Chapter 194 - Emperor Stage Finally! (Long - )

After four or five days of relentless work, Cale finally had a moment to breathe, so he decided to take a shower.

Since the mansion had no free rooms of its own, he chose one of the empty chambers with no residents, then raised a barrier over the doorway so no one could enter.

The warm water felt soothing against his body. He stretched his muscles and pushed his long white hair back from his face, letting the steam curl around him.

Then a surge of energy entered him all at once, burning his body from the inside out.

’H-huh?? What the hell is happening?’

Did someone notice him? Or was someone trying to suppress him?

Black rays pulsed outward from his body like ripples across still water. By the time the third ripple struck the barrier, the barrier shattered as easily as glass.

"Hey! What is happening... ah... right!"

How could he forget? His body was refining starlight. He was about to enter the Emperor Stage.

An idea struck him. To gather more starlight early and ease the pain it would inflict on his body, he summoned the Astral Sovereign body from his shadow.

The serene, soulless figure emerged and fused with his own. His appearance shifted subtly, making him look a little older than before, sharper around the eyes, as if the years had settled into his features.

He stood still, gathering energy from the surroundings. Within a few minutes, it happened.

"Kugh!"

He groaned as the surplus of energy flooded into every one of his meridians. It was like being poured full of molten silver, each channel widening to accept more than it should have been able to hold.

When he finally opened his eyes, the world had changed.

It wasn’t just sound anymore. He could feel vibrations rippling through the air, the faint tremor of footsteps through the floor, the breath of someone standing two rooms away. The strings of intent that he had only ever glimpsed as faint hints were now plainly visible, stretching between people and objects like threads of light.

His lifespan had swelled as well. It was now so vast that he could idle away half of it and still never die of old age.

Raising his hand, he flexed his fingers. Five small spheres of energy bloomed at his fingertips, each one pulsing with its own attribute: fire, water, metal, wood, and earth.

’I can use spirit bombs of all five elements now?’

With a thought, the five floating spheres drew together and merged, forming a single compressed core of chaos holy flame. He snapped his fingers, and it vanished.

Then he heard a sound from outside.

"...le..."

"Hmm?"

"...ale! Open the... door!"

"Cale! Open the goddamn door!"

He sighed. "Ah... it’s Emma outside. My barrier broke. She and the others must have thought it was an enemy attack using spatial laws."

[Congratulations Host! For Breaking Through To Low Emperor Stage Of Cultivation!]

[Host Is The Youngest Emperor Of The Entire Planet!]

’Oh? Is that so?’ he mused. ’Well, nobody else was crazy enough to enter two inheritances one after another.’

***

[Reward: Blessing Of The Morning Star

Type: Supreme-Tier Innate Skill

Description: The Blessing Of The Morning Star allows its host to mark a target and forcibly claim 10% of the target’s total spiritual energy reserves, regardless of the target’s cultivation realm, strength, or the magnitude of their reserves.

Upon activation, 10% of the marked target’s spiritual energy is instantly transferred to the host, becoming their own energy to refine and utilize. The target simultaneously loses access to the stolen portion, leaving them capable of utilizing only 90% of their original spiritual energy reserves for the next 24 hours.

The technique can be activated only once every 24 hours.

The target must be successfully marked for the skill to take effect.

The stolen spiritual energy is determined by the target’s total reserves at the moment of activation, not the amount currently being utilized.

The target’s restriction lasts for 24 hours, regardless of whether the host uses the stolen energy.

The skill does not directly weaken the target’s physical body, cultivation realm, or comprehension.]

***

He was awed all over again by the absurdity of what the system still had stored away.

"To think I can steal 10% of their energy! If I ever target a Great Sage, their 10% would fill half of mine. Kekek."

He could already picture the faces of his enemies, the moment their qi was stolen without warning.

"It’s a shame it can only be used once a day, though. Well, good things always come with a price, I guess."

[New Bloodline: The Unbegotten Bloodline - Primordial Crimson Bloodline Of The First Vampire Progenitor.

The Bloodline Has Already Been Fully Assimilated!]

"W-what?"

For the first time, he hadn’t needed to complete the assimilation process. The bloodline had integrated fully into his blood the moment it arrived.

’Is it because my body was rejuvenating just now... or because of the merged bodies? Phew... well, it’s good regardless.’

"Ah, right. It’s the bloodline of a goddamned vampire! Once it mixes with mine, won’t my blood-merging speed increase drastically? Heh, why didn’t I realize this earlier!"

’Alright, let’s see what skills came with this one.’

-:THE PRIMORDIAL CRIMSON BLOODLINE:-

[Bloodline Inheritance: Primordial Crimson Bloodline

A primordial bloodline that grants control over the host’s own blood and authority over the blood of other living beings.

