Return of the Mythic Bloodline

Chapter 474: Reaching SSS

"I don’t understand what you are trying to imply, general," I said, shrugging my shoulder, feigning ignorance.

"We have proof of you conversing with a troll and controlling it to fight other trolls," the general revealed, his tone serious as he placed his hand flat on the table between us. "Please cooperate with us. Let’s not make things difficult for either of us."

"General, you are the one making things difficult," I answered, leaning back lazily in the chair. "Tell me again, what exactly is the reason for my arrest?"

His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at my question. I was only arrested because I had entered America illegally. They had no right to ask for anything related to my powers.

I understood that they were desperate. The government was planning to destroy one of their major cities, and now they had discovered that someone could actually control the monsters roaming within that very same city. The general was desperate to learn the method. Perhaps it could prevent the annihilation of San Francisco.

Still, I had no obligation to answer them. If you wish to ask someone for a favour, you shouldn’t be treating them like a terrorist.

The general was about to interrogate me further when his phone suddenly started ringing. He drew it out from his pocket. His eyes widened as he read the contact name on the screen.

He picked it up immediately, right then and there, as if letting it ring even a single bell further would be a crime.

"Have you arrested the younger brother of Blood Demon?" A heavy, aged voice came from the other side.

The phone was on earpiece, but with my enhanced hearing, I could hear every word clearly.

"Yes, Mr. President. He entered the country illeg—"

"Release him this instant!"

"B-but sir, if we release an Awakener who entered the country illegally, America’s reputation will suffer a significant blow. He might as well be a spy—"

"I’m aware of that," the voice cut in, severing the general mid-sentence. "However, would it make sense for us to request the assistance of their S-Rankers while we imprison their rising hero? The fate of our country is more important right now. Release him. I don’t want any further discussion on the topic."

Beep.

The call was abruptly disconnected before the general could even reply.

"Oh, someone got quite the scolding," I mocked with a smirk, which only caused various veins to bulge across the general’s temple. He clenched his fists tightly and muttered through his teeth, "You are free to go."

"Alright," I said, rising from the chair. Turning to Ume and Nymeria, who were seated on either side of me, I said, "Let’s go, ladies."

"Wait. Only you are allowed to leave," the general informed.

"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice turning serious for the first time since the interrogation began.

"These women are not in the records of the Awakener’s Association. We have no information about them," the general said. "We cannot let them leave until we have confirmed their identities."

"Don’t bother about it. They are secret S-Rankers of the Indian Awakener’s Association. I was being trained under them on Chairman Reyaan’s orders. The accidental teleportation brought them along with me."

Of course he didn’t believe a word of that. Just by his expression I could tell he was about to refuse, so I continued, "If you don’t release them, I won’t leave this cell either."

"Y-you..." The general muttered, clenching his fists. His pale face turned a deep red in suppressed fury.

In the end, he decided to let all of us go. They didn’t simply release us onto the streets, of course. We were escorted to a fairly comfortable house with several Awakeners guarding it from every side. Essentially, we had been placed under house arrest until someone from India arrived to collect us.

"Haha... that was entertaining," I chuckled, lying back on the bed of the room. I scanned the house for any hidden cameras or spying devices, and surprisingly there were none. They were genuinely trying to avoid creating any unnecessary trouble with us.

"What was entertaining about that?" Nymeria asked, lying on one side of me. "It was just annoying."

"We aren’t doing anything except delaying the visit to your family. That was the whole reason we came here," Ume complained as she lay on the other side.

"By the way..." she asked, resting her head on my arm. "Is your brother notable in this world? The people here seem to know you less by your name and more as the younger brother of Blood Demon. On that note, why is your brother called a Demon? Is he not human?"

"Woah, one question at a time," I said, mildly overwhelmed by her sudden barrage. "We will meet my family once the crisis of San Francisco is resolved. As for your other questions, yes, my brother is indeed renowned here, and he is absolutely human."

After talking with them for a few more minutes, I moved to the separate room for meditation.

