Chapter 111: The Secret Of The Dragon Blood Fruit

SIZZLE!

The two forces collided at close range.

The greenish-white spiral of light shot forward like a drill, boring furiously into Ryan’s right palm.

Streams of white smoke immediately rose from his skin, curling into the air as the intense heat scorched his flesh.

At the critical moment, the phantom of the Overlord Body Battle Armor flickered into existence, shimmering as it absorbed and dispersed part of the impact.

Even so, the attack pierced through the defensive layer of Ryan’s palm.

A sharp, stabbing pain shot through his hand, and a small amount of fresh blood spurted from the wound.

"So painful..."

Ryan’s expression darkened, but a hint of confusion flickered through his eyes.

The damage was far less severe than he had anticipated.

Given that his opponent’s strength far surpassed the peak of the Origin Ascendant Realm, even a casual strike should have been enough to pierce his palm completely.

He had originally planned to activate the Scarlet Flame Blood Burning Technique and Devouring World Art the moment he found even the slightest opening after blocking the attack.

However, the unexpectedly low damage made him abruptly halt the activation of both techniques.

After all, the price of using either technique was enormous. As long as he could handle the situation through ordinary means, he would rather not resort to such costly methods unless absolutely necessary.

He had also secretly decided against revealing his Primordial Annihilation Lightning Bloodline for the time being.

For one thing, he had no intention of exposing all his trump cards without careful consideration.

More importantly, he had only recently awakened two Bloodlines, yet he now possessed another newly mastered Bloodline. City Lord Crowe undoubtedly knew something about his background. Revealing yet another Bloodline would inevitably raise questions and might even attract unnecessary trouble.

However, with the battle still unfolding, Ryan had no time to dwell on these concerns. He temporarily suppressed his doubts and focused on the attack before him.

He immediately activated his Overlord Body Bloodline once more.

Ignoring the injury to his palm, he gathered his five fingers and, emboldened by his formidable physique, suddenly clamped down on the spiraling greenish-white light that continued to bore into his hand.

BANG!

A deafening explosion rang out.

Unable to withstand the terrifying force of Ryan’s fingers, the greenish-white spiral shattered on the spot.

Countless specks of starlight scattered through the air, and the fierce attack seemed to vanish without a trace.

Ryan’s expression relaxed.

But before he could savor his brief relief, the scattered specks of light landed gently on his body.

Then, without warning, they erupted in dazzling brilliance!

In an instant, the countless specks transformed into a vertical whirlwind of greenish-white light, interwoven with innumerable razor-sharp bamboo leaves.

The hurricane completely enveloped Ryan within a one-meter radius, its spinning blades of bamboo frantically slicing at his body.

CHI CHI CHI!

Ryan’s pupils contracted sharply as his expression changed.

"What... Double Bloodline simultaneous activation and compatibility, combined with Combat Skill external form variation?!"

He was genuinely stunned.

He had never expected City Lord Crowe to be more than just a Double Bloodline Fighter.

The man had also mastered advanced multi-Bloodline combat techniques, including the simultaneous activation and compatibility of two Bloodlines and the external form variation of Combat Skills!

These were renowned high-level techniques among multi-Bloodline Fighters, and mastering even one of them was no easy feat.

CHI CHI CHI!

The bamboo leaf hurricane continued to spin violently, sending countless razor-sharp leaves, each as hard as steel, slicing through the air.

Combined with the relentless whirlwind, their cutting power was astonishing.

It was as though an intricate sword formation had materialized around Ryan, every blade working in perfect coordination with the others.

Despite being a relatively simple, low-grade Combat Skill, the combination produced an effect far greater than the sum of its parts. The resulting power was genuinely terrifying.

Ryan’s face paled.

He hurriedly crossed his arms, which were covered in yellow Origin Energy, to shield his head and other vital areas.

He had barely recovered from his surprise when the attack caught him completely off guard.

In the blink of an eye, wounds erupted across his Overlord Body.

