Chapter 217: More Familiar Still!

Chapter 217: More Familiar Still!

Not only did the young man’s condition give Zheng Yichen an overwhelming sense of familiarity, but the boiling blood essence he gathered later formed a Blood Qi Blade, leaving Zheng Yichen deep in thought. What expression should he wear in this moment?

An Otherworld version of Bloodthirst Rage? What genius came up with this?! Zheng Yichen even suspected that this world might have predecessors belonging to him. Anyway, he felt it wouldn’t be strange at all if the young man he was secretly observing suddenly unleashed a massive skill like Earth Sundering Slash.

It seemed today he had stumbled upon something truly extraordinary.

Silently observing the young man now locked in combat with the bear creature, Zheng Yichen noted that, after activating this state, while humans were naturally weaker than Magical Beasts in raw strength, the young man’s speed now surpassed the somewhat lumbering bear. He seemed to hold the upper hand for now. Every time his Blood Qi Blade slashed across the bear, it left behind a wound. Moreover, a significant amount of blood was drawn out by the blade, merging into its form.

Hmm, this somewhat resembled the Bloodthirst Curse, but lacked its malevolent aura… More like an ability-based life-drain. Wait, wasn’t this bear creature Earth Element? This thought had just flashed through his mind when the suppressed bear roared. It slammed a claw onto the ground. The earth rippled like waves on water. This disturbance even affected the space above the ground, causing the young man’s movements to falter and slow.

Before he could break free, the bear charged and swung a massive paw down at him from above. Unable to dodge, the young man could only raise his Blood Qi Blade defensively overhead. The blade, potent for attack, proved inferior for defense. It held against the bear’s paw for only a fleeting instant before shattering into a bloody mist.

The crushing blow slammed the young man into the ground. The impact made Zheng Yichen’s own teeth ache. Wait, no! He had to rescue him… Huh? Just about to leap out, Zheng Yichen tilted his head and settled back down. The young man, embedded in the earth, veins bulging grotesquely across his skin, forcibly held back the bear’s second strike. His body, however, fractured, multiple wounds splitting open. Blood oozed from these injuries only to instantly evaporate into mist the moment it left his skin, merging with the swirling Blood Essence around him. It formed a partial cycle with his body, turning his skin an even deeper, more crimson hue.

This Blood Qi flowing back into his body didn’t replenish the lost blood. Instead, it amplified his strength. Essentially, the worse his state, the more power ful he became… MMP, this looked even more familiar!

Zheng Yichen twitched his lips, utterly speechless. Could this world truly have one of his predecessors? One who had carelessly crossed over while playing a certain money-devouring game? Why hadn’t he been that lucky? Why hadn’t he gotten such a cheat… ‘Golden Finger’? Hah!

Bloodthirst Rage, Blood Essence Awakeness… Tsk, would he pull out Berserk and Frenzy next? Zheng Yichen muttered under his breath, watching the grievously wounded youth erupt with power. The Blood Qi swirling around him had grown so thick it oozed like liquid blood outside his skin. Zheng Yichen felt that if compressed those Blood Qi flows down into his feet and detonated them… wouldn’t that be Rage Burst?

Over at his main body, Zheng Yichen looked at his own fingers. The youth’s Blood Qi originated from his blood itself – not some distinct energy. Yet, under the influence of certain powers, when induced into this Blood Qi form, it possessed potency comparable to special energies. Since this power was linked to blood, naturally, the higher the quality of the blood, the stronger the Blood Qi power must be!

So… could he learn this? Battle Qi, or whatever it was, Zheng Yichen had struggled relentlessly until now. Beyond gaining a more robust physique, he’d seen no real results. This Blood Qi power reignited his determination. Magic? It genuinely seemed like too much hassle. Against common foes, conventional magic was fine. But against the truly formidable? Victory depended purely on the depth of one’s mastery over magic.

Simply choosing the most potent magic didn’t guarantee dominance. Even learning a tremendously powerful spell was pointless if understanding remained shallow. Pulling it off might be less effective than someone else’s simple casting, and the cost would be ridiculously high.

Just thinking of the vast repository of spells recorded in Bona Kaine’s Magic Book gave Zheng Yichen a headache. Magic? A bit of Light magic to dazzle people was enough! Mage battles? Going through the whole charade of chanting, then lunging in the enemy’s moment of distraction to land a punch… wasn’t that way more fitting?

