Born in Blood



Liam was taken aback by just how fast his wounds healed.

Calling it incredible was a disgusting understatement.

Perhaps not even upper-tier Rank 4 bodies healed that fast!

It was understandable, though.

Both the Rank 3 Throes of Anguish and the Rank 4 Dark Wraith had regenerative abilities.

And Liam's Blood had grown to something monstrous on top of that. 

Paired with his middle-tier Ashura body, it wasn't too surprising.

'I'm pretty unkillable now,' Liam realized with a chuckle. 

'Unless they have some sort of bomb to throw at me.'

…Who was he kidding? 

Even bombs weren't enough to stop him!

Not with Transfiguration, his Rank 3 Blood, and his Shadow working together to keep him breathing.

Though, even after a year and a half had passed, Liam still hadn't achieved a Rank 3 core. Even after consuming two-thirds of Wild Fang's corpse.

Sometimes, advancements required dedicated periods of seclusion. 

Liam had basically balanced more than a dozen different responsibilities throughout the past one and a half year. 

Each one took a specific part of his day.

The Rank 4 Psionic Rune itself was a massive headache on its own, both literally and figuratively.

But Liam was slowly getting used to the rune.

If Liam had put all his efforts into advancing to the third Rank, it definitely would have been possible to finally become a Rank 3 cultivator.

At least, by human rankings.

With four centers of power, Liam was already much stronger than the average Rank 3.

Nevertheless, Liam was happy with his current progress.

Before Liam could perform more tests, the sounds of acolytes gathering outside entered his ears.

'Is it time already?' Liam thought with a slight scowl, putting on his wrappings and leaving his quarters. 

Liam had shortened his hair during the past year. 

Quite frankly, it had gotten way too long for comfort, and was difficult to cover using any sort of clothing.

Thus, he simply kept it short.

His height was a few inches taller.

Liam was now 1.79 meters tall. 

His shoulders were broad and squared.

His frame was a bit more pronounced now that he was a bit older.

Nevertheless, Liam's features were still youthful.

Cultivators aged differently compared to regular people.

Their cores nourished them considerably, prolonging their longevity and lives.

'So it's begun,' Liam thought with a sigh, following the herds of people rushing forward.

Outside, under the darkness of the night, more than 6,700 Temple acolytes had gathered outside Usan's temple.

With 6 new Zeniths added to the mix!

Obviously, the Temple of Shadow wasn't idle during the period of peace.

They had recruited more and more people from around Ilali. 

They could afford to delve deeper into the lands now that their gains had stabilized and their resources were at its peak.

Rogue martial artists that had nothing to lose joined them as well.

Of course, their goal wasn't just finding scum of the earth and turning them into acolytes.

Those kinds of people would just betray them as soon as things get difficult.

Liam had ousted Jargon for the recruitment task, since he had a keen eye for loyalty.

And like that, the Temple's numbers had risen to powerful heights. Not all of them were that strong, but that didn't really matter.

What they needed were numbers to their name.

They needed to show Ilali that they had a proper backing.

That they couldn't be dismissed as a small threat.

There were countless other large-size, mid-size and small-size Sects living within the Main Lands.

Why would the Seven Clans care about any of them?

Everyone was obedient to them.

Nobody was challenging their authority.

Even those that didn't like them, couldn't show their hostility in the open.

Not even Rank 5 cultivators.

Unforgiven Shadow wanted to shatter that view.

Once he brings so many people out in the open, it could inspire others to do the same.

Then, their forces would combine.

At least… that's what Liam had deduced.

What he imagined could very well be different than what Unforgiven Shadow planned.

The man was crazy, after all.

As everyone waited, Unforgiven Shadow finally left the Temple and flew above the massive crowd.

To his left and right were the 18 Zeniths, which a few new faces were among.

The original six looked much stronger than before, thanks to enjoying the benefits that came with raiding the countless Sectors.

The Golden Cranes eventually agreed to join the Temple as well. All they really cared about was making new inventions, and the added force convinced them to merge.

"Enough hiding," Usan said with a cold voice, but it wasn't directed towards the acolytes. "We will enter the Main Lands."

The acolytes cheered from the top of their lungs.

But Liam was silent and pensive.

Honestly speaking?

This plan was reckless.

Unless the Unforgiven had some sort of ace up his sleeve, he seriously needed to reconsider entering the Main Lands willy-nilly.

There were dozens of different Rank 5 existences there.

…Not to mention, a damn Rank 6 powerhouse!

However, Liam knew Usan was not dumb.

Far from it.

By now, there was a set of rules that the higher ranked cultivators of the world abided by.

What would happen if Queen Thyress suddenly decided to stop Liam's escape?

It definitely wasn't as though she was unaware of it.

Was she perfectly capable of stopping him?

Yes.

But did she?

No.

This meant that higher ranked cultivators seriously couldn't care less about those ranked below them, even if they could erase the most extreme issues with a wave of their hand.

Granted, they definitely manipulated things on a grander scale. 

Just not enough to bother the livelihood of those below.

And Usan perfectly knew that his revenge was not possible unless he gained powerful allies.

'I'm more worried about what to do if that Rank 6 decides to single me out because of my Ashura genes.'

To everyone else, the Ashura was literally an enemy of the world. If Liam was caught by any other Sector or organization, he'd be butchered or experimented on.

As if hearing his thoughts, Usan threw something towards Liam.

It was somewhat reminiscent of the Rank 5 corpse he threw at him.

Liam caught it and inspected it.

Instead of a body, it was a shadow-made pin, barely the length of a pinky, and narrower than a strand of hair.

[It will hide your aura and… 'chaos',] Usan transmitted. [Those within the Main Lands will not take kindly to an Ashura.]

[You are cursed to them.]

Great.

Thanks.