Kai was in no hurry to take any action. All he did was to stand quietly and observe the situation. Now he was not only assessing what was happening to the carcass of the beast, which was turning into a mummy..... He was paying more attention to his inner feelings.
This state did not last long, after a few seconds everything calmed down. At this moment, Kai was standing on a skeleton that was covered in shriveled beast skin. There wasn't even a drop of blood on Kai himself either....
The feeling of mild ecstasy continued for about five more seconds after absorbing all of his opponent's blood. It seemed to Kai that his senses were heightened, and his very blood boiled.
- Sounds like that ability...' Kai said thoughtfully.
Jumping off the skeleton, Kai quickly sat down in lotus pose and began to check his body.
'Hmm... There aren't any strong changes, but I've definitely made some progress in cultivation. Considering that I haven't done any energy absorption recently... This is the result of the bloodline's development!' - Instantly, Kai realised.
While still training in the Tomb of Time, Kai had realised that the Invisible Kings Torture Technique implied mastery of this strange bloodline. While he had completed the first level due to his will and stamina. The absorption of the Kings only happened with Kai's new bodily enhancements.
During the Torture of the Pain King, Kai had clearly realised that the prospects of his absorption, without Kessia's heritage, would have been almost nil.
Now, he was once again convinced that the bloodline and his cultivation technique were simply inseparable. When he absorbed the beast blood, he immediately realised that his body itself had changed a lot....
'It feels like... That after absorbing the Kings, all the components of my flesh have changed... I think... It's because of the beast cultivation...' - With his eyes closed, Kai reasoned.
He had one good hypothesis, which he needed to test first....
Suddenly, Kai jumped up and opened his eyes! He sensed another beast in the distance!
Without a second's hesitation, he rushed towards the enemy! This was exactly what he needed right now!
Kai wanted to kill another dozen or so different beasts to get used to this sensation of absorbing blood. Even more so, he wanted to understand more clearly the mechanism of what was happening....
Thus, Kai did not stop in his hunt for several more hours. In this area, there were no creatures that could threaten his life. Although he found one more or less strong opponent in the form of a giant yellow snake. But its maximum was only a few wounds inflicted on Kai. With his regeneration, he was healed in just a few minutes.
- Now I see... - Standing near several small mummies, Kai gave out.
It seemed that he had recently encountered pack animals, so the surroundings looked like that.
One of the things that worried Kai was the involuntary absorption of blood. Such a method could set him up at an unnecessary moment. But the last few hours of hunting, he realised that there were two factors affecting this process.
The first is that the victim must die! A simple wound or even contact with blood was not enough! This was the reason why Kai hadn't used absorption before. Since obtaining the bloodline, he hadn't killed anyone. And the creatures from the Shadow Labyrinth were made of destructive energy, making them unsuitable victims....
The second was Kai's need to want to consume blood. It was an unconscious, instinctive command. A few hours ago, standing over the carcass of the first beast he had encountered, Kai had thought about this very thing. And it was at that moment that the absorption process instantly began.
Thus, Kai calmed down, realising that the ability to develop a bloodline was completely under his control. Otherwise, unintentionally absorbing blood from someone else's corpse would be a dangerous action... Hypothetically, such a situation could happen in a place like Reincarnation Island. Absorbing the blood of fallen comrades isn't the smartest thing to do. At least not in full view of everyone...
- Well, I won't let myself down... I'll use this ability in private. - Kai said in thought.
In addition, Kai confirmed his hypothesis that had recently occurred to him.
'My body has changed, that's for sure... I am now able to absorb some of the energy from a slain victim... It's as if my flesh absorbs all the blood and recycles it.' - Drawing conclusions, Kai reasoned.
Kai could clearly feel the process of absorbing the victim. When he absorbed another's blood, it enhanced his own body. In addition to that, when the integration was complete, Kai felt an influx of new energy transiently flowing into his Energy Centre. Although it originally had a different type and attribute, but after spending some time inside Kai, it was slowly refining into his own, black energy...
Thinking over all of this, Kai realised that it was quite logical. All beings cultivated using a similar system... In the process of absorbing energy and refining, your body itself would be imbued with it. Although there was hundreds of times less energy in the body than in the Energy Centre, but still, it was there!
It was this energy that Kai absorbed as he absorbed the victim's blood. Thus, his cultivation began to progress much faster! In just a few hours of hunting, Kai had already experienced positive results. And these weren't even the strongest beasts yet.....
- I wonder what would happen if we absorbed the more dangerous creatures of the Shadowlands? - Kai said thoughtfully, 'And if I absorb another martial artist...' Kai continued.
Naturally, Kai would not kill other disciples within the Shadow Sect's territory. But if he were to go looking for adventure... Or let's say he had ill-wishers... People often died in the Shadow Sect Territory, in this case, there was no controlling array of the Shadow Sect. Also, there are many dangerous animals in this place... If one doesn't calculate one's strength, then all sorts of things could happen....
