Catching his breath, Dain rose to his feet, wiping off the bead of sweat from his forehead.
He looked at the corpse of the feral monster and exhaled deeply.
If his Soul Construct was like any other, he would have been killed, without leaving a complete corpse.
"I need to take out their Soul Core," he whispered and dragged his exhausted body toward the feral monsters' dead bodies.
Slowly, he began to cut their chests, retrieving their Soul Cores. Previously, he wanted to prioritize his safety above everything else, but now—he had changed his mind.
He needed to increase his strength even by a small margin. That could prove his survival inside the rift.
He had heard many legends and rumors about how dangerous the rift was. Apparently, legend was legend and rumors were rumors. Nothing to compare to personal experience.
And indeed, the rift was not for the faint-hearted.
In less than an hour, his backpack was filled with many Soul Cores. Looking at the tens of Soul Cores, a slow faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
With these many Soul Cores, he did not believe he would not be able to advance in his realm.
"I guess I need to use that cave one more time," he mused and began to walk toward the cave.
Dain arrived at the small cave, checking the vicinity for any monster activities. Someone can't be too careful.
After confirming there was no monster in the vicinity, he entered the cave and relaxed. He took out a bottle of water and his dry ration.
Satiating his hunger, he turned his attention to the Soul Cores. He sorted according to their ranks.
Feral monsters had different ranks. For each rank, it was divided into three sub-stages: Early, Middle, and Peak.
Among the juvenile rat-like feral monsters, most of them were in the Early Stage, and only a few were in the Middle Stage.
For the hippo-like feral monster, there was one Peak Stage monster, while the rest were a mixture of Early and Middle Stage.
Looking at the Peak Stage Soul Core, Dain smiled brightly. Who would have expected he would be lucky to kill a Peak Stage juvenile feral monster?
This only solidified how overpowered his Soul Construct was.
"How could they call my Soul Construct inferior rank?" he clicked his tongue. "If this is an inferior Soul Construct, then what would happen if it was a higher rank?"
He shook his head from the meaningless thought and focused his attention on the Soul Cores.
"Since this is my first time using Soul Cores to cultivate, I should start with the Early-Stage Soul Core," he mused and picked an Early Stage Soul Core.
He adjusted his seating position, closing his eyes, holding a Soul Core in his right palm.
Slowly, he began to run the Soul Strengthening Technique in his mind.
Instantly, the ethereal soul energy inside the Soul Core began to drift into his body.
Ten minutes later, Dain opened his eyes in confusion. Why did the soul energy stop entering his body?
Looking at his palm, the previously bright Soul Core had turned gray, losing its luster.
"How could this happen?" His eyes widened in disbelief.
For a Soul Warrior that had not broken through to the Awakened Realm, a single Soul Core was enough for them to cultivate for hours.
Yet, he only spent half an hour, and he had already used all the Soul Core energy. His soul space barely had changed.
"Is this due to my unique Soul Construct?" he speculated.
After thinking about it for some moments, he decided not to dwell on it. He picked the second Soul Core and resumed his cultivation.
Just like that, he consumed one Soul Core after the other.
After consuming the tenth Soul Core, a visible change appeared in his soul space. His space began to expand, and wisps of soul energy drifted on the surface.
Suddenly, his soul space broke through its boundary. Before this, his soul space was less than one meter, but now, it has expanded more than one meter.
Additionally, there was visible soul energy washing over his soul space. Noticing this, a bright, confident smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Finally, he had become a real Soul Warrior.
Just when he thought his breakthrough was over, his Soul Construct floating at the center of his soul space began to absorb the wisps of soul energy.
"What!"
Before he could realize what was going on, his Soul Construct had devoured all the soul energy in his soul space.
But it did not stop and continued to devour the soul space. Slowly, his soul space began to dry up and spider cracks began to appear.
Panicked, Dain picked a Middle Stage Soul Core and began to cultivate, trying to replenish the soul energy.
With the inflow of soul energy, his Soul Construct did not stop consuming his soul space and devouring the soul energy.
After about ten minutes, his Soul Construct stopped consuming the soul energy as if it was satisfied from a hearty meal.
Seeing this, Dain did not know whether to laugh or cry. He knew his Soul Construct was strange; he did not expect it would be this bizarre.
Looking at his dry soul space, Dain sighed deeply. "This would have been dangerous if I did not have enough Soul Cores."
With his discovery, he knew for every cultivation, he must have enough Soul Cores to satiate his gluttonous Soul Construct.
Putting the thought aside, he continued his cultivation. Gradually, all the cracks in his soul space disappeared, resuming its luster full of vitality.
After what seemed like forever, he opened his eyes. Instantly, he felt something was different.
*****