12 Umm...

I think I'll name him Fluff. And no, it's definitely not because he's very comfortable to sit on.

I never thought I would think/write that…

*ahem*

Anyways, currently, I was riding Fluff towards the Pu Ning and the stand he built.

Hmmm, I must say I didn't expect that guy to have an artistic soul. Or maybe it's the threats that made him go to such lengths.

The stand had a base of a pyramid, which later seemingly transforms into four big support logs, who provide support to a nice roof and a huge 4 by 5 meters sign, currently blank, that was situated above the roof.

Beautiful stairs led to the front of the stand, each stair made from a separate log, and was connected by great-looking wooden rails that were…inscribed with pictures of dragons and other beasts. And where the hell did he get the paint for the roof? And bright red at that?

"Pu Ning, what's this?"- I asked not bothering to get down from the bear. Damn, mister Fluff lives up to its name.

" Uh? Ah, mister Ed…w-what-what-what is that? AAAHHH!"-he started screaming when he saw the bear.

Oh god, this is gonna hurt.

......... …

After explaining to Ning that the bear is harmless, and in fact is very fluffy, he calmed down. There may or may not have been some involvement of beating and kicking on my side.

*ahem*

Anyways, after calming him down, I ushered the bear behind the stand and gave him few demon beast corpses that I slew some time ago.

After making sure the bear won't wander off, I left together with Pu Ning back towards the village, intending to transmit the new trading location.

You probably already noticed the loophole, where the tax is applicable only if the trade is done in the village. The best part is that they can't shit out new laws that would force me to give them things. For one, they can't just declare that I'm in their territory. Well, they can enforce a ban on leaving the village, but that would get a severe backlash from the public, and I would just need to swoop in and make the angry people happy again. Honestly, it's easy to get the chief position through killing, I could do it right now, through force, but no sane person in the village would have a good thought for me, for a self-imposed chief. I would then need to appease them and spend a lot of resources until the people are happy about the new 'chief'. But if I come when people are at their unhappiest, and fix what they made so, namely the ban, I would instantly be regarded as a hero. Easy peasy hero squeezy.

Anyways, I am not after the chief position, but if the opportunity presents itself to me, and those idiots make it easy for me, I'll gladly accept their gift, as the villagers, every single one of them, can be turned to soldiers, and very loyal ones too, with the [Soul Brand] technique of course.

Alright, enough of conquest wet dreams.

As I entered the main plaza of the village, I started shouting that all people that want to trade can go in a certain direction, and follow a certain path, while promising better rates for the stones.

Of course, I didn't forget to mention how angry I was about the whole 'law' thing with the chief.

Now that the seeds of doubt were sowed, I didn't have anything to do, so I decided to go back into the forest and hunt for demon beasts, as I still need a lot of points.

After getting into the forest I didn't try to evade the stronger opponents, as I could just chuck Soul Energy Spear at them until they die. Of course, not everyone could do this. Simple spears just wouldn't pierce the hide of beasts, and my energy is so much better at inflicting injuries not only on the body but also on the soul than a simple Soul Force.

After roaming the forest for about two hours, I came upon a clearing, with about 50 black-gold Snow wolfs, as well as many as thousands of below-dark-gold rank beasts. I waited and observed the situation, noting that they are all clustered, so it would be easy to take them out with a bomb.

But as I am greedy, and don't have any other reason to hunt beasts but for points, so I needed their bodies intact so I could extract the Beast Spirit.

Hmmm.

Ah, I got it. I started to form a sphere with my soul energy and reinforcing it, while also pumping it full of energy. Then I incorporated the soul damage trait from [Soul Brand] and [Soul extracting] techniques. Finally, I tried to attribute the soul energy so that it would only target souls and not a material plane.

After doing all of that, I hurled the basketball-sized sphere into the middle of the clearing. There was no grand explosion of colours or any heavenly thunder, just a soft poof.

That soft poof made all the beasts in the clearing faint, hanging by the thread to their lives.

Even my soul vibrated as some sort of invisible wave washed over me.

I entered the clearing and started collecting the demon beast spirits, quicky extracting them and converting to points. Eventually, some of the stronger Black Gold demon beasts started to stir, but I just hurled one or two spears at their heads, silencing them forever.

After putting all the bodies into my inventory, I returned to the village. I should be happy now, as the collected spirits will net me a lot of points. But I wasn't. I felt like someone who just committed a genocide, using atomic bombs. It's not a good feeling. But I stomached the feeling, as in the future I'll have to use any means necessary to achieve victory, and asked how much SP I have.

[261 294]

Sigh…

'Purchase the [Demon of The Many] techniques.'

[Acknowledged]

Ssss…fuck that's a lot of information.

Chants? Strengthening? Oh, this is so unfair…

It seemed that before I start accumulating the soul force to my soul realm as everyone does, I need to use the accumulated soul force to make my body stronger, adaptable and more receptive to soul force.

