William wasn't aware that the core moved with the monster spirit and was digested along with it during the devouring process.
In his previous life, spirits and cores were usually handled as separate entities, but his current unique physique acted like a black hole, pulling every scrap of essence into his central meridian.
As he didn't have the core to store or sell, he started to dissect the monster's body, hoping at least to salvage the hide, the feathers, or the specialised light-element bone.
And again, he got disappointed.
"What's going on here?" he stood in front of the monster's body, his knife hanging limp in his hand. "The parts are all ruined like they got decayed. The feathers are brittle, and the meat has turned into a greyish mush. This won't happen until more than a day has passed!"
At this point, he finally realised that his internal clock had betrayed him. He had stayed far longer than one day in his absorption process. To see this level of biological degradation in a high-tier silver monster, at least three or four days must have lapsed while he was in that deep, transformative trance.
"Time to test the spirit I gained," he muttered, throwing all the disappointment behind his back. He decided not to dwell on the lost materials.
If he had truly gained the power of the two-tailed lightning fox, then the carcass was a small price to pay. He anticipated using his spirit for the first time in this new body, his heart racing with the thrill of a true Spirit Master.
For spirit masters, using their spirits was one of the primary ways to fight. The process usually required a significant expenditure of spirit power, and the spirit master would transform—either partially or fully—into a version of the monster his spirit belonged to.
This "Spirit Possession" state granted the master the physical traits, elemental affinities, and instincts of the beast.
The duration of such a transformation depended entirely over one's total spirit power. The stronger and more refined one's pool of energy became, the longer his transformation would be.
That was why having spirits with different elements and unique traits was something crucial to any spirit master. The more elements one had, the stronger and more versatile he'd become in battles. A master with three elements, like William's new fox, would be a nightmare on the battlefield.
"Cough! Cough!"
Yet, the moment he tried to activate his fox spirit, his world imploded. He felt a strong, violent backlash that made him cough up a mouthful of hot blood.
His body felt like it got slammed against a fast-moving train, ending up shaking all over and getting suddenly weakened.
The silver light that had begun to flicker around his limbs shattered like glass, recoiling into his chest with the force of a hammer blow.
"Damn! It seems my spirit power isn't even enough to activate this spirit…" he fell on the ground while coughing blood again, feeling a wave of nausea and cold sweat wash over him.
He had tried to activate his spirit and failed, which was something heavily taxing on his body. The spirit was like a high-voltage engine, and his current meridians were like thin copper wires.
The moment he tried to turn the key, the wires had nearly melted. He never imagined his newly evolved spirit would bring him such bad news immediately after his success.
"My spirit power didn't even scratch the bronze ranking of spirit masters… and my spirit is considered in the second phase of spirit evolution… Does that mean I have to wait until I become a bronze spirit master before trying it again?"
He felt a little doubtful about this, his brow furrowing in pain. The backlash was indeed painful, and if he repeatedly failed in such an attempt, his body might get permanent damage, or worse, his spirit foundation could crack.
He was like a child trying to wield a heavy broadsword; the weapon was magnificent, but his arms lacked the strength to lift it
.He took a couple of hours to rest in the darkness of the cave, not daring to move abruptly or do anything at all that might stir his turbulent spirit sea. He took out part of the dry rations he had and ate slowly to restore his wasted energy while lost in deep thoughts.
The silence of the cave was heavy, broken only by the sound of his own laboured breathing.
William thought deeply about this, taking such a matter quite seriously. It was the ultimate irony of his reincarnation thus far.
It was like someone having a grand, legendary sword, but he couldn't even wield or use it! He had the "software" of a high-tier master but the "hardware" of a beginner.
It was quite frustrating to him. Yet he tried to remain calm and thought rationally about this. He began to calculate the requirements for the next tier of power.
"I have to get over one thousand and half spirit points to get to be a silver-ranked spirit master. If my guesses are correct, then I should wait until my spirit power count is closer to this number or even wait until I cross the bronze threshold… Tsk! How unlucky!"
This came as terrible news for him. Raising up his spirit power to such a massive number was a task that'd take a long time even for someone with his devouring ability.
