The Blood Legacy (The Divine Elements Book 1) (9 page)

“Master, that red ocean… was that really all blood?”

Hearing Calron’s question, Elias could not help but hesitate a bit. The truth was that even he himself did not know the answer to this!

“It is called a source pool, and every legacy has a source pool of its own, as this is where we Inheritors draw our strength from. The source pool is quite different from the essence in your core, as you can draw the source energy regardless of what your elemental affinity is, or even the level of your cultivation!”

Checking to see whether the boy was still listening, Elias continued his explanation.

“However, the greater you draw from the source pool, the greater the stress your body will have to endure. I am currently incapable of drawing upon the legacy’s source pool for extended periods of time, and even when I do, without my essence I can only draw a minuscule amount from it… ”

Elias finished speaking, as a forlorn expression flickered across his face.

Calron could feel the regret and solitude emanating from his Master when he talked about the loss of his essence.

What was an eight year old boy, like Calron supposed to do in this situation?

Realizing that his demeanor slipped for a brief moment, Elias quickly recomposed himself and started explaining more about the Legacy of Blood to Calron.

Elias felt that it was too early to let Calron know about him also being chosen as the Prime Inheritor of the legacy, but he knew it was only a matter of time before Calron would discover it.

As the Prime Inheritor, the Legacy of Blood would influence Calron’s mind more, he would be able to draw upon a tremendous amount of source energy! Deciding to contemplate on this matter later, Elias began to explain the secrets of his family’s legacy.

“Now Calron, I am sure that you have already guessed that the Legacy of Blood greatly altered your physical body. I can sense your muscles coiling in tension, and let me warn you before you do something irreversible: under no circumstances are you allowed to reveal this legacy or its power to anyone!”

Elias’s words dropped like an anvil into Calron’s mind, and killed all the excitement he had.

Calron thought that he would finally be on par with the other disciples, and not be so helpless as before, but with his Master’s previous words, it seemed that he would have to hide his strength and be unable to not fight back!

How could Calron stay calm after hearing this?

Although Calron was born as a servant, deep within the depths of his heart, there was a small seed of arrogance and pride, which was just waiting to bloom!

After being attacked by those assassins yesterday, a shred of unknown fear lurked in the corner of Calron’s mind, due to experiencing the terror of realizing that your life was no longer in your own hands, and the feeling of being at the mercy of others!

This was unacceptable!

Calron had decided to embark on a path of revenge, so how could he cower like a coward when others were challenging him?

Seeing the indignant look on the boy’s face, Elias could not help but feel like trouble would soon be on its way, if he did not restrain Calron right now.

He knew that once Calron started training in the Legacy of Blood, his anger and rage would be uncontrollable, and if not restrained right now, then it would lead to an irreversible catastrophe in future.

“Child, the Legacy of Blood is brutality in its purest form, as it pushes the Inheritor towards violence and chaos. If you cannot control your emotions, then you will only become a tool for its destruction. The legacy has no motive or purpose, as it simply seeks violence in any form.”

Elias seriously stated, as he gazed deep into Calron’s eyes.

“The Legacy of Blood is neither evil nor good, it just exists. I am only telling you to restrain yourself until you can control its power. After you achieve that, I will give you the freedom to decide whichever path you wish to take.”

Elias was intimately familiar with the savage bloodlust that his family’s legacy possessed, as even he could not completely control it during a battle!

This was another reason why Elias did not want Calron to reveal his new strength to others right now, as the boy was simply too weak to deal with all the trouble that would follow him once he was exposed.

Meanwhile, Calron could only swallow his indignation and follow his Master’s instructions, as he knew that Elias was right.

“Now, let us begin your Martial Arts training.”

Elias said with a slight smile on his face.

Hearing his Master’s statement, Calron immediately sat up straight and focused his attention toward Elias, as and his heart softly thudded against his chest.

“Stand up and copy the movements I am about to execute.”

Elias spoke, as he promptly began to move in a slow rhythmic pattern.

His arms moved in harmony with each other, as they sometimes punched, jabbed or swept the air. The stances were akin to a musical melody as they flowed in conjunction with Elias’s entire body. Soon, he moved faster and faster, as Elias’s arms became a blur of shadows, with the sound of wind whistling in the surroundings.

After a few minutes, Elias abruptly stopped mid-movement and beckoned Calron to execute the stances he had just shown.

Calron excitedly stood up, as his eyes twinkled with a bursting enthusiasm.

Closing his eyes, Calron tried to recall the earlier stances and movements he had seen his Master execute, and slowly began moving his arms.

Although the movements were a bit clumsy at the start, they soon started to flow in rhythm as Calron punched the air. However, just as he came to the part of switching between the stances, his legs and arms could not coordinate together!

The movements initially appeared to be simple, but in reality, they were intricately complicated to execute!

Elias had been momentarily stunned when Calron could perfectly grasp the rhythm of the arm movements, and he could not help but inwardly praise his disciple. Judging from his student’s astonishing ability to comprehend Martial Arts, Elias was sure that Calron’s future growth would be even more frightening!

