Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener - Chapter 598

Chapter 598: Chapter 598: Unstoppable Absorption! Terrifying Dual Backlash!
At this moment, Sterl had just completed his enhancement through the infusion of soul power. Both his physical and mental states were at their peak.

However, Sterl wasn’t sure how strong the backlash from absorbing high-level soul power would be. So, to be safe, he decided to absorb it at the slowest possible rate.

Once he felt prepared, Sterl grasped the Soul Devourer Sphere and carefully began drawing out the high-level soul power stored within it.

Soon, a faint trickle of high-level soul power, under his control, began to flow out of the Soul Devourer Sphere. With his full attention fixed on it, it gradually seeped into his body.

Then…

“Huh? It doesn’t seem to be causing any problems?”

Sterl, who had been on high alert, waiting for the backlash, was surprised. The thread of high-level soul power, once it entered his body, behaved just like a drop of ordinary water—no reaction whatsoever.

Although he was absorbing it at the slowest pace possible, even that small amount should have caused some kind of impact. Even absorbing normal soul power at a rate of one point per second usually produced some kind of backlash. There was no reason for high-level soul power to be any different.

“Could it be that absorbing high-level soul power doesn’t cause any soul backlash at all?”

He thought to himself, but his vigilance remained intact. He still felt uneasy about the Soul Devourer Sphere—it had a sinister vibe to it. Who knew if there were any hidden traps waiting for him?

“Never mind, I’ll stop the absorption for now and see what this high-level soul power can do.”

With that thought, Sterl subtly tried to halt the absorption of the soul power.

But just then, he froze in place.

He was horrified to discover that the Soul Devourer Sphere had slipped from his control!

“What’s going on!?”

His heart jolted, and a bad feeling surged within him.

At that moment, a flood of information poured out of the Soul Devourer Sphere, and he suddenly realized—this wasn’t a case of the Soul Devourer Sphere slipping from his control. It was that the absorption of high-level soul power couldn’t be interrupted!

Once the process began, he would either have to absorb all the high-level soul power stored in the Soul Devourer Sphere, or reach some critical point in his body where he would need to undergo a transformation before he could continue the absorption.

“What kind of absurd principle is this?”

Sterl felt a wave of panic rising within him as he could feel more and more high-level soul power flowing from the Soul Devourer Sphere into his body.

After the high-level soul power entered his body, part of it flowed into his mental and spiritual essence, while another part deeply integrated into the innermost parts of his body—places so deep that even he couldn’t sense them.

He tried to forcibly interrupt the absorption, but the Soul Devourer Sphere clung to his hand like a stubborn patch of dogskin plaster, no matter how hard he tugged, he couldn’t separate it from himself.

His intuition told him that even if he severed the hand, the connection between him and the Soul Devourer Sphere wouldn’t be broken.

“Is this going to get me killed here!?” Sterl stared in disbelief. He hadn’t expected the absorption of high-level soul power to cause such a drastic turn of events. This was beyond anything he could have anticipated.

Before, he had only thought that absorbing high-level soul power would result in a more intense backlash. He never imagined it would lead to something like this.

After trying various methods, Sterl finally realized that he had no choice but to accept this reality and let the high-level soul power pour into his body.

“Damn it! Since I can’t avoid it, I’ll just crank it up to the max. I don’t believe that some inanimate object can screw me over like this!” He snorted coldly and decided to ignore the Soul Devourer Sphere, which had latched onto him like glue, and instead, he accelerated the absorption speed from one point per second to ten points per second!

He had originally planned to increase the speed to one hundred points per second. After all, he had plenty of trump cards. Even if he were to die and turn into ash, he had ways to revive himself!

However, the Soul Devourer Sphere warned him that his physical strength wasn’t enough to handle such a high-speed absorption.

Reluctantly, Sterl had no choice but to wait patiently.

This was the first time he had ever felt so powerless. The Soul Devourer Sphere was truly a pain in the neck.

With the absorption speed now ten times faster, he had expected to consume all the high-level soul power within a minute. But to his surprise, the influx of high-level soul power suddenly halted after only about half a minute.

“Huh? It stopped?”

Sterl furrowed his brows and looked at the remaining soul power inside the Soul Devourer Sphere. He had absorbed about 300 points of high-level soul power.

Remembering the information the Soul Devourer Sphere had conveyed, Sterl understood that his body could only absorb 300 points of high-level soul power before reaching some kind of critical limit.

“Well then, the next step should be the transformation. But what exactly is this transformation?”

