Drifting Blood

Aboard the spaceship.

Yin Congyang took a bottle of wine and two glasses out of his storage space, then poured a glass for Steven.

Steven accepted the glass and gave the wine a sniff. His eyes lit up. "This is good wine. Rich and mellow, with a smooth, balanced flavor."

Yin Congyang smiled, took a jar out of his storage space, and handed it to Steven.

"This is a specialty of the Green Pouch Secret Realm, I suppose. I usually have a glass after training to unwind. There's only this one jar left, so I'll give it to you, Mr. Steven..."

In truth, he hardly ever drank. But the wine did come from the Green Pouch Secret Realm. He had bought a batch before leaving, and there were still over a hundred jars in his Space Ring. This one alone weighed a ton, though, so it would keep Steven supplied for quite a while.

Steven accepted the jar with a laugh. "I also like to have a drink after training. Seems we have a hobby in common, haha..."

After putting the wine away in his storage space, he said to Yin Congyang, "Actually, arriving in the End-of-the-World Secret Realm at this time puts you at a bit of a disadvantage. The Qualification Battle will begin in just a few decades. But since you entered the Core Layer by reaching level 61 of the Heaven-Reaching Tower, you should be fine. Of the nearly ten thousand Universe Level members in the End-of-the-World Region, I'd wager half couldn't defeat the opponents on level 61..."

Yin Congyang asked curiously, "The End-of-the-World Secret Realm is already the outermost of the Four Great Secret Realms. What happens if you rank near the bottom in the Qualification Battle?"

"The Primal Region has the fewest members: only 100 World Lords, 10 Domain Lords, and 3 Universe Levels. Anyone in excess gets demoted to the Primordial Beginning District. That district has 1,000 World Lords, 100 Domain Lords, and 30 Universe Levels. Anyone over the limit there is likewise demoted to the Heaven and Earth Region. That region has 10,000 World Lords, 1,000 Domain Lords, and 300 Universe Levels. Everyone else gets swept into the End-of-the-World Region. That's why it has so many people. But even from there, you can still be demoted. The rules for Universe Levels are as follows: the top 100 in the End-of-the-World Region's Qualification Battle face the bottom 50 in the Heaven and Earth Region. The top 50 among them ultimately move up to the Heaven and Earth Region. As for End-of-the-World Region members who rank in the bottom 100 in three consecutive Qualification Battles, they're expelled from the secret realm and assigned to a Universe Legion to fight on the Outer-Domain Battlefield. If they earn enough military merits, they might even get a chance to return to the End-of-the-World Secret Realm..."

Steven explained the End-of-the-World Region's Qualification Battle rules at length.

"I see. That makes sense. Anyone who's just entered the Core Layer will probably rank near the bottom at first. But if they're in the bottom hundred three times in a row, then they deserve to be eliminated..."

Yin Congyang wasn't particularly affected by what he'd heard. After all, the End-of-the-World Region alone had nearly ten thousand Universe Levels. Anyone who ranked among the bottom hundred in three consecutive Qualification Battles probably didn't have much talent or potential. They'd be better off leaving the Core Layer for the Outer-Domain Battlefield. If they could survive somewhere with such a high death rate, they might eventually break through to Domain Lord or even World Lord Level.

The two chatted a while longer, then Yin Congyang left Steven to his wine and picked a cabin to train in.

After completing his daily training, he sat cross-legged and sent a thread of consciousness into the Virtual Universe. He made a few adjustments to the suite assigned to him to better suit his habits.

Then he sat in a chair and instructed his intelligent Optical Computer, "Open the 'Treasury' and search for the secret technique 'Drifting Blood.'"

He had been struggling without systematic guidance. Though he had made some progress in the Law of Space, he couldn't study it in depth. If he could enter Chaos City now, he could choose a Chaos Stele to study. But since he wasn't in the Initial Universe, he had to look for a solution among the secret techniques in the treasury.

In the original story, Drifting Blood was described as the combat secret technique best suited to studying the first three diagrams of the Nine Universes Chaos Tablet. The Nine Universes Chaos Tablet began with the Law of Space, and its first three diagrams laid out all 108 essences of the Law of Space in full for practitioners to study.

Yin Congyang didn't necessarily have to choose the Nine Universes Chaos Tablet, but exchanging for Drifting Blood was undoubtedly a good choice. It could help him comprehend the essences of the Law of Space, and it was also a combat secret technique he could use in battle. It would be difficult to adapt its sword techniques to his axe techniques, but his clone didn't have to use an axe. He could find it a good sword and still use it to fight.

"Drifting Blood secret technique found. Price: 800 points. Members of the Primal Region receive a 30% discount, members of the Primordial Beginning District receive a 20% discount, members of the Heaven and Earth Region receive a 10% discount, and members of the End-of-the-World Region pay full price," the intelligent Optical Computer reported.

"...Exchange it." Yin Congyang pursed his lips and grumbled to himself, Members of the End-of-the-World Region really are like unwanted stepchildren. There's no discount on anything they buy...

"Exchange successful. 800 points deducted. Remaining balance: 1,170 points."

"Please wait. Someone will deliver the secret technique shortly."

After thinking for a moment, Yin Congyang continued instructing the intelligent Optical Computer. "Search the secret-realm treasures for 'Life Fruit,' as well as treasures with metal and fire attributes. Show me the results."

