CHAPTER 65: TRIAL OF REGRETS

As Harry was about to console her, she vanished, leaving air between his hands.

"What do you think you are doing?" Gracie asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry backed hesitating "I thought you needed a hug." Harry was embarrassed, but what could he do?

"Oh, really? I thought you were trying to do something perverted."

Harry was baffled, he could see a mischievous smile but he can’t get around the fact; he got named as pervert.

"Forget it" Harry sighed.

Gracie just chuckled and concentrated on paper "This paper only talks about using the technique on soul cultivators. But if I am right, there shouldn’t be any problem using it on Qi cultivators," Gracie said, reading the information up and down.

Harry was surprised by her observation

"You proved why you are a genius,

You are right; it can also be used on Qi cultivators, but those people don’t have much soul energy. The amount of energy they can provide is limited.

But soul cultivators— they have their whole foundation based on soul energy.

Another reason it’s not mentioned here is because using Qi cultivators for this technique can only work at the starting level."

Then he took out the wolves’ bodies. One by one, a pile of beasts accumulated.

And I am planning to use this early feature of this technique to break through," Harry said after bringing the last body out.

"So that was your plan when you kept these beasts’ bodies instead of beast crystals. But you’re dumb. You could have bought ten times these bodies with those crystals," Gracie palmed her head.

Harry knew this—he just didn’t want to stand out. If he bought this many bodies, he would have been highlighted.

On the other hand, he had already used his share of crystals for beast space.

"I am going to try to break through to the Elemental Master. You can get an understanding of the Soul Eater technique in the meantime."

With that, Harry hovered his hands above a beast, and the energy started rushing to increase his cultivation.

First.

Second.

Third.

When he reached the fourth beast, he felt his foundation shaking, as if telling him that it would break through or crumble.

On the fifth beast, energy from the surroundings started condensing.

He knew it was time. He had a soul refining technique that could only be used upon breakthroughs.

He had already made a lesser version of it for Qi refinement, but its full potential could only be discovered on the soul.

He held his cultivation tight. The energy of soul cultivation was increasing.

He used the sixth beast, and his energy became rampant. His soul was tearing—not literally, but it was expanding, making its size bigger. As the soul grew, so did the pain.

He used the seventh beast, and a tearing scream came out of his mouth.

His vision started blurring. He gritted his teeth, blood dripping down from his lips.

He forced himself to stay awake, then used the eighth.

His plans for staying awake were crumbling. There was one thing holding him—it was his new blood skill.

Hemostasis. It was a skill that gave accelerated healing and recovery from fatigue.

It gave him a soothing feel, but it was not fast enough to ignore the pain.

Then, with sheer will, he forced himself to get to the eighth beast.

His consciousness drifted in front of an endless ocean.

Two round white orbs were hanging in space.

He ignored them and saw someone in front of him—a big, mammoth-sized person.

Harry’s neck went upward 90 degrees, trying to see its face. The person’s face was similar to Harry’s.

No, not similar—it was him.

His soul, to be precise. It had grown so big. As he looked into its eyes, there were glimpses of his past, mistakes he had made, regrets that still lingered in his heart.

He knew this was a trial—a trial for soul refining.

He lived those moments again.

A childhood friend stood in the rain, eyes filled with betrayal.

"You could’ve helped me," the friend said, voice trembling.

But his past self just turned away. Too afraid to get involved. Too selfish to stand by a friend who needed him most.

Days later, the friend was gone. A tragic end. And all that remained was the guilt.

"Go and help him!" Harry screamed at the top of his lungs.

He wanted his past self to change his decision.

Then it showed a woman—the only one who truly understood him. She looked at him with teary eyes.

"Tell me to stay, and I will," she said.

But his past self stood frozen, silent.

And so, she left. He never saw her again.

He clenched his fists. "Why didn’t I say something? Why didn’t I try?"

The silence was his greatest sin.

Then he stood on the ground, holding a bow in his hands.

"We can win if we practice hard," a boy said.

But Harry ignored practice and kept playing video games.

Losing the tournament—not only the tournament but one of his archery partners.

The scene kept shifting to places where he felt regret—the regret of not choosing what he truly wanted.

One after another, the weight of regret crushed him. His knees hit the floor.

A whisper filled the air. "You failed them all. You do not deserve to move forward."

Tears fell. He wanted to give in. To disappear into his guilt.

But then an image of his mother appeared in front of him. Then his new friends—Liam, Tyler, Blake, Gracie, Meru, Eldrich, Nephis.

His stern will held him against all the negative thoughts.

Then—he breathed. Deep. Slow.

"I can’t change the past... but I can change what I do next."

The visions cracked. The suffocating weight lifted.

He didn’t come out of it by erasing them—he accepted his regrets and decided never to regret again.

His consciousness returned to the endless ocean. His soul condensed, standing by him at a similar height.

He knew there were trials to use the Soul Refining technique, but he never expected them to be so intense.

His hands were still trembling.

He continued using the Soul Eater skill on beasts one after another.

Now feeling less pain, less restricted—as if his capacity for soul energy had improved.

Until he reached the 16th beast. He couldn’t hold his breakthrough anymore. With mind-boggling pain, he felt chains that had been holding him down break.

His feelings toward soul energy changed. Until now, he had only seen soul energy at a fundamental level. But now, he realized why soul cultivators always had an upper edge.

Soul cultivation was tightly connected to one’s psyche—it not only damaged them physically but also affected their mind. Not only the mind but their very identity.

It had the power to turn a person into a living zombie.

As Harry was realizing the true power behind soul cultivation, Gracie was keeping an eye on him.

"Why is he taking so long"

It had already been 15 days. But she knew there were special techniques to improve one’s foundation.