Chapter 115: The Mythic Beasts That Awakened Their Bloodline Power
In Yu Xian's first confrontation with Zhou Tai, the latter had severed one of Yu Xian's arms and stolen it. Until now, Yu Xian had thought this arm was long gone. It had either rotted away after being discarded or been devoured by some wild beast in the wilderness.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Tai No. 3 had attached this arm to his main body, which was controlled by Zhou Tai No. 2. Although Yu Xian still could not understand the logic behind that decision, he was extremely grateful for what Zhou Tai No. 3 had done.
Through Zhou Tai No. 2's body, Yu Xian quickly confirmed that Ultimate Source Blood could indeed control other living beings. Any creature controlled by the Ultimate Source Blood would become his bloodkin, unconditionally obeying his orders and acting in his interests, even without him having to control them.
Yu Xian had seven slots for bloodkins whom he could control regardless of distance, a number that perfectly matched the seven apertures of his Seven-Apertured Exquisite Heart.
Currently, the Ultimate Source Blood within one of his heart's apertures was surging across space, funneling directly into his severed arm, which was attached to Zhou Tai No. 2. Through this aperture, he could project his will over and take control of Zhou Tai No. 2's body.
Fortunately, he had awakened Super Brain in advance. Even splitting his attention in two would not trouble him. While his main body continued drinking blood inside the Perfect Lifeform factory, his brain controlled Zhou Tai No. 2's body, as if he were driving a remote-controlled car, while reading through Zhou Tai No. 2's memories.
So, the ones that interfered back then were indeed foreign forces. The Ancient Sages Society... an organization purely devoted to the pursuit of power. Every member uses an ancient sage as their codename. The Thirteenth Seat, Abe no Seimei. The Twelfth Seat, Plato. The Eleventh Seat, Van Gogh...
Yu Xian flipped through Zhou Tai No. 2's memories and felt somewhat puzzled. Does Abe no Seimei even count as a sage? Shouldn't he be classified more as an onmyoji? Ah, forget it. The Thirteenth Seat is from the Island Nation, so it's not strange for him to use Abe no Seimei as his codename. [1]
But what's wrong with the Eleventh Seat? He actually used the name of a painter with manic depression as his codename. Does that really count as a sage?
Unfortunately, Zhou Tai No. 2 could only be considered an outer member of the Ancient Sages Society. So far, he had only met these three members of the organization. As for who ranked above them, he had no idea.
If he possessed information on every member of the Ancient Sages Society, Yu Xian would undoubtedly bring in Qilin's experts and wipe out the organization in one fell swoop. But in the current situation, he could only have Zhou Tai No. 2 continue lying low, infiltrating and developing more bloodkin while digging for more information about the organization.
After reading through Zhou Tai No. 2's memories, Yu Xian returned control of the body to him. Zhou Tai No. 2 immediately knelt on the ground and muttered with an intensely deranged expression, "My Great Lord, your humble bloodkin greets you. I will serve you with all my heart and soul. Your greatness surpasses the radiance of the sun and moon. I wish I could fly to your side this very instant, serve at your beck and call, and devote myself to you until my dying breath."
Yu Xian was right in the middle of drinking blood when Zhou Tai No. 2 bombarded him with a barrage of shameless flattery. Covered in goosebumps, he didn't hesitate and immediately used the Ultimate Source Blood to order Zhou Tai No. 2 to stop, forbidding him from ever doing it again.
As Zhou Tai No. 2 picked himself up, Yu Xian couldn't help but sigh in exasperation. "A pervert is still a pervert, even after being influenced by Ultimate Source Blood..."
Fortunately, he controlled only one pervert. If there were more of them, just thinking about it was terrifying.
Under his command, Zhou Tai No. 2 walked out of the room and made his way to the laboratory with practiced familiarity. Upon entering the laboratory, he found rows of enormous cages containing all manner of giant beasts. Brain-Clinging Neural Parasites had taken control of their minds and were in the process of awakening the latent power within their bloodlines.
