Chapter 547: Soul Limit Methods

“So close,” muttered Edward after finishing reading Chris’ paper on the link between the Soul Flame and the human’s subconscious. Over the years, he has developed a few methods to deal with the Soul Flame Limit.

For example, Divine Energy. He created an enchantment that converted mana into Divine Energy. However, this method was flawed, requiring a medium, primarily Divine Blood. Although he only needs a few milliliters as the medium.

He had Guzznad’s body as an experiment along with what remained of Herpo. However, Edward did not like this method since it relied too much on Divinity or even foreign aid.

The second method he created was to overwhelm the soul with too much soul energy. As long as a soul absorbs enough soul energy, an arcanist can break the limit and reach a higher tier. Unfortunately, this method also had a few flaws.n0velb1n

The first of which was the low success rate. An arcanist needs absolute control over his soul to succeed in this endeavor, and their soul also needs a certain level of innate toughness. The control needed for this method was too high, rendering large-scale usability impossible.

As for the innate toughness? Many people have special soul talents, and Edward created a potion to help in the endeavor. Regardless, he eliminated this method.

The other method used was a rare material discovered after the war called Soul Essence Orb. The thing allowed any race or species to break the limitations of their souls. Sadly, this resource was scarce and not enough for the entire Empire.

Edward and the Empire tried to artificially create it and 3-D print it, but they failed.

The fourth method he found was the result of his student Chloe’s research. She found a special energy in the Dream Plane that could help with the limit. Unfortunately, the final result was the same.

This energy was rare and could not be excavated in large numbers. Edward tried Energy Conversion to convert mana and other forms of energy into Dream Nether Energy, and the result was unsatisfactory.

The soul limit of 99% of humans was Tier 6. However, to create the Dream Nether Energy required for a single arcanist to break the limit and reach Tier 7, Edward had to convert the equivalent of an entire galaxy (Tier 9) worth of mana.

The Empire was already dealing with an energy shortage, relying mostly on the Dark Multiverse for their needs. So, it was not cost-effective to use Dream Nether Energy to allow people to reach Tier 7, let alone higher levels.

Edward’s fifth attempt at solving this problem involved the Multiverse. He conducted a dark experiment where an alchemist fused his soul with his counterparts in the Multiverse.

Sadly, he always felt he was missing one last link for this project to succeed. Chris’ research gave him another hint, but he still felt he was missing a few things.

“Morgana, what do you think?”

“I have nothing to say,” shrugged the little elf. She has been running millions of calculations every day with no success.

“Alright. Send Chris’ research to the History Council to see if they can do something. What’s next on my schedule?”

“You have to oversee the process of opening our borders and quickly check the Bone Council. Then, we can depart on our journey.”

“That’s good.”

Edward did not immediately leave as he had one last thing to check–whether Chris’s Will Tempering Method would work for him. He entered a secluded room in his lab before entering a state of meditation.

The process of controlling the subconscious was not a pleasant experience. Edward was forced to control the deepest part of himself, his deepest desires, the good, the bad, and the extremely evil and disgusting.

He had to accept who he was as a person and decide whether to change, whether he could even change. His subconscious also revealed many things to him.

For example, some mild experiences that do not seem important have formed his personality's core aspects.

‘I definitely had some psychotic tendencies when I was in Primordial Earth. And after coming to this world and acquiring power, they were magnified,’ he summarized as he opened his eyes and exhaled.

“How is it?” asked Morgana.

“It should allow my Willpower to finally reach 9.”

“That’s good news.”