In the wilderness, a man wiped the splattered blood off his face from the monster that he’d just killed. He squished the head of the Rank 3 monster with his bare hands. The young man looked very bloodthirsty.

Tanael… One day, I’ll definitely kill you. Revenge for Anne!

Max continued his travel, away from Regidana. Twice now he felt he had lost everything. The youth had transformed into an avatar of vengeance.

***

Aravin’s family were not the only people that Viers visited last night. Other people that he killed in the trial, Viers scoured their memories for related people that might be gunning for his head in the future and neutralized them preemptively.

Aravin’s family was the main target, especially the little sister. Viers couldn't risk the blood sibling of an MC to roam free.

Since he concluded Paina and possibly Clarissa would not like his action, Viers disabled the spectator mode. There was no need for them to bear unnecessary mental burdens or create more schism.

While it was necessary to remove potential avengers to prevent them from coming after him, Viers also didn't like doing the deeds. Therefore, he took it upon himself to make the matter a bit more bearable for the minuscule conscience he had left.

The souls of the fourteen that he reaped today would not be used as cultivation resources. They would be kept in stasis. Once Viers had grown beyond the reach of revenge, Viers would revive them. If the revival was too troublesome even when he became crazy strong, he planned to send them to the afterlife after giving them some benefits.

They didn't deserve death but most of the people that he killed also didn't deserve death. The Path of Power was littered with corpses of the fallen. This was an undeniable fact.

Heroes had lines that they wouldn't cross but Viers wasn't a hero. He would cross as many lines as he needed to reach the Apex.

While he was successful to a degree, there were some who eluded Viers’ purge. Anne was a dead end; her origin was so mysterious Viers didn't find any trace of where she came from or her family. She might not have any relatives in Regidana at all. Unlike Aravin, her soul was disintegrated so soul search was not possible. Troy’s family was better left alone while the whereabouts of Max, the one closest to Anne and probably the one who harbored the most resentment against Tanael, was unknown. Similar to Fajrin the Green Scorpion.

Viers was only one man, after all, his reach was limited.

“Yo,” Arsène greeted Viers who stealthily went back and then merged back into Viers.

“So what happened today?” Viers asked. He and Arsène didn't share the same mind real-time.

“Oh, as predicted. Catching up with Boram, the Harry Potter trio visited, police questioning, and the GK invited all the trial takers to the palace tomorrow… The seafood attack was unexpected though.”

“Yeah, so why were they attacking?” Viers asked ‘the guy with the boots on the ground’.

“I eavesdropped and got some info from the captured merfolk. Well, remember when you got sucked into the Book World there was a big-ass, very eye-catching pillar of light? It seems they think the light was the humans stealing their sea god’s light. I know, it doesn't make any sense, right? But hear me out. Then there was an incident where a holy site of theirs was desecrated soon after. It was a divine duty for the Katchluk Shoal to make war with Regidana, or so the bream-head said. They demand reparations and want to take the sea god’s light back to the depths.”

“I don't follow. The reason is wacko-wacky to me.”

“Neither did I. Neither did the city. Still, the fish Pathseeker said this is only the start. Seems there will be a lot of oceanic guests coming your way.”

“Welp, not my problem. Let the city officials have a headache over this. I have a lot on my plate already,” Viers said.

“Uh-huh,” Arsène grinned under that smiling demon mask of his. “Here’s a personal problem: you got sued.”

“...Ha?”

“When the kids were kidnapped, before you shot the book, you blew up a warehouse for a distraction. And then there’s the damage during your fight with Fajrin's henchmen. The company that owns all that wants you to pay them. Y’know, so they can get richer.”

“...How much do they want?”

“Half a million crystals. A substantial amount.”

“...Do I have that much dough?” Viers hadn’t tallied his total assets yet.

“Probably can barely make the cut. Will bankrupt us if we pay though.”

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“Killing them all isn't an option, huh?”

“Hey, it’s an awful city,” Arsène shrugged. “Oh wait, I mean lawful.”

“Legal battle it is.”

***

Viers stopped his meditation abruptly, holding his head in pain.

Khhh! Absorbing Aletro’s soul attainment is not easy or simple. If I go haphazardly at it, some will be wasted. To ensure that it does not happen, I must do this even slower… Might take months for a complete absorption at this rate.

After sending off Sakuya and the purging, Viers went straight into cultivation. He only had a couple of hours of nap time despite the taxing match against Anne. There were too many things to do in this short span of time.

But even a little bit of it already opened my eyes to how I can utilize the soul in different ways than I usually do. After digesting my gains, I’ll be much stronger!

Viers thought back on his spar with Izabella earlier that day. The gains from Aletro made her quite something. She didn't reach Aravin’s level, let alone Anne’s, but Viers reckoned her prowess in battle was about equal to Oscar, Troy, and Airmaster right now.

