"This is a Bloodline Ability?" Shirley asked.
"I can see why you didn't want to spar," Benedict laughed nervously. With that much firepower available, sharing pointers would be a little too hard. You would destroy the entire training grounds!
"A Bloodline Ability, huh… I can see why the Arcellius Family became legendary," Elizabeth said. "Can your sister and uncle do that too?"
"It's unknown if my sister can, but she should be able to. My uncle cannot."
"Can anybody awaken their Bloodline?"
"I don't see why not?"
"Then what about me?" Shirley asked.
"You? You're… not an Arcanist."
"Is there some kind of rule that says that I can't do it?" she fired back.
"No… There isn't…" Freon was tongue-tied before falling into deep thought.
He realized now that there were countless parallelisms between Arcania and martial arts. Realms and Cores, Martial and Magic Energy… Everything seemed to be connected! Whenever there was one thing for Arcania, there seemed to be an equivalent for martial arts. By this logic, then Bloodlines should behave the same way. Bloodlines were a manifestation of the body's latent potential, pushed to the surface as a final defense mechanism. Everyone understood it as a gift for the genius and talented, a bestowing present from the heavens for the Engelsheft Families in the Zino Kingdom. They were the only ones who could attain such a rare and sought-after thing! But it was actually the other way around… It was specifically because they could awaken their Bloodlines that they could become Engelsheft! That would mean…
(Your friend is correct), Rena confirmed telepathically.
(Ah, where have you been this entire time?) Elizabeth fumed.
(Anyone can awaken a Bloodline, but it takes someone with special talent, skill, and hard work to do it. Whether they are Arcanists, or martial artists is irrelevant,) the spirit casually ignored her. (Although one can awaken it with study at Rank 2 Lord, one will naturally awaken their Bloodline upon reaching Rank 3 King.)
(Naturally? Then that means… the Sword King and Protector Avin awakened theirs too?)
(That is highly likely.)
(Protector Avin is lying to his own nephew?) Elizabeth frowned. (Why would he do that?)
(…)
(Wait! I wanted to ask about the Featherwind Sect!)
Before she knew it, Rena 'disappeared' again, stopping her telepathic link. Elizabeth's jaw dropped in amazement. What kind of teacher was this? She stomped on the ground furiously and expressed her rage. She swore that she would smack her teacher in the head if she ever saw Rena again! Once again, her friends looked at her strangely, prompting Elizabeth to turn as red as a tomato.
"Did I say something wrong?" Freon raised an eyebrow.
Elizabeth coughed. "No, you didn't… If there isn't a rule about who can awaken their Bloodlines, doesn't that mean that all of us can? How did you awaken yours?"
Remembering his uncle's repeated torture training, Freon flinched and laughed awkwardly, "You wouldn't… want to know. The only way to awaken a Bloodline is to survive countless near-death encounters. My uncle was ruthless in training me!"
He expected some sort of surprise or exaggerated reaction from his friends, but the three remained unusually calm. This was not too surprising. The three of them endured just as much as Freon in their training, leaving Freon to choke on his words.
"Anyways, the point is to draw out the body's latent potential by putting your body into extreme circumstances. If you're lucky enough, then this may manifest into a Bloodline. By developing one's Bloodline further, then it may evolve into something you know as a Bloodline Ability. For example, my Bloodline is the Arcellius Family's, while my Ability is Thousand Core Resonance. It's hard to say what it will look like as the progenitor, since I doubt any of your family members managed to awaken theirs. I also don't know what a 'Martial' Bloodline will look like either and I'm not even sure if it exists. However… there is nothing that rules against you trying. If we have the time, we can figure something out."
Benedict coughed, feeling embarrassed at Freon's extensive explanation, and decided to add his own. "As for Martial Energy, its drawing upon the hidden power of the body. When you're punching, it's not as simple as your fist extending. The angle of your elbow and your shoulders, the twist of your spine and heel, the rotation and execution, as well as your breath… Everything must be completely utilized to their greatest extent to unleash your maximum power. Martial Energy is both the encapsulation and extension of that principle. When I learned Martial Energy, I was trained to perfect my 'punch'. Once I reached the absolute pinnacle state of mastery, that is when I began to sense Martial Energy. After that, it was a matter of memorizing that feeling and learning to manipulate it."
"Oh, now you'll tell me?" Shirley stuck her tongue out.
Laughing awkwardly, he replied, "I did, so can you explain in detail more about Mock Perception?"
"Hmm… you say that, but I'm not sure what to say," she said thoughtfully. "Mock Perception is just like what its name suggests. It's an imitation of what Perception Realms can do: their heightened senses. The first time I managed to use it, it was against the Third Hand in Firecast. You remember, right, Freon?"
"How could I forget? They almost killed me," he said mockingly. "Didn't they nearly kill you too?"
Shirley nodded. "Back then, I was being followed by the Third Hand. I wanted to shake them off, but their skills were top-notch, and I had no way of figuring who or where they were. If they wanted to kill me, it would have been easy. So, I had to concentrate and push my senses beyond their limits to have a fighting chance. I concentrated and concentrated… until I reached a weird state of mind. My hearing erupted, and I could hear so many different things. That was how I managed to fight back against the Third Hand. When I trained in the Mordrigan Peaks, I developed it further, later naming it Mock Perception!"
"A state of mind… and a state of body…" Freon noted the similarities between everything. "What about you, Elizabeth? What do you have up your sleeves?"
"… I don't think it's a problem if I reveal this, but I use a tempering technique called Dual Core Rending. I think I mentioned it in passing before."
"You did, but you never explained what it is."
She scratched her head and said, "Since everyone is willing to show what they can do, it would be rude of me not to reciprocate. My tempering technique is very similar to Freon's Bloodline Ability: Thousand Core Resonance. Both deal with the innerworkings of an Arcanist, the Channels, except instead of optimizing my Channels into the perfect configuration for a spell, it's a little different." While speaking, she drew her Whiteangel Bow and began harnessing the energy inside her Core. "Instead of attuning to a spell, I increase the potency of my Magic Energy. I accumulate and build up my strength before releasing my spell…"
A thick rainbow-colored fog of World Energy swirled around her in response, as her Magic Energy condensed in her pseudo-Core. Dual Core Rending technique! Her aura began explosively increasing as her battle strength began breaching the Condensed Drop Core Level. Drawing on the bowstring, she slowly created a nearly invisible arrow of light. Once her Magic Energy built enough, she let loose into the deep woods, and the arrow shot towards the trees! When it reached half-way, the arrow promptly disappeared, replaced by a gigantic surge of wind that swept through the forest. The thick tree branches bent while the autumn leaves were thrown into the air. The trees were close to uprooting, it was like a tornado descended!
When the wind finally settled, she concluded, "That's what I can do. I can imitate the strength of a Condensed Drop Core Level Arcanist temporarily, but I'm limited to three or four attacks only, even with my current Core Level of Peak Gaseous Fog. It might boast tremendous power and flexibility, on par with the Ten Dawns, yet… in terms of endurance, it falls short. It is meant as a trump card!"
Before she could continue, a messenger charged up and bowed, "Your Highness, the war council is requesting your presence… The Xingyuu Empire… has finally made their move!"