Nightmare's Call

Chapter 281: Prowess: Part 3

Lin Sheng quickly checked through each and every hawk’s nest. His goal was clear, to look for the second tome and learn about the Cultivation and Assimilation techniques.

Before long, he had gone through about a dozen nests within ten minutes.

This search was not for naught, and soon, he found the second tome inside the hawk nest on the top right most of the cliff wall.

“Lamanier Inner Circle – Cultivation”

“There it is!” Lin Sheng gently turned the black tome open and saw the title within the tome.

The content within the tome was a continuation of the first book, Purification. And Lin Sheng had already memorized the first tome whole, so when he saw the book, he could naturally link them together.

There were not too many items within the Cultivation technique, rather it was layers upon layers of complex triangular magical matrixes.

From Lin Sheng’s absorbed memories, there were a bare few fragments that were about the magical matrix, and he could slightly tell the effect of the matrixes.

“Seems like an energy conversion ritual...” He was not well-versed in rituals. There were all sorts of ritual types, runes, and sigils used, patterns, matrix bases; simply too many. And each different ritual had a very vast gulf from one to another.

The only ritual he was familiar with was the summoning rituals from Blackfeather City. That was the one that he had used the most, yet Blackfeather City’s ritual system was standalone and different from this.

Not daring to waste any time, Lin Sheng started to memorize the energy conversion ritual, and forced himself to use some memorization techniques to imprint what he read into his memories.

Through repeated memorization, Lin Sheng tried his base to basically carve everything to his mind.

By the fourth round, the familiar ticking of the clock rang by his ear side.

*Tick tock, tick tock...*

Lin Sheng’s vision started to blur as he hugged the tome and hid into a dark corner of the nest, his arm digging hard against the wall.

Soon, a hidden gap that could fit his frame was dug out. Lin Sheng quickly curled up and hid into the hole.

Just as he got in, his vision faded to black, and his consciousness muddled.

Time slowly passed, and some moments later, Lin Sheng slowly woke.

The moment his eyes opened, he leaped out of the bed and onto the desk as he pulled out his pen and notebook, and started drawing out the magical matrix he had just memorized at the speed of a man possessed.

After drawing it out and counterchecking it a couple of times, only did Lin Sheng dared to relax.

He then looked out to the window and saw that it was still pitch black outside.

Lin Sheng picked up the paper with the matrix and rolled it up as he made his way out of the bedroom.

Using the night veil, Lin Sheng quickly left the Soul Fortress and left it using the dimensional distortion rift.

At dawn, Miga had a scenery very different from that of Xilin and Xylond.

Henriqcala, as a standard Migan second-line city, while not the most prosperous city, was still by all means a modern city.

Lin Sheng quickly returned to the apartment Adolf had rented for him.

The apartment was stocked up with all sorts of materials he needed for his summoning ritual, and it was also the best hiding place for his experimentation and recuperation.

As he closed the door and pulled the curtain shut, Lin Sheng quickly used the scanner and photocopier to enlarge the matrix he had drawn as well as print out a larger matrix.

The printing utilized a splicing method as the matrix was divided into many small parts, then smaller parts were enlarged and recombined back into one piece. What came out was the largest possible copy.

About half an hour later, a matrix that was just the right size was created by Lin Sheng and was laid on the floor.

The testing ritual itself was simple.

Based on the notes on the black tome, Lin Sheng bit his finger and squeezed out a drop of blood onto a blank corner on the top right of the ritual all the while he stood on the empty spot on the left.

There was no need for any activation chants, nor any other materials. All he needed, was his spiritual power.

Lin Sheng controlled his power and slowly it flowed like a stream into the connection link of the matrix. Of all the things Lin Sheng lacked, he did not lack in his spiritual power. He had estimated that if he was to do a simple conversion, it was at least a thousandfold more than your normal folk.

The simple matrix on the ground started emitting faint silver mist after being infused with souls.

