Xifulin

Above a sea shrouded in white mist, a small bat leisurely flew by. On the bat's back were two solidified droplets of colorless liquid, continuously absorbing knowledge from the white mist and converting it into her sorcery power. ‘The absorption rate is still too slow…’ Xifulin sighed inwardly, deeply dissatisfied with the speed of her sorcery power growth. Two droplets of colorless source blood were synthesized from six droplets of seven-colored source blood, which were made from eighteen droplets of gold source blood, which in turn came from fifty-four droplets of silver source blood. In the Sea of Knowledge, her sorcery power absorption rate was 560% of an ordinary sorcerer's. It seemed formidable—a growth rate a full 5.5 times faster than an ordinary sorcerer, vividly demonstrating the might of the Blood Saint clan. Yet the Blood Saint clan held an advantage only in the Sea of Knowledge. If one advanced to Two-Winged Gold and stepped onto the Time Continent, silver source blood would become useless; only gold source blood could absorb sorcery power. Based on the two droplets of colorless source blood Xifulin currently possessed, they could only divide into eighteen droplets of gold source blood. Her absorption rate would plummet to 200%, a mere twice that of an ordinary sorcerer. If she advanced to Three-Winged Sanctuary, only the six droplets of seven-colored source blood could absorb sorcery power, reducing her absorption rate to 80%—already inferior to sorcerers of the same rank! Once she reached Four-Winged Legend, Xifulin would have to rely solely on the two droplets of colorless source blood, leaving her with a pitiful absorption efficiency of only 40%, not even half that of a four-winged sorcerer! The later one performed the bloodline purification ritual, the less ideal the outcome would be. One could not refine higher-grade source blood to enjoy a second prime. In the research institute, Xifulin had seen many elderly Blood Saint sorcerers who remained trapped in Three-Winged Sanctuary or Two-Winged Gold for their entire lives. No matter how long their lifespans were, their sorcery power absorption rates were simply too abysmal; often, when their souls finally extinguished, they still hadn't fully condensed their Seven-Colored Wings or Golden Wings. Consequently, the disparity in strength within the Blood Saint clan was extreme. Some Blood Saints spread their Silver Wings in just a few years, yet remained Silver Sorcerers for life; others spent a century stepping into Three-Winged Sanctuary, only to spend the next four hundred years unable to fully unfurl their Seven-Colored Wings. Though the Blood Saint clan had broken free from the shackles of time, they would ultimately meet eternal silence. "Hmm?" The small bat hovered in midair and emitted an ultrasonic wave beyond the hearing range of normal humans to map the surrounding terrain in detail. Miracle: Blood Bat Form was one of the racial advantages of the Blood Saint clan. Nearly every Blood Saint could easily master this miracle, transforming into a flying bat in the Void Realm. This way, unlike other sorcerers, they didn't have to swim laboriously in the Sea of Knowledge, and if they encountered danger, they could flee swiftly, greatly boosting both exploration efficiency and survival rates. Ultrasonic probing was an advanced miracle derived from the blood bat form. It operated continuously, allowing Blood Saint sorcerers to roughly chart the nearby topography. Although the miracle had a very short effective range due to how heavily the white mist suppressed sound and vision, it was still better than nothing. Just now, the ultrasonic probe had detected an anomaly to the right that didn't seem to be an empty sea surface. But when she paused to scan again, the feedback shifted, and the anomalous signature vanished. Was it a knowledge creature? Xifulin felt no fear toward knowledge creatures; rather, she was somewhat excited. She had recently learned a new miracle and was eager to find a victim to test its power. Yet the location where the anomaly had registered was just smooth sea, with nothing around. She felt puzzled. Still, the Void Realm held far too many secrets; if she investigated every strange occurrence down to the root, a mere few centuries wouldn't even be enough to study the Sea of Knowledge. "Sigh, I really want to run into a knowledge creature. There are a few sorcery spirits I want to trade for…" Just as Xifulin prepared to leave, she clearly heard a *plop* come from the front right. The small bat froze in midair, momentarily unable to process it. This was the first time she had ever heard such a strange sound in the Sea of Knowledge. It sounded like… someone throwing a rock into the sea? Had she run into another sorcerer? Xifulin hesitated, but still flew in the direction of the noise. She had plenty of confidence in herself; even if she couldn't defeat a stranger, she could at least escape. Besides, this was her first time meeting another sorcerer in the Void Realm. To satisfy that curiosity alone was enough to make her risk death to venture into the unknown. Who was it? Could it be a sorcerer from the Blood Moon Country? How old were they, and what sorcery faction did they specialize in? If they were from another nation, would they even be able to communicate? With a mix of trepidation and anticipation, Xifulin rapidly flapped her wings forward until the white mist parted, revealing a small island before her eyes— It was a growing Electric White Dragon. Its entire body was covered in soft, pearl-colored skin. It had no eyes, and resting atop its thick neck was a head that bore nothing but a mouth. Because Electric White Dragons often spawned rare lightning-element sorcery spirits alongside them, they were considered relatively valuable knowledge creatures in the Sea of Knowledge. Even if Xifulin couldn't use them, turning them in to the research institute would earn her a massive amount of research points. Normally, Xifulin would have rejoiced at