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Born In Blood Chapter 151-160


Chapter 151 Choices

 

Liam couldn’t help but feel excited going back to the academy.

‘There’s much to do. I haven’t even begun forging something suitable for my prowess. I can probably match Rogan’s blades now.’

Although the level of experience was vastly less, Liam had the King’s Eye. Not to mention, Rogan didn’t have the ‘cook’ method Liam had invented.

Out of all his new advancements and progress, Blood Weaving was still the area he most improved in. Liam smiled just thinking about it.

‘I’m also close to the middle-stage of the Rank 3 body. It’ll take a week or so to get past that point.’

Liam remembered the ‘House of Honor’ over the Hole.

‘I should be strong enough for that now, right?’

///

A week passed.

The train had finally arrived at the underwater terminal.

Liam and the rest had promptly exited.

There wasn’t much that changed inside the academy while he was gone. It looked the exact same, but it looked like most of the students were on break.

The giant bubble was still holding strong, but the few students lingering around the terminal looked much stronger compared to before.

They gave Liam and his group shocked looks, as though they had grown another head.

“I guess we depart from here,” Nord said solemnly, his gaze forward. “It was a fun journey, but I’m sure we won’t see each other anymore.”

“Probably not,” Liam confirmed casually as he began to walk to his dorms, but the others were headed in the same direction.

“I’ll be here until I graduate, maybe accept a high ranking position in the Royal army. Deafie is obviously heading back to the dragon. What about you, Lawrence?” the delinquent asked curiously, dodging the kick aiming for the back of his head.

Despite the squabble, they were still curious as to what Liam was going to answer with.

“The Celestial Ranks.”

“Thought so,” Nord and Rin nodded to themselves. ‘Touching’ the stars only meant one thing, after all.

Nessa gave the three youths a quiet side glance. Although she didn’t approve of their maniacal personalities, they made her realize the harsh truth of the cultivation world.

“Thank you. I will repay the safety you all have given me if my family ever grows.”

Exchanging a solemn nod with the group, Nessa departed.

From there, Rin and Nord left after exchanging a few more words, and Liam was alone once again.

Just how he liked it.

Nord and Rin’s personalities weren’t too annoying compared to the snobby nobles… but he wouldn’t deliberately become friends with them just because of that.

‘I haven’t been teleported to the Headmaster’s office yet. I’ll meet with him later. First, I’ll wait for the rewards.’

As he made his way towards his accommodation, Liam garnered more than a few strange looks from the passing students.

“The Golden-Eyed Vagrant is back!” a shocked voice shouted in the distance.

Liam felt his headache worsen.

Scowling, he quickly found his dorm and entered.

The small house had not changed in the least during his time abroad, which relieved him quite a bit.

Although he wanted to get straight into forging and inscribing, Liam didn’t have any materials on hand. In the first place, he wouldn’t start anything before receiving his rewards.

‘Also, I’m going to need the third Psionic Rune…’

That would undoubtedly reveal his new status as a Rank 2 Magus, but then again, it was just a matter of time before it got out anyway.

Liam made his way to the basement, then steeled his gaze and heaved a slight breath.

“You’re watching, right?”

Liam seemingly spoke to himself.

Silence answered his question.

“Don’t be difficult… tell me what you want. Didn’t you tell me we’ll talk more?”

Silence.

Liam clicked his tongue in annoyance. He spent the next few minutes speaking to himself, but nothing useful came out of it.

In the end, he just began cultivating out of frustration.

///

Two hours passed.

Still, his rewards didn’t arrive.

Frowning, Liam decided to leave his house and head towards Reye’s office, but when he opened the door, the Headmaster was looking straight at him with a sly smile.

“Miss Kalia thoroughly praised your work. May I come in?”

Liam softened his grimace and nodded, then stepped aside for the man to enter.

He half expected the Headmaster to be pissed off at him for Gerald’s death, but Reye didn’t bat an eye.

“This place is a mess… how can you call this a home?” Reye asked with furrowed brows, looking at the scattered piles of clothes and misplaced furniture.

“I have no time for cleaning.”

Reye opened his mouth to reprimand him, but shook his head and gave up.

“I’m honestly relieved you’re back. Most of the teachers haven’t been briefed on your mission, and that damn Janice has been pestering me constantly about where you went.”

The Headmaster’s tone grew angrier as he spoke, but then calmed himself down seeing the weirded out look on Liam’s face.

A moment later, he took out three individual rings from his pockets.

Liam’s eye flashed with greed for a split second.

“Relax,” the Headmaster said, noticing the look. “Not all three of these are yours.”

Liam looked dejected, but the Headmaster shook his head.

“I’m here to grant you a choice between three options.”

Noticing Liam’s confused expression, Reye began with an explanation.

“Your achievements in the Korsan Lands have been nothing short of amazing, and it wouldn’t fit the Royals not to graciously reward you for it. Kalia simply thought you would be the type to appreciate a choice.”

Smart of her.

Reye began to explain the choices.

“As a general reward, you’ll be given a base reward of 450k ‘Ora’ Stones, four Rank 3 spells, a Rank 4 martial art, and a Rank 3 cultivation technique of your choosing.”

Liam was about to interject. The rewards were basically the same as before, but Reye stopped him instantly.

“You have the choice between a base Rank 5 tempering method, not attuned with your element, or a Rank 4 darkness cultivation technique, or a darkness spell that progresses with your mental sphere.”

Chapter 152 Wise

 

Liam was visibly shocked.

A Rank 5 tempering method?

Even if it was a base, non-elemental technique, Liam couldn’t imagine how strong his body would be at that level.

Not to mention, it would solve his problem of finding another tempering method after advancing to the fourth Rank, and the general scarcity of techniques at that level.

Although his inscription abilities had improved by leaps and bounds, he didn’t see himself inventing Rank 3 techniques, let alone Zenith Ranked tempering methods.

It was the same with the Rank 4 cultivation technique. He was already set for the third Rank, but eventually, he’d have to start looking for another.

‘There’s still a lot of time left before I have to look ahead.’

Then there was the spell that would strengthen each time Liam’s sea of consciousness advanced.

It was obvious what he was going to choose.

There was no doubt in his mind a spell that naturally grew alongside him was going to be the most useful down the line.

Although choosing a Rank 5 could provide insurance and steady strength, Liam didn’t like how it limited his potential for more power.

‘If it was attuned to my element, there’s no way I wouldn’t choose it.’

“Let me see the spell, then. I want to weigh my options before I choose.”

Reye nodded, taking out a luxurious golden scroll from his ring and handing it to Liam.

Liam’s eye scanned the scroll contents carefully. The intricate diagrams were so complex, every line was thinner than a hair, and the complex meanings imbued within them were in seamless harmony.

Even with the King’s Eye, Liam didn’t understand how one could invent a spell so complicated. Visit no(v)eLb(i)n.𝘤𝑜𝓂 for the best novel reading experience

‘Amazing.’

