A Will Eternal: Blood Ancestor [(2)] |
“That feeling...” the giant murmured as the Heavenspan River flowed below. A flash of warmth appeared in the depths of his cold eyes.
“The feeling is carved into your bones and engraved into your heart,” an ancient, raspy voice said from a great distance away. “Am I right?”
At some point, the old man in a black robe had appeared on the riverbank. He was currently looking up at the giant in the water.
“Yes,” replied the giant. Seemingly drawing on the last scraps of strength within him, he continued walking down into the Lower Reaches. There was an obsession within him, some sort of mission that had yet to be accomplished.
“It’s a feeling worth losing everything over?” the old man asked again. It seemed as if he truly didn’t understand.
“I started out with nothing,” the giant said. “So what’s the point of talking about ‘everything’?”
“You’re wrong,” the old man said, looking sad and compassionate. “You did have everything. You were the incredibly famous Xue Han, also known as Sir Frigid Blood.”
“Sir Frigid Blood....” The giant stopped walking for a moment and looked up. It was as if his gaze could pierce through the violet clouds to see the blue sky beyond. There was nothing in that sky, yet the giant could see something. It was a memory from a time in the Wildlands.
He saw a tall young man, muscular and handsome, holding a blood-red spear as he stood valiantly atop Rockflow Peak. His robe was as red as blood as it fluttered in the wind. His hair was long, but it didn’t obscure the haughty and heroic expression on his face!
An old man stood at the head of the army of cultivators. He wore a white robe and had long, white hair, making him look like some sort of transcendent being. “Xue Han,” he said, “you trespassed in the Arch-Emperor’s territory, breaking into Mount Nine Serenities and stealing our Nine Serenities Profound Blood. You also injured many disciples of our sect. You’ll pay for your crimes!”
Young Xue Han laughed softly, then confidently growled, “Nine Serenities Profound Blood is a natural treasure that belongs to whoever is strong enough to take it. I’ve committed no crime.”
“You, Heavenspan Daogates criminal!” the old man said, his eyes pulsing with killing intent. “Hand over the Nine Serenities Profound Blood. If you do, I’ll spare your life. If you don’t, you can forget about leaving this place.”
“You’re not worthy,” Xue Hand said haughtily.
“You think a bit too much of yourself!” the old man said sternly. He waved his sleeve, and a silver saber appeared. Obscuring the sky and blocking the sun, it glittered eerily as it slashed toward Xue Han. A will of extermination erupted, the power of destruction, raging high into the heavens!
Instantly, an intense sensation of deadly crisis rose within Xue Han. However, it didn’t cause his expression to change. He just grinned. Then, blue veins bulged on his right arm. In the blink of an eye, it turned as red as blood, and he reached out to grab the silver saber.
SMACK!
Xue Han used only one hand to grab the saber. Beneath him, the craggy mountain peak shattered, sending boulders flying everywhere.
The white-haired old man was visibly surprised. “You can block my silver saber with your bare hands? I had no idea you had cultivated the Undying Codex to that level, criminal.”
But what was truly surprising was what happened next. As Xue Han held the silver saber between his fingers, a spider web of cracks started spreading through it!
CRUNCH!
After only two short breaths of time passed, Xue Han completely shattered the silver saber, sending countless fragments raining down to the ground! As the bits of the saber descended, Xue Han burst into motion.
He stamped his foot, then shot into the air. The terrifying force decimated what was left of Rockflow Peak. And then, Xue Han became like a blood-red hammer, letting loose a sonic boom as he charged with deadly force toward the white-haired old man.
SLAM!
Before the old man could react, Xue Han was upon him! The terrifying fleshly body power instantly ripped the old man to shreds. A flower of blood bloomed in the air! The surrounding disciples gasped and stared. They simply couldn’t believe that their sect leader couldn’t even stand up to a single blow from Xue Han.
However, things weren’t over yet. Next, Xue Han tapped into the Undying Codex to unleash more fleshly body power, causing him to shoot toward the ground like a blood-red meteor. It was like heaven striking earth, or a mountain slamming into a river. An ear-popping boom rang out, so intense that the surrounding lands shattered. The massive shockwave instantly killed hundreds of disciples. Thousands who were far enough away managed to survive, but still coughed up blood like mad.
“Quick,” one of the disciples shouted, “call the heavenly king out of seclusion to kill this blood devil!”
But then, the sharp cry of a phoenix rang out. A flame phoenix appeared, scorching everything around it as it shot toward that very disciple and incinerated him!
“I’m afraid the heavenly king you mentioned won’t ever be coming out of seclusion.” A beautiful young woman appeared, clad in a green gown. She looked like an immortal fairy. Held in her hand was the severed head of an old woman, dripping with blood. That was the ‘heavenly king’ the disciple had just mentioned.
“You think that because our Master has gone into seclusion for three sixty-year-cycles that you can go and bully my little Junior Brother? Did you think that I, Zhen Ling’er, had ceased to exist?” Zhen Ling’er crushed the severed head, then waved her hand, causing innumerable phoenix feathers to drift down, forming a sea of flames.
