Chapitre 32: Section 33: Re-Mastering Secret Skill
Éditeur: Henyee Translations
In the stillness of the night, the tent enveloped them in darkness, shielding them from the chill outside.
Zhenjin lay on a mat of dried leaves and straw, covered by a thin blanket.
Earlier, he and Zi Di had both been roughing it in the wild, and now conditions were much more comfortable and warm.
A wave of weakness still lingered in his body.
This was the aftereffect of the potion.
Though the environment was cozy and his body exhausted, Zhenjin could not sleep.
His eyes were wide open, brows furrowed, as he recalled the void feeling when he drank the potion and vomited out ice chunks and blood.
"No mistake, this is almost exactly the same feeling!" Zhenjin was now very certain.
Before, when he fought the Blade Spider, lacking the only dagger to cut the web, he was in great peril. But at the critical moment, his hands suddenly transformed into claws and pierced directly into the spider.
Zhenjin thus turned the tables and killed the Blade Spider, turning danger into safety.
After that, his hands reverted, and a deep, indescribable void feeling emerged from within him.
These two feelings were identical.
"The principle of the Healing Potion is to condense the frost magic within my body into a mass and expel it."
"So, this void feeling should be the result of a sudden massive consumption of my magic power."
Zhenjin took this discovery very seriously.
Because this mutation ability held immense value.
In the current situation, if Zhenjin couldn't continuously exert his Fighting energy, he would find it hard to unleash his true might.
If faced with a deadly scenario again, being able to transform his hands back into claws would undoubtedly become a strong ace up his sleeve.
After all, this ace was lethal to Silver Level Blade Spiders.
"According to my thinking, Zi Di accidentally created a Transformation Potion while treating me?"
"And I have therefore mastered the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear transformation?"
A Transformation Potion is a type of Magic Potion, crafted by a powerful Potion Master, allowing temporary transformation into a giant dragon.
For nearly a century, Transformation Potions have been popular among the upper echelons of the Human Race.
The key figure was Duchess Emily.
Not only was she personally powerful and influential, but she also had a great love for beauty.
The Transformation Potions she developed have thousands of variations.
Unlike the earlier Potion Master's approach, most of Duchess Emily's potions were very basic.
The effects were mild.
Upon consumption, one's skin tone, hair color, or nasal bridge might change marginally.
Now, Emily's Transformation Potions were well-known in the Holy Bright Empire and sold consistently well, becoming the major source of income for Emily's estate.
Zhenjin recalled in detail.
Charging to probable death, he killed the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear. Gravely wounded, on the brink of death, he faced repeated unconsciousness and moments of vague vision.
He distinctly remembered one scene—Zi Di directly infusing bear blood into his body.
According to Zi Di's later explanation, she had no choice but to take a risky gamble in her panic. Fortunately, she succeeded!
"Bear blood contains vast magic power, similar to eating goat meat. This magic power lay dormant within me, and when transformed, it consumed this magic power, leading to an intense void sensation."
"Of course, besides that, there's another possibility—Fighting energy."
"Such a scenario is complex."
"In that life-or-death moment, perhaps my potential was triggered, and I instinctively exerted Fighting energy."
"This island prohibits the use of low-level Magic Fighting Spirits, but the exact upper limit hasn't been accurately measured. Maybe I was at the Golden Level. In that crucial moment, I temporarily broke the barrier, displaying Golden Fighting Spirit."
"Golden Fighting Spirit isn't the key."
"The key is at that perilous moment, my bloodline awakened!"
Once the bloodline awakens, physical changes occur.
For instance, knights with Dragon Bloodlines would grow Dragon Scales on their bodies.
Or, for sorcerers with Hydra Bloodlines, once their bloodline awakens, their round human pupils turn into vertical snake pupils.
In the Holy Bright Empire, Marquis Goldmank, a Holy Domain Level expert, has been very active on the battlefield in recent years. Whenever he fights bloodily, Fighting energy fills his entire body, stimulating his bloodline to awaken, causing golden fragmented lightning to surround him, and his black hair to turn golden, swelling up as if blood-filled muscles.
Bloodline awakenings are uncommon; even among the strong, only a few possess them.
This requires a highly concentrated bloodline to potentially awaken.