The Primordial Crimson Bloodline is an ancient lineage whose true origin has been lost to history. It allows its host to manipulate blood, convert it into a source of healing and destruction, and evolve physically by consuming the blood of exceptional creatures. Unlike ordinary bloodline abilities, its powers grow alongside the host’s cultivation, gradually revealing the terrifying potential concealed within their crimson inheritance.]

Bloodline Skill I: Crimson Dominion

The host gains the ability to manipulate blood through their bloodline authority. They can control exposed blood, shape it into weapons, needles, blades, spikes, and other constructs, or manipulate its movement.

With sufficient control, the host can manipulate their own blood outside the body and influence the blood of others when the required conditions are met.

The precision, range, quantity, and resistance overcome depend on the host’s cultivation and mastery. Targets with sufficiently powerful cultivation or bloodline protection may resist direct interference.

Bloodline Skill II: Crimson Sanguination

The host can absorb the properties and vitality contained within another being’s blood by drinking it. This ability also allows the host to influence the effects of their bloodline through direct contact with a target’s blood.

Healing: By drinking another being’s blood, the host can recover from injuries and replenish lost vitality. The effectiveness depends on the quantity and quality of the consumed blood, the host’s condition, and the difference in cultivation. Higher-quality blood may provide more potent healing, while blood from rare species may carry additional benefits.

Poisoning: As long as the host can make contact with a target’s blood, whether through an open wound, spilled blood, or another point of contact, they can introduce a bloodline-generated poison into it. The poison can interfere with bodily functions, weaken condition, or disrupt spiritual energy circulation. Its severity depends on the host’s cultivation, the amount of blood reached, and the target’s resistance. Targets with superior cultivation, exceptional constitutions, or powerful detoxification abilities may resist or neutralize it.

Bloodline Skill III: Myriad Blood Evolution

The host can strengthen their physical constitution by consuming the blood of other species, particularly rare creatures, ancient beasts, divine descendants, and beings possessing exceptional physiques.

The blood carries traces of the creature’s innate constitution, physical characteristics, and latent potential. Through the bloodline’s assimilation ability, the host can refine these traces into permanent physical enhancements.

Evolutionary Rules:

First Consumption: The host receives the greatest benefit from a particular species’ blood, potentially improving strength, durability, vitality, recovery, or other physical attributes.

Second Consumption: A further enhancement may occur, although the improvement is generally smaller than the first.

Third Consumption: In exceptional cases, a final minor enhancement may be possible.

Diminishing Returns: The same species’ blood provides progressively less benefit as the host’s body adapts to its essence. Eventually, further consumption yields negligible or no additional enhancement.

Species Variation: Blood from different species can provide different benefits. Particularly rare or powerful creatures may offer greater improvements than ordinary beings. Compatibility: The host must possess sufficient capacity to assimilate the blood. Excessively powerful or incompatible blood may require refinement before its benefits can be absorbed safely.]]

"Ah, so the enhancement isn’t an unlimited stacking effect. Each species has a finite amount of useful evolutionary potential that I can extract. Interesting indeed. Who knew I would become a vampire too."

[[Bloodline Skill IV: Bloodspike

The host can manifest an invisible spiritual bloodspike within an enemy’s brain, disrupting their concentration and temporarily clouding their thoughts.

Activation Condition: The target’s cultivation level must be lower than the host’s by at least one complete cultivation level. Even a difference of a single level satisfies the condition, provided both levels are measured using the same cultivation hierarchy.

Effects: Upon activation, the bloodspike disrupts the target’s mental clarity, causing hazy thoughts, impaired concentration, delayed reactions, and difficulty maintaining complex techniques. The effect generally lasts for several minutes, though the actual duration depends on the target’s mental fortitude, defensive techniques, and the host’s control.

The ability does not automatically control the target’s mind, erase memories, or guarantee unconsciousness. Its primary purpose is to create an opening in combat by interfering with the enemy’s ability to think clearly.

Multiple-Target Application: The host may activate this skill repeatedly without a fixed daily usage limit, provided sufficient qi is available. However, its consumption increases heavily with the number of targets affected. Attacking a single opponent may be manageable, while disrupting an entire group can consume enormous quantities of qi.

Targets equal to or stronger than the host in cultivation cannot be affected under normal activation conditions. Each additional target increases total qi expenditure. Strong mental defenses may reduce the effect or prevent it entirely. Repeated use can rapidly exhaust the host’s spiritual reserves, and if the host lacks sufficient qi, the ability cannot be activated at all.]]

***

Cale leaned back against the tiled wall, water still dripping from his hair, and let out a long breath.

Emperor Stage... Starlight refined into his flesh;

A vampire bloodline that had already merged with his own too.

"Well... isn’t this just another regular day for me."