Chapter 55: The Next Experiment!

It was dinner time.

Across the outskirts of Winters Manor, many powerful Manor Lords had come out in search of good food, with some even bringing their entire families along.

For a time, the eateries surrounding the manor district were packed with customers.

Smoke curled into the evening sky.

The aroma of countless dishes filled the streets.

Amid the clinking of cups and lively conversations, the entire area was filled with warmth and bustle.

Seeing the lively scene ahead, Ryan couldn’t help but smile.

Compared to the constant dangers lurking outside the manor, Winters Manor felt considerably safer.

WHOOSH!

A moment later, a flash of white light illuminated the teleportation array.

Ryan returned to Cole Manor.

The moment he pushed open the door, the rich aroma of food immediately flooded his senses.

His stomach growled.

Inside, his parents were dressed in new clothes as they busily prepared dinner.

The constant clatter of woks and spatulas echoed through the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Ethan sat quietly in the hall in a pristine white robe, reading while seated in his wooden wheelchair.

Ryan grinned.

"Mom, Dad. Ethan."

He greeted each of them in turn.

Unexpectedly, the commotion caught someone’s attention.

A moment later, Toby burst out of one of the rooms in a flurry.

Ryan’s playful side immediately emerged.

He crouched down and began playing with his mischievous little brother.

It seemed Toby had already woken up after Ryan left.

Children really did forget things quickly.

Fortunately, the little guy had already forgotten the tears and fear from earlier.

While playing with him, Ryan noticed that Toby was finally wearing new clothes that actually fit him properly.

A genuine smile appeared on Ryan’s face.

His parents and Ethan were wearing new clothes as well.

They were clothes Ryan had purchased during his previous trip to Winters Manor while stocking up on supplies.

Before long, his parents carried the freshly prepared dishes to the dining table.

"Alright, dinner’s ready!"

Everyone gathered around.

Laughter and conversation filled the room as the family sat down together.

With Ryan’s rise in strength, the Cole Family’s formerly difficult living conditions had finally begun to improve.

During his previous trip to Winters Manor, Ryan had spent a considerable number of Origin Stones purchasing large quantities of food and daily necessities.

His parents had already stored everything in the basement.

For the time being, there was no need to worry about food, clothing, or other basic necessities.

The Cole Family’s typical slum dinner of three simple vegetable dishes, one bowl of soup, and barely enough meat had completely changed.

Tonight, the table was filled with five dishes, a soup, and plenty of meat.

Spicy chicken.

Eight-Treasure duck.

Steamed perch.

Fish-flavored shredded pork.

Hand-torn cabbage.

Carrot and corn pork rib soup.

Chicken, duck, fish, pork, and vegetables—

Everything was there.

The contrast with their former lives was enormous.

Unlike the conflicts and dangers constantly unfolding outside, family was always a warm harbor.

For the first time in a long while, Ryan’s tightly wound nerves finally relaxed.

The family chatted and laughed while enjoying the meal.

Everyone couldn’t help but marvel at how satisfying it was to eat meat to their hearts’ content.

They even raised their cups and toasted one another several times.

These were luxuries they had never dared to imagine before.

Even during the Lunar New Year, they had never enjoyed such an extravagant dinner.

Ryan sighed inwardly.

Indeed, in this world, living a prosperous and peaceful life required strength.

No wonder Bloodline Fighters were so highly sought after.

Strength was the foundation that allowed people to live the lives they wanted.

After dinner, Ryan exchanged a few words with his family before quickly heading upstairs.

He was currently fighting for the survival of his family.

Every possible method had to be considered if he wanted to resolve the deadly conflict with the Sterling Family.

Outside, dangers lurked everywhere.

Inside, time was equally precious.

Fortunately, his family understood him.

They didn’t ask unnecessary questions during dinner.

They simply chatted with him normally and silently gave him their full support.

They knew Ryan was working desperately to break the deadly crisis hanging over the family.

Although staying inside Cole Manor for too long would inevitably become boring, they were willing to endure it.

For now, they could only wait patiently for Ryan to find a way through this crisis.

Ryan understood their situation as well.

Having his family remain inside the manor all day, like birds trapped inside a cage, would eventually become unbearable.

Therefore, once the current crisis was resolved, he planned to arrange for his two younger brothers to return to Winters Private Institute.

Private institutes charged tuition twice a year, and the fees were considerably higher than those of ordinary schools.

They were generally attended by Bloodline Fighter families with better financial circumstances.

