NOVEL NEXT Chapter 627: Absorbing Again, Soul Level Leaps by Six!
Sterl lightly waved his hand, helping the followers who had knelt at his feet to stand up.
He paid no attention to Boris and the others' fervent declarations of loyalty. As long as the follower marks were intact, they would forever remain his subordinates.
Moreover, after being enhanced by the soul energy, the follower marks had rooted even deeper. They didn't just embed themselves in their bodies, but even the roots of the marks spread through their souls.
Sterl was confident that even the mightiest of Divine Powers couldn't erase the marks he had planted.
Should anyone try to forcibly remove them, the entire soul would be affected, causing it to collapse entirely.
After testing the effects of the soul energy on his followers, Sterl turned his focus to using the soul energy to enhance himself.
The remaining soul energy in the Soul Devourer Sphere was almost 80,000 points. Although it wasn't as much as the previous accumulation, it was still enough to provide a significant boost.
As for storing it for future use, Sterl never engaged in such foolishness. Why waste time saving resources for later when they could be put to use now? After all, resources left unused could become an enemy's wealth. Whether he used them now or later, they would ultimately be used on himself.
Moreover, facing increasingly powerful enemies, his current combat strength was beginning to fall short. Even when confronting a fourth-level Hell Maternal Body, he had to use everything he had. The challenges ahead would only get more dangerous, so it was better to arm himself than to let enemies grow stronger.
Sterl had also realized that although these mysterious invaders were powerful and dangerous, they were, for him, a treasure trove.
Each Maternal Body represented an aggregation of numerous souls. If he eliminated one, he could instantly harvest vast quantities of souls, making them the fastest and most efficient means to accumulate soul energy.
After adjusting his state, he kept 1,000 soul points for healing purposes and divided the remaining nearly 80,000 soul points into two equal portions. One would go toward enhancing his body, while the other would be converted into soul experience to increase his soul level.
Even though his soul level had already reached level 64, which was already incredibly powerful, during his battle with the Maternal Body, he realized that his strong soul still wasn't enough. He needed an even stronger soul.
The higher the soul level, the stronger the soul's power, and with it, the strength of the Soul Prison's Eerie Eyes. After all, facing those terrifying monsters, this ability was his true means of survival.
Without any hesitation, Sterl took a deep breath and immediately increased the speed of absorbing souls to 1,000 points per second!
Suddenly, a terrifying backlash struck, like a giant axe a hundred meters long, swinging down directly at his soul with immense force.
At that moment, even with his soul's incredible strength, Sterl felt a fatal threat. It was as if his very soul, as solid as a mountain, had been cleaved by a deep crack that ran straight down to the very bottom.
The pain of his soul being cleaved and torn apart surged into Sterl's mind all at once. Continue your saga on empire
In almost an instant, Sterl's face turned pale. Sweat poured down his forehead, and even his heart seemed to stop beating, overwhelmed by a stabbing pain.
"Master!?"
"What happened? What's going on with Master?"
Boris and the others, who had just recovered from their joy over their strength enhancement, saw Sterl's sudden change. His face went from triumphant to weak, his breath shallow. The smiles on their faces immediately froze, and they were engulfed by a wave of concern and panic.
"Quickly! Use everything to heal the Master! Stay alert around us—if anything unusual happens, destroy it immediately!"
All ten of the followers' hearts leaped into their throats. They immediately formed a protective circle around Sterl, pouring every enhancement and healing ability they had onto him.
But Sterl wasn't in the mood to pay attention to them. The pain of his soul being torn apart made his thoughts go blank for a moment.
Fortunately, after enduring the backlash from absorbing high-level soul energy before, the pain this time, although intense, was not enough to make him collapse.
Moreover, Sterl suddenly realized that with each time he endured the backlash from absorbing souls, his soul was becoming more and more resilient. This resilience wasn't a direct increase in strength, but rather a growth in his soul's durability and the strength of his will.
Thankfully, the impact from absorbing regular soul energy lasted only for a brief moment. Once he overcame it, the soul energy that poured into his body like a flood began to rapidly restore his soul.
In the blink of an eye, the cracks that had been inflicted on his soul were completely repaired. With the continuous surge of soul energy, the experience required to break through to level 65 was quickly being filled.
In addition, his physical body was undergoing an all-around enhancement due to the refining power of the soul energy.