Was all Liam could think.

‘Even the ink is etched into the scroll.’

At the top, the spell name was written in cursive Echorian characters, along with a brief description below it.

‘Shadow Clone.’

‘Depending on the user’s mental capabilities, they could summon a clone similar to themselves, made from a mix of gaseous, liquid, and solid darkness. Requires constant mental energy to control.’

‘Heavy usage of ‘Ora’ and mental energy. The number of clones could rise depending on the user’s sea of consciousness. It will not last indefinitely, and requires a constant stream of mental energy to persist and hold together the construct.’

Liam’s eye shone with glimmering lights.

‘A spell like this can actually exist?’

His jaw went slack.

“You’re quite lucky,” Reye mentioned, his tone laced with hidden envy and regret. “That spell has been gathering dust in the academy’s armory for years. If you were any less fortunate, they would’ve sold it for a giant amount of ‘Ora’ Stones.”

Liam hid a mocking grin at Reye’s jealousy, remarking the change in his mental waves as the old man expressed his regret.

‘So that’s what jealousy looks like. One of the layers in his mental waves slightly changed shape…’

Saving that for later, Liam started weighing his options.

‘It’s a no brainer. Between this and the other spells, my battle prowess will reach the sky.’

Liam didn’t have to ponder over the other two choices… though he had to say, a Rank 5 technique certainly had a nice ring to it.

Liam nodded to himself.

“I choose this one.”

Reye responded with a nod of his own, storing the other two rings and giving him one.

Liam instantly inspected the ring and found that it had 60 square meters of space, and was absolutely stacked with profound looking ‘Ora’ Crystals.

By now, Liam had so many rings he could make a pimp jealous.

“Your spells and martial arts will be available to you in the Armory. You can head there to choose.”

Liam nodded, and the Headmaster promptly left. As soon as he did, Liam began to memorize the spell.

It took him a complete hour to do so, and he entered the basement to give it a test.

With a thought, Liam’s core began to surge out massive amounts of mixed-state ‘Ora’ that separated from all over his body. Liam felt his organ nearly empty from just one usage of the spell.

Meanwhile, the spell literally split Liam into two halves, as though a bacteria had multiplied.

It took a second for it to completely form, but when it did, it was a perfect copy of Liam.

Even the clothes, the cold expression, height, hair, everything was replicated… except one glaring difference.

It was purely made from darkness.

Even the clothes and the skin were pure black, and one could instantly tell who was who.

‘I really didn’t account for that, did I…’

Nonetheless, Liam wasn’t discouraged in the least. He was perfectly satisfied with his choice.

A moment later, Liam tried to control the clone with his mental waves, commanding it to take a few steps forward.

As though it was being controlled by a lousy puppet-master, the Shadow Clone took unnatural strides, jittery and unstable all throughout, like a robot missing more than a few parts.

Liam felt a natural connection to the shadow clone, but his control over it was definitely lacking in all areas.

Not to mention, it was feeding on his mental waves like a gluttonous pit, causing a bit of cold sweat to trickle over his brow.

‘The real problem is how to use this spell in a real battle…’

‘First, I have to get good at controlling it. Enough that it could hold blades and support me in a real fight.’

‘Second is the appearance. If it wasn’t purely darkness, it could easily disorient my target.’

Just then, something in Liam’s mind clicked.

Didn’t he have illusionary abilities?

Gulping, Liam coated the Shadow Clone with another thin layer of mental energy.

After taking a minute to project his image onto the copy, Liam activated the King’s Eye.

At once, the entire Shadow Clone resembled Liam near perfectly.

There were missing details here and there, and parts of the image were missing… but other than that, the skin, face and other features were infinitely more Liam-like.

Liam grinned.

A wise choice indeed.

Chapter 153 Challenge

 

Liam headed towards the Armory after finishing up a few more tests with the King’s Eye.

A few minutes after, the Shadow Clone simply fell apart and dissipated after his control over it waned.

The clone simply took too much mental energy to function properly, and Liam would need to spend hours of cultivation and rest to refill his centers of power.

‘Other than the massive consumption of energy it takes, it’s an amazing spell… I wonder how much better it would be as a Rank 3 Magus.’

Eventually, Liam arrived at the Armory.

Behn, the Armorer, was pleasantly surprised to see him, and the stern-faced man cracked a broad smile.

He couldn’t help but respect how mature and stronger the boy looked compared to half a year ago.

“Kid, you have any idea how infamous you are around this place? Everyone’s screaming “Golden-Eyed Vagrant”, or whatever that is. Where the heck were you?”

A curse almost left Liam’s lips, but he stopped himself.

“It’s nothing. Just useless gossip between retards. If the Headmaster didn’t tell you where I was, neither could I.”

Behn raised a brow. ‘Aren’t you a kid, though? And what’s with that answer?’ he thought.

“Forget that, I have to cash in my rewards,” Liam said, taking out his academy token.

Behn accepted the token with pursed lips, and his face grew into shock as he realized just what Liam was owed.

“All of this together is worth more than 500K! Were the rumors true? Were you actually sent to kill a dragon? Or kidnap an Elf princess?”

Liam was taken aback. Just what kind of dumb rumors flew around when they were gone?

He shook his head.

“If you could hurry it up please. I still have other places I need to visit.”

The Armorer chuckled awkwardly, then fixed himself and began to summon the different spells and techniques Liam was to choose.

“Rank 4 martial art specialized in dual-swords, four Rank 3 spells, and one Rank 3 cultivation technique.” Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om

“Also, show me the Rank 4 darkness spells you have available,” Liam added, causing the Armorer to raise his brows.

“You have enough?”

Liam nodded.

Currently, Liam’s ring held a little more than 450,000 ‘Ora’ Stones. Obviously, he was going to buy a Zenith ranked spell that would boost his strength.

However, the rest would be useful for any future needs.

Money was still an issue for weaker cultivators, and Liam couldn’t brute force through his problems with power alone.

More than a dozen different scrolls flew to Liam, and he eagerly began inspecting them, beginning with the martial arts.

There were only three to choose from, but he wasn’t surprised.

‘Shadow’s Embrace. Rank 4.’

‘Harness the darkness.’

‘Close range, dual-wielding art that focuses on defense. Two forms. Consists of powerful attacks that utilize physical strength, enhanced by darkness.’

‘Paired with ‘Ora’, a thick armor of darkness covers the user briefly, depending on his core stage. The first and second form allow the armor to switch from offense to defense.’

‘Blade of Twilight and Dawn. Rank 4.’

‘The path between two worlds.’

‘Swift and unpredictable movements that focus on lithe but instantaneous attacks, and a balanced mix of defense and offense. Four forms.’

‘Mid to close range effectiveness, with the last form focused on a singular, long ranged attack. Paired with ‘Ora’, the user will gain a burst of speed and power.’

‘Phantom’s Edge. Rank 4.’

‘Ghostly.’

