The Xieye Empire was in turmoil, as the changes brought about by the Blood Emperor frightened not only the common folk but also the rune masters.
The aftermath of the previous emperor’s death and the ascension of the Crown Prince had yet to settle even years later. The Crown Prince became known as the Blood Emperor not too long after his reign began.
He came in contact with many sects and created strict regimes for the common folk and rune masters to follow inside his empire.
The reason he became known as the blood emperor was due to his unique physique that allowed him to manipulate blood of any kind, even giving him the ability to absorb the bloodline and potential of others to purify his own.
This meant that he could increase his cultivation speed and strength as long he had a stable supply of strong bloodlines.
“How many times do I have to tell you to bring more talent? What is up with this quality again? Are you trying to anger me on purpose?”
Inside the Royal Palace of the Xieyie empire, a young man with long blood-red hair wearing luxurious robes spoke to a group of disguised rune masters. The young man was covered in blood, while his red eyes glared at a pile of corpses in front of him with dissatisfaction.
“Your majesty, these were all the greatest talents we could gather with our resources. Sadly, as we’ve signed in the contract, we won’t be giving away our true disciples, just those whom we don’t have any use for.”
One of the rune masters spoke at this moment, its figure hidden away by a hood.
“Shit, useless…”
The young man cursed as he waved his hand to disperse the blood from his body, gathering it into a sphere with ease. The unique drop-shaped rune on his forehead shone an eerie red as he did so.
“My cultivation speed stagnated despite me having the blood god physique and now you’re telling me that the best talents you lot could could acquire were just these few? Are you messing with me?”
“Can’t you just abduct talents from rival sects and send them over to me? Or should I start hunting them myself?”
Rage clouded the young man’s eyes as he spoke his thoughts out loud, prompting the disguised rune masters to shudder.
“Your majesty, ease your anger! Our White Lily School can’t portray such an image to the outside forces, since we are known as a righteous sect—“
The leading rune master tried to explain, but the young man didn’t care, cutting off his head before he could even finish his sentence.
“USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!!!”
He screamed in rage, his runic energy exploding into the surroundings.
“You’re telling me I killed my father for you fuckers, and you’re only giving me this much? Do you think my strength is so insignificant?”
“Your majesty, Blood Emperor, please calm your anger!”
“Your Majesty!”
“Your Majesty!”
The remaining rune masters bowed in unison, begging for forgiveness.
All of them wore different robes and their strengths varied, however, none of them were as powerful as the young man.
“Xue Huang, that’s enough.”
At this moment, a deep voice resonated through the hall and the figure of an elegant middle-aged man with short black hair appeared in the hall.
Turning to the voice, the Blood Emperor frowned.
“Elder Liu, to think that you would come on your own. Here I was about to give your little alliance a small gift of five neatly cut heads…”
The Blood emperor remarked, not enthused by the newcomer's presence.
“Tell me, Xue Han, do you take our forces as a joke? You know that I alone am more powerful than you. If we were to include the forces of the Primordial Evil Sect, the Soul Parasite Sect, The Puppet Sect, and the White Lily School, I don’t think even the whole Xieye Empire stands a chance, especially since you’re so weak.”
Elder Liu spoke slowly and cohesively, trying to corner the Blood Emperor with his threats.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, the Blood Emperor broke into a feat of laughter.
“You, stronger than me? That’s the best joke I’ve heard. As for you little sects, do you think I’m afraid? You rat bastards forgot I killed my father, who was rank 8 rune master. How do you lot think I accomplished that?”
The Blood Emperor rebuked, his runic energy output increasing exponentially by the second.
Elder Liu and the rest of the Rune masters opened their eyes wide, sensing that Xue Huang was also at the 8th rank.
“Impossible! Since when?”
Elder Lie couldn’t help but scream in disbelief, not wanting to understand the situation.
“You fools think I was weak? The amount of bloodline powers I have absorbed is far from what you guys assume. If you had given me proper nourishment from the start, maybe I could’ve reached the quasi-rank 9, sadly I’m far from it. If it wasn’t for the curse my father placed on me before his death, sealing me inside the palace, I would’ve killed you insects the first chance I got.”
The Blood Emperor's anger boiled over like a volcano about to erupt. With a savage roar, he unleashed his terrifying power upon the rune masters who dared to oppose him. In a whirlwind of blood and fury, he cut them down one by one, his crimson energy crackling around him like lightning.
The rune masters, their faces contorted in terror, could do nothing but cower before the unstoppable might of the Blood Emperor. With each swing of his blade, another life was snuffed out, adding to the growing pile of bodies at his feet.
