Chapter 50: The Blood Saint Clan's Source Blood

In the office of Caimon City's Red Mist Research Institute.

A conversation was taking place between a young scholar and a blue-scaled fishman. The scholar had red eyes and wore a white lab coat, while the fishman was covered in bloodstains. The scholar said calmly, "Regarding your situation, the Shattered Lake Prison has already sent a notice. Since that individual personally decided how you would be punished, the Institute naturally won't go against her request. Lawrence, how is your Blood Embrace progress?"

The blue-scaled fishman lowered his head. "I've condensed two drops of Silver Source Blood and two drops of Golden Source Blood, but the third drop of Silver Source Blood hasn't progressed at all in over ten days... this must be my limit as a student."

The red-eyed scholar sighed. "What a shame. Just a little more, and you could have condensed the Rainbow Source Blood. Don't be discouraged. You might still have a chance to purify your bloodline in the future."

He then grew serious. "So... you risked yourself to secretly observe someone else's spell because you were certain you wouldn't have to stay in Shattered Lake Prison for the Blood Embrace Ritual?"

Lawrence remained silent, offering no rebuttal.

The scholar sighed. "You were lucky to have encountered someone merciful this time. Next time, you might not be so fortunate. Lay low at this Institute quietly for the next ten years. Don't participate in any academic events. By then, the one you offended will likely have condensed the Rainbow Wing. You wouldn't even have a chance to meet her."

"Yes," Lawrence replied.

The scholar tapped the wooden desk. "Go back and rest. I'll arrange your office tomorrow. Make sure to organize your research findings and give me a report in the next few days."

Thank you, teacher. Goodbye."

With that, Lawrence left the office and hurried out of the institute.

It was already the middle of the night. The blood moon hung high, and the campus was nearly deserted. Lawrence quickened his pace. As he passed a tree, he suddenly punched it with all his strength.

Smack!

The trunk dented deeply. Blood gushed from the fresh shark-bite wound between his fingers, and even his scales cracked. His hand ached. His whole body ached. But these tangible injuries were nothing compared to the searing pain of the invisible wound in his heart.

He was the healer that No.176 had thrown out of Shattered Lake Prison the night before.

He was Lawrence Teyton, a blue-scaled fishman and scholar at the Red Mist Research Institute. He had survived an overnight ordeal while being hunted by the Finger Shark. Once he returned to Caimon City and crawled onto land, he didn't care about tending to his injuries and went straight to the Institute to inquire about his future. If No.222 had pursued the matter, the Institute wouldn't have just stripped him of his scholar status. They could have even extracted the Sacred Blood within him.

Lawrence had considered running away, but immediately dismissed the thought when he remembered the chip scan at security. Unless he paid a fortune on the black market to hire a sorcerer to remove the chip and disappear into the wild forever, there was no place in this fully chip-controlled era for a criminal to hide.

In the Blood Moon Kingdom, anyone who offended the Blood Saint Clan had only two choices: to grovel for mercy or to await judgment.

Fortunately for Lawrence, No.222's punishment had ended, and he still had a bright future ahead. He remained the most promising scholar at the Red Mist Research Institute and could live for a century or two.

Yet precisely because he no longer had to pay a price, Lawrence felt an inexplicable fury. Others might see this as an act of kindness, but he felt only profound contempt. The other party had every right to disdain him. As the teacher had said, in ten years she would surely achieve the Three-Winged Sacred Realm, while it remained questionable whether Lawrence could even attain his Gold Wing.

Despite both of them belonging to the Blood Saint Clan, the gap in their bloodline potential was astronomical.

Yes! Bloodlines!

Lawrence was originally nothing more than a blue-scaled fishman from a poor district orphanage. It was his extraordinary learning ability that earned him admission to Caimon General University. Even before graduating, he had been recruited by the Red Mist Research Institute and gained the right to undergo the Blood Exchange Ceremony, securing a coveted place in the Blood Saint Clan.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Blood Saint Clan was just like the Moonshadow Clan. They could not reproduce through ordinary means. The only way for a Blood Saints to expand their clan was by taking in members of other races and having them undergo the blood exchange. Regardless of the original race of a person joining the Blood Saint Clan, they would share key traits with other Blood Saints after the exchange, such as crimson eyes. Being a Blood Saint was, therefore, less a matter of race and more a matter of culture, with all members regarding themselves as a superior people.