‘Focused entirely on speed and lethality, but sacrificing defense and strength. Fighting style will make the user resemble a phantom due to the swift attacks and unpredictable movements. Three forms.’

‘Close range effectiveness. Paired with ‘Ora’, the user could instantly change the direction of his blades mid swing.’

Liam hummed to himself in thought. It was between ‘Blade of Twilight and Dawn’ and ‘Phantom’s Edge’.

‘Balance can never go wrong…but my body will be heavily speed oriented once I advance to the fourth Rank.’

‘No point in changing styles now…I’m becoming a Wraith and a Phantom.’

With that, Liam picked the Phantom’s Edge, before shifting his attention to the Rank 3 spells.

‘I need spells that enhance my prowess and defense, since that’ll balance out my martial art’s weaknesses. A mental attack spell would be nice too.’

After a long silence and deep assessment of the spells, Liam chose the four spells and cultivation technique he was going to use.

‘Vanishing Steps, Obsidian Skin, Corrosive Mind, Piercing Blade, and the Shadowfire cultivation technique.’

Liam ended up buying two mental type spells, one for defense and one for offense.

Vanishing Steps would give Liam the ability to change his direction instantaneously, and with incredible speed to boot.

Obsidian Skin was the spell Liam had chosen Umbral Needles over, but it was pretty self explanatory. Defense would no longer be a major issue.

Corrosive Walls was a defense spell that would cause any mental assault aimed at his sea of consciousness to reflect damage back at the attacker.

Piercing Blade was the last addition, a simple but effective mental attack.

The Shadowfire cultivation technique was an unorthodox method of cultivation.

It consisted of burning away the impurities within the core by using the corrosive properties of the darkness element.

Too much of it would no doubt damage the core walls and possibly maim him, but the rate of progression it promised had already enticed him.

Finally, Liam moved to the Rank 4 spells.

There were only three, but two of them weren’t particularly useful for his needs since they involved speed and defense, which Liam currently had plenty of.

‘That leaves me with you, then…’

Firm in his choice, Liam picked out the ‘Surging Burst’ spell, then bid the Armorer farewell.

‘I’ll get ready to move out in a bit.’

///

Rishe Voist sat on his satin sheeted bed in quiet cultivation, a slight smile on his face.

He had just advanced to the second Rank of the core!

An amazing achievement for a youth barely aged 19.

Just for that, Riche had dismissed his women and had the entire mansion to himself.

Yet his peace was shattered by the academic token flickering brightly in his robe pocket.

Answering it, a woman’s monotone voice rang out.

“Lawrence has challenged you for the House of Honor. Do you accept?”

Chapter 154 Both Worlds

 

?

Rishe snorted derisively as soon as he heard the challenge.

The so-called ‘Golden-Eyed Vagrant’ had been giving him a massive headache for the past month or two.

Many students of the academy began to compare the two’s achievements, and after considering Lawrence’s age, they concluded that what the peasant did was much more impressive.

Rishe didn’t deny it. Lawrence was indeed an amazing student that excelled in the cultivation journey.

But so what?

Despite coming from one of the richest and famous noble families in Echoria, Rishe still focused all his time on growing his strength… with the occasional indulgence in pleasure.

Which meant he had the best of both worlds.

Wealth and power.

Backing and influence.

As a profound parable, he even had two elements.

“They will know the difference between us,” he muttered coldly under his breath.

Glancing at the token, he spoke two words.

“I accept… on public conditions.”

The token flickered off on his words.

At that moment, Rishe took out a circular pill from his ring, golden in color with inscribed lines on its surface.

Smiling, he threw it in his mouth and ingested it slowly.

His core churned violently, but contrary to the pain Rishe was going through, the gaseous contents within forcibly changed state into liquid.

Rishe was instantly entering a new sub-stage!

The Voist family specialized in alchemy. Especially expediting the core advancements of the Mortal Ranks.

The pill Rishe had just consumed had been made by the family patriarch himself, a Zenith ranked celebrity!

An hour passed and his core finally stabilized, making the noble smile.

///

Over the next few days, the academy was in an uproar.

Three of the strongest students had made an abrupt return, and the most infamous of them instantly challenged the House of Honor owner, a third year student with a Rank 2 sea of consciousness.

That was absolutely crazy, especially since Lawrence was a first year, and by extension, a Rank 1 Magus. Yet somehow, the students didn’t think it was so simple.

Despite the classes being on break, most of the professors had an interest in coming to the event.

Especially Janice, who had been relentlessly knocking on Liam’s door for an “inspection”.

Obviously, Liam pretended he wasn’t home, but on more than one occasion, the battle prowess professor attempted to break in and find out herself.

Thankfully, the Headmaster intervened before his house was turned to rubble.

The wager would take place in a week, and Liam had wholeheartedly put that time into practicing with his martial arts and new spells.

The Phantom’s Edge martial art was amazingly fast with its movements.

Despite speed depending on the physical prowess of a cultivator, martial arts had the ability to strengthen and bring out certain aspects of their strength.

Zenith Ranked techniques took that to the next level.

Each stroke made the blades look near invisible, turning into faint black lines that lingered mid-air. There was still a long way before Liam could master it.

He learned the basics of the art, before pairing them with his new spells to get a good feel for his new fighting style.

Though, he hadn’t taken out the third Psionic Rune from the Armory just yet.

‘I’ll buy it right after the wager, along with magical beast parts and other items. I don’t trust my restraint to stop me expanding my mind right before the fight.’

A week passed quickly.

After a well rested night, Liam showered and ate his fill, then donned his usual clothes and left the house.

Instantly, his eye met with at least fifty students shooting him a variety of gazes.

Some looked at him with contempt, others blushed as their eyes met his, and a few looked awed.

Liam frowned.

‘These people…’

Heaving a sigh, Liam began heading towards the Battle Halls.

To his dismay, the crowds of students only grew bigger and rowdier over time.

They followed a good distance behind Liam like stray cats and dogs, excitedly murmuring between themselves about the wager.

Despite resting and taking off the stress on his mental sphere, Liam still felt a headache.

Although he didn’t think he would need all the spells in his arsenal, Liam couldn’t go all out knowing there were so many eyes watching.

He would hold off on using Shadow Clone or Surge Burst unless he was absolutely forced.

The Binding Oath could only do so much, after all. Liam didn’t put any trust into that mechanism.

His own Binding Oath was wiped away due to the Kitsune’s influence.

What was to stop a Zenith from doing the same?

Abruptly, the sounds of cheers and laughter brought Liam out of his musings.

He had arrived at the Battle Halls, which was brimming with first year, second year and third year students.

“You really got yourself a following, don’t you?”

Nord and Rin appeared beside him, broad smiles on their faces.

Liam gave them an annoyed side glance.

“They’re not my followers. Don’t you two have anything better to do?” nove(l)bi(n.)com

Nord chuckled briefly in response, and Rin shook her head.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Even if you didn’t challenge him, I would. Then again, that guy is already a Rank 2 Magus, so my chances of winning are slim.”