- It seems like my cultivation technique and bloodline are just made for each other... With this body, I can effectively cultivate two aspects at once, Body and Energy! - Rubbing his chin, Kai gave out with a sly smile.
'Law of Flesh, there is a fifth law. Everything begins with flesh, flesh animate and inanimate, flesh material and spiritual, even the manifestations of nature have flesh.
The Law of Energy, is the sixth law. The development and activity of everything gives birth to myriad variations of energy, its combinations and kinds.' - Pronounced Kai in his thoughts.
Whenever he thought of the Laws of the Essence Sphere, Kai tried to recite them only in his thoughts. This was something that was his deepest secret.
His Invisible King Cultivation Technique was something Master Mo knew about. Kessia knew even more, while passing on her bloodline to him. Although the Astral Sacrificial Fire was something incredible, but Cai understood its origin perfectly. He even knew the method by which his fire was created. And with Shuo's help, he had an even deeper understanding of what those 'souls' the Astral Alchemy Emperor had told him about were.
But here, only Cai himself knew about the Essence Sphere... He didn't even know at what point they had come into contact. Did it happen in the waters of the river? Or had the Suti Sphere always been with him? Maybe the near-death experience had simply awakened it? This was something sacred to Kai. He had decided a long time ago that no matter what happened, he would take this secret with him to his grave!
- Taks... Hehehe. - Laughing evilly, Kai laughed and began to take off his clothes.
Carefully folding them, he sent them all straight into Master Mo's spatial ring. And from the other, he took out some perfectly ordinary black robes. A moment later, he was already completely changed and calmly walked towards the centre of the Shadowlands.
Kai had a not-so-good idea... As a Personal Disciple, not many people know him. What would happen if he was met in his normal robes?
- We'll test your conscience... Hehehe. - Kai laughed evilly.
He was well aware of how people were... If they saw him in his Personal Apprentice uniform, there was no way they would dare attack him! Except, Kai was sure that many deaths in the Shadowlands weren't from beasts at all...
After all, the area was rich in valuable resources. Many people travelled here in groups for their safety. What would happen if two rival groups met near something of great value? And what would happen if they realised that, given the right outcomes, no one would know about anything? For Kai, the answer was obvious!
'I wonder how the absorbed blood of a martial arts master will work?' - Moving through the jungle Kai pondered.
Little by little, the vegetation was becoming less dense. It seemed like it wouldn't be long before Kai would be out of them, entering another natural area.
- What was I thinking about? I changed my clothes so I wouldn't get my precious Personal Apprentice uniform dirty! Hehehe. - Kai laughed evilly and ran out of the jungle.
At the same moment, he was slightly blinded by the setting sun. Previously, the tree crowns had almost completely blocked out the light. But now Kai came out onto a vast expanse of stone, with very sparse vegetation. If there was any, it was mostly moss and low grass.
Up ahead, Kai saw a large silver wolf that was finishing the carcass of another beast!
- The initial stage of the Cloud Sphere... But it looks more imposing than the ones from the jungle,' Kai let out quietly, analysing the atmosphere around the beast, 'It'll do! Hehehe. - Laughing he said, and rushed into the attack!
At the same time, three people were running in the distance. They were mature guys who were heading towards Kai. Considering their age and cultivation, one could realise that they were rather mediocre people. These were the Core Disciples of the Shadow Sect.
Two of them had cultivation at the middle stage of the Cloud Sphere, while the last one only had the beginning stage.
- Brother, look! - The weakest of them suddenly shouted out.
- What is it? What are you shouting for? - Irritatedly asked the second one and looked in the direction indicated.
Suddenly, he smiled slightly and quickened his step!
The group of the three of them were approaching the carcass of a large wolf, near which the wounded guy was sitting. It could be seen that he had spent a fierce battle trying to win. But as a result, he was injured too badly... It was Kai.....
- P... Help! - He shouted heavily when he saw the people in the distance.
The three did not slow down their steps and quickly arrived at his place.
- Brother... This is the Silver Fang. - Said one of the masters at the middle stage of the Cloud Sphere.
- I know...'' The other one said quietly as he looked at his partner, ''Brother, you are amazing! How did you manage to defeat that big guy? - He suddenly shouted, turning to the breathing Kai.
- I thought... I could easily defeat him... But now I need help...' Kai said, writhing. Now, his chest was covered in blood...
- You, like this beast, are at the beginning of the Cloud Sphere. But... Don't you know that this wolf is stronger than the average wizard? - One of the guys asked with a smile, ''Its fur and fangs are very valuable... Also, it's not easy to defeat...'' He explained with a slight greed in his eyes.
- Will you help me? Please! - With a heavy expression on his face, Kai asked.
- Of course! But in a slightly different way... We'll ease your suffering Brother! Hahaha. - The guy laughed aggressively, pulling out his sword and stepping towards Kai.
- Hahaha! Wonderful! - Suddenly, Kai laughed loudly, dumbfounding the three of them! Such a change of scenery quickly alerted them!
- Goodbye! Hehehe! - Standing up, angrily gave out Kai! At the same second, black energy instantly flooded all around him!