'How strange...' Seongho mused, glancing at the child staring back at him in the mirror. 'Even in the Forbidden Library I never heard about a technique that could defeat Time.' He stared at his hands and wiggled his fingers - even now he was not used to having all of them. Gathering the faintly red qi that marked the Blood Demon's bloodline around his hands, he smiled as inspected his current state of weakness.

Seongho slowly circulated his qi through his body. Spinning his qi increasingly rapidly, he used the Blood Demon God's cultivation technique to form his dantian. Within just minutes, he became the fastest Blood Demon bloodline holder to form a dantian in history. Blood Demon and other legendary grade bloodline holders tended to require significantly longer to cultivate in exchange for tremendous power. Of course, none had learned the secret technique of the Cult until they had already become a Blood Demon, requiring truly mind-blowing pills, medicines, and cultivation techniques to break through. The majority of Blood Demon candidates died without ever becoming cultivators - only the rich and lucky even stood a chance!

At the time most people did not know that a non-main family member could receive the bloodline, thus many naturally thought that Seongho was a non-cultivator. As such he was treated like garbage by both children and adults alike. He used to be bitter in the past from the disrespect, lamenting his inability, but he now preferred the insults to the incessant groveling that would replace the tormenting. Still, due to his late progress, freedom was but a dream as the only hope of his family.

"Seongho you must work harder and represent the Ryo clan," his family's only servant barked. "This loyal Yechan is willing to sacrifice himself to allow you to awaken even one brief moment earlier."

Seongho rolled his eyes and continued running up the rocky mountain. The soles of his feet were ragged from the uneven ground, and his lungs were on fire. 'Pathetic,' he noted. 'To think I dared to curse the Heavens when I was so undisciplined. What a silly child.' Due to having his mind tortured for so long, his memories were still hazy, but Yechan had filled in many of the details that he had forgotten. The reason he was bedridden was due to being beaten unconscious after he had reported Choi Hwan for stealing his inheritance ring to the academy Elder. Of course, the Elder turned a blind eye towards the more promising students, and as a grade C aptitude cultivator, the local bully was free to do as he pleased.

At least he was consistent - the same Elder turned a blind eye when Choi Hwan's head was found floating down the river after Seongho awakened. He shook his head. 'Killing a youth for just a ring seems a little excessive.' He decided to spare his life this time around to avoid attracting unwanted attention. A few well-placed beatings would suffice.

"Please focus while training." Yechan paused to hit Seongho on the forehead with a deft flick of the forehead. "The road to cultivation is a dangerous and long one and requires absolute concentration. You must shine like a diamond young Master and preserve the family's honor."

Seongho grit his teeth but continued to circulate the qi throughout his body while reflecting on the past. Though his memories were still in turmoil, one moment he could never forget was when Jisoo, his mother, had informed him of how he was truly born. While it was already rare for the wealthiest women of the clan to receive a sample of the Blood Demon's essence, there was a secret method that Seongho himself had to participate in later on, especially once the secret was revealed to the public. When offering the Cult a truly staggering amount of money one could directly receive the essence instead. After being drugged and mentally tortured, the Blood Demons always complied with the Council's demands.

'Almost like a prize-winning bull.' Seongho thought amusedly. What had compelled his mother to do such a thing before the secret was known, his mother never revealed, but it was the only way to pass on the Blood Demon bloodline. What he did not know to this day was how his mother, a member of the fallen Ryo Clan was able to procure the necessary funds. The official explanation was that she had stolen a few of the Clan's treasures to do so, but Seongho knew from the royal records that the Ryo Clan at its historical peak could have nowhere enough capital to be able to pay for the... procedure. Still, his mother and he had earned the ire of the Ryo Clan.

He didn't blame them in this lifetime. 'I'd be upset too if someone stole and then sold my clan's economic future during a time of need.' The only reason his mother wasn't thrown in jail and he wasn't sold as a slave was due to Jisoo's status as the daughter of the Clan head. Once upon a time all he had wanted was to awaken just a day sooner to bring his mother honor. Yet in an ironic twist of events he desperately needed to delay the discovery as long as possible. He was currently too weak and needed much preparation. Otherwise he would be enslaved once more and history would repeat itself.

"A truly honorable cultivator is uses his heart and mind, not just his dantian to cultivate." Yechan announced proudly as he flicked Seongho on the forehead once again. "Running in the mountains in such strenuous manners trains all three!"

Seongho sighed. Rather than the rigorous exercise, listening to Yechan's prattling was far more taxing. Still, he couldn't be careless. There was plenty of work to do for his revenge.