Joe tried his hardest to sleep, but no matter how much he relaxed, his body refused to rest. He would drift off for a few minutes, only to regain consciousness soon after. It was as if his body rejected his intentions and forced him to remain awake.

  After the tenth attempt, he finally gave up. He did not feel tired, but he wondered whether going without sleep for multiple days would eventually harm him.

  If sleep would not come, then there was no point forcing it. Joe decided to use his time productively.

  He considered doing another intense workout to build his muscles, but Shelly was resting against his shoulder. Any movement would wake her. She had endured a long and painful day, and Joe wanted her to get as much rest as possible. He glanced down at her and felt a faint sense of envy. She looked peaceful, breathing slowly through her nose as if the world had never wronged her.

  That left him with one option. Training without moving.

  Essence control.

  He had already practiced it in the physical realm. Before the tournament, he trained his control prior to his workout. After the competition, he refined it again during his battle with Big Dog. At this point, Joe had perfect control over 35% of his maximum essence capacity. If he wanted to increase the amount of spirit energy he could safely harness, there was only one path forward.

  He had to return to his Soul Space and train with Serene.

  Joe closed his eyes, not in an attempt to sleep, but to meditate. This time, his body did not resist. The moment he focused inward, he felt his consciousness detach and sink deeper. A familiar sensation wrapped around him as he linked directly to his soul.

  When the connection formed, his awareness traveled an immeasurable distance in a single instant.

  His eyes snapped open.

  He stood once more within his Soul Space.

  Joe looked ahead and found Serene seated thirty meters away, her back pressed against his True Soul. The large white orb loomed behind her, steady and radiant.

  Joe immediately noticed two changes in the void compared to the last time he visited his Soul Space.

  The first was that the Goddess was asleep.

  Unlike before, when she had rushed toward him the moment he materialized, she now rested peacefully. Her delicate face held a calm, unworried expression. In this endless, silent void, sleep was probably the only escape from monotony. Joe could not blame her.

  The second change drew his full attention.

  His True Soul had grown.

  The white orb behind Serene was noticeably larger than during his last visit. It pulsed with thick waves of invisible essence, expanding by a faint margin with each passing moment. At the same time, Serene’s spiritual body appeared dimmer than he remembered. The glow around her form had weakened.

  Joe quickly understood.

  His soul was continuing to siphon her essence, strengthening itself while slowly draining her.

  A flicker of guilt stirred within him. Not only was she trapped in this empty void, but she was also growing weaker because of him. The circumstances she endured were tied directly to his existence. He wondered if there was anything he could do to ease her burden, even slightly.

  He took a single step forward.

  Serene’s eyes snapped open.

  As if sensing his presence the instant he moved, she leapt to her feet and rushed toward him with open arms and a wide smile.

  “Honey, you’re back!” she shouted, diving in for a hug.

  Joe sidestepped smoothly, leaving her to embrace empty space. She stumbled forward from the missed tackle but regained her balance quickly. Turning toward him, she puffed out her cheeks in a frown.

  “Why do you always have to be such a meanie?”

  “Your excitement is too much,” Joe replied calmly. “You don’t have to rush at me every time we meet.”

  “I’m showing you how much I missed you. What’s wrong with that?” she shot back, irritation creeping into her voice. “What would you prefer? That I slap you?”

  “Just greet me normally,” Joe said.

  Serene’s frown deepened. A normal greeting would never convey what she felt, but she swallowed the complaint. “I didn’t expect you back so soon,” she said instead. “Did you miss me already?”

  “I came to continue our training,” Joe answered plainly.

  Her shoulders slumped. “Of course you did. And here I thought you wanted someone to talk to.”

  “Maybe when I’m not busy, I’ll make time to chat,” he said. “But I need to get as strong as possible before the end of the week. I can’t waste time.”

  “I understand,” Serene muttered. “That doesn’t mean I like it.” She straightened. “Fine. Let’s continue from where we stopped. You proved you can control 35% of your essence. This time, attempt 40%.”

  Joe nodded.

