With one brutal swing, a sharp arc of blood-red energy tore through the air, aiming directly at Grandmaster Jarth's chest.
Jarth tried to react, forming a barrier in desperation, but it shattered the moment Ethan's claw touched it, like paper before a blade.
The claw attack pierced through him cleanly, throwing his body backwards, blood gushing into the air.
[Heaven's Virtue triggered.]
[The host is rewarded with 10 million Life Points for killing someone who killed Heaven's Chosen and a few other Quasi-Heaven's Chosen Ones.]
Looking at the system notifications, Ethan was shocked for a moment.
As far as he remembered, Ethan had only heard good things about Grandmaster Jarth, and he was greatly revered among the Loose Cultivators.
'However, from the looks of it, he is someone who only does evil things.'
By now, Ethan had already gained a solid grasp of how his Heavenly Talent: [Heaven's Virtue] truly worked and how its reward system operated.
In this cultivation world, no one walks the path of power without getting their hands dirty.
At some point in their journey, every cultivator—whether righteous or demonic—ends up committing acts that are considered cruel, selfish, or downright evil.
These deeds accumulate like a shadow on their souls, staining their fate and karma.
However, when a cultivator performs good deeds—whether it is saving someone, showing mercy, helping the weak, or protecting life—those virtuous actions don't necessarily erase their past sins... but they do hold weight.
The more good they do, the more it pushes back against the darkness clouding their soul, cleansing a portion of their accumulated karmic burden.
It was for this reason, Ethan didn't earn many Life Points when he killed Railan and the other two Nascent Soul Realm Cultivators, who must have committed lots of evil deeds, but those deeds were balanced by their good deeds and their contribution to humanity and the world.
But, unlike them, Grandmaster Jarth's evil deeds were much greater than his good deeds, which might be considered negligible, and thus, Ethan received 10 million Life Points—the same as Petrik.
'If not for the rewards from the [Heaven's Virtue], I would have thought he was a good person.'
Remembering the amicable look and gentle smile on Grandmaster Jarth's face, no one would believe he was an evil person.
'So, should I revive him?'
Soon, Ethan fell into a thought regarding Jarth's revival.
According to his plan, Ethan was supposed to revive Jarth and add another Nascent Soul Realm Subordinate under him.
Moreover, since Jarth was a High-level Spirit Farmer, he would be extremely helpful in nurturing High-level Spirit Plants.
But, he didn't expect Jarth to be so evil…at least according to [Heaven's Virtue], and reviving him would definitely take back the 10 million Life Points he just received.
'Forget it…I won't revive him.'
After thinking for a moment, Ethan decided not to revive Jarth—not because he was worried about losing 10 million Life Points; instead, he was worried that he wouldn't get full loyalty from Jarth.
'Although I am extremely lucky for the next four hours, there is no need to take such an unnecessary risk.'
After reviving Jarth, if Ethan didn't get his full loyalty, his secret of reviving cultivators while bestowing great things would be exposed to the entire world.
Moreover, currently, Ethan didn't have any more Godly General Revival Life Cards, and he had to use the Fusion Life Card to merge the three General Revival Life Cards, which Ethan didn't have much interest in doing.
'The Fusion Life Card is reserved for merged Low-level Heavenly Luck Cards or Godly Lifespan Cards.'
Ethan had long decided to use the Fusion Life Cards for only two types of Life Cards; unless it is absolutely necessary, he won't use it on other Life Cards.
'Since there is no reviving, it's time to collect my loot.'
With all those things, Ethan no longer bothered to revive Grandmaster Jarth; instead, he collected the storage ring and clawed a Soul Core from the corpse.
Soul Core… it is an upgraded version of the Golden Core. When a Golden Core Realm Cultivator breaks through to the Nascent Soul Realm, his Golden Core will transform into a Soul Core.
It is said that inside the Soul Core, there is a small portion of the cultivator's soul, and because of that, as long as the Soul Core is still intact, with some external help, he could construct a new body using some Special Cultivation Resources.
'Although it is only a Level 1 Soul Core, it is a Rank 7 Item. So, it must be useful, right?'
The higher the level of the Soul Core, the higher the chances of creating a new body; however, Ethan had no plans to help Jarth create a new body.
He believed that the Soul Core could be useful for his subordinates…especially his Night Demons in their cultivation.
[The host meets the requirements to create a High-level Life Card.]
Just as he was about to put the Soul Core into a Jade Box, Ethan received a system notification, making him pleasantly surprised.
'So, I can turn this Soul Core into a High-level Life Card…interesting.'
Without a doubt, Ethan once again gave the credit to his Heavenly Luck.
[The requirements to create a Soul Inheritance Life Card (High-level) are:]
[1) Soul Core (Any level)]
[2) 100 High-level Spirit Stones]
[3) 1 million Life Points]
Looking at the details, Ethan didn't think much about it and directly created a High-level Life Card named Soul Inheritance Life Card.
Although he didn't know the effects of the Soul Inheritance Life Card, since it was a High-level Life Card, Ethan didn't hesitate to create it.
'Also, I should leave this place.'
While the system created the Life Card, Ethan burned the corpse and ran away from that location.
[The host has created the High-level Life Card [Soul Inheritance Life Card].]
After finding a peaceful spot in a forest, Ethan checked the details of the new High-level Life Card, making him instantly use it without any hesitation.
[The host has used the [Soul Inheritance Life Card] and awakened a Unique Talent [Gift of Eternal Pursuit].]