Blood of the Army

by Tinalynge

  A shriek of surprise escaped Xue Wei's lips as he scrambled backward, completely taken by surprise.

  He had not sensed Lan. Even now, when he looked at him, he could not sense him. If it was not because he could see him right in front of him, then he would not have known that he was there.

  This was a state that Xue Wei had never seen anyone achieve before. Even the Heavenly Warriors were incapable of completely hiding their presence, and this display of might made Xue Wei extremely tense and uncomfortable.

  "Rested well?" Lan asked with a smile on his face that kept blooming. The uglier Xue Wei's face became, the happier Lan seemed to be.

  Lan then turned around and left the tent. "Wash up fast, we are going to the dining hall, and then we will find a field where I will teach you a few moves."

  Hearing this, Xue Wei was all of thrilled, troubled, and annoyed. He knew that this was an expert with the kind of strength he had never seen before, and as such to learn a skill from him would be truly magnificent.

  He was troubled because of their relationship. Would he really teach him a skill out of nowhere, or would he want something in return? It was hard to say. Maybe he would even ask for Xue Wei's dantian again. Just the thought alone made Xue Wei grimace.

  Finally, he was annoyed. No matter what, he could not bring himself to suddenly be fond of Lan. Lan was truly troublesome. He did things so differently, and he was a royal pain in Xue Wei's behind, constantly doing all in his power to enrage him.

  Still, the annoyance was quickly overpowered by the interest in whatever it was that he wanted to teach him. Without realizing it, a small smile had crept up on Xue Wei's face.

  "Let us go and get some food then," Xue Wei said with a grin to Lan, and the two of them went together to the dining hall once more.

  Chapter 20 - Fake Snake

  Just like the previous day, Xue Wei was eating on his own while Lan joined the captains, generals, and the commander at the podium that was at the opposite end of the kitchen in the dining hall's tent.

  The food was not as extravagant as it had been the night before, but it was not much worse either.

  There were almost no mortal plants or meats in the meal; all of it was beneficial to cultivators, to increase their cultivation base, to purify their bodies of pill toxins or imperfections, including various plants to strengthen the body itself.

  Xue Wei ensured that he ate every single last bite on his plate before he rose from his seat and went outside the tent to wait for Lan.

  Usually, he would never wait for that madman of a prophet, but since the latter had promised to teach him something today, he was secretly feeling excited.

  After seeing how easily Lan had taught him how to compress his voice, he felt that Lan was a great teacher. Although he had many shortcomings, he did have a great ability to teach Xue Wei.

  As Xue Wei waited, he had expected that the other geniuses in the camp would single him out again, but to his big surprise none of them even spared him a glance, something that made him feel much more comfortable.

  Being ignored was something he was used to, and this was something he found strangely comfortable, since he genuinely did not like it when they paid too much attention to him.

  "Waiting for me? I feel special and grateful. Are you perhaps finally willing to join my collection?"

  Lan's voice sounded next to Xue Wei. This time, it was not low, and it was not compressed either.

  A group of geniuses was present, and their eyes bulged, their jaws dropping and their heads shaking as they stared at Xue Wei and Lan, waiting to hear whatever the answer was. Their shock came from hearing Lan asking whether or not Xue Wei wanted to join his collection. Was this esteemed prophet collecting humans?

  Suddenly, some of them felt sorry for Xue Wei. Was this prophet really such a person? In that case, had they not been fortunate to avoid the attention of this prophet?

  The female geniuses in the Genius Camp, albeit few, were just as shocked. Some of them had harbored dreams about becoming his sweetheart and entering the Center of the Continent together with him.

  Xue Wei was aware that Lan was doing all of this on purpose. Xue Wei felt that the prophet wanted to destroy his dignity throughout.

  "Why don't you stop this already?" Xue Wei sighed and shook his head. He was annoyed, but for some reason, his killing intent was no longer rising.

  "Well then, follow me," Lan said as he started walking away from the many staring geniuses. Xue Wei shook his head.

  Lan was aware that Xue Wei knew the truth about him, that everything he did was for the sake of causing problems.

  "Still, this is entertaining," Lan said out loud as he chuckled, not caring about Xue Wei hearing him at all, towards which the latter just sighed.

  "I better learn something good from this," he said, uncaring of whether anyone heard him or not.

  As they reached one of the fields outside, they saw that everywhere they looked, experts were training. There was no one close to them, and they could train on their own, but others would be able to observe them.

  "This'll do," Lan chuckled and looked at Xue Wei. "Display your attacks, attack me with everything you have!"

  Xue Wei, not needing to hear this twice, instantly used the Forbidden Rush Movement Technique to lessen the distance between him and Lan.

  Azure Light Finger!

  The Azure Light Finger shot out and headed straight for Lan while Xue Wei followed up. The next moment, Xue Wei had already traversed the distance between his original position and Lan, arriving right next to the prophet and sending out a Shattering Mountain Palm.