encountering such good prey, but now she was a little deflated—she really wanted to try chatting with someone in the Void Realm! Even if it was just trading insults! If the other person turned out to be a good sorcerer, they might have even been able to team up temporarily and explore the Void Realm together! Yet it turned out to be this hideous Electric White Dragon… Noticing the little bat, the Electric White Dragon let out a shrill screech, sending out an intense sonic wave sufficient to temporarily deafen a sorcerer. Taking advantage of that exact split second, however, Xifulin canceled the miracle and reverted to human form. During the 0.1-second transformation window, she almost merged as one with the Void Realm, rendering her immune to all influences and naturally bypassing the dragon's roar. As she transformed, a cloud of blood mist erupted violently, engulfing the Electric White Dragon. The moment Xifulin landed, arcs of faint blue electricity sparked across the beast's body, and with a roar, it lunged straight at her! Brazen charges like this that lacked any finesse were often the hardest to deal with. First, the island was small, leaving the sorcerer little room to evade; second, intense electric arcs crackled across the dragon's frame, meaning that even a light graze would inflict severe trauma or brief stun on a sorcerer. Yet Xifulin neither dodged nor hid. Stretching a palm out toward the Electric White Dragon, she whispered softly: "Miracle: Blood Thorns!" The blood mist abruptly condensed into barbed cords that tightly wrapped around the dragon. As the Electric White Dragon charged forward, its pearl-colored hide was instantly slashed open into countless bloody gashes by the blood thorns, as though it were being flayed alive! A few days ago, executing Blood Thorns had still been difficult for her. But after practicing procedures like epicanthoplasty, orthodontic correction, and rhinoplasty reduction in recent days, her proficiency with this miracle had skyrocketed to the point where she could use it in real combat! Suffering such a gruesome attack out of nowhere, the dragon's charge was brought to an abrupt halt. It violently flapped its wings, the flashing arcs on its body tearing all the blood thorns apart as it took to the air to escape the mist. A knowledge creature's ability to learn was by no means inferior to a sorcerer's. The dragon had already realized the blood mist was perilous, so it intended to strike down this detestable intruder from above! Still unhurried, Xifulin wove strange hand signs. "It's my first time using this move in actual combat. Nothing should go wrong, right…" *Bzzzt!* The Electric White Dragon spun downward in a fierce dive, completely encased in dense plasma until it resembled a terrifying sphere of electricity! Even an ascetic faction sorcerer skilled in defense would have their soul instantly shattered and be ejected from the Void Realm if struck head-on by this blow! Yet Xifulin clapped her hands together, a strange brilliance surfacing in her crimson pupils. "Miracle: Blood Reverse Flow!" *Hiss!* With a pitiful wail, the Electric White Dragon lost control of its body. Flung outward like a kite with a snapped string, it crashed to the ground and struggled in agony. Blood vessels throughout its frame continuously burst, its muscles convulsed in spasms, and the reversing blood even ruptured its skin, blooming outward like blossoms of blood! When the dragon had been cut by the blood thorns, Xifulin's 'blood seed' had already been planted within it. With the blood seed assisting her lock-on, Xifulin could freely manipulate the target's internal blood using blood sorcery spirits. Accelerating blood loss or reversing the flow were routine miracles; high-ranking blood sorcerers could even freeze or boil the blood in a target's veins! Among the sorcerers of the Blood Moon Country, an adage had long been passed down: ‘When fighting a blood sorcerer, the moment you shed your first drop of blood, you know it's time to commit suicide.’ "Waaah!—" The Electric White Dragon suddenly gave an infant-like shriek as violent electric arcs erupted across its body once more. Then, whipping its tail around, it flung three sorcery spirits in the opposite direction! While Xifulin moved to catch the three sorcery spirits, the dragon plunged straight into the white mist. Before long, its form and sound were swallowed by the dense layers of fog, leaving no trace of where it had fled. Xifulin wasn't surprised at all. Though the Electric White Dragon appeared heavily wounded, if it went all out, her blood miracles couldn't hold it back. This was precisely the cunning of knowledge creatures—even while hunting, they held back reserves so their enemies would misjudge their strength. The moment they realized the odds were against them, they would cast out bait and decisively flee, never fighting to the death. Add to that the cover of the white mist, and unless one possessed favorable circumstances or an elemental advantage, it was nearly impossible for a One-Wing Sorcerer to slay a knowledge creature alone. In over half a year of exploring the Void Realm, Xifulin hadn't killed a single one—a reality shared by most sorcerers. After stowing the three sorcery spirits away, Xifulin twitched her ears, faintly catching what sounded like the Electric White Dragon's agonized wail in the distance. Yet with the heavy layers of white mist blocking her senses, Xifulin couldn't be sure of her judgment. When she listened carefully, the sound seemed to vanish entirely. Still, as the saying went, there were far too many bizarre phenomena in the Void Realm to waste time pondering them all. Time was the most precious resource of the Blood Saint clan, and she had to seize every single minute and second of exploration. Xifulin cast her miracle once more to turn into a bat. Just as she was about to pick a direction to continue forward, she suddenly heard another *plop* come from the front right. The little bat hovered in midair, bewildered. Again?