Born in Blood



Elder Jane took in a deep breath as soon as Liam fell asleep.

Several things went through her mind, while her gaze fixed to Liam as he calmly slept.

'How did a Mortal Ranked cultivator make me feel danger?'

'Was he hiding his strength this whole time?'

Realizing how tense she had become, Elder Jane let out a wry chuckle under her breath, then shook her head.

'If he can make me feel fear, then those at the same level as him can't even compare.'

Meanwhile, the walls were dripping with blood and grime, slopping on the ground with a wet noise.

Jane was an Elder. 

She was an esteemed cultivator that managed to defeat all three Tribulations to achieve the status of a Zenith!

…But now she had to take care of an unconscious Disciple because she accepted responsibility for him.

Oh, how the great fall.

///

It took Liam an entire week to open his eyes from his deep slumber.

As soon as he awoke, Liam slowly sat upright and heaved a long breath.

He was in the same room, except it was fully cleaned out from bits of his flesh and blood.

Still, he wasn't clothed.

A broad smile formed on his face as he took another look at his body.

'I feel powerful.'

Liam examined his body. 

'My fingers are… sharp,' Liam thought, holding out his palm. 'And my nails are black…'

'My hair is half white now…' Liam raised a brow, twirling his lengthy hair. It felt like silk. 'Maybe now the Royals won't notice me so fast.'

Using his fingers, he scraped the surface of his tight skin.

Ssssssssss. 

It made a slight screeching noise, like metal against metal.

'I've become a Wraith…'

'Did the nobles who gave me the technique know this beforehand? Other tempering methods usually don't have such drastic changes.'

Liam shrugged. He didn't really care or mind. 

It gave him an intimidation factor of sorts, which was always a good thing.

'Though, now that I've advanced, I won't be able to go any further to the fifth Rank.'

Naturally, if Liam's other centers of power were raised to a higher level, his body would be nourished as a consequence. 

Plus, it wasn't like there weren't other ways to advance. 

There was always the devouring option.

Instantly, he noticed how his body housed unnatural reserves of strength and energy. 

If Liam's physical power before was a large pond, it was now an ocean.

Liam chuckled slightly under his breath again. 

'I can finally fight a Rank 4 beast without worrying about death,' he thought with another smile.

Naturally, his senses gained a massive boost.

Although the five bodily senses grew with the mental sphere, they were merely enhanced through the sea of consciousness.

The actual senses belonged to the body, except for his Shadow Sense and mental energy.

'What's that skittering noise?' Liam furrowed his brows as he looked around.

His eyes slightly widened once he realized the source of what it was.

Liam could now hear ants skittering on the stone floor.

Rising to his feet, Liam stretched his body in various ways. 

Instantly, he noticed how light and weightless he now was. 

It was as though gravity didn't apply to him. 

That fact didn't take away from his strength in the least.

'I'm not being spied on. Elder Jane probably put me here, and I can see her mental waves with my eye.'

'It should be safe to experiment.'

There were several things that Liam needed to test first.

Mainly, the special Wraith form that he could take on momentarily. 

Also, did his blood manipulation work the same?

At what speed did he regenerate?

What about his Shadow manipulation abilities?

And most important of all…

Did his Ashura form evolve?

He began with the first question. 

Liam held his hand forward. 

Coagulations of blood sloshed around his arm and took the form of a katana.

Shing!

In the next instant, it crystalized with a crackling noise, glistening like ruby. 

Liam pursed his lips. 

The edge of the blade was incredibly sharp. 

Level wise, it was Rank 2 on its own! 

On average, most inscribed weapons were naturally around this Rank.

What did this mean?

Liam could simply crystalize his own blood and use them as weapons instead of taking out his strongest blades.

That alone would suffice!

Not to mention the countless other ways he could use them. 

Now, he even gained more long-range capabilities.

No human at his level, or perhaps above, would think of something like that being possible.

It seemed unreal in a sense. Liam's blood had gained wondrous qualities.

Liam couldn't wait to inscribe.

'I can definitely try and make a Rank 3 weapon now. Both my understanding of the concepts, Links and Meanings have gotten better.'

Making a Rank 3 inscribed item was something else entirely.

Even until now, Liam had only made two items at the upper-tier – the inscribed katana, and the Abyssal Needle.

Both made him suffer immensely afterwards due to how difficult they were to make.

In general, inscribing and forging both took a very long time when attempting something new.

And now that Liam's blood had purified to a massive sense, the drawbacks would naturally grow bigger.

Thus, Liam decided to dedicate a specific time for that project later.

Liam focused on his body's special ability.

Infernal Breathing gave Liam heat resistance.

Throes of Anguish gave him regeneration and a strength enhancing ability.

And now?

Liam closed his eyes and heaved a breath.

There was silence for a few seconds.

Whoosh!

A moment later, it was like a switch had gone off, and an eldritch revenant took over Liam's human form.

Two starry lights, red and yellow, acted as eyes.

Everything else had turned ethereal, replaced by corrosive gas that gushed from his entire being.

Not even Liam's hair remained solid, turning into wide flowing strands of noxious mist that floated on their own.

This wasn't normal darkness. 

It was beyond the current capabilities of Liam's core.

This darkness slowly ate away at the ground itself.

Overall, his Wraith form was utterly terrifying.

It was something one would expect to attack in the middle of the night, a harrowing creature birthed from nightmares.

Fwoof!

Shortly after, the switch was flipped off, and Liam was back to being a human.