"Hiss..."
The moment the Exquisite Burning Blood Pill entered his mouth, it dissolved instantly, transforming into a torrent of fiery energy that surged through Ryan’s entire body.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
In the next instant, Ryan felt as though he had been thrown into a blazing furnace.
Raging heat swept through his flesh and blood, relentlessly tempering his body from the inside out. His meridians burned as though molten iron were flowing through them, while unbearable pain caused every muscle in his body to tense violently.
Even the faint smell of charred flesh began to permeate from within him.
"So painful..."
The pain was far beyond anything Ryan had ever experienced.
The Boundless Flame Origin Energy contained within the pill was incredibly violent. Every surge of energy ravaged his body like a raging inferno, tearing through his flesh and blood before forcefully tempering them.
Ryan’s body convulsed uncontrollably.
Unable to remain standing, he collapsed onto the ground and curled into himself, his body hunched tightly like a shrimp as wave after wave of agony tore through him.
The medicinal power of a Tier 2 Exquisite Burning Blood Pill was simply too overbearing.
Ryan felt as though a ferocious beast had entered his body and was savagely tearing apart his flesh and blood. The pain penetrated deep into his bones, spreading through every inch of his body.
Before long, fine cracks began spreading across his skin.
They rapidly multiplied, forming a web-like pattern across his entire body. Threads of blood seeped from the cracks, gathering into countless crimson beads on his skin.
Yet strangely, the blood did not drip.
Each bead trembled faintly beneath the terrifying heat, clinging to his body as though suspended by an invisible force.
As time passed, the burning sensation showed no sign of weakening.
Instead, it grew stronger.
Wave after wave of agony surged through Ryan’s body. At times, it felt as though countless arrows were piercing his heart. At others, it was as though thousands of blades were carving through his flesh simultaneously.
Several times, Ryan felt himself hovering on the verge of unconsciousness.
His vision blurred. His body trembled. His consciousness began to fade.
If not for the thought of wasting the Burning Blood Pill, a treasure worth hundreds of Low-Grade Origin Stones, he might have already allowed himself to collapse.
He gritted his teeth.
And endured. Again. And again.
The torment continued without end.
"Sizzle..."
Suddenly, blood-red vapor began rising from Ryan’s body.
It seeped from every pore, twisting upward like smoke from a battlefield drenched in blood. The terrifying heat seemed to be boiling his blood itself, gradually forming a faint crimson mist that enveloped his entire body.
The sight was strangely beautiful.
But Ryan had no strength to appreciate it. His body suddenly felt as though he had been thrown into a boundless desert beneath a merciless sun.
Every drop of moisture seemed to be evaporating from him.
His strength rapidly drained away. His throat became so dry that even swallowing felt impossible, while blood plasma blurred his vision and coated his eyes with a sticky warmth.
His lips cracked and peeled.
Thirst. That was all Ryan could feel. An overwhelming, almost maddening thirst.
Yet even that was secondary to the inferno raging within his body.
The surging heat continued to stampede through his meridians like a herd of wild beasts, growing more violent with every passing moment.
Ryan’s skin flushed crimson. His veins bulged beneath the surface.
Even the air around him seemed to distort from the terrifying temperature radiating from his body.
At this rate... He would be completely evaporated from the inside out.
Then, even his consciousness began to blur.
Strange illusions appeared one after another, fragments of memories and distorted voices intertwining within his mind.
Sometimes, he heard the mournful cry of wind sweeping through desolate fields.
Sometimes, it sounded like the wails of ghosts and the howls of wolves.
The scenes were fragmented and chaotic, appearing and disappearing without warning.
"Hehehe... Ryan, stop daydreaming!"
"I’ve seen plenty of delusional good-for-nothings like you. No matter how hard you struggle, you’ll never awaken your Bloodline in this lifetime!"
"Ryan, kneel!"
"Oh, look! It’s that good-for-nothing Ryan!"
"He’s so young, yet all he can do is pick through garbage. His life is already decided!"
"Hahaha! A piece of trash like this is only fit to lick our shoe soles!"
"Get lost, you filthy beggar!"
"Hmph! Ryan, how dare a piece of trash like you dream of monopolizing the Boundless Creation Furnace?"
"If you don’t hand it over willingly, we’ll tear you apart!"
"..."
The voices continued without end.
Reality and illusion intertwined until Ryan could no longer distinguish between them.
