Bloodstar System: Infinite Evolution Through Beast Slaughter

Chapter 34: Let Me Teach You Reverence

Before the blade arrived, the wind from it had already blown Joren’s bangs aside, revealing eyes as black as ink.

There was no fear in them.

No panic.

Only a flicker of excitement that made the heart tighten.

Boom!

[Bladeborn Frame] roared.

Joren’s right hand shot toward his waist like lightning.

Draw.

"Antares!"

His low shout exploded through the underground parking lot like thunder.

The instant the Black Gold blade left its sheath, the air seemed to fill with the roar of thousands of charging soldiers.

No fancy technique.

No complicated variation.

Only a simple upward slash.

Yet the moment that slash rose, the surrounding air seemed to twist under a domineering will. Along the edge of the blade surged the terrifying force of late stage Rank One, like a river breaking its banks.

And within it was a scalp numbing vibration.

[Vibrating Blade]!

The two blades crashed together.

For a fraction of a second, time seemed to stop.

Then.

Clang!

A blast loud enough to split eardrums erupted.

A violent shockwave rolled out from the two of them in every direction. The windows of several cars parked nearby shattered at once, and alarms began screaming one after another.

The cement floor cracked inch by inch. Dust burst into the air.

Inside the dust.

A burly figure staggered backward as if struck by a heavy hammer.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Each footfall punched a deep print into the hard cement. Only after retreating five full meters did the figure barely regain balance.

Corren felt as if his entire right arm had been struck by lightning. Numbness and pain crawled through it, and the cleaver in his hand trembled madly, letting out a strained whine.

His cloudy eyes widened as he stared hard ahead.

His face could not hide what had just hit him.

"This... how is this possible?"

Joren held his blade in one hand, still in the posture of that upward slash.

His feet seemed rooted to the ground.

Not a single tremor.

His breathing stayed even, as if that head on clash had been no more than swatting away a fly.

"Late stage... Rank One?"

Corren had never imagined that the kid in front of him, who had only awakened yesterday and had been assessed as Mortal, would cross an entire major realm overnight.

From Mortal to late stage Rank One?

Even if he had swallowed drugs, even if he ate the forbidden medicine in Antares Command’s storehouse like food, it should have been impossible to push Vital Force to this level in one night.

Even more impossible to build such a dense, solid foundation.

But that was not what shook Corren the most.

What truly made his scalp prickle was that slash.

Its momentum.

Its intent.

Forward with no return, fighting as if there was nothing left behind.

That was...

"Antares Bladecraft... Mortal Perfection?"

As the chief instructor for new recruits in Antares Command, he had immersed himself in [Antares Bladecraft] for a full twenty years, and only then had he barely touched the threshold of Mortal Perfection.

This Bladecraft was basic, but easy to learn and difficult to master.

Reaching Greater Mortal required years of tempering on the battlefield.

Reaching Mortal Perfection required even higher comprehension and the right opportunity. One had to truly understand that tragic killing intent of marching forward against countless enemies.

But this kid before him...

How long had he been exposed to this Bladecraft?

One day?

No.

Not even twelve hours.

In one night, his realm had surged, and his Bladecraft had reached Mortal Perfection?

Corren looked at the web of his hand, still trembling slightly.

During that brief collision just now, he had clearly felt a strange vibration drilling through the blade and into his arm. It had almost scattered the Vital Force protecting his body.

If not for his peak Rank Two foundation.

If not for his years of battlefield experience and the way he had shed force in time.

That slash might really have made these old bones embarrass themselves on the spot and sent his blade flying.

Joren slowly returned the blade to its sheath.

"Now, am I qualified to go to that battlefield?"

Corren’s body stiffened.

If he refused to nod now, the young tiger in front of him would truly bare its fangs without hesitation and kick him aside as nothing more than a stone in the road.

Ignorant of the height of heaven and depth of earth?

Needs his temper polished?

In front of absolute Talent and strength, all of that was bullshit.

His earlier talk about teaching the boy how to behave now sounded like a joke.

This kid did not lack reverence.

He had the capital to trample so called rules beneath his feet.

"You..."

Corren silently stepped aside, making way toward the black motorcycle.

He said nothing.

There was no need.

Rumble!

The engine roared through the underground parking lot.

The black motorcycle shot out of the exit like a steel leopard, plunging into the morning light and gun smoke outside.

Only Corren remained where he stood, watching the departing taillight in a daze.

A long time passed.

Then he bent down and picked up the liquor barrel on the ground. He did not care whether it had gotten dusty. He tipped it back for a drink, only to find it had long since emptied.

Corren shook his head with a bitter smile, a complicated look passing through his eyes.

"Kaia, this time you really dragged back someone incredible."

...

Norcrest northern district, outer ring road.

The wind howled, carrying the thick smell of blood and gun smoke straight into his face.

Joren leaned low over the motorcycle and twisted the throttle to the limit.

The needle on the speedometer jumped wildly. The scenery on both sides turned into blurred streaks of light.

"So this is the smell of a battlefield?"

At the end of his sight, the black mass of the Beast Tide surged like a dark tsunami, crashing against humanity’s defense line.

Flames rose into the sky.

Artillery thundered.

For others, this might be hell.

But in Joren’s eyes, it was an ocean of Bloodstars shining with golden light.

"Gift pack... here I come."