  He focused inward and began channeling essence into his right fist. The familiar surge of energy responded instantly. He reached 35% in less than a second. Without hesitation, he pushed further.

  40%.

  He stabilized it almost immediately.

  But he did not stop.

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  He drew out more power, forcing additional spirit energy into his spiritual body.

  45%.

  50%.

  At 50%, faint cracks formed along his bones and muscles. They began to fracture under the strain. Joe felt no pain within his Soul Space, only pressure. If this were the physical world, he would have stopped. But here, only his spiritual form was at risk.

  He pushed harder.

  55%.

  60%.

  His bones trembled as if they would shatter at any moment. Cracks spread like spiderwebs through his arm.

  Still, he forced more essence through.

  65%.

  His hand exploded.

  Fragments of spiritual bone and flesh scattered into the void before dissolving into mist.

  Serene stared at him with wide eyes.

  The same Joe who had struggled to maintain 35% just hours ago had nearly doubled that capacity in a single attempt.

  His rate of growth was absurd.

  And he had done it without the aid of the Great Meridians.

  Even Serene, despite her vast experience, doubted she could achieve such rapid improvement under the same conditions. Joe also possessed a terrifying advantage. Due to the power of his True Soul, he could repeatedly destroy his own spiritual form, drain his essence reserves, and recover from both within a minute.

  For a brief moment, she forgot she was looking at a mere Second Rank mortal who had only recently learned of soul energy.

  “Tell me,” Serene said slowly, still staring at him, “how did you improve so quickly? How can you harness more energy now than before? Did you train your Ki control while you were away?”

  “Ki?” Joe raised an eyebrow. He had only encountered that term in novels. Hearing it from her caught him off guard.

  “It is the official name for essence, just as the Energy of the Universe is the formal name for mana.”

  “Oh.” Joe nodded, quietly pleased to learn something new. “To answer your question, no. I did not train harder with my Ki. I only familiarized myself with circulating my essence in the physical realm.”

  Serene blinked. “Simply by playing around with your energy, you improved this drastically?”

  “That’s right. Even though I did not exceed my limit, I learned how to draw out more power without damaging myself too badly. I used that as a reference point and tested it here in my spiritual body. I was worried I would blow myself up and die if I tried it in the physical world.”

  Serene fell silent.

  Manipulating energy inside and outside the Soul Space followed the same principles, but the risks in the physical realm were far greater. Even so, Ki Concentration was not a skill one improved casually. It was simple in theory, yet brutally demanding in practice. Most cultivators advanced by pushing past their limits again and again. Even with the assistance of fully opened Great Meridians, mastering higher percentages often took months.

  Joe had nearly doubled his efficiency in a matter of hours.

  And he had done so without intensity, without guidance, and without the support of his Great Meridians.

  As she stared at him, stunned, Serene began to understand something important. It was not just his soul that was extraordinary.

  He possessed the instincts of a prodigy.

  “What’s wrong?” Joe asked after her prolonged silence.

  “It’s nothing,” she replied quickly. “Continue. This time, do not set a limit. Draw out as much Ki as you possibly can.”

  Joe nodded.

  He focused again.

  For the first few minutes, he remained stuck at his previous wall of 65%. The pressure resisted him, refusing to budge. But gradually, he adjusted. He refined the flow. He corrected tiny inefficiencies in his circulation.

  70%.

  Then 75% by the end of the first hour.

  Serene stopped giving pointers. There was no need. Joe identified his own mistakes the instant they formed and corrected them without hesitation.

  Two hours passed.

  85%.

  Serene felt as if the universe itself was mocking her. A mortal had learned to harness 85% of his essence in less than a day. It had taken her an entire week to reach that level, and she had possessed all her Great Meridians at the time.

  Joe did hold a rare advantage. His soul repaired rapidly. His essence replenished quickly. He could afford repeated explosions that would cripple others.

  But even so, this rate of growth defied reason.

  When he eventually unlocked all his Great Meridians, his efficiency would become monstrous.

  The human before her was terrifying.

