Chapter 273: A Heart Without Flesh

The Records extracted by Sovereign Pride were far more extensive than Ravian had been able to estimate during the battle.

They contained numerous spiritual imprints, each differing in nature and strength, and some carried remnants of knowledge associated with beings he knew nothing about.

Not all those imprints were usable, however. Some were connected to unfamiliar Laws, while others contained information that his current mind could not process without risking spiritual contamination once again.

As for the spiritual energy stored within them, it clearly exceeded what his body and soul could endure. Direct absorption was simply not a realistic option.

He was still at the Ninth Rank, and his soul had just suffered severe damage during the struggle against the intruder. Attempting to force that much power into himself could cause his spiritual structure to collapse rather than develop.

‘There has to be a way to make use of them without absorbing everything.’

He summoned Sovereign Pride’s interface and began reviewing the available information about his condition.

He was still at the Ninth Rank, but he had already fulfilled most of the requirements for advancing to the Eighth.

The combat requirement had been satisfied when he killed the Eighth-Rank orc commander, and his ten extra lives were sufficient to meet the next condition. His physique had also surpassed the required threshold when it reached the Intermediate Void Grade.

That left two requirements he had yet to receive confirmation of fulfilling: a Seventh-Rank heart and the designated phrase from the Golden Scriptures.

Ravian looked toward the isolated Records.

‘A Seventh-Rank heart…’

He did not possess one.

However, he remembered that the heart required for his previous advancement had not been necessary merely as a physical organ. Its purpose had been to provide spiritual power of a certain quality, allowing him to satisfy the conditions for advancement.

Since the energy he had extracted from the Records was far more powerful than that contained in an ordinary Seventh-Rank heart, perhaps he could use some of it to create a substitute capable of serving the same function.

He had no idea whether that was possible.

Nevertheless, Sovereign Pride had previously used spiritual Records extracted from his opponents to improve certain aspects of his strength. It could also separate portions of the energy contained within those Records and convert them into something he could assimilate.

Rather than attempting to absorb the Records directly, Ravian decided to test his idea.

He focused on the missing requirement in the advancement interface, then directed his attention toward the energy isolated within the book.

‘Can part of these Records be used in place of a Seventh-Rank heart?’

A response appeared moments later.

[Alternative advancement catalyst detected.]

[Evaluation in progress…]

Ravian waited in silence.

He knew the answer could still be no. Possessing enough energy was one thing; convincing the advancement system to recognize it as a valid replacement was quite another matter entirely.

Then another notification appeared.

[Spiritual Records possess sufficient quality to replace the required catalyst.]

[Warning: Unrefined Records contain incompatible spiritual imprints.]

[Refinement required.]

Ravian managed a strained smile. That was better than he had expected.

The problem was not entirely resolved, though. The spiritual energy contained within the Records was not stable enough for him to use directly.

After examining the information presented by the book, he realized that he needed to separate the appropriate energy from the remnants of Laws and spiritual imprints that could interfere with his spiritual path.

The process was similar to extracting a pure substance from a mixture containing elements that could not safely be combined. Unfortunately, Ravian did not understand enough to perform such a separation himself.

Sovereign Pride, however, was able to identify the Records containing a suitable amount of spiritual energy and gradually isolate them from the remaining imprints.

Ravian refrained from interfering with the parts of the process he did not understand. Instead, he concentrated on maintaining his soul’s stability, using the Law of Void only within narrow limits to remove foreign connections that remained attached to some of the extractable Records.

The process took a considerable amount of time.

Throughout it, Ravian felt continuous pressure on his consciousness, although it was different from the assault he had endured during the possession.

The isolated power was no longer attempting to dominate his soul through an independent will. It merely needed to be refined before it could be used safely.

Eventually, a small mass of energy began forming before him.

It was gray, threaded with faint streaks of light, and had taken the shape of a compressed spiritual core rather than an actual heart. As the refinement continued, the mass grew increasingly stable until it stopped exerting the pressure Ravian had initially felt.

A new notification appeared.

[Spiritual Records Core successfully refined.]

[Seventh-Rank Heart requirement: Alternative catalyst accepted.]

Ravian exhaled.

He had succeeded.

Before beginning his advancement, however, he decided to verify the final requirement.

He had already read part of the Golden Scriptures, even though the prescribed method for obtaining the required phrase involved touching the relic without attempting to comprehend its contents.

‘So… did reading it make any difference?’

He opened the requirements interface again.

After a short interval, another message appeared.

[Golden Scriptures Phrase: Acquired through extracted spiritual imprint.]

[Requirement fulfilled.]

Ravian studied the notification.

He was not certain what the phrase he had acquired actually was, but he understood that some of the required information had been transferred into his Records when he extracted the invading consciousness.

That was not the same as reading the entire text or comprehending its secrets.

[All requirements fulfilled.]

[Host may advance to Eighth Rank — Soul Liberator.]

Ravian stared at the interface for several moments.

His expression remained calm, but his heart was racing.

Only a month ago, he had believed it would take him a long time to obtain a Seventh-Rank heart and the necessary portion of the Golden Scriptures. He might even have needed another journey to search for the right opportunity.

Yet now, he could advance immediately.

The situation seemed insane when he thought about it.

Even so, he did not feel the excitement he had expected.

His soul was exhausted, his body had yet to regain its stability, and the energy remaining within the Records continued to pose a threat.

At the same time, he realized that advancing might provide a suitable means of stabilizing part of that energy within his spiritual structure.

With that in mind, he saw no reason to delay.

‘Begin.’

…

Ravian felt the pressure immediately.

The spiritual core refined by Sovereign Pride began gradually breaking apart, releasing the energy contained within it into his body and soul.

The process was unlike absorbing an ordinary Record.

His body began responding to the changes in successive waves, while disturbances appeared within his Aura Core and mana circuits.

His unique spiritual path allowed him to cultivate both Aura and Magic, but he had yet to master the balance between them. In fact, he had not even mastered the fundamentals of his dual cultivation path, having lacked sufficient time to study it properly before fulfilling the requirements for the Eighth Rank.

Consequently, he had to rely on the principles he had learned from Void of Prohibition to prevent the interaction between the two energies from destroying his spiritual structure.

The Void did not merge Aura and Mana into a single force. Instead, it allowed them to operate within a shared cycle without either negating the other.

As the pressure increased, Ravian began sensing a change in the way his spiritual energy behaved. Previously, its use had depended heavily on its direct connection to his physical body. Now, however, it was beginning to extend beyond that body in a different manner.

This was the defining change of the new stage he was attempting to reach.

The Eighth Rank did not depend solely on physical strength. It granted the soul a greater ability to manifest its power independently of the body’s immediate limitations.

Reaching that stage, however, was far from easy.

Ravian had to endure severe pain as the energy within his soul was reorganized, and the damage left by his battle of consciousness made the process considerably more dangerous than it should have been.

Even his Soul Crown trembled several times under the pressure before gradually regaining its stability.

As the advancement continued, Ravian felt some of the restrictions limiting the extension of his energy begin to disappear.

The connection between his soul and body was not being severed completely. Rather, he was gaining the ability to use his energy more extensively without relying on physical movement to the same degree as he had at the Ninth Rank.

Eventually, the flow of energy from the spiritual core ceased.

Then the notification appeared.

[Rank Advancement Successful.]

[Current Rank: Eighth Rank — Soul Liberator.]

Ravian read the message before noticing a distinct improvement in the stability of his soul.

He had finally crossed the threshold.

After everything he had endured during the past month, he had become an Eighth-Rank Soul Liberator.