Death... and me

"My bloodline is suppressed?" Kentucky was surprised to hear that.

'Obviously!' The feather said in response. 'You told me you met a phoenix before, right? Yet, the power of the phoenix's bloodline was pretty much similar to yours. Indeed, normal Minokawas are similar to normal Phoenixes. However, a Regal Phoenix or a Regal Minokawa's bloodline is several times stronger. Otherwise, do you think you would be this weak right now?'

"Weak?" Kentucky asked back. "I can fight other demon beasts and cultivators up to an entire realm above my own cultivation. No, on the second thought, Philip told me that's only considering the experts of this region of the Realm of Gods."

'Seems like you understand. Indeed, compared to those at the same cultivation as you in the center of the Realm of Gods, you're just average. Well, there's also the fact that the quality of Divine Energy there is much better, so it helps increase the average raw strength of the beings there by a lot. Just by being born and living there, I believe a cultivator at the Initial Stage of the Transition Realm would be as strong as someone at the Late Stage here. And that's considering both of them received the exact same training and have the exact same talent, affinity, and so on.'

"Just by living there?" Kentucky took a deep breath after hearing that. "That's too unfair..."

The feather didn't mind, telling him, 'Since when life has been fair? First of all, 'fairness' is something sentient beings invented. It isn't something that existed from the start.'

"Well, that's true..." Kentucky agreed with the feather. That was basically the same thing Roan always said, so Kentucky wasn't that affected.

'Don't be sad. It doesn't apply to you, as it seems,' the feather added.

"What do you mean?" Kentucky was obviously confused.

The feather explained, 'It seems like whoever helped you train so far did a real good job. The lower quality of Spiritual Energy and Divine Energy of the Mortal Realm and this region of the Realm of Gods didn't affect your body. It's as if you had been living there since the start, so you aren't two stages behind the average demon beasts from there. If not for that, you would be at least two stages weaker in raw strength.'

Kentucky felt a chill on his back after that. He truly didn't want to remember some of Roan's training methods. "Ahem... that's good to know."

"Anyways," Kentucky decided to go back to the main topic. "What about this suppressed bloodline of mine? Should I keep it like that? Won't it suppress my own development in the future?"

'That's not gonna happen. As long as you continue to cultivate, your bloodline will break away from its shackles on its own. Don't look down on a Regal Divine Demon Beast bloodline. It's truly a marvel to behold. I have met the Regal Golden Crow before. Even with my cultivation being a few stages higher than her, I felt like I would stand no chance.'

"Oh!" Kentucky was happy to hear that. "Wait! Doesn't that mean I'll eventually be found by those experts who are looking for the Regal Minokawa?"

'True... That's why you have to learn how to control it. Otherwise, the other Regal Demon Beasts would have died a long time ago, way before reaching their actual level.'

"Control it?" Kentucky was confused. "I can't even feel it, let alone control the thing."

'Don't worry. That's why I'm here. Use your Divine Energy to take the blood from this feather's quill and inject it into your body. My bloodline's power, due to my much higher cultivation, should awaken your Regal Bloodline. It's just that it will happen slightly, just enough for you to feel it, but far from enough to catch anyone's presence. Consider it your father's first gift in your life. That should allow your raw strength to increase by another stage or two. At the very least, you would be one or two stages stronger than Divine Demon Beasts at the same level in the center of the Realm of Gods.'

Kentucky narrowed his eyes, asking in response, "And why would I trust you?" Sure enough, Kentucky had heard a lot of things so far. However, there was nothing there to prove that the feather was talking the truth. As far as he knew, that feather might be something similar to the devil's altar. Once he put the feather's bloodline inside his body, he might also be putting another soul there. A soul much stronger than his own that might take over his body.

'This...' The feather wasn't expected such a question. 'I... don't know? I haven't really thought about a way to convince you that I'm telling the truth. I thought our bloodline connection would be enough to prove that.'

Kentucky pondered over it for a bit. It was then that he remembered one thing. His soul was protected by the Soul Gem System. It's just that it only worked while he's inside the system's connection range. If he brought the feather there and only then absorbed the blood, any attempt to affect his soul would be met with the system's merciless attack. Kentucky had already seen the system do that before, so he was certain it was safe.

"Alright, but you will have to stay in my spatial collar for a while. I first need to head back to Jhiod Sect before absorbing the blood in the quill."

The feather was the one confused now. 'And why is that?'

"Let's just say that I have a way to prevent unwanted side-effects in case something goes wrong," Kentucky explained.

The feather's Divine Sense pondered over it for a bit before replying, 'That's not a problem. However, I won't be there with you, so you should take this opportunity to ask what you can.'

"What do you mean by that?" Kentucky was taken aback.

'This island is what fuels my Divine Sense and the piece of sentience inside this feather. Once we leave, I won't be able to sustain it anymore. However, that's not much of a problem. I'll pass to you all of the steps you should take during the absorption of my blood. It'll take quite a bit of time, after all.'