Ether knelt beside what remained of Noble Arkon. Arkon was no longer a man; he had become a bust of scorched flesh and cracked golden crystal. The air around them was saturated with the scent of ozone and spectral combustion. The ceiling groaned, and cracks began to widen like giant mouths preparing to swallow this fragment of history.
"In the law of exchange, nothing is lost... matter only changes its form to pass from the weak to the strong," Ether thought, extending his cold fingers toward the damaged third eye in Arkon's forehead.
With the aid of the (Spiritual Microscope), Ether saw the spectral "roots" of the Eye of Insight. It wasn't just a grafted organ; it was connected to Arkon's deep veins via delicate "golden threads." To any other cultivator, extracting this eye while in a state of energetic frenzy was suicide, but to the surgeon of Izguldur, it required only "cutting the current" at the precise moment.
"P... please..." the word escaped Arkon's shattered throat, mingled with viscous golden blood.
Ether didn't blink. There wasn't a shred of mercy in his eyes, only pure "professional focus."
"Arkon, your silence now is the most valuable service you can provide to science. Your last words will not increase your market value."
Ether placed his palm over the golden eye and began activating (Spectral Alchemy: Harmonic Absorption). Instead of ripping the eye out by force, he began sending pulses of the "Frost Raven's chill" he had acquired from Paul. The cold numbed the spectral nerves, causing the "golden threads" to shrink and detach from Arkon's brain without detonating.
"Traditional absorption wastes the essence; molecular deconstruction preserves the flavor."
With terrifying slowness, the golden eye began to melt beneath Ether's hand, turning into a glowing liquid that his pores absorbed directly. Ether felt a massive pressure sweeping through his nervous system; the energy of a "Peak Rank 2" cultivator was attempting to shatter a Rank 1 "vessel."
But Ether did not resist the pressure; he "re-routed" it. He used Kai's body, lying beside him, as a "discharge outlet" for the excess energy through the spiritual link he had previously implanted. Kai's body shook violently, and a mist of blood escaped his pores, but he remained alive—like a good tool enduring the strain.
BOOM!
Ether's internal being shook.
• Middle Rank 1...
• Advanced Rank 1...
• Peak Rank 1!
In a matter of minutes, Ether devoured Arkon's essence, leaping over years of tedious "cultivation." Not only did his level rise, but his eyes began to acquire a faint golden glint behind the icy blue. He had hybridized the "Insight" ability with the "Frost Raven."
"Now... it is time to close the file."
Ether stood up and looked at the ceiling, which had begun its final collapse. He grabbed Kai by the collar coldly and started moving through the "escape path" he had calculated beforehand. Behind them, tons of rock fell upon Arkon's corpse, turning the noble and his scandal into a mere stony grave that no one would dare exhume.
"A successful cultivator is not the one with the strongest weapon, but the one with the cleanest crime scene," Ether thought as he vanished into the darkness, leaving behind a wreckage that buried his small past, to begin his journey toward the higher ranks of Izguldur.