Bloodline

After falling unconscious, Luo Ze entered a strange dream.

He felt as though he were inside a massive black hole. There was no direction, no sound, no light—only endless darkness and silence.

He tried to walk forward, but found that he seemed trapped in place, unable to move.

He tried to call out, but his voice seemed to be swallowed by the darkness, receiving no response.

Everything around him was deathly silent. He felt increasingly lonely and helpless, as though this world belonged to him alone.

Amid that prolonged loneliness, at the end of that boundless void, Luo Ze seemed to see a boy who resembled him, dressed in a black robe and staring coldly at him.

"You've finally come!"

The boy slowly turned around. His originally brown eyes instantly turned crimson red, and in his hand was a shattered pocket watch whose age was unknown.

The boy raised it high, and time began to flow at that very moment.

"It's time to wake up... my Successor."

His consciousness sank into a whirlpool. Luo Ze only felt that familiar pain strike again before he suddenly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a flawless white wall, with blue cartoon curtains hanging on either side.

The sight before him was so familiar that Luo Ze immediately realized this was the hotel room where he was staying in Aolai City.

Just as he tried to sit up, he discovered that his right hand was numb and unable to move.

When he turned to look, a familiar silver-haired figure entered his sight.

Looking at Na'er sleeping beside the bed, Luo Ze gazed gently at the girl before him. Even his movements as he got up became cautious, afraid of disturbing her sleep.

Then, Luo Ze carefully picked Na'er up, gently placed her on the bed, and quietly left the room.

"Little Luo Ze, you're finally awake!" Wang Mu hurried over to Luo Ze's side and used his Soul Power to sense the aura of the bloodline within Luo Ze's body.

Fortunately, Luo Ze's Bloodline Power had now been completely suppressed, with no signs of going berserk.

"Uncle Wang, don't worry. Aren't I perfectly fine?" Luo Ze patted his chest, proving to Wang Mu just how strong his physique was.

"You brat! You only made it through this safely thanks to that silver-haired little girl. If she hadn't used her own life force to soothe your berserk bloodline, your soul would've already left your body." Wang Mu slowly explained.

"Na'er saved me?!" Luo Ze's eyes widened in shock upon hearing this.

"Yes. After you passed out that day, the Bloodline Power in your body surged tenfold. Even when I exhausted all my Soul Power, I still couldn't suppress your Bloodline Suppression."

"Left with no choice, I thought of the worst possible solution to keep you alive: crippling your bloodline. You would have lost your martial soul, but there was no other way!"

"Just as I was about to act, that little girl—Na'er—stopped me. Such a tiny thing, yet she stubbornly stood in front of you. She looked exactly like a cat with its fur standing on end as she shouted at me, 'I can save him!'"

Wang Mu described it vividly. Even though Luo Ze had not witnessed it himself, he could still imagine that small silver-haired figure standing resolutely in front of him.

"Life force... Na'er, she..."

The moment he heard the words "life force," Luo Ze's pupils abruptly dilated, and his body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Life force and Soul Power were entirely different concepts. To a Soul Master, Soul Power was a renewable resource. Even if it was completely depleted, medicine could restore it.

Life force, however, was different. It was more like the Origin Power within a human body. Once it suffered severe damage or depletion, it could inflict irreversible and fatal harm upon the body.

"Uncle Wang, why didn't you stop her?!"

Before Wang Mu could continue, Luo Ze hurriedly turned around and ran back into the room.

"Kids really are impatient. Why couldn't he wait for me to finish?" Wang Mu shook his head helplessly.

Luo Ze's room was on the fourth floor of the hotel. By the time Luo Ze ran back, he was already panting heavily. This exhaustion had nothing to do with his physical strength, but rather with mental fatigue.

He had only just awakened, and his Spiritual Power was still exhausted. As soon as he reached the door, his vision blurred, as though the blood supply to his brain had suddenly become insufficient.

Still, Luo Ze forced himself to stay conscious and supported himself against the wall with one hand.

Just as he was about to rest for a moment before going inside, a silver figure suddenly rushed out through the room's door, and the two collided head-on.

Their eyes met. Seeing Luo Ze's strikingly handsome face before her, Na'er could not help but blush. She lowered her head and simply remained nestled in Luo Ze's arms, obedient as a doll.

"Do you know how much damage recklessly using such an enormous amount of life force can do to you?!"

Luo Ze did not notice the ambiguity in the atmosphere between them at all. Instead, he yelled angrily at Na'er.

Although he had spent years training with his grandfather and had little interaction with others, or knowledge of the outside world, he still remembered the basic common sense of ordinary Soul Masters very clearly.

Especially when it came to life force, his grandfather had told him more than once that a person only had one life. No matter what difficulties they faced, they had to put their own life first!

"But you risked your life to save me too! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have fallen unconscious because of your bloodline's rampage!" Na'er lowered her head in grievance, her voice trembling.

For a moment, Luo Ze was speechless.

Luo Ze awkwardly rubbed his cheek. There was no denying that he had used the power of his soul ring without permission because he wanted to save Na'er.

But more than that, he had wanted to test his overall strength as a Soul Master.

Ever since he was young, he had listened to his grandfather tell stories of battles between Soul Masters and Soul Beasts, and naturally, he had longed for such things.

That was why he had been unable to resist testing it out...

He had not expected the backlash to be so powerful that it knocked him unconscious.

But in this situation, if he told her what he had really been thinking, he would probably be beaten into a pulp...

For some reason, looking at the adorable Na'er before him, Luo Ze found himself having such an unbelievable thought.

"Ahem, you two should mind your image!" Wang Mu coughed awkwardly twice, turned his back, and chose not to watch their public display of affection.

It was also because of that cough that the two realized just how awkward their current position was. They immediately sprang away from each other like springs and stood properly.

"Luo Ze, come out with me for a moment. Elder Long is back. He has something he wants to discuss with you alone." At the mention of Elder Long, a trace of sympathy suddenly appeared in Wang Mu's eyes as he looked at Luo Ze.

"Grandfather is back? That's great! Once he finds out about my righteous deed this time, he'll definitely praise me to the skies..."

Downstairs at the hotel, in the quiet room, Elder Long's sharp gaze was like countless blades, as though he wanted to cut Luo Ze into a thousand pieces.

"Heh, tell me—what did I teach you before? Who told you to use your soul ring ability so casually when you had no idea what soul ring it was or how much you could withstand?!"

"Did you take my words as mere wind past your ears?!"