Fortunately, the cuts were not particularly deep, but fresh blood continued to seep and spurt from the numerous gashes.

Before long, his black clothes were stained crimson, giving him a rather ghastly appearance.

As the blood loss increased, his face grew paler, and a strange suspicion began to form in his mind.

The bamboo leaf hurricane appeared overwhelmingly destructive, yet the injuries it inflicted were mostly superficial.

Was there another variation hidden within this technique?

Could a single Combat Skill possess two or even three different forms?

External form variation was one of the advanced techniques available to multi-Bloodline Fighters. Its applications were ingenious, mysterious, and unpredictable, making it exceptionally difficult to defend against.

While Ryan was still pondering this possibility, the bamboo leaf hurricane showed no signs of stopping.

It continued to tear relentlessly at his body.

Although his physique prevented the attack from inflicting any serious injuries, the pain of having his flesh repeatedly sliced open was unmistakably real.

"Hmph! Break for me!"

Ryan knew he couldn’t afford to let this continue. Even if the wounds were shallow, he would eventually bleed to death at this rate.

His expression hardened as he suddenly swept his right arm outward, clearing away a large swath of steel-hard bamboo leaves.

He then lowered his center of gravity, frantically circulating his Overlord Body Bloodline as Origin Energy surged from his body like a cascading waterfall.

With a fierce roar, he unleashed a palm strike.

"Spirit Rank Middle Grade Battle Skill, Cloud Piercing Eighteen Hands, First Realm!"

"Ho ho ho!"

Ten enormous black palm shadows appeared in rapid succession, overlapping like the phantoms of a hundred hands.

Moving at astonishing speed, they struck forward one after another, their trajectories seemingly chaotic, like celestial maidens scattering flowers.

Each palm shadow slammed into the raging hurricane.

PUFF! PUFF! PUFF!

A succession of sharp, muffled impacts rang out.

The black palm shadows punched enormous holes through the bamboo leaf hurricane, disrupting its rotation and shattering its structure.

In an instant, the powerful winds collapsed, and the entire hurricane dissipated into nothingness.

Broken bamboo stems and shredded leaves scattered in every direction before slowly falling to the ground.

"Oh? This Cloud Piercing Eighteen Hands is surprisingly powerful..."

Watching Ryan dismantle the hurricane so easily, Lucian was secretly taken aback.

"A commoner who possesses a Spirit Rank Middle Grade Battle Skill? Did he stumble upon some extraordinary opportunity, perhaps by killing a powerful figure and seizing their possessions?"

His gaze then shifted to Ryan’s body, and his surprise deepened.

"And that C-Grade Top Tier Enhancement-Type Bloodline... I still can’t tell exactly what it is, but its defensive capabilities are astonishing."

He had deliberately weakened the cutting power of the hurricane, yet Ryan had withstood the attack head-on and emerged with nothing more than superficial injuries.

An ordinary Origin Spirit Realm Fighter would have been killed outright or lost an arm or leg under the same assault.

But Ryan had endured it with his physique largely intact.

’This Ryan is quite interesting...’

In Lucian’s opinion, Ryan was merely a commoner who had awakened his Bloodline not long ago. There was no way someone of his background should possess a Spirit Rank Middle Grade Battle Skill unless he had stumbled upon some extraordinary opportunity and obtained it by killing someone stronger than himself.

Otherwise, acquiring such a technique would have been virtually impossible.

The obstacle wasn’t simply its price in Origin Stones. Techniques of this level were monopolized by the major forces, with very few ever reaching the open market.

"Thank you for showing mercy, City Lord Crowe."

After breaking free of the hurricane, Ryan finally understood what had been bothering him.

He retrieved a healing pill from his spatial ring and swallowed it, allowing its medicinal properties to begin treating his external injuries. Then, he bowed slightly toward Lucian.

During the entire exchange, Lucian had not launched a follow-up attack while Ryan struggled against the hurricane.

That explained why the assault had felt so strange.

