While beating up a poor 2-meter-tall, 5-ton bear, Gerald’s body suddenly went limp and collapsed.

The animal, having been freed from his grasp and abuse, loudly cried and whimpered as it ran away from the crazy human. It quickly disappeared from view, the greenery covering its tracks. The forest turned peaceful and quiet. Quite the opposite of what was happening inside Gerald’s mind space.

“You!? How!?” The Soul of the old ghost furiously roared as it was pulled back in the middle of its game, only to see what it dreaded the most.

[Time for questions is over old man! You have overstayed your welcome, prepare to die!] Gerald’s Soul roared and pounced. His mouth opened wide, and fingers curved like claws, his sturdy dark-gray figure jumped at Long Dong and bit down at his neck.

“Ah!” Long Dong flew back to distance himself and began making various weird moves with his hands.

[Stop running you old goat! I just want a little taste!]

“No! Fuck off, you devil! After everything I did to get here, I’m not letting you win! Or anyone for that matter!”

Golden chains keeping the Black Troll contained flew away from its fragmented remains and coiled themselves around Gerald. Almost instantly he was bound up like a sack and dropped to the floor. He went completely still.

“Haha! Stupid! Did you forget I had others? So what if you managed to free yourself from three Soul-Locking Chains? It took you more than two weeks to do that!” Long Dong mocked and came closer to the bound soul. “Try freeing yourself out of the nine now, go on, do it!”

He, obviously, received no response. Gerald’s consciousness appeared to have been completely sealed once again. He grabbed the chains and effortlessly lifted him up, looking at his closed eyes.

“You really are something, you know that? A really annoying piece of shit, and arrogant too. I should probably just devour you and stop procrastinating, huh? But that’s going to be such a pain.” He murmured the last part.

[Feeling’s mutual.] Gerald spoke as his eyes slowly opened, completely lucid.

“Huh!? You… are still conscious?!”

[Did you think these chains could contain us?] Gerald grinned. [We already figured out your tricks. How did you say it again? Don’t resist and it won’t hurt so much, eh?]

Long Dong became flustered and stumbled back, despite being a Soul. “What… What are you talking about? Who is we? Who else is there?!”

[Oh, yeah…] Gerald’s eyes began glowing, his skin cracked, and his body turned into molten magma. [I don’t know what you did to me, but ever since you took over, my mind feels… fragmented. And hungry.]

The ethereal chains constricting his Soul fell through his Soul and he stepped forward, completely uncontested. [I have to thank you though. You helped me unlock some hidden abilities I didn’t even know I had. Turns out some painful transformation and a change in mindset were necessary to awaken them.]

His glowing body then began to expand, and his Aura changed. His entire being became bathed in a golden glow.

“Impossible! There is no way you already reached Golden Core Realm! It must be a trick!” The old ghost became hysterical as the molten giant continued to grow and shine brighter. Yet, with every passing moment, he felt more and more dread. “What kind of monster are you?!”

[Indeed, what am I?] Gerald paused, thinking. [A human? A phoenix? A devourer in the Void? Maybe all of those? A combination of some sort?]

“What the fuck are you even talking about?!” The old man screamed and cried, but alas, he was ignored.

[I do not know myself, but… What I do know…] Gerald looked down at the trembling old man and opened his mouth in a wide smile. [This is my mind, my body, my Sea of Consciousness. Here, I am God!] His figure descended, expanding all the while, his face covering the sky, fire and brimstone falling with him. Figuratively, of course.

“Noooooooooo!” Long Dong shouted and shot out some kind of Soul attack, all in a desperate attempt in defending himself. It was futile.

Gerald’s flaming figure fell down unimpeded and swallowed the place. Chains and all. The final remnants of the mighty Black Troll were wiped out, as was the Soul of the old man. Only after did the fiery environment subside, and Gerald’s Soul shrank back to a more normal size, still at the early stages of Nascent Soul Realm.

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Gerald calmly looked around his Sea of Consciousness, and then leisurely returned to the outside world. His body soundlessly took a breath and awakened from its death-like state to a pair of large green eyes and a hairy face looking at him. Some kind of wolf-like creature stood over him, curiously sniffing his hair.

He opened his eyes and looked into those of the wild animal. [Boo.]

The wolf twitched and immediately ran back a few meters, spooked, then turned around and looked at him warily.

Gerald ignored the beast and crossed his legs as he sat in a lotus position. The ground around him moved and formed a sphere around three meters in diameter and with a rumbling sound sank into the earth.

He traveled slowly, but also for a long time, going deeper and deeper, far enough to be safe from any casual surface scan. He then stopped, alone with his pocket of air that, at a quick calculation, should be more than enough to last him at least a day.

He sat in meditation, hidden away from danger, and focused back inside. The remnants of the Black Troll’s Soul he devoured still had to be completely digested, as did the old man.

