Traces IV

"Mr. Xue is very well-informed. He even knows about things in Great Capital so quickly. I admire you." Zhang Rongfang's expression remained unchanged as he put down a chess piece and said softly.

He had originally returned to prepare for seclusion to further his cultivation, perhaps to unlock new talents and abilities. However, Xue Tong came knocking on his door, leading to the current situation.

"Since you took away a portion of the Wish Woman's power, young friend, I can now move around a bit more in the canyon. Contacting some old friends isn't difficult," Xue Tong said with a smile, seemingly oblivious to Zhang Rongfang's underlying meaning.

"What exactly does Master Yue want to do? I wonder if Mr. Xue can teach me?" Zhang Rongfang asked in a deep voice.

"It wasn't very obvious before, but now it's clear." Xue Tong nodded. "Your master has only had one purpose from the very beginning."

He paused.

"That is to seize the throne!"

A coup?

Zhang Rongfang narrowed his eyes.

"What position are you fighting for? Whose position?"

"That's for you to figure out yourself. However, he's already halfway through this path, and the rest seems to be in the making; it just needs time to work its magic. There shouldn't be any major problems," Xue Tong said with a smile.

Seeing his other self achieving his goals more and more, he actually felt somewhat happy.

"Can't I say?" Zhang Rongfang asked.

"What if I'm wrong? Wouldn't I lose all face?" Xue Tong laughed. "Young friend, you should worry about yourself. You've changed a lot in the past few months," he said meaningfully.

"My cultivation has made a breakthrough; I never expected such a significant progress," Zhang Rongfang nodded.

"The Great Dao Sect has successors. Even if your master's side fails, you can make a comeback here. I can rest assured," Xue Tong said with a smile.

He didn't actually pay attention to Zhang Rongfang's changes at first.

Unexpectedly, in just a few months, the boy grew like a fat pig, gaining more and more weight.

Even if he only sensed it from a distance a few times, he could feel some strange changes in Zhang Rongfang.

"By the way, young friend, when do you plan to help me escape this place? You promised before," Xue Tong brought up the matter again.

"It can be done at any time, but have you considered how you would conduct yourself if you were to leave now?" Zhang Rongfang countered.

"Naturally, it is to reclaim the Great Dao Sect and regain the position of Grand Master. That should rightfully belong to me," Xue Tong said solemnly.

"Are you confident, sir?" Zhang Rongfang asked again.

"Hold on?" Xue Tong laughed. "You don't understand. There are many things you don't understand."

Zhang Rongfang pondered for a moment.

"Since you've made your decision, how about we set a time?"

"Alright. How about this time next month?" Xue Tong said.

"Can."

The two then stopped talking and instead moved swiftly, placing pieces one after another.

A game of chess that should have taken more than an hour to finish was completed in just over ten minutes, along with several pieces.

Zhang Rongfang lost again.

Xue Tong didn't say anything more, just laughed, and his figure suddenly vanished, turning into Shadow and disappearing.

"Lost again?" Zhang Rongfang sat in front of the chessboard, looking at the large group of stones in front of him that had been strangled and had no liberties.

He grabbed the chessboard with one hand and casually flipped it over.

With a crash, the chessboard and pieces flew to the ground, and the entire chessboard was smashed into several pieces and shattered.

Meanwhile, in another cave in the Wish Woman Canyon.

Xue Tong's figure suddenly materialized and sat cross-legged on a large Round Stone.

"Interesting, very interesting." A faint smile unconsciously appeared on his lips.

"That fake Yue Dewen is doing better and better, and you're happy about it? What's so interesting about that?" Another person in the cave spoke coldly from the shadows.

"I foresaw this calamity years ago and have been hiding here for decades. Now that I am finally about to see the light at the end of the tunnel, how can I not be happy?" Xue Tong said with a smile.

"Don't be careless, or you might get caught up in that Zhang Ying," another person warned.

"Zhang Ying was just an unexpected move. This kid has some secrets, but no matter how he changes, he is under my control. No one can cross that insurmountable barrier, so there's no need to worry about him. The only thing to watch out for is Heavenly Treasure Palace."

Xue Tong could barely suppress the smile on his face.

"Just watch, don't be fooled by the fact that that fake is now invincible and sweeping across the land. The third and fourth Divine General all died at his hands."

But the Divine General immortal and will soon be able to revive and regenerate. This action, however, angered the first Second Divine General. After getting past the Divine General, he still had to face the three giants of the Spirit Flight Teaching: the Saint Patrol Saint Shepherd.

Complete reform is never easy.

"The counterfeit goods industry may be booming, but it's not so easy to take advantage of a trend. While people are using the trend, they are also being assimilated by it. Damir persisted for ten years back then, how long can Yue Dewen last now? We see him enjoying great success and prosperity, but unfortunately, no one knows that he won't be able to hold on sooner or later," the man sneered.

"This scheme is finally coming to an end," Xue Tong sighed.

*** The Doubtful Cloud Mist dissipated, and Zhang Rongfang was still on the Human Immortal Platform.

The surrounding area was shrouded in mist, and Xiao Hong Bird could be vaguely seen flying around like red threads, darting about like lights.

He sat cross-legged on the Human Immortal Platform, recalling what Xue Tong had just said. He felt that there was more to the other person's words than met the eye, as if he had hidden a lot of thoughts and deeper meanings.

