Future Rank Eight Battle Strength
Fang Yuan continues the blood path killer move on Hei Cheng, an immortal killer move centered on blood asset Immortal Gu, draining blood and even bone marrow into a lump the strength path immortal zombie swallows whole. Hei Cheng is left drained, skin and bone, pale as a corpse and unconscious, until huge mortal Gu travel his bloodstream, raising bumps across his body before restoring his color. He wakes exhausted and begs to surrender and serve loyally. Fang Yuan does not answer, since Hei Cheng has begged this many times before and Fang Yuan wants no such subordinate. The zombie’s body now glows with a thin blood-red light that fades inward into blood carrying Hei tribe’s own bloodline. Repeated inspection confirms success, easy for a blood path grandmaster though Hei Fan’s own method took several rounds of torture. ch. 1118
Fang Yuan judges the blood alone insufficient and spends ten days integrating the killer move into familiar face, faster than an ordinary Gu Immortal could. A full month has passed since he began. About a month remains before his fourth earthly calamity, and Fang Yuan turns the finished killer move on the egg, the once-lifeless shell gaining life force. Eight days and nights later the shell cracks and a chick emerges, already standing at a youngster’s height, gazing at the immortal zombie with an innocent, warm look. Fang Yuan judges that Hei Fan stripped the eagle of its previous life’s memories, leaving only its space path dao mark foundation, since a beast that remembered its past life would be too hard to control. He judges too that the blood method does not truly enslave the eagle but makes it feel close to him as kin, a bond meant to make it carry him to Hei Fan’s grotto-heaven willingly. The eagle seems to understand his speech, which he credits to Hei Fan: one who could erase its memories could also teach it human language. ch. 1118
The chick grows anxious and hungry. At Fang Yuan’s word it pecks a piece of heavenly crystal, its natural food, from the nest, waiting for permission before swallowing it whole, the hard material breaking apart inside its beak. Over the following days it eats, then sleeps pressed against the immortal zombie, fully trusting, consuming half the heavenly crystal nest, a steep cost in immortal material. In a few days it grows to Fang Yuan’s own height, gaining a strong body, thick feathers and dark claws that scratch heavenly crystal like thin paper. A huge flaw remains: his real bloodline would not do, since such immemorial desolate beasts are very prideful and naturally aggressive, and it would attack him on sight. When the time is right, Fang Yuan recalls the zombie’s Gu into himself and applies an upgraded familiar face, strengthened with blood asset Immortal Gu, to disguise his own bloodline on his true body. He leaves Lang Ya blessed land, releases the eagle, and it shows no suspicion of his true form, nuzzling his palm and shoulder. ch. 1118
Fang Yuan orders it to carry him to Hei Fan’s grotto-heaven, and the eagle, recalling some part of its buried memory, chirps loudly, spreads its wings and carries him aloft, flying southeast. Fang Yuan is very satisfied with its speed. He judges it not inferior to sword escape Immortal Gu, though still only an infant, far short of a mature eagle’s huge bulk, many times a whale’s size. He reassesses its current battle strength at rank six rather than the rank eight he first assumed on hatching, since it still lacks wild Gu and a desolate beast’s strength depends heavily on its physical body. He is disappointed, but the eagle is certain to reach rank eight battle strength as it grows. Fang Yuan judges Hei Fan a meticulous, shrewd and proud rank eight great expert; the refinement moves, nest, egg and hidden blood method together made an extraordinary contest of wits. He judges only someone as astute as himself could have won it, and wonders whether more tests wait at the grotto-heaven, deciding that more tests would only mean a more extraordinary inheritance. ch. 1118