But he also was aware of how risky it would be to try out summoning his spirit, and he wasn't ready yet. The crushing weight of the backlash still lingered in his chest, a dull ache that served as a stern warning from his own meridians.
Against his unwillingness and the burning desire to see his new power in action, he decided not to give it another attempt until he reached silver grade first. He needed a body of iron and a sea of spirit power to house the lightning fox's true form.
This left him in quite a bad mood. To have climbed so far, to have evolved his soul beyond the "Mud Phase," only to be restricted by his physical vessel was a bitter pill to swallow. He felt like a pauper who had inherited a kingdom but was forbidden from entering the palace gates.
"I shall test my new spirit power; hopefully nothing bad will happen this time," he muttered, trying to steer his thoughts away from the failure. He meant to test the passive increase in his senses and strength, rather than the full-blown spirit possession.
But before he could distract himself and try examining his increased spirit power, he heard a loud bang coming from outside, followed by a massive explosion. The sound was sharp, high-pitched, and carried the unmistakable resonance of high-level spirit arts.
The explosion was strong enough to shake the entire cave, making thick lines of soil fall from the ceiling over his head and his shoulders. The ancient tree roots groaned above him, protesting the sudden shockwave that had rippled through the earth.
"What's going on?"
William threw behind all his disappointment and disturbed thoughts and moved toward the block of bushes and soil he had placed at the entrance.
His movements were fluid and much faster than before; the eighty points of spirit power had definitely enhanced his physical agility. He pressed his face against the barrier, trying to see through the small gaps and check what was going on outside in the clearing.
"You don't have any place to run to, hahaha!"
"Come on, stop running already! We have been chasing you for an entire week!" "You should succumb to your fate. Your family is destroyed, and all your relatives have been killed by our clan. You are lucky to last all this time on your own, but your luck runs out here."
Many mean and sinister shouts came for William to hear perfectly fine even inside his sealed cave. His hearing, enhanced by the fox's spirit, picked up the subtle sneers and the rustle of fine silk—clothing far too expensive for common mercenaries or low-level disciples.
From the gaps in the entrance blockade, William could see a group of nine youths surrounding one whose face couldn't be seen, covered by a dark cloth mask.
That dude wasn't short, at least twenty centimetres taller than William. He had tall black hair tied back in a messy knot. He held two swords in his hands, the blades notched and stained with dried gore, yet he stood tall and mighty in front of all those people while protecting a smaller body behind him.
She was a little girl, not exceeding six years old. The panicked expression on her face was obvious, even from this distance.
Her clothes were rags, and traces of mud, blood, and dried-up tears spoiled her childish, angelic face. She was clutching the back of the masked youth's tunic, her small knuckles white with terror.
Just from seeing her face, William felt a gush of sadness inside his heart. It was a visceral reaction, one that bypassed his cold, calculating mind. It was like there was no other person much sadder than this little girl at this moment in the world.
And that face was evidence of how brutal the fight she and the person shielding her had faced during the past week.
It seemed that the proclaimed chase didn't happen smoothly, as anyone would expect. The masked youth had clearly fought a desperate, running battle across miles of dangerous territory to keep the child safe.
"You bunch of barbarians! You used our people, and in the end, you decided to bind us with such an enslaving marriage contract! When we said no, you killed all of us! I won't let this grudge down even in hell. If you have the courage then come, I'll make sure to take a few of you to visit hell with me!"
Just as William was trying to get the head and tail of this weird encounter, that masked dude spoke in a loud tone.
It didn't carry any speck of fear, only a raw, burning rage and a deep, soul-piercing regret. It was the voice of someone who had lost everything but their pride.
That voice also carried another surprise for William. It was loud and clear in his ears, and despite the rough, defiant edge, he could tell it was a girl's voice.
William was surprised to realise that this brave youth was a girl—a girl with such courage and determination to fight such an unfair fight.
She was standing in front of nine strong-looking enemies, her spirit power flickering weakly, yet her stance remained unbroken. She was a lone wolf protecting a cub against a pack of hyenas.