A path opened between the students as they noticed Liam approaching, like a parted sea.

Further up and opposite to them was Rishe himself, wearing his signature silver, oceanic blue and azure robe, representing his wind, water and ice.

He was surrounded by a group of popular nobles just as rich as him, including a familiar face that Liam had spotted – the same girl that slapped him once.

She looked at Liam with venom in her ruby eyes, but her existence was ignored.

‘Maybe one slap wasn’t enough.’

On the sidelines, nearly all the known professors had gathered around to watch the event.

Even the Headmaster was there, holding Janice by the arm like a leashed pet in case she wanted to join the fray.

Nessa was hidden among the crowd as well, unable to help herself from coming to the event.

Inwardly, Liam spewed countless curses, a dark expression on his face.

The entire bloody academy was there!

Despite the Battle Hall’s giant size, it was jam-packed with nobles and peasants alike.

All that was missing were the Royals, and the circumstances would qualify for a corny bar joke.

Rishe’s azure irises locked onto Liam’s, and the former grinned.

Chapter 155 Break

 

Liam’s gaze narrowed.

Perhaps he was being superstitious, but he couldn’t help but feel uneasy for some reason.

It definitely wasn’t from the fight. Liam had complete confidence in his new abilities.

Perhaps the age difference gave Rishe a slight advantage, but that didn’t matter too much.

Even the dual elements didn’t bother him.

Nonetheless, the feelings lingered.

‘It’s just paranoia. Too many eyes fixed on me.’

Although the situation was the same when he fought in the Regional Power Tournament, back then, he wore a mask.

‘So that’s what it is. Being seen by so many people at once.’

“Everyone make way!” Headmaster Reye shouted with a frown, instantly making the students disperse and create space.

Putting those thoughts in the back of his head, Liam approached the center of the field, alongside Rishe and the Headmaster himself.

“Rooting for ya,” Nord said from the back. Rin gestured the same.

Liam, Rishe and the Headmaster huddled in the center of the field.

“Lawrence. You have challenged Rishe Voist for the House of Honor. You may add nothing else as the initiator. I will judge fairly, as my Binding Oath demands,” the Headmaster clarified, before looking towards Rishe.

“What do you ask of the challenger?”

Rishe paused, a pensive look on his face. A moment later, he smirked mischievously.

“Five of his highest ranking techniques and spells. I get to choose.”

Reye nodded, then looked at Liam.

“Do you agree with these demands?”

Liam said nothing and casually nodded.

“Very well. You may exchange a few words if you wish. I will begin the duel once you find your mark.”

The Headmaster teleported away, joining the teachers. A wall of force formed around the two to block any eavesdropping.

“I have to say, I’m glad we can finally settle this debate of who’s stronger.”

Liam shook his head.

“And you chose to do it publicly? Are you the type to enjoy feeling humiliated?”

Scowling, Rishe chose that moment to try and probe Liam’s strength, but the latter promptly pushed away his mental waves.

Surprise and shock gripped the noble’s face.

“The rumors were true? You’re actually a Rank 2 Magus?”

Considering the average age of a Rank 2 Magus, the Voist family heir was already a prodigy in that regard, awakening at the age of 17 due to the usage of expensive pills his clan invested in him.

Yet a thirteen year old peasant with no family backing was on the same level?

How?

Liam said nothing as he walked to the opposite side of the field, leaving the noble dumbstruck for several seconds.

Frowning, Vishe eventually found his mark.

‘I have to take him down here and now. At least lessen his strength until a more permanent solution,’ he thought.

Within the Battle Halls, everything was silent.

The spectators didn’t blink as they watched intently.

Liam unsheathed his black blades as soon as he stopped at the field’s edge.

It was the last pair Rogan had left him, and he figured it was time to use them.

Heaving a slight breath, the air around Liam changed, becoming suffocating for the students near him.

The same thing happened on the opposite side. Rishe didn’t hold back his aura and let it burst forth.

Wind and water gathered at his hands and merged, freezing into two lengthy but sturdy ice spears as tall as his body. Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om

Assessing the noble’s aura, Liam slightly grimaced. It was much more powerful than he imagined.

‘Directly living over an ‘Ora’ Well must have bolstered his progress by a lot. He’s probably stronger body-wise, too.’

After that thought, Liam dispelled any unnecessary thinking and focused.

Silence ensued.

Liam’s eye fixed to Rishe emotionlessly as he waited for permission to attack.

Although subtle, the noble was unnerved behind the calm and collected mask he put on.

Inscribed lines started to glow beneath their feet, creating a defensive force around the field.

Silence.

Right as the tension rose to its peak, it burst like a dam as soon as the Headmaster’s voice rang out.

Solid darkness tightened around Liam’s feet and erupted him forward, making his form blur as he reappeared right below Rishe.

CHNK!

The noble barely managed to block the attack, crossing his ice-made spears against Liam’s swords.

In one fluid movement, Liam weaved in again and slashed horizontally against the noble’s waist, activating Piercing Blade. However, the mental attack didn’t pass through, as the latter used a defensive spell.

Rishe leaped back and deflected the strike, his speed bolstered by a wind spell yet Liam followed his movements and continued his assault.

CLING! CLANG!

Abruptly, Rishe’s aura grew cold, attempting to merge together with Liam’s mental waves.

Sensing the mental assault, Liam briefly let the coldness touch his sea of consciousness before activating Corrosive Mind.

In an instant, Liam’s golden walls blackened, corroding the noble’s mental waves and making him recoil with a low grunt.

As soon as he spotted the opening, Liam activated Vanishing Steps again and reappeared behind Rishe, his blades turning into thin streaks as they slashed across the noble’s back, forming two deep corrosive wounds.

Still, Rishe lessened their impact by pivoting around and hurling his spears, then sending a beam of condensed water at Liam’s chest.

Liam didn’t account for how fast and powerful the beam was.

As he evaded with Vanishing Steps, the spell wasn’t fully completed as the beam collided with his shoulder, ripping off a chunk of skin and shattering a bone on impact.

Liam let out a grunt of pain as he leaped backwards.

Rishe had found his footing, but looked genuinely pained as his back stung with every little movement.

Despite cultivating a Rank 4 body, it wasn’t a method that focused on regeneration, but increasing his spell usage and conservation. Even if he was at the upper-tier of the third Rank.

For that reason, he chose to bide his time until it naturally healed, smiling as he saw the Vagrant’s state.

Meanwhile, Liam held his mess of a shoulder. His deltoid was practically torn to shreds, and the bone beneath was freely jotting out.

‘Is it the scapula that’s broken?’ Liam frowned.

Even clutching his blades shot pangs of pain through the right side of his body.

Blood slowly gathered around his shredded muscles and began healing the mass of ruined flesh. However, his enhanced blood didn’t have the ability to fix shattered bones.

‘Never given a break, am I?’

