Chapter 95: A Bloodline Of Crimson Thunder

"No way! A dual Enhancement-Type sword genius who’s this strong?! Good, good, good! Caspian huh, he’s the one!"

A sharp glint flashed across Gareth’s eyes. Without another moment’s hesitation, he took out a spatial ring containing 700,000 Low-Grade Origin Stones.

He had nearly overlooked a true genius!

With such an impressive battle record, extraordinary talent, and the ability to fight opponents above his own level, what else was there to worry about?

Judging by the records of Earth Ranking’s Number 98, the appearance fee of 700,000 Low-Grade Origin Stones was practically a bargain.

"Very well. We’ll arrange the order immediately. However, before we proceed, there’s one thing I must reiterate. Although the possibility of failure is extremely small, I am obligated to remind you of the rules. For each bounty, the Shadow Cloaker will make only one move. Regardless of whether the mission succeeds or fails, the payment is non-refundable."

"I’m aware of that. I knew the rules before coming here. There’s no problem."

...

After hearing Gareth’s confirmation, the black-robed old man nodded and said nothing further. He accepted the spatial ring and carefully inspected its contents.

Once he had confirmed that the amount was correct, he put the ring away and immediately assigned the mission to the Shadow Cloaker ranked Number 98 on the Earth Ranking, Caspian Wren.

"Oh, right."

Gareth suddenly remembered something and added, "Ryan is rather cunning. Finding him won’t be easy."

He recalled the mysterious gray halo that had surrounded Ryan and couldn’t help warning the old man. If he wanted to eliminate every possibility of failure, he needed to make sure the Shadow Pavilion understood what they were dealing with.

"Esteemed patron, please rest assured."

The black-robed old man nodded slightly, a confident smile appearing on his face.

"The Shadow Pavilion has its own methods of tracking targets, as well as extensive intelligence networks. Since our branch is located within the city, we won’t make a move against him here. However, the moment he ventures into the wilderness, locating him will be a simple matter. You needn’t concern yourself with that."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Since we’ve accepted your commission, we’ll do everything in our power to complete it. At most, it’ll take a month. If things go smoothly, it may only take a few days. Either way, we’ll deliver Ryan Cole’s head to you personally. Please wait patiently for the good news."

"Haha! Excellent!"

Gareth burst into rare, hearty laughter. With Ryan’s fate finally settled, the slight reluctance he’d felt over spending 700,000 Origin Stones vanished without a trace.

"Then I’ll await your good news. Farewell."

After exchanging a final nod with the old man, Gareth slowly rose to his feet and limped out, his injuries still affecting his movements.

...

Meanwhile, on Ryan’s side.

Ding!

[Congratulations, Host!]

[Obtained: ...]

...

As the Boundless Creation Furnace continued to radiate brilliant white light, the products of its latest creation session were finally released one after another. Ryan carefully sorted them according to their respective categories.

[First Batch: Pills Obtained]

[Tier 2 Top Grade: 5 portions]

* Yellow Dragon Pill × 2

* Soul Nourishing Water × 1

* Jade Beauty Cream × 1

* Fetal Knot Pill × 1

[Tier 1 Top Grade: 18 portions]

* Origin Power Pill × 5

* Healing Pill × 4

* Origin Energy and Blood Pill × 3

* Great Strength Pill × 2

* Toad Detox Powder × 2

* Clear Breeze Spirit Dew × 2

[’Yellow Dragon Pill’: Contains a large amount of free Origin Energy. Consuming and refining it gradually increases one’s strength and cultivation realm. Its effects surpass those of ordinary Origin Power Pills, making it a popular choice among martial artists in the Origin Spirit Realm.]

[’Jade Beauty Cream’: A favorite among women. When applied to the skin, it nourishes the complexion, enhances one’s appearance, and leaves the skin as smooth and lustrous as ice jade. Its effects are excellent.]

[’Great Strength Pill’: Temporarily enhances the user’s physical strength upon consumption. However, once the effect wears off, the user will experience a period of weakness.]

[Second Batch: Combat Artifacts and Secret Treasures]

* Spirit Rank Low Grade: Phantom Meteor Hammer × 1

* Origin Realm Ultimate Grade: Mystic Shadow Mask × 1

[’Phantom Meteor Hammer’: A Spirit Rank Low-Grade combat artifact in the form of a heavy hammer attached to a sturdy metal chain. Its unpredictable, shadow-like strikes make it difficult to defend against, while its immense weight allows it to inflict devastating damage.]

[Third Batch: Items Obtained from Corpse Disintegration]

[Bloodline Essence Drops:]

* C-Grade Ordinary: Mystic Yin Lightning × 1

* D-Grade Excellent: × 3

* D-Grade Ordinary: × 5

[Bloodline Essence Strands:]

* C-Grade Ordinary: Iron Armor × 1

* D-Grade Top-Tier: × 2

* D-Grade Ordinary: × 3

[Skill Stones:]

* Profound Rank Low Grade: Lightning Ball × 1

* Profound Rank Low Grade: Mountain Shattering Fist × 1

[Other Items:]

* Tier 1 Spiritual Mulberry Leaf × 20

* Tier 1 Top Grade Origin Power Pill × 5

* Tier 2 Spirit Bell Milk × 3

[’Spirit Bell Milk’: When consumed by Bloodline Fighters at the Origin Ascendant Realm or below, it immediately restores between one-tenth and three-tenths of their Origin Energy. The stronger the user’s cultivation realm, the smaller the amount restored.]

