Born in Blood



Liam was pissed.

He was beyond angry.

It didn't really show, but he was seething inside.

Jargon hung around in the audience, a similarly frustrated look on his face. 

Blood Troupe members lingered around him.

They wanted to intervene, but knew they couldn't.

That would just taint Liam's image.

Liam couldn't fake a loss either, even though that's what he planned to do.

'Whoever told him about me, I'm gonna cut their tongue off.'

Was it Oro?

He'd do something like that for money. 

Meanwhile, the pressure on his hand got tighter and harder.

Liam adjusted his grip.

His slender hand was one-fifth of the Hound's, but he managed to curl it around in an arm-wrestling style somehow.

Ryu let out a guttural laugh.

"You're getting serious, are you? Someone give us a countdown!"

"Don't worry, I won't use any 'Ora' to strengthen myself," Ryu said.

Liam steadied his grasp, and the Berserker did the same.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

Both Liam and Ryu clenched as hard as they could.

KRKH!

A grimace formed on Liam's face as he used every ounce of his being to try and sway the giant's hand.

His muscles tensed and tightened, his sharp fingers digging into the Hound's skin and nearly drawing blood.

Just 3 inches of Ryu's hand moved to the left.

But the Hound was surprised, judging by his slightly widened eyes.

A tense struggle between two hands ensued.

One pale, slender, and lithe.

And the other bulky, fierce and dominative.

Both vibrated uncontrollably, but Liam's hand was steadily being pulled to the losing side.

Usually, that would be it.

Liam would accept a loss and move on.

But this was different.

This was a challenge.

There was no harm in trying a little harder.

Tendrils of umbral Shadow left the ground and wrapped around Liam's hand.

His efforts helped center the struggle between the two arms, which tensely vibrated towards either side.

Louder cheers and bigger bets were made.

'I'm already at the middle-tier… and he's giving me this much trouble?' the Berserker thought with a bit of shock.

Ryu was obviously holding back.

Even a small-size Sect didn't have something as powerful and lavish as a Rank 5 body-tempering method.

Only his core and sea of consciousness allowed him to push towards the middle-tier.

But still!

Ryu was in the middle-tier!

Liam was in the lower-tier!

It didn't make sense!

Same Rank or not, a higher substage was still a higher substage.

It provided a decent leap in physical strength. 

But Liam defied that logic.

Even as the Hound applied more force, Liam somehow managed to match him every step of the way.

Even if Liam used his Shadow. It shouldn't have made that much of a difference.

Needless to say, Liam earned Ryu's respect.

But it was time to stop holding back.

At once, the Hound applied all the strength available in his towering body.

Liam's hand was rapidly swayed to the side. 

He was going to lose!

His hand was getting closer and closer to the losing side.

Just as Liam tried to brace himself—

CRACK!

The table splintered into a hundred different pieces as his hand smashed against the table.

Liam lost.

The outcome was clear.

Even with his Half-Ashura strength, Liam couldn't defy all odds. 

A Zenith was a Zenith for a reason. 

Nevertheless, Liam wasn't disheartened.

He contemplated using a semi-transformation, but it wasn't wise to.

It'd be strange if Liam won, after all.

The Hound exploded into laughter, and the gathered crowd followed suit.

"I like you already. When this is over with, remind me to test your drinking ability."

Liam grumbled in response, fixing his hand into place.

There was no chance whatsoever he was doing that.

Just then, the five Elders left the Temple and flew over.

They looked a bit confused as to why there was such a commotion, but the Berserker joined their ranks and began the briefing.

A shadowy map showcasing two different Sects at the same time formed mid-air.

One of them had the statue of a golden crane erected in the center of their Sect, and the other was made with walls that resembled towering black palms instead of the usual brick. Exactly nine palms.

The Nine Palm Sect, and the Golden Crane Sect.

In short, the Temple would complete both attacks in quick succession.

They'd bulldoze their way through the Golden Crane Sect first, then follow it up with the Nine Palm, since they were in close proximity to one another.

No breaks were allowed.

If some acolytes were severely injured, they could pull back and lick their wounds, but anyone else had to continue forward.

For that occasion, everyone had prepared a stack of healing, strengthening and enhancing elixirs.

"That is all," Elder Verium said, and at once, everyone left through the entrance to the Isolation Chamber.

///

As usual when the Temple made their move, it was nighttime.

The Nine Palm Sect stuck out like a sore thumb within their territories.

They didn't live in a danger zone, but bordered a cliff towards the eastern side of the island.

A shimmering black sea raging with tumultuous waves washed the side of the canyon, but a closer look revealed hundreds, and possibly thousands, of shadowy human shapes within them.

The funny thing about the Nine Palm was, there was no Defensive Formation guarding their Sect. At least, on that side of the cliff.

Naturally, there were a large group of Border Guards there, wearing black clothes with the embroidered logo of a held-out palm.

They were huddled around a large campfire, drinks filled with alcohol in their hands.

There were at least 24 in the third Rank.

"...Man, it's just eerie how quiet the island has gotten all of a sudden."

"Ilali should just close their borders once and for all. I can't tell what the Seven Clans are thinking."

"I agree. First that Liam Royce guy, and now the Royals. They're all cursed!"

Liam heard his name being spoken and couldn't help but shake his head.

He'd become a celebrity now. 

Well, if one considered a murderous, self-harming and power-hungry lunatic hated by countries, he was that.

Thousands of acolytes climbed over the cliff side, shrouded by shadow and basked in darkness.

Just then, something hissed and popped over the cliff, followed by a sharp streak of black light shooting straight for the Border Guards.