Things settled down quietly once they have killed the beast. After a quick rest, Samael and the others were advised by Vanis to leave the special space. They will remain to conduct a thorough investigation of the mysterious creature.
After the light from the talisman enveloped them, they finally saw the familiar sight of the first test venue. There, they saw many others who were still being treated for getting hurt inside the special space. Once the people there saw them, they were surprised because they thought that everyone has gotten out and only those experts which the King has sent were in there.
The four of them didn't want to linger there and they wanted to rest already so they steadily made their way out while rejecting the offer of the academy officials to treat them. Their injuries were not life-threatening anyways, a long rest and some medicinal pills would do.
Just as they were exiting the venue, a figure quickly approached Silvia. Due to just being out from the battle, all four of them couldn't help but assume a battle stance. The figure didn't stop and she embraced Silvia, as she cried.
It turns out that that was her mother, she was so worried when she heard the news about the attack and when her daughter wasn't one of the many people that got out.
When Samael saw Silvia's mom, he was honestly astonished. She and Silvia really looked a like, they could honestly be mistaken for twins. Silvia's mother didn't look that much older than her but her body was more mature. Samael was even looking forward to how Silvia would look in a few years, he can be sure that her figure then would rival her mother's
Their parting was a bit abrupt and Silvia could only say goodbye as her mother really wanted to check up on her and they quickly went home.
The three didn't really think much about it, it was natural for a parent to be worried for their child.
"Speaking of worried parents, we should go. A bit more and I feel my father would assemble an army to enter the special space." Princess Lina sighed.
Samael and Julian turned to each other and laughed, Samael shook his head "Somehow, I don't doubt that."
And with that they made their way to the Imperial Castle, Julian accompanied them and waited till they entered the gates before he too went home and to check on his little brother.
"Princess! We're glad that you're okay."
"You should see your father, he's been terribly worried." The two guard's brightened as if they saw a goddess.
Samael thought to himself "The old man has probably thrown a fit if they're acting like this..."
After they made their way inside, Samael saw a familiar scene when the King rushed toward them after hearing the news of their return.
"Thank goodness, you're alright..." The King held his daughter tight like it was the most precious thing in the world.
"Okay dad, okay. We're alright now, but can we catch up tomorrow? I'm so tired right now." Princess Lina smiled and laughed a bit before squirming out of the King's embrace.
"Err...but I've been so worried about you. Sigh, you're right...this can wait, you should rest." After a bit of complaining for a while, the King finally admitted defeat. He ruffled Lina's hair before bidding her a good night's rest.
He then turn to Samael and said "Oh, you're still alive?"
Samael turned and started heading to his own room when he heard this, he raised his right hand and waved as he said "Ha-ha, screw you too, Old man."
This was part of their daily conversation after they met each other but they really respected one another, they just couldn't stop talking like this.
After hearing Samael's familiar response, he laughed and said. "Heh, thank you for protecting her."
"No problem." Samael's reply came echoing toward him.
Samael reached his room and saw a familiar person standing outside the door with her hands folded across her chest. She was holding bag of clothes and beneath her was a tray of food.
"Woah, who are you? What did you do with my sweet little Aya?"
"Whose your 'Sweet little Aya'? Bastard." She cursed back, this was Aya, the personal maid of the Princess and the only maid in the castle who viewed him as a sex fiend and an enemy.
"Here, the Princess told me to give it to you." Aya threw the bag at him.
"Aww, so sweet. Thanks, could you also ask Lina if I could borrow some money?"
Hearing his sarcastic reply, Aya turned and went back to tend to the Princess.
Samael brought the bag and the tray of food into his room. After a quick bath, he then ate the food and changed into a set of clean robes.
He reviewed everything that has happened during this incident. While he was certain that whatever that monster was, it was certainly made using Shamanic techniques. But as the monster itself was rather crude and incomplete compared to the other works of Shamans, Samael couldn't infer to which technique it was similar.
On the other hand, Samael was pleased with his progress. He broke through two consecutive stages during the ordeal and even solidified his cultivation base to the peak of the 6-star Qi-Gathering realm. He would probably be able to make a breakthrough in the following days and he wouldn't need to worry about his foundations not being solid enough as he was practicing supreme cultivation techniques.