He sensed vaguely that this so-called transformation was no simple matter. Without hesitation, Sterl immediately gathered all his will and focus to stabilize his soul.

At the same time, he immediately activated the Ascend to Godhood state, stacking all the enhancement abilities onto himself.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Almost simultaneously, deep within his consciousness and soul, a massive, overwhelming tsunami charged toward his soul with terrifying force!

“Holy shit! This is soul backlash!?”

As he felt the vast power of the backlash coming at him, Sterl’s eyes widened. It was as though countless wild horses were rampaging through his mind, trampling his thoughts in a chaotic frenzy. He couldn’t stop himself from wanting to scream out loud.

But in this situation, holding his ground was the most important thing!

With a low growl, he focused all his willpower onto his soul, strengthening it. His soul, already as massive as a mountain, became even more resilient, rooting itself deep into the earth, unbreakable!

Boom!

Suddenly, the soul-shattering tsunami-like backlash slammed into his soul. Sterl grunted, violently coughing up a mouthful of blood.

The overwhelming shockwave nearly overturned his soul-mountain, threatening to tear it apart.

Even though he barely managed to withstand the force, countless boulders and soil from his soul’s peak were swept away. The surface of his soul was covered with deep, jagged cracks.

Just one wave of impact had pushed Sterl’s soul to its absolute limit!

“Whew… Is it over?”

After the tsunami subsided, Sterl’s shattered soul-mountain was nearly submerged in the seawater. But the first wave of a tsunami is often the most deadly—once it’s survived, the subsequent waves tend to be far weaker.

But before Sterl could even catch his breath, a sharp, searing pain suddenly radiated from his body, causing his heart to shake. His consciousness almost slipped away from his soul’s perspective.

Boom, boom, boom!!

At that moment, his heart began to pound wildly, entering an overdrive state. His blood surged like a flood, every organ in his body trembling, every cell struggling in agony.

Then, the high-level soul power that had sunk deepest into his body slowly began to emerge. It rapidly fragmented into countless tiny particles, wreaking havoc within him.

Each shockwave of pain felt like a tide, crashing into him, and the suffering made Sterl’s mental state waver.

Meanwhile, the seawater surrounding his soul-mountain began to undergo violent changes.

The seawater, now centered around his soul, began to spin rapidly. In a matter of moments, it formed a high-speed rotating vortex.

With each rotation, the vortex tore at his soul, making his already shattered soul even more fragmented.

Sterl squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth, not daring to make a sound. In this state, any small fluctuation could lead to a complete collapse, with the terrifying backlash consuming him whole!

Now, the only thing he could do was endure, resisting the double onslaught from both his soul and his body with all his might.

Sterl had a sense that if he failed to hold out, the consequences could be irreversible. Even if he were to be revived, the damage could be unimaginable. Worse still, it could render his resurrection trump cards useless.

Every ounce of his strength had been earned through countless efforts, overcoming endless hardships, and he wouldn’t allow all of that to be in vain.

So, no matter what, he had to hold on!

Time passed, second by second, and the backlash from both his soul and his body showed no sign of weakening.

The force seemed to want to slowly wear him down, like a frog being boiled alive in warm water, pushing him to the absolute limit.

However, from the very beginning, Sterl had endured countless trials, and with his exceptionally strong soul, his mental will had already transcended the level of many higher gods. He stood firm, unmoving, despite the relentless impact of this force.

His will still held strong, and his soul could just about endure the onslaught. But his body was nearing its breaking point.

“I didn’t expect my body to still be my weakest link,” Sterl thought helplessly. He realized that this force couldn’t be resisted with the Ascend to Godhood state; he had to rely solely on his physical strength.

Though his body had long surpassed the limits of third-class beings, and even legends couldn’t compare, having been further enhanced by two rounds of soul power refinement, bringing it to a level on par with a demigod, it still couldn’t match the strength of his soul.

But it wasn’t his fault—he had never stopped advancing. In just a few short years, he had reached a level that ordinary geniuses would require decades, even centuries, to achieve. However, even with all that, it was clear that one could not simply leap to the heavens in a single step.

“Forget it. If I die, I die. At worst, I’ll start over from the beginning!”

Sterl steeled himself, no longer hesitating, quietly awaiting the force to slowly shatter his body.

At the same time, he made a silent vow—if the creator of this Soul Devourer Sphere hadn’t truly died, one day, he would track them down, capture them, and whip them day and night, to satisfy the rage building in his heart!