To make it worse, he didn’t have the luxury of time. The longer the core remained cracked, the more energy leaked into the surrounding space, threatening to destabilize the newly formed connection.

’...Soren, you can do it. Just focus.’

He took a deep breath and floated around the core, studying it from every angle. Then he raised the hammer and brought it down slowly.

Clang.

The tool struck the core with a dull thud, sending a tremor through his soul space. Soren flinched at the brief stab of pain, but the cracked surface held. Golden light pooled inside the seam, compacting slightly as it welded the edges a fraction closer.

Encouraged by the result, he struck again, applying slightly more force. The impact rang out more clearly this time, driving the energy deeper into the crevice.

’Oh!’

His eyes lit up, and he struck again; however, he misjudged the force, hitting a delicate split at an awkward angle. A sharp spike of agony tore through his consciousness, and the crack he had been trying to seal split wider, golden light spilling out of the new fracture. Soren pulled the hammer back and gritted his teeth, waiting for the pain to fade before he tried again.

’I need to be more careful.’

He continued at a medium pace, adjusting the force with each strike. Some blows landed well and sealed the fractures, while the others were too strong or too weak, and he had to correct them each time while enduring the pain.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Gradually, his control improved, and his movements gained a ceaseless rhythm. The trial and error faded as he learned the exact amount of power required for every angle and seam. Time slipped away, and he became fully immersed in the process, moving around the sphere and striking with precision.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Blow after blow rained down upon the core, compressing the material and driving out every remaining flaw. The jagged fracture lines shrank, filled with golden light, and fused until the seams vanished entirely.

He raised the golden hammer one last time and brought it down with everything he had.

CLANG!

The impact resounded through his entire mind space, sending one last tremor across his soul before settling into silence. The hammer broke down into light as the ringing died away. Soren lowered his hands and took a moment to catch his breath, letting the tension drain from his arms as the pain in his head began to fade.

He then looked up to inspect his work.

’Whoa... Is this really my core?’

In place of the fractured seed sat a massive golden ball, its surface smoothed out and gleaming as if someone had trapped a miniature sun inside his soul space.

’It’s... a lot bigger than before. And it feels a lot stronger and sturdier too.’

He stared at it for a moment longer, then, thinking of something, summoned his status.

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[PERSONAL INFORMATION]

Name: Soren Everly

Age: 23

Circle Rank: Fifth Circle (Early Stage)

Mental Cultivation: Sovereign Soul-Refining Scripture — Stage 3: Spiritual Manifestation Stage

Potential: ???

Hunter Rank: C

[CORE STATUS]

[Mana Capacity: 1,034,074 / 2,500,000]

[Mental Power Capacity: 247740 / 500000]

....

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His eyes briefly paused at the mental cultivation line, then scrolled down to the mental power capacity.

’Five hundred thousand...’ He couldn’t help but stare at the figure, a soft whistle escaping his lips.

That was more than double his previous limit, or, more precisely, two and a half times. The immense expansion explained why the forging process had taken such a brutal toll on his mind, but seeing the actual number made every second of that agony worth it. Not to mention the fact that he had already accumulated about fifty thousand mental power in the process.

He dismissed the status window and leaned back, letting his thoughts drift.

’It would have been amazing if the Authority rewarded me for investing in myself. Perhaps I would have become an Emperor by now...’

He gave a brief laugh at the absurd thought, then settled into a meditative pose and closed his eyes to steady his condition and calm himself. Time passed as he sat there, his mind gradually settling after the strain of the breakthrough. But when he finally opened his eyes, his breath caught in his throat.

Because across from him sat a beautiful woman with long silver hair and lively green eyes, full of curiosity and amusement. She leaned forward slightly, her chin resting on her knuckles as she studied him without a word.

Soren blinked and muttered in confusion.

"Vice Principal Ramona...?"

"...Good evening, Mr. Everly." She greeted him with a smile that radiated a motherly warmth. "And... congratulations on your successful breakthroughs."

Soren caught the meaning immediately and hurried to his feet, bowing deeply. "Thank you, Vice Principal. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without your permission and your hospitality."

Ramona chuckled. "There’s no need for such formality. Though I would suggest you get dressed first. It’s... a little distracting talking to you like this."

"Hmm?" Soren raised a brow, looked down, and saw his bare upper body. His eyes widened, and he scrambled for a shirt from his inventory, pulling it on as quickly as he could.