The boy was an absolute wimp.

Ebon Dirge had known this from the start, but the kid's meridian circulation attempts reinforced that opinion. A cultivator with such a quickly reached pain threshold and such a low pain tolerance had abysmal prospects, given the necessity of tempering in body and spirit that every single one underwent in the course of their ascent.

This confounded the immortal assassin and challenged his understanding of destiny. Destiny was not merely any fate, but a powerful fate that required the ability to grasp and hold it. A man who shied away from adversity and could not endure setbacks and agony should not have all that much destiny.

The entire situation was all the more confusing because the boy's talents for cultivation were dismal. Dirge had not been completely forthcoming in speaking about the requirements for essence cultivation. The kid -- outside of the low and cruel cunning he showed some capacity for -- was dense as a rock, and he also was the type to give up if he knew the truth.

There were three acknowledged measures of aptitude that determined a cultivator's potential in essence cultivation. The first and easiest was the ability to reach the Earth Realm in physique tempering, with an emphasis on how early it could be reached. The boy's achievement of this at 18 years of age was acceptable but not amazing.

The second measure of aptitude was in the strength of the soul. A stronger soul could learn and control essence techniques with greater ease. This would be an essential factor in the cultivator's development up to their creation of a Nascent Soul, and would substantially contribute to their success in achieving that step.

The boy's soul was nothing remarkable; if it had been, he would not have been such an easy choice for a first subject. As Dirge was only a fragmentary soul, he could not afford to jump to a target that would be dangerous. This was a significant part of the calculation when he decided to let Blue Ripple go his own way for now. It was possible the youth could have crushed him and turned him into a mere repository of knowledge or a tonic, as he was far more gifted than his erstwhile brother.

The third and last measure of aptitude for essence cultivation was in the number of meridians present in the body. The quantity and location of the meridians would determine much of how powerful an essence cultivator could become before Nascent Birth. More meridians meant more essence could be manipulated at once, and in prodigies, the more simultaneous techniques could be unleashed. The locations of the meridian acupoints could lend themselves to suitable techniques; a cultivator with many acupoints in their skull would usually be good with sensory techniques, for example.

The kid was doomed in this aspect. Where geniuses could have around a hundred meridians and a more common expert would have meridians in the dozens, the boy had a mere half dozen. No school in any realm would bother investing in a pupil like that; in their estimation the prospect of such a person being able to reach foundation was nil.

Over the millennia, a few rogue cultivators had managed to bypass this problem by performing meridian excavation. Lacking enough natural meridians, they would use external energies to carve artificial meridian passages. This was, in fact, what Dirge had taught the boy to do from the outset rather than open one of his few existing meridians. The kid's success here would set the cap on his prospects.

As it was, the outlook was not good. Excavation of an artificial meridian required prolonged and consistent delving in the flesh and was a painful process. Every time the boy started and stopped, a scarred ridge would form in the meridian, interrupting the continuity of the meridian's wall. These ridges would inhibit the rate of essence absorption and increase the turbulence of the essence that did pass through.

Dirge could have assisted the boy in this and taken on some of the pain himself but decided against it. Why bother? The height of the brat's goals was to defeat an initial foundation stage cultivator. There was no benefit in accepting personal risk when he had other means to close the gap.

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As Blood River -- Dirge still snorted at the pretentiousness of that name -- continued excavating his first meridian, the murderer couldn't help but reflect with amusement on the side effects of this training method. The boy was draining blood energy from beasts at an astonishing rate. Setting aside the psychological impact of treating life so cheaply, this would intensify the kid's bloodthirst to a ridiculous degree.

The constant infusion of beast blood would also make the boy develop resistance. This would push him into needing to find another, more effective source: human blood. This was why Dirge had directed Blood River to pick up the map of the Dragon Den's domain. With the settlements and routes highlighted there, he could better plan a course.

While the prospect of Blood River making his name rather literal was amusing, Dirge had another goal in mind in directing the boy's bloodlust. The ancient devil's soul was still a fragment and the safest, quickest, and most effective method to repair it was to consume other souls.

While the more powerful and intelligent beasts did have souls, Dirge did not relish the work involved in dealing with beast souls. Human souls were the easiest for him to assimilate, so he could obtain a bountiful harvest by setting the boy loose among humans. While it would not restore his soul to its full former strength -- that would need stronger victims or a vast quantity of them -- it would at least shore it up enough to no longer call it a fragment.

Having a restored soul would provide Dirge with many benefits. The first was to avoid having to put himself into situations like the current one with Blood River. The leakage of what seemed to be memories and now even basic abilities like the kid's newfound literacy was concerning. The immortal murderer suspected it had to do with the incomplete state of his soul.

With a completed soul, he would also have more capability when it came to dealing with future bearers of destiny. Complete possession of a body would not be out of the question. Then he wouldn't have to spend as much time with coaxing and prodding as he had to with this kid. He also wouldn't need to be so subtle with obstacles like Elder Wave when he could pull their strings directly.

Another benefit of a completed soul would be that Dirge could begin progressing his own cultivation in a direction. Without having a complete soul, the effects of trying to strengthen a mere fragment could very well cause it to shatter and dissipate.

Lastly, having a complete soul was a step in obtaining a permanent body for himself. Dirge did not intend to remain a ghost forever, and so working towards reincarnation at some point was on his agenda. While he had not put together a specific plan to do this yet, he did know that it would only be possible with a complete, intact soul.

For all these reasons, Dirge was pleased as he sat back and watched Blood River drain the local wildlife as he excavated his artificial meridian deeper and deeper. It did much to temper his disappointment with everything else about the boy.

"Young man, you should take a moment to rest." Dirge slipped into the persona of Mister Black and expressed some mock concern. Keeping the kid buttered up was an unfortunate necessity.

"Huh," the boy exhaled. "You're right, of course, Mister Black. Does it usually take this long?"

Dirge sneered inwardly. Of course it doesn't, you idiot! But since you almost pass out from a mere pinprick you have to stop and start, prolonging the pain and the process!

"Your rate is about average, young man. Opening the first meridian on your own is impressive. When you've done it once that way, your later openings will go smoother." Especially since the new few of those would be natural openings rather than excavations, but that went unsaid.

The boy leaned back into the tree trunk and relaxed. "So, Mister Black, what do I do once this is complete?"

"Then you learn your first essence technique. I've got the perfect one in mind for you."

"Oh?" The boy's eagerness to acquire power was one of his few redeeming traits, as well as one of the most potent levers to move him in a specific direction.

"Yes. Since you have a hand meridian and cultivate blood arts, the first technique I will give you is the Blood Arrow. This one is useful because you can fuel it with a combination of drawn-in essence and blood energy from your reservoirs. As the name suggests, it's a projectile attack."

Dirge rattled on about the technique to the boy, drumming up the urge to use it, all the while laughing to himself. Blood Arrow was indeed a useful beginner's technique, but typically as a last resort since its consumption was rather high. Blood River would of course think nothing of this given his ability to replenish blood vitality. This would speed up the cycle of the boy's consumption of blood, driving him closer and closer to indulging in the wholesale slaughter of humans.

With all the other difficulties involved in this pet project, at least this part of it should go right, once the boy managed to get started.