Two Years Pass in the Blink of an Eye

Although it felt unpleasant, the results were remarkable. After enduring several grueling sessions of "boiling" his blood with his own life force, Zul'ra felt his body becoming increasingly sturdy and resilient, much like iron ore being smelted and purged of impurities to become steel.

This further reinforcement of his body caused Zul'ra to notice the beginnings of new teeth sprouting where his fangs had been pulled. Fortunately, these were not sharp, elongated fangs, but rather molars. Beyond his toughened physique, he felt as though he had reached the realm of Dark Force.

If the discovery of "life force" could be compared to the stage of Dark Force, then Zul'ra felt his current state was akin to Transforming Force. Every muscle, tendon, and even the marrow within his bones and organs had entered his conscious awareness, significantly enhancing his ability to look inward.

As long as Zul'ra focused his will, he could perceive every condition of his body. With a mere thought, the fine hairs on his skin would stand on end, creating a sensation where not a single feather could be added nor a fly could land upon him. Of course, that was an illusion; after all, human hair is not made of steel needles—though bioelectricity might be a factor.

Setting aside the physical reinforcement, Zul'ra was immensely excited to have successfully manipulated his own blood and achieved the desired enhancements. He had only intended to experiment, never expecting to actually succeed.

Zul'ra knew his own limitations well. He was no professional scientist; his so-called scientific knowledge came either from trivial life hacks or half-baked information gleaned from internet movies and novels. This was purely a case of a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.

Regardless, he had caught the mouse. Building on his discovery, he consumed some blood-replenishing agents and life potions. During the process of boiling his blood, much of his life force and blood had been consumed, necessitating replenishment—reinforcement was not without its price.

After restoring his physical state with the potions, Zul'ra continued his progress, delving deeper into the connection between life force and blood. He sought a method to manipulate life force to control his blood, aiming to achieve the ability to command his own circulatory system as he had imagined.

Life force is what Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to as Qi. Zul'ra knew the saying: "Blood is the mother of Qi, and Qi is the commander of blood." The two are inseparable, so he decided to start there, researching the link between the two.

Although Qi and blood are inseparable, they are distinct entities, meaning there must be a pivot between them. That pivot is the internal organs. Zul'ra discovered that the body's viscera all seemed connected to the blood, and the functions of these organs were all masters of the body's life force.

Using his old method, Zul'ra tried using magic and life force to sense his internal organs and attempt to control them. However, this was useless; the organs governed specific bodily functions, and controlling them further yielded no change.

While he couldn't discern anything regarding the functions of the organs, Zul'ra discovered that Qi—no, rather, life force—was the collective manifestation of human life, yet it possessed different functions just like the various organs.

The functions of life force were extremely subtle, almost imperceptible, but with careful attention, one could feel them. The functions of human life force were also related to the five viscera: the kidneys represented vitality, the heart represented perception, the lungs represented courage, the liver represented spirit, and the spleen represented will.

These major functions of the human body, summarized as a chaotic mass of life force, were like many colored silk threads tangled together. To weave a beautiful garment, one must first separate the threads by color, then weave them into cloth in order before cutting them into clothing.

Though his ideas grew increasingly wild, Zul'ra successfully concentrated his physical life force into his heart, then used meditation to perceive the power of his own consciousness and cognition. The release of this power caused a mutation in the magic within his body.

Magic is indescribable and the foundation of all spellcasting. Casters usually rely on it to make contact with energy and gain the ability to manipulate it. Few casters can manipulate tangible matter, and even then, they rely on elemental spirits or energy intermediaries granted by gods, rather than direct manipulation.

By accident, Zul'ra released the mysterious power within his consciousness, causing his magic to mutate. This mutated magic not only helped him establish a connection with his blood, granting him the ability to manipulate it directly, but also gave him a new level of control over his life force.

Originally, his life force could be sensed and manipulated through intent and breathing, but it was like mist on a distant mountain peak—ethereal and elusive. After the mysterious power was released, Zul'ra felt as if that mist had descended before him, swirling around his own body.

That life force seemed to overflow from his body, forming an aura around him. Through this aura, Zul'ra could perceive every blade of grass and tree in his vicinity. He could even accurately sense when someone merely glanced at him, much like the legendary sixth sense, but the aura's utility went far beyond that.

Between attending to political affairs and exploring this mysterious power, over two years passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, through political propaganda and reform policies, he successfully established a firm footing in Jintha'Alor and gained the recognition of the majority of the Vilebranch Trolls and Viletooth Trolls, steadily expanding his influence.

As his influence grew, so did the number of his followers. Zul'ra selected a group from among them for specialized training, either sending them to Lostro and the others or teaching them personally, instructing them in voodoo, tactical planning, and military experience.

Beyond cultivating talent, Zul'ra reorganized his followers. Building upon the existing foundation, he selected personnel to establish a new military organization named "Zul'ra's Fangs," or the Fang Army for short.

The Fang Army consisted of 432 members, organized as a regiment. Zul'ra appointed himself as the regiment's priest. He had an apprentice deputy, Bash, while the regiment commander was Lostro, and the deputy commander was Cook, who had been studying under him.

In addition to arming the Fang Army with steel, Zul'ra heavily armed them with ideology. He used culture and knowledge to correct their outlook on life and the world; morality was harder to fix in the short term and required long-term influence and restraint.

After the Fang Army was established, the first target Zul'ra used to drill them was the nearby Witherbark Trolls. Those fellows had established Shadra'lo southeast of Shadra'Alor, poaching Gryphon from the Hinterlands with the intention of using the power of Shadra the Silk Dancer to tame them.

After failing to tame the Gryphon, the Witherbark Trolls drove the priestess of Shadra, Chilga, out of the altar. Filled with grief and indignation, the priestess fled to Jintha'Alor to beg Zul'ra for help, providing him with the perfect excuse to deal with the Witherbark Trolls.

Zul'ra ordered Lostro to lead the army to capture Shadra'Alor and Shadra'lo, releasing the imprisoned Gryphon. Afterward, they crossed the mountains, unexpectedly entering the Arathi Highlands to breach Witherbark Village, where they killed the Witherbark chieftain Jaka, forcing the Witherbark Trolls to "voluntarily" return under the banner of the Amani.