These arm movements were part of the First Layer of the Blood Arts, and also the easiest one to comprehend. The further along you went in the layers, the higher the difficulty level. Even Elias had been unable to master all the layers of the Blood Arts, and he was known as a martial genius within the Xurian Kingdom!

Only his first ancestor, and the original Prime Inheritor of the Legacy of Blood, had ever reached the twelfth layer and experienced the ultimate power of the legacy!

Taking in a deep breath, Calron slowly entered into a trance as he repeated the movements again. His arms started to speed up, as they soon become a blur like his Master’s.

*swish* *swish*

Elias stared in shock at the scene in front of him!

What is this? This is too abnormal!

Elias inwardly exclaimed with a stunned expression on his face.

“This… is this the talent of a Lightning elementalist? Or is it just Calron?”

Elias had initially taken in Calron as a student, because of how much the boy had reminded him of Marcus, so he did not really expect much from him.

However, Elias had been elated when the Blood Legacy chose Calron as its Prime Inheritor, as it meant that at least his family’s legacy would not die with him.

Realizing that the boy he selected as his student turned out to be a martial genius, Elias felt a surge of hope suddenly arise within his heart!

Meanwhile, Calron continued executing the movements, as the newly strengthened muscles on his arms coiled like a dragon!

Suddenly, Calron’s skin started to emit a faint crimson glow!

Calron was unknowingly drawing the source energy from the legacy’s pool, for the first time ever!

Not realizing that his eyes were glowing a deep blood-red color, and that a savage aura had erupted around him, Calron remained in his trance.

The smell blood suddenly permeated the surrounding air.

“Hmm?”

His body was aflame.

Anger. Rage. Wrath.

He wanted to destroy. To kill, and to kill once again. He stood above all beings, and even the Gods themselves feared the power he held!

Life was meaningless in front of him, as he was its natural reaper. A farmer, a soldier, a general, all perished under him.

He was surrounded by an endless terrain of blood-soaked sand, and it was unclear whether the sand itself was red or it was stained with real blood. The scorching sunrays burned through the sand and the countless corpses lying around him. Some of the bodies were skewered with spears, some with necks full of arrows, and even more with missing limbs.

However, it was the smell in the air that exhilarated him. It was the smell of blood.

He stood still in the deserted plain for over millennia as he waited for an opponent to test his might against. Blood slowly dripped from the tips of his fingers as it made the already blood-colored sand appear more sinister.

His mighty chest rose and fell with each breath he took, while a mysterious smile was etched onto his face.

Gazing at the multitudes of corpses surrounding him, a low chuckle escaped from his lips. What were once beings that stood at the peak of heavens, now lay lifeless around him.

Even the flow of time in this plain was under his domain.

Immortality was tedious.

Time was tedious.

Only the flow of blood was eternal.

He wanted to end his immortality and return back to his past when he could still bleed. Back to when he was still a mortal, and when he was not known as the Blood Ancient.

………………………..

*Cough*   *Cough*

Calron abruptly spat out a mouthful of dark blood onto the grass below him. He continued to spew globules of dark blood until he felt like there was none left in his body anymore.

Each time he coughed, a stream of new blood would replace the old blood, and the process seemed to continue endlessly until not even a speck of his old blood remained in his veins.

Calron felt like several pores on his body were being forcefully opened, and the feeling was akin to the sensation of a thousand needles piercing his skin!

Elias calmly observed the changes around Calron, and he knew that the boy was currently undergoing the opening of his meridians. This process would bring upon a soul-crushing agony, as this was the stage when the meridians would slowly connect to the spiritual veins within one’s body.

The meridians were essential in letting an Inheritor draw the source energy from the legacy’s pool!

The blood purging also expelled any impurities within one’s body, but usually it was only a small amount of blood that was expelled. However, Calron was clearly spewing out large quantities of dark blood! Just the sheer amount of blood on the grass would have caused any grown man to die twice over, but Calron remained standing.

Too many abnormal events keep revolving around this boy.

Elias inwardly thought while observing the boy.

Even Elias was startled the current scene unfolding before him. Was it because the power of the legacy was too much for Calron? The Blood Legacy’s power had usually been shared among multiple Inheritors, and this was the first time known to Elias when the Blood Legacy’s Inheritors had dwindled down to only two members. Maybe, this was causing an extra strain on Calron’s body…

Meanwhile, Calron blankly stared at puddle of blood underneath him and was just as confused as Elias about what was happening within his body. What were those images he just saw? The images soon started to become hazy in Calron’s mind, but he instinctively knew that the figure in those images had something to do with the Blood Legacy!

“I think this is enough for today. Get some rest to recover your body and meet me here again tomorrow morning.”

Elias gently spoke to Calron, as he dismissed him for the day.

………………

Calron painstakingly dragged his body away from the forest and slowly trudged towards the gathering hall. His thoughts kept revolving around the person he saw in the earlier images within his mind, but his brain seemed to freeze every time he tried to recall the person’s face.