Being a Blood Saint came with countless benefits, the greatest of which was physical immortality. Their bodies no longer aged, allowing them to remain forever young and, in essence, become an undying race.

However, while their bodies were immortal, their souls could still deteriorate. Every race had a limit to its soul's lifespan. A human Blood Saint, for example, might see their soul collapse around the age of 150.

Additionally, Blood Saints possessed an ability highly coveted by sorcerers, which was Blood Therapy. By drinking blood, a Blood Saint could accelerate the restoration of both their body and soul. While sorcerers required several days to recover their soul energy after dying in the Virtual World, Blood Saints could use Blood Therapy to replenish theirs quickly. This dramatically shortened the cooldown time and increased their frequency of exploration in the Virtual World.

Blood Therapy, combined with physical immortality, formed the foundation of the Blood Saints' superiority in the Blood Moon Kingdom. Yet even with such extraordinary advantages, the Blood Saints had severe drawbacks. Beyond adhering to countless taboos, the greatest limitation was that Blood Saint sorcerers could not absorb mana in the Virtual World. Yes, they were completely incapable of doing so.

The Blood Exchange Ceremony fundamentally bound the soul and blood at a deep level. This explained both their immortal bodies and the healing effects of drinking blood. But because of this bond, their soul had become incomplete, rendering them incapable of absorbing mana in the Virtual World and effectively dooming their potential as sorcerers.

Blood Saint sorcerers had long devised a solution. This was why Lawrence had to enter Shattered Lake Prison as a healer. Newly born Blood Saints must perform the Blood Embrace Ritual using condemned prisoners as sacrifices to condense Source Blood.

Source Blood served as a medium to absorb mana in place of the soul. It came in four tiers—Silver, Gold, Rainbow, and Clear—corresponding to the four types of mana in the Virtual World. Three drops of a lower-tier Source Blood could be combined into one drop of the next tier. To absorb a certain type of mana, a Blood Saint needed the corresponding or higher-tier Source Blood. For example, Silver Source Blood absorbed silver mana, and Golden Source Blood absorbed gold mana. Summoning higher-tier spirits required the corresponding higher-tier Source Blood.

Without Golden Source Blood, a Blood Saint could not summon Two-Winged spirits and therefore could not advance to be a Two-Winged sorcerer. This was why Lawrence's teacher had lamented his situation. One more drop of Silver Source Blood, and he could have synthesized Rainbow Source Blood, opening the gates to the Three-Winged Sacred Realm.

Now, with only Golden Source Blood, Lawrence was limited to the Gold Wing rank. He could only hope to advance to the Three-Winged Sacred Realm after purifying his bloodline and condensing Rainbow Source Blood.

Furthermore, the higher the tier of Source Blood, the more efficient it was at absorbing mana. In the Sea of Knowledge, compared to a normal sorcerer, one drop of Silver Source Blood had a base absorption efficiency of only 30%, and it increased by 10% with each additional drop.

This was why Lawrence's teacher had said he only needed to lie low for ten years. Lawrence currently had two drops of Gold and two drops of Silver, which together amounted to the equivalent of eight drops of Silver, reaching 100% efficiency.

By contrast, new scholars at the Four Great Institutes could condense at least one drop of Clear Source Blood, synthesized from 27 drops of Silver equivalent, and gain an absorption efficiency of 290%. That was more than a threefold difference. Even if this advantage applied only temporarily and solely within the Sea of Knowledge, a decade of accumulation would allow them to surpass Lawrence entirely, leaving him able only to watch their progress from afar.

To her, Lawrence was nothing more than a trivial nuisance, unworthy of her attention. The future Three-Winged Sacred Realm would hardly notice the resentment of a Two-Winged Gold Blood Saint.

Nothing enraged Lawrence more. It might seem trivial, and maybe no one cared, but for a blue-scaled fishman who had clawed his way from a slum to the Institute, his dignity was his only true possession. Without it, he had absolutely nothing.