Born in Blood

Liam hadn't inscribed anything ever since his mind had advanced to a Zenith's level.

But now, both his blood and mind were Zeniths!

Something had to be different, right?

Blood Weaving had served Liam incredibly well throughout the years.

Oftentimes, it had sharpened the sword that saved Liam's life. 

In fact, it was the reason why Liam had lived for as long as he did! 

How did Liam even get his Blood Manipulation abilities?

Through the blood nails that Revel had inscribed for him.

Sure, he had eaten and purified the Nexus of a vampire by himself, but the nails were what allowed him to do so. 

Not only that, but Blood Weaving was the reason he had so many techniques at his disposal.

It was also the reason why he had attained a Rank 4 mind relatively quickly despite the Law of Balance working heavily against him.

In short, Liam couldn't live without Blood Weaving.

That being said, it wasn't without its own little flaws.

Blood Weaving gave Liam the ability to produce enhancements, techniques and spells. 

It was amazing.

But… it was a little too broad in some aspects, and the process of inscribing was very long.

Although Liam could enhance an item's speed, durability or power, he couldn't make unique spells .

As in, he couldn't invent a particularly awesome sword with special properties.

Say, a sword that could grow alongside him.

Or a technique that could advance with his sea of consciousness. 

But didn't all of this depend on comprehension?

Mostly, yes.

However, ever since Liam advanced, he could spot a few glaring issues in his inscription method. 

Blood Weaving was made with a Rank 3 mental sphere. 

Revel's specifically.

A Mortal ranked cultivator could not possibly understand the mind of a Zenith. 

Now that Liam had become a Zenith, his Blood Weaving seemed like an aged, broken down car that somehow managed to work.

And now, it was holding Liam back.

Liam ran a hand through his short hair. "Somehow, Revel always seems to have the last laugh. Even after death."

There was a moment of silence as Liam contemplated the best way to improve his Blood Weaving.

'In a sense, it's similar to cotton,' Liam thought strangely. 

'The further the cotton is spread out, the weaker, less useful it gets.'

'Should my goal be to gather all the cotton in one place or something?'

'Maybe… inscribe everything in the form of one character?'

That actually sounded… pretty plausible.

Except, Liam was essentially renewing the base form of Blood Weaving itself! 

Of course, inscription methods had their own moments of evolution. 

Sort of like how a center of power advances, inscription methods went through a similar 'upgrading' phase.

Till now, everything Liam had ever inscribed had been with the usage of chained sentences and words, not just one character. 

Why would he make his life more difficult by changing his method so drastically?

'Having all the Meanings stacked into one character sounds… incredibly powerful.'

'But it gives more sheer power than it does versatility and speciality.' 

'I can't imagine what a forged Abyssal Needle could do paired with such a thing. Maybe it'd destroy a large-size state.' 

'But that's not what I'm looking for.'

'I already have the best possible explosion device.'

Chaos.

Liam pursed his lips.

'What, then?'

'Turn the cotton into hundreds of thousands of individual threads?'

Liam's inscription teacher in the academy, Richard Nesht, had a similar inscription method.

He could use his threads of hair to concoct an amazing instantaneous enhancement.

What would hundreds of thousands of characters do for Liam's inscriptions?

'...Same issue.'

'It would give me more versatility and range… but it would take its power.'

That was also bad.

Too much on one side, too much on the other.

It had to be done carefully. 

'I should just practice it at least once before I figure something out,' Liam thought. 'Maybe there's a different process or something involved.' 

Droplets of blood converged onto his forefinger, growing to the size of a fist.

Liam was no longer scared of pain!

If he had to suffer, so be it!

…And it helped that his mind was in the Zenith ranks, capable of withstanding his ichor.

A moment later, Liam put the finger to his forehead, allowing it to seep through.

Eventually, it made contact with his mental barrier.

There was a pang of ethereal pain, but it was perfectly bearable.

At least, by the Liam Royce standard. 

Slowly, the blood poured through the sun-like barrier.

Eventually, it flowed into the sea of consciousness, humming in its center. 

There was a steady, pulsing pressure tugging at his mind.

He could still think clearly, but his thoughts were strangely delayed. Just a tiny amount.

'The pressure it emits pushes down my mental waves,' Liam thought as pulses of pain shot through his brain. 'That's why my thoughts form slightly slower.'

But as soon as it entered Liam's mind, Liam realized something, causing his eyes to widen.

His blood had special properties.

It could transform. 

It could mimic. 

It could absorb. 

It could expel.

And do much more.

Why was Liam trying to change his blood around his Blood Weaving, when he could change his Blood Weaving around his blood?

So stupid! 

It all made sense now!

'I don't need to spread the cotton, or cut it, or condense it in any way.'

Liam smiled broadly.

'I can pour liquid over it, and it'll absorb it all the same.'

With his plan set in motion, Liam's mind raced to fix the lesser mistakes of the Blood Weaving method first.

'I'll let the gob of blood cook in my head,' Liam thought seriously. 'When it finishes, I'll work on my swords, next.'

Just 2 and a half weeks remained for the Important People Convention.

That's how long Liam had to renew his Blood Weaving!

But he wasn't worried.

After all, he could just use Hone in the parts he had trouble fixing. 

And like so, time gradually passed, and the Important People Convention grew nearer and nearer.