His head throbbed violently, as though an enormous mountain were pressing down upon his skull. Every thought became unbearably heavy.
The endless ridicule and humiliation washed over his consciousness again and again, like an endless night threatening to swallow him whole.
His consciousness sank deeper. His eyelids grew heavier. His body weakened.
"No!"
A furious roar suddenly erupted from Ryan’s throat.
His curled-up body trembled violently as he clenched his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms.
Despite his blurred consciousness, he refused to surrender.
With tremendous effort, Ryan planted his right palm against the ground.
His blood-soaked arm trembled violently as he forced himself upward.
Slowly....He raised his upper body. Then, using the last remnants of his strength, he pushed himself onto one knee.
His entire body shook uncontrollably. His breathing was ragged. His skin was cracked. Blood covered his body. Yet he refused to fall.
Ryan tightly shut his eyes, desperately clinging to the final thread of clarity within his mind.
He could not collapse. Not now. He had a terrifying feeling that if he fell this time, he would never wake again.
His consciousness would sink into eternal darkness, never to return.
So he endured. He endured the pain. He endured the heat. He endured the voices clawing at his mind.
And most importantly, He endured himself.
Time crawled by. One breath. Then another. Each passing moment felt like an eternity. Ryan no longer knew how long he had endured.
Eventually, just as he felt himself reaching his absolute limit and his consciousness was about to plunge completely into darkness...
Something changed. The enormous amount of medicinal energy still circulating through his body suddenly began to move.
At the same time, a massive amount of vital blood was drawn from his flesh and blood.
The two forces surged toward his Origin Energy Sea.
Then they began to compress.
Again. And again.
The medicinal energy and vital blood were squeezed together with terrifying force, becoming increasingly concentrated.
Ryan’s exhausted consciousness vaguely sensed the transformation.
But before he could react...
"BOOM!"
A deafening explosion erupted within his mind.
The compressed medicinal energy and vital blood finally reached their limit.
Then, They fused completely.
A crystal-clear, pure-white essence emerged within his Origin Energy Sea. It was his bloodline Essence.
It radiated dazzling light, like a flawless divine crystal suspended within the depths of his Origin Energy Sea.
At the same time, The terrifying heat raging throughout Ryan’s body suddenly began to recede.
It withdrew like a raging tide returning to the sea.
The unbearable burning sensation gradually weakened.
The blood-red steam surrounding his body dispersed.
The oppressive heat within his meridians slowly subsided.
As the violent energy settled, a solid ribbon of pure-white Origin Sea energy gradually formed around his Origin Energy Sea.
The Origin Sea bloodline Ribbon.
Ryan’s consciousness lingered upon the strange transformation for a moment.
The Origin Sea was the foundation and source of a Bloodline Fighter’s power. Once its energy circulated through the Bloodline Essence, it could transform into Origin Sea Bloodline and acquire the unique characteristics of the awakened Bloodline.
For Ryan, however, there was no time to study the process in detail.
The immense medicinal power of the Burning Blood Pill was finally beginning to settle.
Only then did Ryan realize just how reckless he had been.
With his naturally weak physique, attempting to refine such an overbearing pill without adequate preparation had been extremely dangerous.
One mistake could have caused the violent medicinal energy to spiral out of control, rupturing his meridians and blood vessels.
At worst, his entire body could have been torn apart.
Both the pill and the person would have been destroyed.
Ryan finally understood that he had been far too careless.
Ideally, he should have first found a pill with a cooling or neutralizing medicinal property to temper the violent energy of the Burning Blood Pill.
Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret.
Once the arrow had been released, there was no way to take it back.
He could only grit his teeth and endure.
The Burning Blood Pill truly lived up to its name.
Its medicinal energy was vast and ferocious, surging through his body like an endless inferno.
Even after enduring such prolonged torment, Ryan had only refined roughly seventy to eighty percent of its medicinal power.
A considerable amount of residual energy still remained within his meridians.
Ryan couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dread.
Such terrifying medicinal power...
Fortunately, he had endured until the end.
Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
...
"Hoo... hoo..."
Ryan’s clothes were completely soaked with sweat and stained crimson with blood.
His head buzzed incessantly, while his chest rose and fell violently as he struggled to draw in fresh air.
Although his entire body was sticky and covered in blood, Ryan no longer had the strength to care.