  After several more hours of attempts, Joe finally reached 90% concentration. Each attempt ended in violent spiritual explosions. Again and again he rebuilt himself, pushing against the invisible barrier.

  At last, he exhaled and released his focus.

  “I think that’s my limit for now.”

  Physically and energetically, he felt fine. But his mind throbbed from the strain. Even in the Soul Space, mental fatigue was real.

  Serene continued staring at him, her expression unreadable.

  Joe was a Second Rank mortal, and already he stood at 90%, it was extraordinary.

  “You’re really good at this. You’re even better at it than I was.” Serene complimented him, though her pride stung. Before meeting Joe, she had always believed herself to be a genius of spirit energy, second only to the Soul King in raw talent.

  “Thanks. That means a lot.” Joe gave a small, bashful smile. Then his expression shifted. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask. Do you also wield soul energy in your physical body?”

  “Of course. There’s a reason one of my many titles is the Godess of Spirits. Our bloodlines are eerily similar. The main difference lies in the constitution of our souls. Compared to yours, mine is… a mess. I cannot even begin to sort it out properly. But that same chaos is the reason I became as strong as I am.”

  “What do you mean by a mess?” Joe asked, intrigued by the image.

  “Let’s just say it’s unstable. It’s honestly a miracle I lived long enough to become the strongest deity.”

  Joe noticed the faint sadness in her eyes. Whatever that instability entailed, it was not something she enjoyed recalling. He decided not to press further.

  “Anyway,” Serene continued, regaining her composure, “now that you can control 90% of your essence, attack me. We need to evaluate your progress.”

  Joe nodded. Within half a minute, his essence reserves fully replenished. Serene sighed quietly at the sight.

  He launched forward.

  His fist shot toward her face, reinforced with concentrated Ki. Serene blocked with ease. Joe immediately shifted angles, chaining strikes together in rapid succession. Punches, elbows, feints. Each movement was sharper than before.

  Serene blocked and evaded calmly at first, but as Joe increased his intensity, she narrowed her eyes and began taking him seriously.

  His movements were crisp and efficient.

  Ki flared only at the moment of impact, erupting in precise bursts rather than leaking wastefully. His control was refined to its finest.

  But what caught her attention most were his eyes.

  They burned with conviction.

  After several minutes, they separated. Joe dropped to a seated position, breathing steadily. He was not physically drained, but maintaining 90% control during active combat strained his mind far more than stationary practice.

  “You’ve changed,” Serene said suddenly. “Your gaze is fiercer now. Is it because of the man you killed?”

  Joe frowned. “Why bring up that bastard? I was finally starting to erase his fat ass from my mind.”

  “How did it feel to kill him?” she asked, genuine curiosity in her tone.

  Joe had not reflected much on it. He had acted, then moved on. Many would be shaken by their first kill.

  “I didn’t feel anything,” he began. Then he paused.

  That was not entirely true.

  “Joy,” he corrected. “When I saw that bastard scream and squirm, I felt pure joy. It might have been the happiest moment of my life. It was liberating. Being able to tear someone like that apart was something I never could have done in my previous life. It proved I now have the power to change things. To make a difference.”

  Serene stared at him.

  “To say that with a straight face about your first kill…” she murmured. “I was right about you, Joe. You and I were made for each other.”

  After a brief silence, she asked, “Do you feel any remorse?”

  “No,” Joe answered instantly. “If anything, I want to experience it again. The fear in a man’s eyes when he realizes he isn’t as powerful as he believed… when he understands he’s about to die. That expression is unforgettable. I could watch it forever.” An unhinged smile tugged at his lips.

  A chill ran down Serene’s spine.

  Yet at the same time, her heart skipped.

  There was something raw and honest about him. No hypocrisy. No denial. She liked that.

  “By the way, Serene,” Joe said, pulling her from her daze, “now that I’ve answered your questions, can you answer some of mine? There are things I’ve wanted to ask since my last visit.”

  “Sure what are they?”

  He opened his mouth to ask his first question.