Two weeks prior — the beginning of Hyeolmu's training regime, as he began practicing the Vermilion Vein Art, which could have cost him his life.
He had to master the first tier of the manual. The Blood Breath, and like the name suggests, it involved the use of one's own blood.
It involved the user collecting Qi through their breath and circulating it through their blood vessels with the use of their red blood cells — far from the usual method, where martial artists circulate Qi only through their meridians for it to accumulate in their dantian.
The downside to the Blood Breathing Technique was that it was hard to master, often leading to the death of the practitioner. Even though it was strong, because it was incomplete, it had many variables that could cost him his life.
But there was no stopping him now. To get revenge, he needed to survive — and to survive in this pit, he needed strength. If the Vermilion Vein Art could give him that strength, he was ready to die trying.
As Hyeolmu took his first breath, absorbing the Qi in the atmosphere into his body through his mouth, he immediately began to feel the difficulty of the technique — especially as the Qi flowed its way into his blood vessels.
His fingers started to turn black toward the crook of his wrist as the Qi rushed into his blood cells, increasing their size by four times their normal state. This immediately increased his heart rate to about a thousand heartbeats per minute. At this stage, absolute concentration and determination were needed, as the pain he felt was far greater than being skinned alive continuously.
Blood gushed out of every opening of his body — mainly from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears — but he couldn't afford to lose focus at this stage, or he would suffer before even beginning.
Finally, the Qi that entered his blood vessels was transferred to its final and most crucial location — the heart. His blood pressure skyrocketed, and his heart rate increased again. His concentration began to waver as the pain and anguish rose beyond what a human could bear.
But Hyeolmu wasn't one to quit. He kept pushing, gathering all the Qi in his heart even when his muscles screamed and his arteries begged for him to stop. He didn't. He continued pushing without wavering, with a clear goal in sight and a determined spirit.
Now the Qi began to settle, and his heart rate and blood pressure started to stabilize — though still beyond normal levels. It seemed that his blood vessels had also kept their enlarged size, and due to their increased capacity, they could transfer Qi and other nutrients faster through his body, enhancing his metabolism and self-healing rate.
A sense of accomplishment filled Hyeolmu's emotions, but that joy didn't last long as he passed out shortly after.
****
"Where am I?"
Finally, Hyeolmu awoke — confused, but awake.
"Wait… how long was I out?" Reality finally set in. Confused and hungry, he could only wonder what had happened and what day it was.
A faint vermilion shimmer traced along Hyeolmu's forearm, stretching far into his shoulders, as if the skin itself had become a mapped river tattooed with crimson patterns.
First things first, he had to know what time it was, to plan his next move.
But as though the gods were against him, the sound of the bell rang again. With that sound, he knew what was about to happen. He knew how much time had passed, and he now had a new wall before him that he must climb.
As he stepped out of that eerie cave where he had been unconscious for the past two weeks, his eyes squinted as the light from the flaming torches caught him off guard.
In front of him were the children, possessing a far more terrifying presence than they originally had.
"I still can't believe I was asleep for two weeks straight… I didn't even have time to practice beyond the breathing technique," Hyeolmu thought to himself as he hit his head with his palm in disappointment.
Maybe due to finally practicing martial arts, he could now distinguish the differences in combat abilities among the children around him.
As he feared, Mia stood out the most compared to the others — she had a strange aura around her that sent fear into the hearts of many, even Hyeolmu himself.
"Looks like most of you weren't slacking during the past two weeks," Red Mask said, pausing as he turned his gaze toward four children behind — Hyeolmu's frequent bullies. "But I can't say the same for all of you," he added in disappointment, as they seemed to have progressed the least among all the children, possessing little aura compared to two weeks prior.
"You all will be given a number based on our observations of your previous power levels. You can climb the ranking by defeating someone higher ranked than you — or even killing them by sneaking up on them. By any means necessary. No rules attached.
"The ten children at the top of the ranking each year will be given special offers and custom-made items by the best blacksmiths. The ten children at the bottom each year will be treated as nothing but slaves — before being used as target practice or poison testing."
"Everyone is expected to fight a total of five times, as they will be paired randomly with anyone within the first hundred of their rank. Defeating someone of a higher rank than yours will result in you taking over their position," the guard said.
"Now… it's time to fight!!!"
To be continued...