Born in Blood



In the center of the Temple's island, hordes of people surged and scattered in all directions.

Throughout the past few months, teleportation matrices were built for easier transportation to the Main Lands, since the number of acolytes had gotten so massive.

The entire island had slowly been cultivated and claimed for use.

There used to be danger zones and different Spirit Beast threats, but all of those areas were cleared out and made into accommodations for the growing Clan.

The tournament was to begin today.

Everyone had prepared immensely. 

Elder Jane cooked the strongest pills she knew.

Elder Aki forged incredibly powerful weapons.

Elder Jax inscribed those weapons.

Elder Orisa and Verium helped the three in each individual regard.

Elder Ryu… well, he couldn't really provide much.

All he could do was shout motivational speeches for the entire island to hear.

Funnily enough, it worked.

His fierce voice and powerful words made the acolytes think they were stronger than they actually were.

Liam had never wanted to kill a man more, though. The damn motivational shouts jolted him out of his rare resting days.

Nevertheless, on the same day of the tournament, Liam's core started to rumble and shake.

It was happening.

The peak of the Mortal Ranks.

By human standards, of course.

Liam had to put his mind to the task.

His core boiled and burned wildly. 

A tug of war began between Liam's mental energy and the advancing core.

Slowly, though, Liam's mental energy was completing the advancement with ease.

In reality, cultivators weren't expected to advance their minds first.

It was always the body first, core second, mind third.

Yet Liam denied all common sense and did it the other way around.

Liam had already consumed a pill to help with the breakthrough process.

It was a bit overkill, but he wanted it to be over with as fast as possible.

And soon, it was.

The solid contents of Liam's core began to reverse in stages.

It instantly liquified.

Then turned into gas.

All but a single strand of black gas remained in Liam's core.

Liam closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.

It felt amazing.

The current Rank 3 gaseous stage 'Ora' pulsing through his abdomen was invigorating his entire being.

It felt like a powerful supercharger had made its way into his abdomen. 

It was ridiculous, quite frankly.

It spoke of Liam's amazing battle prowess when he could regularly fight with cultivators at such a level.

And now, Liam was one of these people.

They didn't stand a chance.

WHOOSH!

Liam's entire body burst with dark flames.

Liam was sitting on a stone floor.

Yet his darkness was rapidly eating away at it!

Solid stone!

Even with a single strand of 'Ora' in his body, Liam felt like the reserves were at least 4 times his regular amount.

Running out of 'Ora' was never an issue for him. 

Maybe a difficult battle or two would force his hand, but it had been some time since Liam faced a worthy adversary. 

And now, Liam would probably never run out of 'Ora'.

Stopped the flames from enveloping him.

'This is it.'

'I've surpassed everyone my age and beyond.'

Liam's eyes turned solemn.

'But it's still not enough.'

Liam was tired.

Of hiding.

Of conforming to man-made rules.

Of running away.

All of it!

Everytime Liam grew stronger, he was reminded that someone was stronger than him. 

And for some reason, that just pissed him off.

It was like gaining a million dollars.

But knowing that someone else out there has a billion more.

Liam clicked his tongue. He hated this feeling more than anything, but he knew it was just an ugly side of him that couldn't be suppressed.

Nevertheless, spent a few minutes absorbing 'Ora' into his core.

Currently, he didn't have a Rank 4 cultivation technique, but perhaps the Unforgiven could give one to him.

After nourishing himself to an acceptable amount, Liam exited his temple.

Outside, the sky was filled with a soft hue of caramel.

Dusk.

Liam heaved a breath.

The air was still and windless.

There was a certain melancholy and solemnity about the atmosphere.

Who knew?

Maybe this tournament wasn't too bad.

Liam could certainly bulldoze his opponents with ease.

'Hopefully I'll see some good martial arts,' Liam smiled.

Liam turned and shot towards the center of the island. 

Everyone was already leaving the island early in preparation.

Liam was going to be the Secondary Fighter. This meant that he'd depart with Usan and stay to his side, playing the part of a talented disciple.

A few more hours passed and night had fallen. Little stars twinkled within the firmament, allowing Liam to smile at their sight.

'Just wait. I'll get my hands on you soon enough.'

Heavy steps resounded behind him.

The Monolith Lion, with Usan on top of it.

"Ready?" the Unforgiven asked.

Liam nodded, cocked his knees – enhanced by Transfiguration, his Shadow, and Vanishing Steps – then jumped a total of 45 meters in the air… 

And lithely jumped on top of the lion's body.

"Show off," Aki uttered under her breath.

Although everyone used their teleportation matrices, Usan opted for a flashier way of entry.

Him, Liam, and all the Elders were on the lion.

And maybe piss a few of them off in the process.

Elder Jane approached Liam and gestured for him to take off his clothes.

Liam raised a brow.

Jane took out a pair of clothes from her Shadow. They were coarse wrappings made from the hide of a Rank 4 darkness beast.

They had ornate drawings on its surface, insignia that marked the Temple's shadowy powers.

Liam took off his clothes and quickly wore the new attire. Only the skin past his elbow was visible, revealing his tattoos.

That was probably on purpose.

"How does this tournament thing work exactly?" Liam thought. 

Liam hadn't been briefed on the specifics. 

The rules still weren't set, after all. 

However, the general outline of the tournament was fixed.

"50 points," Usan said, his gaze forward. Wind pulled back his short hair as the Monolith ran with incredible speed.

"Each Main Battle victory gives 5 points to the victor, and each Secondary Battle gives 5 points to the victor."

'5 battles for him… 5 for me.'

That sounded a bit difficult.

However, their points would obviously combine. With that in mind, it didn't sound as hard.