Rebirth: Supreme Soul Master

William worried that asking such a question might offend Berry. He knew she was famous for many things, but not for her strength and soul power. He feared that asking such a question might cross a line.

To his surprise, she simply glanced at him and smiled. "Is that all? Wow, I thought you were like everyone else."

William didn't know what to say, so he remained silent and waited for her reply.

"It's not exactly a secret anyway." She shrugged, feigning a cheerful demeanor, and continued, "I don't know what's wrong, but no matter how hard I try, my soul power hasn't increased by an inch. I've been stuck at the bottleneck of ninety-nine spiritual power for a year and a half! Can you imagine? Even my father demanded that all the doctors examine me, believing I was poisoned by the enemy. Can you believe it?"

William was surprised by her true self. Even when talking about something that would break anyone, she was happy and radiant.

She was a far cry from the dejected Berry he always heard about. If he had any doubts before, now he was certain. Such a radiant girl could never have ended her life in less than a month.

"Can I ask you one more question?" After confirming his earlier premonition, he decided to try to see what was wrong with her.

“What? You also want to try your luck like everyone else and win that huge reward?” she said softly, but William’s expression didn’t change. He really decided to help her.

"I only know one method... a very old method, one I learned at home," he told this white lie to cover up any potential misunderstandings: "Do you have spirit crystals? Is candlelight with you?"

She didn't speak, but simply touched the bracelet on her right wrist. William's eyes immediately recognized the extremely valuable storage item; it was considered expensive in the spirit world, and even more so for someone like him.

“This,” she said, taking out dozens of crystals and candles and handing them to William like dirt, “is this enough?”

“Wow, I only need one.” He randomly picked a crystal and a candle, waiting for her to put the rest away. But contrary to his expectations, she didn’t withdraw her hands.

“Take them,” she said kindly. “I know the movers never carry any items or supplies. I don’t know what made you come here so late, but these candles could help save your life.”

Her kind words and concern touched his heart. He looked at her appreciatively, knowing that she wouldn't give in if he refused. So he simply accepted. "Thank you," he said, putting everything into his bag, "Now I need you to do as I say."

The method to test a person's spirit must be done by that person. So he returned the crystal and the candle and explained what she had to do.

As she listened, the expression on her face told him that she was merely treating it as a recreational experiment. She held no hope for what he wanted to do, mistakenly believing it was a way to keep him by her side longer, primarily for protection, and rarely out of admiration.

As such a beautiful young woman, she became the focus of attention not only in her class but also in many upperclassmen. Moreover, her powerful and wealthy background made her the object of many people's admiration.

“Wipe it evenly, like this,” William continued, guiding her until the green substance covered the crystal-clear surface. “Inject your soul power into the crystal.”

"And then?" she asked, like a little girl waiting for a magic show.

“Continue to release your soul power until I say stop.” William didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. But he kept guiding her and waited for the results of her simple test.

He already knew her spirit type. She possessed the spirit of a fire dragon and was a direct descendant of her family.

The moment she infused her soul power into the crystal, the green substance disappeared, and the center of the crystal changed.

Unlike William's experience, her crystal had ninety-nine white dots shimmering in the center. However, this was not what drew his attention or made him widen his eyes.

“Wow! There are strange lights in there,” Berry said, surprised that the show was going to be so interesting. “But what are these beautiful lights? Red and… gold?” She looked up, puzzled and intrigued, and saw the shocked look on William’s face.

"What's wrong?" When she saw his face, she knew something was amiss. Although she loved the scene inside the crystal and felt a strange intimacy with the light swirling in its center, she felt only anxiety when she looked at William.

"No wonder! No wonder you couldn't break through before." After she said something funny, he said something that made her heart tighten.

William's tone, attitude, and expression told her that he knew what he was saying and wasn't making it up. She came from a deeply ingrained family, and her knowledge of the Soul Master's methods of spirit identification had already been unlocked.

However, the method William was now using on her was new to her. She had never heard of such a method before.

"Oh, I just mistook you for someone else for a moment." The thought flashed through her mind, but she immediately rejected it when she thought about how William knew her real problem.

Who was William? He was a frail man, one of the porters. Yes, she felt sympathy for someone like him, but how could she believe that someone as weak as William would know what was wrong with her?

But William didn't mind her last words; he simply looked up and met her gaze.

What she saw was a determined expression and a mature gaze, something that children his age would never see, let alone a frail porter.

“I know what’s holding you back, and I also know a way to help you break through.”

For a moment, she held her breath for a while before exhaling roughly. "Come on, don't say such dangerous things." She patted her chest and reluctantly handed the crystal back to him.