Times were growing increasingly chaotic, though this was inevitable. A disaster had struck the Three Central Plains States, causing a massive exodus of refugees. At least several million refugees had amassed across the Wei River.
Yes, millions. This world was vastly larger than his previous one. From what Xu Guang knew, Qing State alone held tens of millions of Mortals, hundreds of millions of commoners, and tens of millions of serfs. Those who managed to flee to the Wei River region in the heartland of Qing State were merely a small fraction of the refugees.
Millions of refugees piling up south of the Wei River would inevitably deal a massive blow to Feiyun City. Xu Guang certainly didn’t believe there were no Martial Artists among the masses on the opposite bank.
A brewing storm was about to break.
Every day, as he crossed the stone bridge on his way to and from work, Xu Guang saw corpses drifting in the water. From time to time, he would even spot men pushing wheelbarrows to dump dead bodies into the river. The small river, which flowed from the nearby mountains and cut straight through Feiyun City, had now turned into a veritable mass grave.
Xu Guang did not go straight home; instead, he headed toward a grain shop outside the city. His Bloodline Power had awakened and had been continuously transforming his body over the past few days, causing his appetite to skyrocket. Furthermore, grain prices had tripled in just half a month. Seeing the growing chaos around him, he wanted to stock up on food.
With refugees rising up everywhere, grain prices had inevitably skyrocketed. Xu Guang earned a daily wage of six small knife-coins from slaughtering fish, but a single pound of grain now cost four small knife-coins.
Xu Guang no longer entered the inner city, simply settling for a mundane routine of slaughtering fish at the fish stall and collecting their blood. The method to convert fish blood into Essence Blood was very simple: he only needed to submerge a part of his body into the blood. After a while, the crimson hue of the fish blood would fade. He had no idea how the mechanism worked, nor could he see any physical changes in his hand.
He wasn’t sure if the quality of the fish blood was too low or if the conversion efficiency was simply too poor. After three days of gutting fish, he hadn’t felt any changes in his Blood Eye, nor had he generated any Essence Blood.
Returning home at noon after his shift, Xu Guang found that Xu Chun had returned to her maiden home, bringing along his nephew, Wang Wen. Six-year-old Wang Wen was a sturdy and energetic boy. He was incredibly adorable and highly affectionate toward his uncle.
Earlier on, Xu Guang used to take Wang Wen to play by the docks. After he started working, he would always bring home some fish bladders for his nephew. In the strictly regulated Wang Family, such low-class items were completely out of Wang Wen’s reach.
Rubbing Wang Wen’s head, Xu Guang looked curiously at his older sister, who was just coming out of the house after paying her respects to their mother. "Chun, what’s going on? Why did you come back so suddenly?"
Xu Chun looked at Xu Guang with a beaming smile and retorted rather sharply, "What, am I not allowed to visit?"
Xu Guang hurriedly waved his hands in denial. Xu Chun was the eldest sibling. Perhaps because she had always taken care of him during his childhood, she had never spared the rod on him when they were younger.
"Chun, what nonsense are you sprouting? You’re a member of the Xu Family. You can come back whenever you please."
Xu Chun shot him a sidelong glance. "That’s more like it. I came back this time because of some good news. Guang, let me ask you: how is your blade work after slaughtering fish at the stall all these years?"
"After five years of killing fish, my heart has grown as cold as the knife in my hand," Xu Guang replied.
"Then that settles it. Killing fish is an unrefined job anyway; slaughtering large livestock is where the real money is. I’ve been wandering around the city for a long time these past few days, and I found a great gig for you. The Cheng Family hunted down an Exotic Yellow Pig in Lin Zi. They originally wanted to tame it, but they haven’t made any progress these past few days, so they decided to just find someone to butcher it instead. My husband and I wore them down for ages before we finally secured this job for you. Start getting prepared," Xu Chun said rather smugly.
Xu Guang’s expression froze slightly. He was supposed to butcher a pig?
The jump from killing fish to slaughtering pigs was quite a leap. Moreover, he had to go to the Cheng Family to butcher an Exotic Yellow Pig. However, with the awakening of his Bloodline Power over the past few days, his physical strength had multiplied several times over. Killing a mere pig shouldn’t be difficult. Furthermore, if he could embezzle some of the pig’s blood, perhaps he could condense it into Essence Blood for himself.
