Chapter Twenty-Two: Soul Refining Technique

Chapter Twenty-Two: Soul Refinement Technique

After plugging the USB drive into the computer, Xia Zheng found he couldn’t open it—a lock warning popped up. He searched online and, after spending a bit of money on a brute-force cracking program, finally broke through the drive’s defenses.

Inside, a single PDF document lay quietly, clearly a scanned copy of some book. He couldn’t tell who had written it—it resembled the kind of book someone might self-publish.

“Soul Refinement Technique?” Xia Zheng read the title. The words struck a chord of familiarity. Wasn’t this reminiscent of the “Spirit Cultivation” his master had once mentioned during meditations?

He had no idea where Dean had come by this cultivation manual, but it seemed promising. The hotel was well-equipped; his room even had a printer. Xia Zheng printed out the entire document. It wasn’t long—barely over thirty pages. In truth, the main content spanned only five or six pages; the rest, more than twenty pages, consisted of annotations.

He searched for the Soul-Seizing Method Dean had demonstrated but found no dedicated explanation for that particular psychic technique. This led him to speculate: perhaps Dean’s so-called Soul-Seizing Method was merely a mnemonic he had derived on his own. Thus, Xia Zheng decided to read the entire text.

Within two hours, he had mostly committed the Soul Refinement Technique to memory—at least seventy or eighty percent. Of course, his understanding only covered about half, but even that was impressive; his strong grasp of language and logic had helped. An average person would have found it nearly incomprehensible.

“This Soul Refinement Technique absorbs certain knowledge from ancient cultivation, blending it with the Federation’s current technological achievements. Fascinating—it manages to combine ancient practices with modern science, creating a method specifically for training psychic power.” As Xia Zheng muttered to himself while leafing through the manuscript, the concepts became ever more clear in his mind. Since he already cultivated his psychic abilities, his thoughts grew nimbler and bolder.

His master Shen Hua’s method belonged to the “Spirit Cultivation School,” which advocated using meditation to guide practitioners into a state of emptiness, promoting slow and steady growth of psychic power. But the book belonged to a different school—best called the “Soul Refinement School.” Rather than relying on meditation to enhance psychic strength, it followed a more demonic path: forcibly absorbing and refining others’ psychic energies to rapidly augment one’s own.

The two approaches walked vastly different paths. The Spirit Cultivation School promoted natural, gradual growth—a gentle practice with few side effects. The Soul Refinement School, however, pursued the way of plunder: swift power at the cost of hidden dangers. Absorbing too many disparate psychic energies in a short time risked overwhelming the practitioner, even causing mental collapse or madness.

“The great path rises to the sky, but each walks their half—perhaps this is the difference between human and demon. Yet, to my mind, whether Spirit Cultivation or Soul Refinement, both are means to strengthen the mind. If I can use them, they are useful; I need not strictly adhere to any single rule. Mastering both—what is human, what is demon—is a matter of the heart.” Xia Zheng made a decision that would shape his life: he would no longer obsess over right or wrong in methods, but judge them by their results. If they served him, he would follow; if not, discard them.

The path of the psychic was treacherous. Sometimes, when one road was blocked, another might yield astonishing results. Xia Zheng resolved to practice the Soul Refinement Technique for a time and see what came of it.

He recalled Dean’s Soul-Seizing Method, which closely resembled the idea of stealing another’s psychic energy—though Dean could only seize fragments of memory. Dean, after all, possessed only weak psychic power. Xia Zheng, confident in his own strength, believed he could do more—perhaps even seize memories without touching the target’s head, by projecting his psychic power. But such an act could inflict irreparable harm.

Psychic power was revered as one of the most unique abilities—formless, flavorless, and capable, at times, of bypassing an enemy’s defenses altogether. That was how he killed Dean with such ease, even though Dean’s official rank exceeded his own.

