Dragonblood Test

Days passed, and in the blink of an eye An and Linley were six and a half years old.

During these past six months, An never slackened for a single day. The Heaven Rewards Diligence System faithfully recorded every bit of his effort, and his warrior level experience bar had risen to eighty-seven percent.

At this rate, in less than another month, he would officially break through to a Level-1 Warrior.

At dinner, two-and-a-half-year-old younger brother Wharton sat in a high children's chair, clumsily shoveling food into his mouth with a small spoon and scattering rice grains all over the table.

"Big brother, today I wiped the chamber pot with a linen cloth, and then I wiped the bowls," Wharton said innocently, his eyes full of a look asking for credit.

An almost spat out the soup in his mouth.

Linley also wore a peculiar expression, forcibly holding back his laughter.

Hogg put down his tableware and looked at Wharton expressionlessly. "Wharton, who told you to do that?"

"Grandpa Hiri said linen cloth can wipe things, so I wiped," Wharton blinked. "After wiping the chamber pot, I felt it was still useful, so I wiped the bowls again."

"Remember from now on, the linen cloth used to wipe the chamber pot cannot be used to wipe bowls," Hogg took a deep breath, trying hard to maintain his sternness. "And tableware must be wiped with a special cloth."

Wharton nodded with a half-understanding look and continued burying his head to eat.

An and Linley exchanged glances, and finally couldn't help laughing out loud.

After dinner, Hogg's expression suddenly turned serious.

"An, Linley, come with me," he stood up, his tone carrying solemnity.

The housekeeper Hiri was already waiting at the door, holding an oil lamp in his hand. The three of them crossed the corridor and walked toward the direction of the Ancestral Hall.

An's heartbeat began to accelerate.

He knew what was going to happen next-the Dragonblood Needle test.

In the original story, Hogg would take Linley to the Ancestral Hall when Linley was six and a half years old to test his bloodline concentration with the Dragonblood Needle and tell him the secret of the Baruch Clan.

An took a deep breath and kept up with his father's pace.

The doors of the Ancestral Hall slowly opened, candles were already lit on the candlesticks, and the dim yellow light illuminated walls full of ancestral tablets. The air was permeated with the mixed scent of candles and sandalwood, solemn and respectful.

Hogg changed into that luxurious formal attire worn only on important occasions, the deep blue robe embroidered with the emblem of the Baruch Clan-a coiled giant dragon.

"Kneel," Hogg said.

An and Linley knelt side by side on the futon in the very center of the Ancestral Hall.

Hogg stood in front of the ancestral tablets, with his back to his two sons, and was silent for a long time.

"Do you know how long the history of the Baruch Clan is?" he finally spoke, his voice low and powerful.

"Five thousand years," Linley replied.

"Right, five thousand years," Hogg turned around, his gaze sweeping across the two children's faces. "But do you know what the Baruch Clan has relied on to stand tall and unfallen for these five thousand years?"

Neither An nor Linley spoke.

Hogg walked to the highest ancestral tablet, gently stroking the name carved upon it-"Baruch".

"Because our ancestor was the first Dragonblood Warrior on the Yulan Continent."

The air seemed to freeze.

Linley widened his eyes, his mouth slightly open, and his face was written full of shock.

"Dragonblood Warrior... One of the Four Ultimate Warriors?" Linley's voice trembled slightly.

"Right," Hogg nodded. "The first-generation patriarch, Baruch, once slaughtered a Frost Dragon, a Black Dragon, and a Hydra Emperor. The second-generation, Ryan Baruch, subdued a Saint-level Golden Dragon. The third-generation, Hazard Baruch, defeated the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, the overlord of the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

Every time he said a name, he pointed to the corresponding ancestral tablet. Those names flickered in the candlelight, as if recounting the glory of the past.

"However-" Hogg's voice suddenly dropped low. "For over a thousand years, the Baruch Clan has not produced a single Dragonblood Warrior."

An noticed that his father's shoulders trembled slightly.

"Why?" Linley asked eagerly.

"Because of the bloodline," Hogg said. "The bloodline of a Dragonblood Warrior gradually thins out with generational transmission. Only descendants with a high enough bloodline concentration can awaken to become Dragonblood Warriors."

He walked to a secret compartment in the corner of the Ancestral Hall and took out a small wooden box from inside. The surface of the wooden box was carved with complex patterns, and at a glance one could tell it had a long history.

Hogg opened the wooden box, inside which lay a slender silver needle, the tip of the needle glowing with a faint red light.

