Night fell, and the red mist still twisted like a snake around the decayed tree trunks deep in the vast wilderness. The wind howled among the rocks, as if lost spirits were screaming, warning of death.
Ashin staggered on his feet, his body drenched in blood, his muscles on the verge of collapse. He had not eaten real food for days, and since the previous night, he had been chasing a shadow he felt was watching him from afar. It was not an ordinary monster.
Suddenly… it emerged from the grass.
A snake.
Not huge, but over four meters long, with ash-colored skin. Its eyes were double, separated by a glowing red slit. Despite its stillness, it emitted a terrifying pressure, as if the surrounding air was suffocating.
Ashin whispered to himself, "Poison… this whole body is poison."
He had no techniques, no pure energy.
But he had something else—willpower.
The snake lunged, its first strike like lightning, but he dodged at the last moment. Ashin threw himself backward, grabbed a large rock, and hurled it with all his strength. The rock hit the snake's head, but the creature did not stop; it grew angrier.
The battle raged among the trees, over rocks, beneath roots. Ashin used every survival skill he knew: climbing, jumping, smashing with branches, stabbing with sharp nails, throwing sand into its eyes.
But with every strike, his body collapsed further.
"I have no techniques… no pure blood… even this body… can barely hold on."
As the snake circled him in a deadly loop, Ashin exhaled deeply and threw everything he had into a single punch aimed at the snake's head.
A scream.
A shudder.
Overwhelming force surged through his chest, as if something deep inside him had been unleashed.
Suddenly, the power exploded within him.
Pain in every muscle. Sharp pulses in his heart. His blood boiled, his bones screamed.
"Ahhh!!"
He fell to his knees, but his eyes glowed with a faint red light. His body was no longer as it had been. Within him, a bloodline had awakened…
But it was not just a normal bloodline.
It was a sealed bloodline—the inheritance of his entire clan.
In the blink of an eye, he moved at double speed. He struck the snake in the neck, jumped on it, stabbed its eye, and tore out its fangs. A savage and brutal fight. Rocks shattered, trees cracked, and the roar of pain echoed through the wilderness.
Finally… the snake fell.
Dead.
But Ashin was not victorious.
His body began to tear from the inside. Blood ran from his nose, mouth, and even his eyes. His skin cracked, veins exploded.
"This bloodline… is too strong for me."
Without thinking, he crawled to the snake's corpse, plunged his hand into its heart, and drank its essence—raw and unrefined.
A moment of silence.
Then… the poison.
He screamed. His body shook like leaves in a storm. Heat, then cold, then numbness. His heart began to slow.
But he did not die.
Because something else happened.
His own bloodline… began to absorb the poison, digest it, purify it.
"Impossible…"
His eyes widened. He felt a new energy flowing through his muscles. His skin healed. The poison disappeared—and turned into pure power.
Then he heard a voice inside him:
"Your ability… is to purify blood without a technique."
Everything calmed.
Ashin sat, breathing slowly, staring at his hands. He felt a change in his strength.
"This… is my true beginning."
He began to speak, as if explaining everything to himself—or to someone listening from the void:
The Blood Trainee rank… is the beginning of the refinement path, the start of any true Blood Warrior. It is divided into three sub-stages, each defining your raw physical power.
He raised his hand and looked at it while continuing:
The first stage ranges from 100 to 1,000 kilograms of pure muscle strength. At its peak, you can only advance by breaking your inner barriers. The second stage starts at 2,000 kilograms and reaches 4,000 kilograms. Here, body strength doubles, bones begin to harden, and the first signs of natural defense appear.
The third stage… ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 kilograms. Reaching this level brings you closer to a beast than a human. In this stage, personal abilities begin to appear. The most dangerous… is Blood Madness.
Despite the pain, Ashin smiled lightly:
Blood Madness only activates after surpassing the third stage. It has five levels, each star increasing strength, speed, and reflexes more.
"One star: +10% to strength, speed, and reflexes. Two stars: +25%. Three stars: +40%. Four stars: +60%. Five stars: +100%—full double, plus rapid blood regeneration."
This ability cannot be upgraded. The number of stars is fixed from the start. What makes it terrifying is that it scales as you grow, and never loses effectiveness.
He closed his eyes and added:
"And only those who reach the absolute peak… the top of Blood Trainee rank, 10,000 kilograms… can unlock Direct Blood Control: Blood Rebound."
"Through it, you can control your blood outside your body within a short range, shaping it into sharp threads for attack or a blood shield to block strikes… this is the true art of blood."
Ashin exhaled in a hoarse voice:
"But I… have not reached even the lowest stage yet."
Minutes passed…
The pain returned, even worse. His skin split again. Veins protruded, fingers trembled.
He screamed.
Collapsed.
But this time he did not resist.
"I understand now… I am weak."
"My body cannot contain this bloodline… unless I strengthen myself, it will tear me apart from the inside."
In the darkness, lying on the cold ground, breathing with difficulty, his eyes staring at the sky.
But his mind was clear.
"This path will not stop because of pain."
"I will overcome it… through refinement."
And so… a new chapter in his journey began.