A Martial God's Bloodline

Similar to the martial techniques and mannerisms seen in Wuxia novels, the martial cultivators of Cloudveil Continent had their own battle skills.

A unique ability, termed 'bloodsoul strength', would be given rise once the bloodsoul was manifested within one's body. It was generally tempered and cultivated through the absorption of spiritual energy from the earth and sky.

Expressing that through one's battle skills was the singularly most effective way of utilizing one's bloodsoul strength.

Of course, there were also cultivation exercises in addition to the battle skills. A good exercise was capable of smoothening and speeding up the process of cultivation.

The crux, however, was the comprehending of the Martial Way. Battle skills and cultivation exercises were but a supplement to comprehension. The bloodsoul formed the root of everything because the height of one's power corresponded directly with the strength of one's bloodsoul.

"Those Li clan members learned at least one or two schools of battle skills. If I'm put up against them, it'll definitely be a problem for me because they can use their battle skills to enhance their strength."

Due to the awakening of his bloodline, he was in the initial phase of Martial Spirit Level One. He might have the confidence to face up against a latter phase Level Three, it was nothing but an estimation based on pure strength alone.

Two people with similar levels of cultivation would differ greatly with each other if one had battle skills and the other did not.

"Cloudveil Continent's battle skills and cultivation exercises are divided into four ranks—Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. Heaven Rank and Earth Rank are out of the question. No one in the entire Wu Prefecture City would have it, let alone Jiangnan Circuit. The Li clan has one or two books on Black Rank battle skills, but sadly they're untouchable if one isn't a part of the core family or the high-positioned ones. I need to think of a way to search up the two books about Yellow Rank battle skills and begin cultivating!"

Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow—each of those four ranks were further divided into primary, intermediate, and advanced grades. Generally speaking, rogue cultivators who had no mentors would find it difficult to even learn battle skills, not to mention to practice exercises for rapid cultivation.

The Li clan, as one of Wu Prefecture City's Three Great Clans, did not lack all those resources.

Be that as it may, the Li clan only possessed some Yellow Rank's battle skills and exercises. A large portion of it was Yellow Rank Primary and Yellow Rank Intermediate. Yellow Rank Advanced was a rarity, and—if present—would certainly be kept away and safeguarded as though it were a treasure.

As for Black Rank battle skills, no one knew for certain whether the Li clan possessed them or not, and it simply remained a rumor.

"Li Haoran, even though you're a guzzler and a boozer, your grandfather is the clan's Third Elder. He probably gave you some battle skills and cultivation exercises, didn't he?"

A cold aura emitted from Li Ye's eyes.

In the past, Li Haoran never felt scared. On the contrary, he might even have uttered sarcastic remarks.

At that moment, however, he had no idea why his heart was feeling so chilly. His body trembled and he spoke in a faltering tone, "You... Why do you need battle skills and cultivation exercises for?"

"LI Haoran, just answer yes or no!"

Li Ye's eyes looked enticing and his colossal spiritual power was once again set free.

The very next moment, Li Haoran's eyes turned dull and he answered earnestly, "Yes. There are battle skills and cultivation exercises."

Li Ye's eyes brightened and he asked at once, "And what are they?"

Li Haoran's puppet-like, blank-faced answer left Li Ye thoroughly speechless. "I exchanged Grandpa's battle skills and cultivation exercises for some money. I didn't look at it clearly and see what it was.

Exchanged battle skills and cultivation exercises for money?

Such an answer left Li Ye wide-eyed and dumbfounded! Although his body's original memories stated that Li Haoran was a useless wine-and-dine person, a questionable character, and a hedonistic son born of excellence, it scarcely occurred to Li Ye that Li Haoran would stoop to such a low extent!

"Selling off the clan's battle skills and cultivation exercises for some money? You're a lost cause!"

It was clear that Li Haoran was completely useless to Li Ye. After Li Ye devoured Li Haoran's bloodline, it was no longer possible for the latter to make progress in the Martial Way. Even a simple battle technique or cultivation exercise could not be executed.

Kill him then?

The thought disappeared almost as fast as it appeared. It was inaccurate to say that Li Ye was predisposed to clemency. Even though killing Li Haoran was easy, Li Ye was not yet prepared to bear all the consequences that came with it.

"Get out! You'd better watch out for your puny life if I see you again next time!"