He was a dragon, after all! One who relied on his physical form. Magic? That was supplementary! Right now, he should specialize solely in Magic Weapon Forging and the Projection Spell. Everything else? Functional was good enough. After all, he didn’t have any special requirements. Deepening magical specialization required time, something power alone couldn’t bypass.

Zheng Yichen lacked a Witch’s inherent supernatural understanding of Magic. Apart from directly manifesting spells by drawing Magic Rune Arrays, his progress in deep magical comprehension was average, no faster than an ordinary person. It was just like his life back on Earth – not the best, but ahead of the rest. Mediocre.

In Zheng Yichen’s opinion, if he absolutely had to face unavoidable, direct combat in the future, why not just rely on throwing punches himself? He had precious little experience with true magical battles. He didn’t have the structured training of those academy-trained students who benefited from instructors guiding their techniques, handing down experience, which they then rapidly integrated through practical fights. Zheng Yichen lacked such privilege.

So, when it came to fighting… might as well rely on flailing wildly like swinging Pugilist Fists.

Shaking his head, Zheng Yichen refocused his attention on the projection’s viewpoint. The youth, in his explosive phase after grave injury, now possessed sufficient strength to withstand the bear’s crushing blows. Though still slightly inferior, it wasn’t by much. His speed had also surged dramatically. At this stage, the battle’s outcome was largely decided. Even the bear’s constant counterattacks, including multiple instances of pseudo-magic ambushes, were futile.

The swirling layer of Blood Essence provided significant protection, allowing him to directly endure weaker attacks in exchange for dealing his own blows. Every wound inflicted on the bear by the Blood Qi Blade further weakened it. Conversely, the young man drew strength, healing himself with the blood absorbed from the bear. Within this cycle, even if the fight dragged on, the bear’s fate was sealed.

Finding an opening, the young man thrust his Blood Qi Blade straight into the bear’s skull. The creature didn’t even manage a final roar of defiance before collapsing completely, utterly dead. As the battle concluded, the surging Blood Qi around the youth instantly collapsed. Only a small fraction seeped back into his body, while the greater part… vanished? Vanished?!

Wait! This was illogical! Although the operating mechanics of Blood Qi were strange, something Zheng Yichen hadn’t encountered and thus couldn’t fully understand, if it originated from converted blood… During combat, maintaining the Blood Qi meant he couldn’t replenish the blood loss. Doing so would diminish the Blood Qi, leading to a drop in power… Yeah, that much he got. But with the fight over? Since Blood Qi was transformed from blood, then, from a researcher’s perspective like Zheng Yichen’s, it should be convertible back, right?

Even if there was loss, the scale shouldn’t be so drastic! For instance, turning a lump of iron into a kitchen knife didn’t alter its essential nature. Reverting it shouldn’t change that, only possibly incur a slight loss in mass. So, losing this much Blood Qi every time? Over prolonged battles, the accumulated loss would be enormous! Hang on… this pattern seemed strangely familiar too…

Zheng Yichen scratched his head, suppressing the overwhelming sense of déjà vu. He continued watching the young man’s actions. After the massive surge of Blood Qi vanished from his body, the Blood Qi Blade lodged in the bear’s skull remained intact. The bear’s carcass rapidly shriveled and dried out as vast quantities of blood vanished into nothingness. Silently, Zheng Yichen cast a Soul Drain spell.

As expected, the bear’s Soul was gone too… It must have been siphoned away along with the blood. This also carried traces of the Bloodthirst Curse. The projection summoned the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, flipping to the section on High-Level Magic Soldiers. Zheng Yichen gazed at a page depicting a massive sword. He stared at the eye illustrated on the page, scrutinizing it, subtly probing… Nothing seemed unusual. The connection between the book and the Magic Sword Apophis seemed perfectly normal… Had he just been overthinking?

He shook his head. Maybe he had been overthinking. He’d summon this Magic Weapon later to examine it closely.

As for the young man? He had sustained severe wounds during the fight with the bear. Yet, afterward, those injuries miraculously healed. Aside from his clothes being tattered, his body showed no sign of injury. His aura had clearly intensified instead. This path to power wasn’t half bad, really.

Zheng Yichen expressed silent approval. If it lacked serious side effects, he’d definitely be more interested. Leaving this projection to its task, Zheng Yichen shifted his attention entirely back to his main form. Without hesitation, he slapped the summoned Magic Weapon Summoning Book, drawing out a dark-purple, sinister-looking greatsword. Zheng Yichen involuntarily frowned. Honestly, Apophis, crafted by his own hand, was an infrequently used item.

