Chapter 55 - 54: Blood of Transformation

The Song family’s home was in complete turmoil.

The small courtyard was packed with people. The leader was a ruffian from the Outer City whom Xu Guang vaguely recalled seeing before, though he couldn’t quite place the man’s identity. Standing outside the gate, Xu Guang peered through the gaps in the crowd. He could see that Song Yue’s fate was currently unknown. Song Yue’s wife, her clothes disheveled, was pinned down by two men, while several others stood nearby pulling up their pants with savage smirks on their faces.

He remained silently observant. Memories of drinking with Song Yue flashed through his mind. He remembered that Song Yue was always very warm and welcoming, and that Mrs. Song’s cooking was delicious.

"Who are you? The Ghost Fang Gang is handling business here. Idlers, get lost!" Seeing Xu Guang, someone immediately stepped forward and shoved him. However, the push didn’t move Xu Guang an inch; instead, the man himself stumbled backward. "Hey, you son of a—"

"Si!" the leader shouted loudly. He looked at Xu Guang with a solemn expression and cupped his hands in greeting. "Apologies for letting you see such a joke, sir. Song Tao committed murder in the military yesterday and fled. We are merely acting on orders."

"Whose orders? On whose behalf?" Xu Guang’s voice was calm, but the fists hidden within his sleeves were anything but.

"This..."

"Do you know what the consequences are for casually using violence in the Inner City?"

Hearing this, the leader narrowed his eyes and spoke meaningfully. "Brother Xu, since you can live here, you are clearly also a member of the Feiyun Guard. You should know that if Song Tao were innocent, we wouldn’t dare touch his family."

"I am asking you for official documents," Xu Guang enunciated every word, taking a slow step forward.

Seeing Xu Guang’s aggressive stance, the leader leaned in a bit closer and lowered his voice. "On the orders of the Han Family of Feiyun, acting on behalf of Young Master Han Po." A mocking expression then surfaced on his face. "In that case, do you still have any objections, young brother?"

Xu Guang fell silent before replying, "Leave them. Since it’s that person who wants to make the arrest, it should be a simple matter to obtain the official documents."

The leader scrutinized Xu Guang carefully, and the two locked eyes for a long moment. "Fine. I will give you face today and return tomorrow with the documents to take them away!"

Xu Guang cupped his hands. "Thank you." He then crouched down to check Song Yue’s breathing. A moment later, he stood back up with a complex expression. Song Yue hadn’t been physically injured; he had died from a sudden heart attack brought on by severe anger and stress. Mrs. Song looked at Xu Guang with a ghastly pale face, her arms awkwardly trying to cover her body. Sighing, Xu Guang took off his outer garment and placed it aside, gesturing for her to put it on. "Mrs. Song, please accept my condolences."

An expression of sheer misery instantly washed over the woman’s face. Ignoring Xu Guang, she crawled toward Song Yue like a madwoman. She finally reached her husband’s side, but the man’s body was already growing cold. Closing her eyes, she buried her face in his chest, breathing in his scent as if desperately trying to memorize it forever.

Xu Guang turned his back to them. Given her disheveled state, it was inappropriate for a grown man to keep watching. However... Sensing a sudden movement behind him, he closed his eyes. When he turned back around and stepped forward, he saw a pair of scissors plunged deep into Mrs. Song’s chest as she coughed up blood.

"Brother Xu... if you... see Song Tao... tell him... to run quickly, and never... come back."

Xu Guang nodded. "I will tell him when I see him."

A look of relief appeared on Mrs. Song’s face. Still tightly holding onto Song Yue’s corpse, her body slowly went limp.

"Boss, are we really just leaving like this?"

The leader looked toward the shantytown with a dark expression. "Leave? Hmph, do we dare fail to handle Young Master Han’s affairs properly? That kid isn’t someone to mess with easily. But I can tell he doesn’t really want to intervene; he’s just doing it for his reputation. So, I might as well give him that reputation. We’ll head out of the city first. Si, turn back right now and bring those two from the Song family to me."

Xu Guang stood in the distance, watching their discussion. He followed them as the group eventually stopped to rest in a Lin Zi outside the city. Xu Guang appeared. Without saying a word, the muscles in his legs suddenly bulged, and he shot forward like a fired arrow.

"Enemy attack! Draw your blades! Kill him!"

THUD!

With a single punch, a figure was sent flying backward, crashing heavily into a large tree behind him. His chest caved in, and it was obvious he wasn’t going to survive. The remaining eight men were all desperate outlaws. Seeing Xu Guang’s sheer brutality, they immediately drew their weapons to meet the enemy. Xu Guang weaved through the crowd like a swimming dragon. Activating his Stone Skin, he was virtually invulnerable to swords and spears. In the blink of an eye, two or three more corpses hit the ground.

The leader asked in a low voice, "It’s you? Brother Xu, we already let the Song couple go. Why are you hunting us down?"

"Qu Sanlin, since when do Mountain Bandits run errands for the Han Family?"

Upon hearing this, sheer horror instantly covered Qu Sanlin’s face. "You... you know who I am?!"

Xu Guang said no more. Having confirmed the man was indeed Qu Sanlin, he held nothing back. Of course, he had never intended to hold back in the first place. A month ago, he had killed two Mountain Bandits named Qu Lin and Qu Erlin. Right before they died, they claimed that Sanlin would avenge them. Out of the nine men present, only Qu Sanlin was in the Bone Forging Realm. In front of Xu Guang, they were utterly defenseless.