Night has already fallen after everything was done, Samael looked towards the dark, night sky. After everything that has happened he still wasn't tired, he didn't want to rest yet. After all, there is still one important thing that he has to do.
He opened the window, and under the cover of the night, he made his way to the city plaza. The guards naturally didn't hear or see him leave. Using Mirage to streak through the night sky, he was practically invisible and the crackle of his lightning was too small to hear.
When he reached the plaza, he first made his way to the weapon's store "Golden Leaf" when he arrived, the sales girl quickly recognized him and served him to the best of her ability. When Samael brought up the order to make weapons, the lady made a troubled look.
"Why? What's the matter?" he asked.
The lady hesitated for a while before answering "Sir, we're very sorry. Because of the incident at the academy, they made numerous orders and we had to make it a priority. Among the three weapons that you ordered, only the gauntlets were finished and the Spear is still in production. It will probably take Katana a few days. We're terribly sorry."
Seeing the girl in front of him honestly apologized and bowed, he scratched his head and sighed. Then he said with a smile "That's alright, can I get the gauntlets first?"
"Certainly, Sir." The girl beamed a smile after hearing that Samael won't cause any trouble.
After being in business for a long time, she had seen many types of people, especially nobles who would throw a fit whenever they didn't get what they want. So she was extremely grateful that Samael was kinder than those nobles.
She went off to get the gauntlets and it didn't take her long to come back with a wooden case. The girl then placed the wooden case on the table and gently opened it.
Once the case was opened, Samael was greeted by the slick, shiny texture of the metal gauntlets. They were dark in color because of the Dark silver metal that was used but was way lighter than common metal and way durable too.
Samael took the gauntlet from the case and wore it in his left hand. After strapping it tight, he moved his hands and fingers, testing its fitness and if it feels comfortable. Underneath all the metal was a white animal hide that protected the skin from rubbing with the metal, this provided a much more comfortable fit.
Nodding, Samael wore the other. He then tried some simple punches and after seeing that it was acceptable, he told the sales girl that the case wasn't needed.
"Sir, how should we notify you when the two other weapons are finished?"
"Just send it to the Imperial Castle, tell them it's for the Princess's Friend, Samael." With that Samael bid his goodbye and went out of the Golden Leaf Store.
"That's one thing, off my list..." He muttered.
After walking out, he started searching for a medicinal store. Since the people here were very friendly and easy to talk to, it didn't take him too long to find the store under the name "Thousand Pill Hall"
Once he entered the store, he was greeted by a clerk. Samael didn't want to delay any longer and he said.
"How many buckets of Archaic beast blood of the Qi-Gathering stage can you sell to me?"
"Wait a moment sir, let me check." After a while, the clerk came back with a list.
After taking the list off the clerk's hands, the clerk spoke. "At the moment we have about 50 buckets of Archaic beast blood that fits your request sir, how many would you like?"
It took Samael a while to decide which of these precious Blood to buy but ultimately he ordered "Two buckets of Violet Eyed Serpent blood, three buckets of Steel Maned Lion blood, three buckets of Azure Thunder Lizard blood, and lastly, two buckets of Arctic Scorpion blood."
Hearing his order, the Clerk then readied all ten buckets. "Sir all ten buckets of Archaic beast blood costs 78 gold coins"
78 gold coins? It's much cheaper than the weapons I commissioned...well, factoring the manufacturing cost and the overall cost of the material, plus the commission fee I guess it's only natural.
Nodding, Samael paid the 78 gold coins using the money he borrowed from Lina and placed the 10 buckets of blood inside his storage ring.
Once he left the building, Samael sneakily scaled the city wall and climbed over it without being seen. Then he made his way to the mountain range where he first arrived in this world. There was still an investigation being conducted around the area so he made sure to go even further and found a safe but hidden spot.
For extra percussion, Samael even went and dug a few meters down an underground cave. After securing the surrounding, he estimated that there is a very low chance that someone would stumble upon this place and find him.
"Now that everything is ready, I can now begin breaking through..."
Samael sat cross-legged and meditated first, he wanted to bring himself to his most optimal condition.
Next, he recalled one of the Secret Physique Arts of his clan.
Celestial Blood Leviathan.
