What is he doing? Messengers cannot be killed. Just as that thought crossed his mind, a refined fan brimming with immense power suddenly flashed.
The next second, he could hear his bones crack as his body was hurled into the air, landing face-first in the pond at the corner, outside the Assembly Hall.
He could do nothing in the presence of that power.
The messenger was both furious and stunned. Never had he imagined the mayor would dare go so far; after all, he was a messenger.
Although weak, he was still a messenger of a legal territory, and in all his life he had never been subjected to such indignity.
With great effort, he crawled out and collapsed on his back, his luxurious clothes drenched. His breathing became difficult; the agony of broken ribs seemed to be tearing him apart.
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself to leave the mansion.
"Hear this!" the mayor suddenly said, causing the messenger to stiffen.
"If, by the appointed date, your master has not renounced his challenge and kowtowed before me, you will leave us no choice but to raze your town to the ground. His head will serve as payment, and war shall be brought to your very doorstep!" Mayor Strum thundered, his domineering voice reverberating through the hall.
The messenger was grinding his teeth so fiercely that it seemed they might shatter. His eyes were cold as he forced himself to continue his walk, seemingly unmoved, though he was shivering.
After walking nearly three hundred meters, he turned with deep hatred, spat upon the ground, and continued on. He would never allow that humiliation to go just like that.
Evil plots already began to stir in his mind. The battle with Sand-Scale seemed inevitable.
The doors of the Assembly Hall slammed shut the moment the messenger was 'courteously' escorted out.
Even after the incident, Mayor Strum remained composed, unbothered by the messenger's plight. He lowered his arms from the armrest with deliberate calm.
He understood the rules clearly. They decreed only that messengers must not be killed—lest destruction befall the offender. They said nothing about leaving them bedridden.
"Have our spies monitor Bland Town. No detail, however minute, should escape notice. We cannot lower our guard simply because they appear weak." he commanded, rising with a sweep of his robes.
He soon disappeared after he said,
"Apparently, some believe Sand-Scale has grown feeble after so long without battle. Otherwise, a backwater town would never dare such insolence. Bland Town will serve as a steppingstone—and a warning—that Sand-Scale City has not diminished."
Those present sighed.
"Bland Town doesn't know what is good for them. Whoever pushed them into this folly must be uncovered. Sand-Scale City is no fledgling to be mocked, least of all by a grade-three town." They soon departed, leaving the hall in silence.
___
Two figures faced one another in silence. One studied the other with piercing scrutiny, her gaze sharp and unyielding.
However, the other's eyes remained calm, untouched by her probing stare. To him, those small, intent eyes were beautiful and captivating, making it impossible to look away from.
"What have you been up to this past month? I know it isn't normal. I saw you vanish from the bed, returning hours later only to fall into that deep sleep. It's very unusual." Ivory asked, her innocent eyes suddenly seemed sharp enough to gouge out lies.
Blood swallowed, his expression changing. He had no memory of what she described, but her words seemed to be true. She wouldn't lie to him that easily.
"It's just your wild imagination. There's nothing to worry about. Go to sleep—you haven't rested in some time. I'll use the bathroom now." He turned and walked away.
Ivory's expression grew complicated when Blood avoided her question. If someone else had told her, she might never have believed it. But she had seen it clearly with her own eyes—how could he be so shameless?
"I know you're hiding something. Just remember this—you'll always have me by your side." She lay back, her breathing steadying.
Blood turned and quietly approached the bed. He brushed her auburn hair, and murmured, "If I ever tell the truth, you will be the first to know." Then he slipped away for a bath.
A tear slid down Ivory's cheek as she shifted into slumber.
Soon after, Blood emerged, drying his hair as he sat in an armchair. With a thought, he summoned the Blood Book to display his status.
'Status'
[Host: Blood Marble]
[Race: Human]
[Bloodline: Superposition (mutated)]
[Cultivation Realm: Iron Realm Stage-10]
[Blood Formation Manual—Blood Balancing Art]
[Techniques: Blood Manifestation]
[Skills: Dark Bond, Jade Eyes, Influence]
[Title: Path Breaker???]
[Talent Grade: ???]
[Revamp Energy Level: 200 of 200%]
[Mutation Exp: 60 of 1000]
[Level 1 Achieved]
Blood was bewildered by what his stat. He stood as a stage‑10 cultivator of the Iron Realm.
It was a well-known fact among cultivators that advancement stopped at stage-9 in each realm, forcing one to break through to the next.
To reach a tenth stage was unheard of—an impossibility that promised only death or a shattered core, reducing one to nothing more than an ordinary mortal.
He gasped as ecstasy surged through him.
A stage-10 cultivator would undoubtedly surpass those at stage-9, and upon breakthrough, even ordinary Bronze Realm experts would pale before his strength.
Blood marveled at his deduction, though he had yet to test the limits of his newfound power.
Although his bloodline remained unchanged, the name Superposition hinted at something extraordinary. The Blood Balancing Art was enigmatic, and despite recognizing it as a technique, he had yet to grasp its use.
However, the word Blood alone carried ominous presence. It probably wouldn't lag behind the others.
He was uncertain of the purpose of Revamp Energy. He recalled it had once stood at one hundred percent, yet now the accumulated experience had changed—converted into Mutation Exp, plummeting from six hundred to sixty points.
He tapped into the skill Jade Eyes.
[Jade Eyes: Enabled the Host to perceive relative information about both sentient and insentient beings]
Blood pondered the function, marveling at its friendly yet overwhelming potential. The deciphering ability seemed far too powerful, and he could not help but wonder what feats he might accomplish with it.
Excited, he quickly willed the final skill—Influence.
[Influence: Grants the Host a heightened chance of successfully bonding with a beast, at the expense of the Host's energy or Exp]
Blood realized this skill was meant for bonding with pets. He already knew what Dark Bond meant. He attempted the same with the Path Breaker title, but nothing appeared as he had hoped, leaving him baffled.
The instantly thought that something might be restraining the title which could only be linked to the question marks beside it.
He scrutinized the status section for a long while before moving on to the next—the Quest Hall. It remained unchanged, displaying only:
[All Quests will appear here]
He moved on to the next—the Notification section—whose contents stunned him, leaving him speechless.
He began reading from the first message to the last:
[Rapid Energy Surge Detected]
[Unidentified Source]
[Directing the energy paths]
[Iron Realm Stage-7 breached]
[Stage-7... Stage-8… Stage-9]
[A new path has been forcibly opened]
[Warning]
[Crossing this path will place Host in an extremely vulnerable state. It is advised that Host remain in a safe or secluded environment]
[Accept/Denie]
[Count down begins (180... 179...)]
[Select an option before the countdown ends, or a random option will be selected automatically.]
[A random option has been selected]
[An Ancient Path of the Old has been revealed]
[New Skills have been added]
[Jade Eyes — Influence]
[Source Identified]
[Black Pool of Northbudge]
[Integrating...]
[Integration completed]
[Blood Book found the Black Pool of Northbudge highly synergistic]
[A new title has been achieved]
[Path Breaker]
[Advanced Sections have been forcibly unlocked]
[Shop Section — Blood Book World]
[Blood Book World (under integration)]
[Blood Book World integration completed]
[Blood Book World has been influenced and altered by the Black Pool of Northbudge]
[Blood Book World undergoing Mutation]
[Current and further Exp will be converted to Mutation Exp]
[Mutation Exp: 60 of 1000]
Blood read every message, and at last, the pieces fell into place. He understood almost all that had transpired while he was unconscious.