[Due to the infusion of a large amount of mysterious power, vitality increased by 10%]
[Due to the infusion of a large amount of mysterious power, life force increased by 10%]
[Due to the infusion of a large amount of mysterious power, base attributes of strength, physique, agility, and mental power increased by 8%]
[Due to the infusion of a large amount of mysterious power, overall recovery ability (including vitality, life force, mental power, etc.) increased by 8%]
[Due to the infusion of a large amount of mysterious power, comprehension abilities for everything (including formations, Laws, skills, talents, etc.) increased by 8%]
[Due to the infusion of a large amount of mysterious power, lifespan increased by 10 years!]
The familiar alert sound of the [Transcendence] system echoed in his ears once more. At the same time, a fresh wave of power surged from within his body, rapidly merging with his original strength.
At that moment, Boris and the other followers, who had been anxiously watching from outside, suddenly paused. They realized that their master's condition had quickly stabilized. Not only that, his aura… seemed to be strengthening!?
This sight caused Boris and the others to abandon their previous fears. They quickly discarded the idea that their master had sacrificed his own essence to empower them, now only thinking: "Holy shit! Is our master… going to soar to new heights again?"
With the continuous influx of more than 1,000 points of soul power per second, Sterl refined the soul energy accumulated from eight million beings. Despite enduring for barely more than a minute, it was enough to complete the process.
Sterl took a deep breath and slowly stretched his body, which felt slightly unfamiliar after such a massive increase in power.
"So soon… it's over already…"
He sighed, a sense of longing still lingering.
Every time he used soul energy to enhance himself, he felt a desire for this refining process to continue forever. But alas, soul power was finite. Even after refining the souls of nearly ten million beings, it lasted barely over a minute.
Moreover, Sterl had noticed that the more soul power he absorbed, the less effective it was for his own enhancement.
He couldn't tell if his body had developed some kind of immunity to the soul energy or if his body's capacity had grown, meaning it now required more soul power to achieve a similar effect.
It was likely the latter—just like leveling up in a game: the higher you go, the more experience is required, and the rate of progression slows down.
Sterl then checked the results of this enhancement. He had used close to 40,000 points of soul power, which led to an 80% increase in vitality and a 150% increase in energy.
In addition, the basic effects of his four-dimensional attributes increased by about 50%, his recovery ability was boosted by 100%, and his comprehension abilities rose by only 20%. As for his lifespan, it increased by about 150 years in total.
Compared to the previous enhancement, the increase in these attributes was far less significant. However, it's important to note that this time the improvements were made on the foundation of the previous enhancements and after receiving the blessing of the Will of Hell!
If we convert this into specific values, the efficiency of the enhancement hasn't really decreased that much.
Overall, the cumulative improvements were already beyond what ordinary gods could imagine. It's likely that except for the breakthrough to a higher divine authority, no regular deity could achieve such a terrifying leap in power at this stage of divinity.
"Not bad. Now my survivability has increased a bit more," Sterl said with a satisfied expression. If Boris and the others knew what was on his mind, they'd probably mock him—You can already punch a god to death with a single blow, who could even threaten you?!
But even though his strength was growing rapidly, the enemies he faced were also becoming increasingly dangerous. That's why Sterl still felt a sense of insecurity.
What do you do when you lack security? Well, of course, you stack more power. You push yourself to the limit, more and more, until you reach a point where no one can kill you. Only then will you feel secure, right?
It was precisely this mindset that drove him toward becoming the world's BOSS or even a Void Behemoth.
After this enhancement, if he were to face the Mother Body again, he probably wouldn't even need to activate his absolute defense barrier to hold his ground.
However, unless absolutely necessary, even if he could crush the Mother Body, he would never choose to face it head-on.
As long as he didn't have immunity or a method to counter the mysterious gray energy, he would not take the risk. That energy was far too enigmatic and dangerous.
Next, Sterl checked his soul level. He had used around 3,700 points previously, which had boosted his soul level from 62 to 64. This time, with nearly 40,000 points of soul power, the improvement was naturally much more significant.
His soul level shot up directly from 64 to 70! He had risen by a full six levels!
Especially the leap from level 69 to 70, which consumed nearly 30% of the total soul power!
The results were naturally remarkable. The various Laws he mastered operated much more smoothly. Even some completely opposing Laws could now be seamlessly integrated and run perfectly, with no conflicts arising.
Furthermore, his soul's strength had increased dramatically. If his soul before had been a towering mountain, then now it was a mountain laced with iron ore—becoming much more resilient and indestructible!