  The Azure Light Finger hit Lan straight on his chest, but nothing happened; his clothes were not even dusty from the two attacks that had successively landed in the same spot.

  Xue Wei knew that Lan was strong. But to not even be able to leave a single speck of dust on Lan's clothes was shocking to the extreme.

  "If those two attacks cannot do anything, then let us try something else!" Xue Wei grinned, finally feeling energized as he let go of all of his troubles and submerged himself completely in the feeling of fighting Lan.

  Although Lan was not doing anything at all in return and just standing there, allowing all the attacks to land on him, Xue Wei still felt much better after letting go of it all.

  Xue Wei, who had realized that neither his Shattering Mountain Palm nor his Azure Light Finger worked, quickly changed to the Sacrificial Stab.

  The Sacrificial Stab was able to sacrifice the soul of any person that was killed with this attack, but when he created a sword from Inner Might, he found that Sacrificial Stab was also incapable of even scratching the prophet’s clothes.

  After trying everything he had at his disposal, time and time again, Xue Wei found that he could not do anything to Lan, so he came to a standstill back at his original position.

  He was breathing heavily as he had used attack after attack, depended on his Forbidden Rush repeatedly, and also executed his profound technique the Inner Might.

  "Not bad, you have some very strong attacks," Lan praised him. "Your attacks are all superior, except for one of them which is Profound, if I am not mistaken?"

  Xue Wei nodded his head but said nothing.

  "Well, they are great, I guess you got them from the heritage ring on your finger. Tell me, who gave you this heritage ring?"

  "My uncle. His name is Xiao Lei, and he is a Primordial Beast Hunter of the Kingdom of Heping. He is the kingdom's pride and joy!"

  "I see," Lan smiled, but his smile was not friendly as usual. Instead, it was rather cold and cynical. "So it was Xiao Lei."

  "Do you know Uncle?" Xue Wei could not help but ask, and Lan started laughing. "I know him," he said with a mocking smile.

  "I should have known you were related to him," he said after a bit of contemplation.

  "How would you describe my uncle?" Xue Wei could not help but ask breathlessly. He wanted to know much more about his uncle, but it was hard when he di
d not know where he was or what he had been doing the last half year.

  "The Xiao Lei I know is a fake snake," Lan said after thinking about how to say it.

  "A fake snake?" Xue Wei frowned. The Xiao Lei he knew was someone he cared for deeply, someone whom he loved and someone who looked at him with tender and gentle eyes.

  Even when he was trash, his uncle had never looked down on him. He had always been sincere, always done his best. How could such a person be considered a fake snake?

  "You can't talk bad about my uncle!" Xue Wei defended Xiao Lei after thinking of this, and Lan looked at him with pity. "Don't worry. You are a fake snake too. Fake snakes tend to flock together," he said followed by laughter.

  "Well, enough about that. Your ring is a treasure that I want to get my hands on, but I have no use for it. When one refines a Heritage Ring, one needs to use the blood of the person it is for. Only the person whose blood is imbued within the ring can use this heritage ring, so even if I got my hands on it, it would be useless for me."

  Xue Wei listened intently, but part of his mind was shaking from knowing that Lan referred to his uncle as a fake snake.

  Was there something that he did not know about? Xue Wei did not know, but he was more determined than ever to realize what it was his uncle was hiding from him.

  Still, a part of him was listening intently to Lan and his explanations. "A Heritage Ring contains a large amount of skills and abilities that can be passed on. To get your hands on these things, you need a certain strength."

  "Let me have a look at your ring," Lan requested, but Xue Wei hesitated. "Well you can also give me your hand," Lan joked. "I do not mind observing it when it is on your hand, but then everyone will truly start to believe that you are interested in men."

  "It is all your fault!" Xue Wei sneered, but he felt much more calm about it and took the ring off and handed it to Lan.

  Lan observed the ring for a long time before handing it back to Xue Wei. "This is made of a beast bone," he introduced. "A bone of a Primordial Beast. In fact, not just any Primordial Beast – but a Ruthless Cinder Tiger. They control fire and are not easy to deal with; their bodies are massive and their strength and speed out of the ordinary. They are some of the most dangerous Primordial Beasts out there."

  "This ring has been made with your blood and such a bone. It is able to contain a whole lot of abilities and skills."

  "From what I can see, you should be able to unlock it once every time you advance a grade, so you already opened it once when you were an Ordinary Warrior, and next time you can open it will be when you are an Earth Warrior, which is soon."

  "Then you should be able to open it at Sky Warrior rank and Heavenly Warrior rank."

  "Of course, you can also open it when you reach the Knight and Saint ranks."

  "Knight and Saint ranks?" Xue Wei asked curiously, and Lan looked at him in an appalled way. "Right, you are from this poor and uneducated country. I always forget that."

