Born in Blood



The raid on the Alluring Fairy Sect was very boring to say the least.

Their fighting style was similar to the Will-breaker Wraith's Liam met with in the Korsan lands.

Except, Liam didn't have a reproductive organ.

He couldn't feel that kind of desire even if he wanted to. 

And he certainly didn't.

But that didn't mean Liam didn't plan to get it back. 

He was a man at birth, and he certainly wasn't interested in a gender change.

The same couldn't be said to his fellow female disciples, who deviously lurched at him, attempting to tear apart his clothes.

Knocking them out was fairly easy, but Liam almost used his vicious Dusk Blades out of instinct.

Those with greater willpower and mental capabilities easily overpowered the seduction effect of the Sect.

For one, there was a simple Formation that relaxed one's senses and nerves as they went deeper in.

Even Liam was affected somewhat, but there was always the good ol' stab yourself trick that helped him regain his senses.

And from thereon out, it was a brutal slaughter.

With the new forces, the number of shadowy assassins had increased by more than twenty. 

However, they weren't weak like acolytes.

Most of them were Shadows, and the rest were Disciples.

Jargon, the most powerful among them, led an entire squadron after getting his Tattoos and gaining the Temple's trust.

After the Outer Ring of the Sect had been effortlessly slaughtered, they moved inside.

The Temple of Shadow stumbling on the Alluring Fairy Sect was like a bloodhound finding a kitty.

They just didn't stand a chance.

The fight between the Elders was also disappointing.

There was no grand clash that toppled buildings or crushed massive structures.

The Alluring Fairy Sect had 4 Zenith Elders. 

Elder Jax, Orisa, Verium, Aki, and Jane all combined their strengths to silently kill them off one by one.

Once a name was ticked off, they moved to the next, and so on.

Even the Matriarch didn't stand a chance. In the first place, their fighting style - if it could be called that - required preparation, which they didn't have.

Through that slow but effective strategy, their minds were also not affected, since they could look for each others' backs.

Like so, the Alluring Fairy Sect had been killed off, and their lands/resources/martial-arts were all claimed.

All they really had were spells and Arts that could enhance beauty and change facial and bodily structures for women only.

This was the product of relying on weakness, Liam realized.

If the Fairies were a little more proficient in killing and battle, they wouldn't have met such a disappointing and boring death.

Nevertheless, the Temple of Shadows' territories had grown to 16%.

Mid-size Sects were mighty.

And this assault was merely a lucky dud.

Any other raid would give them massive amounts of trouble.

But now that they gained the resources of a mid-size Sect, that trouble was lessened.

It was a paradoxical situation, but it worked in the Temple's favor.

The Temple spread their resources and stabilized all their territories. 

It wasn't like they were infallible – the Ravenous Leash Sect made regular deals with the various Sects around them.

In fact, this was the case with nearly all the Sects the Temple took over.

They naturally had connections with other Clans. 

Some alliances, some enemies, and some neutral.

All the Temple really did was switch their appearances, then 'respectfully' cut them off.

This included the Alluring Fairy Sect.

So what did the Temple do?

They simply took the Fairies' place and cut all contact with the Ravenous Leash Sect.

Obviously, this would raise more than a few brows.

But this was the Alluring Fairy Sect.

Everyone knew them to be unpredictable and strange.

In the first place, it wasn't strange for a woman to suddenly cut all contact with a suitor.

Wasn't there something like that back on Earth?

'Ghosting', it was called.

That's exactly what the Temple did in the Fairies' place.

And it worked!

A few high ranking disciples of the Leash Sect came to visit.

Usually, they would be allowed through the front gates of the lavish Sect.

However, even as they declared their arrival and asked to be let in… 

Nobody responded.

Not a sound.

The Leash members called out in a louder voice than before, a desperate cry that did its best to sound dignified.

...No response.

With their faces slightly getting redder, they called out for a third and final time.

Still nothing.

And so, they left, faces red with humiliation and anger.

When they left, a few snickers resounded within the quarters of the Sect. 

They laughed like children who'd done something naughty and didn't get caught.

From that point on, there was no longer any contact between the Ravenous Leash Sect and the Alluring Fairies.

'I'm dumbfounded how that worked,' Liam thought with a taken-aback look after the whole charade was over with. 'This world is strange.'

And it was Maeve who came up with the idea of all people.

Nonetheless, the Temple grew, and they were a few steps closer to their goal.

Defeating a large-size Sect didn't seem like such a far-fetched idea anymore.

Obviously, there was a lot of time left before their next attack on a mid-size Sect.

Now, they would focus on the smaller Clans and utterly cleanse the western side of any difficult adversaries.

With their new prowess and abilities, that went without a hitch.

Meanwhile, Liam didn't spend a single day without something important to do.

More than a year had passed with him overworking himself with no rest.

Liam made improvements to the Abyssal Needle, the String Blood Arts, and even began working with the Blooder's Blood Arts.

Liam's facial and physical features had matured compared in that time span.

He had shortened his hair to shoulder length, since it would've dragged behind his feet if he let it grow.

His eyes had gained a distant but brilliant quality.

It was the effect of expanding his mental sphere nearly twice the speed of a normal cultivator.

The Rank 3 Beast Wills, Psionic Rune, and his Rank 2 blood that he constantly absorbed for inscriptions.

Liam's mind naturally worked at a higher pace than usual, giving him a scholarly air.

It looked like he was always in deep thought.

The opposite was true when Liam's coldness seeped.

When that happened, even Liam's strongest allies didn't feel safe around him.