This person is mysterious and unpredictable, having lived in seclusion in Wish Woman Canyon for many years, with no clear purpose.

If at the beginning, Zhang Rongfang still believed that Xue Tong was trapped here by the Wish Woman.

Now, after being in contact with the Wish Woman for so long, he has come to understand that Innate God like the Wish Woman doesn't have much of her own consciousness.

She's more like a wild animal with a fixed territory; as long as you don't disturb her territory, there won't be any trouble.

After getting to know him, Xue Tong found him to be a deep and calculating man, not someone who could be trapped by the Wish Woman for so many years.

'If he wasn't trapped, then why would he stay here? It couldn't have been voluntary, could it?' Zhang Rongfang wondered.

Thinking about this, he realized that he had too few clues and could only wait until he had more information before analyzing it.

After calming down,

He closed his eyes, then opened them again.

The current Attribute Panel items immediately appeared in my field of vision.

Let's first see what this new talent actually is.

Each time you add 100 points and unlock a new special talent, it feels like opening a blind box.

The Blood Echo from last time has gradually led him in a strange direction.

Although it didn't significantly change his own strength, Zhang Rongfang vaguely noticed that these Trait Talent seemed to be assembling into a special whole, like building blocks in a jigsaw puzzle.

'Let's see what ability we can unlock this time.'

With curiosity and anticipation, he looked at the health attribute.

'Zhang Rongfang – Life 599-599'

Available Attributes: 1.

Add some points.

The last attribute point landed on the health column. Suddenly it jumped from 599 to 600. Thump.

A deep, heavy heartbeat suddenly resounded from Zhang Rongfang's chest.

He suddenly clutched his heart, feeling the blood in his body surge and accelerate with each heartbeat.

Streams of scorching air suddenly emerged from his body, then rose and converged at his mouth and throat.

They burned like flames in my mouth, nose, and throat, the intense stimulation causing immense pain.

Zhang Rongfang's face tightened, and he clutched his throat, enduring the pain that was comparable to being repeatedly cut with a knife.

Time passed second by second.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour! This time, the ability seems completely different from before.

Suddenly, a series of Intuition Warning popped up in the Attribute Panel.

Zhang Rongfang endured the pain and looked closely.

' Intuition Warning: Your innate abilities are guiding you towards the evolution of a powerful, supernatural being. You sense you face two choices: continue forward or stop moving backward? Please note: choosing to move forward means you will never turn back and will lose your original human essence. This is a change of species, a leap in the hierarchy of life. With this increased power, you will also suffer the suppression of the universe's natural feedback.'

Intuition Warning have never appeared with so many alerts before.

This was something Zhang Rongfang had never seen before.

At this moment, all the talent abilities with the word "blood" in the Trait Talent section slowly gathered together, forming a single option as if they were alive.

Dark Light Vision, Bloody Tracking, and Blood Echo —three talent abilities listed in one row.

At the very end, an extra set of parentheses appears, containing the following new text: (Three similar abilities can be combined to form one ultimate evolutionary path. Based on all collected life charts, the available branches are as follows:) '1— The Blood Clan Progenitor (Compatibility: 92%).'

'2 - Zombie King (Compatibility: 81%).'

'3— Pseudo Blood God (Compatibility: 70%).'

"So all that time he was using the blood-sucking to replenish his life force was for this moment??"

Faced with this flood of new information and options, Zhang Rongfang fell silent.

He originally thought his Attribute Panel only contained a simple attribute-based physical ability.

But now it seems this ability is becoming increasingly outrageous. Aside from the compatibility rating, there are no other options displayed. No new information appears either.

After a moment's hesitation, Zhang Rongfang made no move.

In such situations, choosing the option with the highest compatibility is naturally the safest option.

Although the Blood Clan Progenitor sounds a bit like a Western devil, as long as power is useful, nothing else matters.

With his mind made up, he imagined reaching out and gently touching the first item.

Smack

A soft sound echoed in my mind.

All choices suddenly transformed into dark red blood, dissolving and dispersing, flowing into his own skin.

New information also began to appear in the Attribute Panel.

The previous three blood-related talents have all merged and disappeared, becoming a new talent— the Blood Clan Progenitor.

' The Blood Clan Progenitor —As your life accumulates, you will grow from birth, constantly increasing in strength, until you become whole.'

The subsequent acquisition of abilities will be directed towards this bloodline. Once all abilities are acquired, the complete bloodline will be obtained, and the individual will become fully realized.

Trait Talent: Dark Light Vision, Bloody Tracking, Blood Echo, Destructive Sonic Wave, Super Speed Movement, Progenitor Bloodline Suppression, Blood Manipulation, Steel Skin, Toxin Resistance, Innate Giant Strength, Mind Control Over Living Beings, Soul Plunder, Blood Saint Body.

Weakness:

1. You abhor daylight, but because of your ancestral lineage, it will not be diminished by daylight.

2. You may temporarily gain greater power by drinking the blood of powerful beings. However, you may also become addicted to a deadly pleasure from which you cannot escape. Drink blood with caution.

3. You abhor silver, but due to your ancestral bloodline, you are not susceptible to its effects. However, the resistance to silver will gradually weaken for other Blood Descendant besides yours.