"Vivi, open the notification screen," I ordered, settling cross-legged on the floor.

The notification screen appeared with only one unread message.

"Primordial Yin Essence of Nymeria (1 day ago)"

"Finally, I can absorb it now," I sighed in relief, tapping the notification. My entire day had been swallowed up by shopping with the ladies, and then the sudden dungeon break had occurred before I could absorb the essence.

"Since this body doesn’t have the Tree of Divinity, I wonder what benefits this essence will provide."

Ding...

"The Host has claimed the Primordial Yin Essence of the Goddess of Winter and Snow, Nymeria El Snowbane.

Description: Only goddesses blessed with divinity from birth possess Primordial Yin Essence within their nether region. For a cultivator with a Yin-Yang physique, Primordial Yin Essence is the purest and rarest of elixirs.

Effects Upon Absorption:

1. Unlock of a new transformation: Extreme Yin Body.

2. All Yin-based abilities will be increased by two levels.

3. Enormous increase in the Yin-energy reserves of the host."

"Eh? The benefits and description of the Primordial Yin Essence have changed from before," I mumbled, reading the screen with a raised eyebrow. "It must be because this body isn’t divine, so it’s showing the benefits I will receive in this particular body instead."

The one more thing I noticed was the title given to Nymeria. Vivi referred to her as Goddess of Winter and Snow. Nymeria was known as Snow Goddess in Western Continent. This was a completely new title.

I wondered whether the title given by Vivi had some deeper meaning into them but I decided not to ask it and put my focus into the task at hand.

From my inventory, I retrieved several kilograms of Grade 1 Mid-Tier Soul Stones and placed them before me.

The bright light radiating from them painted the entire room white, and their immense radiation heated the room to the point that smoke began rising from the wooden floorboards and walls.

I thought of releasing Yin energy to cool the room, but before I could, the temperature stopped rising any further. Cold vapour filled the air, creating a perfectly balanced and cozy atmosphere inside.

"Thank you, Nymeria," I whispered with a smile. She had released her Soulforce to counter the heat in the room, providing me with the perfect temperature.

I closed my eyes and began absorbing the Yang energy from the Soul Stones before me while simultaneously drawing in the Yin energy from Nymeria’s essence deep within my body.

Until now, whenever I received Yin energy, I had felt little more than a ticklish sensation. But now, as the pure Yin and pure Yang began rotating together inside my Sea of Soulforce, my entire body was overwhelmed. It felt as though every fibre of my being was being baptized, scoured clean, and rebuilt from the inside out.

The Yin energy was so vast that if I tried to absorb it hastily, I might explode like an overcharged battery. So I proceeded slowly, absorbing only the amount of energy my body could handle.

A couple of hours passed as my Sea of Soulforce continued expanding in a perfect balance of Yin and Yang.

Ding...

"You have absorbed enough Yin-Yang energy for a breakthrough."

"Beginning breakthrough to the next realm..."

One vertical half of my body shone as brightly as light itself, while the other radiated a darkness deeper than night. With a mildly loud burst, energy erupted from my body.

Ding...

"Congratulations! The Host has successfully broken through! The Host’s realm has increased.

Level Four Awakened Sage → Level Five Awakened Sage

All stats +50"

I did not stop there. Not even a quarter of Nymeria’s essence had been consumed. I continued absorbing more energy, remaining completely motionless like a stone.

Several more hours passed, and my body began glowing once again as another notification from Vivi informed me of the next ascension.

Ding...

"Congratulations! The Host has successfully broken through! The Host’s realm has increased.

Level Five Awakened Sage → Level Six Awakened Sage

All stats +50"

Hour after hour passed as I continued ascending through the levels. So deeply immersed was I in maintaining the balance of Yin and Yang within my body that I lost all sense of time and barely noticed the system notifications that followed. Only when Nymeria’s essence had been completely absorbed did I open my eyes to the final notification.

Ding...

"Congratulations! The Host has successfully broken through! The Host’s realm has increased.

Level Eight Awakened Sage → Level Nine Awakened Sage

All stats +50"