Transmigrated with my corruption system

Chapter 192: Chapter 190: Bloodlines

Sitting atop the carriage, Ulric scanned the surroundings as a furrow formed across his face.

The wastelands seemed to stretch on and on for as far as his eyes could see.

According to the ancient records, before the mana influx thousands of years ago, all this land had been filled with lush greenery.

But because of the demonic beasts’ aimless destruction, it had all been reduced to this.

Exhaling quietly, he shook his head slowly as a soft smile spread across his face. The massive Procan Python moved at surprising speed. Within a few hours, it had already ventured far deeper into the wastelands than he had ever been before.

At this point, he had more or less expected a swathe of low-level beasts to rush forward and attack the carriage. But he sensed the aura the Procan Python passively released was acting as a deterrent.

But not for long. Sooner or later, they were bound to encounter beasts of equal strength to the Procan Python, or even stronger ones.

Then the real challenge would begin.

But Ulric wasn’t worried. If anything, a glint of anticipation flashed across his eyes. The more beasts he killed, the more energy he could channel from them to strengthen himself.

Until then, Ulric sat calmly, letting the dry wind flutter his hair wildly.

Only when his body had fully relaxed did he pull up his system interface.

A mad grin spread across his face as he saw the massive amount of corruption points he had accumulated.

Previously, he had been swamped with too many things, which was why he hadn’t had the time to spend them.

But now, it was different. He had all the time in the world.

He had also used this time to think long and hard while researching bloodlines in his free time, even going as far as asking Alaric how much he knew about them.

It would be a pity if he ended up buying a crappy bloodline. But he doubted the odds of that happening.

Although the system shop’s prices were astronomical, enough to make him feel as if the system was ripping him off, everything it displayed was of exceptional quality.

He just wanted to find what suited him best.

Driven by that thought, his once surface-level knowledge had grown by massive leaps and bounds.

As he sat there, he went over everything once more.

The bloodline was one of the three hallmarks that defined a genius.

The first was the physique, which shaped the vessel.

It governed the body’s innate qualities: strength, endurance, recovery, affinity for certain energies, and resistance to external forces.

Someone with a powerful physique could display tremendous combat prowess even with average talent.

In simple terms, the physique determined the quality of the vessel.

The second was talent, which shaped one’s potential.

Talent determined how quickly and how far one could comprehend, level up, and evolve.

It also influenced learning speed, insight, cultivation efficiency, and the ceiling of one’s future achievements.

A person with mediocre talent might spend decades understanding a concept that someone with supreme talent could grasp in a single moment.

In simple terms, throughout the realm of Arcadia, talent determined the heights one could reach.

Bloodlines were the last, which Ulric found far more interesting.

From what he understood, they were a form of inheritance.

While talents and physiques were innate and could awaken randomly, bloodlines were inherited through one’s lineage.

They often carried the legacy of one’s ancestors, embedding fragments of ancient power, memories, instincts, authorities, or dormant abilities within the soul and blood.

Unlike a physique, which strengthened the vessel, or talent, which governed potential, a bloodline granted access to powers that should not naturally belong to its bearer.

Some bloodlines awakened gradually.

Others remained dormant for generations.

The stronger the ancestor, the deeper the inheritance concealed within the blood.

Given his rich heritage, it wouldn’t be too much to expect that he possessed a bloodline as well.

If his mother truly was royalty and came from a lineage of monsters, then where the hell was his bloodline?

Was it dormant or something?

Ulric mused for a moment before discarding the thought entirely as the grin on his face widened.

Whatever the reason, he didn’t care.

Since bloodlines came from one’s lineage, people didn’t have the luxury of choosing them...

Unlike him.

Could someone possess two bloodlines?

Ulric sank into thought for a few moments before the light in his eyes sparkled brighter than ever.

Maybe this was more of a blessing than he had first thought.

After all, the reason so many people valued and dreamed of obtaining bloodlines was because of the insane benefits they bestowed upon their wielders.

Ancient techniques encoded into instinct, exclusive transformations, hidden memories, even combat instincts passed down through generations...

The list went on and on.

Which was why Ulric was very excited to finally obtain one.

Taking a moment to calm himself, Ulric opened his system shop and slowly browsed through it.

Although he hadn’t spent any of his corruption points yet, he had already gone through the bloodline section and found a few interesting options.