The silver mist was like a living being as it entered Lin Sheng’s body as if having a will of its own. And a moment later, Lin Sheng could feel an increase of fresh blood within his body.

“Shouldn’t be a problem then!” He quickly stopped the soul infusion.

And the ritual immediately stopped.

He had used the ritual to cultivate his own fresh blood, and through the infusion of souls to convert it into fresh blood directly within his body.

The effect was simple enough, but the price to pay was steep. And aside from him, there was probably no one else who dared to use it.

If not for the fact that he could absorb souls, he would not have been so wasteful. If he overspent his souls, and should there be a shortfall, he would end up being brain-damaged...

“Let’s test this out a couple more times. Gotta make sure no problems actually arise...”

Lin Sheng was still a little weary, as this was different than the Purification technique as his Crag Dragon blood had already been purified to a very potent level. But its amount had been greatly reduced, and with only that little bit, any failure in the Cultivation process will cause him to lose that blood.

That was the point on his caution.

Lin Sheng carefully bled himself again, and as he tested the process of the ritual once again; and also to estimate the amount of soul power needed to cultivate his own blood.

The cost of a soldier’s worth of soul could create around a liter worth of fresh blood. The efficiency was so low that it was no better than a waste of resources.

However, Lin Sheng had no other choice. That was the only hope he had of strengthening his bloodline.

The enhancement of his bloodline was key. If it was successful, that means the general parameters of his body will increase, and with that, he could once again increase the level of his holy power.

With one affecting another along with sufficient progress, Lin Sheng’s prowess would increase and grow to a whole new level.

After counterchecking the ritual again, Lin Sheng looked at the clock on the wall: 5:43 am.

“Let’s start.” He once again stood on the ritual placement and closed his eyes.

He lifted his finger and hung it over the other empty spot on the matrix as the Crag Dragon blood flowed rapidly within him.

With the help of his holy power, a drop of golden blood slowly seeped out from the tip of his finger and fell.

*Plat...*

The moment the golden blood landed on the blank spot, Lin Sheng infused it with souls, and a surge of souls flowed like a river into the connection link of the matrix.

*Bam!!*

Silver light lit up all across the matrix as a large amount of silver mist blasted out and rushed toward Lin Sheng.

*Bam!*

*Bam!*

*Bam!*

*Baamm!!*

Lines upon lines of silver light pillars shot out and landed on Lin Sheng’s chest.

The Crag Dragon blood within Lin Sheng seemed affected by some sort of active stimuli as it started wolfing down the silver mist to strengthen itself.

But the strengthening was not particularly fast.

Lin Sheng focused his gaze as he infused it with souls, he had his red line and needed to ensure that he had enough to sustain his lieutenants. Taking aside the soul required to maintain his lieutenants, Lin Sheng possessed about thirty units of summoned soldiers-worth of souls to expend.

As his soul was continuously consumed, the ritual matrix converted a large amount of silver mist that soon were infused into Lin Sheng’s body.

The golden Crag Dragon blood within him was growing at a visible rate.

After his initial purification, all of the purified dragon blood was coalesced and reduced to a paltry five drops.

Now that units upon units of souls were being converted, the original five drops of golden blood were slowly, but surely increasing.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

...

Ten minutes later, the golden blood more than tripled to sixteen and Lin Sheng slowly opened his eye, a golden glint flashed through his eyes.

“Not enough... not nearly enough!”

He looked at the dimming silver glow around him.

“I need more souls... more!”

He could feel that boiling blood within his body, and his half-dragon form from before could allow him to fight against anything below Level 6.

Then his half-dragon form now would have at least three-times more explosive power, and the toughness of his skin had vastly increased too.

He even started to suspect that if he were to activate that form the strength and defense of his body would reach Level 5, or even Level 6.

“My body’s strengthened, and that aside, I can start to train my holy powers again...” Lin Sheng kept the matrix and left the room.

As for souls, that so-called Sect of Thousand Graces may be able to surprise him.