Even if this weapon might become immensely popular among Magic Weapon Summoners in the future, Zheng Yichen rarely fought himself and thus rarely employed it. In past battles, a weapon suitable for berserk hacking like this wasn’t optimal; the Excalibur adorned with potent magic served him better.

Now, wielding this blade once more, Zheng Yichen genuinely felt startled. While sinister before, its dark aura stemmed primarily from the Bloodthirst Curse bound to it. Now, that aura had distinctly transformed into something new – flowing more naturally, perfectly harmonized with the weapon itself. This wasn’t the tainted aura of the curse; it felt like an upgraded, uniquely evolved form of baleful energy.

Zheng Yichen gave Apophis an experimental swing. As he did so, tangible wisps of deep-purple evil energy trailed from the blade like flickering flames. Despite their vile nature, Zheng Yichen couldn’t help but admire their beauty. Even in games, the trailing afterimages when Apophis struck were captivating. However, this was a hyper-realistic version. Sword trails couldn’t realistically form like that, but the concentrated energy clinging to the blade could create this dramatic visual effect.

This evil energy manifested more than just a visual spectacle. Gently tracing the tip over the ground, Zheng Yichen witnessed small plants instantly corrode into minute particles under its baleful influence.

Truly… remarkable.

Zheng Yichen clicked his tongue, offering audible praise. His expression signified approval, but inwardly, he remained vigilant. He thoroughly inspected the weapon. Well, while technically a projection, it was a 100% replication, essentially identical to the real thing. Hauling the massive actual sword here would be impractical, and afterward, finding a place to store it would be troublesome. Just its constantly leaking evil aura, even stuffed into a bag, would corrode the contents and likely destroy the bag itself.

“No flaws…” Zheng Yichen murmured. The structure of the Bloodthirst Curse empowered within the weapon had changed. This was normal. Magic enchantments imbued onto Magic Soldiers invariably tended to improve with usage. This alteration seemed more like an adaption – an improvement uniquely suited to Apophis. It wasn’t unique; every Magic Weapon showed similar signs of change, though Frostmourne previously held the record… Now, Apophis had surpassed it. Yet, with the number of people capable of summoning High-Level Magic Soldiers still being relatively low, how had its pace accelerated so drastically? Had a large group of hardcore users been wielding it day and night, wreaking havoc somewhere?

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Finding nothing definitively amiss, Zheng Yichen prepared to reshelve Apophis. A curious gaze caught his eye. “Hm? Interested in this thing?” he asked Lily while giving the Magic Sword a little flourish.

Lily nodded softly. The impression those various summoned Magic Weapons had left on her was profound. Disinterest was impossible. Even knowing she couldn’t wield such power, it didn’t stop her fascination. If magic was out of reach, a Magic Weapon… that she could hope for, right?

“Alright, have a careful feel then.” Zheng Yichen planted Apophis onto the ground. The blade tailored for his draconic physique promptly shrank down to a size suitable for an ordinary person. Even then, the sword’s length slightly exceeded Lily’s height. It could be shrunk further, but Zheng Yichen chose not to. A weapon this imposing deserved its grandeur; shrinking it to pocket-sized would be ridiculous. Besides… the image of a little girl wielding a massive greatsword? That was oddly appealing.

Under Zheng Yichen’s deliberate control, Lily suffered no Bloodthirst Curse effects upon touching the blade. As for its weight? Magically projected weapons didn’t burden their wielder. A Heavy Magic Sword’s weight only affected its victims upon impact. For the user, the heft always felt perfectly manageable.

Thus, Lily effortlessly drew the dark-purple, evil Apophis upright. Her eyes shone with wonder as she gave it a few tentative swings through the air. Its tip brushed lightly against the ground, encountering no resistance as it glided over the surface. “So amazing!”

“Well… that’s expected,” Zheng Yichen chewed on his lip. After all, it was a High-Level Magic Soldier. Any blade worth that rank shouldn’t be impeded by mere ground or walls! Most Intermediate Magic Weapons possessed that sharpness. Ones that didn’t? Those were usually staffs!

“If you like it, play with it as a toy. Just don’t cut yourself,” Zheng Yichen waved dismissively. When not actively fighting, the magical energy cost to maintain a projected weapon was negligible. Neither Zheng Yichen nor Lily needed to provide the Magic Source. Hey, being the cheat-level owner meant using the Magic Weapon Summoning Book itself as the limitless Mana Source! Totally legit!

Right now, what captured Zheng Yichen’s attention far more intently was unfolding on the young man’s side of the projection.