Great Mana Bloodline: Allows the wielder to possess an abnormally vast mana reserve and exceptional mana purity.

Skills and abilities consume less mana and recover faster over time.

Strengths:

Massive mana pool.

Superior mana control.

Prolonged combat capability.

Weaknesses:

Physically average.

Reliant on mana. Once exhausted, combat ability drops sharply.

[500,000 corruption points]

"Hmm... not bad," Ulric muttered.

But he doubted it would be of much use to him since his primary energy was aether.

Shaking his head, he continued scrolling.

Titan Bloodline: Descended from ancient titans, granting overwhelming physical strength and resilience.

Strengths:

Immense strength.

Incredible durability.

High resistance to physical attacks.

Weaknesses:

Slower agility.

High stamina consumption.

[600,000 corruption points]

Phoenix Bloodline: The blood carries traces of the immortal phoenix, allowing remarkable vitality.

Strengths:

Accelerated regeneration.

High fire affinity.

Can recover from otherwise fatal injuries.

Weaknesses:

Regeneration consumes large amounts of energy.

Vulnerable while recovering.

[650,000 corruption points]

Void Bloodline: Born with an affinity for space and the void between worlds.

Strengths:

Space manipulation.

Exceptional perception.

Difficult to restrain.

Weaknesses:

Techniques require immense concentration.

Poor defensive capabilities.

[9,000,000 corruption points]

The more Ulric scrolled, the more his lips twitched.

The bloodlines were all excellent. Some were even a little out of his price range.

But none truly piqued his interest.

Celestial Eye Bloodline: The eyes inherit an ancient lineage capable of seeing what ordinary beings cannot.

Strengths:

Enhanced perception.

Illusion resistance.

Weak point detection.

Weaknesses:

Constant energy drain.

Eyes are susceptible to overload.

[1,000,000 corruption points]

"No... no... too weak."

Just as Ulric was on the verge of giving up after countless hours of scrolling, he suddenly paused.

Reading through the description of another bloodline, the more he read, the more excited he became.

Even better, the price was within his range, unlike those absurdly expensive bloodlines he couldn’t even bear to remember.

Tapping the interface for a more detailed description, Ulric read through it carefully.

Infinite Soul Bloodline: Supreme bloodline with limitless potential. The soul knows no end to its refinement, and with each awakening, the bearer transcends the limits of perception, cognition, and existence.

Rolling his eyes at the grandiose description, Ulric kept scrolling.

The further he read, the more shameless the bloodline descriptions became.

The bloodline was divided into nine stages.

Among all the bloodlines he had seen, very few were divided into stages.

But Ulric didn’t pay it much mind.

This soul bloodline had caught his attention mainly because of his weak soul.

With this opportunity, he could turn his greatest weakness into his greatest weapon.

It sounded simple on paper, but Ulric had a feeling it would be much harder in practice.

Moreover, he finally understood why the bloodline was priced so cheaply.

It was notoriously difficult to practice.

But Ulric wasn’t fazed.

Every bloodline came with its own cultivation manual and a list of treasures that could aid its refinement.

If he still couldn’t make any progress with all that...

He might as well bash his head against a rock and die.

Setting that thought aside, he returned his attention to the description.

Although the bloodline had nine stages, only the first three were visible.

To unlock the rest, he would first have to fully cultivate the earlier stages.

Phase One — Soul Foundation

The soul is forged into an unshakable foundation. Ordinary illusions, soul attacks, and mental manipulation become ineffective, while the bearer’s memory, concentration, and will reach extraordinary levels. A natural soul sense awakens, allowing the perception of nearby souls and spiritual disturbances.

Phase Two — Soul Vision

The soul opens its eyes. The bearer can perceive treasures, energy sources, killing intent, and hidden beings across vast distances. No ordinary concealment, illusion, or disguise can escape their perception, and flaws within techniques become visible at a glance.

Phase Three — Soul Computation

The soul becomes a living engine of deduction. Thoughts accelerate to terrifying speeds, allowing thousands of possibilities to be analyzed in an instant. Any technique witnessed can be rapidly comprehended, refined, and countered, while combat adaptation reaches a monstrous level.

Just reading through the first three stages made Ulric even more interested.

If this was only the beginning, he couldn’t imagine what the remaining six stages would grant.

His gaze drifted to the price as a decisive glint flashed across his eyes.

[2,500,000 corruption points]

"Purchase."