Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye, and Kael felt his soul was uncomfortably bloated. That was because he had absorbed too many soul fragments. His soul's capacity had reached its limit—if he continued, it might collapse.
So Kael decisively stopped cultivating and slowly opened his eyes. Standing up from the ground, he glanced back at the slaughterhouse. When he first came here, Kael was still an ordinary mortal and couldn't see anything special about it. But now, having practiced the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art, he had stepped onto the path of cultivation. At this moment, the slaughterhouse looked completely different in his eyes.
The slaughterhouse was still the same, unchanged in appearance. But above it gathered countless blood-red specks of light. These specks were none other than fragments of animal souls. Before cultivating, Kael couldn't see them at all. Now, having crossed the threshold, he could.
In his eyes, the blood-red fragments covered the sky above the slaughterhouse, glaringly bright. But they weren't dangerous. In truth, these fragments had no consciousness and posed no threat. Without the nourishment of bodies, they would return to heaven and earth within a few days.
Yet since the slaughterhouse operated daily, killing countless chickens, ducks, and fish, the fragments were constantly replenished. Thus they gathered above, forming a blood-red veil over the slaughterhouse. Left alone, they caused no harm.
But this was a blessing for Kael. What he had absorbed earlier was less than one percent of what lingered here. In other words, for the foreseeable future, he wouldn't lack soul fragments to cultivate the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art. This place was practically a sacred ground for him.
After a few more glances, Kael turned away, took a bus back to the city, ate dinner at a ramen shop near home, and returned to continue cultivating. This time, however, it wasn't soul-devouring, but soul-tempering.
As a supreme demonic art aimed directly at ascension, the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art was not simple. It was divided into two parts: internal and external. The internal part was further split into devouring and tempering.
Devouring was about consuming the souls of humans and all beings to strengthen oneself. Tempering was about refining one's own soul to nourish the body.
It was like eating—too much food could make you sick or even rupture your stomach. But with proper exercise, food became nutrition, then muscle, strengthening the body.
At the slaughterhouse, Kael had consumed too many fragments, swelling his soul like a fat man. Now he needed to digest them, fortify his soul, and make it stronger, able to contain even more fragments. This was the essence of the internal practice.
The external practice, on the other hand, taught how to use soul power in combat, casting spells against enemies. To put it simply: if the internal part was inner strength, the external part was martial techniques like the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.
Both were indispensable. Together, they formed the true Soul-Devouring Demonic Art.
By seven the next morning, Kael slowly opened his eyes. After a night of cultivation, he had fully digested the fragments, strengthening his soul. Even his body had been reinforced, becoming sturdier.
This was natural. The body and soul complemented each other—the body nourished the soul, and the soul nourished the body. Of course, this required skill. Without it, imbalance could cause irreparable harm. But as a supreme demonic art, the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art naturally had methods to maintain balance.
That night's cultivation brought Kael many benefits. Most importantly, he could now use soul power to cast minor spells of hypnosis and enchantment. Though crude, they were enough to deal with ordinary people.
If his soul grew strong enough, he could even develop divine sense, capable of incredible feats. Like Professor X from the Marvel universe, who could invade minds without physical contact, reading thoughts and memories. He could strip away and control others' minds and actions. He could even alter or erase memories at will.
If Kael cultivated the Soul-Devouring Demonic Art to such a level, he could do the same. Even surpass Professor X—stronger and more complete. That was the benefit of cultivation.
After breakfast, Kael wandered back to school. He had barely sat down when Makoto leaned over and reminded him: "You skipped class yesterday afternoon. Kirisu-sensei was furious. Good luck dealing with her."
Kael froze. He remembered now—yesterday afternoon's class had been hers. Skipping it had understandably angered her.
By the way, this Kirisu-sensei was none other than the supporting character from We Never Learn. The one who ranked overwhelmingly first in popularity polls—Kirisu Mafuyu. As for the beloved Hiratsuka Shizuka, she wasn't in Tokyo or Toyogasaki Academy, but at Sobu High in Chiba.
"Renjou-kun."
Suddenly, a crisp yet heavy voice came from beside him. Turning, Kael saw a girl with black hair tied into two braids, staring at him expressionlessly.
She was none other than the class monitor of 1-E—Uomi Chihiro. The name might sound unfamiliar, but she was a supporting character from Seitokai Yakuindomo. Originally the student council president of Eiryo High, in this world she was a student of Toyogasaki Academy.
Though Class 1-E had no heroines, it did have supporting characters. No, that wasn't entirely true. Yoshida Saki's life was tragic, but she was still a heroine—even if from an adult story.
"What do you need from me, class monitor?" Kael asked calmly.