Hundred li north of Heaven Dou City
Several people carrying sacks on their backs sneaked into an abandoned house.
The house was tattered and filled with dust. Inside, there were many spider webs.
Upon entering, Salas calmly ordered, "Two people guard outside, and the rest go check if we left any traces on the way here. Erase anything that could expose our identity."
"Understood, Lord." All six of them responded and got to work.
Salas was confident they hadn't left any traces. They had taken an abandoned path and moved with extreme caution, not even dropping anything along the way. Everyone here was a veteran at their job. But still, it was necessary to confirm.
After everyone left, Salas opened the first sack.
Inside was a 12-year-old boy, lying unconscious.
Taking out some water from his storage ring, Salas woke the boy.
"Summon yo—" Before Salas could finish his routine, the boy had already summoned his Martial Soul.
A completely black hammer materialized in the boy's hand, and two yellow soul rings rose from his feet.
"That's it..." Salas smiled in satisfaction. But with his smile, a mountainous pressure descended on the boy's body.
Not giving the boy a chance to react, Salas willed it inside his mind. A huge suction force—one that could only be felt at the level of a soul attack—overwhelmed the boy.
The boy opened his mouth and let out a heart-wrenching scream. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he could feel something deeply important being torn from his body. It was as if his soul was being ripped into a million pieces, his bones being dug out while still alive, his nails crudely plucked one by one from the root.
A scream of utter agony... Tears overflowed from his eyes like a leaking dam. Mucus spewed from his nose.
Even Salas, looking at him, couldn't bear it. His eyes welled up. He could only pray that the process would end quickly, that the boy would find peace faster.
But unfortunately, the soul-tearing process lasted for nearly an hour.
A black, translucent hammer—identical to the one the boy had summoned earlier—appeared on the space.
The next second, under the suction force emitted by Salas's soul, it was drawn into his body.
Salas quickly took out a few clothes from his storage ring and stuffed them into his mouth.
He clenched his teeth tightly, waiting for the pain to hit…
Seconds passed.
Minutes passed.
But nothing happened. No unbearable agony—only a cool sensation washed over his body. He felt as though, only now, was he truly complete. A contented feeling, indescribable in words.
After a few more minutes, the sensation faded. Only then did Salas open his eyes.
Looking at the boy curled up on the ground, no breath left in his body, lifeless eyes staring into the void, Salas suddenly came to a realization.
"Life isn't fair for everyone…"
Removing the cloth from his mouth, Salas closed his eyes for a moment, praying for the innocent boy who had died without even knowing why.
"Sigh… If there is a next life, don't take revenge against me. I am doing this out of helplessness," Salas muttered with compassion.
"If I had known the process would be this painful for you, I wouldn't have…"
"Woken you up." A single tear slipped from Salas's left eye.
After standing there and looking at the boy for a while, Salas took out a knife from his ring and beheaded the remaining two children in their sleep.
He didn't want them to wake up, see their companion's corpse, and die in fear. He decided to give them a peaceful death.
Stepping outside the house, Salas was met with strange looks from his two subordinates.
Salas sighed painfully and told them,
"Alas… I have already gotten all the information Her Majesty needed from them. I have given the children a peaceful death. Help me bury them in a good place."
"And keep today's actions confidential. Let everything rot in your stomach. If anything happens to Her Majesty's plans because someone opens their mouth unnecessarily… you know what will happen then."
With that warning, Salas left with slow, heavy steps, looking lonely.
But the expressions of the two Soul Emperors didn't change.
"Do you think we're fools? Peaceful death? Peaceful death your ass!" The two cursed Salas in their hearts but didn't dare say it aloud.
A deep, unknown fear emerged in them.
After all, they had heard that heart-wrenching scream, even though they didn't want to. When they heard the boy's cries, it had felt as if their own souls were being torn apart.
Could that really be called a peaceful death?
But though they cursed in their hearts, they kept their mouths shut.
---
The next day, inside the mansion of the Platinum Bishop.
In a spacious underground room built specifically for cultivation, Salas sat cross-legged on a comfortable futon, his white hair swaying lightly.
He was currently cultivating soul power…
After devouring and absorbing the Martial Soul, Salas could clearly feel it—he could meditate now. His soul power circulation route was complete.
Time passed, minute by minute, as Heaven and Earth energy was drawn into his body and converted into soul power.
An hour later, as Salas completed another circulation, an overwhelming energy erupted from his body.
"Level 83… Breakthrough." Salas muttered joyfully, opening his small eyes. His wrinkled skin trembled violently.
That's right—Salas had broken through to level 83.
Even though he hadn't absorbed any soul rings, Salas could feel that he could continue increasing his soul power.
At the very least, he was sure there wouldn't be any bottlenecks until level 90.
Of course, all Soul Masters could cultivate without absorbing soul rings, but their soul power couldn't be utilized properly until they broke through the required level and obtained a soul ring. Their extra soul power would be stored separately, waiting until the bottleneck was broken. Only then would it truly merge with their body.
But Salas was different.
He could cultivate and increase his level normally. Any gained soul power immediately fed back into his body like usual, allowing him to continue advancing.
Salas had feared that he might have to wait until he fully absorbed all eight soul rings before progressing further. If that were the case, he would need to acquire soul rings quickly.
But now, that worry was unnecessary.
"Now that I think about it… my eighth bottleneck was already broken when the original Salas absorbed his eighth soul ring," Salas contemplated.
"Hmm… that's not right either. Bottlenecks belong to the Martial Soul, not the body. Isn't that the case?"
Salas mused. His knowledge in this area was lacking. Perhaps he had read something about it in the novel, but he couldn't remember. For now, he could only form his own theories.
"Maybe it's my Gold Finger? Who knows… I can only wait until I reach level 90. If I can still increase my soul power level normally all the way to 99, then it must be because of my transmigration perk. If not, then my first hypothesis was correct."
Thinking like this, Salas pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
"Next… I just have to wait for my soul ring to arrive. Afterward, I can leave for Soto City."