Chapter 218: True Blood
Xiang Yu didn’t even get the chance to properly read the system notification. The moment it appeared before his eyes, he found himself flat on his back, staring up at the rough stone ceiling of the cave. A wave of confusion washed over him as he tried to piece together how he had ended up in this position.
He attempted to push himself upright, but his body refused to respond. His legs felt completely numb, as if they had simply ceased to exist. Even his arms wouldn’t obey his mental commands. Panic began to claw at his chest as he desperately tried to force his limbs to move, but remained utterly motionless against the cold cave floor.
"Calm down," he told himself firmly, forcing his breathing to steady. Panicking would accomplish nothing in this situation. He needed to think clearly and assess what was happening to him.
Activating his divine sense, Xiang Yu extended his spiritual awareness to examine his own body. What he discovered made his blood run cold. His body, if it could even still be called that, was caught in a horrifying cycle of destruction and regeneration. His legs, arms, and other body parts were being dissolved down to an almost liquid state before rapidly rebuilding themselves, only to be destroyed again moments later. The endless cycle continued without pause, each reconstruction followed immediately by another wave of destruction.
Taking several deep breaths to maintain his composure, Xiang Yu began to understand the source of this nightmare. The dragon and phoenix bloodlines were waging war within his body. To reach the True Blood level, one bloodline needed to claim one hundred percent of his blood volume. But since they had been sharing his body equally at fifty percent each, the only way to determine a victor was through direct combat.
Unlike before, when he had maintained control over both bloodlines and could keep them peaceful in their respective territories, the advancement to True Blood had stripped away his authority. The experience points had already pushed them into the True Blood realm, meaning one bloodline had to claim complete dominance, no matter the cost to his body.
Luckily for him, he had somewhat anticipated something like this. Placing his Abyssal Void Flame around his most vital organs and leaving the spirit spring before reset. That was the only reason he remained conscious and breathing while his body tore itself apart.
The bloodlines continued their vicious battle, neither willing to yield an inch of territory. Although he could potentially use the void flame to force them into submission, that would only delay the inevitable conflict. He would need to keep the flame constantly active, and the moment his guard dropped, the bloodlines would resume their advancement process all over again.
After weighing his options, Xiang Yu made a decisive choice. He would let the bloodlines fight it out to their natural conclusion and see just how far this internal war could escalate.
...
As he lay there observing his condition with his divine sense, Xiang Yu discovered something that took him completely by surprise. Even though the bloodlines had yet to determine a clear winner in their internal war, the benefits of reaching True Blood status were already beginning to manifest throughout his body.
The phoenix bloodline’s influence hit him first. His natural affinity with the fire element exploded several times beyond its previous level, as if every flame technique he’d ever learned had suddenly become as natural as breathing. The enhancement didn’t stop there - he felt his enlightenment receiving a boost as well. Not the modest boosts he was receiving before, but a considerable leap that made his mind feel sharper and more perceptive than ever before.
Next, he noticed that his body’s restoration process after each destruction was becoming almost instantaneous. Where before there had been brief moments between damage and repair, now the regeneration happened so quickly it was nearly impossible to detect any gap in the cycle.
Then the dragon bloodline’s benefits began to take hold, and Xiang Yu felt his very essence beginning to transform. Something deep within his physical composition was changing at a fundamental level, though he couldn’t quite identify what exactly was being altered. What he could feel was the incredible strength boost coursing through every fiber of his being. His body was becoming exponentially stronger with each passing second, muscles and bones reinforcing themselves beyond their previous limits.
As his strength continued to climb, Xiang Yu watched in fascination as the destruction of his body began to slow down. The rate of damage decreased more and more until finally, it appeared to stop altogether. But upon closer inspection, he realized it hadn’t actually ceased - his body had simply become too resilient to be destroyed instantly, while his regeneration had accelerated to such a degree that it repaired any damage before more could accumulate.
Cautiously, Xiang Yu began withdrawing his Abyssal Void Flame from his vital organs. The initial removal stung sharply, but the damaged tissue regenerated almost immediately and the pain subsided. After completely removing the protective flame, he felt a peculiar tingling sensation spreading across his entire body, as if thousands of tiny ants were crawling over every inch of his skin.
Turning his divine sense inward to monitor his body’s current state, Xiang Yu made another startling discovery. Despite the two bloodlines appearing to be locked in a stalemate, they were still somehow improving. Instead of expanding to claim more territory within his body, they had begun condensing and concentrating the excess bloodline essence back into themselves, continuously enhancing the quality of his blood. This refinement process showed no signs of slowing or stopping, as the bloodlines now existed without any boundaries and could theoretically continue their competition indefinitely.
A revelation struck him. He was now essentially in a permanent state of bloodline refinement. The concept was almost insane to think about - inside his body, the bloodlines were locked in eternal competition, constantly refining and improving themselves. This meant his body refining was increasing with each passing moment, his Chaos Body cultivation, his qi gathering efficiency, and numerous other attributes, all happening automatically within his body.
Checking his system interface, Xiang Yu watched in amazement as the numbers steadily climbed upward in real-time. A broad smile spread across his face as the implications became clear.
He had finally built an exp farm?
He decided to observe the situation for a while longer to confirm his suspicions. If this process could truly run perpetually while continuously strengthening itself and boosting his other statistics, it would represent an incredible breakthrough in his cultivation efficiency.
The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Just when he was desperately lacking sufficient time to maintain all his other cultivation aspects, this development meant he could potentially redirect his bloodline refinement time to other pursuits. Taking several deep breaths to calm his excitement, Xiang Yu carefully rose from his prone position.
Walking felt distinctly strange with the constant sensation of ants crawling over his skin, but after a few experimental steps, he found himself gradually adapting to the peculiar feeling. Though the tingling sensation didn’t diminish - if anything, it seemed to intensify - Xiang Yu adjusted his movements and grew accustomed to this new normal.
He then decided to examine his other gains from the day’s cultivation. Still he couldn’t help but maintain his excited smile, at this moment, he was so thrilled with the bloodline advancement that he probably wouldn’t have minded if he’d gained absolutely nothing else during the entire day’s training.
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Author’s Corner
This is what I came up with.
OP or Too OP