Blood Essence

A blood-red light surged up and flashed away. Atop the hill, Wen Min's eyes widened. The boy Yaji gripped his filthy little sister tightly, his pupils shrinking violently. "D-Did... Mr. Qi do this?" The scene before him surpassed anything Yaji could have imagined. Even modern weapons could hardly create such a horrifying spectacle. If one were to compare it to anything, perhaps only the special effects of a terrifying god's attack in a movie could match it. Yet that was merely film, exaggerating divine might in every possible way. Even so, it fell far short of the heart-stopping shock of what was unfolding right before his eyes. Yaji's young mind swirled with overwhelming emotions. "Is he... an equal to a god?" *** Meanwhile, within the steel-walled prison of the military camp. A look of astonishment flashed across Carnival's eyes. "The sounds... stopped!" Beside Carnival, a bearded man stared wide-eyed. "A red light flashed... and then nothing?" They were locked deep in the subterranean dungeon. Even so, they had clearly heard the gunfire and artillery from before. At first, they had assumed the camp was under attack and felt anxious, wondering what fate awaited them. They had never imagined the base could actually be breached. After all, this was deep inside Wugui Kingdom. With three thousand troops stationed here, it would be difficult for Yuelang Kingdom to strike this far into their heartland. Nor could Yuelang hurriedly organize a battle of such high intensity. They had guessed it was merely a minor skirmish. Yet a moment later, the entire world had abruptly turned blood-red for an instant. That sight had completely stunned Carnival. The bearded man locked up with him was equally baffled, having no idea what was happening. More bizarrely, after that colossal crimson light flared and a thunderous rumble sounded, the entire base had suddenly fallen dead quiet. The gunfire and artillery were gone, and no sirens wailed. Even the soldiers stationed in the dungeon seemed to have vanished without a trace. To be honest, it was downright eerie. "What on earth happened?" "Why isn't there any sound at all?" The two were thoroughly perplexed. The lingering image of that blood-colored light refused to leave their minds. Neither had any clue what had actually taken place. *Tap, tap.* Just then, footsteps approached. The light steps echoed with startling clarity inside the dungeon. Both men held their breath, though they also breathed a sigh of relief. Footsteps meant the camp was fine. The garrison soldiers were probably making their rounds. They looked toward the direction of the sound. There stood an iron door—the dungeon's sole entrance and exit. Suddenly, a streak of crimson light flashed. Before either man could process his shock, the heavy iron door burst apart, sliced through as easily as curds of bean. The sight scared Carnival and the bearded man out of their wits. "What... what's happening? What kind of weapon was that? Who's there?" Countless questions raced through the bearded man's mind. Through the shattered door, a slender, well-proportioned figure appeared. A smile sat upon his handsome, airy features. "Carnival, I'm here to take you home." "M-Mr. Qi!" The moment he saw that face, a tempest raged in Carnival's heart. The bearded man froze, then turned to Carnival. "You know each other? What's going on?" Today, the words he had uttered most were "what's going on." Qi Yuan stood in place, looking at Carnival as he said slowly, "Two days ago, I received a call from your wife saying you were in trouble in Wugui Kingdom, captured by their military. "So I came here to take you back." Qi Yuan spoke with utter nonchalance. Carnival felt a profound shock, followed by deep gratitude. The bearded man was taken aback, then blurted out, "All the commotion up there was your doing? Your team must be incredible! And... that blood-red light, what kind of weapon was that? Why have I never heard of it?" It was as though the bearded man possessed a hundred thousand questions. He had voiced Carnival's bewilderment as well. Looking at the two, Qi Yuan replied flatly, "That blood-red light was sword aura, naturally. "All right, come with me. We're heading back to Qinyuan Kingdom." As Qi Yuan spoke, he flicked his longsword once more. The steel cell door in front of them ruptured instantly. The bearded man's eyes nearly popped out of his head. Carnival, on the other hand, regained his composure. He knew Qi Yuan was an immortal cultivator. Slicing through an iron door with a sword... was probably nothing special to him. "Sir, this bearded fellow is also from our Qinyuan Kingdom. Could he come with us?" Carnival asked gingerly. After all, Qi Yuan had braved danger to rescue him. Above them was a military garrison of three thousand troops. One more person meant one more risk. Carnival naturally assumed that Qi Yuan, coordinating with his sister Kuangxi, had used drones to bomb the camp, creating chaos to slip into the dungeon. As for facing the regiment head-on, he didn't