Kent was a little startled by the turn of events. Things were moving faster than he could comprehend, yet he could tell he had unlocked another strength.
‘A Guardian Tower, huh,’ Kent thought, feeling a flicker of happiness. But with Li Hua still missing, he forced himself to stay calm and focus on what he was there to do.
“I am done,” Kent said as the Guardian Stone vanished to who knows where. Janice didn’t seem to care about that. Her form was now flickering in and out of existence.
Her life force had long departed the waking world. Only an afterimage of her lifeforce, preserved in soul form, remained.
“Good. Since I failed my mission to protect the young miss, I will ensure you have the power to save her. Whether or not you can make it, your strength will depend on your destiny.
Give me your hand.”
Kent quickly obeyed and extended his hand.
“When you find the young miss, tell her I’m sorry. Tell her to forgive me for letting her down.”
As soon as Janice uttered those words, she dissolved into a golden smoke that entered his hand.
Kent was startled for a moment, but then a new set of messages began to appear.
[You have absorbed a soul relic. Name: Golden Tail Soul Fox Soul Shard.]
[Requirement met… Soul Tower awakening.]
[You have unlocked the Soul Tower. You must become a Root Grandmaster to awaken it fully.]
[Your Chaos Dragon bloodline is reacting to the soul shard… Your Chaos Dragon bloodline has merged with the soul shard.]
[Attempting to awaken a new class…]
[Congratulations, you have awakened a new class.]
[Class Name: Soul Cultivator (Spirit Master)]
[Level: Tier 1]
— You now can practice soul cultivation.
— You have gained the power to communicate with and control spirit entities such as Beasts, Weapons, and Spirits.
— You can enhance your physical and spiritual abilities by refining your soul energy.
— You can learn and practice unique soul-based techniques and combat arts.
[You have unlocked a new Soul skill: Soul Absorb.]
[Skill Name: Soul Absorb]
[Grade: Divine]
[Rank: SSS]
— Absorb the soul essence of defeated enemies to strengthen your soul power.
— Convert absorbed soul energy into health, stamina, or spiritual reserves.
— Temporarily gain the abilities or memories of absorbed souls.
[Because you have absorbed a very potent soul relic, the Guardian Protect sensing range has increased. You can now sense those under your protection within a 10-mile radius.]
[You have temporarily received the memories of Janice, the former guardian of the young Miss Li Hua, Daughter of the Shadows.]
[All other benefits will be unlocked as your soul grows.]
“Damn, what happened to just looking for a normal, small human?” Kent muttered, a small smile playing on his lips.
[Does the master want to seal the memories received from Janice?] the tower asked. The [Soul Absorb] ability allows him to temporarily gain access to the memories of those he has killed and whose souls he has absorbed.
This means that if he somehow learns the memories of others, he can only keep them temporarily; after that, they will vanish from his mind.
Of course, if he has a very strong mind and soul, he could retain them for much longer. But now, his soul is only at the Mortal stage.
The grading system in soul cultivation is the same as that of Spirit Beasts. It starts from Tier 1 and progresses further. Compared to normal cultivation, Tier 1 is the same as Root Awakening.
So, if he wants the strength to control memories that much, he would have to cultivate his soul to a much higher tier.
<Do it, Tower. Only give me access to what has transpired from the moment they were attacked to this moment.>
[Memories sealed.]
[You have received a memory file.]
Kent received the portion that shows Janice noticing the cloaked figures lurking around her house a few days ago. It was when they closed early because Kent had been generous enough to pay for the ten banana cakes with spirit stones.
But once they got home, Janice, who was a Root Grandmaster Soul Cultivator was able to sense the figures snooping around.
She had experienced a similar situation before, so she grabbed their small savings from the hidden compartment under the bed and ran off with Li Hua. They ran to the shed in the woods, where she had planned to suppress the cloaked figures before they ran.
Unfortunately for her, two of the three people who came were wearing soul-nullifying artifacts that canceled her soul attacks.
In the end, she only managed to kill one by using her soul and mind to control a knife, stabbing him through the heart.
But she was also stabbed through the heart after a very quick yet impactful battle. Li Hua was taken, and she was left to bleed to death.
“Smart woman,” Kent saw just before the two figures left; Janice had placed a marker on one of them.
<Tower, what is that marker, and how can I access it?> Kent asked.
[It’s a soul-tracking seal. It is nearly invisible and can be used to track someone from 200 miles away.]
“I see. How do I do that?” Kent muttered, asking for directions. The next second, a message appeared before his eyes.
[You have received a memory file.]
Kent’s mind was immediately filled with the method to activate the seal. It was from Janice’s memories. He quickly formed a couple of hand seals.
A small mark appeared on his forehead, and his eyes glowed golden momentarily before it stopped.
[You have to activate the seal, Master. The moment you are within 200 miles of the person, you will be able to sense them.]
“Good.” Kent looked around for a few minutes, but aside from the dead body of the cloaked person, there wasn’t anything else of interest.
Even Janice’s blood was no longer there. Her body, too, was gone.
Kent picked up the cloaked figure outside, and after finding nothing of value on him, his alchemy flame appeared. But just as he was about to burn the body, the tower spoke.
[The master might want to look inside his inside pocket.]
Kent checked his inside pocket and found an insignia. It had an X crossing a skull. He examined it briefly and then tossed it into his space ring.
The next second, the body was burned, and Kent started moving further north. From the memories, Janice had managed to track them using her last breath to a location 40 miles away.
Kent wanted to believe that after traversing these 40 miles, he could find something.
Right now, Kent’s anger started to rise for obvious reasons. If before he just wanted to look for Li Hua, this time, he was determined to find those who dared kill her grandma and inflict on them the cruelest form of torture.
Perhaps because he had now become Li Hua’s guardian, but even without that, Kent wouldn’t let anyone get away with going after someone he valued.
He could have forgotten about the small human; however, he didn’t. Somehow, when he was bored, instead of listening to her carnal desires, he managed to overcome them when the small human appeared in his mind.
Now that he found out some people were after her and had killed her grandma, Kent was pissed.
Guardian or not, he wouldn’t forgive them.