"Haha! There may not be many high-grade treasures, but there are plenty of low-level Top Grade items. Selling these should earn me another substantial sum of Origin Stones. And this Yellow Dragon Pill and Spirit Bell Milk are particularly useful!"

Ryan grinned, his mood finally lifting.

He first swallowed a Tier 1 Top Grade Healing Pill to treat his internal injuries before turning his attention to the remaining treasures.

Whoosh!

With a wave of his hands, he began sorting the items into their respective containers. Once everything had been properly organized and packed, he stored the entire collection in his spatial ring.

The frustration he’d felt after his encounter with the Black Flame Leopard had finally eased, replaced by the satisfaction of acquiring another haul of treasures.

Although there weren’t many high-grade items worth keeping for himself, the sheer quantity more than made up for that shortcoming. Individually, each item might not be worth much, but together, they could fetch a considerable fortune. As long as he continued accumulating wealth at this rate, his financial situation would steadily improve.

After some consideration, Ryan decided to keep only a select few items for his own use.

[Items Retained]

* Yellow Dragon Pill

* Soul Nourishing Water

* Origin Power Pill

* Healing Pill

* Skill Stones

* Spiritual Mulberry Leaves

* Spirit Bell Milk

Everything else would be packaged and sold later, including the Spirit Rank Low-Grade Phantom Meteor Hammer.

Ever since he’d been affected by the additional effects of the Mystic Yin Lightning Bloodline, Ryan had realized the importance of having a suitable weapon.

If he encountered another Bloodline whose abilities made direct contact dangerous, a weapon would give him a safer way to fight without having to rely entirely on his physical body.

However, despite the Phantom Meteor Hammer’s respectable rank, Ryan wasn’t particularly fond of its appearance. More importantly, its fighting style didn’t suit his Bloodline.

His primary cultivation path was undoubtedly the Overlord Body Bloodline. What he needed was a weapon that emphasized overwhelming force and straightforward, devastating attacks.

The heavy, chained hammer didn’t quite fit the bill.

Therefore, he decided to sell it and look for something more suitable later.

As for the overall results of this creation session, Ryan felt they were decent, though somewhat underwhelming compared with his previous attempts.

There had been no particularly remarkable treasures this time, and even the number of Bloodline Essence Drops was surprisingly low.

He barely spared a glance at the low-grade Bloodline Essence Drops and Essence Strands. Compared with the treasures he truly needed, they weren’t especially valuable to him.

It seemed that the Boundless Creation Furnace’s output really did fluctuate depending on luck. Even with the same ability, there was no guarantee that every creation session would produce something exceptional.

"Everything’s finally ready. Since I still have some time, I’ll head to Winters Tower and sell these items."

Ryan finished tidying up and prepared to leave. However, just as he was about to head out, he suddenly paused.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot. There’s still something in Owen’s spatial ring that I haven’t processed."

As soon as the thought occurred to him, Ryan took out the remaining item and placed it in his right palm, examining it closely.

It was a relatively common Tier 2 Beast Core, shaped like an irregular sphere of crystal.

Previously, with the help of the Boundless Creation Furnace, Ryan had simply thrown the corpses of exotic beasts inside and allowed the furnace to disintegrate them. As a result, he hadn’t bothered extracting the Beast Cores from their bodies himself.

The Disintegration Creation function worked differently from Advanced Creation.

Advanced Creation required combining multiple items or investing a sufficient number of Origin Stones to produce a new treasure. Disintegration Creation, on the other hand, used the original corpse itself as its energy source, breaking it down directly into various treasures.

Although the results were determined by chance, meaning there was even a possibility of obtaining nothing, the process required no additional Origin Stones. It was both convenient and cost-effective.

Apart from catching a brief glimpse of a Beast Core at the Bloodline Institute, Ryan had never examined one up close. Even then, he hadn’t gotten a particularly good look at it.

Now that he finally had a Tier 2 Beast Core in his hands, he couldn’t help feeling curious.

At first glance, it resembled a walnut in both size and shape. However, unlike an ordinary walnut, its entire surface was composed of beautiful, transparent crystal.

A thin crystalline shell encased its interior, revealing a mass of white free Origin Energy within. The energy was so dense that it resembled pale smoke and mist, slowly swirling inside the transparent core.

The result was striking. It looked like a piece of translucent jade with clouds of white mist trapped within, giving it an almost otherworldly beauty.

Looking more closely, Ryan discovered a yellow Bloodline Essence Strand suspended at the very center.

This was known as the Original Essence Strand, the most primitive source of power contained within a Beast Core. Unlike ordinary energy, it wouldn’t easily dissipate.

The yellow strand resembled a single hair, though it was somewhat thicker and approximately an inch long.

At that moment, it drifted lazily through the surrounding white mist, swaying ever so slightly. It looked like a tiny yellow sprout suspended inside a crystal-clear piece of amber jade.

The sight was surprisingly beautiful.

Hiss!

Just as Ryan was admiring the Beast Core, a bright red electrical arc suddenly shot out from within it.

The instant it struck his right palm, his hand cramped and went numb.

"Huh? A bright red electrical arc? And it’s actually this powerful?!"

Ryan was startled by the sudden discharge. He relaxed his numb right hand, the formidable physique of his Overlord Body allowing him to withstand the shock without serious injury.

But the surprise in his eyes only deepened as he examined the Beast Core again.

"What kind of Beast Core is this? The Essence Strand inside is actually a Transformation-Type Bloodline with a Thunder Attribute!"

He narrowed his eyes, carefully studying the yellow strand suspended within the crystal.

"Judging by the power of that electrical discharge, this Bloodline’s grade can’t be low. But exactly what kind of Bloodline is it?!"