"If I am at the Golden Level, at my current age, I must be extraordinarily gifted. This talent suggests I possess a considerably rich bloodline! Bloodline awakening wouldn't be surprising."
"But my bloodline traces back to the Golden Bee Queen. How would the awakening give me claws, not the Bee Queen's characteristics?"
"Maybe there's another bloodline within me?"
This was uncertain.
Human nobles often had dissolute lives, and bloodlines were often mixed. Furthermore, some bloodlines remain dormant unless stimulated.
"In the shock of near-death, I exerted Golden Fighting energy and awoke a mysterious bloodline, transforming my hands into claws. But why were they exactly like the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear's claws? Was it truly a coincidence?"
Thus, Zhenjin comprehensively considered and believed the Transformation Potion theory most probable.
Bloodline awakening seemed less likely.
This raised a new question.
"Do I still have Monkey-tailed Brown Bear magic within me?"
"Does this magic continue to erode me?"
Magic erosion had severe consequences.
Different bloodlines generally couldn't coexist peacefully.
If a noble had two bloodlines, usually one was dominant. During cultivation, the superior bloodline grows stronger, eventually expelling the weaker one.
When both bloodlines are high-grade and refuse to yield, complications arise. Specific Fighting energy techniques are needed to maintain balance between the two. The balance might prioritize one or equally strengthen both. If broken, the bloodlines violently clash, endangering the Transcendent, causing injury or death. Bloodline determines aptitude, the key to future power.
The pursuit of bloodlines in the Human Race remained relentless and mad.
Nobles would marry into high-grade bloodlines, intermarry among themselves, and engage in debauchery to produce exceptionally gifted offspring.
Among the races, the Human Race excelled in reproduction, surpassing elves and dwarfs. But among noble offspring, the gifted remained a minority.
Moreover, the stronger an individual's life form, the harder reproduction becomes, and the cost is high.
Besides birth, humans adopted other underhanded methods.
Using magic, crafting potions, creating environments, and even trading with demons to forcibly implant high-grade bloodlines.
Though forcibly mixing high-grade bloodlines could succeed temporarily, the results were often tragic.
First, human mutations occurred, producing monstrous deformities, affecting both body and spirit, often resulting in madness, babbling, confusion, or dementia.
Secondly, the life's inherent stability was destroyed, drastically shortening lifespan and survival time.
Finally, soul disappearance ensued.
Zhenjin had never heard of a successful permanent bloodline implantation by external force.
Bloodlines were precious and critical.
High-grade bloodlines provided exceptional aptitude. Over time, this aptitude yielded formidable power.
Power meant authority.
Human nobles remained above the masses due to such a solid foundation.
Bloodlines were the cornerstone and pride of nobles!
"Zi Di unintentionally created a Transformation Potion in her treatment. This potion transformed my hands into beast claws, implying an external infusion of Monkey-tailed Brown Bear bloodline."
"This low-grade bloodline would contaminate my noble bloodline."
"High contamination levels would reduce my cultivation aptitude."
Transformation Potions shouldn't be misused.
Misuse had severe, costly consequences.
"Whether I'm Silver Level or Golden Level, I'm still very young. The road ahead is long. These are just the beginnings, not the end."
"If this Transformation Potion dims my future, it would be a great loss."
Bronze, Black Iron, Silver, Gold.
Above these were Legend and Holy Domain.
Above the Holy Domain, stronger levels existed!
Who wouldn't want to become a Legend, a Holy Domain expert, and beyond?
Zhenjin didn't want his growth obstructed or potential and hope diminished due to the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear blood contamination, darkening his bright future.
"The void feeling indicates my magic power was massively consumed. Has the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear magic exhausted?"
"My hands transformed once, consuming all the magic power? Is any remaining now?"
"After that, no matter how I tried, my hands couldn't transform. Does this prove the magic power has depleted from my body?"
"Considering this incident, I drank the potion, which gathered the alien magic power into a mass and expelled it."
"Does Zi Di's potion, targeting frost magic, also work on Monkey-tailed Brown Bear magic?"
"Perhaps I should reveal everything to Zi Di, ask for her help to design a targeted emetic potion?"
Zhenjin's thoughts were complex. Eventually, his weakness overtook him, and he fell into a drowsy sleep in the tent.
