The cavern's air was thick, heavy with the metallic stench of ancient blood.
The Forgotten Altar pulsed faintly beneath his feet, like a heart beating after death.
Aezrael sat cross-legged before it, the scythe resting against his shoulder, its edge dripping with the blood of the beasts he had carved through to reach this place.
The System's words still echoed in his mind.
[Reward: Blood Origin Scripture (??? Rank).]
[Additional Reward: 1x Blood Authority Seed.]
The Scripture
When he opened the scripture, it was not ink or parchment, but blood that formed the words. Crimson characters bled into the air, each one searing itself into his mind.
The Blood Origin Scripture was unlike any cultivation method he had seen. It did not guide qi through meridians in the orderly fashion of the orthodox sects. It demanded sacrifice—life essence, battle, carnage. Power was drawn from the rivers of blood he spilled, each kill feeding his cultivation.
Most cultivators sought harmony with heaven and earth. This scripture demanded defiance. It promised not balance, but dominion.
Aezrael's lips curved faintly.
"This path suits me well."
The Seed
The Blood Authority Seed appeared in his palm, a crystal-like orb that pulsed as if alive. The moment it touched his skin, pain lanced through his body.
Veins bulged and ruptured, blood boiling within him. The scythe shook violently, resonating with the seed.
[Warning: Integration of Blood Authority Seed will mutate cultivation path permanently.]
[Begin integration?]
Aezrael did not hesitate.
"Yes."
The seed dissolved into streams of crimson light, burrowing into his heart. Agony followed—his body tearing itself apart and reknitting, his dantian expanding, twisting. His qi turned darker, richer, mingled with an essence that was not just his own.
Blood began seeping from his pores, forming symbols across his skin—ancient runes of conquest and slaughter.
Hours turned to days. Days turned to weeks. When the altar finally fell silent, Aezrael opened his eyes.
They glowed with a cold, abyssal crimson.
His cultivation had shifted—no longer merely Core Formation (Origin Core Perfection), but something more. His core pulsed with two colors, violet and blood-red, fused into one.
The first step of the Blood Sovereign's Path had begun.
Elsewhere – The Azure Sky Sect
Far above, the Azure Sky Sect seethed.
In the main hall, disciples and elders gathered. The massacre at the Abyss was no longer rumor—it was fact. Worse still, witnesses claimed to have seen the weapon he wielded: a scythe drenched in violet flame and blood.
Sect Master Yun Hailan stood before them, his gaze sharp as lightning.
"The boy we thought dead lives. His name spreads like wildfire. If left unchecked, he will stain the heavens themselves with our blood."
Elder Fang slammed his palm on the jade table, shattering it.
"He dares to brand his name upon our sect's disgrace! Shall we allow him to grow unchecked?"
Another elder, quieter but sharper of tongue, whispered:
"The world already whispers of him. The Drifting Moon Pavilion calls him 'The Crimson Calamity.' Mercenaries boast of hunting him for fame. Even the Iron-Blood Kingdom eyes him cautiously. This is no longer our problem alone."
The Sect Master raised his hand, silencing them.
"Then we will make it ours. Send word to our shadow hall. I want assassins dispatched. Do not return until his head decorates our gates."
A shadow detached itself from the wall, bowing before vanishing into smoke.
The World Reacts
News spread quickly beyond the sect.
In bustling markets, storytellers spoke of a nameless youth reborn from the Abyss, wielding a scythe that reaped both beast and man alike. In taverns, mercenaries laughed nervously, boasting of taking his head while praying they would never meet him.
Some sects dismissed him as a rumor. Others quietly began to investigate. And in hidden corners of the world, older, darker beings stirred.
A single name was repeated again and again, growing heavier with each telling.
Aezrael.
Aezrael's Resolve
Back in the abyss, Aezrael stood before the altar one last time. His qi surged, not calm and balanced, but sharp and violent, like a blade. His body was honed, his spirit refined, his blood authority seed pulsing within.
He looked to the endless darkness ahead.
"Azure Sky Sect…" His voice was cold, without emotion.
"You failed to bury me once. Now, I will bury you."
The scythe pulsed, eager. The blood scripture whispered, hungering.
Aezrael stepped into the shadows of the forest once more.
And the world trembled, for a calamity was no longer whisper—
It had taken its first true step.