However, the education provided there was far more systematic and comprehensive.

It was certainly superior to the free nine-year compulsory education available to ordinary families.

Now that Ryan had awakened his Bloodline and possessed the ability to provide his family with a better life, he wasn’t willing to let his brothers be treated unfairly simply because they had once been poor.

He also planned to find some comfortable and interesting work for his parents.

Once the crisis passed, he wanted his entire family to return to something resembling a normal life.

Unfortunately, the threat from the Sterling Family had yet to be resolved.

If anything, the situation seemed to be escalating.

This was still far from the time when they could relax.

For now, they could only endure.

...

Ryan had already entered the training room.

He quickly locked the door before walking over to the windowsill.

Then, through his spatial ring, he began tallying the spoils he had obtained today.

[Dying Beast Eggs ×3]

[Strange Black Beast Hide ×1]

[Captain Marlow’s Corpse ×1]

[Captain Marlow’s Spatial Ring ×1]

[Waste Pills ×43]

[Waste Treasures ×21]

Although today’s battles had been extremely dangerous, and his original supply of Low-Grade Origin Stones had been reduced to only four, the harvest had been surprisingly substantial.

Ryan’s eyes gleamed.

"Heh."

"The most exciting part is finally here."

"Creation spoils."

With a thought, he summoned the Boundless Creation Furnace from within his body.

WHOOSH!

The ancient furnace appeared in the training room.

It was still the same dark, damaged furnace covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

Yet the moment it appeared, a desolate and ancient aura spread throughout the room.

The atmosphere instantly became profound and distant.

Ryan couldn’t wait any longer.

He wanted to throw every one of his spoils into the furnace and see what would happen.

Mira seemed to understand his thoughts.

She had already entered her spirit attachment state.

"Let’s start with this strange black beast hide."

Ryan took the black hide from his spatial ring.

His fingers lightly brushed across its surface.

The hide was supple, almost like cowhide, yet its ancient, matte texture gave it an extraordinary feeling.

Ryan rubbed it for a moment before throwing it directly into the Boundless Creation Furnace.

SWISH!

The moment the hide entered the furnace, the gray mist within immediately began swirling.

The black hide vanished without a trace, as though a stone had fallen into an endless ocean.

Ryan stared at the furnace without blinking.

Of all his spoils, this was the item he was most curious about.

He desperately wanted to know what this strange hide could become after undergoing Advanced Creation.

After all, even Mortimer Sable, a peak late-stage Origin Ascendant Realm expert, had been willing to fight desperately over it.

More importantly, both Mira and the Boundless Creation Furnace had reacted abnormally when they encountered it.

What exactly was this black beast hide?

What kind of treasure could it become?

Ryan’s anticipation continued rising.

Then—

<Ding!>

Mira’s mechanical voice suddenly sounded.

[The current level of the Boundless Creation Furnace is insufficient!]

[This item cannot currently be transmuted.]

[Please upgrade the Boundless Creation Furnace before attempting transmutation again.]

PFFT!

The next moment, the black beast hide was expelled from the furnace.

It landed completely intact in front of Ryan.

Ryan stared at it.

"...What a pity."

He picked up the hide, disappointment written across his face.

He had been expecting something extraordinary.

Instead, the furnace had simply told him that its current level wasn’t high enough.

This was completely unexpected.

"Since the hide can’t be transmuted yet..."

Ryan’s gaze shifted.

"Let’s try the corpse."

He stored the black beast hide back into his spatial ring before taking out Captain Marlow’s corpse.

With a casual motion, he threw the entire body into the Boundless Creation Furnace.

Ryan still had many unanswered questions about the furnace.

So whenever he encountered something he had never tested before, he intended to give it a try.

Even a corpse.

WHOOSH!

Captain Marlow’s body was relatively large and robust.

Yet the moment it entered the Boundless Creation Furnace, it vanished just like the black beast hide.

The enormous body seemed to shrink rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, it was swallowed into the furnace.

It was as though the interior contained a vast, independent space.

No matter how large the object was, the furnace could swallow it whole.

It was truly miraculous.

Soon, the familiar mechanical prompt sounded again.

<Ding!>

[The current level of the Boundless Creation Furnace is insufficient!]

[This item cannot currently be transmuted.]

[Please upgrade the Boundless Creation Furnace before attempting transmutation again.]

PFFT!

Captain Marlow’s corpse was immediately expelled.

