Bloodline Divine Ability

"Will he show up?"

At those words, the great weight pressing on Li Hai's heart was instantly lifted.

His eyes lit up, and he immediately broke into a grin. "That'd be great."

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!

Li Hai calculated inwardly.

When dawn came, as soon as Guo Huaijin's grandson approached, he would level up on the spot and seize the boy as a hostage.

Since that old bastard cared so much about the little beast, he would surely be afraid to act rashly and would not dare lay a hand on him anytime soon.

Then, whether Li Hai turned and ran or continued to negotiate, he would have plenty of room to maneuver.

As for whether that little mongrel, who could only survive by drinking human blood, would throw a tantrum and kick up a fuss after being captured...

Heh. Li Hai was not the boy's grandfather. If the brat became a nuisance, he would just break both his legs. He could still be dragged along.

"Master Guo."

Li Hai smiled. "Get me something to eat and drink. At least then I can die with a full stomach."

Guo Huaijin narrowed his eyes as he examined him, then nodded. "Fine."

He casually assigned a servant to fetch food and wine from the manor's kitchens.

Before long, the servant delivered wine, meat, bowls, and chopsticks to Li Hai.

Along with them came a full set of golden-thread nanmu table and chairs.

Then, under the cold, gloomy stares of the crowd, Li Hai began eating and drinking with utter disregard.

And time quietly passed amid that strange atmosphere of dining.

The long night was as black as ink, like endless dark silk draped over the earth.

Within that darkness, all things lay steeped in silence.

Only the occasional howl of the wind and the soft rustling murmur of leaves slightly disturbed the stillness.

Yet as time passed, the curtain of night finally began to fade.

At some unknown moment, a faint glimmer appeared at the far end of the dark heavens above.

Gradually, that light spread wider and turned ever more golden.

In the end, it tore apart most of the night sky.

Dawn had arrived.

At that moment, Li Hai, who had eaten and drunk his fill before reclining in a lounge chair with his eyes closed for nearly two hours, was forcibly hauled up by several burly servants and dragged away, then roughly bound to a Blood Wood Stake as thick as a man's waist.

"Why be so rough?"

Fixed to the stake, Li Hai looked over the strong men binding him with hemp rope and grinned. "It's not like I'm going to run."

Naturally, the servants ignored him. Once they had tied him up and checked that the ropes were secure, they stepped aside and stood quietly.

Just then, a thin, hunched young man in brocade robes entered the courtyard at an unhurried pace, accompanied by two middle-aged servants in black who carried sabers and staffs. His face was deathly pale with a bluish tint.

"Hmm."

Li Hai discreetly swept his gaze over the sickly young man and muttered inwardly, This should be Guo Huaijin's grandson, right? He looks like a Sickly Ghost... Huh?!

All of a sudden, he could actually "see" the young man's personal interface from afar. More precisely, he could "see" that unlike ordinary people, whose skill bars were completely empty, this man's skill bar contained something called Blood Devouring Burning Heart.

At the same time, his level section displayed an entry named Bloodline Divine Ability.

In other words, Blood Devouring Burning Heart was an ability within the Bloodline Divine Ability system.

I never expected... Li Hai pondered secretly while bound to the Blood Wood Stake. In this unfamiliar world, there are divine abilities besides martial arts? As for this so-called bloodline... it probably refers to DNA, something like human genes.

As he considered this, he carefully examined the other party's interface information—

Character Name: Unknown

Level Tier: Bloodline Divine Ability → Inferior Grade

Skills: Blood Devouring Burning Heart

Trait Characteristics: None

Stronger Fragments: None

While Li Hai observed the interface and used the system to secretly learn that so-called Bloodline Divine Ability, Guo Huaijin hurried over to the young man in a few quick strides. He grasped his thin arm, his face full of concern.

"Shiwen, Grandfather hasn't been home these past days. Your heart and internal organs..."

"Grandfather need not worry. Shiwen has felt no abnormalities."

Guo Shiwen smiled reassuringly. "Perhaps because Shiwen has kept up treatment over the years, the pain in Shiwen's heart has not been too severe lately. It is only that Shiwen's appetite and strength remain somewhat weak."

"That's good, that's good." A relieved smile finally appeared on Guo Huaijin's aged face.

At the same time, that same smile appeared on Li Hai's face more than a dozen paces away.

"My odds... have gone up a little more." His smile vanished in an instant.

Just moments ago, Li Hai had completely mastered the so-called divine ability, Blood Devouring Burning Heart, rooted deep within Guo Shiwen's bloodline without the slightest hindrance.

Only after learning this divine ability did he understand.

This skill was entirely different from martial arts techniques that formed a system and could be acquired through later training.

It was an ability that "grew" innately from one's bloodline, or rather, could only be possessed through natural awakening.

At the same time, this divine ability had one and only one specialized effect.

That was... by consuming one's own blood and increasing the burden on the heart, it could greatly enhance physical ability, strength, and bodily toughness, causing one's overall combat power to soar for a short time.

By comparison, it was somewhat like the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique from wuxia novels.

Except what it consumed was not true qi or internal force, but blood and the heart itself.

That little beast probably needs to drink human blood...

Li Hai glanced toward Guo Shiwen in the distance and thought, because of this divine ability.

It was also only after learning Blood Devouring Burning Heart that he made an indirect deduction.

This Guo Shiwen had most likely failed to activate this divine ability, or perhaps lacked the ability needed to let it grow into its truly mature state.

Thus, he had the misfortune of bearing only the cost of the divine ability while failing to obtain its power.

That was why Guo Shiwen was so weak and so dependent on human blood.

However, although he lacked the ability to let the divine ability "grow" into maturity, Li Hai had it.

Right before the grandfather and grandson's eyes, Li Hai activated the Study Hard system and silently elevated the Bloodline Divine Ability, Blood Devouring Burning Heart, from its initial inferior grade, which was almost like an embryonic seed, to its potential limit—the so-called lower grade.

At the same time, Li Hai finally gained the first trait characteristic of his life—Berserk Level 1.

As for Guo Huaijin, although he was powerful and sharp-sensed,

Bloodline Divine Abilities were rooted at the level of human genes. He could not possibly sense anything unusual.

This was precisely the main reason Li Hai had dared to boldly upgrade Blood Devouring Burning Heart.

In short, from now on, whenever he used this divine ability, Li Hai could gain a short-term increase in combat power of as much as thirty to fifty percent, at the cost of a certain price.

"It's best not to use this kind of life-burning skill unless I have to."

Li Hai quietly surveyed his surroundings. Looking at the more than ten spear-wielding strong men stationed across the courtyard floor and atop the courtyard walls and beams, he muttered inwardly, I only have one life. Better to stay safe when I can, and lie low whenever possible.