Of course, Xia Zheng wasn’t so arrogant as to believe himself invincible. Dean was a bottom-tier psychic; true experts like Captain Chu or his master were at least A-rank. Pure psychic strength alone would not suffice against them—especially since Master Shen Hua specialized in psychic arts.

Still, psychic practitioners had their fatal weaknesses: they excelled at distance, but if an enemy got close, they were in grave danger. That was why Xia Zheng demanded much of his own physical skills. Even if he wasn’t a close-combat specialist, he had to ensure he could defend himself and strike back if anyone closed in.

Tomorrow was the final day for the second stage of the assessment. Seeing that it was late, Xia Zheng decided to rest early and prepare for the coming trial.

***

The night passed quietly. The next morning, after breakfast, Xia Zheng made his way alone to the examination site for the second stage. It was still within the same building, though on a different floor—this time, the second.

After submitting his admission slip, he waited patiently for the system to assign his number. With time to spare, Xia Zheng recalled some techniques from the Soul Refinement manual and, seizing the lull, began to practice discreetly.

The psychic power cultivated through the Soul Refinement Technique had three attributes: disturbance, devouring, and attack. Disturbance came first, devouring second, and attack last.

Following the technique’s steps, Xia Zheng gently released his psychic power. Sensing only a few people nearby, he happened to spot a cat passing in front of him, licking its paw and washing its face. He chose it as his test subject.

His psychic power stretched out like tendrils, reaching toward the cat. As they neared, the cat sensed something amiss—arching its back, fur bristling in alarm.

Without hesitation, Xia Zheng augmented his energy, transforming it into a net that enveloped the cat. It struggled briefly, then its head drooped, and it ceased resisting—the invasion was a success.

“As I thought, my idea was correct. My psychic power is abundant and concentrated, so I can perform this at a distance. Dean could only seize memories through physical contact, but I can do it without touching.” Suppressing his excitement, Xia Zheng let his psychic tendrils probe into the cat’s brain. Instantly, fragments of memory—images flickering with meaning—were transmitted into Xia Zheng’s mind.

He saw the cat’s memories: its birth, the mother cat, and its siblings... Its mother was poisoned while foraging, and the kittens had to fend for themselves. Most of its siblings died, leaving it alone to wander the city.

Xia Zheng felt the cat’s simple emotions. Though its feelings were not rich, the pain of having a family and losing it awakened a sense of compassion in him.

He saw moments of joy at finding food, terror while fleeing humans, happiness when fed, and even a period when a girl adopted it—only to abandon it later, bringing renewed pain. Xia Zheng was touched by these memories, his eyes growing moist. Unconsciously, he released feelings of care and affection, hoping to offer the cat some warmth.

“Excuse me... is this your cat?” Abruptly, Xia Zheng was interrupted, waking from the cat’s memories and severing the psychic connection. He had taken none of the cat’s memories, only viewed a few fragments, so the cat suffered no harm. On the contrary, once the connection ended, the cat inexplicably became attached to him, rubbing affectionately against his leg.

Two fashionable young women stood before him. They must have noticed the stray cat in the waiting area and approached out of curiosity.

“Oh... yes, it is...” Xia Zheng knew the cat was a stray with no owner. Adopting it seemed a good idea, so he nodded, taking the opportunity.

“Wow, your kitty is adorable...”

“Can I pet it?”

Xia Zheng did not refuse. The cat, though a stray, was clean and free of fleas, and soon more girls gathered around to pet it.

“What’s its name?” one girl asked.

Xia Zheng noticed the cat was orange—a type of tabby. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “Ali.”

“Oh, Ali, what a lovely name!” The girls began calling to the cat by its new name.

***

The announcement blared: the second stage of the assessment was officially beginning. The cat-cuddling girls reluctantly returned to their seats. Now, the hall was nearly full.

Xia Zheng’s turn came quickly. With a gentle psychic suggestion, he told Ali to wait for him at his seat. The cat nodded obediently, drawing the attention of those nearby.

This time, the test was conducted individually, not in groups. Xia Zheng passed through a corridor and soon reach