Elder Liu and his companions, once confident in their strength, now realized the grave mistake they had made in challenging the Blood Emperor. But it was too late for regrets as they fell to the merciless onslaught of the Blood Emperor's wrath.
In the end, only silence remained in the hall, broken only by the labored breaths of the Blood Emperor as he surveyed the carnage around him. The rune masters lay strewn across the floor, their blood staining the marble tiles in grotesque patterns.
With a cold smirk, the Blood Emperor turned and walked away, leaving behind a scene of death and destruction. The power of the Blood Emperor was absolute, and none dared to challenge him again. In the Xieye Empire, his word was law, and his will was absolute.
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Han Feng stared in a daze, as he observed the happenings inside the royal palace.
Unlike the rest, he had decided to investigate the royal palace first, and he struck gold as soon as he did, witnessing something he shouldn’t have.
“I have to report this as soon as possible.”
He muttered, not noticing another figure appearing right next to him.
“Han Feng? I didn’t expect to see one of the students of that academy year in this place.”
The figure spoke, shocking Han Feng and almost causing him to get exposed.
“Who? Who are you?!”
Han Feng backed off, weariness evident on his face. He couldn’t understand the situation well at the moment.
The figure smiled, its face visible, but Han Feng didn’t recognize it in the slightest.
“Ah, I forgot I had a disguise on…”
The figure muttered, its face soon warping and changing as if it were a mass of writhing flesh.
Han Feng almost gagged at the sight, but when the true appearance of his assailant was revealed, he couldn’t help but open his eyes wide.
“The Academy’s Head Teacher?”
“That’s me. However, I was a teacher for only one year due to the Academy Elder’s request. I’m out on a mission right now. How about you, how come you’re with the peasant's sect? I tried researching a few things about you, but I honestly had a hard time.”
The man spoke casually as if the revelation of his appearance was just a common matter. However, what Han Feng didn’t know was that the elderly appearance the person in front of him had taken was also a fake.
The man’s name was Huan Lian Qi and he worked as the assistant of the Academy Elder.
He was on a scouting mission at the moment, but he didn’t expect to encounter an acquittance here, especially someone like Han Feng, who had vanished from the face of the earth.
“Anyway, you can continue your work, these old bones of mine have some other business to attend to.”
Huan Lian Qi quickly removed himself from the conversation, his figure vanishing from Han Feng’s view in an instant.
Han Feng took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves after the unexpected encounter with Huan Lian Qi. He knew he had to focus on the task at hand—reporting back to the sect about what he had witnessed.
“Shit, I hope the others didn’t get in trouble.”
He returned to the gathering place and paced around, waiting patiently for each to return.
Thankfully, all of them made it back on time and Han Feng explained everything to them in detail, except for his encounter with the Head Teacher.
“I can’t believe this… That man is insane…”
“We should report things as fast as possible and prepare for a war. Since the Alliance of the evil sects is also nothing to scoff at. Also, I knew that the White Lily School was no good, but for them to ally with evil sects, truly shows their true colors.”
“I’m genuinely worried now. Things aren’t looking good.”
Han Feng listened to his comrades express their opinions patiently and only spoke again after a few seconds of pondering.
“I’ll contact master through the emergency signal and we are all going to wait in a specific place and not get ourselves involved unless absolutely necessary. Our sect might be kind to common folk, but our own survival is the most important.”
Han Feng's words resonated with his companions, who nodded in agreement. They understood the gravity of the situation and the importance of staying safe while they awaited further instructions from their sect.
Han Feng hoped that things would resolve without much issue, but the situation was far more dire than he had originally thought.
A few days later, the Blood Emperor declared war on all the empires, bringing along a wave of chaos.
Since the Blood Emperor himself couldn’t exit the imperial palace, he utilized a unique cultivation technique to form blood clones of his body, sending them off to all important locations in each country, causing a massacre.
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“Focus.”
The Sword Immortal spoke, his words clearly holding a strange power in them.
Jian swung his sword with fervor, his movements fluid and powerful. He didn’t lack in anything when it came to the sword.
The Sword Immortal nodded in contentment, pleased by Jian’s progress.
“Great, that’s enough for the day, you can go rest now. Make sure to meditate with the technique I gave you and don’t goof off too much.”
“Ancestor, what does ‘goof off’ mean?”
“Oh sorry, I guess reading your brother’s memories has messed up my speech. It means to not mess around or do anything useless, wasting your time in the process.”
Jian nodded, understanding the Sword Immortal's advice. He sheathed his sword and bowed respectfully before leaving the training grounds.