It allowed the practitioner to practically became undying but it didn't really mean immortal. The Celestial Blood Leviathan art had the ability to absorb 10 percent of a living being's lifespan through its blood and even heal injuries. It was the trump card of their fighters that allowed them to dominate the battlefield.
Imagine...A fierce and savage warrior that decimates all enemies. An undying warrior that even when wounded, the blood of his fallen enemies continues to heal him. A real demon of war...
But it didn't mean they were truly undying, if you could obliterate their whole body without leaving a trace, of course, they wouldn't be able to heal! Also, there is a limit to how much a person can Absorb.
And this is also the reason why invented a support Art that goes with the "Celestial Blood Leviathan" Art and its name is the "Imperial Blood Emblem"
This art allowed the user to absorb the blood and form it into a "Blood Emblem" and this emblem will be consumed when used by the "Celestial Blood Leviathan"
Samael recalled the information about the two arts and started silently chanting. He first wanted to cultivate the "Celestial Blood Leviathan". Since it is their family secret art, it didn't take him too long to learn it, he could use it already but without sufficient blood to nourish and strengthen his body, it was useless for now.
Next, he trained in the "Imperial Blood Emblem" learning was a bit tricky since he had to first condense the Prime Emblem using his own Lifeblood and feed that Prime Emblem with Profound Energy till it stabilizes. Only then would he be able to absorb other living beings' blood.
Whenever Samael tried to condense the Prime Emblem under the guidance of the art from his memories. The emblem would slowly fade, he tried numerous times but failed.
"Create the emblem modeled from a certain Form..."
"Form comes from Meaning, Meaning comes from Form..."
Samael clearly remembered the information but he can't seem to understand the last line well. He then started to think about it repeating the line over and over again
"Form comes from Meaning, Meaning comes from Form..."
"Form comes from Meaning...then what shape of the emblem should i create? Why is it that shape?"
Samael questioned himself.
"Meaning...Meaning..." He repeated.
"Why I am here? What is my purpose?"
REVENGE!
I am here for revenge!
"If so how should I get my revenge?"
By scaling the ranks of the cultivation world and soar above the Heavens! There I will lay waste upon the Black Citadel and the White City!
"Then to soar above the heavens I will need..."
"Wings! That's what my Emblem shape's gonna be!" After figuring this out things became a lot easier for Samael.
His energy essence moved once again, concentrating on his palms, trying to form a shape. Samael engrossed himself in the memory of his dying mother and the flames that engulfed their clan.
The flames of Fury burned stronger once again, this fueled him to progress even further! The concentrated energy on his palm started to take shape. Slowly the Wing Emblem started to take shape.
Next was the crucial part, which was to enlarge it!
The Emblem functioned the same way as a regular container, if it was too small then it can only contain a small amount but if it was larger then it can hold a larger amount of material.
A fierce gleam shone upon his Samael's eyes as he summoned all of the Profound Energy that he could muster and pointed them towards the budding Emblem. Slowly, the Emblem got larger and more vivid, and the details became more refined as well.
Soon it had the same size as his own back. Samael took his upper clothes and turned his back to the Emblem. He concentrated on controlling and absorbing the Emblem unto his back. Though it was a painless procedure, he perspired a bit as it did take a while to fully absorb it.
Once all of his preparations were done, Samael cultivated for three hours, making sure that his Profound energy was full once again.
Deep into the night, Samael began grueling cultivation. He frantically continued to absorb the energy in the area creating a whirlpool of essence around him, similar to the phenomenon that he caused when he first cultivated.
He controlled that massive amount of Profound Energy to assault his own body, breaking him down. Then he used the Celestial Blood Leviathan art to absorb a bucket of Azure thunder Lizard Blood. This started to heal his body as he continued to use the overwhelming amount of Profound to break it down.
Though he was continuously assaulted by waves of pain, he stubbornly held on and repeated the process till his own body couldn't be broken down by Profound energy anymore. This means that his body now had the natural strength of a 1-star Foundation Building realm Cultivator. By this time, he has already used up five buckets of blood, these were the blood of the Azure Thunder Lizard and the Arctic Scorpion.
"Time waits for no one, now I shall breakthrough!"
He refined the remaining Natural Essence and used this to help him breakthrough to the Spiritual Root realm!