***
It was nighttime, and the screams and roars that had echoed out over the lands were now gone. Everything was still. Not even the cry of animals could be heard.
A lone bonfire was the only light to be seen in the darkness. Its faint glow illuminated the heroic faces of Xue Han and Zhen Ling’er.
Brimming with defiance and righteous indignation, Zhen Ling’er said, “You’re too merciful, little Junior Brother. The Arch-Emperor Dynasty has branded the Heavenspan Daogates as criminals, and are holding nothing back to kill us. We should treat them in kind! Tooth for tooth! The way I see it, the reason they’re bullying you is that your name isn’t impressive enough. Yeah.... From now on, you should call yourself Sir Frigid Blood.
“Master is in seclusion getting stronger. And that means the two of us should work together, like two swords stabbing deep into the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. By the time Master comes out of seclusion, we’ll already have expelled the Arch-Emperor from the Heavenspan River. And then we can create our own top sect. It’ll be... the Frigid School! What do you say, little Junior Brother?” Zhen Ling’er was clearly very excited about what was to come in the future.[1]
“Frigid School?” Xue Han said.
“Yeah. Same ‘frigid’ as from your name.” With that, Zhen Ling’er took out a silver pearl and tossed it to Xue Han.
“What’s this?” he asked, catching it.
“No idea,” Zhen Ling’er said casually. “I got it from that old woman. It looks valuable.”
Xue Han scanned the pearl with divine sense, and could tell that it contained an immense power sealed inside. In fact, from what he could tell, his own Master probably couldn’t break through that seal.
***
The giant above the Heavenspan River once again looked at the black-robed old man. “From then on, I was known as Sir Frigid Blood. That name accompanied me my entire life. Some people feared it, some revered it.”
Sighing, the old man said, “During that time, you were at the height of glory.”
“Glory? I never cared about that. I only cared about her.”
The giant struggled to continue forward. Every step he took seemed to drain him of life force and blood. His life force was almost gone. His vision was a blur. The path in front of him seemed to stretch forever. Endless memories floated up within him. By now, he wasn’t sure if his past was splendid or tragic.
***
Howls and roars echoed through heaven and earth. The surrounding lands were soaked in blood as far as the eye could see. Lives exploded like fireworks, both beautiful and brutal.
“As cultivators, we’re meant to die in battle! We’ve sworn our lives to protect Spirit Serenity City! We can’t let the Arch-Emperor’s forces take it back!”
“We won’t be able to hold out much longer. The Arch-Emperor already dispatched a heavenly king here!”
Right at that moment, the horizon turned as red as blood. It was as crimson as the glow of sunset. Then a blood-colored giant appeared, a crown of gold and jade on his head, and crimson armor covering his burly frame. He had a blood spear some 300 meters long, and the bloody glow behind him seemed like a billowing cloak. He looked like a god of war, pulsing with a baleful aura. Wherever he passed, all living things were compelled to acknowledge allegiance to him.
“Look over there! It’s Sir Frigid Blood!”
“That’s right, it’s our Elder Brother! Sir Frigid Blood is finally out of seclusion!”
The Heavenspan disciples in the city had been facing imminent danger. But now, their hearts filled with excitement, and their eyes shone with unprecedented brightness. In their minds, there was no one they could rely on more than their Elder Brother, Sir Frigid Blood.
In contrast, the hundreds of thousands of cultivators from the Arch-Emperor Dynasty looked afraid. To them, Daoist Heavenspan’s subordinates Sir Frigid Blood and Zhen Ling’er really were like gods of death.
In the Arch-Emperor’s army was a middle-aged heavenly king who suddenly looked both incredulous and fearful. “How is this possible, Sir Frigid Blood? You achieved major success in the Undying Codex? You already reached the demigod level!”
Sir Frigid Blood replied in a thunderous voice, his each word profound and resonant. “The Arch-Emperor is a tyrant who has aroused the wrath of men and gods alike! Heaven and earth shall unite to punish him!”
The blood spear in his hand caused wild colors to flash in heaven and earth. A huge vortex formed, filled with blood-red lightning bolts. Like crimson dragons, they emerged, with a will to eradicate magical laws. Where the lightning went, all things were exterminated! The cultivators from the Arch-Emperor Dynasty screamed miserably.
At the same time, Sir Frigid Blood activated the Undying Codex and took a step forward. He almost seemed to teleport, as his huge frame appeared directly in front of the heavenly king from the Arch-Emperor Dynasty. His blood spear swept forth, stabbing right through the heavenly king.
“Sir Frigid Blood...” the heavenly king said, his eyes widening, and his face filled with disbelief.
“The Arch-Emperor is already dead! This world is getting a new ruler!” Sir Frigid Blood twisted the blood spear, and the heavenly king exploded. He was dead in body and soul.
The previously menacing army from the Arch-Emperor Dynasty was stricken to the core and, in that moment, was utterly defeated.
1. The Frigid School was an important element in A Will Eternal, and was mentioned many times. One of Bai Xiaochun’s key techniques came from it. The first time it was mentioned was in chapter 116. ☜