Born in Blood



Although a secluded Sect, the Temple still had their connections.

Before their exile, they had several allies.

Their spies littered every corner of the Main Lands.

Each of those spies kept tabs and notes on the Sects that surrounded them.

Especially those that didn't like the submission of the Seven Clans to the Dual Empire and the Imperialists.

Just like they chose their enemies, the Temple chose its allies carefully.

It was as though they were playing Jenga, carefully flicking away their opponents' pieces and adding their own.

But if they weren't cautious, everything would tumble down.

///

As soon as he awoke, Liam left his accommodation.

He wore his usual, black-clad wrappings, leaving only his tattooed arms bare from the shoulder.

Outside, Acolytes, Disciples and Shadows burst into loud cheers while some groaned and cussed.

"I told you, exactly one month and a half! I got the Pinpoint prize!" a tall but scrawny acolyte leaped into the air.

"Ugh, if he just stayed inside for two more weeks!" another cursed.

"Count your earnings! Remember, I get a ten percent fee!" Oro said with a loud laugh.

Liam grimaced.

Why did he feel like a racing horse?

Just then, Krel approached him with a wry smile. 

Liam didn't fail to see him pocketing a large sum of 'Ora' Stones a second earlier.

"You heard about the upcoming attacks?" Krel asked. "They're only two weeks away."

Liam raised his brows.

Krel filled Liam in on what the past few months entailed.

'They're getting a bit desperate.'

'Then again, all of this did start because of me.'

Liam wasn't naive.

He knew the Temple didn't shelter him out of kindness.

They wanted his expertise, talent, strength, capabilities, and potential.

Housing perhaps one of the youngest prodigies in the current cultivation world wasn't a light responsibility.

And it wasn't like Liam hadn't done his half either.

He had made weapons.

He merged the Blood Troupe with the Temple.

He underwent the Inkshadow procedure.

He spread knowledge of the Royal academy.

Both parties were in a symbiotic relationship.

However, it was time for Liam to put in a better effort.

Honestly speaking, he hadn't gone above and beyond.

He didn't feel obliged to.

Now, however, Liam's fate rested with the Temples' hand.

'It should be time for me to make a Rank 3 Abyssal Needle.'

'Now that I've advanced to the solid-stage, I can probably make them without relying on Rank 4 materials.'

Usually, the average age of advancing to the solid-stage of the core's second Rank would be 25 to 26.

This was not counting pills, elixirs and living conditions.

From what Liam remembered, most nobles at the academy advanced to this stage at around 20.

At most, so-called "peerless geniuses", like that ice guy that Liam forgot the name of (with the half-corroded face) advanced at the age of 19.

But Liam was 17 and a half.

Advancing to the third Rank was obviously higher than that, usually 5 years.

Still, Liam could instantly feel how far away his advancement to the third Rank was. 

It would definitely take him years, but he had a ridiculous advantage compared to others.

Liam bid Krel adieu, then headed to Temple's storage to take out several Rank 4 materials.

Now that the Temple was so rich, they kept a stock of Rank 4 Spirit Beasts at Liam's request.

And with his standing with the Temple, he could waltz in there and take whatever he wanted.

Although Liam could make the Abyssal Needles without Rank 4 materials, he opted for them anyway.

'I'll make the rest with Rank 3 parts. There's not enough darkness Spirit Beasts in my stash for too many.'

After taking the required materials, Liam had secluded himself again.

More than a week passed.

Those living within the Main Lands were unhealthily obsessed with the name Liam Royce.

His infamous notoriety had swept the Main Lands like a raging wildfire.

Still, there wasn't an official announcement from the Seven Clans.

They had allowed the bounties, but they themselves didn't care enough to join them on those endeavors.

Meanwhile, the Temple was growing restless about the two mid-size Sects they needed to take over.

No new forces had joined their ranks yet.

And if there was still no more added manpower, they would have to fight with their current condition.

Just as the second week passed, two things happened at once.

The Raging Wolf Clan, a small-size Sector, joined the Temple!

Their Patriarch had already covertly met with the five Elders on their terms.

After the Elders deemed him trustworthy, their forces had entered the underground.

The Temple was an old ally to the previous generation Patriarch of their Clan, thus, there was already a friendliness between them.

Now, the Temple had 3,156 members.

Among the new forces, there were at least 37 Rank 3 cultivators.

But most important of all, there was another Zenith!

Berserker Hound.

That was the Raging Wolf's Patriarch.

Someone with that name was hardly trustworthy.

With his hulking, nearly 3 meter tall stature lined with bulky muscles, the man looked like a literal wild beast that came in human form. 

His brown hair was shin-length and unkempt.

His hairy upper-body was almost always bare. 

Only a pelt-made tunic covered his legs.

His dark black eyes were iron-hard.

But all of that was external.

In reality, the Berserker was kind to even the weakest of acolytes.

"Ah, my moniker? Haha… it's a bit embarrassing, but I get a bit reckless in times of battle. My real name is just Ryu."

With that, he humbly joined the Temple as the sixth Elder, on the condition that his martial arts were still practiced and spread.

With him there, taking down a mid-size Sect was significantly easier.

They couldn't undergo the Dark Star procedures due to the lack of materials and time, 

…And the second event was that Liam left his seclusion on the day of the attacks.

In his ring were four different items.

Inscribed items in the third Rank.

They were roughly 2.3 meters in length, and just five inches in diameter.

The tips of the items were sharp and linear. Bullet-like, almost.

They resembled layered, black javelins but without any hilt or grip. The weapons buzzed slightly on their own, brimming with power.

Blood-red writings covered them, and one of them was much stronger than the rest.