"Chun, you’re really something else." Xu Guang offered a sycophantic smile and gave her a thumbs-up, feeling incredibly moved.
His older sister truly had a bit of a Voldemort complex—she was fiercely devoted to sacrificing everything for her younger brother. It was a good thing her husband didn’t hold much status in his own household, otherwise, there would have been trouble.
In this day and age, women held very low status. Given that her husband’s family already had a rather low standing within the Wang Family, Xu Chun’s status was naturally even lower. To secure a job butchering an Alien Species, she and her husband must have expended a tremendous amount of effort.
Xu Chun smiled triumphantly. "Of course. If my husband and I hadn’t pestered the Second Young Master of the Cheng Family for days, this job really wouldn’t have fallen into your lap. They’re paying half a pound of Alien Species pork! Even my husband was incredibly envious.
"However, my husband already has a cultivation method, and the Wang Family has always looked down on you. So you go to the Cheng Family. Make sure you perform well when butchering the pig this time. Ever since the Eldest Miss of the Cheng Family took power, she has cared very little about class boundaries. If you do a good job, you might just earn yourself a cultivation method."
Hearing this, Xu Guang felt an even greater warmth flowing through his heart. "When do I head over?"
Xu Chun glanced at the sky. "The agreed date with the Cheng Family is in three days. Tomorrow, we’ll head into the city together. You can stay at my husband’s place for a day, and I’ll take you to the Cheng Family the following day."
Xu Guang knew that since Wang Wen was here, they definitely weren’t going into the city today. He didn’t say much else and simply took Wang Wen to play in the courtyard.
Xu Chun cooked dinner that evening. Because the physical remodeling from his Bloodline Power was still ongoing, Xu Guang ate a massive amount of food. Wang Wen kept shouting at the dinner table, "Uncle Guang is a bottomless pit!"
Xu Guang felt utterly helpless. He hadn’t told his mother about becoming one of the Abnormal People. She loved to show off on normal days, and now that his father had just passed away, she might just blab about it to prove that the Xu Family had not yet fallen into decline. He figured he would tell her in a few days when her emotions stabilized. By then, they should also have some news regarding the whereabouts of his third sister.
Later that night, Xu Guang slept in the same bed as Wang Wen. Fortunately, Wang Wen lacked the pampered fragility of young masters from the city. He didn’t fuss over the food or the sleeping conditions; as long as his uncle was around, he remained completely quiet and well-behaved.
After finally coaxing Wang Wen to sleep, Xu Guang was drifting in a daze when he suddenly felt a severe ache all over his body. Immediately after, an acidic, ticklish sensation rose in his throat. He hastily got up and rushed out into the courtyard, hacking and coughing violently. It wasn’t until he spat out a pool of foul, black blood from his throat that the acidic tickle finally vanished.
Xu Chun helped Mrs. Xu out of the main house. Seeing Xu Guang’s condition, they hurried forward in concern.
"Mom, hurry back to bed. I just inhaled too much dust while playing outside today. I’m fine."
After coaxing his elderly mother back inside, Xu Guang looked at Xu Chun’s somewhat worried expression and shook his head, signaling that he was alright.
Xu Chun didn’t press the matter. Her younger brother was grown now. With their father gone, Xu Guang was the only one left to shoulder the responsibilities of the Xu Family. She couldn’t micromanage his every move like she did when they were children.
"If you’re fine, go back to sleep. I’ll go keep an eye on Mom."
"Okay."
Xu Guang could feel the changes within his body at this very moment. It truly lived up to the phrase of being completely reborn. According to the divisions of the Martial Dao cultivation Realm, even if he hadn’t fully stepped into the first stage—Body Nourishment—he had at least crossed half a step over the threshold.
Bloodline Power was a miraculous force. The human body held endless wonders; although Bloodline Power grew alongside one’s Realm, an exceptionally strong Bloodline Power could also inversely propel a person’s Realm forward.
He couldn’t help but wonder where his Blood Eye ranked among all the existing forms of Bloodline Power.