Chapter 156 Difference

 

Liam had blocked out every noise that wasn’t related to him or his opponent.

Even the sound of his own heartbeat was ignored.

Forcing a long breath, Liam narrowed his gaze at Rishe, who didn’t engage and kept his distance due to his pale complexion.

As the seconds passed, Liam’s deltoid had more or less healed, reformed into an acceptable shape.

Unreeling his Dark Chains, he wrapped it around his shoulder and quickly tightened it.

A low grunt of pain escaped his lips, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through the disturbing agony.

Liam grimaced as shards of cracked bone tore through his flesh, digging deeper with each slight movement.

Despite using Cartilage Brace and Obsidian Skin in the nick of time, the beam of water still shattered through the layer of hardened darkness and thick skeleton.

After all, it was a Rank 4 spell. Liam doubted that was the last of them, too.

Although Liam could have used his mist ability, against water, it wasn’t exactly effective – the dark mist would precipitate and turn back to its normal state upon contact with liquid. In other words, nullify the ethereal state.

Rishe looked ready to resume the clash, smiling as he saw Liam’s dire straits.

By then, Liam had finished wrapping his chains around his shoulder.

Although it would help in slowly conjoining the cracked bone fragments, his fighting ability had still lessened.

Rishe began first.

Wind and water condensed and mixed all around him.

Pieces of ice started to form in the air with no particular form, then slowly took the shapes of more than two dozen razor-sharp icicles.

Although Liam wanted to, he couldn’t rush in at once and stop them from forming.

The pieces of ice were floating mid-air and Rishe’s mental energy was connected to them… which meant he could control them.

Then, Rishe spread his arms and held out his hands upright.

Dense wind rushed from every direction, compressing on his right with a sharp churning sound.

On his left, thick azure liquid sloshed around and slowly grew to twice the size of a basketball.

Wind.

Water.

Ice.

Impenetrable and piercing all at once.

Rishe became as pale as a ghost, but he managed a mocking smile. “Do you see now? The difference between us? Let the people witness!”

Ignoring his remarks, Liam’s eye constricted vertically, analyzing every tiny detail regarding Rishe’s spells. Foll𝑜w current novℯls on nov𝒆lb((in).(com)

‘He can’t use the ice for long range attacks, those are just in case I attempt to get close.’

‘That leaves his wind for one killing move, and his water for defense or ensnarement.’

Either way, the noble was incapable of using anymore spells, judging by his weakening complexion.

As if to confirm his theory, Rishe slightly moved the fingers on his right hand, and the compressed ball of wind shot four arcs of nigh-invisible air towards Liam.

WOOOSH!

If Liam didn’t have the King’s Eye, the arcs would have instantly severed off his limbs instead of flying past him as he sidestepped and ducked.

More arcs and bullets of air followed, but Liam sidestepped, leaped back, ducked and dashed away to dodge.

‘No other choice except to get close!’

As soon as he dodged another round of attacks, Liam tensed and started to run in with lithe steps gradually increasing in speed.

As he deflected the wind arcs aiming for his vitals, he let the weaker ones tear apart his skin, spraying lines of blood over the field.

When he got ten steps in, the blob of water exploded into tendrils that came at him from all sides, attempting to engulf him.

The membrane under Liam’s skin vibrated.

That ability, paired with Vanishing Steps and Fleeting Foot, allowed him to pass through the body of water and close the distance in an instant.

At that moment, the icicles surrounding Rishe began to shoot and home in on him one by one.

Ten more steps away.

As he continuously moved forward, Liam let loose his needles to exactly where the icicles were. They smashed against the attacks and slowed down their speed by a little.

Seven steps away.

Of course, that did little damage to the ice itself, but allowed Liam to continue his trajectory, deflecting the rest and allowing the others to tear through his flesh.

Five steps away.

The wind attacks didn’t relent either, creating a whirlwind around Liam that formed countless cuts on his figure.

Three steps away.

Liam weaved in between the two icicles that aimed for his face, grazing his left and right cheek and slashing through his ears. His blades shattered right after deflecting another pair of attacks.

One step away.

Time seemed to slow down.

Liam’s right hand pulsed unstable and chaotic darkness as he finally arrived beside Rishe, bursting with dark flames and rapidly compressing all at once.

To Rishe’s dread and horror, Liam grinned and clenched his fist as he punched the former’s face.

BOOOOOM!

As though a shotgun had gone off, Liam’s fist burst into a condensed blast, blowing away Rishe’s figure as though he was made of plastic.

The noble tumbled the distance and smashed against the walls of the Battle Hall, falling limp and barely conscious.

Disturbingly, the side of his face had been melted off and corroded. Any previous handsomeness was replaced by a grim appearance that could make an adult man squirm.

Academy doctors instantly rushed to his side, tending to his wounds.

Liam steadied his footing, grounding his teeth as he felt his shoulder cracks worsen.

Using the Rank 4 ‘Surging Blast’ spell had a heavy recoil that ripped off the skin from Liam’s right hand, leaving his knuckle bones bare.

Blood dripped and trickled down Liam’s shredded clothes. The gashes on his body slowly healed, but sapped him of his energy.

That said, the stilling silence inside the hall was strange. Liam imagined that he was just too focused to hear anything, but quickly realized that was not the case.

He creaked his neck to look at the spectators, just to see them staring at him dumbfoundedly with slacked jaws.

Even Nord, Rin and Nessa who knew Liam personally couldn’t force a reaction.

Looking towards the right where the professors were, they were just as silent, shocked and aghast.

‘Yeah… I don’t see myself staying here for much longer.’

Chapter 157 Contingency

 

Liam’s pale face turned dark.

In the worst of ways, he overdid it.

He was too absorbed into the clash and honed everything on winning, brutally maiming the heir of one of the largest noble families in Echoria.

Though, if he went any easier, he definitely would have lost.

To add salt on the wound, he did it in front of an audience!

The best course of action was to use the Surge Burst spell on Rishe’s body, not his face. He would’ve won either way… but Liam chose the more lethal route in the spur of the moment.

‘If his family patriarch is what I think he is, there’s no doubt in my mind… he would want revenge.’

‘Not to mention, if the Royce family hasn’t found me yet, they will raise more than a few brows hearing about a darkness cultivator inside the academy.’

In the back of Liam’s mind, a contingency plan was already being made.

‘Looks like I’ll have to make use of Revel’s organization much faster than I thought.’

The Headmaster coughed into his fist, making sure he wouldn’t stutter. Approaching the field with crisp footsteps, he said two loud words.

“Lawrence wins.”

Reye made a few gestures, and the academy token in Liam’s pocket began to glow fervently.

“You now hold the House of Honor.”

Liam nodded, stored the ring, then made his way towards the exit, the awestruck students creating a spacious path for him to walk through.

Liam casually strolled through and left, thousands of eyes piercing holes in his back.

Instead of entering his house straight away, Liam first entered the Armory and bought the third Psionic Rune.