even dare contemplate it. The combat power of three thousand well-equipped modern soldiers was beyond imagination. "Sure," Qi Yuan nodded. The bearded man and Carnival stepped out of the cell. Delight showed in the bearded man's eyes. "Thank you so much!" Though brimming with questions, they followed Qi Yuan, knowing they ought to slip away from this military camp as quickly as possible and rendezvous with their extraction team rather than linger. Just then, Qi Yuan spoke again. "No need to rush out. There's a spot in this camp... that's rather interesting. Follow me." Carnival naturally dared not raise any objections before Qi Yuan. The bearded man, however, said anxiously, "If we don't leave right now, what if the soldiers up there spot us?" "Don't worry, they won't, because... they're all dead," Qi Yuan replied casually. "Dead?" The bearded man froze, puzzled. "I killed them all with one strike." Qi Yuan hid nothing, nor was there any need to. "All killed?" The bearded man stood stunned, still failing to grasp the reality. Carnival's pupils contracted violently as a terrifying thought crossed his mind. *Could it be...* Before the conversation could continue, Qi Yuan led them through the dungeon. Along the way, they encountered numerous soldiers' corpses. Outwardly, the bodies looked remarkably peaceful, preserving their posture from right before their deaths, without a single wound. It was as though... they had simply been going about their daily routines and dropped dead on the spot. The bearded man fell silent, not daring to speak another word, merely sneaking glances at Qi Yuan. Carnival said nothing either, quickening his pace. Before long, they passed several structures and arrived before another heavy iron door. The air seemed heavy with the smell of disinfectant, mingled with a thick stench of blood. The longsword flashed once more. The iron door collapsed with a crash. Watching Qi Yuan strike, envy surfaced in Carnival's eyes. The bearded man wore an expression of sheer wonder, deep in thought, wondering how Qi Yuan had done it. Beyond the shattered door, a massive hall unfolded before their eyes. Inside stood over thirty enormous glass vats. These cylindrical containers were filled with fluid, and submerged in each were three human beings. Their breathing was faint, bodies pierced with tubes through which blood slowly drained. Submerged in the liquid, they resembled venomous creatures preserved in jars of medicinal liquor. "What is this?" "Human experimentation... or what? These Guiran bastards have no conscience!" The bearded man clenched his fists in fury. Seeing fellow humans treated like lab rats, he could not help but feel a chilling sorrow for his own kind. Looking at the submerged figures, Qi Yuan's eyes held a trace of regret. "All vitality exhausted... beyond the aid of medicine." These people... had long since died. A glint of killing intent flashed across his eyes. "The Guiran people truly deserve to die. This is no longer merely breaking the law or corrupting society. This is... an utter outrage against humanity. "These people are definitely Chaotic Evil!" Belonging to the Lawful Good alignment, Qi Yuan despised Chaotic Evil above all else. Abducting civilians for human experimentation beneath a military garrison was something he found utterly repulsive. Looking forward, he swung his longsword once more. *Snap.* Every single tube was severed at once. The blood and bodily fluids of the people in the vats were finally no longer being drawn out. Yet even so, they showed no reaction, as lifeless as corpses. "I have to film this! Where's a phone? I want to expose this to the world, expose the crimes of these Guiran devils!" the bearded man raged. Carnival's heart felt heavy as well. Killing people didn't weigh heavily on his conscience. But using civilians for experiments was something he could never do. "They're not even human!" Carnival ground his teeth. How many families did these civilians represent? Among them were even teenagers who had been dragged here. Just then, Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes and said softly, "Come out." The bearded man snapped on guard. Carnival did the same, naturally assuming someone was still hiding in the hall. *Roar!* A tremendous bellow echoed. The ground shook violently. A terrifying beast, even larger than an elephant, charged out with a roar. The monster was drenched in blood and looked utterly grotesque. Its body was likewise stuck full of rubber tubes. With a terrifying frame akin to a beast of war, it charged straight toward the three men. "M-Monster!" The bearded man's face went white with terror. Such a colossal creature exerted an overwhelming pressure. One could easily imagine that a single collision from this beast could flip tanks and armored vehicles into the air. If it crashed into the three of them, how could they possibly withstand it? This terrifying creature was undoubtedly a creation of the Guiran human experiments. Terror gripped his heart. Yet facing this massive monster, Qi Yuan remained completely calm. Glancing at the tag on the beast's body, a sneer curled his lips. "And something like this... dares call itself a god?" Written on the label were the bold words: *God Creation Project—Herculean God No. 1.