Through Zhou Tai No. 2's eyes, Yu Xian looked at the absurdly massive wolf inside one of the cages. "Is this... Fenrir, the giant wolf from Western mythology?"
The giant wolf suddenly looked at Zhou Tai No. 2. "No. 2, what are you doing here?"
Zhou Tai No. 2 smiled. "Nothing. I was just bored, so I came over to take a look. How much of Fenrir's power have you awakened?"
The giant wolf answered without suspecting anything, "About three percent or so. In the end, the bloodline power is still too thin."
Zhou Tai No. 2 nodded and said nothing more, walking toward another cage. Inside that cage was a phoenix wreathed in flames.
Seeing Zhou Tai No. 2 approaching, it said, "No. 2, am I pretty? I feel like I can burn everything to ash. I really want to burn something."
Zhou Tai No. 2 frowned. "No. 3, you better cut the crap. Now isn't the time to fool around. How much of the immortal bird's power have you awakened?"
Zhou Tai No. 3 scoffed excitedly, its wings whipping up a spinning vortex of fire. "Pfft, quit acting so serious! I’m a hell of a lot more useful than No. 8. The phoenix's power has already awakened by ten percent. Soon, I'll be able to go find and play with Little Brother."
Zhou Tai No. 2 said calmly, "The Little Brother you're talking about is the owner of this arm?"
Zhou Tai No. 3 lowered its head and looked at Zhou Tai No. 2. "Of course. That's my trophy, so don't lose it."
Zhou Tai No. 2 nodded. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of your trophy."
Zhou Tai No. 3 nodded in satisfaction, then said, "Go and have a word with No. 3. He's almost at his limit and keeps shouting about slaughtering everyone in the city. Silver City is so much fun, so why destroy it?"
The "No. 3" he was referring to was actually Zhou Tai No. 9.
Zhou Tai No. 2 nodded and continued walking forward. Inside the other cages were also all kinds of mythical beasts. Although only a portion of the power hidden in their bloodlines had been excavated, many of their traits were already extremely obvious.
Finally, Zhou Tai No. 2 stopped in front of an enormous cage. Inside the cage was a white serpent so massive it defied imagination. Sifting through Zhou Tai No. 2's memories, Yu Xian learned the identity of the massive creature: the World Serpent, Jormungandr.
The one currently controlling this massive serpent was Zhou Tai No. 9, the White Ape that had once been captured by Silver City's hunting team and sent to the beast-fighting arena. Zhou Tai No. 9 was domineering, self-centered, and extremely proud. He regarded the experience at Silver City as the greatest humiliation of his life. Only by washing Silver City in blood could he erase that.
When he saw Zhou Tai No. 2 appear outside his cage, he asked in a rough voice, "No. 2, are you here to persuade me?"
Zhou Tai No. 2 shook his head. "Nothing like that. I only came to see how far you progressed."
Zhou Tai No. 9 said proudly, "How could I possibly be compared to those mediocre fools? I have already awakened thirty-five percent of the World Serpent Jormungandr's power!"
Thirty-five percent! He does have the right to be proud.
A cruel light flashed in Zhou Tai No. 9's eyes. "I might as well tell you this. Once I awaken fifty percent of the World Serpent's power, I will go to Silver City and wash away the humiliation I suffered back then. When that time comes, no one will be able to stop me. Not you, and not the Ancient Sages Society either!"
Zhou Tai No. 2 smiled. "I wish you good luck."
Now that Yu Xian knew Zhou Tai No. 9's plan, once he actually came to Silver City, Qilin would simply gain another experimental subject.
1. Onmyoji is the Japanese term for a historical practitioner of onmyōdō, a Japanese system combining yin–yang theory, the Five Elements, divination, astrology, calendars, rituals, and spirit-related practices. ☜