The Blood Spirit Potion

Chapter 2: Purple Potion

Mu Qing and Ling Fei returned to the dormitory. The top students shared rooms in pairs, and theirs was luxuriously furnished, almost on par with a four-star hotel in Hangzhou City!

Seeing that Mu Qing wasn't dispirited after Song Yalan broke up with him, Ling Fei finally relaxed. He sat cross-legged on his bed and began circulating the Blood Refining Technique.

He hadn't awakened his Blood Spirit long ago. With the College Entrance Exam coming up, and a mock exam only a few days away, he naturally had to make the most of every moment to cultivate.

Watching Ling Fei enter a state of cultivation, Mu Qing felt a pang of melancholy.

The Blood Refining Technique was a bloodline cultivation method issued to all students by West Lake High School. By cultivating it, one could continuously strengthen the power of the bloodline within the body and grow stronger.

The only requirement for practicing the Blood Refining Technique was having a Blood Spirit!

Without a Blood Spirit, one could only train the body in the Cultivation Room, like Mu Qing did, and consume medicinal herbs so their potency would seep into the blood and gradually strengthen the bloodline.

At Blood Qi Fourth Rank, a person possessed eight hundred jin of strength. But at Blood Qi Fifth Rank, after awakening a Blood Spirit, they could convert their power into Origin Force and reach a full ton of strength!

"Beep-beep. Mr. Mu Qing, you have a delivery. It's been left at the West Lake High School security office."

Suddenly, the communications device on Mu Qing's wrist lit up and chimed.

Mu Qing froze. He'd been busy trying to figure out how to break through to Blood Qi Fifth Rank lately, and hadn't had time to order anything online.

"Who sent me a package?" Though puzzled, Mu Qing still left the dormitory and headed to the school security office.

"So this is my package?"

Mu Qing held a black box marked with the words "Gale Express."

That was the Jifeng Group's logo. They were said to deliver packages anywhere—even into oceans swarming with Fierce Beasts.

He hefted the box. It was unexpectedly light.

Mu Qing carried it to the school's Cultivation Room. Ling Fei was cultivating in the dormitory, and Mu Qing didn't want to disturb him.

As a top student, he had his own private Cultivation Room. Even though his cultivation hadn't kept pace with the other top students, the school hadn't taken back the privileges and benefits he was entitled to.

"Click."

Mu Qing opened the box and glanced inside. His expression shifted slightly.

Inside lay a purple, tube-shaped potion and a gold wristband-style communications device.

Wristband communications devices were all the rage these days. Almost everyone had one, and Mu Qing's own was packed with features.

"Mu Qing..."

A figure formed from light appeared on the gold communications device, no bigger than a finger.

"Dad?"

Mu Qing exclaimed. The person displayed on the gold device was none other than his mysterious father, Mu Yu, who never seemed to work yet had plenty of money.

"Mu Qing, I have some important business to take care of, so I'll be away from home for a while. As for why you've never been able to awaken your Blood Spirit, I've racked my brains over it, but I still can't figure out what's wrong."

"The College Entrance Exam is almost here. If you can't awaken your Blood Spirit, you might lose your chance to become a Federation Martial Artist. That's why I've sent you a Blood Spirit Potion."

"The Blood Spirit Potion has only one effect: it lets a martial artist possess two Blood Spirits. For some reason, the Mad Shark Blood Spirit inherited through your bloodline can't be awakened. But this potion should be unaffected by that. It'll give you a Blood Spirit right away!"

"Remember! Don't let anyone know you've taken the Blood Spirit Potion. And if your Mad Shark Blood Spirit ever awakens, don't show it to anyone lightly."

With that, Mu Yu's image disappeared from the communications device.

"Dad... what does he even do?"

Staring at the gold communications device and the Blood Spirit Potion before him, Mu Qing's eyes narrowed. He drew in a sharp breath.

He had so many questions. Who was his father, really? How could he get his hands on such a precious potion? And why had his mother, who had divorced his father, never told him anything about it—or even let him visit her?

"Can the Blood Spirit Potion really give me a Blood Spirit right away?"

Mu Qing took a deep breath and focused on the purple tube-shaped potion.

Purple light shimmered inside it, surrounded by flecks like stars and drifting, misty haze. It looked as if lightning were coursing through the vapor.

"Whatever! Dad gave it to me, so he wouldn't hurt me. And the mock exam is in two days. Wang Haixuan is bound to come after me. If I don't have the strength of Blood Qi Fifth Rank, he'll probably humiliate me!"

Mu Qing gritted his teeth, then pressed the end of the potion. A needle sprang out.

Like the top-tier Blood Refining Potion Mu Qing had used before, the Blood Spirit Potion was injected.

Reaching out his left hand, Mu Qing jabbed the needle into his arm. The purple mist inside the potion suddenly churned violently, flecks of lightning swirling through it as it all rushed into his arm, then flowed along his blood vessels and spread throughout his body.

Mu Qing groaned. He hadn't expected the Blood Spirit Potion to cause such excruciating pain. His whole body trembled, and his legs gave way. He collapsed onto the floor, beads of sweat the size of beans pouring from his forehead and back, as if countless ants were gnawing at his body.