All he could feel was pain and exhaustion. He was so drained that he didn’t even have the strength to move his eyelids.
After an unknown amount of time, the discomfort gradually subsided. A trace of strength finally returned to his body.
Ryan slowly opened his eyes. He took several deep breaths before carefully pushing himself upright and standing.
The instant he straightened his body, however...
A sudden surge of violent power erupted within his Origin Energy Sea.
Ryan’s expression changed. The energy surged wildly through his Origin Energy Sea, crashing against its boundaries without the slightest restraint.
It was like an enraged beast trapped inside a cage, desperately struggling to break free.
It felt as though the terrifying power contained within his body was waiting for release.
"This is..." Ryan was startled by the sensation. He immediately calmed his mind and focused his awareness inward.
With a thought, he raised his right arm.
In the next instant, the pure-white Origin Sea bloodline Ribbon surrounding his Origin Energy Sea began to rotate rapidly.
Whoosh!
The Origin Sea energy within his body surged into motion.
It flowed through his meridians and blood vessels at astonishing speed, circulating throughout his entire body.
In an instant, the exhaustion that had weighed down every inch of Ryan’s body vanished.
His physical strength returned to its peak.
Even the overwhelming fatigue disappeared as though it had never existed.
Then...
A massive amount of Origin Sea energy surged toward the Bloodline Essence.
The moment the energy entered the Bloodline Essence, it began circulating through it at incredible speed.
A moment later, pure-white Origin Sea Bloodline energy was fed back out.
It instantly spread throughout Ryan’s meridians, flowing through every corner of his body.
At the same time...
A palm-sized spider phantom slowly emerged above Ryan’s right palm.
Its eight slender legs moved slightly, while its translucent body flickered with a faint spiritual light.
"Ding!"
Mira’s familiar, emotionless voice suddenly rang inside his mind.
[Congratulations, Host!]
[Origin Awakening detected.]
[Lifeform Type: D-Grade Ordinary Bloodline, Spider.]
[Strength promotion detected.]
[Current Realm: Elemental Power Realm, Stage One.]
[Active Abilities Unlocked: Spider Silk, Spider Claw Blade.]
[Passive Abilities Unlocked: None.]
Ryan stared blankly at the notifications.
"Active abilities... Spider Silk and Spider Claw Blade..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"I succeeded?"
The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.
A surge of joy instantly flooded his exhausted mind.
He had awakened a Bloodline!
After years of being branded a useless commoner, after countless humiliations and years of ridicule...
He had finally awakened his Bloodline!
Ryan couldn’t suppress his excitement.
He immediately activated his Mental Awareness and began examining his body from within, carefully sensing the Bloodline Essence and the unprecedented changes taking place inside his Origin Energy Sea.
Mental Awareness was one of the abilities naturally developed after Bloodline awakening.
As the brain and soul became stronger, a form of extraordinary perception known as Mental Awareness would gradually emerge.
It was colorless, odorless, and invisible, yet it allowed a Bloodline Fighter to perceive the internal state of their body.
As one’s cultivation realm increased, Mental Awareness would gradually become stronger as well.
At the Origin Sea Convergence Realm, Mental Awareness remained extremely weak.
Its primary functions were internal observation and guidance.
A Bloodline Fighter could use it to observe the internal environment of their body and guide the movement of Origin Sea energy through their meridians.
For Ryan, however, this was already an entirely new experience.
As his Mental Awareness spread inward, his consciousness soon entered the depths of his Origin Energy Sea.
There...
A dazzling, pure-white, droplet-shaped object was suspended within the vast Origin Energy Sea.
It rotated slowly on its own, radiating a faint but brilliant light.
Beside the white droplet, a tiny spider phantom would occasionally emerge and disappear, as though connected to it by an invisible thread.
Ryan immediately understood.
This should be his Bloodline Essence.
His attention then shifted toward the outer perimeter of the Origin Energy Sea.
There, a solidified ribbon of pure-white energy had formed.
It resembled a thick band of light, steadily circling his Origin Energy Sea.
Ryan’s heart stirred. ’This should be the Origin Sea Bloodline Ribbon. The hallmark of the Elemental Power Realm, Stage One.’
Looking at the changes within his body, Ryan couldn’t help but feel a mixture of excitement and disbelief.
After 20 years... He had finally taken his first step onto the path of becoming a true Bloodline Fighter.