"Search complete. Life Fruits cost 50 points each," the intelligent Optical Computer reported. "The metal- and fire-attribute treasures are..."

A screen appeared in the air, listing the metal- and fire-attribute treasures and their point costs.

Titanium Crystal, 20 points per cubic meter

Li-Origin Crystal, 23 points per cubic meter

Geng Metal Essence, 30 points per cubic meter

Vermilion Bird Fire, 30 points per wisp

Golden Crow Fire, 25 points per wisp

Phoenix Fire, 30 points per wisp

After checking the details of all the items in the search results, Yin Congyang did the math, then told the intelligent Optical Computer, "Exchange for two Life Fruits, ten cubic meters of Geng Metal Essence, and ten wisps of Phoenix Fire. Set the delivery time for the day after I arrive at the End-of-the-World Secret Realm."

"Exchange successful. A total of 700 points deducted. Remaining balance: 470 points."

"Beep. You have mail."

"Open it."

Moore's image appeared on the screen in the air. "Yin Congyang, the secret technique you purchased has arrived. You'll need to collect it in person."

Yin Congyang flew out through the window and headed for the entrance to the End-of-the-World Region.

At the entrance, three Virtual Universe Company employees stood holding a silver briefcase. When they saw Yin Congyang approaching, one of them pointed a device on his wrist at him, sending out a beam of light that scanned him. "Identity confirmed. Delivery authorized."

The employee handed the briefcase to Yin Congyang, gave a slight nod, and left with his two subordinates.

Yin Congyang didn't mind. He carried the briefcase back to his room.

After locking the doors and windows, he eagerly opened the briefcase. Inside were more than a hundred densely packed volumes, each labeled Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3... all the way to Volume 110.

He picked up the top volume. The words "Nine Universes" stood out in the center of the black cover, with "Drifting Blood" written in smaller letters beside them. At the lower left was the name Lian Luo.

The tens of thousands of words in Volume 1 described Lian Luo's understanding of the Nine Universes Chaos Tablet and the Space Origin Law, along with information about the secret technique Drifting Blood that he had created. It served as the general introduction to the entire collection. Reading it carefully would greatly help Yin Congyang plan his training.

Volumes 2 through 109 analyzed the 108 essences of the Space Origin Law. Using sword techniques to analyze the laws was much like how Yin Congyang had previously used axe techniques to comprehend domains and laws. But Lian Luo had also had a Chaos Stele to study, which made his progress much faster.

The final volume summarized the entire collection.

In the introduction to Volume 1, Lian Luo had left a sentence: If you are in Chaos City and still haven't mastered the first sword set after 20 years of training, or if you are in the Original Universe and still haven't mastered it after 200 years, give up. Go and study the way other practitioners do. This path isn't for you.

Yin Congyang put that aside and ran through the contents of Volume 1 in his mind. Only after making sure he understood it completely did he pick up Volume 2, open it, and begin reading carefully.

As he read, his clone inside the spaceship cabin drew a sword from the Space Ring at his side. He had made it himself to the specifications required by Drifting Blood, and now he began practicing the techniques over and over.

As he repeatedly practiced the first sword set, his scattered insights into the Law of Space gradually began to converge. A wealth of understanding about the Law of Space surged into his mind.

His main body took out a long sword as well and practiced the first sword set in the training room of his Virtual Universe suite.

After an unknown amount of time, Yin Congyang stopped practicing and withdrew his consciousness from the Virtual Universe, returning to his body. He sat cross-legged. Though Steven, aboard the F-Grade Spaceship, was also a member of the End-of-the-World Secret Realm, Yin Congyang remained cautious, setting up several alarms around himself so he could react immediately if anything happened.

He focused his entire mind on his Dantian and once again entered that mysterious space. Conjuring a long sword, he began practicing the first sword set of Drifting Blood. This time, the experience felt different from when he had practiced the Heaven-Opening Axe Technique.

Before, whenever he practiced the Heaven-Opening Axe Technique in that space, he was quickly immersed in training and remained that way until his insights were complete, when he would naturally exit the space.

This time, while practicing the first sword set of Drifting Blood, he remained clearheaded for most of the time instead of becoming fully immersed. Yet his understanding of the Law of Space was far better than it had been before he received systematic guidance. Only now did he realize that the space seemed to possess a mysterious power that could correct some of his mistakes in training without him noticing.

He'd never had a proper teacher. The Training Camp had offered the same general education to all its students, much as a school gave everyone the same teachers and textbooks. A top student who wanted to improve further could only study on their own.

But to study effectively on your own, you needed more advanced material. Trying to break through to higher levels entirely on your own, using only the material you already had, made it all too easy to fall into misconceptions and take detours.

His axe techniques were extremely advanced, far beyond Drifting Blood. But their level was so high that Yin Congyang, whose understanding was still limited, couldn't grasp them deeply.

The Heaven-Opening Axe Technique was, after all, different from Drifting Blood. Drifting Blood was a secret technique for studying combat. Its actual combat power was only so-so; its main purpose was to explain the essences of the Law of Space. It offered no method for combining those essences later to unleash the power of the Law of Space. Otherwise, it wouldn't cost a mere 800 points in the Virtual Universe Company's treasury.

The Heaven-Opening Axe Technique, on the other hand, was a pure combat secret technique—and an extremely high-level one at that. In fact, when Yin Congyang was at Planetary, Star, or even Universe Level, he couldn't bring much of its power to bear.