Every new realm, meaning from bronze-1, silver-1 etc. I would first strengthen my body to the limit, and only then proceed with the cultivation of energy.

The prons are several times stronger body than a human's and twice as strong as that of a beast. Meaning even if I finish my soul force, soul energy reservoirs I could still fight toe to toe with anyone, meaning my battle power, with energy augments, such as transformation and skills, can transcend my current realm, and I could theoretically fight someone with higher cultivation.

The cons are…well, every time I 'level-up', as in breakthrough a new realm, I then would feel immense pain as I refine my body further. Additionally, my cultivation speed would be slower, as I practically divide my energy into three, namely my body, my soul, and my demon spirit, who would level up together with me.

And if I really want to be invincible but slow as a turtle, I could purchase [Heaven's force refining] and could convert my soul force into soul energy, strengthening the soul, forcing the body past the limits and also gradually upgrading my demon spirit.

Hmmm..

'Say, system, what should I do?'-I asked it, as I literally don't know what to do…

[Host should use the soul energy converting technique, as it would provide immense benefits. More the so-called soul energy is stronger the soul force. The stronger the soul is, the faster you can cultivate, the faster your body adapts, the faster it grows and evolves, the stronger your demon spirit 'Original' would be. Additionally, your reflexes, comprehension, senses and awareness would also be upgraded. And host Doesn't need to worry, as when you cultivate the [Heaven's Force Refining], it would connect your soul realm with your very soul, and although they sound similar, they are two separate things. With the technique, you could connect them, benefitting immensely]

Sigh~

I knew I shouldn't have looked at it. 'Fine, purchase the [Heaven's Force Refining].'

[Done. Current SP 211 295]

I found a nice quiet spot in the north of the village and started chanting the scripture of the [Demon Of The Many] techniques, and every time I finish it I would experience immediate pain, every time harsher and sharper.

After about half an hour, when the pain was driving me insane, I finally felt something break, and Soul Force started gushing into my soul realm, filling it immediately. The next few minutes, I experienced a breakthrough after breakthrough, hopping to a steady Bronze-5. And then I started vomiting black sludge, while similar, but with bloody spots were coming out of my pores.

'Uhhh, yuck, what the hell, system, what is this?!'

[Host is currently experiencing a very intense purifying stage. The host is safe, all vitals are steady and improving. It is good that host used [Purple Smoke Refining Array] beforehand, as it not only gave you a better body but also prepared for the cleansing process, as well as lifting some burden from the body. The host currently has a Black-Gold grade body, meaning the [Demon of The Many] is focusing on purifying host body, making future progress easier, while also negating some future pain.]

'Oh okay, ahem, now that I'm full of soul force, I probably should use the [Heaven's Force Refining] to convert it to Soul Energy, right?'

[Host is right. You would need to do this every time, but the host shouldn't expect to advance through Realm Stars so fast. It was so fast this time as the body already had some soul force, it just forced it to your soul realm from your body.]

'Oh, okay, thanks for clarifying that.'

After that small talk, I used the [Heaven' Force Refining] to slowly but surely purify the soul force, while also connecting to something I couldn't get my hands on before. It was probably my soul. I used the energy contained in it every day, but never felt the soul itself. After a full night of cultivating, I managed to convert a bit over half of the soul force, but when I asked why it's taking so long, the system said that in the future it will pick up the pace as I familiarise myself with the technique. Finally, morning came, and the godly light rays landed on my frosted over back. I stretched myself and got a [Liquid Shower] out of my inventory.

It was something I found when browsing the store for hidden gems. Apparently, it's like a shower but just contained in a bottle. Instructions said to spill it over myself, so I did. The liquid enveloped my whole self and slowly sludge from yesterday, as well as road dust and old blood stains vanished completely. Afterwards, the liquid shower itself turned to smoke and vanished.

'Neat'

{∆}

A/N. Wanted to make my calculations somewhat known.

In the wolf beast group, there were 50 Black-Gold beasts, an average of 900 SP, as in three starts.

So 50*900= 45 000

Then there was about 500 Gold-Rank beasts, an average of 300 SP, as in three starts.

So 500*300= 150 000.+45 000 = 195 000

Then there was about 1000 Silver-rank beasts, each 50 SP, as in 2.5-stars.

So 1000*50=50 000.+195 000= 245 000

Then there was 1000 Bronze-rank beasts, each 5 SP, as in very weak 1-star beasts. I'm being cruel here.

So 5*1000=5000.+245 000= 250 000.

Add the previously accumulated points, about 15 000, and you have the amount.

Just leaving this here, and for those that call bs on the number of beasts, think about the millions of beasts that form a wave every few years. Imagine chucking a couple of overcharged Soul Bombs there, muahahaha

{∆}