"Where is this? Am I dreaming?"
After an unknown time, he found himself in a vast place.
Before him was a wooden long table, with bows and arrows on it. A hundred meters away, three archery targets stood.
The rough wooden table and rustic arrows had straw-stuffed human-like targets, with a circular white cloth on the head, painted with multiple concentric circles, the center filled with red dye.
This was an archery range.
Zhenjin and a middle-aged man were the only ones here.
The man, tall with slender mustaches, had a slight lift of face, and a constant hint of noble pride.
Zhenjin recognized this middle-aged man.
He was his father, the current Clan Leader of the Hundred Needle Family.
Due to memory loss, Zhenjin lacked feelings towards this man, but recalled their close relationship from earlier memories.
"Father, I have come at your call." Zhenjin found himself speaking.
The Clan Leader nodded slightly: "You've been back from the imperial capital for a few days. I'm here to test if your training lapsed. Let's compete in archery. If you win, you'll be granted the Swift Bee."
Zhenjin's eyes instantly brightened.
The Swift Bee was a flying mount, valuable and rare in the market.
In the Empire, few nobles possessed the skill to breed Swift Bees. The Hundred Needle Family was among them.
But next, Zhenjin heard himself speak in a hesitant, sorrowful tone: "But Father, your arm..."
Zhenjin realized this scene happened shortly after his father's fight with Qing Kui.
With more relevant memories, Zhenjin knew: his father, the Clan Leader, was powerful but lost an arm in the battle with Qing Kui, becoming handicapped.
Indeed, how could a one-armed leader shoot an arrow?
The Clan Leader was nonchalant: "No matter, you shoot first."
Zhenjin picked up a longbow, expertly nocked an arrow, and shot, hitting the target's head.
His low spirits likely caused him to miss the bulls-eye.
Zhenjin placed the bow on the table.
It was the Clan Leader's turn.
With a slight smile, he unbuttoned his shirt, revealing an inner pocket.
Skillfully sewn, the pocket held ten long needles.
Each needle, as long as an adult's index finger, seemed crystal-like with a faintly clouded white hue, not fully transparent.
"Watch closely, my son." The Clan Leader plucked a White Crystal Long Needle with his index and middle fingers.
The next moment, he initiated Golden Fighting Spirit, pouring it into the needle.
The needle gleamed with brilliant golden light instantly.
Facing the target, the Clan Leader flicked his fingers lightly.
Whoosh!
A sharp, piercing sound echoed as the golden needle flew, leaving a bright trail.
The trail extended straight, hitting the target precisely, then exploded, obliterating the target!
"What is this?!" Zhenjin's eyes widened in shock.
The Clan Leader smiled and explained: "There are numerous combat skills, some secrets never shown lightly, called Secret Skills. What you see now is the Hundred Needle Family's Secret Skill—Resonating Needle. Would you like to learn?"
"Yes! Please teach me, Father!" Zhenjin shouted, his spirit visibly lifted, sweeping away earlier gloom and despair.
The Clan Leader immediately began teaching and handed Zhenjin a White Crystal Long Needle.
Zhenjin closely examined it, thinking: "This White Crystal Flying Needle is extraordinary, at least Golden Level gear!"
Later, Zhenjin found himself failing multiple times.
"You've grasped the essentials, your execution isn't wrong. Your failure is understandable." The middle-aged noble explained, "Your failure stems from inadequate Fighting energy reserves. Using Resonating Needle consumes substantial Fighting energy. Even at Golden Level, it can only be triggered ten times consecutively."
"According to your Fighting energy capacity, you can barely fire one needle fully infused." The Clan Leader estimated.
Zhenjin forced a smile: "Father, doesn't using this Secret Skill endanger me?"
Emptying all his Fighting energy for one needle.
If missed during battle, lacking subsequent support, Zhenjin would be in grave danger.
The Clan Leader's smile faded, turning serious.
He stared deeply at Zhenjin: "Son, reality is harsh. Whether in battle or elsewhere, you'll often face significant risks."
"Many times, you'll find giving your all for one shot is the wisest choice."
"Exhausting all Fighting energy, the ensuing void and pain is hard to bear. Yet sometimes, we must do so."
"Don't fear risk, nor sacrifice!"
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone