Chapter 38: Chapter 38 — Soul Power
Chapter 38 — Soul Power
Victor returned to the books.
This time, he wasn’t looking for another formula, more ingredients, or another explanation of the alchemical process. He wanted to understand where he had gone wrong. The three failed attempts had left him with more questions than answers, and the more he thought about them, the more he realized that all three failures had something in common.
Victor spent the next several hours comparing his attempts with the instructions written throughout the alchemy books. He went back through the sections on refinement, flame control, medicinal essence, and Soul Power, carefully rereading passages he had already studied. He compared the amount of flame he had used, the spiritual pressure he had applied, and the moments where each attempt had gone wrong.
The more he compared them, the clearer the problem became.
His flame wasn’t too weak. His materials weren’t the problem. The formula wasn’t flawed.
It was him.
More specifically, it was his control over his Soul Power.
Alchemy demanded something completely different from what Victor had expected. It required him to make tiny adjustments to his power without disturbing the material he was working with. A slight increase could destroy an ingredient. A slight decrease could leave it improperly refined. The difference between success and failure could be so small that Victor might not even notice the mistake until the ingredient was already ruined.
Victor leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.
"So that’s the problem."
He looked down at his hand.
His Soul Power had always been something he used without thought. He had never actually trained it. He had never sat down and considered how precisely he could control it.
Victor stood and began searching the shelves again.
This time, he wasn’t looking for alchemy.
He was looking for Soul Power cultivation.
It took him some time, but eventually he found an entire section dedicated to the subject. Several books covered the development of Soul Power itself, while others focused on techniques designed to improve the control of Bloodline Flames.
Victor pulled one of the thicker books from the shelf and carried it back to the table.
He opened it and began reading.
The book explained that controlling a Bloodline Flame wasn’t something that could simply be accomplished through greater cultivation. A cultivator could possess an enormous amount of Soul Power and still have terrible control over it.
Before attempting any advanced exercises, a practitioner first had to establish the most basic form of control.
They had to be able to summon their Bloodline Flame and keep it stable.
The book explained that this first step was deceptively difficult. When a practitioner first summoned their flame, the Soul Power feeding it was often unstable. The flame could surge too strongly, flicker uncontrollably, or disappear entirely. Some practitioners couldn’t even maintain a stable flame for a few breaths.
Victor’s eyes narrowed as he continued reading.
The first technique built upon that foundation.
It was considered a beginner technique, but even it required the practitioner to maintain their flame steadily before attempting it.
The practitioner would summon their Bloodline Flame into their palm and gradually increase its size before reducing it again. The process would be repeated over and over, forcing the practitioner to make tiny adjustments to their Soul Power.
The purpose wasn’t to increase the flame’s strength.
It was control.
Victor nodded slowly.
That made sense.
The book then introduced another technique.
This one was significantly more difficult.
The practitioner had to manipulate their Bloodline Flame into different shapes, starting with simple forms and eventually progressing toward increasingly complex objects. A stone. A needle. A blade. The more precise the shape, the greater the demand on the practitioner’s Soul Power.
Victor could immediately see why this would be useful for alchemy.
If he couldn’t control his flame precisely enough to form something as simple as a needle, how was he supposed to manipulate medicinal essence inside a cauldron?
But the final technique caught his attention even more.
Victor’s eyes stopped moving.
The practitioner had to split a single Bloodline Flame into two separate flames.
Not simply make the flame appear as two pieces.
Actually separate it.
Each flame had to remain stable and under the practitioner’s control simultaneously.
Victor stared at the page for several seconds.
That was clearly on another level.
The book classified it as an advanced technique and warned that attempting it without sufficient Soul Power control could result in complete loss of control over the flame.
Victor slowly closed the book.
"Yeah... not doing that yet."
He opened the book again and looked back toward the beginning.
There was something he had overlooked.
Before the beginner technique could even be attempted, he needed to master the first step.
Summoning the flame.
Holding it.
Stabilizing it.
Victor stared at the instructions.
So I can’t even start the actual technique yet.
He looked down at his hand.
The first thing he needed to learn wasn’t how to make the flame bigger or smaller.
It was how to simply keep it there.
Victor stood and moved toward an open section of the Alchemy Room.
He raised his hand.
Victor took a slow breath.
He focused on conjuring the flame in his hand. A moment later.
The Black Phoenix Flame appeared above his palm.
For less than a second, it burned brightly.
Then it vanished.
Victor blinked.
He stared at his empty hand.
"That was fast."
He tried again.
This time, the flame appeared smaller.
It flickered above his palm, barely larger than his fingernail.
Victor carefully maintained his Soul Power.
One second.
Two.
Three.
The flame suddenly surged.
Victor immediately lost control.
It flared upward before collapsing into nothing.
Victor frowned.
He hadn’t even done anything.
He had simply tried to keep it alive.
Victor read the instructions again.
The book had warned him that the first stage was largely about learning the natural rhythm of his Soul Power. He couldn’t simply force the flame to remain. He had to feel the amount of power it required and continuously make tiny corrections.
Victor looked at his palm again.
He summoned the flame.
This time, he didn’t try to change it.
He simply watched it.
The small black flame flickered gently above his palm, its dark edges twisting in the air. Victor focused on the connection between himself and the flame, trying to feel the amount of Soul Power flowing into it.
The flame began to shrink.
Victor instinctively pushed more Soul Power into it.
The flame suddenly flared.
Victor immediately pulled back.
It shrank again.
He stared at it.
Too much.
Then too little.
He was beginning to understand.
Victor tried again.
The flame appeared above his palm.
This time, he didn’t force it.
He watched.
He felt.
When it began to weaken, he made the smallest adjustment he could.
The flame steadied.
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
He made another tiny adjustment.
The flame remained.
Five seconds.
Then his concentration slipped.
The flame disappeared.
Victor lowered his hand and stared at it.
He had barely managed a few seconds.
Yet somehow, that attempt had felt different.
He understood now that controlling the Black Phoenix Flame wasn’t about constantly feeding it more Soul Power.
It was about maintaining a balance.
Too much, and the flame surged.
Too little, and it died.
Victor looked back toward the book.
He still had a long way to go before he could even begin the actual beginner technique.
But at least he finally knew where to start.
He sat back down and reread the instructions once more, committing the details to memory before closing the book.
For now, he would practice the first step.
Victor looked at his palm one last time.
A tiny black flame appeared above it.
It flickered softly in the darkness.
Victor watched it carefully.
Then he began again.
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