It had only mild differences compared to the first two. This time, three runes covered its surface, and the number of sides multiplied by three, too.

Behn was there and gave Liam blank stares, but he quickly left before a conversation began. Read lat𝙚st chapters at nov(𝒆)lbin.com Only

Then, he made his way to the Storage and bought himself enough Rank 3 magical beasts to last a month of constant forgings.

///

Liam arrived at the Hole.

The huge House of Honor was floating 20 meters away from him, like a lone island above sea.

Dense ‘Ora’ freely floated around him, naturally healing his body and vitalizing his strength.

Liam stepped on the special teleportation matrix that connected the two together, then tapped his token against the small compartment on the side.

As soon as he did, the matrix glowed, and his surroundings switched.

Liam found himself in a vast hall, the entrance to his mansion. The floor was made of marble, with chandeliers made from crystal hanging from above.

Compared to the luxurious accommodations Liam had been in, they resembled a candle flame compared to his current mansion.

Though, Liam honestly couldn’t care less.

Spreading his senses to map out the space, there were too many rooms for him to make use of in one lifetime.

An inscription room, an alchemy lab, a vast underground, a formation space, including countless other spaces for the most trivial things.

The first thing Liam did was enter the underground, heaving an excited breath.

‘I can finally begin working on my specializations!’

Classes would resume in a few more days, and Liam had plenty of time to take his tests.

‘My focus should be on forging and inscribing a set of blades at least around the second Rank. I should expand my horizons, too. Maybe add meanings to both the beast will and blood.’

‘Just making the same blades over and over with a little bit more sharpness sounds dumb. Rin threw exploding daggers at those Blood Bats…’

Though, the deaf girl’s element was fire, and everything that had to do with it was destructive and explosive.

‘Then I’ll focus on the Blood Arts and the King’s Eye’s abilities.’

Any form of escape or deception was made massively easier with the King’s Eye, and Liam stopped underestimating its usage.

///

Liam did the beginning steps of the forging like usual.

His precision and control was lightyears better compared to when he was still a Rank 1 Magus.

He could now afford to add little intricacies that helped bolster the material’s endurance, appearance and sharpness – in line with his speed oriented martial arts.

After absorbing the Rank 3 beast will into his mental sphere and defeating it with relative ease, he simply let it “cook”.

There was still pressure – the usual for his eye to get bloodshot – but bearable.

‘I’ll leave it for two days. Any more would be overkill. I feel like I can add another one… best to hold that off for now.’

Right after the beast will fully cooked, he would begin inscribing.

With that, Liam began with the Blood Arts.

Of course, Liam gave up most of them, but hid the two best to himself – the Blooder’s and Niveh’s.

Kalia didn’t bother to thoroughly inspect him since he had already given her nearly everything from the trip.

‘Although the Arts are made for vampires, I just have to remove those aspects and attune it to my body.’

Liam divided his day between studying the diagrams, martial arts, cultivation, the King’s Eye, and the Psionic Rune.

Not a second was wasted.

Amazingly, Liam’s limit with the third rune was only half an hour.

The pressure applied to his sea of consciousness was enough to drain him of half his mental energy in one session, even without the influence from the Rank 3 beast will.

On the other hand, the ‘Ora’ density did wonders for his steady progress, both for his body and core.

Most of his shattered bones and grievous wounds had already healed up by then.

Two days passed.

Liam was ready for his forging session.

He didn’t enter the forgery, since Primordial Forging didn’t really require any heat or special tools.

They helped, but weren’t necessary.

Liam held out the katana and wakizashi. Single-edged and clean. It was already a lower-tier item, even without the beast will.

Forcing out the bestial energies from his mind, he directed them into the shortsword first, starting with the center blade and spreading it evenly to both sides.

By the end, half of the beast will had entered the blade!

Chapter 158 Concept

 

Liam took a good minute to inspect the shortsword from all angles.

It gained an umbral sheen that made it look alive.

Naturally, Liam slashed against his bicep to test out its sharpness, and the blade slowly sliced through his flesh with some effort.

His skin and muscles were still stubbornly tight, and it protested against the act.

‘Still Rank 1 middle-tier…’

Liam was using his own body as a golden standard.

He wanted a blade that could sever at least bone deep, or near that point.

Through his fight with Rishe, he realized his opponents were going to get a whole lot more difficult to deal with.

Then Liam fell into thought.

‘How long will blades work against my enemies? I don’t think a tiny sword will matter against a creature bigger than a mountain.’

For a brief moment, he felt dejected… but realizing something, the feelings melted away and Liam laughed under his breath.

‘The blade just needs to be sharp enough to cut through it.’

Although Liam had only done the shortsword, he decided to hold off on the katana for now. He needed to focus on Blood Weaving.

Liam willed out a tiny droplet of blood. It seeped right through the pores on his skin and began to float.

Using his blood manipulation abilities required his ichor to stay linked with his body, but Liam used a bit of his mental energy to keep the droplet in the air.

The refinement process was the same. It was not easier or harder. Both the blood and mental energy had improved in quality, after all.

Liam began conjuring up the meanings in his head.

Sharpness.

Precision.

Edge.

Sword.

Sever.

Cut.

Slash.

Instantly, Liam realized how his meanings had gotten more fluid and natural to link with one another.

It was like stacking up eccentrically shaped cinder blocks atop one another.

Except, what Liam was stacking were the concepts of sharpness itself. At least, his understanding of it.

Naturally, the more Liam added, the more it grew unstable and difficult to maintain.

He first needed to perfect the foundation and his understanding of the concepts.

It was exactly the comprehension he lacked.

He wasn’t amazingly talented in the field either, besides some experience he gained from rigorous studying and practice.

In his mind, sharpness simply meant how easy it is for a blade to sever something.

A tool to kill and slaughter with.

For now, he would just test the waters.

He concluded the meanings and applied them to the droplet.

Absorbing it into his mental sphere was the same, except the pressure had increased threefold.

Thankfully, his resistance matched it just as much.

It took two hours for the pain to simmer down.

When it did, Liam gathered the refined blood on his right index, then began writing on his shortsword.

The ink was naturally more pure and refined, glowing fervently with crimson light.

Making the links was a completely different challenge.

It was like slowly connecting a puzzle together, but the pieces were up to him to make in real time.

Thanks to his new comprehension of the vampiric language, the writings made a lot more sense with what he had in mind.

It allowed him to shorten the overall sentences he had to write over the blade.

The less Liam wrote, the more effective and powerful the general inscription would become.

In the same way, using concise and simpler words was better than dragging out the sentences.

The writing size itself mattered too. The smaller Liam could manage to write the characters, the more he could afford to add on the blade’s surface. His eye helped greatly with that.

Another hour passed, and Liam was done with inscribing. Foll𝑜w current novℯls on nov𝒆lb((in).(com)

Unbeknownst to him, he had not blinked throughout the entire process, like a surgeon performing surgery.

