Born in Blood



It was finally over.

The battlefield had become utterly desolate. 

Most of the fortress had been razed to the ground, but only the Pavilion in the middle stood erect.

Usually, this would be a glaring evidence of the Temple's existence. 

But this was a danger zone.

The Leashes wouldn't bother entering unless there was a major issue regarding the yearly fee.

Meanwhile, the Temple Elders weren't in good shape. 

Especially Verium, who's entire right side was burnt to a dark crisp.

All around, beast and human corpses lay.

Specifically, 36 Spirit Beasts in the fourth Rank.

Liam's eyes were filled with avarice and hunger.

Liam's body was in the middle of the lower-tier, even though more than a year had passed.

Unfortunately, the devouring method wasn't really the fastest way for him to progress.

Anytime Liam devoured a beast or human, the nourishment spread evenly between his core, body and Chaos Pearl. And the Lifeforce would enhance his blood.

He also had to take pauses in order to digest the meals.

If it was just his body, Liam would have pushed past the lower-tier already.

But now, with so many Zenith beast bodies, Liam was entitled to several corpses. 

It wouldn't help him advance, but it would sure bring him closer.

Liam could probably hunt Rank 4 beasts himself. His mental faculties were much stronger compared to before.

Liam could probably control his Ashura Form much better now.

Though, he hadn't tried since his first attempt, due to the constant stream of raids he took part in.

'I didn't get a chance to use my Dusk Blades either...'

Liam used the Dusk Blades only once since its invention.

The martial artist he used it against only had a peak Rank 3 body.

With just one swing across the man's body, his body had been cleaved from shoulder to hip.

And that was from sharpness alone!

Liam had hid the blades from sight ever since. 

He had hoped to use them against the Ravaging Flame, but the beasts and Elders did everything.

"Those of the fire element will learn their martial arts," Elder Verium said with a strained tone, flying above the acolytes.

The remaining Elders were already flying back to the Temple's main underground base, tending to their wounds.

"Until then, we will stabilize and recruit new forces."

"Only two more attacks remain!"

That was all the Elder said before leaving the Shadows to guide the remaining acolytes.

Now, the Temple controlled over 30% of the island!

The only issue was… they lacked numbers.

There was so much land and territory that there weren't enough people to control them.

There were only 2,531 Temple members in total.

But 30% of the island could house up to ten thousand and more.

It was clear that the Temple needed to recruit more forces.

They were already in the process of doing so.

Some Sects held extremists like themselves. Those that imitated the Temple's cause and whatnot.

Meanwhile, Liam helped the Shadows in salvaging the remains of the Ravaging Flame Sect.

Shock fell on their faces as they saw him carrying a Rank 4 Spirit Beast on his back and piling them atop one another.

There were at least eight on that pile.

They were injured and bloody, but Liam chose them on purpose.

He picked quantity over quality, since it was much more effective to grow his body.

"I can have these, right?" Liam asked Krel, who looked at him blankly. The other Shadows and Disciples were there too.

Everyone knew of Liam's personality. 

He rarely came out of his den, but when he did, his threatening aura was imposed on everything.

Thankfully, he didn't stay out for too long.

"Uh… did you tell the Elders?" Krel asked. 

Liam nodded firmly.

'Not this time,' he conveniently forgot to add. 'But they won't mind.'

"Then, uh… yeah, okay. It's not really my authority to say otherwise."

Liam gave a curt nod before packing everything together with a sturdy inscribed rope, the thick end of which was tied around his waist.

Then, he dragged the beasts away.

Sometime later, he secluded himself for weeks and ate everything, but still didn't enter the middle-tier.

'So slow,' Liam scowled a bit. He was inside the bandits' hideout, hidden behind the waterfall.

'At least my blood and core are improving. I'll probably advance to the solid-stage in two more months.'

…But a second later, something strange started to take place within his Chaos Pearl.

Liam's brows furrowed.

It was changing!

Scalding heat exploded in Liam's solar plexus, forcing him to grunt suppressively.

VVVVVMMMM.

Liam's entire body shook uncontrollably.

Chaos surged through Liam's Pearl and seeped through his skin, but strangely, it didn't explode.

It was condensing.

At the same time, the dense alloy walls of his Pearl were starting to tighten and shrink to the size of a pinhead.

Liam felt as though his heart was getting squeezed.

Although the Chaos Pearl was a center of power, it was just like any other organ. 

He could very much feel pain from it.

A few minutes passed as Liam's crimson chaos continued to burst and surge wildly.

Finally, it stopped.

Liam heaved a sigh of relief, then took a deep breath.

As his surprise died down, it was replaced with a broad smile.

He examined the Pearl with mental energy.

Instantly, he realized how denser his Primordial Essence was.

'So this could advance too… of course it can.'

'It took more than 3 years, though, just to get to the second Rank.'

Three years had passed since Liam had become an Ashura.

During that time, he'd devoured countless corpses, not to mention, high ranking Zenith beasts.

'Out of all my centers of power, this has to be the most difficult to advance.'

Three years just to advance to the second Rank!

Even the sea of consciousness, arguably the most important center of power, took Liam almost two years to advance to.

'No wonder my progress is so slow.'

'...But it has to be equally strong, right?'