A terrifying storm erupted in Mu Qing's mind. Wisps of purple mist scattered and enveloped his entire body. Blood seeped from every pore, and he promptly passed out.

Had anyone been in the Cultivation Room, they would have seen Mu Qing surrounded by purple mist, with flashes of lightning dancing around him. The blood vessels beneath his skin bulged and intertwined like coiling dragons as a force of purple lightning tempered his body.

No one knew how long it took before Mu Qing slowly woke.

His first sensation was that every bone in his body had been broken apart. He was weak, and his stomach growled as though he hadn't eaten in ages.

Mu Qing struggled to his feet and went to the safe on one side of the Cultivation Room. He took out three crimson ginseng roots.

Ever since Cosmic Fierce Beasts invaded Earth, a mysterious force had transformed the planet, causing many plants to mutate. The crimson ginseng in Mu Qing's hands had evolved from ordinary ginseng, and its medicinal potency was dozens of times greater.

Only someone at Blood Qi Fourth Rank could barely manage to consume it.

Mu Qing was ravenous. He grabbed a crimson ginseng root, shoved it into his mouth, and wolfed it down in a few bites. At last, the gnawing hunger eased a little.

"Huh?"

Mu Qing's expression suddenly turned serious. When he swallowed the crimson ginseng, he sensed a mysterious force welling up in his mind, helping him refine its medicinal potency.

"Whoom."

His Blood Qi stirred. Wisps of it surged from his body and formed a purple bamboo stalk behind him. Blood Qi turned into purple mist and wound around the bamboo, while lightning slithered through the haze like tiny snakes.

The bamboo stalk was incredibly solid, shimmering with light. Gleams of radiance streamed into his body, rapidly refining the crimson ginseng's medicinal potency and spreading it throughout him.

"Blood Qi Fifth Rank!"

Mu Qing drew in a sharp breath, then broke into an excited grin.

Blood Qi Fifth Rank!

He'd gone from Blood Qi Fourth Rank to where he was now under the skeptical gazes of others. He'd seen his hopes dashed countless times. With the College Entrance Exam drawing near, even Mu Qing had begun to feel a hint of despair. Yet he'd finally broken through today!

This was the Blood Spirit his father had given him: Purple Lightning Bamboo!

"Ordinary Blood Spirits are awakened from the dantian, but Purple Lightning Bamboo appeared in my mind, formed with the help of the Blood Spirit Potion." Mu Qing gradually calmed down. He sat cross-legged and tried to communicate with the Purple Lightning Bamboo in his mind.

Through inner vision, Mu Qing saw that the Purple Lightning Bamboo in his mind flickered in and out of sight, wrapped in wisps of lightning. Five glowing patterns shimmered on it, crackling with arcs of electricity.

He knew that everyone's Blood Spirit bore these patterns. They had to use the Blood Refining Technique to keep refining their Blood Qi and channel it into their Blood Spirit. Once ten patterns had formed and fused, the Blood Spirit would release its first-stage power. Only then could one truly become a Federation Martial Artist!

Why was the College Entrance Exam so important?

Because only by passing it could students enter the Federation early and enjoy its benefits. They could hunt Cosmic Fierce Beasts or complete missions to earn the medicinal herbs and potions they needed, rapidly improving their cultivation.

If they failed the exam, they could only cultivate on their own in silence, spending years or even more than a decade reaching the point where their Blood Spirit released its first-stage power. Only then could they register with a Federation agency and become Federation Martial Artists.

That showed just how important the College Entrance Exam was. Even Mu Qing's mysterious father wanted him to seize the opportunity—and had even sent him a Blood Spirit Potion!

"Let's try the school's Blood Refining Technique."

Now that he had a Blood Spirit, Mu Qing could hardly wait. He raised his hand and tapped his communications device.

A light screen sprang from his communications device and hovered in midair.

Mu Qing logged into the West Lake High School website and opened the required courses for the third year of high school. There, he found a video.

The video showed a transparent body with clearly visible channels, through which strands of blood-red threads continuously flowed.

It was a detailed video on the Blood Refining Technique. Most top students had already studied it in advance when they reached Blood Qi Fourth Rank, so they could start practicing as soon as they awakened their Blood Spirit.

The Blood Refining Technique wasn't a particularly advanced method, but it was still considered quite advanced among ordinary people. To get a better cultivation method, one would probably have to go to a Federation agency.

After watching the video a few times, Mu Qing memorized the key points. Then he sat cross-legged in the Cultivation Room, ate the two remaining crimson ginseng roots in one go, and began to activate his Blood Spirit and circulate the Blood Refining Technique.

Following the routes shown in the technique, he felt the Purple Lightning Bamboo deep in his mind begin to tremble. Wisps of purple qi poured out, refining the tremendous medicinal potency of the two crimson ginseng roots.

At the same time, Mu Qing drew on the Blood Qi in his dantian and sent it toward his mind along with the medicinal potency.

As the Blood Refining Technique circulated, the rich medicinal potency and Blood Qi were gradually transformed by the Purple Lightning Bamboo into wisps of incandescent white lightning!