After comforting Yin Yi, Han Ning used all his remaining Energy to continue strengthening his three Soul Beasts.
Yin Yi advanced directly from War General III to War General IV (2487/12000).
Egg Pancake and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm each rose about 1.5 Levels, reaching approximately War General II (5648/12000) and War General II (4687/8000), respectively.
At the War General Level, it now took 4 points of Energy to convert into 1 Attribute point, a significant increase in cost compared to the Extraordinary Level.
All the Energy on his status panel was depleted. Han Ning had absorbed nearly all the surrounding War General and Extraordinary Level Soul Beasts, along with a vast number of those at the Awakened Level.
’He considered the vast amount of resources he’d consumed to be a debt to everyone else.’ He’d repay them using the Red Centipede Tribe’s resources after he successfully assassinated Fei Ming.
After successfully strengthening his Soul Beasts, Han Ning’s perspective shifted. He’d gone from embracing the certainty of death to now thinking:
’Fei Ming’s strongest Soul Beast is only at the War General Limit. With my Soul Beasts’ current power, even if the assassination fails, I should be able to escape.’
As his Soul Beasts broke through one after another, Han Ning felt a surge of Qi and Blood Power course through his body. A gentle stream began to flow through his once-arid Spiritual World, nourishing a brain slightly damaged by the intense exertion of his Spiritual Power.
Even Fei Lin, resting within the Soul Beast Space, experienced a slight increase in the amplitude of her Spiritual Fluctuations.
An increase in a Soul Beast’s Level also meant an increase for the Beast Master, and vice versa.
...
The dormitory building that had been specially renovated for Egg Pancake was hit during the battle, and it was now a blackened, half-collapsed ruin. Han Ning had no choice but to return to his temporary quarters.
No sooner had he returned to the dormitory than Lena, who had apparently been looking for him, approached.
"Lady Lena? Is there something I can help you with?" Han Ning asked in surprise. ’Lena and her family had evacuated with the logistics team when the battle started; they weren’t injured.’
"Goncharov is looking for you. He’s swamped right now, so he had to ask an idler like me to pass on the message," Lena said, forcing a smile. It was clear the academy’s ordeal had deeply shaken her as well.
"Understood." Even if Lena hadn’t come, he had been planning to test out the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm’s new abilities to see if he could help anyone.
Han Ning followed Lena to a flat piece of ground behind the dormitory. A large, makeshift hall had been erected there, walled off from the outside with an assortment of bedsheets and cloth tarps. Inside, teachers and students with injuries of varying severity lay on simple cots, being examined by medics.
For the relatively fragile human body, a healing-type Soul Technique from a Soul Beast at just the Awakened Level was enough to help a severely injured person mend their wounds.
However, while the physical trauma from battle could be repaired, the various complications arising from such injuries were difficult to cure with simple healing Soul Techniques alone.
For example: organ failure, coagulation disorders, and severe shock.
In any case, the abilities of Yin Yi and the All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm were limited to healing wounds and purifying certain toxins. The only difference was the speed of recovery; they couldn’t perform the feat of curing underlying medical conditions.
Goncharov was a surgeon from the Mao Bear Country. He was currently standing before a simple cot cobbled together from desks, his face grim as he stared down at the young man lying on it.
"KILL! KILL! KILL! I’LL KILL YOU ALL!"
Agonized screams tore from the young man’s throat, the veins on his neck bulging. The shrill, distorted sound echoed in the night air, creating an eerie scene.
"Luo Chen?" Han Ning’s brow furrowed as he recognized the young man’s face. He hurried over and asked, "What’s wrong with him?"
"It looks like post-traumatic stress disorder, but there’s something different. His Spiritual Power... it’s not right."
The thickly bearded Goncharov pointed at Luo Chen’s head, his tone grave.
"I’m not familiar with matters in the domain of Spiritual Power. I had no choice but to find you."
"Kill... kill!"
Han Ning looked over. The student’s face was crimson, his eyes bulged, and he seemed completely oblivious to the people around him. His gaze was fixed on a point in the sky as he repeatedly roared the same words.
He extended a tendril of his Spiritual Power, attempting to probe inside Luo Chen’s mind and assess the situation.
The result... he found that the other’s Spiritual Fluctuations were bizarre, like the surface of a raging sea, oscillating at an impossibly high frequency.
At the same time, a strange, unknown Energy seemed to be seeping out of the sky and the void, entering Luo Chen’s body and strengthening his Spiritual Power.
This was clearly not a normal phenomenon. The Spiritual Power being absorbed into his brain was incredibly violent and seemed to be constantly damaging it.
Han Ning had never seen anything like this before. Beyond his surprise, he was immensely curious. Luo Chen was somehow able to autonomously draw mysterious Energy from the void to strengthen his Spiritual Power. This bore a striking resemblance to the legendary Spiritual Meditation Technique of the Insect-men.
After all, at their current stage—be it Tier One or Tier Two—Spiritual Power didn’t grow automatically. The only ways to raise one’s Spiritual Power limit were by forming contracts with Soul Beasts, through a Soul Beast’s evolution, by leveling up, or by consuming a Spiritual Power Potion.
"Does anyone know what Luo Chen’s Spiritual Power Talent is?"
Han Ning turned and asked the students who were helping nearby.
He had been away exploring recently, so he wasn’t familiar with the Talents others had gained after their Spiritual Power broke through to Tier One.