Inspecting the blade riddled with glowing writings, Liam pursed his lips in thought, then smiled.

‘Rank 1… upper-tier. It’s close to the second Rank, too.’

Although that didn’t sound like much, it was basically the same level as Rogan’s blades. The enhancement inscription worked amazingly, raising its tier.

‘It’s still shoddy work. My purified blood did most of the work. I have a long way to go.’

‘Eventually, I’ll need to start broadening my field of work. Enhancements are the easiest to do, but I don’t plan on specializing in it.’

Spell making.

That was what Liam had his eye on.

///

Time passed.

Studies resumed.

Apparently, the House of Honor inhabitant had the privilege of being “home schooled”, for lack of a better word.

All of Liam’s teachers came and taught him personally, one to one. It was an unexpected benefit, but a welcome one, nonetheless.

His cultivation professor, Veila Rei, gave him insight into the future Ranks and the different hurdles one had to pass in order to arrive there.

Evidently, Veila had offered her mentorship to him, but he humbly declined.

Mentorships required time and effort, and Liam honestly didn’t have any to spare.

His world knowledge teacher, Gorris Shel, informed Liam of the various celebrities within the cultivation world, those who were willingly public and didn’t mind recognition.

None were Rank 6, only below.

They were renowned for their accomplishments, like clearing out Rank 5 Death Zones by themselves, creating spells deemed impossible to, and exploring uncharted lands.

At the same time, Liam’s knowledge of the countries and continents were expanding, which gave him more options to explore from in case he wanted to leave Echoria.

Meanwhile, Richard and Jordan helped with his specializations. Now that he was a Rank 2 Magus, the two were much more demanding with their expectations.

Jordan began teaching Liam how to integrate the forging room to his method. Liam protested, but the professor was firm.

“It’s good to know if you ever settle down someplace. Forgeries help greatly in speeding up your work progress and easing your workload at once.”

Richard, on the other hand, was giving Liam more insight into the different concepts he wanted to learn, such as spell and technique making.

Liam hadn’t told him about his purified ichor, though. Afraid that might cause the professor to cough another mouthful of blood.

All in all, Liam wasn’t even a first year student, yet he was learning third year material!

Like so, the months of peace were steadily passing.

And the winds of hardship were beginning to churn.

Chapter 159 Heat

 

Liam was now a little more than 14 years old.

There was no pumpkin pie or hug of warmth for celebration.

In fact, Liam didn’t even celebrate.

That sentiment had died with Eve, replaced with a merciless drive to move forward.

Currently, Liam was in his basement holding a pair of blades, standing opposite to a bulky, steel-reinforced training dummy.

Liam looked taller by several inches, with his broad shoulders and lean body highlighting his growing physique.

His lustrous blonde hair was shortened, reaching just below his neck.

Inspecting the katana and wakizashi in his hands, he grinned.

It was a Rank 2 lower-tier item!

Glowing, blood-red writings riddled their surface and gave the blades a dangerous air.

Liam made significant progress during the peaceful period.

There was no fighting, cursing or pain… of course, besides the cuts and migraines Liam inflicted on himself.

His core was slowly approaching the peak of the solid-stage, thanks to the ‘Ora’ Well’s benefits.

His body had long entered the middle-tier of the third Rank, and more than half of his body could turn to mist.

Liam hadn’t left the House of Honor for months on end, only leaving to buy pills or elixirs.

Despite this, his reputation in the academy had not diminished in the least.

Nobody dared to challenge him after what had happened to the Voist family heir.

Rishe had lost face… in more ways than one.

He didn’t make his presence known after the duel, but Liam could guess he was scheming a way to get back at him.

In the third month of Liam’s seclusion, Nord had visited him with a proposal.

10,000 ‘Ora’ Stones in exchange for him to stay in his mansion.

He wouldn’t interfere in any of Liam’s studies or work, and quietly cultivate in some unused room.

After some thought, Liam agreed, but for a completely different reason than money.

With Nord’s simple personality, the boy wasn’t capable of scheming anything.

A few weeks after that, Rin appeared and proposed the same thing.

Liam declined, but the deaf girl offered twice Nord’s amount, which gave her a place in the house.

Meanwhile, the academy had split into two factions.

Purists, consisting of nobles who protested against the results of the duel and a peasant from inhabiting the House of Honor.

And reformists, consisting of commoners who opposed the nobles and called out their victim mentality.

One thing was for sure, it was a sign for Liam to leave.

Although he wanted to stay for another year and indulge in the academy’s facilities, the heat on his back was growing hotter.

Teachers and students were asking questions of his origins, Kalia had visited more than once, and his professors were beginning to grow suspicious of his abilities.

That, paired with Rishe’s silence, gave Liam the heads-up he needed.

‘If I stay another three months, I could probably break through to the second Rank of the core… but it’s risky.’

In situations where his freedom was under threat, Liam would rather not gamble.

Not to mention, there wasn’t anything important to learn knowledge wise within the academy. A fourth year curriculum didn’t exist.

It was regretful, since Liam hadn’t visited the inheritance site Veila had promised at the end of the year, but a necessary sacrifice nonetheless.

Putting those thoughts aside, Liam’s eye fixed to the two meter large steel dummy in front of him.

SHING!

In an instant, Liam’s form blurred, reappearing behind the dummy… which now lacked an upper body.

KRSH!

With a metallic crash, the dummy fell stiffly on the basement floor.

Liam examined his blades after the attack. The inscriptions and materials held strong, with minor nicks on the edges.

‘Good enough.’

Liam then spread his mental waves around himself and thought of a specific image, then activated the King’s Eye.

Compared to the industrial surroundings a moment ago, it now resembled the Headmaster’s office, complete with ornate furniture and paintings on its ethereal wooden walls.

Illusions had their limits.

With a closer look, anyone could tell the construction was fake due to the missing details.

Not only that, but it only covered a small portion of his surroundings.

‘I’ve gotten good enough with it… it’s about time I leave.’

Liam left the basement and gathered both Rin and Nord to a private and isolated room.

The red-eyed boy looked stronger and more matured compared to a year ago, and his hardened gaze showed it.

Rin was the same, only she resembled more of a woman instead of a tomboy, with her growing violet hair and matured features.

Most of her coldness had melted away at that point, and she didn’t glare as much around the two.

“I need you two to do me a favor,” Liam asked with an even tone, making the pair raise their brows.

“What?” Nord asked curiously.

“Don’t leave this place unless someone forces you to. Skip a few classes too. Also, swap your tokens with mine.”

“You two can have the House.”

Nord was confused and visibly shocked, but knew better than to ask questions and receive a vague answer. Read lat𝙚st chapters at nov(𝒆)lbin.com Only

Rin mirrored the same look, but even a blind man could see his unwavering decision to leave and never come back.

She tried to grasp any emotion from his stern expression, but couldn’t find any.