"This is the Dragonblood Needle," Hogg picked up the silver needle. "It's specially used to test the bloodline concentration of a Dragonblood Warrior. As long as it pricks the finger and lets the blood contact the needle tip, it will present different colors according to the bloodline concentration."

He looked at his two sons, his gaze carrying a trace of undisguised tension.

"Who goes first?"

Linley took a deep breath and extended his right index finger.

Hogg pinched the Dragonblood Needle and gently pierced Linley's fingertip. A drop of crimson blood oozed out and stained the silver needle.

The Ancestral Hall was so quiet that the subtle sound of the candles burning could be heard.

The Dragonblood Needle began to change color-from silver-white to light red, then to dark red, and finally settled on a color somewhere between red and purple.

Hogg's expression changed.

"Concentration... insufficient," he muttered, his voice full of disappointment. "It's still far from the threshold to awaken as a Dragonblood Warrior."

The corners of Linley's eyes turned slightly red, but he clenched his teeth and didn't cry out.

Hogg patted Linley's shoulder without speaking. Then he turned to An.

"An, it's your turn."

An extended his left index finger.

Hogg once again pierced the fingertip with the Dragonblood Needle. Fresh blood welled up and stained the needle tip.

The Heaven Rewards Diligence System suddenly popped up a prompt at this moment:

[Detected that the Dragonblood Needle is analyzing the host's bloodline concentration. Analyzing...]
[Current Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration: 3.2%. Awakening threshold: 15%. Concentration insufficient, unable to awaken.]
[Prompt: Bloodline concentration can be gradually increased through high-intensity combat and physical exercise. Current diligence points: 1247. Consuming 1000 diligence points to activate the "Bloodline Tempering" function?]
[Bloodline Tempering: After each high-intensity training or combat session, there is a certain probability of increasing the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration. Probability is directly proportional to training intensity.]

An felt a shock in his heart.

There was even this kind of function?

Without hesitation, he chose "Yes" in his heart.

[Consumed 1000 diligence points, Bloodline Tempering function has been activated.]
[Current bloodline concentration: 3.2%. Tempering progress: 0/100.]

Almost simultaneously, the color on the Dragonblood Needle also appeared-light red, even paler than Linley's.

Hogg glanced at it and sighed.

"Both of you, the concentration is insufficient," his voice was full of bitterness. "But there's no need to be too disappointed. The Dragonblood Warrior bloodline is just one of the paths to becoming a strong individual, not the only path. You can cultivate your physiques, you can become mages; all roads lead to Rome."

An raised his head and looked at his father with a firm gaze. "Father, I won't give up."

Hogg was stunned for a moment, then smiled. He reached out and touched the heads of his two sons.

"Good boys," he said. "But I called you here today not just to test the bloodline."

He took another scroll from the secret compartment of the Ancestral Hall and unfolded it. Drawn on the scroll was the pattern of a battle saber, with a slender blade, complex patterns engraved on the cutting edge, and emitting a piercing killing intent.

"This is the family's heirloom treasure-the battle saber Slaughter." Hogg's voice grew heavy. "Six hundred years ago, the family produced an unworthy descendant who sold this battle saber for eighteen thousand gold coins in order to pay off gambling debts. For six hundred years, successive patriarchs have all wanted to redeem it, but..."

He gave a wry smile and did not continue.

Eighteen thousand gold coins was an astronomical figure to the present Baruch Clan.

"I'm telling you this not to make you carry too heavy a burden," Hogg put away the scroll, his gaze sweeping across his two sons' faces. "I just want you to know what the Baruch Clan once possessed, and what we must retrieve in the future."

An clenched his fists.

Linley also clenched his fists.

"I will bring Slaughter back," Linley said, his voice not loud, but every word carried weight.

An did not speak, only silently nodding his head.

The Heaven Rewards Diligence System flickered in the corner of his vision, popping up a line of small text:

[Long-term quest updated: Retrieve the family's heirloom treasure, the Slaughter battle saber. Quest reward: Unknown.]

When they came out of the Ancestral Hall, the night was already deep.

An walked in the corridor back to his bedroom, the scenes from just now echoing in his mind. His father's disappointed sigh, Linley's slightly red eyes, those silent ancestral tablets in the candlelight...

"An."

Linley's voice came from behind.

An stopped in his tracks and turned around. Linley stood in the shadows of the corridor, his expression indistinguishable.

"An, do you think we can really become strong individuals?" A trace of uncertainty carried in Linley's voice.

An thought for a moment and said, "Bloodline concentration not being enough doesn't mean we can't grow strong. Father said, all roads lead to Rome. Even if we can't become Dragonblood Warriors, we can still become strong individuals through other methods."

Linley nodded, but his brows remained tightly locked.