Born in Blood

467 Bill McGill

A long, quiet silence followed.

Liam had no clue what he just witnessed.

What exactly happened?

The puppet that countless Zeniths couldn't damage, the old man erased from existence.

The onlookers had dumb expressions.

The Iron Hammer gave Liam a broad, cheeky smile.

"Hahaha! The dumb look on your face makes this little pissing contest worth it."

"That's not even a sword," Liam said with a frown. "It's a bomb. You can't just change a concept of a sword so—"

"Where's the flames?" Kamjin interrupted with a cheeky expression. "Did you see a wisp of fire?"

There was a pause.

In truth, Liam didn't see any element being used.

But due to the way the dummy was incinerated, he assumed fire was used.

Except, it wasn't.

Now that he thought about it for a second, he realized something.

The puppet didn't disintegrate all at once, although it seemed like it did.

It disintegrated from the point of impact first, then continued rapidly across the entire wooden puppet.

Meaning, something had spread from the weapon as it made contact with the wood!

Two seconds of silence passed.

Liam vaguely figured it out.

And it was a little shocking.

Although the sword was wooden, and looked extremely blunt, this was not the case.

In fact, it was actually stupidly sharp.

But it also had a special ability.

When the bokken hit the puppet full force, the sharpness spread across it evenly from the point of impact!

It continued like so, festering like a disease, until it seemed like the puppet was instantly eviscerated.

Forging-wise, this weapon was a wonder.

And the material was actual wood!

Other than being more durable than regular materials, it wasn't special or magical in any way!

That meant that the sharpness was made through pure Meanings alone.

'It's not even enhanced with inscriptions,' Liam thought. 'Everything is imbued within the weapon itself.'

"Go on," Kamjin said with a cheeky smirk, storing the wooden sword. "Hold back no praise. I'll wait."

Liam scoffed in slight disdain.

But he had to be honest.

The weapon was amazing.

"It's decent. But aren't you 300 years old? Why are you boasting to someone a fraction of your age?"

Kamjin burst out in laughter.

"You struck me as someone older. Was I too harsh, son? Need a band-aid? Or should I kiss where it hurts?"

How nice.

"I think I've had enough of this place," Liam said with a long sigh.

He had learned a few important things from the Iron Hammer.

The conversation gave him insight.

A few ideas for his Black Blade and Dusks that might be a little too ridiculous.

But knowing a wooden sword could erase things with a simple touch raised his standards.

"What country are you from, even?" Liam asked Kamjin.

Liam was a little curious about the blacksmith. Not many people in the cultivation world were as direct and blunt. And impressive.

"An island up north. And I don't accept visitors!" Kamjin said firmly. "Don't try and show up announced requesting a sword or something. I kill on sight."

Silence.

Huh?

"You don't have any affiliation with a country?" Liam asked, a little surprised.

The Iron Hammer responded by clicking his tongue in affirmation. "Can't be annoyed."

That was surprising.

But on second thought, the Iron Hammer did seem like an anti-social hermit.

"I'd ask you to join my clan, but I know you'd decline," Liam said.

The Iron Hammer smirked approvingly. "Smart."

"Well. Have fun annoying the others," Liam said as he turned to leave.

Kamjin smiled with a few missing teeth. "Will do. Maybe one day I'll embarrass you once again."

***

Liam headed to the next tunnel.

Slowly, he was moving up.

A few hundred floors remained until the final one.

The next stop?

The Aquarium!

Liam wanted to meet with a few Oceanors.

There were several reasons that sea exploration was more beneficial than the land.

There were more magical beasts to eat.

More magical environments.

And there was less of a threat from doing so.

At least, from humanity.

Liam wanted to distance himself from politics.

In fact, he was thinking he could give the reins to Jargon or Verium or Jane for a while.

Maybe go back to his roots as a lone cultivator.

Forming a Path wasn't a group activity, after all. The less effect others had, the better.

The aquarium was no doubt a gathering place for these kinds of people.

Liam changed floors once again, and the environment changed from a smithy, to a beautiful display of enclosed sea creatures, swimming this way and that through glass walls and huge tubes.

Octopus Sharks, Gem Fish, Ice Axolotls and incredibly rare animals were being showcased.

As they swam by, their shadows were cast through the mirrors.

Tables were stationed here and there, overlooking the aquarium glass.

People were freely socializing. Food and drinks were offered, too.

Quite frankly, Liam was bored out of his mind.

He wanted nothing more than to begin his Path already!

But here he was, not killing things.

Sigh…

Looking around, most of the tables were actually occupied. The Aquarium was available to people of all ribbons, not just ruby or emerald.

Liam looked left and right.

Just then, he spotted a free table.

And it was the only table that had just one person on it.