Chapter 323: Chapter 285: Advanced Level Talent: Clear Essence! The Buried "Saintess

Its bonus to the Spirit Attribute was simply heaven-defying. Not only did it simultaneously increase Spirit and Will growth, but it also granted the ability to use Willpower to negate damage.

But, that wasn’t even the strongest part of this talent.

If it were just a simple numerical boost, it wouldn’t deserve to be called an Advanced Level talent. The true key lay in the description that followed: "Greatly increases Resistance to status effects and control Skills."

Greatly increases, but by how much?

No one could give a specific number because it increased along with the strength of its owner’s conviction.

The stronger the conviction, the higher the Resistance—it could even reach a state of being impervious to all techniques!

In later generations, the most famous owner of Clear Essence was not some random player, but Gale Saintess Ilana, the Favored One of the Storm God, Ezra.

In the final act of the Major Event, the Raging Seven Seas, she called upon Divine Power to imbue herself, drove deep into an endless tide of blood, and annihilated the worldly incarnation of the malevolent entity, the Crimson Sea, quelling the chaos that had engulfed more than half the oceans of the world of Yino.

The role of her Clear Essence in this was undeniable.

If not for the extreme resistance to status effects provided by this talent, even a mighty Ascension Level Saint Professional would have struggled to face that twisted creation capable of driving one to madness and collapse.

But...

"What a waste..."

Jon looked at Carina’s panel, then at her vacant eyes, and couldn’t help but sigh softly.

"If you had believed in any of the Deities, They would have raised you up to be Their mortal representative... but you ended up walking a completely opposite path, throwing your lot in with those connected to malevolent entities."

"Maybe this is just proof that not all talents are meant to be discovered?"

"A pearl gathering dust..."

Carina had no reaction to Jon’s lament. Her hollow black eyes still reflected no shapes, and her chapped lips were slightly parted, emitting broken, meaningless gasps of air.

Jon wasn’t surprised by this.

No matter how strong a talent was, it still needed will and Perception to be activated. Carina had clearly never glimpsed the "clarity" hidden within her, let alone had the opportunity or the path to transform it into actual strength.

In the past, she had relied on this talent to break free from the soul restraints of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which could be considered winning herself a world of possibilities.

But in Heta County City, her body was possessed, her soul was torn apart, and she was repeatedly scoured by the foul, frenzied power of a malevolent entity...

In such a desperate situation, she had managed to keep a single core spark of her spirit from being extinguished. It was a rare feat, relying perhaps on survival instinct, or perhaps on some deep-seated resilience and unwillingness to yield that was rooted in her very soul—something even she wasn’t aware of. It could be called the final act of defiance from her Clear Essence talent.

What he could do now was his best to repair her remaining Soul Fragments—torn and ground down as they were. It was like mending a piece of glazed pottery riddled with cracks, on the verge of shattering completely, all in an attempt to make her useful to him.

Even with the aid of Divine Power and using the most exquisite Divine Techniques to piece her back together, it was impossible for her to ever recover into a normal person with a complete soul and rich emotions.

The parts that had been crushed by someone stronger, polluted and annihilated by the malevolent entity’s energy, were already like grains of sand scattered by a fierce wind, never to be found again.

This woman was fated to be a Broken Artifact. Though her base material was once a rare treasure, all that remained were barely-connected fragments. Only the talent listed in her Attributes column testified to the great potential she once possessed.

After confirming that the consciousness transmitted from the other end of the Soul Contract was still a boundless, deathly still, and ice-cold void, Jon stood up and extended his hand.

A pearly white light flowed down from his fingertips. It wasn’t dazzling, but it carried a reassuringly pure and clear power.

Divine Technique: Light of Soul Purification.

After purifying the Poison from Yed, Jon’s Divine Power quota for the day was already at rock bottom, so he could only use 0.1 for this soul healing.

But even so, it was enough for the effect of this Divine Technique—one not specialized in soul healing—to surpass most other Skills of the same type.

Rings of gentle light rippled out silently, softly enveloping Carina’s head.

Bathed in the light, the woman’s tense body relaxed slightly. The grip of the one arm clamped tightly around her head gradually loosened, and her stiff fingers released her tangled, knotted black hair, falling limply to her side.

Within her murky, hollow black eyes, something extremely faint seemed to be lit by the glow. They were no longer completely empty, but slowly began to reflect a blurry silhouette—Jon’s tall figure, and the undying pearly white light at his fingertips.

She sat slumped on the cold floor tiles, her gaunt back resting against the rough, cold corner of the wall. Her head was tilted up slightly, following Jon and the source of light at his fingertips in a completely passive and tame posture.

"Mas...ter... Mas...ter..."

The woman’s voice was as faint as a thread, without any inflection, but these meaningful words signified that the part of her soul responsible for "language" was beginning to function again.

A moment later, the light from the Divine Technique faded away like melting snow, and silence returned to the room.

The emptiness in Carina’s eyes had receded slightly, but it hadn’t coalesced into the true spark of a normal person. Her complexion had improved a bit as well; the sickly, ashen color beneath her skin faded, revealing a long-absent, faint trace of life.

She no longer trembled or mumbled incoherently, but simply curled up there quietly, staring blankly at Jon.

Jon, for his part, withdrew his finger. His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, as if inspecting a flawed piece of beautiful jade, before he looked at her panel—specifically, her Willpower.

[Willpower: 46/14,985]

’As expected of Clear Essence, her Willpower is already starting to recover. A few more times, and she should regain some basic motor functions and be able to do simple things...’

’I hope she hasn’t forgotten her skills as an intelligence agent...’

He mused to himself, then turned and beckoned to Rosalind, who was waiting quietly by the door.

"Get her into some clean clothes, feed her something, and have someone clean this place up."

"Yes, Master."

Rosalind nodded slightly and stepped forward silently. Carina offered no resistance, allowing Rosalind to help her up.

But as she was leaving the quiet room, her hollow gaze remained fixed over Rosalind’s shoulder, stubbornly locked on Jon’s position.

Just as the two women were about to leave, Jon seemed to remember something and added,

"Oh, right. Rosalind, for the time being, put aside what you’re working on and hand it off to someone else. In a few days, you’re coming with me on a trip."

This command was clearly outside of Rosalind’s scheduled duties. She stopped, somewhat surprised, and looked at Jon.

"But, the Workshop still has many things that need my—"

"Don’t ask. You’ll find out when the time comes."

Jon shook his head, cutting her off in a relaxed tone.

"You’ve been working so hard for so long. You deserve a break."

"Besides, if you take on everything yourself, the other young people in the Workshop will never get a chance to grow."

Perhaps Jon’s last sentence convinced her—the future of the Workshop did indeed need more young people to gain experience. Or perhaps the secret desire in her heart to go on a trip with her master had quietly gained the upper hand.

In any case, Rosalind’s silver eyelashes trembled slightly, like a faint breeze brushing over a frozen lake.

She lowered her eyes, nodded, and perfectly concealed that flicker of unusual emotion.

"Yes, Master."

Then, she turned and left, supporting Carina.

The room returned to silence, with only specks of dust swirling soundlessly in the air.

Jon retracted his gaze. The pad of his finger slowly traced his sharp jawline. Deep within his ice-blue eyes, a long-brewing, tempered glint of malice suddenly ignited.

’It’s time to collect some interest—from the Eternal Frost Sect.’

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