In the end, they both nodded and gave their tokens to him. Rin was reluctant at first, but she could claim for a new one with the correct excuse.

“Good luck with… whatever you’re trying to do. I guess this is goodbye,” Nord said with a solemn tone.

Liam remained silent. Sentimentality wasn’t really his strong suit.

“You can enter your rooms now.”

The two lingered for a second, staring silently at him.

After exchanging a nod, the two left and entered their rooms.

Liam heaved a sigh, hid his presence, then activated the Shadow Clone spell.

Slowly, the layers of darkness separated from his body and started to form a clone.

Upon its completion, Liam carefully shaped his mental energy and applied it to the clone’s entire figure.

He did the same to his own body, then activated the King’s Eye.

Instantly, Liam’s appearance changed to Nord’s, and his clone became the spitting image of Rin.

Chapter 160 Evidence

 

Liam, disguised as Nord, left the mansion through the floating platform.

The Shadow Clone masquerading as Rin followed closely behind, its movements looking natural and human-like.

Liam spent a good amount of time working on his Shadow Clone spell, ironing out the issues with its movements.

At the same time, he memorized Rin and Nord’s features to the tiniest detail, then projected them onto himself and the clone.

The result was more than satisfactory… only, if anyone touched his clone, the flesh on their hand would melt along with the illusion.

To prolong the ability as much as possible, Liam didn’t expand his mind nor forge or inscribe the previous two nights.

He had a good three hours of using the spell without worry.

As the floating platform docked at the edges of the Hole, Liam’s gaze met with a group that regularly stalked the House of Honor.

Their dedication for something so measly and pointless could be called commendable, but annoying was the more suitable word.

As they saw Nord (Liam) and Rin (Shadow Clone) pass by, they looked a bit disappointed.

“For a moment, I actually thought Lawrence was gonna come out…”

“Do you think we should sneak in on him? It’s been months…”

“Don’t bother. Jamie did that last time and the Vagrant broke both his hands.”

Liam ignored the group and made his way towards the Main Hall.

There weren’t too many students around this time around, and Liam freely walked up the large board to look for two missions.

‘Revel’s organization is towards the north west. Apparently it’s a legit company that has proper authorization to sail the seas.’

He needed a long and distant mission. Spotting one, he picked it out and gave it to the lady in front.

She didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary and stamped the mission parchments, then directed him and his clone to the train.

Liam suppressed a smile as he discreetly entered the train, keeping a low profile and entering the back car.

///

Two and a half years ago.

The Regional Power Tournament had begun in good spirits, but came to be remembered as a day of dread.

The bodies of Jacob Ovlar, Liam, Elsa, and Ian Royce were fresh in the memories of the soldiers who walked in on the scene.

Samuel Horris’ search was fruitless. He spent an entire week tirelessly combing the vicinity, unable to find even a hair strand.

Adrian Royce, Liam’s father, could not sleep at night any more.

Oftentimes, he’d dream about his children alive once more… only for his half-blooded kin to cut them down again and again.

It was not long before the issue was brought forward to Edwin Royce.

The patriarch of the Royce family was enraged. His unstable mental waves caused the messenger guards to faint instantly.

Without delay, he boomed out from his quarters and shot towards the Ovlar family domain like a meteor.

“Come out, Ken!” Edwin bellowed over the giant Ovlar mansion. Foll𝑜w current novℯls on nov𝒆lb((in).(com)

A few servants and low ranking guards had instantly died from the vibrating soundwaves tearing apart their organs.

“You’ve crossed a line, fool!”

Silence ensued, but a figure donning a yellow robe left the mansion and ascended to an eye-level with Edwin.

There wasn’t any emotion in Ken Ovlar’s dark eyes, his features surprisingly normal – long black hair tied to a bun, a lanky build covered by a yellow robe, and a short goatee.

“You meathead. Do you think I would waste my energy and kill your worthless kin? Did you not see that my grandchild had died as well? My estranged son has done this.”

Blood rushed to Edwin’s head. His fists churned with blazing red flames.

“Your son?! Because of your incompetence as a father, he killed my nephew, the first darkness cultivator born in centuries!”

A bit of shock fell on Ken’s face, but he didn’t show it.

“Calm yourself,” Ken said icily. A battle would no doubt wipe away his noble estate. “A fight here is meaningless. I have gone over the details of the attack, and some things don’t make sense.”

Silence.

The flames surging around Edwin’s fist slightly simmered down.

Indeed, some things did not add up.

How did the Blood Demon break in despite the area being infested with guards?

Not to mention, some guards had found broken teeth and splatters of blood in one of the hallways.

To add, one of the servants had gone missing during the event.

It resembled an inside job.

“We will have the Searching Eye mediate between us,” Ken offered. “His investigative abilities could figure out what happened and find the attacker.”

Edwin remained silent with a hard gaze. A subtle agreement.

“He’s in seclusion. It will take at least a year before he comes out, and he won’t help for free. We will both pay half of his fee.”

Grumbling, Edwin didn’t say anything.

BOOM!

Kicking his feet and leaving behind another shockwave, Edwin shot back to his quarters.

Time passed.

Searching Eye had left seclusion.

Upon hearing the news, both Ken Ovlar and Edwin Royce arranged for the man to come and take a look at the evidence.

Searching Eye was a powerful cultivator focused entirely on investigations and mediation.

He solved conflicts between major families and had a powerful cultivation base to boot – A Zenith stronger than the majority of noble patriarchs.

In the giant stadium the attack took place in – now empty aside from the few guards that patrolled the area – Edwin, Ken, and Searching Eye, who’s real name was Lorcan, had met and exchanged pleasantries.

The investigator had a well trimmed but graying beard, paired with high cheekbones and receding white hair.

He looked scholarly, with his Hanfu coat and pants, complimenting his piercing blue eyes.

“Please, there is a case to be solved,” Lorcan exchanged a knowing look with the two, then made his way to the evidence room.

There, the dried up mummies had been laid out beside each other. Nothing had been tampered with, meaning the macabre scene was perfectly preserved.

Searching Eye spread his mental waves throughout the entire room, analyzing the tiniest drop of dust and the thinnest strand of hair around the room.

Instantly, his eye fell towards Liam’s body.

“There is something wrong with this one.”

-------------------------------------------

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Born In Blood

Born In Blood

Score 9.1
Status: Ongoing Type: Author: Artist: Released: 2023 Native Language: English
His mother died when she gave birth to him, his father a physically abusive alcoholic. Life is not kind to Darius King. Darius would have dreams of being in a world of magic, but alas, his dreams would always end. He hated life, and life hated him, so he ended both his and his father's. When reincarnating into a peasant-like lifestyle as Liam, in the town of Ucladd, Darius realizes he has entered the world of cultivation! With his ambitious, ruthless, and curious nature combining into one, he paves a bloody path to power. Shifting his gaze from the Earth towards the Sky, nothing will stop him on his path for strength. “I will touch the stars... or die trying.”

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