“Don’t, don’t come over here!” Liu Yushang became startled and staggered backward just from Li Qiye’s gaze.

He was certainly not a coward and deserved his spot as one of the Four Armament Heroes. It took numerous battles and near-death experiences.

He had confidence that as long as he wielded his saber, he would be able to beat everyone eventually. Alas, Li Qiye’s Blood Progenitor transformation traumatized him.

That form looked like the embodiment of an ancient evil who feasted on blood. All living beings were nothing more than food, powerful ancestors included.

“I’m not interested in you, I won’t bite.” Li Qiye smiled. His normal appearance was a stark contrast to the devil form earlier.

One would never make a connection between the two. Alas, Liu Yushang still slowly walked backward, feeling that Li Qiye’s fangs were inches away from his neck. A dangerous premonition still loomed.

“I, I have something to do, goodbye now.” Yushang didn’t want to linger around so he cupped his fist towards Ning Zhu: “Your Highness, please take care of yourself. I hope we’ll meet again later.”

Having said that, he left in a hurry lest Li Qiye want to keep him around.

Fortunately, Li Qiye didn’t stop him at all. He heaved a sigh of relief and increased his speed.

He felt so much better after making it out of the plain. It was as if he was given a second life. He looked back and didn’t know what to think.

Alas, he realized that he and Ning Zhu would have no chances together in the future. She wanted to stay with someone as monstrous as Li Qiye while he wished to be as far away as possible.

He naturally wanted to stay close and please her but the image of Li Qiye’s devil form kept on haunting him.

Not long ago, he viewed Li Qiye with disdain - an unknown junior not worthy of being noticed. Now, it seemed that this fella was a monster in disguise. Perhaps him winning the legacy had nothing to do with luck.

Curiosity beckoned him but ultimately, fear won. He didn’t return to the plain and decided to never come anywhere close to Li Qiye again.

***

“Your transformation earlier scared the hell out of Liu Yushang.” Ning Zhu chuckled and shook her head: “That swift transformation earlier, what is it?”

At first, Li Qiye used the Devil Mantra. However, the latter part had nothing to do with it.

“So there’s something supreme in everyone’s heart.” He said.

“Could you elaborate?” She asked.

“For example, someone you worship the most, an idol or an ancestor, perhaps an invincible dao lord.” He replied.

She pondered a bit before asking: “Is it bad to have something like that?” 

“Both good and bad.” Li Qiye smiled: “The good is obvious. To have an idol means having a clear pursuit and motivation.” 

She nodded in agreement: “What about the bad side?”

“It will limit you and become your shackles. If you have a dao lord as your supreme, that will be the ceiling. You’ll find it difficult to surpass this dao lord. His images, tales, and life will affect and model you. You’ll find the ridiculous things about him perfectly acceptable.” He responded.

“How do we surpass it then?” She inquired.

“It requires maturing, not one of age but rather, the dao heart.” He paused and stared at her: “In order to mature, one has to surpass their limit and kill their father.”

“Kill their father?” She became confused.

He chuckled and shook his head: “Not literally. Once reaching the right level, you should start thinking about the flaws and deficiency of the supreme in your mind then replacing it with your own radiance. In other words, escape this being’s shadow, that’s maturing. As for the father metaphor, it’s because this supreme has accompanied and motivated you your entire life. But in order to become stronger, you must crush it, hence the father killing part.”

“Thank you for your guidance.” She took her time digesting this information before bowing deeply towards Li Qiye. This was a beneficial perspective, perhaps even better than a top merit law.

He chuckled and didn’t say anything.

“As for the Blood Progenitor earlier…” She remained curious about the devil transformation.

He smiled and said: “Those fools obtained an evil art somewhere and thought that they knew the principles and truths of the Blood Race. They wanted to become gods who devour blood. Unfortunately, they knew nothing of their race’s true origin. I merely transformed into their supreme.”

“So is the progenitor of the Blood Race a blood-sucking fiend?” She asked.

There were plenty of rumors about this race being blood suckers at the start. However, the Blood Race vehemently denied this. [1]

1. Trying not to bring vampires into this since it has western ties. But in a modern setting on Earth, vampires would be the most accurate translation ☜