Chapter 44: Bloodlines and Victories

Chapter 44: Bloodlines and Victories

44

Bloodlines and Victories

I

Its a bit hard to explain, Lan Yue said. She didnt seem as hesitant as before, but there was a certain uncertainty to her. Ive never really She trailed off, frowning. I guess you can say that I can connect with plants, in a way?

Right. Hao Zhen stared at her. He refrained from commenting any further. She seemed to be struggling to put her thoughts into words, so he figured itd be better to let her figure this out on her own.

Tian Jin was looking at Lan Yue thoughtfully, though he also appeared rather confused, as if he wasnt quite sure what to make of what he had just heard.

I can tell what theyre feeling, in a way Lan Yue continued. What theyre experiencing. The more Lan Yue spoke, the more certain she appeared. I can also feel their presence. Its not like Spiritual Sense. Its more intuitive. When I concentrate, I can feel the presence of all nearby plants, and then connect with them. She paused. There are other things I can do, too. I can always tell the properties and characteristics of a magical plantwhat it does, its effects, how I can use it in alchemy, how I can cultivate them. This knowledge just comes to me. Lan Yue shrugged, then looked at them expectantly.

Hao Zhen didnt say anything at first, mulling over Lan Yues words. As far as he was aware, however, there were only two types of magical abilities a cultivator could have: spiritual techniques and spiritual skills. Whatever Lan Yues magical ability was, it couldnt be a spiritual skill. As a redsoul, she could only have one, and hers had nothing to do with sensing plants. It didnt seem like it was a spiritual technique, either. Spiritual techniques boiled down to manipulating spiritual power, and none of the things Lan Yue mentioned could be achieved through spiritual power manipulation.

Im assuming you dont know what this magical ability of yours is? Hao Zhen asked, though it wasnt really a question. Sure enough, Lan Yue shook her head. And your family doesnt Hao Zhen trailed off. At the mention of family, Lan Yues expression suddenly darkened. I take it thats another one of the oddities nobody ever noticed? he asked instead.

After a moments hesitation, Lan Yue said, Yes. There was still something rather off about her expression. A certain tension.

I see. Tian Jin? Hao Zhen said, turning to the other boy. Any ideas?

No. Tian Jin said. It cant be a spiritual skill, and it doesnt seem to be a spiritual technique

It isnt, Lan Yue said. Id know if it were. She waved her hand dismissively. Ive been able to do it for as long as I can remember, and my memory stretches rather far back, so its not an ability I gained after becoming a redsoul.

So it isnt something that involves spiritual power, Hao Zhen said, thinking out loud. Well, that complicates things. Both spiritual skills and spiritual techniques were reliant on spiritual powers, so this seemed to be a different type of power entirely. Earlier, in the cave, you mentioned spiritual bloodlines, right? he asked Tian Jin, who nodded. Then maybe this is something related to that? A bloodline ability of some sort?

Thats a possibility, Tian Jin said. All Master told me about spiritual bloodline I already told youthat you can inherit innate skill seeds through one, and that you need to be a greensoul to originate one. Perhaps other things can also be passed down.

Whos this master of yours, anyway? Lan Yue asked, and Tian Jin tensed. Youve mentioned him a couple of times now.

Right. She still didnt know about Tian Jins past. Not the point right now, Hao Zhen said. We can talk about that

Tonight, Tian Jin said. Hao Zhen shot the boy a questioning look, and Tian Jin simply nodded.

He couldnt quite tell what the other boy was thinking, but he wasnt too surprised Tian Jin was willing to share his past with Lan Yue. Although he usually found Tian Jin too trusting for his own good, he was of the opinion that was a good thing in this case. Knowing Lan Yue, he didnt think shed take kindly to them keeping secrets from her.

Tonight, Lan Yue repeated, seemingly satisfied. So. A spiritual bloodline. Could my innate skills also come from one?

Good question, Hao Zhen said. Assuming these plant-related abilities of yours are related to a spiritual bloodline? He shrugged. Maybe. He paused, then continued, However if Tian Jins innate skill seeds are really of the randomly occurring variety, then chances are that yours are too, considering how similar your cases are.

A little more slowly, they walked forward, and before long they found what they were looking for. Lying on the ground, lying directly beneath the sun, was a massive serpenteasily over fifty feet longwith dark red scales.