Thump! That sentence sent a shiver down Li Haoran's spine. Unsure whether it was a result of Li Ye's strong spirit or some other reason, Li Haoran ran with his tail between his legs.

"Well, the cultivation exercises aren't all that urgent. Judging from my current state, I can quickly enhance my bloodsoul strength just by devouring a martial cultivator's blood essence. Still, it's gonna be tricky without one or two schools of battle skills."

Three days—Li Ye spent three days' worth of time creeping out quietly into the night, searching for any shifty-looking rouge cultivators and mercenaries that he could attack.

He preyed on seven individuals. Li Ye had earlier found out that those people had a bad reputation in Wu Prefecture City and were unsavory characters. All seven individuals were Martial Spirit Level Three and below. In the dark of night, Li Ye dealt with them swiftly with no need to break a sweat.

Having devoured their blood essence, he managed to raise the initial phase of his Martial Spirit Level One onto the latter phase. The distance to achieve that latter phase was only as far as a step away.

Li Ye did not kill those people but because a significant amount of their blood essence was drained, they would be frail for a prolonged amount of time, albeit with no fatal effect.

He could not be said to have zero intention of disposing them and putting an end to possible future accidents, but at that juncture, he was as yet unable to truly set out to kill someone.

That day, Li Ye felt that the blood within his body was turning to a boil—it was a sign that the next breakthrough was coming.

"Looks like it didn't need long for me to enter into the initial phase of Martial Spirit Level Two."

Transitioning from the initial phase of Martial Spirit Level One to the latter phase did not bring about too much of an increase in strength. It was heightened by only about two- or three-tenths. However, stepping up from Level One to Level Two produced a greater amplification and amounted to at least double that of one's original strength.

It was good news for Li Ye as the clan tournament was upon him.

"Martial Spirit Level Two can roughly allow me to defend against someone in the initial phase of Martial Spirit Level Four. But if my opponent is complemented with battle skills, I won't be on par with him."

He felt fretful when he thought of that.

While his anxiousness began setting in, he did not expect someone to be sent to his doorstep.

"Li Ye! Come out here!"

A loud voice brought Li Ye out from his immersive thought.

His brows crinkled up. Someone was evidently trying to stir up trouble, although that kind of thing was to be expected. Deep in his mind, he knew that during all those years, people would come to bully him for fun every now and then.

It was not an exaggeration to say that he would have been culled if the Li clan did not fear his long-lost nominal father, who had been missing with no news.

Pushing open the door, the first thing he laid eyes on was Li Haoran, whose blood essence had been earlier drained by Li Ye. Li Haoran was not as aggressive as previous occasions—instead, fear flashed across his eyes and he avoided eye contact.

Li Ye understood why Li Haoran reacted that way.

The profound memory from a few days ago was very much an unforgettable one for a hedonistic son like Li Haoran, who only bullied the weak and was afraid of those stronger than him.

In Li Ye's eyes, Li Haoran was no longer in a position to make threats, and at that moment, Li Haoran was not even worthy of Li Ye's attention.

Beside Li Haoran, however, was a tall and robust-looking young man whose appearance was about fifty or sixty percent similar to Li Haoran. Compared to Li Haoran's frailty, the other lad was well-built. He had dragon-like muscles, a ferocious expression, and anger in his eyes.

"Don't you know who I am, Li Tianwu? Didn't your mother ever teach you to knock whenever you're at someone's house? By making such a big fuss, I thought it was some horny wild b*tch moaning and disturbing my peace."

Li Ye was no longer the mild-mannered young man he once was. Having successfully manifested his bloodsoul, Li Ye had ample confidence.

As for Li Tianwu, Li Ye need only rummage through his own memories to know all about the well-built young man in front of him.

Li Tianwu was Li Haoran's stepbrother, born from different mothers to the same father. He was also the Third Elder's grandson. Compared to the knowledge-less, skill-less, womanizing, and self-indulgent Li Haoran, Li Tianwu achieved much more. Despite being born an illegitimate child, he worked hard since young and therefore his talent was not too shabby. He was only twenty-one-year-old, yet he had already entered the latter stage of Martial Spirit Level Three. Amongst many of the Li clan's younger generation, he was considered quite capable.

