Born in Blood



Liam exited the torture chamber, eyes drooping and breathing weak, then made his way through a series of corridors to leave the pyramid. 

As soon as he left the giant Temple, Zeth, Krel, and more faces that he couldn't recognize were standing there. 

Three women and one man that were the same level of strength as Krel, with lower ranked acolytes huddled behind them.

Before they could strike up a conversation, Liam shook his head with a scowl. 

They watched as he moved past them and headed towards his private pyramid, fully intent to sleep away the rest of the day.

"H-how many hours did he stay inside the despair room?" 

Zeth spoke with wide eyes, and the others had the same looks on their faces.

They all had experienced the despair room. 

Everyone has to in order to get their Shadow tattoos.

Elder Jax had a knack for torturing and testing the limits of the human body and mind. Zeth himself lasted thirty minutes before crying for his mother and passing out. 

Thankfully, the Elder was kind enough to stop the torture if they lost consciousness.

Out of all the squadron leaders, Krel had lasted the longest – two & a half hours by the skin of his teeth.

"He's not normal," said Krel as he watched Liam's back grow distant, respect evident in his dark eyes. 

"We'll see a few changes around here with his presence."

///

Liam woke up after sleeping for who knows how long.

His headache was significantly lesser than before, but the remnants of the torture still lingered in his mind and body.

Putting on his robe, Liam took out a Spirit Beast corpse and began wolfing it down raw. 

Some of his energy returned, but eating two more Spirit Beasts managed to bring him back to a stable condition.

'Eating cultivators is way more beneficial for my body instead of Spirit Beasts. Just one would have sufficed to bring me back to peak condition.'

The problem was, Liam didn't have any more bodies remaining to devour. He needed to restock soon, but staying underground wouldn't accomplish anything.

'Come to think of it, I still haven't explored the underground and its establishments. I'm supposed to meet Krel and receive my duties as an acolyte as well,' Liam thought with a grimace as he activated the Shadowfire cultivation technique. 

As he was in thought, half an hour passed, and he subconsciously moved to the Psionic Rune.

'The Ten Thousand Shadows are amazing to say the least. I've gained so many abilities during the past two years that nobody can come close to the same prowess as me.' 

The King's Eye, the Ashura body, Chaos – or Primordial Essence – blood manipulation, Shadow Clone and the vast arsenal of spells in his possession gave Liam unbridled potential.

Adding a body-inscription method would bring him to a new realm of power entirely. 

A broad grin formed on Liam's face.

Finally, he concluded his training with the Rune.

Before he left, Liam took out the inscribed preservation container and filled it with his blood. 

Then, he placed two spare blades in them that he didn't imbue with a Beast Will. 

He didn't really plan on making another pair of blades so soon, since it would completely take him out of commission, but being prepared and making use of his time didn't hurt.

'I should reabsorb the Beast Wills during my free time. It should help speed up my expansion again.'

With that, Liam left the pyramid, only to see Krel waiting for him outside with a friendly smile.

"You're finally out."

Liam raised a brow at how friendlier Krel was compared to before. 

"Come, I'll give you a tour of the underground. You'd be happy to know there's a better place for you to live in, nearer to the Temple," Krel said as he and Liam walked side by side through the streets. 

Krel was a squadron leader. 

Usually, no one would dare walk in front or beside him except those of a similar or stronger Rank. 

Still, the Rank 3 cultivator didn't take any offense as Liam did exactly that.

"Your duties aren't that special. The Temple is laying low as of now, so the missions vary from bringing back special resources to, very rarely, quietly assassinating someone. Our goal is to silently expand our territories and gain more control over the island."

Liam nodded in understanding. It would be weird if a Clan specialized in shadows weren't good at assassination.

"That goal is a bit difficult considering how many sects share this place with the Ravenous Leash dogs. They also use investigative Spirit Beasts to search for traces of our presence," Krel cursed angrily. 

Liam hummed to himself in response, silently taking in the knowledge.

As the pair continued, they passed by a rowdy area where no housing pyramids were visible - instead, there were flat fields that consisted of a forgery, a small-sized tavern, and other spots where the members could entertain themselves.

Liam was confused as to why the Temple allowed for such areas, but a realization made him chuckle wryly under his breath.

Normal people naturally require socialization. 

Without those facilities, Liam was sure that the members of the Temple would slowly become deranged, only intensified by the corruption effects of the Dark Star.

"Although acolytes are the lowest rank of the Temple, you're already a Rank 2 cultivator. You'll be given lodging suited for one. Oh, and the rankings for the clan go from Acolyte, Disciple, Shadow and finally, Elder."

Eventually, Liam and Krel arrived at what looked like a circular space with small-sized pyramids covering its surface - paved with small walkways for people to pass through. 

The cultivators there were much stronger compared to those on the outside. 

A few middle-aged men among them even had Rank 2 mental spheres and Rank 3 bodies, many of them already in the liquid stage.

Krel pointed towards a specific pyramid. 

"That's yours," he said, giving Liam a jet-black token. "And that's the key."

With that, the pair continued forward.

"Becoming a Rank 3 cultivator gives you the authority to command a squadron. If a group assignment calls for it, I might even lead you into a hunt or battle."

Krel puffed his chest as he said the last sentence. 

"What do you guys hunt?" Liam asked.

Krel smirked proudly.

"Rank 4 Spirit Beasts."