A shimmering sunset serpent. It was one of the monsters recorded in Lan Yues jade slip, and like the glistening horn rhinoceros, it was considered one of the strongest monsters in the Glistening Stone Forest.

As a second-level monster, it didnt pose much of a threat to their group, but the sheer size of it Hao Zhen shook his head. The appearance of a monster didnt really mean much in this worldand he was hardly a helpless human anymore.

The serpent didnt seem to have noticed them yet. Its head was facing the other way, so whether it was sleeping or simply resting was up in the air. He glanced at Lan Yue and Tian Jin and saw that both of them had already taken out their weapons. His two teammates had already grown so used to hunting second-level monsters that they usually only took a couple of minutes to dispatch one now.

Seeing that the two were about to make their way over to the monster, Hao Zhen took a step forward. I want to try something first.

Tian Jin and Lan Yue came to a stop. The two then glanced at each other, before Tian Jin turned to Hao Zhen and gave him a nod. Seeing that, Lan Yue shrugged, stepping to the side.

Hao Zhen took in a deep breath before channeling spiritual power into the skill seed inside his crux. Feeling a connection form between him and Ethereal String Puppetry, he willed an Ethereal String into existence, then connected it to the shimmering sunset serpent. Through the Ethereal String, the state of the monster was transmitted to him, and Hao Zhen confirmed that it was asleep.

He considered his options. Against a target at the same level, there was quite a lot he could do using Ethereal String Puppetry. Even if he were to use the skill conventionally, he could probably keep it immobilized, but thatd also make him unable to move. Still, thatd be plenty of time for Tian Jin and Lan Yue to slay the monster, as they now had fourth-order weapons, which could easily pierce through a second-level monsters body.

But that wasnt what he had in mind. If he were to use the skill unconventionally, especially since the shimmering sunset serpent was asleep Hao Zhen seized the monsters external sensory nerves and deactivated them. The moment he did so, his spiritual stamina started being drained, in order to maintain the skill, while his willpower was consumed to overwhelm the monsters unconscious resistance.

Hao Zhen slowly exhaled. Although he did need to concentrate to exert his influence on the monster, it wasnt to the point he was left unable to move. He then gathered his strength, before pushing himself off the ground, running over to the monsters side. By his estimate, he only had two minutes until he ran out of willpower and spiritual power, so he had to be quick about this.

Reaching the side of the monsters head, he crouched down, gathering his strength, before jumping forward, landing on top of the monsters head. Completely cut off from its senses, the shimmering sunset serpent remained asleep.

Tapping into the Ethereal String again, Hao Zhen further disabled the monsters nerves responsible for its perception of pain. He then raised his sword over the monsters neck, placed his other hand over the pommel, stabbed down, plunging the blade through the monsters skull. As a fourth-order sword, it met no resistance, effortlessly penetrating scale and bone. Hao Zhen put his weight into the stab, crouching down, and the blade disappeared into the monsters head, leaving only the hilt exposed.

The shimmering sunset serpent had no reaction whatsoever. Still crouched on top of the monsters head, holding onto the sword, Hao Zhen kept Ethereal String Puppetry activated. Only once he determined that the monster was dead based on the feedback from the Ethereal String did he deactivate the spiritual skill. With that, he stood back up, pulling back his sword as he did so. He then jumped off the monsters body, landing on the ground beneath the now-dead monsters massive head.

For a moment, Hao Zhen simply stared at the massive corpse before him. A second-level red-grade monster was supposed to take multiple second-level redsouls to kill. And he had just killed it on his ownalmost effortlessly. Granted, it had been asleep, but that usually didnt matter when facing monsters, as they would normally wake up the moment someone approached them.

Hao Zhen inhaled sharply, there and then realizing just how powerful Ethereal String Puppetry actually was. Even if he were to use it conventionally, only seizing the targets control over voluntary movement, it was an extremely useful skill if you had a helper to deal with the target while it was immobilized. But if he factored in the ability to seize all nerves, instead of just the ones that controlled voluntary movement

It was ridiculously powerful. And that was just considering the uses he had found for it so far. He wasnt quite done experimenting with it yet.

Huh.

Hao Zhen turned around. Lan Yue and Tian Jin were standing behind him, having walked over at some point.

Tian Jin had a smile on his face, whereas Lan Yue was looking at him contemplatively. She then gave him a firm nod.

A nod of acknowledgement.

Hao Zhen grinned.

[author]Pending bonus chapters: 9. [/author]