Raizen stood, catching his breath, then slowly raised his hand and pulled out a strange tablet glowing with a faint bloody light, as if it was a fragment of a night drowned in blood. He lifted it to his forehead, ran his fingers across it, and a strange aura flowed out like ripples of the soul, before he handed it to Ashen.
Raizen: "This is the technique you wanted. It is fully recorded here… not only that, but the tablet also holds my own understanding of it. When you read it, it will feel as if I am explaining it to you myself, and it will be much easier to grasp."
Then Raizen pulled out three more tablets, pressing each of them to his forehead one after another. With each touch, the air shook as if ancient secrets were rising out of him. He then handed them to Ashen.
Raizen: "The first tablet contains the Blood Shock skill you asked for. The other two… they are an investment in you. One holds a special meditation technique, and the other is the fundamental technique of the Blood Sorcerer Path."
Ashen frowned: "The fundamental technique? It doesn't seem unique or special. Is it just an empty foundation?"
Raizen smiled faintly: "Yes, it may seem ordinary… but it is the root that carries endless branches. To possess the complete foundation of the Blood Sorcerer Path is extremely rare. Only true geniuses start from here. You and I, Ashen, are on this road. My Spear Intent has already taken root, and you have begun to touch the Savage Intent. If we build the path on these, we will create skills beyond imagination, abilities shaped by our very own intents."
Then, with a firm tone, he added: "But remember… first you must comprehend the first level of the Realm of Intents. Do not cultivate any other path before mastering your intent. That is the golden rule."
Ashen held the tablets seriously. Each one felt heavier than a mountain, not in weight, but in the knowledge and destiny sealed within it.
Suddenly—
A suffocating, terrifying aura swept the place. The air froze, and the ground shook as if about to collapse. Every hair on Ashen's body stood on end, and his heart pounded violently.
Out of the void, a new figure appeared… majestic, like an endless mountain, or a nightmare crawling out of hell.
Raizen laughed lightly: "Hahaha, why are you drenched in sweat, Ashen? Don't be afraid. This is my guardian elder. He is at the ninth level of High Nirvana… Do you remember the small Blood Throne I used to escape from that demonic forest? That was only a shadow of one of his skills."
Ashen's eyes widened. Just hearing about the ninth level was shocking, but seeing such a person with his own eyes was like staring at a living legend.
The mysterious figure smiled faintly, his voice like distant thunder:
"Your fight was enjoyable. Especially you, little one… you forced Raizen to use all his strength, to the brink of death. Very few can do that."
Then he looked closely at Ashen, and a rare glimmer of surprise appeared in his eyes:
"Even stranger… you have already begun to touch the power of Intent. Even I, after reaching this level, have not yet achieved that understanding."
Ashen's heart trembled. He didn't know if that was praise or a warning.
The figure continued:
"Your talent is rare. Joining our organization would be the best choice for you. There, you will find the power and knowledge you seek."
Ashen was silent for a moment. The offer seemed like a road to an unknown future, dangerous but filled with opportunities. He thought deeply… then nodded.
The figure smiled: "Excellent. Our organization has gained today a new member no less talented than Raizen."
Ashen: "Where are we going now? Where is your organization located?"
Raizen: "We will set up a teleportation array. It bends space and time with force, carrying us tens of thousands of kilometers in a single moment."
The elder began to draw complex bloody symbols on the ground. The runes shifted like living creatures, and a giant magic circle rose around them, pulsing with terrifying energy.
Raizen reassured Ashen: "Don't worry… relax, this is a teleportation array."
But suddenly—
The sky split open, and a massive vertical eye appeared, dripping strange blood. Its gaze pierced directly into their souls, as if tearing apart the threads of destiny itself.
Raizen shouted: "That eye… it's the same one from the demonic forest!"
The eye released a destructive bloody beam, shattering the array and erasing tens of thousands of kilometers of land.
The elder formed a bloody defensive field, gathering an entire sky of blood to protect them. But even that sacred field cracked under the pressure, barely holding.
The elder raised his hand and unleashed a massive technique that ripped open space itself, a bloody spear piercing the heavens. For a moment, it looked strong enough to split the world in two.
But the eye did not even move. Gray tendrils stretched out from it, devouring the spear as if it were nothing, then pierced through the elder's body and lifted him high into the air.
Beneath the eye, a giant bloody heart formed, each beat like an earthquake pulling him closer. The heart split open, revealing a horrifying mouth that swallowed him whole.
Ashen froze, his mind screaming: Even a ninth-level legend… devoured so easily!
The eye turned toward Raizen and Ashen, and its voice echoed in their minds:
"You, the Embodiment of Blood…
And you, the one erased from the Records of Heaven…
There is no escape from the inevitable fate…
Nor from the bloody destiny…
We will meet again."
Then it vanished.
The array shook, on the verge of collapse.
Raizen threw Ashen a bloody crystal bottle: "Break it quickly if you want to survive!"
At the same moment, he pulled out an identical bottle and shattered it.
Ashen followed without hesitation.
A strange gray-bloody light engulfed them, and the array exploded, swallowing the entire place.
In an instant—
Both Ashen and Raizen disappeared.