Born in Blood



Liam didn't think the Temple would be so lax with the fact that he casually ate human beings. 

Who was to say the acolytes were safe from his savage cravings? 

Coupled with how he was a foreigner with a mysterious background and new to Ilali, letting out that secret was bound to stir trouble for him.

'The Temple may hate the current governors of Ilali, but they still love the people and its lands.'

That was the exact reason why the Temple wanted revenge – too many lives were lost during the Imperialists and Dual Empire's attacks, and the Unforgiven Shadow was out for blood.

'As long as I don't overeat and target rogue criminals, the secret should be safe… but these petty thieves and murderers aren't enough to fully nourish my body.'

Liam shrugged. 

Beggars couldn't be choosers.

'Maybe once they trust me enough, I can request the bodies of lesser ranked cultivators to eat. Their enemies, of course.'

Pulling himself out of his musings, Liam finally arrived at a Rank 3 Spirit Beast den.

It was a group of Spiked-fur Hounds in the third Rank. 

Like their name suggested, their tufts of bone-white hair were spiked and razor-sharp. 

They looked like a mix of porcupine and wolf, with their growls subtly vibrating the air around them – laying around a patch of green shrubbery surrounded by thick plants.

The entire place smelled like piss.

At this point, Liam took just a minute to analyze the swiftest way to exterminate the pack of beasts. 

Although the top-side of the wolves were armored with the spikes, their maws and undersides were left unprotected.

Liam hid his presence the best he could. 

Although his smell was maskable to cultivators of a lower or similar Rank, magical beasts and Spirit Beasts had powerful senses of smell.

Liam unsheathed his blades and decided to take the wolves by surprise. 

Slowly, Liam crouched and cocked his knees.

As darkness tightened against the soles of his feet, Liam let go and launched himself ten meters in the air.

WHOOSH!

As he fluttered over the wolves like a kite, eight needles appeared in between each of Liam's fingers. 

In one swift motion, he flicked the needles towards the weak maws of each wolf, raining down a barrage of death.

As the needles pierced through the jaws of the beasts and exploded, Liam lithely landed in the center of the pack, his blade finding its mark on the group's alpha.

Specifically, cleaving its maw in one instantaneous slash with his katana.

'So sharp!' Liam thought as he inspected the upper-tier Rank 2 blade. 'It severed through a Rank 3's Spirit beast's body like butter.'

It didn't really matter if Liam cut the beast's jaw off. 

He would make the weapons from their hardened fur anyways.

Low-pitched whimpers rang out from the other beasts as dark smoke filled the area.

Their mouths were pierced and corroded with darkness, taking away their ability to roar.

Enraged, the wolves turned around and did their best to aim their backs at Liam.

As wafer-thin furs shot through the air, Liam already began blurring, activating the first forms of his martial art and severing the wounded muzzles of the beast's.

A few spikes smashed against his body, but barely pierced through Obsidian Skin.

In less than ten minutes, Liam cleared a pack of Rank 3 Spirit Beasts.

Storing them in his ring, Liam continued moving forward.

///

Another hour passed, and Liam was done with gathering the necessary materials to forge with. 

'It should be enough to make three shortswords or more. I'll try to look for Spirit Beasts of the darkness element as well.'

Liam felt his hunger growing stronger.

'I'll take care of this first.'

After memorizing the map, Liam could instantly spot the ghetto regions of Ilali. 

Little nooks and crannies that were suitable for fugitives and wanted individuals to hide in without attracting attention.

Liam would know where to look. After all, he slept more on the floors of random caves and dungeons than a soft bed.

It didn't take long for Liam to find a gushing waterfall that led to a ravine downstream. 

Water-type Spirit Beasts and magical beasts inhabited the area, but Liam saw how their numbers dwindled near the waterfall.

Liam smiled. 

Silently, he began climbing the rocky edges that led horizontally to the large waterfall, intent on making his way to the center.

The stream of cold water surged over his body, drenching his lengthy hair and shredded clothes. 

As he reached for another handhold, Liam's hand went through the wall.

'There it is.'

Smiling, Liam swung his body through the veil of water and landed on solid ground, rolling as he steadied his footing.

Right ahead were a series of large tents that were covered by a steep concave, lit by the orbs of natural light – a hideout with enough space to fit a total of 100 people.

Voices and laughter entered his ears. Ragged-robed martial artists walked this way and that way, but nobody had seen him enter.

From what Liam heard, the group had just attacked a small-sized village and gotten away with it. 

Most of the men were drunk out of their minds and were boasting of their 'grand' accomplishment.

'26 cultivators,' Liam thought with a broad grin as his mental waves spread through the air. 'Their strongest isn't even a Rank 2 Magus. They have women as hostages as well.'

Slowly, Liam's body split with three states of darkness and formed an identical clone. 

There was too much to clear on his own, and he reckoned it was good practice for his control over the Shadow Clone.

Liam gave his body-double a pair of blades and got to work, activating his Dark Wraith body and increasing his speed as he ran.

A group of men sitting around a large table – guffawing with drinks in their hands – saw a blurry, smoky, jet-black figure blink past them with a gust of wind.

A moment later, their heads flew in the air dramatically with a spurt of blood before finding space in Liam's rings.