The soul stone shattered the moment it dropped into his gut.
Lâm Minh didn't have time to react.
He hit the floor like a sack of bricks—body jerking, mouth foaming, eyes rolled fully white.
"F**ckkk… this 'coffee' is on crack…" he grunted through clenched teeth, as a tidal wave of agony tore through his veins.
Blue lines bulged across his arms.His skin looked like it was about to burst.But this wasn't physical pain.
No.
This was mental war.
The world vanished.
No light. No ground. Just darkness.
Then—
Voices.
"They left me…""I don't want to die…""My daughter… my family…""Why didn't anyone come…"
It wasn't noise. It was memory.Regret. Terror. Despair.
He wasn't imagining this.He was feeling it.
The last emotions of thousands of souls—most of them from the Battle of Hanoi.
Their deaths weren't clean. They weren't quick.They screamed, and no one came.
And now, every single one of them was screaming inside his head.
"Sh*t… gotta clean this trash before it explodes my skull," he growled.
His knees hit the metal floor, forehead drenched in sweat. Blood ran from his ears. Every second, his brain felt like it was being sliced by broken glass.
[Battle Will System Warning:]> Host appears to be acting like a lunatic.> Swallowing a raw Madakaros soul core is NOT recommended.> Suggested Action: Stabilize your emotions. Convert chaos into power.[Soul Trauma Detected: +10 Battle Will Points][+10][+10][+10]
Lin Min blinked through the mental fog.
"…Wait. I'm getting points for this?"
He let out a cracked laugh.
"So pain gives points. Good. Let's bleed."
The system kept pinging.
[+10][+10][+10][Battle Will Points: 16,000 → 17,500 → 19,000 → 19,990 → 20,000]
"Now!" he snapped.
[-20,000 Battle Will Points Spent][Breakthrough Achieved: Foundation Establishment – Mid → Late Stage]
Golden light erupted from his dantian, spreading like wildfire through his meridians. The pressure lifted.His breath steadied.
But the pain?
Still there.
The voices didn't vanish.They just grew fainter—more distant—but deeper.
The torment… continued.
[+10][+10][+10][Battle Will Points: 21,000 → 30,000 → 38,000 → 40,000]
"Again!" he shouted.
[-40,000 Battle Will Points Spent][Breakthrough Achieved: Foundation Establishment – Late → Peak Stage]
Boom.
His body glowed from within. Every vein turned gold. A low hum vibrated through the walls.
Sensors on the roof of Blacklight's base exploded from the spike in energy.
But Lin Min didn't move.
Still on the floor. Still sweating. Still bleeding from the nose.
Still grinning.
"Good... Come on, keep going. I don't believe you can kill me."
And it came.
The system kept counting.
[+10][+10][+10][Battle Will Points: 43,000 → 80,000 → 100,000 → 120,000 → 150,000]
The moment he hit 150k, the darkness stopped.
Silence.
Utter, crushing silence.
Then came a second wave—not of pain, but of clarity.
His mind felt clean. Still. Solid.
[Soul Absorption Complete][Mental Fortification Acquired: +50% Resistance to Spiritual and Mental Attacks][Foreign influence on consciousness will now encounter severe backlash.]
[Name: Lin Ming][Age: 16][Realm: Foundation Establishment – Peak][Battle Will Points: 150,000][Next Realm: Golden Core – Requires 100,000 points]
He checked the system panel again.
[Battle Will Points: 150,000][Next Realm: Golden Core – Requires 100,000 points]
Lâm Minh's face froze for a moment.
Then he exploded.
"What the f**k—?! A hundred thousand?! That's daylight robbery!"
He squinted at the glowing number and muttered under his breath:
"Freakin' scam system… from forty thousand to one hundred thousand? That's more than double!"
He leaned back, eyes narrowed.
"If it costs this much now… what's it gonna take later?""Millions? Tens of millions?""Where the hell am I supposed to get that many points?"
The question wasn't just frustration. It was a warning.
He knew one thing now:
Every step forward from here on out would be blood, fire… and grind.
But even as the number stared him down like a wall, he smiled.
"Doesn't matter. I'll find a way."
The system prompted politely:
[You have enough points to breakthrough to Golden Core. Proceed?]
He stared at the text.
For a long, quiet moment.
Then he shook his head.
"…No."
"Too early," he muttered.
His breath was calm now.No trembling. No fear.
"I want my core to be perfect when I form it. No cracks. No rush. Just strength."
He sat up slowly, still steaming from the overload.
"I'll save the points. Use 'em later—when I really need them."
He stood up.
His bones no longer ached.
His body felt like tempered steel—light, deadly, quiet.
But it was his mind that had changed most.
Unbreakable.
Untouchable.
Unstoppable.
Far away – Yunnan Dead Zone
In a cave filled with blood runes, Inquisitor Vex opened his third eye.
He frowned.
"…Someone just swallowed my cousin."