After Hagson left, Roger told Allen not to let anyone disturb him, then immediately entered the secluded chamber to begin his training.
He took out the crystal ball filled with Sanctuary souls.
Roger first reviewed the refining procedure Charles had left behind. Only after making sure he remembered every step by heart did he take out another soul crystal ball.
Whoosh!
He extended his soul power into the crystal ball holding the souls.
Drawing on his understanding of the Soul Refining branch of the Death Edict, Roger very carefully drew the souls out of the crystal ball.
Wrapped in death divine power, roughly a hundred Sanctuary souls floated in the air after Roger extracted them.
"Next comes the most important step."
Roger carefully controlled his soul power, following the principles he had comprehended as he probed deep into each soul and began removing its impurities.
This step was incredibly complex and painstaking. It was also what set the Death Edict apart from other edicts and laws.
Thanks to the nourishment of the Jade Disc Fragment, Roger's soul strength and the speed of his thoughts were already far greater than those of an ordinary Lowgod.
Even so, he failed three times in a row.
Only on his fourth attempt did he successfully remove all the "impurities" from a soul, leaving only its purest essence, the portion that could be absorbed directly.
"Whoosh!"
He placed that wisp of soul essence into another, empty crystal ball reserved for storage.
Only then did Roger realize with a start that half a day had passed.
"Phew... Anything involving souls really does require delicate work. But now that I've succeeded once, the rest should be much easier."
He repeated the process.
Roger began stripping the impurities from the remaining souls.
Wisps of golden soul essence steadily appeared in the once-empty crystal ball.
In his state of intense concentration, Roger's understanding of the structure of souls grew rapidly.
Combined with Charles's cultivation insights, this brought him one new discovery after another.
And whenever Roger felt exhausted, the Jade Disc deep within his consciousness would tremble slightly. A strange, cool energy would then flow into his soul, instantly restoring his vigor.
With the Jade Disc's help, Roger removed the impurities from the souls with remarkable efficiency.
In just seven days, Roger cleared all the impurities from every soul, turning them into soul essence that could be absorbed directly.
"No wonder Soul Gold Beads sell for so much," Roger remarked as he looked at the crystal ball on the table, now filled with golden soul essence.
Only the Jade Disc's help, which allowed him to work almost without rest, had made him this fast.
An ordinary Lowgod would have needed a month or two of hard work to accomplish this.
There would also have been some losses along the way.
As for Roger, aside from the three souls he had lost at the start, every single attempt afterward had succeeded!
If other Lowgods who cultivated the Death Edict learned of that success rate, their jaws would drop.
"There are over thirty thousand wisps of Sanctuary soul essence in here, but I definitely can't hand all of them over to Hagson."
Roger still clearly remembered Charles's notes stating that an ordinary Lowgod lost around twenty percent when refining soul essence.
In other words...
Handing over twenty-odd thousand wisps of soul essence would be normal for Roger.
"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony."
Roger extended his soul power into the crystal ball.
Whoosh!
At once...
The golden mist within the crystal ball, so dense it seemed almost solid, began churning violently.
A moment later, it traveled along the channel formed by Roger's soul power into his Soul Ocean, where his spherical soul absorbed it directly.
"Mmm..."
"That feels so good. Is this what it feels like when your soul grows stronger...?"
Wisp after wisp of exceptionally pure soul essence was absorbed.
Roger felt as though he had downed a huge bottle of ice water in the sweltering summer heat, refreshed from head to toe.
Most importantly...
As Roger continued absorbing soul essence, his spherical soul began growing at an extremely slow pace.
By the time Roger stopped after absorbing over six thousand wisps of soul essence...
His soul had grown five percent larger.
That might have sounded like little, but it made Roger's thoughts several times faster! Even his perception of heaven and earth became clearer.
"No wonder so many people scramble for soul essence. The results really are immediate."
Smacking his lips as he savored the wonderful feeling of his soul growing stronger, Roger put away the crystal ball containing the soul essence with a wave of his hand.
"There's still plenty of time before the agreed date. I'll spend it in secluded cultivation and see how much difference this soul essence makes."
Roger sat cross-legged and soon entered a state of cultivation.
The Death Edict was as vast as an ocean.
At present, Roger had only made modest progress in its Soul Attack and Soul Refining branches.
He was still far from becoming truly powerful.
And he had yet to fully comprehend even the Soul Refining branch.
Time passed quickly when he was immersed in cultivation.
Two and a half months went by in the blink of an eye.
"With a stronger soul, plus the Jade Disc's boost to my aptitude and comprehension, my cultivation really does progress fast."
Roger was delighted. Over those two and a half months, he had advanced rapidly in the Soul Refining branch and had now comprehended it to its limit. He only needed to break through the bottleneck to become a Midgod of the Death Edict!
"Phew. I won't be breaking through this bottleneck anytime soon. I might as well hand this soul essence over to Hagson and see how he plans to divide it."
Roger rose and left the secluded chamber.
Allen was cultivating in the courtyard.
When he saw Roger emerge, he immediately stopped and came over. "That was a pretty short session of secluded cultivation. How did it go?"
"Not bad. Wait here. I'm going to see Hagson."
Several minutes later...
Inside Hagson's room...
"Roger, my brother, you're incredibly efficient! You finished refining those souls half a month early. That speed..."
Hagson looked thrilled as he watched the golden mist swirling and shifting within the crystal ball.
He was overjoyed that Roger had delivered ahead of schedule.
"Roger, my brother, I'll take half the soul essence here, and the other half is yours."
After calming himself, Hagson asked, "What do you think, brother?"
Hagson was a little nervous, afraid Roger would find his share too small.
"Sure. I have no problem with your proposal, Brother Hagson."
Roger smiled and accepted the split.
For now, Roger was only a Lowgod, and he also needed Hagson to collect the Sanctuary souls.
Roger was quite satisfied with this arrangement.
Of course...
That was only for the present.
Once Roger became a Midgod, gained far greater strength, and could properly refine Soul Gold Beads, that ratio would naturally have to change.
"Haha! You're a straightforward man, Brother Roger." Hagson was excited. "Sorry for the trouble, but I'll have to ask you to separate the soul essence."
"No trouble."
Roger took out an empty crystal ball and, drawing on his comprehension, transferred half the soul essence into it.
"Brother Hagson, absorbing soul essence is very simple. All you need to do is extend your soul power into it."
Roger handed him the crystal ball.
Before you continue