CHAPTER 18

And now, by observing it, Mir understood many more things. First, he needed painkillers for the whole body, not just the core. Secondly, it was possible to add one more core every five realms however each core needed to be filled with energy before one could breakthrough. It meant a higher consumption of energy was required but that was worth it. And finally, by seeing a breakthrough, he knew everything about it. From now on, as soon as his own core would be one with his body, he would never fail in breaking through as long as he could get enough energy. It was enough to be delighted for days. But Oka wasn’t delighted, he passed out from the pain after a few breaths.

Mir had to ask help from elders to bring back Oka to his room. After all, with his five-year-old body, he had no way of moving Oka. The elders obviously asked how it happened. Mir said that Oka broke through and he lost consciousness and after speculating, they believed it could be normal if he over exhausted his mind to breakthrough. It was a lie. It didn’t matter. However, when grand elder Lan came to check on him, Mir couldn’t lie the same way he did, elder Lan wasn’t stupid and he knew why Mir asked to bring Oka here. Elder Lan, after entering Oka’s room where Mir was, asked him:

“What did you experiment on him?

-This.”

Mir threw a pellet to Elder Lan and elder Lan checked it. He was dumbstruck after seeing it. It was a rank4 first realm core painkiller pellet. Such a thing wasn’t supposed to exist. Even he never heard of this. His expression turned serious and he asked Mir:

“Where did you get such a pellet?

-I made it after we bought ingredients with elder Gu and he showed us how to make a pill.

-He showed you a rank 1 first realm pill! This is a rank 4 realm 1 pellet!

-Yeah, it’s the same way of production. Wasn’t too hard. I got a few lefts if you want elder. Maybe I should gift one to elder Gu to thank him as well.

-You!... This is too much. This pellet doesn’t ‘exist’ you know. It shouldn’t.

-What do you mean?

-Ah, little Mir, you are really giving me a headache… In herbal alchemy, there aren’t many rank 4 recipes and they are generally near-impossible to succeed. Because of the difficulty and rare resources needed, there are a very small number of them. They have the same worth as treasures. And you, a child, just made a dozen unknown such rank 4 pills as your first herbal alchemy? This is too much to be brushed off as talent…

-In the end, it means that we can’t tell people I made those, is that it?

-That’s right. But it also means that the very existence of those pills is a danger. The worth of a pill is fixed, the worth of a recipe is fixed and even higher but what is the value of the creator of such a recipe? You are the sole person who can boast about creating a rank 4 pill recipe in the kingdom. This is too much for your shoulders.

-Then you just say you made them, elder.

-I can’t. it would be too much even for me. I would likely be forced to devote myself to herbal research in the royal palace, living a life in a golden cage. Little friend Mir, you did something dangerous just by creating your first pellet, ah, what a headache. Your eyes are truly atrociously powerful.

-Hum…I won’t do it again and I will keep the pills hidden.

-If they ask you about the ingredients, tell them the furnace exploded with everything inside because you had flushed everything in at the same time. This lie coming from a child like you should pass. They will only feel sad about having wasted so many rare ingredients…And your image might be lost but, oh well, this is the only way I can think of little friend Mir.

-Then let us do this elder Lan. I don’t really care about honor anyway and, you said it yourself, I am a child so, it’s fine to make mistakes.”

The accent on the child part made elder Lan suspicious but in the end, as Mir was no doubt the child of his parents, there wasn’t anything that would make him guilty of something. He was just a mature child? After sighing, elder Lan turned to Oka that was snoring in his bed. Then, he turned back to Mir with a serious expression, as if he was a father reprimanding his son, and said:

“What did you do to him? And don’t even think about telling me it’s a side-effect due to the pellets.”

Mir frowned upon hearing this question. If he revealed what he did to the elder, what would happen? The fact that the painkiller pellet already caused such a reaction was making Mir really hesitate. Even if it was elder Lan, people’s greed wasn’t something to laugh at. However, seeing that Mir wasn’t going to answer, elder Lan snorted and went to Oka. He placed his palm on Oka’s forehead and channeled his energy through his body. If Mir wasn’t going to speak, then he just had to find it himself. But as soon as he discovered what happened to Oka’s core, he turned to Mir with an expression of unbelievability extreme. He knew Oka’s cultivation. When they met, he was a fourth realm untalented child. But now? He was a fifth realm with dual core and one with the bloodline of a beast. And not any beast, it was a Violent Flesh-eater Giant Silver Alpha Wolf. Elder Lan was familiar with this beast since Mir earned the blood of that beast during the genius tournament. It was a (M)-rank classed beast. And now, Oka had its bloodline? This couldn’t be a coincidence. This pointed to a single conclusion, Mir gave Oka a second core with the beast’s bloodline. This brought the greatest disbelief elder Lan ever experienced. What was a rank4 pellet compared to this? Elder Lan, from the height of his hundreds of years was for the first time in centuries at a loss as to what was going on and what to do. He was looking at Mir with empty eyes. Mir was at a loss too, he didn’t plan to explain the truth…

After more than twenty checks, elder Lan finally calmed down and asked Mir:

“Did you do this?

-Yes.

-Follow me, let’s speak somewhere else.”

They went to the third floor. There was only a single door, they entered. It was elder Lan personal quarters. However, it wasn’t how Mir expected. It felt like he was in a whole new world. There were plains, lakes, forests and many cultivated grounds with different herbs and plants. It felt like this was stretching for kilometers. Elder lan walked to a small pavilion in the middle of the fields. Once there, he started brewing tea and served a cup to Mir, then they both sat down in front of a small table and elder Lan began:

“Did you really grow him a core with the bloodline of an (M)rank beast?