Among Xu Guang’s three current Bloodline Powers, Stone Skin seemed the most inconspicuous, but it was incredibly powerful when facing those in lower Realms. His invulnerable skin allowed him to pull off many unimaginable feats. For instance, it made slaughtering weaker opponents completely risk-free. When other Bone Forging or even Refining Viscera experts faced a siege from multiple enemies, they had to be careful at every turn. A moment of carelessness could result in being hit by a hidden arrow. After all, many ants could bite an elephant to death; even if they survived, they would pay the price in injuries.

But for Xu Guang, none of this was an issue. He could endlessly unleash his lethal prowess without worrying about defense. Fighting one against many was nothing to him. Bending down to Refine their blood, he found a large pit, tossed the corpses inside, and turned to leave.

Shortly after returning home, Xu Guang felt some wondrous changes within his body, much like what happened when the Ghost Hair bloodline had awakened. Reacting quickly, a hint of excitement appeared on his face.

"Is this Qian Cheng’s bloodline?" he thought.

He hurriedly expressed his willingness to accept it through the Blood Eye. He had killed Qian Cheng just last night. A full day and night had passed, making this situation somewhat different from before. Soon, he felt a burning sensation radiating throughout his body. This intense heat originated from his blood. It was as if the blood flowing through every single vein had suddenly ignited, driving a transformation across his entire body. Standing in the courtyard with his eyes tightly shut, he used his third eye for Introspection.

The wondrous changes brought about by the bloodline allowed him to comprehend his fourth bloodline: Blood of Transformation.

This was the name of Qian Cheng’s Bloodline Power. It was a very straightforward name, and its function was equally simple and crude: forcing out Essence Blood from the body could induce a transformation in the bloodlines of beasts. Xu Guang finally understood why Qian Cheng had been so thin and weak. He had treated the Blood of Transformation as his sole means of survival, desperately raising the Jade Elephant, which led to a chronic deficit of Essence Blood in his body year-round. He couldn’t understand how Qian Cheng, someone who navigated the Martial World, could make such a foolish decision—entrusting his own safety to a mere beast. Perhaps Qian Cheng’s innate talent for cultivation simply hadn’t been ideal.

According to his guess, seven years ago, Qian Cheng was in the lowly human trafficker trade. His Realm couldn’t have been high—at most, he hadn’t surpassed Bone Forging. Yet, he suddenly transformed into a Yellow Heaven Canon Seat. He must have pushed this bloodline to its absolute limit, turning himself into a walking skeleton in the process. Xu Guang mused over this, knowing that this Bloodline Power would truly shine in his own hands. After all, his Essence Blood was limitless!

He reached out his hand, summoning the Black Tiger, Hai, who was lying by the door. After half a year of growth, the creature had become quite large, roughly the size of a cheetah. In his previous life, it would naturally be considered a highly dangerous animal. But here in the Inner City of Feiyun City, stepping outside meant that perhaps any random passerby could beat it to death. Taking a long blade from his robes, he sliced his finger deeply. Connecting with the Essence Blood in his Blood Eye, he forced a single drop out. The Essence Blood was a more vibrant, striking red than normal blood and carried a strange luster.

A look of sheer fanaticism instantly appeared on Little Black Tiger’s face. Bounding around like an overly energetic husky, it jumped up and down excitedly around Xu Guang. Xu Guang smiled. After checking the amount of Essence Blood stored in his Blood Eye, he signaled Hai to open its mouth and continuously squeezed out seven or eight drops of Essence Blood. As soon as the Essence Blood reached its stomach, Hai’s steps instantly became wobbly. Staggering like a drunkard, it made its way to the doghouse Ji Xiaolu had built for it and obediently lay down. Before long, loud snores echoed from within.

Seeing this, Xu Guang couldn’t help but frown.

"What a useless thing. It actually faints from blood," he thought. "However, with another major consumer of my Essence Blood, relying solely on killing people seems a bit too slow now. It all depends on whether the Jade Elephant Canon Seat held a high enough status in the Yellow Heaven Sect, and whether his death carries enough weight to provoke Great Mage Zhang Qing into starting a war."

A hint of yearning gleamed in Xu Guang’s eyes. "Fight, fight! A war is bound to happen sooner or later anyway!" he thought eagerly. It would be best if a war broke out outside the city. As a Mercenary, he could volunteer to go to the battlefield and dispose of the corpses.

While Xu Guang was busy nurturing Little Black Tiger, Cheng Lian’Er had also led her people back home. Before she even stepped through the gate, she saw Brother Cheng’s son walking toward her with a wooden box in his arms. "Sister, someone delivered a package for you."

Taken aback, Cheng Lian’Er signaled the Maid beside her to take the box. "Who gave this to you?"

"I don’t know. He wore a very large bamboo hat, so I couldn’t see his face clearly," the child replied.

Xu Guang’s figure couldn’t help but flash through Cheng Lian’Er’s mind. Such secretive behavior really resembled that man. Walking into the room, she opened the wooden box with a hint of curiosity. Inside sat a severed human head, its eyes glaring wide open in death. Beside it lay a small slip of paper that read, "The head of Jade Elephant."

Cheng Lian’Er shot to her feet instantly. A wave of dizziness washed over her brain as pure horror and deep worry flooded her face.

"How could he dare?!" she thought. "He even dared to kill the Jade Elephant Canon Seat! Is there anything he wouldn’t dare to do? But... how did he kill him?"

Gradually regaining a measure of calm, Cheng Lian’Er sat properly in her chair, her fingers lightly tapping against the wooden armrest. Her mind raced through many possibilities. She pondered Xu Guang’s motives for the murder, the potential uses for this severed head, and the inevitable reactions that would ripple across both the inside and outside of Feiyun City following the Jade Elephant Canon Seat’s death...