Nevertheless, he was the same as Li Haoran—bullying only the week and fearing the more powerful. In his private capacity, he lashed out against many of his siblings from the same clan, those whose ancestry was not as distinguished. Discontent had long been openly voiced as a result. Unfortunately, he had a strong background and had support in the form of the Third Elder. That, along with his reasonably good talents, made everyone afraid of laying a hand on him.

"Li Ye! You're dead!"

Within the clan, everyone—save for some oddballs—would move aside and treat Li Tianwu courteously when they see him. Li Tianwu had earlier questioned his little brother when the latter came home looking weak. He was subsequently surprised to find out that Li Haoran's listlessness was caused by the piece of garbage that was shooed out from the clan a few years back.

He was skeptical—could a piece of trash really turn his fortunes around and once again make himself prominent?

Sheer unadulterated rage emerged from the depths of Li Tianwu's heart immediately after seeing Li Ye's attitude!

Without so much as a single word, a punch came flying. Li Tianwu's strong fist brought about an explosive bang—a testament to how strong he was.

At the latter phase of Martial Spirit Level Three, a simple punch could shatter the strongest of granite. If the blow landed on someone's body, broken bones were the most minor injury one would get. At worst, one could die from ruptured viscera and bowels!

Li Tianwu was too used to rampant and unbridled loss of control. His anger had already flared up when his younger brother was bullied, and to think that the piece of trash he used to bully made such threats toward him and poked fun at him by calling him a wild b*tch? His murderous intent shot up to the ceiling. Without caring about the consequences, his only thought was to set about killing Li Ye!

"You little sh*t! You think I'm scared of killing you? No one knows where your missing daddy disappeared to for so many years. Maybe he died out there somewhere! Without him, no one gives a damn whether you live or die!"

Li Tianwu was not an idiot. Li Ye may be the patriarch's son, but despite the patriarch's disappearance, no other senior clan member stood up for Li Ye during all those years. Only Li Tianwu and Li Haoran had the audacity to undermine the things that Li Ye relied on most.

Seeing Li Tianwu's arrogance caused a hint of murderous desire to appear in Li Ye's eyes, emanating a dense hostile intent.

"I was just beginning to wonder about the extent of my current strength. You came at just the right time!"

Li Ye could sense that he was on the verge of another breakthrough. Li Tianwu's presence did not strike fear into his heart; instead, he was filled with excitement.

Faced with Li Tianwu's oncoming fist, Li Ye stood his ground and sent back a punch of his own.

"You're dead!"

Li Tianwu smiled sinisterly upon seeing how Li Ye—who was well-known to all as the most useless young master ever—had the guts to retaliate, as opposed to showing fear or despair.

Bang!

It was a completely unexpected outcome. When their two fists struck against one another, the latter phase Level Three's Li Tianwu felt a power almost equivalent to that of his own transmitting upward into his arm. Following a dramatic change in expression, he unwittingly staggered backward about three or four steps.

On the contrary, Li Ye's body simply shook slightly. He was not even forced into taking a step back.

A comparison of their strengths was easily made! Shockingly, Li Ye's strength was much more powerful than Li Tianwu's latter phase Level Three, and it should be clarified that Li Ye was only at the latter phase of Martial Spirit Level One! At least two states and four sub-states separated both young men! It was a difference of at least four to five times!

"You manifested your bloodsoul?!"

Li Tianwu's expression changed. From the earlier punch, he could clearly perceive that familiar feeling of a bloodsoul's strength surging forth. A normal person would scarcely have that great strength! Everything pointed to one conclusion—the piece of trash forever thought to be useless in Li Tianwu's eyes finally changed his fortunes!

Li Ye chuckled coldly without answering the question. Seizing the fleeting pause resulting from Li Tianwu's sheer confabulation, Li Ye tried getting the upper hand. The glow of his essence fulminated in his eyes and he delivered a punch without the slightest apprehension.

Shocked though Li Tianwu may be, his reaction speed was still rather quick. Looking at how the once-worthless Li Ye wielding strength that rivaled that of Li Tianwu's, a sliver of shock flashed in the latter's eyes, but overshadowing it was a look of malevolence.

"So what then, if you manifested your bloodsoul! As if I can't deal with a piece of garbage like you!

"Darting Thunder Fist!" Still shocked at Li Ye's massive increase of power, Li Tianwu was forced to immediately utilize his battle skills and shelve his underestimation of Li Ye!