* Evidently, the horrific creature Wugui Kingdom produced through biological experimentation was dubbed a god. He flicked his longsword once more. "A god... doesn't even have its own bones? Forged from metal?" Qi Yuan let out a light laugh as a blood-red light flared. The terrifying beast, weighing well over a hundred tons, froze instantly in midair. In the next instant, it shattered into pieces, collapsing into an enormous pool of gore. Its metal skeleton clattered to the floor in a bizarre heap. Witnessing this, the bearded man gasped for air, the look in his eyes shifting completely. Carnival's gaze grew fervent with excitement. He could not resist asking, "Mr. Qi... will I ever be able to slay such a beast with a single stroke?" Qi Yuan felling the creature with one strike filled him with yearning. Was this the power of an immortal cultivator? With such strength, wouldn't swatting a tank away be effortless? "Of course you can. It's not difficult," Qi Yuan said, clapping his hands. He flicked his sword once more. Suddenly, a blood-red bead coalesced upon the blade. Information immediately flooded Qi Yuan's vision. This crimson bead had been the power core of the terrifying beast. And that core had been derived from those civilians. In essence, the Guiran people had used the civilians' blood alongside special technology to forge this blood beast. A beast they called a god. Admittedly, to ordinary humans or even gene warriors, this monster could indeed be considered a god. In pure physical strength, the creature had reached the level of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. Conventional artillery shells wouldn't leave a scratch on it. Looking at the blood essence, a complex mix of emotions surfaced in his eyes. "If consumed, my martial talent... would see a massive leap." The blood essence extracted by the Guiran people had created this beast, and to Qi Yuan, its greatest utility would be elevating his martial talent. "My martial talent is already formidable enough. Why would I need this?" A hint of disdain crossed Qi Yuan's eyes. Besides, what this blood enhanced was merely an established, fixed bloodline. He intended to forge his own path of bloodline martial arts. In his martial path, he would stand at the pinnacle. Otherwise, wouldn't he be saddling himself with an ancestor over his head? He turned to look at the corpses whose vitality had been drained completely. He flicked his sword one last time. "Rest in peace." At his words, the glass vats shattered with a deafening roar. The entire steel structure collapsed in an instant. Everything within was buried beneath the rubble. Grabbing Carnival and the bearded man, Qi Yuan appeared on the surface in the blink of an eye. This feat stunned the bearded man once more. His thoughts were an utter mess, and the way he looked at Qi Yuan was now as if gazing upon a god. Yet the moment they reached the surface and took in the military base reduced to ruins, astonishment filled his eyes. Steel buildings had collapsed, heavy tanks and armored personnel carriers were smashed to pieces, and soldiers' bodies lay strewn everywhere. This place... had become a graveyard! Stunned realization struck Carnival as well. He finally understood. Mr. Qi had wiped out the entire garrison all on his own... before coming down to save him. "All right, we should head back. "I'm in a rush to attend the Martial Arts Tournament. "As for the Guiran people... once I finish my business, I'll come back and settle scores with them. "In the eyes of a Lawful Good person like me, Chaotic Evil cannot be allowed to exist!" Qi Yuan said coldly. Qi Yuan possessed great self-awareness. A kindhearted person like him, if placed in a television drama, would be a bleeding-heart saint—or rather, a male bleeding-heart—the kind audiences thoroughly despised. Yet Qi Yuan didn't care. Hearing his declaration, Carnival nodded. Naturally, had he known what Qi Yuan was thinking, he never would have nodded. *You slaughter three thousand men with one sword strike... and dare call yourself a bleeding-heart saint?* Beside them, the bearded man looked on with amazement. "Mr. Qi... you're participating in the Martial Arts Tournament too?" Among his family's younger generation, someone was also competing in the tournament. Watching a powerhouse who had just annihilated an entire regiment prepare to enter the tournament, he couldn't help but find it utterly absurd. "Yes. Do you know any of the contestants? "How strong are they? Are there any opponents worth being wary of? "My goal is to take the championship. I wonder if it'll be difficult," Qi Yuan said mildly. Recalling how Qi Yuan had cleaved that terrifying beast in half with a single sword stroke underground, the bearded man offered a complicated smile. "Probably not."