Black Book

On his way, a bow caught Alex's eye, and he unconsciously found himself attracted to it, entering the small weapon shop.

"How much is this 'Heavy Metal Bow'?" Alex inquired, recognizing its potential use in his future tasks and ultimately decided to make a purchase.

"The Heavy Metal Bow is exceptionally powerful, with a range of up to one thousand five hundred metres. It's a perfect-grade Mortal Rank weapon," explained the shopkeeper.

"Twenty five pieces of middle-grade spirit stones, no bargaining," the shopkeeper stated with a smile, recognizing the "Heavenly Star Academy" symbol on Alex's clothes and offering a fair price.

" 25 pieces ?" Alex raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can it be a bit cheaper?"

The shopkeeper smiled faintly, replying, "Alright, I'll give you the lowest price. Just give me 21 pieces."

"Thank you," Alex expressed his gratitude as he purchased the bow for 21 pieces and acquired arrows for 5 pieces of spirit stones.

Leaving the shop, Alex utilized shadow steps, significantly boosting his speed to nearly match that of 5th General Rank Horses.

Within half an hour, he reached the academy gate and headed to his room. When he reached his room, closing his eyes, Alex's consciousness connected with the pitch-black dimension once again.

In the center of the dimension, he observed the familiar purple light but this time there is a black book hovering above it and was giving a dark and ominous energy.

Instinctively, he attempted to touch the book, but it emitted a subtle fluctuation, unleashing a heavenly pressure from an ancient era.

Alex wanted to run away from it, but he couldn't move a single step and slowly the book started absorbing the soul energy from his body, a process threatening his very consciousness.

A person's Soul was practically their consciousness. If their consciousness was lost or destroyed they would be practically dead.

Alex tried to resist the force from the black book by trying his best, but no matter how much he resisted, there was no use as if he was an ant in front of an ancient beast.

''F.u.c.k, what is this? Am I i really going to die again?'' shouted Alex, and he couldn't help but remember the time when the portal absorbed his body during his past life.

When Alex was almost terrified, the pitch black dimension started vibrating suddenly and forced the soul of Alex out of the dimension.

As soon as he came out, Alex sighed in relief but it was only for a brief period of time and his brain felt like it will explode any second now and Alex felt as if thousands of needles are piercing his soul.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Alex screamed in agony, desperately yearning to lose consciousness. Strangely, at the moment he sought relief, an unknown voice intervened.

{ Alex, please endure it. }

Suddenly, his memories from past and present lives began replaying before him. Gritting his teeth, Alex forced himself awake, his mind becoming remarkably clear in an instant.

The mysterious voice and the unexpected clarity left him bewildered yet determined to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

In the black dimension, the book, having absorbed Alex's soul energy, seemed to show mercy as it vibrated. Slowly, it discharged a pure white energy, increasing in intensity with each passing moment.

This white energy emanated from the black dimension, making its way towards Alex's soul, now reduced to a tiny size like a fragile piece of glass on the verge of shattering.

The white energy began nourishing Alex's gray soul, causing it to expand and grow stronger with each passing moment.

Alex who felt as if he returned to his mother's embrace, slept peacefully and all his pain which was tormenting him for the past six hours was gone.

After an unknown amount of time, Alex regained his consciousness and when he looked at the state of his body, his eyes bulged out in shock.

His form appeared shriveled, with sunken eye sockets and bony hands and feet, resembling a moving skeleton.

Despite this, his cultivation at the 5th rank of foundation and the passive sustenance of his mana prevented him from succumbing to death.

He retrieved his academy ID card and contacted Mia, his handyman disciple responsible for daily food deliveries.

In an instant, Mia answered his call. "Hello, senior! I'll be there shortly to deliver your food," she chirped in her usual cheerful manner.

"Mia, bring me the Grand Feast pack for ten people, and make sure it's here within ten minutes," Alex instructed.

Mia hesitated, mindful of her other deliveries, but before she could respond, Alex added, "I'll reward you with an extra 10 academy points."

"Don't worry, Senior Alex. I'll have the food deliver to you in five minutes," Mia declared with determination.

After the call, Alex proceeded to take a bath and changed into clothes that were now twice as large before.

"Ring, ring."

Alex heard the doorbell ring, prompting him to open the door where he encountered Mia, but her reaction was unexpected.

" Ahhhhhhh," she screamed and rolled a few meters on the ground before gradually standing up, her yellow robes now dirt-covered.

"Sen..ior Al..ex?" she stammered, clearly taken aback by the stark contrast between Alex's once-handsome face and his current shriveled appearance, as if someone had drained him dry.

Alex, with a frown, intentionally disregarded his dreadful state while observing her reactions.

Shaking off her initial shock, Mia swiftly handed over the food and hurriedly left to make other deliveries as if she had seen some ghost.

" Sigh "

Alex, after paying for the food, picked it up and immediately commenced devouring it. Slowly, his body began to regain some of its original appearance. Within ten minutes of voracious eating, Alex felt his stomach satisfied.

He headed to his training room to cultivate, but he was compelled to halt when he sensed his mana absorption and refinement speed had increased twofold. The unexpected boost intrigued him.

As Alex investigated the changes inside his body, he discovered that his gray soul, once a size of 100 meters, had now expanded to 200 meters, almost a 100% increase from its previous size.

"Could it be that the black book can help in enhancing my soul energy?" Alex speculated.

If his assumption proved correct, it could potentially save him hundreds of years on his cultivation journey. The prospect of accelerated progress filled Alex with both excitement and curiosity.