Innate Bloodline Factors are graded in detail. An ordinary Cultivator of the Mortal Race possesses a Top-Grade Bloodline that allows them to open one Dantian. Two to three Dantians signifies a Nobility Bloodline, four to five a Marquis Clan Bloodline, six to seven a Royal Family Bloodline, and eight to nine the rarest of all—a Royal Family Bloodline!

Nine is the limit, and the Royal Family’s Top-Grade Bloodline is exactly that.

’All this time, I thought the Royal Family’s Top-Grade Bloodline was the most powerful bloodline in the world. How... how have three more Bloodline Factors just appeared in my body?’

’Three Bloodline Factors to open three Dantians... plus my previous seven... That means I’ll have ten Dantians!’

’A Royal Family’s Top-Grade Bloodline only has nine Dantians, but I have ten... What kind of bloodline is this?’

’Does it surpass the Royal Family’s Top-Grade Bloodline?’

’How can such a strange bloodline even exist in this world?’

Nie Yun’s head was spinning!

’There must be a reason for this. I’ll focus on activating these three Bloodline Factors first...’

Suppressing his shock, Nie Yun focused on activating the new Bloodline Factors. He knew the Nameless Technique had fallen silent once more, so he set it aside and followed the standard procedure for opening Dantians.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

For Nie Yun, opening a Dantian was a simple affair. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before three successive rumbles echoed within him, and the three new Dantians took form.

The Ten Great Dantians spun rapidly within his Qi Sea, which had expanded to ten times its original size. They continuously absorbed Spiritual Qi from the air, slowly refining it into True Qi.

’Just as I thought, these three Dantians are just like the others. They’re attributeless, which means I can assign them any attribute I want!’

Nie Yun’s face flushed with excitement as he carefully examined the three newly opened Dantians.

’Even though I don’t know what kind of bloodline ten Dantians represents, I know one thing for sure: my innate talent has definitely surpassed the Royal Family’s Top-Grade Bloodline!’

’With the Ten Great Dantians active at once, it’s like ten people cultivating simultaneously... That speed is just terrifying!’

’What’s more, I can assign any attribute I want to these Dantians. In the future, if I see a talent I like, I can just cultivate it... It’s thrilling just to think about!’

’Whew... Activating those Dantians took half a day. Now I need to hurry and fill up this massive Qi Sea. Otherwise, my combat strength won’t just fail to increase, it will actually decrease...’

Nie Yun once again suppressed his excitement and considered his enlarged Qi Sea with a sense of resignation.

His Qi Sea had grown so much that even with ten Dantians converting Spiritual Qi at once, filling it completely would be a monumental task. There was only half a day left before his three-day deadline. If he didn’t hurry, his strength might actually be weaker than before!

It’s easy to scoop a basin of water out of a bucket, but what about scooping it out of a swimming pool?

You’d barely manage to wet the bottom, and trying to scoop any out would be even harder!

That was exactly his situation now. With the expanded Qi Sea, his True Qi concentration had plummeted. If he didn’t refill it quickly, the speed at which he could draw upon his True Qi would slow down, and his combat power would surely drop!

’I’ll just use these drops of Primordial Essence Spirit Liquid. They absorb much faster than Spirit Stones!’

With a flick of his will, a drop of Primordial Essence Spirit Liquid appeared from his Storage Dantian.

He tipped his head back and swallowed the liquid. Instantly, Nie Yun felt the familiar warm current surge through him once more.

This time, however, the warm current wasn’t overwhelming as it had been before. Instead, a pleasant warmth spread through his body as the energy flowed into his Qi Sea in an instant, significantly boosting his diluted True Qi concentration.

’Huh? One drop of Primordial Essence Spirit Liquid barely made a difference?’

Sensing that one drop of the liquid had only increased his True Qi concentration by a sliver and hadn’t achieved the desired effect, Nie Yun resignedly took out another drop and swallowed it.

’Huh? Still not enough!’

’Still a little more...’

...

’Damn, that’s the seventh drop already...’

Before long, Nie Yun had swallowed a total of seven drops of Primordial Essence Spirit Liquid.

With seven drops of the liquid in his system, his once-vacant Qi Sea was finally churning with True Qi again, restored to its former state.

’Looks like I underestimated the capacity of my Qi Sea. I originally thought these ten-odd drops of liquid would be enough to get me to the Early-Stage Ultimate Venerable Peak, but now... that seems unlikely...’

Nie Yun gave a bitter smile as he registered the change in his body.

Initially, he had planned to use his dozen-plus drops of Primordial Essence Spirit Liquid to reach the Ultimate Venerable Peak. After his Qi Sea expanded, he revised his expectations, thinking it would be good enough just to reach the Early-Stage Ultimate Venerable Peak. But now, reality delivered a crushing blow. The idea that a mere dozen drops could get him to the Early-Stage Ultimate Venerable Peak was a complete fantasy. Without a hundred drops, it would be impossible!

The gap between imagination and reality was just too vast!

’I used to think a thousand Spirit Stones was a massive fortune. Now it seems that even absorbing all of them might not be enough for me to reach the Ultimate Venerable Peak...’

For an ordinary Ultimate Venerable Powerhouse, ten Spirit Stones were enough to go from the early stage to the peak. But Nie Yun felt that even a thousand might not be enough for him!

The Nameless Technique had expanded his Qi Sea to an unimaginable size!

’So what if I have ten Dantians now?’

’Ten Dantians are like ten water pumps. If it takes someone else ten days to fill a pond with one pump, how long would it take me to fill a lake with ten? It would probably take years...’

’I gained three more Dantians, but my cultivation speed has actually become slower than before...’

How could Nie Yun possibly be happy, understanding all this?

If not for the fact that his enlarged Qi Sea meant he had a much larger reserve of True Qi, he probably would have had a breakdown by now.

’There are pros and cons. A larger Qi Sea and greater True Qi Amount means my foundation will be much more profound, increasing my chances of success when I eventually attempt Nirvana. Plus, a bigger Qi Sea means more True Qi. In battle, my power will be endless. I’ll be able to wear down and kill any opponent at my level—or even above it—with my sheer reserves of True Qi!’

Thinking of the advantages his expanded Qi Sea offered, the gloom in Nie Yun’s heart vanished, and he rose to his feet.

Three days wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short, either. It passed before Nie Yun really noticed. Today was the day the Zhao Family’s own Zhao Xingpu was set to marry Luoqing City!

CREAK!

He pushed open the door and stepped outside. The brilliant sunlight made him squint.

Despite not having eaten or drunk anything for three days, Nie Yun felt no hunger. In fact, he was brimming with energy, his entire body thrumming with power.

During his three days of cultivation, Tie Yan had visited once to report on the intelligence gathered by the Mercenary Corps. While there were no major breakthroughs, the intel did confirm that after kidnapping Nie Yun’s parents, the culprits had made no further moves.

No further moves meant his parents were likely not in any immediate danger.

This knowledge gave him the peace of mind to focus on his cultivation. Otherwise, he never could have relaxed while his parents remained in peril.

’Zhao Xingpu... Zhao Family...’ He chuckled softly. ’Heh. Today is the day that I, Nie Yun, will shock the Imperial Capital and make the entire Divine Wind Empire tremble. I will let my father’s captors know that the Phecda Sword is in my hands. If they have the guts... let them come and take it!’

Looking up at the sun already high in the sky, Nie Yun clenched his fists. The determined words left his lips, spoken slowly... and deliberately.