The Essence of Rank Advancement

The Shadow was still chattering away when it suddenly noticed Feng Buzhi standing up to leave.

"Hey? Where are you going? Stop right there! I haven't finished speaking yet!"

The Shadow hurriedly blocked Feng Buzhi's path.

The previous days were one thing.

Back then, Feng Buzhi could do whatever he pleased, but now, his body had already begun to merge with the uncanny.

This was a crossroads in Feng Buzhi's life, one that would dictate his entire future!

At the very least, today, he had to change Feng Buzhi's mind!

He had to!

Feng Buzhi said, "Didn't you say that Qian Zheng from Zhao Gang's team is about to [Promote] and leave, and that there's a speech I should go and see?"

The Shadow was stunned for a brief moment. "Eh? Why are you suddenly being so obedient? No, wait, you're changing the subject. You're trying to mess with my head, you..."

Feng Buzhi walked through the Shadow toward the town. The Shadow quickly caught up, blocking his path once again.

Just then, the Shadow saw Feng Buzhi's fingers moving in a continuous, swirling motion.

Just as he wondered what Feng Buzhi was trying to do, his body jerked to a halt, as if he had collided with something solid.

A small sphere made of mist had appeared in front of him; it was surprisingly hard, and it was this ball that had just stopped him.

What was this?

The Shadow looked at the mist sphere in confusion, only to watch it dissipate into smoke. At that moment, he noticed Feng Buzhi's fingers again.

"Was it you? Did you make that mist sphere?"

"How did you do that?"

"There wasn't a single trace of the uncanny power in your body being used. That mist sphere looked like it was generated from the mist itself. Did you obtain some kind of ability in the Abyss?"

Feng Buzhi shook his head. "My mental realm has just had a breakthrough. I believe I've surpassed what you call the Subtle Realm; this ability is something that appears after breaking through the Subtle Realm."

As he spoke, Feng Buzhi extended his finger, and a wisp of mist began to rotate continuously at his fingertip, leaving the Shadow completely dumbfounded.

It took a long while for the Shadow to snap out of it.

The Shadow retorted, "That's impossible, absolutely impossible! To break through beyond the Subtle Realm, one must be an incredibly powerful existence—at the very least, a Tier 6 individual would only have a slim possibility. Are you having fun lying to me?"

Feng Buzhi asked in return, "Why would I lie to you?"

The Shadow replied as if it were obvious, "To mess with my head, of course! You refused to go to the Abyss Altar to receive the inheritance, and then you suddenly went anyway—isn't that messing with my head?

And you refuse to remove the curse, always ignoring my advice.

I think you just want to anger me. After all, I'm just a helpless thing; even if you torment me, I can only endure it in silence because I have no one else to talk to but you..."

As the Shadow spoke, its mood turned sorrowful, shifting from annoyance to sentimentality.

Feng Buzhi asked, "After the Clear Mind Realm comes the Subtle Realm. What comes after the Subtle Realm?"

The Shadow said, "I believe it's called the Domain Realm. Why are you asking about this? Even though your talent is extraordinary and you've reached the late stage of the Subtle Realm, continuing to break through is impossible. Don't be too ambitious.

The most important thing for you right now is to follow the path I've planned for you, walk the path of the Weapon Shifter, and don't even think about mental realm breakthroughs until you reach Tier 4."

Feng Buzhi didn't respond, letting the Shadow continue its rambling.

In the Shadow's current state, no matter what he said, the Shadow would only perceive it as a provocation.

Feng Buzhi walked quietly toward the town, and the Shadow's state gradually began to stabilize.

Seemingly remembering something, the Shadow quickly continued, "Right, there's one more thing I forgot to tell you. You are currently entering the alienation stage. Once that is complete, you should prepare for rank advancement.

And the key to rank advancement is the soul.

So, it's time you took those Goblin heads to be sacrificed; that way, you can remove your curse at the same time."

Feng Buzhi mused, "The [Personal Information] on the Town Crystal mentions a soul level. Is this the soul level you're referring to?"

The Shadow said, "You could say that. Once you complete the alienation stage, you should be able to clearly sense your own soul.

Your alienated organs will catalyze your soul, allowing it to grow.

Furthermore, by sacrificing to the Town Crystal, the crystal will help you strengthen your soul as an additional reward.

So-called rank advancement is, on one hand, the further integration of your alienated organs with your body, and on the other, a tighter binding between the uncanny and your soul.

This requires your soul strength to be high enough; otherwise, your soul will be eroded by the uncanny, or perhaps even completely devoured.

In short, rank advancement is the perfect convergence of alienated organs, body, and soul into one. Once that happens, you will step into Tier 1, and your strength will increase significantly.

Since your mental realm is at the Subtle level, and you have those Goblin heads to sacrifice, raising your soul level should be quite easy.

Since you don't intend to be the first to [Promote], you might as well cultivate to Tier 1 here before [Promoting]; that will yield quite a few benefits."

Feng Buzhi asked, "The higher the mental realm, the easier it is to raise the soul level?"

The Shadow replied, "That is correct."

Feng Buzhi said, "In that case, let the curse stay for now. If you're worried that the heads might rot, then just have Pei Chao sacrifice them."

The Shadow asked in confusion, "Let Pei Chao use those heads for the sacrifice? I suppose that works, but wait—why are you changing the subject again? Can't you just listen to me properly for once?"

"That is the curse of the Human Race. You should be able to hear the low murmurs of the curse, right? Those voices keep surfacing in your mind; don't you find them unbearable?"

Feng Buzhi nodded slightly. He, in fact, did not find them particularly unbearable, especially after his mental Domain Realm had leveled up once more, causing the murmurs of the curse to grow even fainter.

While lost in thought, Feng Buzhi suddenly sensed something.

Under his control, a trace of blood-red color appeared at his fingertip, which he then quickly merged back into his body.

This blood-red hue was none other than the Red Name Curse he had been suffering from.

Once his mental state reached the Domain Realm, he had gained the power to manipulate external anomalies, and this included the curse within his own body.

Feng Buzhi discovered that, at this moment, he could remove his Red Name Curse even without going to the plaza to sacrifice those Goblin heads.

Feng Buzhi felt that it would take him mere tens of minutes to completely eradicate the Red Name Curse.

So, if he were to do the exact opposite, could he perhaps make his Red Name Curse grow even stronger?