Izabella was never a fighter type, and still wasn't, but she’d shored up her weaknesses somewhat. The bulk of her shards was used to upgrade her forte: enchantments. In conjunction with the World Tree Fruit that was similarly about enchantments, she might be on the path to becoming an enchanter that would leave her mark in history.

In a simulation where she was given time to use her enchantments without interruption, ‘Tanael’ was heavily pressured. Izabella could make artifacts that countered any affinity of her enemies given the time, even soul.

60% soul damage reduction was no joke.

“Your power hasn't changed much despite having seven million points. What happened?” Izabella asked. Viers who had more than a quintuple of her shards should be much mightier in her mind.

Viers didn't give her the details but gave the outline. He used half of his shards for a super concealment method and another half for knowledge.

“The rewards you picked… They are a little underwhelming, don't you think?”

After seeing what benefits a million shards brought to Izabella, Viers couldn't deny her outright. The downside was her affinity remained fire 4, not like Viers and Sakuya who made use of Aletro's trial to become water 5 and wood 5. Izabella would need another opportunity to become an affinity 5 or Level 4 Pathseeker would be her limit, but she said she had a plan for that.

Nevertheless, Viers didn't regret how he spent his spark shards. If he played his cards right, he would be safe from adversaries for three decades.

He had seen xianxia MCs become gods in less.

Viers didn't think he would reach that stage. Regardless, his incognito status was important for him to grow. Whatever Izabella got from Aletro, his soul attainment was of a much greater value. He only needed time to fully utilize it.

His Horizon also wouldn't stop broadening.

Before they separated, Viers gave Izabella the enchanting book as a gift of service in Aletro’s trial. The book was filled with language and symbols that Viers didn't understand; the third and final Chekhov’s gun from Luca village’s arc. Viers took it from his stash in Dia’s Biome when he visited, along with getting a new Gate Plant seed that he passed on to Sakuya.

Izabella was quite excited. She said it was about enchantment techniques during the Coriz Empire’s time, the nation that splintered and became the Free People Coalition two centuries ago.

“After you’ve learned whatever is in that book and your skills increase…”

Viers called in his favor, the one he was owed for helping Izabella kill Lord Ultimate and the other Blood Church members. He asked her to make a magic item for him. So the item would be as he envisioned, he wasn't stingy about opening his coffers. Izabella could ask for whatever materials she needed. Viers was swimming in magical materials from Aletro’s trial, either legitimately or illegitimately looted from the storage items of the people he killed.

The main material was something that made Izabella almost salivate: the bone of Reverend Purity, a Level 5 that had fallen while killing Dia’s previous self. As an artist, she was eager to work on such a splendid medium. Working on the remains of a human didn't seem to make her squeamish, as expected of a member of a devil cult.

“What do you want me to make?”

“An arrow,” Viers said.

Viers was returned back from his trip down memory lane by Arsène. His other self that had been reduced to smithereens by Aravin’s loli spirit advisor had regenerated without complications.

“News delivery,” Arsène called.

“Sync it.”

Viers and Arsène joined their memories. What Arsène knew from soul searching Aravin, now Viers knew it too.

Qing Xia, hmn?

Aravin didn't know much about Qing Xia save that she came from the eastern continent and was heavily injured; she was also freakishly powerful. She needed Aravin to find some mystical treasures to recover, the usual xianxia plot, Viers wasn't surprised. In turn, she taught him stuff about cultivation.

The plot is not there yet for Aravin so his spirit advisor’s origin is still shrouded in mystery. True Yang Constitution? Dual cultivation manual? This guy is truly the very template of a xianxia MC.

There was a lot of stuff inside Aravin’s memory, some were very beneficial for Viers but he didn't have the time. For now, he was glad that the threat was over. His two harem members also had some background. To save time, Viers let Arsène do the soul search.

My most important short-term goal is to become a Level 3!

After nine months in the Book World, Viers had mastered his Profound Codex to small accomplishment. The other Gloomsiders also made progress in their cultivation. Viers and Sakuya were at the same stage, both were Level 2 before the trial began and they had met the requirement to become Level 3 since then. Izabella went up a step to Level 3 middle. Jaime did not cultivate during the trial because he didn't plan to come out. He used all his time to hone his fighting skills.

Well, before that I think I should fulfill one of my promises.

***

In the dreamy landscape of White Flowers Meadow, a ten-year-old girl who was killed by her own father opened her eyes once more.

“...Big sis?”

Farley hugged her sister immediately, shedding tears of joy. She had blamed herself for Gwen’s death, of her failure to protect her. The regret festered inside Farley like cancer.

No more.