Ryan caught it casually.

"Insufficient level again?"

His eyes flickered.

Then a strange realization dawned on him.

"So..."

"If the Boundless Creation Furnace’s level is increased, it can actually transmute corpses?"

His eyes immediately lit up.

He had originally thrown the corpse inside simply out of curiosity.

He hadn’t expected to discover something this important.

Indeed—

All things could potentially be transmuted.

The Boundless Creation Furnace truly lived up to its name.

Although its prompts weren’t explicit, Ryan’s careful nature allowed him to extract information from the details hidden within them.

He quickly stored Captain Marlow’s corpse back inside his spatial ring.

"Next..."

Ryan’s gaze shifted toward the spatial ring.

"I wonder what’s inside."

He excitedly took out the ring he had obtained from Captain Marlow.

HISS!

Ryan injected a strand of Origin Energy into it.

Captain Marlow’s remaining soul imprint immediately appeared.

Ryan exerted a little force.

Crack!

The soul imprint shattered.

The spatial ring immediately recognized Ryan as its new owner.

His Mental Awareness swept through the interior.

Seventy-six Low-Grade Origin Stones.

That was it.

Nothing else.

Ryan stared blankly.

"...That’s all?"

A moment later, his expression became disdainful.

"A dignified peak Ninth-Stage Origin Sea Convergence Realm cultivator."

"An elite guard captain of the Sterling Family."

"And you only had seventy-six Low-Grade Origin Stones?"

After retrieving the Origin Stones, Ryan casually tossed them into his own spatial ring.

He then put the empty spatial ring inside as well.

"You’re even using the lowest-end one-cubic-meter spatial ring."

"So shabby."

The previous few spoils had either been impossible to transmute or had yielded relatively little.

Ryan couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed.

What he didn’t know was that Captain Marlow’s situation was actually quite normal.

Unless someone was a direct descendant of a major family, most cultivators had extremely limited resources.

Whatever resources they obtained had to be used carefully.

For most Bloodline Fighters, the first priority was improving their Bloodline.

Next came cultivation realm, combat techniques, secret arts, combat artifacts, secret treasures, and other external resources.

Cultivation could be improved through meditation and absorbing Origin Energy over time, allowing cultivators to save some Origin Stones.

Bloodline advancement was different.

It couldn’t be achieved through meditation.

Bloodline Fighters needed to absorb corresponding Bloodline Essence to evolve their Bloodlines.

And Bloodline evolution represented a qualitative increase in strength.

Therefore, most cultivators prioritized it above everything else.

Captain Marlow was no exception.

To evolve his Bloodline, he had spent almost his entire fortune purchasing Enhancement-Type Bloodline Essence.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to advance from the D-Rank Ordinary Iron Body Bloodline to the D-Rank Top-Tier Iron Clad Bloodline in only a few years.

Bloodline Essence wasn’t cheap.

The stronger the Bloodline Essence, the more expensive it became, and merchants often sold rare varieties at exorbitant prices.

Under such circumstances, it was already impressive that Captain Marlow hadn’t accumulated substantial debt.

Naturally, there wasn’t much wealth left for Ryan to find.

Ryan could only sigh.

"Forget it."

"I’ll try these three beast eggs."

His gaze shifted toward the beast pouch hanging from his waist.

"I wonder if the Boundless Creation Furnace can even affect living creatures."

Ryan untied the beast pouch and threw it directly into the furnace.

Then he asked:

"Mira, can you exclude the beast pouch itself from Advanced Creation and only transmute the three beast eggs inside?"

He deliberately hadn’t removed the eggs from the pouch.

That was because he hadn’t yet established a Bloodline connection with them through blood recognition.

Ryan’s cultivation was still too low, and his Mental Awareness couldn’t extend beyond his body.

He couldn’t effectively control the exotic beasts inside.

Unlike pills or treasures, exotic beasts possessed their own consciousness.

If the transmutation succeeded and the creatures escaped immediately afterward, the consequences could be troublesome.

At best, he would lose the exotic beasts.

At worst, they could attack him.

Keeping them inside the beast pouch was therefore much safer.

Ryan also specifically reminded Mira to perform Advanced Creation only on the three eggs.

He didn’t want the beast pouch itself to be accidentally consumed in the process.

Whether the pouch was destroyed or unnecessary energy was wasted, either outcome would be a loss.

At that moment, Mira’s clear mechanical voice finally sounded.

<Ding!>