40 Bloodlines, Blood, and Pain

"Stimulated by the combination of my Krose and Djinn bloodlines, a third bloodline that lay dormant within me was disrupted. Even Edalas was unable to sense it." Tsyun clutched his hands into fists, his face contorted in sorrow and pain.

"As my third bloodline awakened, I became aware of its origins, the Glawackus, otherwise known as the Northern Devil Cat. The Glawackus are a bloodline with rich senses, and eyes that burn like embers in the darkness."

"But three bloodlines in one body, there was an aggressive clash between them as they each fought for supremacy over my eyes, destroying them within the process. But even then, my eyes are nothing compared to what I lost that day."

Tsyun's forehead wrinkled tightly, continuing gravely, "Alongside the clashing of the three, I lost all control over myself. The Glawackus, as vicious and devilish as they were, took control of my eyes shortly before I lost them."

His composure was gone, and he took a short breath before speaking with a wavering tone. Despite not seeing any tears, they could all hear the mournful cries in his voice.

"Looking into my mother's, father's, and sister's eyes, the beating of their pulses slowed, and eventually, the beating of their hearts came to a stop... They were gone... Just like that, they were gone! And it was all my fault! I'm the one who did it!"

Tsyun punched the ground, as Rentaro and the others were stunned. There was a newfound revelation, and it was only today that Tsyun's friends realized how much baggage Tsyun had been carrying. He was on his own for two years... Always quiet about his internal miseries?

Haz shook his head as he reached out, "Tsyun, you weren't in control of yourself that day! Don't delude yourself into self-guilt, you're only blaming yourself to vent your own sadness."

Phu, Ichi, and Shin gave their turns at consoling him, but regardless, it would take time to heal. It's not just a simple snap of your fingers over night kind of healing, in fact, no matter how much time passes, some thoughts may continue to linger.

Together, they would encourage him to look towards the future. There was much to push forward for, and even his family would hope for the best for him.

Tsyun slowly calmed down, nodding silently.

Regardless of all the pain and self-blame, he was still living for a reason. As for what his purpose was, only he could find out with time.

Despite being shocked, Quint and Kia-Nian came to realize just how horrifying Edalas was. To be able to advance a bloodline to the next rank and even give a foreign bloodline to someone, it wasn't his cultivation but knowledge that was so terrifying.

And speak of the Devil, and he shall appear. From the woods entered Edalas and Jean, smiling.

"Firstly, I'd like to thank you for getting rid of our failed experiments." Edalas bowed politely, "And I'd also like to thank you for such an amazing showing of abilities! Tsyun, I'm truly proud of how far you've come. Your Krose bloodline has indeed reached the next level, though I can tell that you haven't been using your other bloodlines."

Tsyun stared at him, even without eyes his twisted facial expressions showed his hatred.

Edalas sighed in disappointment, going on, "I know, I know, you hate me to the bone. Honestly, it was never supposed to come to this! Your family's death, well—"

"SHUT UP!" Tsyun roared.

As he stepped forward in rage, Quint grabbed his arm to hold him back and scolded, "You can't fight him. No matter how impressive your skills might be, your cultivation is inferior!"

"Ai, You're really making me feel bad here. Even I couldn't tell you had a third bloodline, let alone that it would clash so violently! Had I known, I'd have taken the proper precautions."

As he shook his head dispiritedly, he turned his gaze in interest to Rentaro, Roy, and Kyon.

"The three of you are rather interesting. I saw a myriad of elemental abilities from you specifically, young man! And that strange wolf-like creature next to you, it's bloodlines aren't limited to just one! A great candidate for research! If you're willing, the benefits would far exceed the negatives in the long term!"

Rentaro felt repulsed by the man's discerning gaze, unable to hide his disgust.

"Must you really look at me like that? You know, I have a reason for my actions, for all my research! I wasn't just born the same man that I am today. In fact, I'm much different! My research is for the greater good of all life! To give even the weakest of mortals, those who can't cultivate due to cost or just natural inability, a method to protect themselves!"

While Edalas had always been disregarding everyone's gazes of revulsion on the surface, he couldn't help but feel bothered inside.

And today, he finally felt a sensation, prompting him to project all of his thoughts! And so he started his story, directly in front of the Rentaro and the others.

* * *

In his mind, his goals were noble! Everything was on his shoulders, and his alone!

For the greater good, he would bear the burden of his cruel research, forcing experiments regardless of what atrocities he had to commit. He would be the evil, despicable creature, all for the sake of giving the weakest and most average of people a chance to live strongly. To hold their own against those in power!

This twisted ideology, the seed had planted itself within him since young, back when he experienced the first cruelty set against him by the heavens themselves. It was at birth, he was born with a disabled dantian, barring him from cultivation.

And the second cruelty, cruelty of man, germinated that seed in his young adulthood. He had thought he found happiness, finding a wife and settling down. Soon, she was pregnant! And despite his inability to cultivate, life as a mortal was great!

Yet, all it took was one unlucky moment to change everything. One day a few cultivators were passing by. They weren't strong by any means in comparison to the experts that roamed the world, walking all planes of life, but to a mere mortal—their power and authority were like gods!

A couple took an interest in his wife, demanding her company. Despite their fears, the two resisted, and his beloved was brutally killed alongside his unborn baby, while he found himself maimed, lying under a mass of rubble in his own blood and tears.

No matter how he struggled, not a single passerby would stop to give their assistance in fear of the cultivators' ire being directed at them next! As painful as it was, Edalas couldn't blame them as he came to an epiphany. They were all in the same boat, yet, not a single soul was willing to take up the wheel! And so, he would take the lead—steering towards uncharted territories.

What uncharted territories could he steer towards? Modifying his own body. This was the path he chose—the only path that an ordinary man who was unable to cultivate could take.

Firstly, he had to solve the issue with his dantian as he was unable to cultivate. The only method he could think of was by replacing his own, utilizing an artificial cultivation method until he could find another way.

'An artificial way,' he pondered with dark bags under his eyes, this issue stunting his growth. Perhaps he could utilize somebody else's dantian? While he may not be able to cultivate with it, there had to be a way to utilize what energy they had stored within their own, right?

Edalas slowly came up with a twisted plan, as he focused all his time on studying, his knowledge of herbs and recipes rapidly advancing.

Eventually, he managed to come up with a concoction strong enough to work on a cultivator in Foundation Establishment—one which had neither taste nor chemical reaction that would make it visible.

Going to a small tavern, Edalas tricked a poor sod with a free drink, a youth in his late twenties. Drugged, the youth didn't even have time to realize what was going on when he was suddenly killed.

Edalas did his best to make it painless, knowing his actions today were unforgivable.

After extracting the youth's dantian and running various experiments, he found a method to fuse the dantian into his own.

In this manner, he was able to nourish his own dantian and body's cells, meridians, and acupoints as if he were cultivating.

As ruthless as it was, his sanity was all but gone, and he resolutely went on with his own experiments, utilizing others’ dantians to strengthen himself.

He knew he was a full-fledged devil considering his evil deeds. And no matter his past, he would never try to justify his actions.

With the energy provided by various extracted dantians, Edalas found his body strong enough to venture the world and protect himself from all sorts of dangers.

Eventually, he came across an ancient ruin. Traversing the many perilous traps and creatures within, he stumbled upon a fortunate encounter—a strange vial containing blood.

Not just any blood, but a refined bloodline. And he finally found what he was looking for, another method outside of body modifications to break free of his mortal coil—bloodline mutations.