"Alright, it doesn't matter. Let's continue, Ashen." His eyes shone with a seriousness not seen before. "What I'm about to tell you is one of the deep secrets of our world… This world is called the Forbidden Blood World. It's a huge planet, almost unbelievable in size."
Ashen – raising his eyebrows in surprise: "Okay, can you first explain what the Forbidden World is?"
Rysen – with a faint smile on his lips: "The Forbidden World is a world that surpasses the strength of other worlds of the same level by many times. It is an extension of a supreme or variable law. This world is shaped according to that law… For example, our world is an extension of the Blood Law. That's why all our cultivation, refinement, and focus are tied to blood. Other laws do not exist here."
"But what makes our world different from others, as I said, is its immense power. Take us, the cultivators of this world, for example…" He leaned forward slightly, smiling confidently. "We, who are at the bottom of the power ranking as blood trainees, if we faced someone from another world who just started training, the majority of the time, we would win."
"But as I said, our world has many restrictions. There are no other laws besides the Blood Law, and the power of intentions cannot be understood… This is a huge disadvantage for the people here. But it's natural that the Supreme Dao imposes this. His voice lowered, as if revealing a heavy secret. With the power of our cultivation, if we could also understand intentions, the strength of this world would be completely monstrous."
"Also, the difficulty of cultivation here is extreme compared to other worlds… From what I've heard, most other worlds don't face ascent trials until they reach high levels. But for us, trials start from the first level of cultivation. To reach the rank of Blood Warrior, we must pass a small obstacle."
Ashen – with some surprise: "Huh? Do you mean the Integration Obstacle? But that's natural, right? You can't advance to Blood Warrior without full control of your blood… Without it, neither our blood nor our bodies can handle greater power."
Rysen – shaking his head, smiling coldly: "Heh… The Integration Obstacle may seem small, but the vast majority cannot pass it. The real challenge begins when trying to reach Blood Master rank, where you must go through the Blood Slaughter Trial." His eyes narrowed slowly, as if recalling a bloody scene. "Each higher level imposes even more terrifying trials… While other worlds almost don't have such trials at early cultivation levels, and even at high levels, their trials don't compare to our Blood Slaughter… Let alone the other trials."
"Still, the reason this world is forbidden can be summarized in three points:
The first, as I said, is that it is an extension of a very strong law, the Blood Law.
The second, and the most important…" His voice suddenly changed, as if trying to make Ashen fully understand. "Even though intentions cannot be understood here due to their absence, this world contains some extremely strong intentions… like the Beastly Intention you have, the Decay Intention, the Devouring Intention, and others. But the core of this world holds a very strong and terrifying intention… one of the Three Crimson Commandments, and the main reason this world is forbidden: the Blood Intention. This intention is one of the strongest and most difficult in the universe."
"The third reason… is the three cultivation systems we have, especially the main system."
Ashen – leaning forward with curiosity: "Huh? What do you mean by three systems? Isn't there only the Blood Refinement System?"
Rysen – pausing, staring in surprise: "Seriously? You don't even know about the three systems… Wait, don't tell me your clan only practices the Blood Refinement System?"
Ashen – flatly: "Of course. And what other system should we refine? We have dozens at the fifth level in my clan. As for the other levels, I don't know the exact number, but there must be hundreds."
Rysen – his pupils widened slightly before he laughed: "Wow, Ashen, you've impressed me… I still underestimated you and your clan. Even in the sacred ranks, your clan can be considered third-tier. After all, it's very rare to find a whole clan following the main refinement system."
Ashen – frowning: "Huh? And why is that?"
Rysen – his voice heavy with seriousness: "As I told you, Ashen, our Blood Refinement System is very strong, but extremely difficult. After the second stage, each major level requires passing a terrifying trial. One mistake means death. The cultivation itself is a hidden danger… absorbing blood power can lead to mutation and madness due to the residual beastly consciousness within. Without meditation techniques, continuing this path would be nearly impossible."
Ashen – leaning back, confused: "Huh? What do you mean? And what are these meditation techniques? Don't we just drink blood and absorb its energy?"
Rysen – eyes wide, as if he couldn't believe what he heard: "Wait, wait, Ashen… Seriously? You absorb blood directly? That's insane!"
Ashen – flatly: "Huh? Isn't that the method? Otherwise, how do I refine?"
Rysen – rubbing his forehead and laughing sarcastically: "Wow, man, you keep impressing me… I'll show you the meditation method later. I don't want a talent like yours to go mad."
"Alright, let's return… As I told you, the main cultivation system is very difficult. Advancing each rank is like walking a tightrope over death. That's why there's another, completely different system called the Blood Sorcery System. Most cultivators stop at Blood Trainee or Blood Warrior and switch to this system."
"But the amazing thing is, you can cultivate both systems together. Even so, very few take this path… because of the long time it requires and the extreme difficulty of the Blood Refinement System."
"The advantage of the Blood Sorcery System is that it's much easier: there are no trials at first, only at high levels, and the danger is much lower than the first system."
Ashen – stroking his chin: "Huh? Then what makes the Blood Refinement System special?"
Rysen – laughing mockingly: "What a silly question, Ashen… Of course, it's much stronger than the Blood Sorcery System. The difference in raw power is huge… Not just strength, but defense, speed, vitality, and lifespan… all favor the Blood Refinement practitioner."
Ashen – nodding slowly: "Oh, I see… You mentioned three systems earlier, so what's the third?"
Rysen – leaning slightly forward, lowering his voice: "The third system is called the Bloodline Integration System. It's only for those with bloodline traits… And not everyone with a bloodline can refine it. Only those who reach 100% bloodline purity. This condition alone excludes the majority."
"After all, humans cannot increase bloodline purity naturally. Treasures that increase purity are extremely rare, and techniques that do… even one appearing would cause rivers of blood."
A short silence fell, before Rysen raised his eyes to Ashen again.
"These reasons, Ashen, are why our world is forbidden. There are other reasons too… but they are secrets you are not qualified to know yet."
Ashen – narrowing his eyes suspiciously: "Hmm… You know a lot despite your age."
Rysen – laughing loudly: "Hahaha! As I said, Ashen, the organization I came from is one of the strongest in this world… and my position in it is far from low."
Ashen – snorting sarcastically: "Huh, what a big claim."
Rysen – smiling slyly, his eyes glinting mysteriously: "Hahaha… That's not a claim, Ashen… Oh, by the way… I have a request for you."