As he made his way back to his quarters, Jian couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Under the guidance of the Sword Immortal, he had made significant progress in honing his skills with the sword.
Entering his room, Jian settled down to meditate as instructed. Closing his eyes, he focused on channeling his energy and clearing his mind.
His training was smooth with no troubles, especially being instructed by the Sword Immortal.
On the other side, Rui was having trouble with his own cultivation for the first time in his life.
“Shit, Rai, what the fuck am I supposed to do with this?”
He was currently trying to manipulate the system to act like his limbs, but his head hurt whenever he tried to do something by force.
╓ You’re forcing it. Like your ancestor said, you’re supposed to make it a part of you, not trying to control it by force. However, I do feel my calculation capacity increasing drastically with each of your attempts and my speech patterns have become far more natural.╖
R.A.I’s figure appeared above Rui, sitting on his head, its figure still indistinct, but his body somehow felt more solid.
“I’m trying! This is way harder than it looks, I swear!”
Rui complained, vexed with how things were going.
R.A.I observed Rui's frustration with a sense of detachment, his holographic form flickering slightly as he processed the data from Rui's attempts.
╓I understand it's challenging, but patience and perseverance are key. Remember, you're not just learning to manipulate the system, you're integrating it into your very being. It takes time and practice to achieve harmony. Perhaps we should try a different approach, a more gradual assimilation rather than forceful manipulation.╖
R.A.I.'s voice held a soothing tone, trying to encourage Rui to approach the task with a calmer mindset.
Rui sighed, acknowledging R.A.I's advice. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his mind and focusing on the task at hand.
"All right, let's try it your way. How do you suggest we proceed?"
R.A.I's form shimmered slightly as he formulated a plan, his calculations running smoothly as he analyzed the best course of action.
╓First, we'll start with simple commands, basic functions that you can integrate into your thought patterns without straining. Then, as you become more accustomed to the system's interface, we can gradually introduce more complex commands and functions. It's all about building a strong foundation. Are you ready to begin? ╖
Rui nodded, a determined look in his eyes.
“Let’s try that.”
Rui and R.A.I. started their training session anew, focusing on simple commands and basic functions to integrate the system into Rui's mind smoothly.
╓ let's start with something easy. Try thinking about opening your inventory. ╖
R.A.I. suggested.
Rui closed his eyes and concentrated on the idea of accessing his inventory without using any external commands. Slowly, he felt a faint connection forming between his thoughts and the system.
After a few moments of concentration, Rui felt a tingling sensation in his mind, and suddenly, a translucent menu appeared before him, displaying various items and options.
“All right, that is one function down, but I should be able to modify everything about the system, right? Like making the inventory function different from what it was till now. For example, summoning items into my hands without even opening the window.”
╓Positive. Now, let's try modifying the inventory function to suit your needs. Instead of opening the menu, try visualizing the item you want in your mind and command the system to summon it directly into your hand. ╖
Rui furrowed his brows in concentration, picturing the item he wanted to summon. With a focused thought, he commanded the system to materialize the item into his hand.
At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then Rui felt a subtle shift in the air around him. Suddenly, the item he had envisioned appeared in his hand, shimmering into existence.
"Whoa, it worked!"
Rui exclaimed, a wide grin spreading across his face.
R.A.I's holographic form shimmered with satisfaction, pleased by Rui's progress.
╓Positive. Now continue testing things with many other functions, till you’re able to control every function of the system. Not only will you be able to understand how to control it by instinct, but you will also be able to acquire all of the information you couldn’t acquire before, as well as use the remaining computing power from the federation's database. ╖
Rui nodded, feeling a surge of determination coursing through him.
“Right, let’s keep going.”
With R.A.I.'s guidance, Rui delved deeper into the system, exploring its functions and capabilities. With each attempt, he gained a better understanding of how to manipulate it to his will.
As the hours passed, Rui's proficiency with the system grew, and he felt a newfound sense of control and confidence. No longer was he struggling against it; instead, he was becoming one with it, seamlessly integrating its power into his own being.
Through trial and error, Rui experimented with various commands and functions, pushing the boundaries of what he thought was possible. With each success, he felt a sense of exhilaration, knowing that he was unlocking the full potential of the system.
Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks. Rui's training with R.A.I. became an integral part of his daily routine, as he dedicated himself wholeheartedly to mastering the system.
However, this routine came to a halt when the news of the outside world came in and Rui began to worry about his friends in the Illusive empire. Things had been very hectic for the past few months, so another issue like this made Rui question if there was something bigger behind everything.