-Yes, elder Lan.”

The grand elder drank a lot of tea before pursuing:

“How did you even do this? It has been unheard of for dozens of thousands of years.

-We~ll, elder told me about bloodlines before during the tournament. I found it nice so I looked at it intensely and I found a way.

-You found a way by watching those battles?

-Yes.

-How can that be? ...Those eyes of yours aren’t just atrocious anymore if it’s true. Just how much can you see, Mir? To be honest, I am at a loss as to what to do right now.

-Then don’t do anything. Elder Lan, let us just enjoy the benefits ourselves and keep it secret.

-Ahah, I didn’t think a child so young could be this wicked! Mir, your eyes are a talent with immeasurable potential. However, with great power come great responsibilities. Maybe I should have told you the reason why the ‘merging of bloodlines technique’ was lost through the ages, ah, the fault lies with me.

-The reason why it was forgotten…”

Elder Lan was right. While Mir went further by digging out the technique and bringing it back to life, the truth is that he didn’t consider the past, only the future. He thought about it and determined he could handle it with the elder’s help. However, while he thought a bit of the future, not once did he question the reason why such a technique was forgotten. His curiosity grew. Elder Lan began his tale:

“Long, long ago, a talented man studied beasts. He was fascinated by the power they displayed. Even while being at the same cultivation rank as humans, they were stronger. How? Why? And more than anything, could it be possible to get this power? He worked hard for hundreds of years and before he died, he found a way to merge the beast bloodlines and the human’s cores. However, he was too old. It was too late for him to use it, it would be useless. So, he spread the technique around the continent. From then on, beasts were slaughtered relentlessly and all cultivators were striving to get the beast’s powers. It became a race to get the best bloodline and a slaughter began. This went on for a millennium. Then, a wise man got out of isolation and learnt about the state of the continent. This man was said to be unparalleled under heaven. He traveled the continent and saw the damages done, the chaos and desolation. The beasts were tracked, hunted and slaughtered without consideration. He was crying as he traveled. And after many encounters, he came back to his origin. He had thought for a long time and ended with a conclusion: as long as this technique and the bloodlines existed, then there would be carnage. A carnage more violent and barbaric than any. So, he started his own massacre. He killed every cultivator who had merged with beasts and destroyed all the copies of the technique to merge and its derivate forms. After thousands of years of slaughter, as he was on the verge of dying, the continent was cleaned, there were no remains of the technique and the people were beginning to strive again. As he died, he smiled with relief. The devil’s technique had been purged. … Mir, what you did, it is pure atrocity. If the technique were to be leaked, you wouldn’t just be caged. And the world wouldn’t just sit by either. It would lead to war, maybe wars.

-Isn’t it fine as long as it doesn’t leak, then? I don’t plan on showing off, elder Lan.

-How could it not leak? You gave a damn (M)-rank bloodline to a bullied orphan from the outer zone?!

-Then, let us just turn him into a member of a clan with a (M)-rank bloodline, a powerhouse core disciple.

-…What did you just say?

-I believe this bloodline of his is a blessing. My family is only me and my parents. I want to create a clan. For that, I need powerful subordinates. He was a bullied orphan with no future and near-death. The perfect first subject… Anyway, now, with his second bloodline core, and my help, do you think he will remain a nobody outer disciple? Now, what if he became a core disciple? He belongs to the herbal mountain right now…

-Ahahah, I am being bribed by a five-year-old! Little Mir, I understand perfectly the advantage such a talent would be for both the Herbal Mountain and the Burning Sea School. But! This technique of yours is too dangerous. I need you to swear on your life that you won’t ever use it again!

-I refuse!”

Elder lan was shocked. He never thought little Mir would go against his words. He frowned and became slightly angry then said:

“Why won’t you swear, little friend Mir?

-I will give myself a bloodline as well. And maybe to future comrades worthy of my future clan. I will only say this: what I give, I can take it back!

-What?!”

Elder Lan didn’t know what to say or what to do. This kid was too much, he was even thinking he might be dangerous. Sometimes, in this world, too much talent was a problem. Elder Lan was weighting the options: let him live and nurture him, let him live and throw him away, kill him. There was one thing elder Lan was sure, Mir was a monster and he was going to be extremely powerful if he matures. As such, it is obvious that letting him live and throwing him away would be bad. It might force Mir to come back for revenge one day and that wouldn’t be good. That being said, he didn’t want to kill a promising student, but the risks of letting him live were incredibly high… The real question was whether elder Lan would be able to protect him. He was absorbed in deep thoughts. At the same time, Mir’s heart was beating faster than ever. He didn’t think it would become such a dangerous situation. But that’s what it was. With his old soul, it wasn’t hard for him to guess what the elder was thinking. He knew his life was on the line but he had said everything he could. it was up to the elder to decide. From then on, he would either be protected and his future would be bright or, there would be no future at all. People were greedy. Even more as they grew older. And elder Lan was old, Mir was betting on that. In this world, he experienced first-hand the excitement disciples brought to the older generations. Mir himself wasn’t talented but his eyes were incredible. As a disciple, he would make any teacher proud, he had no doubts on that one. he waited for long minutes before elder Lan sighed and asked:

“Little Mir, I will ask you a question, please answer me faithfully. I am unable to reach a conclusion right now so your answer will decide it.

-Yes, elder.

-You really are a smart kid, ah, well then…Little friend Mir, what’s your dream?

-I want to live in luxury surrounded by beauties without having to work.