  "Enough with your trash talking of this place, just tell me about it," Xue Wei said impatiently, and Lan laughed. "You want to know? Too bad you are too weak for now. When you become an Earth Warrior, I will tell you the truth about it."

  "So you think I will become an Earth Warrior while you are here?" Xue Wei asked curiously, and Lan just shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows."

  "Well, now I will help you," Lan said with a smile. "Your Shattering Mountain Palm, your Inner Might, and your Azure Light Finger are not bad, but you can increase the strength of all three."

  "Your Forbidden Rush is already pretty much completed as it is with your current ability. You will not be able to improve that one much, but you can improve the other three. Just leave it to me!"

  Lan had a maddened expression in his eyes and a manic grin on his face.

  Xue Wei shivered when he saw this, but he said nothing. He wanted to become stronger and stronger, and getting Lan’s help would expedite that.

  Xue Wei had never had a proper teacher before. He had been incapable of cultivating initially, and now that he could cultivate he had been left alone by his uncle.

  To gain pointers from an expert who had transcended the limits of the kingdom he lived in was indeed a great opportunity. Although he found him annoying, mad, and saying things he disliked, Xue Wei still felt that he could learn a whole lot from this prophet.

  Chapter 21 - Earth Warrior

  Lan truly did as he had promised. He and Xue Wei spent the rest of the day where Xue Wei continuously released one attack after the other, only to be told by Lan how to make the flow of Qi within his meridians change.

  Xue Wei learned how to enhance the strength of his attacks further; he learned how to control the accuracy of the attacks better than before and how to control how much energy he wished to use on the attack.

  He was learning how to control the flow of Qi within his body perfectly. Previously, he had been using full power every single time he released an attack, but now he could fully control that strength.

  "You are learning fast!" Lan praised him with a grin on his face. "Now onto the last thing I am going to teach you today."

  "I will teach you how to overdraft your energy," Lan said seriously. Lan’s usual manner of joking and teasing was suddenly gone, replaced by a solemness that made Xue Wei observe him seriously.

  "I hate fake snakes, but for some reason, you happen to be a deviant in this case," Lan said. "You are interesting, and you have a dantian I want."

  "So please remember, what I am about to teach you is something that you can only use when you are in imminent peril. This is something you can use if you are sure you will die, as the overdraft is very bad for your body and meridians."

  "Still, it is a life-saving measure, so I will teach it to you." Lan then began teaching Xue Wei how he could absorb more energy from his dantian in a short period of time. The amount would be too much for his meridians to handle, and they would start breaking apart if he did it for more than a short moment.

  Xue Wei began to do as Lan had instructed him, yet he was stopped moments after. "I told you only to do it during imminent peril, and now you were about to do it right away? Isn't that a little premature?"

  Xue Wei realized that Lan was correct and paused. "If I can't try it, then how can I know how to do it?" Xue Wei asked curiously, but Lan just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "It’s all about knowing the theory and then hoping for the best."

  Xue Wei was a little perplexed as he looked at Lan. "So I will not know if I am capable of doing it – and since I cannot try it, all I can do is hope for the best?"

  Xue Wei understood that trying it out now would be a very bad idea. If he ended up wounding his meridians and body, it would take him an extended period of time before he healed. In that case, he would be incapable of reaching the Earth Warrior rank soon, and even less likely to learn other useful skills from Lan.

  "Okay, teach me the basics, please." Xue Wei finally reached the conclusion that it was better to know about it than not knowing about it.

  "It is not that difficult," Lan explained. "Force your Qi to leave your dantian in a faster and larger quantity. You will need to be able to control the amount of Qi you use before you can do it, but I already taught you how to regulate the Qi flow within your body. When I told you how to limit the amount of Qi you send out, you just do the complete opposite and request for more to be transferred through your meridians."

  Xue Wei contemplated a bit as he sat down. He limited the amount of Qi that roamed his body, and felt how he became sluggish. He then increased the flow of Qi within his body, from a small drizzle to a steady stream, and he instantly felt the difference.

  "Oh, I see!" Xue Wei nodded his head as it made sense to him. He finally managed to understand what it was like, but he also understood that it would be dangerous to attempt it, which was why he stopped right away.

  "See, it is not so hard is it?" Lan asked with a smile, and Xue Wei completely forgot that he was cross with the pr
ophet and gave him a beaming smile to display his happiness and gratefulness. This trick, although not tested and tried, was clearly a useful trick that could one day save his life.

  "That was it for today," Lan declared as the sun had begun setting in the sky. The other experts were also leaving the field with their tutors, and Xue Wei suddenly realized that the entire day had gone by in a flash.

  "We skipped out mid-day meals, so we need to go and get our dinner now," Lan said as he started moving towards the city of tents once more.

  "Tomorrow, I will teach you something fun," the prophet said with a mysterious smile on his face, and Xue Wei could not help but look with big eyes filled with focused impatience.