I remained floating cross-legged high above the prison grounds, my eyes still closed as my comprehension of the blood law deepened through continuous refinement.
Below me, the aftermath of my experimentation had settled into a grim stillness. Several of the prisoners had not survived the strain and now lay motionless across the open land, their bodies scattered as silent evidence of the limits I had pushed them to.
The ones who remained alive were barely recognizable in comparison to their earlier state. Their skin had shriveled and tightened against their frames, their vitality drained to the point where even standing upright seemed like an effort. Their breaths came unevenly, and the strength that once defined them had been reduced to something fragile.
Above them, suspended in the air beneath me, a massive pool of blood rotated slowly which I had extracted from their bodies.
It was no longer chaotic or uncontrolled. Every drop within it had been refined, structured, and brought under absolute command. The differences between races, between qualities, between strengths and weaknesses, all of it had been broken down and reorganized into a single unified mass.
Without opening my eyes, I moved my hand.
The pool responded instantly. It separated with precision, dividing into multiple distinct masses that descended toward the ground. Each portion spread briefly upon contact with the surface before rising again, reshaping itself under my will.
Forms began to emerge.
Humanoid figures took shape from the blood, their bodies dense and stable, their forms refined to hold form without degradation. Weapons manifested alongside them, extending naturally from their forms—blades, spears, axes—each one created from the same condensed blood that made up their bodies.
One after another, they rose until a hundred such beings stood upon the island.
They did not hesitate.
Each one moved outward, taking position along the perimeter that surrounded the weakened prisoners. Their spacing was exact, their formation complete, creating a boundary that left no opening.
Only then did I open my eyes.
At that moment, their presence expanded.
The aura released from each of them surged outward in unison, pressing down across the entire island.
Every single one of them stood at the level of a Grandmaster.
I smiled and opened my status.
[Level 4 - Major Law of Blood]
I had never truly understood the full potential of the Blood law.
If I had, I would have pushed it toward a Major law much earlier. What I had created here was not just a demonstration of control, it was an army. Each of those beings stood firmly at the Grandmaster level, not by chance, but by design.
The foundation came from my comprehension of multiple laws. Blood alone would not have been enough to stabilize forms at that level. I had condensed the blood to an extreme degree, refining its structure until it could sustain power without collapse. Then, I layered sealing runes within their forms, woven into their existence, ensuring that their strength remained contained.
It was not raw creation. It was construction.
I looked down at them.
"Make sure no one leaves this island," I said calmly. "And no one comes onto it."
The response was immediate.
All hundred of them turned their heads toward me in perfect synchronization and nodded.
A small chuckle escaped me.
At their core, they were still constructs, formed without true individuality or will. But the moment I had infused them with my violet Essence, something had changed. Their power had not only increased significantly, but a basic level of intelligence had emerged. Enough to understand, to respond, and to execute commands without hesitation.
That was more than enough.
I turned away.
In the next instant, space folded, and I vanished from the island.
When I appeared again, I stood within the capital of Abor, inside the hidden city concealed beneath the illusion I had created.
"Knight," I muttered.
The shadows beside me stirred instantly, blooming outward before taking form as Knight stepped out of them.
"How is the progress?" I asked.
"We’re done preparing," he replied. "North and Steve are ready as well. Both of them have already reached level 450, and now they’re focusing on consolidating their laws."
As he spoke, his gaze moved over me, scanning me from head to toe with a slight pause.
Before I could ask anything further, he spoke again.
"Why is your body glowing silver?"
I blinked, then glanced down at myself. A faint silver sheen still lingered across my skin.
"Oh," I said, slightly surprised. "I forgot about that."
My physical body had already reached the level of a Saint.
I took a slow breath, and this time I didn’t push outward. Instead, I drew everything inward, suppressing the passive pressure and dulling the presence of that power. The silver glow faded gradually until it disappeared completely.
"There," I said with a small smile.
Knight watched the change carefully.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I’ve reached Saint level... physically," I replied.
He tilted his head slightly, considering that.
"But I don’t feel any difference in my strength," he said after a moment.
I thought about it briefly.
"That’s probably because I haven’t ranked up to Saint through Essence yet," I said. "This is just the body."
He nodded once, accepting the explanation.
"Any response from the Nagas?" I asked.
"Yes," he replied. "They want you to meet them."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Xeron is being particularly insistent," Knight continued. "He wants you to come see them before you go after the Grade 3 rift. He said it would be better if you met them at least once before that."
I shrugged lightly.
"Alright, let’s go," I said. "There’s no need to worry about the Nagas anymore. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if they tried something. It would save us time. We could settle who rules the Blue Spiral Galaxy right then and there."
Knight let out a short laugh and clapped his hands once.
"Wow, look at you," he said. "Just one upgrade and you’ve become this confident. At least think about the rest of us. You might survive that encounter, but we may not."
I chuckled.
"Don’t worry," I replied. "I’m not taking unnecessary risks with you all."
I sent out a message through our connection.
Within seconds, the space around me shifted as my summons appeared one after another, each of them floating into position beside me. Their presence filled the area instantly.
"We’re heading to meet the Nagas," I said. "I’ll send all of you into the core. I’ll go alone."
None of them objected. They simply nodded.
One by one, their forms dissolved and returned to the core, their presence fading from the space around me until I stood alone once again.
Once they were gone, I extended my perception outward. I searched for my grandmother... and the others from Vaythos.
When I found them, I paused.
They were all gathered within training chambers, seated in deep meditation. Their bodies were still, their focus entirely inward as they adjusted themselves to the density of Essence and the sharper laws of Abor.
Even from a distance, I could sense the strain.
And the progress.
A faint smile appeared on my face. They were adapting faster than I expected.
I nodded and stepped forward and space folded around me, the distance collapsing in an instant as I arrived inside the central monitoring dome of the hidden city.
The vast structure hummed quietly with activity. Streams of data, projections, and runic interfaces floated across the interior, tracking movements across Abor and beyond. At the center of it all stood Primus.
He was already there.
The moment I appeared, he turned around sharply, his expression shifting from focused concentration to something closer to relief mixed with urgency.
"Where were you?" he asked without hesitation. "I’ve been looking for you. There are several things that need your approval."
I raised an eyebrow slightly.
"What things?"
He didn’t waste time.
"We need to begin expanding infrastructure on Abor," he said, stepping closer. "First, I want to establish new cities specifically for the people of Vaythos. Not everyone should come at once, but we should bring the best, those with the highest potential. This environment will accelerate their growth significantly if managed properly."
I nodded faintly, signaling him to continue.
"Second, we need a survivable transport and teleportation network across Abor itself," he went on. "Right now movement is inefficient. If we want to control this planet properly, we need stable routes—both physical and spatial."
His tone remained steady, but there was clear urgency behind it.
"Third, I propose creating long-range teleportation hubs," he added. "Not just within Abor, but connecting to major races and factions. If we control movement, we control access. And that gives us leverage."
That part was expected.
"Lastly," he said, pausing briefly, "we need resources. Crafting facilities, transportation ships, defensive systems, none of that comes free. We’ll need a significant amount of funding if we want to scale properly."
He looked directly at me.
"I need your approval to move forward on all of this."