The consciousness of the Black Troll was wiped, as were his emotions, and memories. Soul Essence was purified and digested, filling the void of his everlasting hunger. Next was the old ghost. His consciousness, wiped. His emotions, wiped. His memories, wipe-

[Wait… Maybe not.]

He took what was left of the old guy and began systematically disassembling his decaying Soul. Layer upon layer, thought after thought, fragments of knowledge, both shallow and deep, both common and secret, he copied it all, whatever he could get. Binding them to his own and expanding his library of knowledge.

In the beginning, he thought he knew a lot. But then, the more he learned, the more he came to realize the truth. He knew nothing. As his horizons of familiarity expanded, the void beyond the horizon grew as well. Bigger and bigger it got, growing without end, until finally, when the last fragment was put in place, creating a whole, he realized how small he actually was.

He knew something about everything, and at the same time, nothing at all. He came to know so much in such a short amount of time that the thought of suicide momentarily crossed his mind for the ignorance and arrogance in his heart. It was squashed immediately, of course. He was not someone who would give into despair, but…

Gerald sighed. The air was getting hot and stuffy. With newfound powers, and with a wave of his hand, the temperature dropped to a comfortable, refreshing chill. The cold wasn’t so bad anymore.

He searched his heavy pockets and felt them bulge with spheres. He pulled some of them out. They were apple-sized beast cores. Dozens of them. Each and every one of a Golden Core beast, containing their Souls.

[Two weeks…? That’s what he said, right? So many...]

The pile of Golden Cores before him was immense. He could feel his Soul calling out, lusting after those cores. He let it. All at once. They stormed his Sea of Consciousness. Monsters of all kinds. Lions, snakes, apes, lizards, a myriad of insects, bears, creatures he didn’t even recognize… They were all stronger than him. And he didn’t even care.

He had learned from the old ghost. Maybe he should thank him. In his Sea of Consciousness, he was a god. He could do whatever he wanted. Or close to. Entering the mind of another was the most dangerous thing anyone could do. That was especially so for a Soul without a body to return to. It had nowhere to escape.

His Soul pounced. Eating, tearing, devouring. It ate, it grew, and it became bloated. He didn’t stop, instead pushing harder, faster. The black shell cracked, releasing a dark gray mist amid orange flames. His Soul enlarged, the shell hardened, and he reached a new step. Nascent Soul IV.

He ate, he tore, he devoured, he grew. Dozens became few, few became one, one was eaten, consumed in its entirety.

[So close…] Just a few more and he would have reached Nascent Soul V. Such a shame the feast was already over. He stood up and stretched, feeling the new power coursing through his veins. He circulated his Qi and exclaimed in surprise. His meridians… they grew!

Long Dong must have fed them with Golden Qi for the entire duration. Two weeks of getting bathed in gold, though not a long time, he could water them constantly with the lakes of energy he had.

He released his Qi and formed a claw. It was yellow. Not quite golden, not yet, but it was close. He clawed at the stone walls around him. The claws didn’t break despite putting considerable force behind them, yet similarly, the stone didn’t show much damage either.

[Interesting...]

His left hand formed a shield, and his right hand gripped a Spirit Shard, forming a dagger. One yellow, and one gold. Which one would be stronger?

He hit the shield, leaving a gash where the blade struck it, yet not quite fully going through.

[Soon.] He whispered. [Weapons and armor of solid light. They will be mine!]

But the time of rest was over! His body craved action and needed a release! He turned his gaze upward, towards the living world. With a flick of his hand, the rock around him rumbled and a passage opened up to the surface.

Gerald jumped and flew through the ground, the stone walls just centimeters from his body, he shot out, like a bullet out of a rifle.

He looked around. The forest around was as basic as it could be. Greenery was everywhere, a bit of yellow and orange leaves here and there as it was the beginning of fall, with tall trees that blocked his sight in every direction.

He frowned. He had absolutely no idea where he was. Looking at the unused Thunder Translocation Talisman in his pocket, he considered using it but then changed his mind. He wasn’t sure if he was still in the Myriad Beasts Sect’s territory. And if he wasn’t, using the Talisman would be a waste.

He put it back into his pocket and flew above the dense canopies. Up there he had a clear sight of the horizon, but that didn’t seem to matter. He flew up higher, another hundred meters or so, yet there was still no sight of any structure or natural formation he recognized. Just a green ocean as far as the eye could see.

[Well… shit.]

He was lost.

And as if that wasn't enough, he heard some unpleasant screeches and looked up. Large shadows flew in the skies, releasing beams and blades of energy as they fought. They were something he had never felt before, which meant they were above even the strongest Golden Core Realm.

He wisely descended and retracted his Aura. No matter how quickly his powers grew, there was always someone stronger around the corner.