“Hmph, you forgot about cultivating your essence after all that Martial Arts crap! Kid, although the power of a legacy is great, you would still need a high cultivation to contend against tougher opponents. Hurry up to your room, and let us begin! No eating until you finish cultivating today!”

The Voice strictly stated within Calron’s mind as it urged the boy to resume his cultivation training.

Calron let out a depressed sigh, and changed his walking direction towards the disciples’ lodgings. After reaching his hut, Calron immediately sat down on the mat in a meditative position, and started training under the first stage of the Thunder-Bird technique.

With his hands properly aligned, Calron began the rhythmic breathing of the technique and sensed the surrounding essence slowly being absorbed into his body.

By every passing second, his elemental core started to feel fuller and fuller, as tendrils of lightning essence gradually entered it. Calron continued to absorb the essence until he felt like his body could not any more essence.

After storing all the absorbed essence, Calron began the process of refining it! When one absorbed the essence from the environment, it contained many impurities within it and if the essence was not refined to its purest state, then it would affect the future cultivation of the elementalist.

Calron felt like he was very close to reaching the peak of the first rank, but he still needed to refine all the essence before attempting to break into the next rank.

The purer one’s essence was, the more powerful one will be compared to other cultivators at the same rank!

………………………………

“Good, good. Although your speed of refining your essence is a bit slow, we can work on that later. Alright, go get something to eat now, as you have been cultivating for hours.”

The Voice gently conveyed to Calron within his mind.

It had been several hours since Calron had first started cultivating, and after his strenuous transformation by the Blood Legacy, the Voice felt like Calron finally deserved some rest.

*crackle*

Suddenly, multiple bolts of Azure Lightning crackled around Calron’s body!

“Haha, I was wondering whether it would help you or not. Seems like the Azure Lightning is slowly awakening as well, kid. Just relax your body and let it enter your core.”

The Voice excitedly exclaimed when he saw the blue lightning flicker across Calron’s body.

Calron immediately relaxed his muscles and sent his consciousness into his elemental core to observe what the Azure Lightning was doing. Bolts of blue lightning enveloped his entire outer core, while the gaseous golden essence was slowly rotating within the inside of the core.

Within seconds, the surrounding blue lightning immediately charged into the inside of his core as it began merging with the gaseous essence!

He opened his eyes and cried out in alarm. This could not be happening! Was he really going to lose all his cultivation at this moment?

Seeing the essence being absorbed by the Azure Lightning, it appeared to Calron as if the blue lightning was slowly taking away his entire cultivation.

“Sigh… You need to start trusting it, Calron. Stop crying like a little girl, and pay attention to what is happening inside your core.”

Calron sulked at his Teacher’s comment, as he clearly was not crying and there was absolutely no need for the Voice to throw a personal jibe at him.

Shaking his thoughts away from his grumpy teacher, Calron only paid attention to the current changes happening inside his core.

*drip*   *drip*

While the bolts of blue lightning continued to crackle within his core, the surrounding golden essence was slowly vanishing. However, just as Calron observed the scene closely, he saw that there were small golden-azure drops forming at the bottom of his core!

Sensing the raw energy contained within them, Calron was momentarily shocked. It was obvious that those golden-azure drops were his lightning essence!

“You can close your mouth now, kid… Sigh, you really do have the luck of the heavens! Truly worthy of being a disciple of someone as great as me!”

While the Voice gloated over its own superiority, Calron continued to observe the golden-azure drops forming in his core.

After a few minutes, the drops had ceased to form, and there were about a few dozen golden-azure drops pooled at the bottom of his core.

*crackle*

Calron suddenly felt his muscles quivering uncontrollably, as a steady stream of the liquid golden-azure essence flowed out from his core and into his blood and bones!

Am I breaking through right now?

Calron inwardly thought as he felt the new sensations bubbling up inside his body. He remained in a daze as he realized that he really was having a break through right now!

It had not even been a few days since he had awakened to his element, and he was already advancing again?

This was a cultivating speed that even big city’s geniuses would be jealous of!

A steady stream of the liquid golden-azure essence surged through his veins, as it started to strengthen his muscles and bones. Meanwhile, Calron’s core also went through a huge qualitative change as it became denser and began to shine with bright golden-azure light.

After a few minutes, the essence fluctuations around Calron abruptly ended, as a new strength surged within his body!

“Teacher, why do I feel so much stronger now? Even though I broke into the second rank, I feel a lot more powerful than a normal second rank cultivator!”

Calron softly whispered while curiously detecting the changes within his new body.

Calron had a sudden feeling as if the Voice was currently smirking at him right now. Although he could not see his Teacher, Calron had started to sense the Voice’s emotions and thoughts, as the bond between them solidified with each passing day.

In Calron’s mind, his Teacher was a fat grumpy old man who liked to make snide comments at little children.

“Brat, if I was alive right now I would smack your bottom until it turned red like a baboon’s backside! Hmph, I will let that comment slide right now due to the cry baby comment I made earlier.”

Calron snickered at his Teacher’s sullen attitude, but he could not let the Voice bully him all the time.

“By the way, kid, you did not break into the second rank; you broke into the third rank!”