Blood Of Destruction

Life lesson

David closed his eyes. He heard the thunderous explosion, the roar that should have ended him but he was still alive.

When he opened his eyes, a translucent shield shimmered around him. The house spirit, Albert, floated beside him, and David himself was drifting in the air, held by an unseen force.

Beyond the shield, the world for a mile around the spaceship had been erased. A massive crater smoked in the earth. David stared at the destruction, then looked at the old spirit with wide, questioning eyes.

“Don’t think too much,” Spirit said calmly. “This place was created by the lord. A mere S-class spaceship cannot destroy the secret realm. Now, let’s go back.”

With a flick of his finger, Spirit transported them instantly to the edge of the blood pond. When David’s feet touched the ground, he froze. The pond, which had dried completely, was full again with dark, glimmering blood.

“The blood you absorbed before was to establish the bloodlines in your body,” Spirit explained. “From now on, using the pond will be your regular practice. As for monster blood and flesh, you will use them as nutrients for your bloodline. You will learn more about what has been transmitted to you as you grow stronger.”

David, still trembling slightly from the explosion, nodded. Then he hesitated. “Why did you send me out there to collect those bodies? Was it a test?”

“No,” the spirit replied, his voice heavy with ancient wisdom. “In this world, nothing comes for free. Everything has a price, a price we often don’t see, or don’t understand, until the time comes to pay it. Even this inheritance comes with a price. Whether you know it yet or not depends on your persistence to grow strong.”

He paused, letting the silence press on the boy’s shoulders. “So always try to avoid relying on others for help. Be vigilant. That is the only way to grow. Otherwise, you will find yourself in the same situation as a few days ago waiting for rescue, only to receive no answer.”

David’s chest tightened. The words struck a wound too fresh. His eyes grew almost moist, but he held back the tears. He was only thirteen, but the world had already taught him how to be alone.

“No one in this world can always be lucky enough to survive,” Spirit continued. “One bad day can destroy everything.”

The boy’s silence was so deep, so full of lonely pain, that even Spirit could not help but feel he had been too harsh. The old spirit’s voice softened.

“Look, I am here. I will protect you and accompany you on your journey to become strong. So you are not truly alone. And as you grow and travel, you will make friends. Family we cannot choose who they will be  but friends, you can choose.”

David lifted his head slightly, listening.

“And there is another side to your story, a side you don’t yet know. But to learn that truth, you will need strength. In this world, everything speaks only one language: strength.”

Albert paused, letting the words sink in. “So today, take a break. Choose a room. Rest. From tomorrow, your long journey truly begins.”

David inhaled slowly, feeling a small flame reignite in his chest. He would learn the truth. He had to.

But then a thought struck him. “Spirit… What should I call you? It feels odd to keep saying ‘house spirit’ every time.”

A faint, almost nostalgic smile touched the Spirit aged face. “My name is Albert. The lord gave me that name when I first gained consciousness. You may call me that.”

“Okay, Albert.” David felt a little more human, speaking a name instead of a title. “Now let’s check what’s in those space rings I collected.”

He began pulling out the rings, nearly a thousand of them. Many had been damaged by age, their contents decayed. But David began emptying everything onto the floor anyway, and soon piles of weapons, armor, strange fruits, cultivation resources, and spaceship energy containers lay before him. Among the rings were also actual spaceships, every one above A-grade, including ten that were brand-new SSS-class vessels, never even authenticated for use.

David sorted through it all. Four things captured his heart.

The first was a black-collared spear, SSS-grade, a weapon for immortals. He couldn’t use it yet, but he could dream.

The second was an SSS-grade armor capable of withstanding even an Immortal King’s attacks.

The third was a sword that looked carved from a monster’s scale, also SSS-grade, and just as unusable for now.

The fourth was the newest SSS-grade spaceship, a treasure for fleeing enemies, though far too flashy for everyday use.

There were cultivation resources, but almost all were high-end items meant for immortal-level warriors. Among the junk and treasure, he found anonymous universal bank cards from the human race.

Those could be incredibly useful. David had never even left his home planet. He had no citizenship card, not a single penny to his name. These cards could change that.

Many things he couldn’t even recognize. He gathered the most important items into the largest space ring and stored the rest separately. By the time he finished, exhaustion weighed on him like a blanket. He didn’t know when he fell asleep, only that his life’s path would be completely different from tomorrow onward.

