Chapter 346: Rust

It was actually Lokai!

Saul was somewhat surprised, then felt a sense of inevitability.

“Between you and Lokai, who approached Angela first?”

[An: Lokai had contacted her before I possessed Angela. However… when he came to her again, it was I who persuaded her to accept Bichye’s sacrificial rite.]

“Why? Did you gain something from the rite?”

[An: I had just escaped from the interlayer and was extremely weak—I needed energy. Besides, to survive, I had fused a part of myself with Angela, so her getting stronger was important to me too.]

Lokai would never offer benefits for free. Just like how he founded and maintained the Mutual Aid—there had to be some ulterior motive behind it.

“What price did you pay to receive Bichye’s sacrificial rite?”

[An: All byproducts of the rite were handed over to a First Rank apprentice. But I’m certain those things all ended up in Lokai’s hands eventually.]

That, Saul could believe.

The higher-level meetings of Lokai’s Mutual Aid were meant to help senior apprentices exchange items and share information but as the organizer, Lokai would undoubtedly reap a wealth of benefits and intelligence.

That’s the power of a platform.

Meanwhile, low-level members of the Mutual Aid were easily turned into raised gu specimens or disposable pawns.

Keli had once been implanted with a parasite. The weak Jenna had even died in front of Saul due to a worm gu.

Although Sid had eventually stepped up to take “responsibility” for Jenna’s death, Saul now suspected that Lokai’s hand might not have been absent from that matter either.

And the one who ultimately closed the net around Angela—was Billy…

“Is Billy one of Lokai’s people too? Being able to manipulate a Third Rank apprentice… this Mutual Aid might be even more influential than I imagined.”

And now, clearly, Lokai had caught himself another new prey.

“Stripping soul bodies… creating vengeful… Huh?” Saul’s footsteps suddenly halted. “Even the wandering wizard in Grind Sail Town got his hands on a vengeful spirit creating formation. I saw an advanced version of it at that lakeside cabin.”

What Saul couldn’t understand was—Lokai clearly specialized in the earth element, so why was he always involved with dark-element rituals, formations, and magic?

“Next time I head out, I need to check that lakeside cabin more carefully. There might be something I overlooked.”

Saul was walking with long strides and a fast pace. Deep in thought, he quickly reached the 16th floor of the East Tower, where Mentor Rum resided.

As soon as he entered the corridor, Saul spotted Hayden pacing nervously.

She was rubbing her hands gently, looking anxious.

When Saul appeared, Hayden let out a long sigh of relief.

“You looked so scared, I thought you were going to make him come out.” Saul walked over, and the two continued toward Mentor Rum’s quarters.

Hayden still trailed half a step behind Saul, even though he had never asked her to.

In the quieter living quarters of the mentors, Hayden also lowered her voice, “He said… if I keep avoiding it, the corruption will come faster.”

Her second personality seemed more perceptive than the primary one. Avoidance was definitely not the best solution.

Although sometimes, it worked.

The door to Mentor Rum’s room was slightly ajar. Outside stood a male apprentice.

He, like Hayden, had blond hair and blue eyes.

Now Saul understood—this was entirely due to Mentor Rum’s personal aesthetic.

All the soul infusion vessels were cosmetically altered to match his preferences, just to avoid unnecessary trouble.

They waited about fifteen minutes outside the door before a voice came from within, “Next.”

The gap in the door widened, and a slender girl stepped out. Her hair fell over most of her face, and her beautiful features looked gloomy.

The male apprentice at the front immediately entered the room.

Taking advantage of the changeover, Saul also walked up to the door. But just as he raised his hand to knock, he heard another mentor’s voice from inside.

“Is that you, Saul? Come in too.”

It was Mentor Kaz. Why was he here as well?

Saul followed inside. The Second Rank apprentice ahead of him stiffly twisted his neck ninety degrees, then froze in place.

Only after Saul passed him and lifted the heavy curtain to enter the inner room did the apprentice start moving again.

As Saul stepped into the partition, a beam of sunlight dazzled his eyes.

The window in Mentor Rum’s room was open only a crack today, but the sunlight outside was exceptionally bright. A shaft of light streamed in like a sword piercing the darkness.

Through the beam, Saul saw Mentor Kaz and Mentor Rum.

Mentor Rum was still a mountain.

Even more massive than the last time Saul had seen him. The fat on his back had risen so high it now towered above his head.

“How’s your experiment coming along? Hah… what are you standing there for? Get up there and lie down!”

The latter part was directed at the apprentice who had come in behind Saul.

“I still have a lot of confusion, so I came to learn from you.”

“You’re already able to conduct soul infusion experiments independently—there’s not much more I can teach you. Like I said before, you’re welcome to come watch anytime. If you can spot something I missed, all the better. But… heh, let’s begin. Mentor Kaz doesn’t have much patience.”

Mentor Rum seemed to be in a good mood. He chuckled heartily.

Though his mouth was obscured by fat, it was hard to tell if he was actually smiling.

Saul watched the male apprentice remove his outer robe, leaving only his shorts, and quickly lie down on the cold experiment table.

“Saul, observe for now. You’ll take over in a bit—let’s see how much of your corpse room skill you’ve retained.” Mentor Kaz’s voice was as hoarse and commanding as ever.

He was rarely seen without his long robe, but today he wore a form-fitting black outfit, rubber gloves on his hands—surgical gear.

Laid out before him was a set of dissection tools—scalpels, needles, clamps, forceps… all glinting coldly.

“Understood, Mentor.” Saul stood behind Kaz, watching as he swiftly sliced through the male apprentice’s arm from shoulder to wrist.

The wound split open instantly due to skin contraction—like jelly being cut. The blood wasn’t much, and it was thicker than a normal person’s.

Saul had made similar incisions on Hayden before, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with the phenomenon.

But what surprised him was Kaz’s next move. He switched to a different pair of forceps and began probing deep within the wound, as if searching for something.

Saul lowered his head, following the forceps’ tip with his eyes. He saw Kaz quickly extract something from the muscle and toss it into a nearby tray.

Glancing toward the tray, Saul saw an irregular black-white-gray stone—something like a calcified mass.

Before Saul could even figure out why such a thing would appear inside the vessel’s body, Kaz had already thrown in a second similar chunk.

About five minutes later, another seven or eight had been retrieved. Then Kaz casually tossed aside the forceps.

“Saul, you take over. Don’t forget the gloves.”

Saul hurried over, pulled a fresh pair of gloves from the side of the table, and put them on. Then, mimicking Kaz’s posture, he picked up the forceps.

In the corpse room, Saul had rarely worn gloves while harvesting materials. This time, Kaz had specifically instructed him to wear them—likely to protect the experiment subject, who could still barely be considered alive.

Meanwhile, Kaz hadn’t stopped either. He moved to the other side and cleanly cut open the subject’s other arm.

Saul didn’t watch him. He lowered his gaze, eyes narrowing.

Half-immersive Meditation Mode: activated.

Tiny white points of light appeared in the wound—so many that it was unsettling.

“Can you see a lot of them?” Rum’s voice floated over, low and distant. “Just pick out the ones over two millimeters in diameter.”

And the rest?

Just leave them there?

Saul had a vague guess as to what those small stones were.

They were impurities—byproducts of the composite body created by Rum and the other mentors. This man-made body, due to various defects, would develop internal flaws—like metal rusting.

An internal decay that would eventually destroy the vessel completely.

If every soul-infused vessel had to undergo regular maintenance…

Did that mean that all soul-infused vessels would… rust?

(End of Chapter)

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