The technique had appeared terrifying, but it had contained almost no genuine killing intent. Despite its relentless cutting, there had always seemed to be a narrow path to survival.

Moreover, its overall power had been restrained to roughly the level of an Origin Spirit Realm Peak Fighter.

Clearly, Lucian had intended to test him rather than inflict serious harm.

At least, that was how Ryan interpreted it.

In reality, however, Lucian had only slightly reduced the technique’s power. He had not intended to kill Ryan, but he certainly wanted to teach him a painful lesson.

Unfortunately for him, he had underestimated the defensive capabilities of Ryan’s physique.

What he had intended as a harsh warning had turned into little more than a demonstration of Ryan’s resilience.

"Hmph! If you can’t even withstand that attack, then you’re hardly worth my attention. If you weren’t a Double Bloodline Fighter, I wouldn’t have bothered meeting you in the first place."

Lucian’s expression stiffened slightly, and a faint flush crept across his old face.

Realizing that he had underestimated Ryan, he quickly seized the opportunity to change the subject.

His eyes flashed as he seemed to think of something. After a brief pause, he spoke decisively.

"How about this? I’m tired of wasting words trying to recruit you. If you don’t want to join my faction, so be it. I’ll simply ask you to help me with something instead, and in return, I’ll compensate you appropriately."

He paused, then added with a confident smile, "Within reason, you can name your price. What do you say?"

In truth, recruiting Ryan into his faction had never been his only objective.

As long as he could accomplish what he needed, whether Ryan formally joined his side was of secondary importance.

"Uh..."

Ryan immediately felt a headache coming on.

"Why does it have to be me?"

He couldn’t understand why Lucian Crowe had become so fixated on him.

The man had been persistent from the moment they met, almost as though Ryan wouldn’t be allowed to leave the City Lord’s Mansion until he agreed to something.

"Haha! Because this particular matter genuinely requires someone like you."

Lucian chuckled mysteriously.

"Don’t worry. You’re only one of the candidates I’m considering. I’ll be looking for others as well."

"Uh..."

Ryan’s expression shifted repeatedly.

The promise of compensation that he could negotiate himself was certainly tempting. Still, after thinking it over, he decided to find out exactly what Lucian wanted before making any commitments.

"Tell me what the task is first. If it’s something within my capabilities, I’m not entirely opposed to helping."

He had already realized that, despite attacking him earlier, Lucian didn’t seem to harbor any genuine hostility toward him.

The man had held back at nearly every opportunity. The fight had been more of a test than an attempt to harm him.

As long as the task didn’t force him to reveal his greatest trump cards, helping Lucian wasn’t entirely out of the question.

More importantly, he had just witnessed Lucian demonstrate the simultaneous activation and compatibility of two Bloodlines.

That was precisely the kind of technique Ryan lacked most at the moment.

He couldn’t deny that he was tempted to learn more.

"Have you ever heard of the Dragon Blood Fruit?"

Lucian’s eyes grew profound. After a brief pause, he spoke in a measured voice.

"The reason I sought you out this time is primarily related to that fruit. I need you to visit a particular place and help me find it. The more Dragon Blood Fruits you can obtain, the better."

His tone remained calm, but the instant he mentioned the Dragon Blood Fruit, a rare and deeply concealed fervor slipped into his voice.

Given Lucian’s current strength and status, there were very few treasures left in the world capable of stirring such intense desire within him.

Yet this seemingly ordinary fruit was one of them.

"Dragon Blood Fruit? What’s that?"

Ryan stared at him in bewilderment.

This was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

He had never imagined that Lucian would go to such lengths just to obtain it. First, the man had offered him a City Lord’s token. Then came the friendly persuasion, the promise of a City Watch Captain position, and the generous salary that accompanied it.

When none of that worked, Lucian had tested him in combat before offering compensation that Ryan could negotiate himself.

And all of it was for the sake of this Dragon Blood Fruit?

Just what kind of treasure is it?

Is it really worth going to such lengths and offering such an enormous price?