Outside the room, Albert gazed at the closed door and murmured to himself, “I hope it won’t be too late before he is strong enough to help the lord.”

He stared out into the endless darkness of the secret realm, searching for an answer in the silence. No sound came back. It was as if the whole world held its breath.

The next morning, David woke and for a moment he simply lay there, afraid it had all been a dream. But the house was real. The blood pond was real. He walked out to find Albert already seated at a dining table, food prepared.

“Sit,” the spirit said. “Eat.”

David didn’t hesitate. The meal was simple but warm, and it filled a hunger deeper than his stomach.

After breakfast, they returned to the blood pond. Albert pointed a finger toward David’s forehead, and instantly a stream of knowledge poured into his mind  a cultivation technique for tempering both body and soul.

“This is a divine art,” Albert said. “The most critical cultivation technique to fully unlock the potential of your bloodline genes. You must perfect it completely before you reach the Universe Master realm. It will greatly aid you in realms above True God.”

David absorbed the knowledge, his mind reeling at its complexity. Albert continued, “Your next work is this: use up all the blood in this pond, and then enter the virtual arena to sharpen your combat. As for the Law Monument, wait until you experience sudden enlightenment in law first. That shall be your true first use.”

David looked at the blood pond, took a deep breath, and jumped in.

Pain seized him instantly, deeper and sharper than before. It felt as if his body was being unmade cell by cell. He quickly activated the cultivation technique, and only then did the agony ease. As the exercise ran through him, he felt his body destroyed from the inside and regenerated again, and again, and again. 

He didn’t know how many cycles passed. His soul, the most fragile part, was torn apart and rebuilt. The pain was beyond anything he could handle; tears streamed down his face, but he gritted his teeth and endured. And when the reshaping was complete, the sensation that followed was so euphoric it felt as if heaven had descended.

The monster corpses he had collected were used as energy during the process. David didn’t know how many days passed. His cultivation remained at the 9th level of the universe Realm, yet the power he felt in his muscles and bones far exceeded any universe-level warrior he had ever known.

The process took more than three months. This blood was different from the first time  the first had been a qualification test, to see if he was suitable. This was the first true step toward building a solid foundation.

When David finally pulled himself out of the pond, he looked at his hands. Power hummed beneath his skin, but his spirit was utterly exhausted. He staggered back into the house and collapsed onto a chair at the dining table, waiting for food. Cultivation might reduce the need for eating, but it never killed the longing for comfort, for warmth.

Albert placed a plate before him. David ate in silence, then crawled to his bed and passed out without another word.

Albert watched the sleeping boy. He knew how much pressure that small body had borne. He whispered into the quiet, “You are far stronger than you know, child.”

The next day, after breakfast, David and Albert entered a virtual world. But this time they were not in a room, they were standing in a grand arena.

“I will set your opponent at the 9th level of the universe Realm,” Albert said. “You will feel the difference between yourself and the true geniuses of the universe.”

With that, Albert’s figure vanished, and a young warrior materialized before David, a teenager who looked no older than him.

A voice echoed: “Countdown begins. The match starts in sixty seconds. Select your weapon.”

David’s heart pounded. He didn’t hesitate. He chose a spear for his left hand and a sword for his right, the weapons he had trained with since childhood, the only companions in his lonely years.

“Sixty seconds. Begin.”

David surged forward, sword flashing in his right hand, spear held behind his back, waiting for the perfect opening. The opponent met him blow for blow, and David quickly realized that this 9th-level universe Realm warrior possessed the strength of a Domain Realm expert or even more. The boy even seemed stronger than David. They circled each other, probing for flaws. David’s mind raced, searching for a gap, a mistake.

Suddenly he felt a cold sensation pass through his chest. He looked down and saw the opponent’s sword buried in his heart.

The match ended.

David gasped, stumbling back in the virtual space, a hand flying to his chest where no wound existed. Albert reappeared beside him.

“That was… so fast,” David breathed.

“That is the standard of a true genius,” Albert said. “You have power now, but you lack battle instinct. This arena will forge it. You will learn to utilise your strength.”

David clenched his fists, his heart still racing. A fierce grin crept onto his face, the fire of competition burning away the fear. “Set him up again.”

Albert’s ancient eyes gleamed with approval. “Good. Again.”

And the arena echoed with the sound of clashing blades.