Chapter 1038: Evolving the Bloodlines
The parrot spirit spread its wings faintly, its voice carrying weight. "This time, what awaits you is control. You will command the bloodlines of every member of the Black Lotus Guild. Through you, their veins will answer. None will dare think of betrayal. Not even their hearts will allow it."
Its eyes gleamed. "And more—your mastery of the black flames will ascend into a new realm, far beyond what you wield now. The fire of chaos in your bloodline will become something that can burn even the fabric of laws."
Max’s crimson eyes glimmered faintly. He gave a slow nod. "Good. That’s what I need."
His voice was cold, decisive. "Do it."
The parrot spirit bobbed its head once in acknowledgment. Then, with a beat of its wings, the floor trembled. From beneath the dark stone, a massive pillar began to rise, covered in scales etched with glowing runes of black flame. It stopped at Max’s level, radiating heat so intense that the air around it warped and twisted.
The parrot’s voice echoed again. "Place your hand upon it, and the inheritance shall begin."
Max stepped forward without hesitation. His right hand rose, the veins in his arm glowing faintly as his Black Dragon Chaotic Bloodline stirred restlessly within him.
He pressed his palm against the pillar.
At once, the runes ignited.
A torrent of power surged up his arm and roared through his body, awakening the depths of his bloodline. He felt it at once—his Black Dragon blood roaring to life, scales of shadowy fire flickering across his skin, his aura exploding outward in a storm of black flames interlaced with scarlet infernal energy.
The seventh floor trembled as the inheritance began.
BOOOOM!
Runes flared in blinding black light, spreading across the walls, the floor, even the air itself. The seventh floor trembled violently, as if the tower were awakening after centuries of silence. From the pillar, streams of black flame energy surged into Max’s veins, entwining with his Black Dragon Chaotic Bloodline.
"Argh—!" Max gritted his teeth as a torrent of ancient will flooded into his body. He felt the weight of countless generations—bloodlines born, cultivated, and extinguished—all surging into him. His skin burned as shadowy scales flickered into existence across his arms and chest, glowing faintly with chaotic fire.
The parrot spirit hovered above, watching intently. "Yes... it answers you. The bloodline accepts you as its true master. From this moment on, no one of the Black Lotus Guild can resist you. Their very existence will bow to your command."
Max’s vision blurred as a flood of memories invaded his mind—images of black dragons soaring through burning skies, assassins cloaked in shadows carving their way through empires, and the birth of the Guild itself beneath the ruins of the Black Dragon Palace. He saw chains of blood binding generation after generation, waiting for someone who could finally unshackle them... and bend them into strength.
And that someone was him.
The pillar’s runes pulsed faster, brighter, until his entire body glowed like a furnace. His black flames surged higher than ever before, roaring and twisting with such intensity that they seemed to burn through reality itself, leaving cracks in space wherever they touched.
At the same time—
Outside the tower...
The hidden city shuddered.
One by one, every member of the Black Lotus Guild felt their bloodlines ignite. Elders, assassins, even the newest initiates—all of them froze as their veins burned with searing heat, their hearts pounding violently.
"Wh-what is this?!" A masked assassin stumbled, clutching his chest. "My bloodline—it’s... evolving!"
Across the city, the same cry echoed. Black flames erupted around them uncontrollably, their lotus insignias glowing on their skin. Some screamed in pain, others gasped in awe, but all of them felt it—their bloodline was breaking through its limits, rising to a new stage.
Even Elder Owen, standing outside the tower with Old Saintess and Razel, clutched his chest in shock. His aura surged, doubling, tripling in strength as his blood roared with newfound vitality. His eyes widened in disbelief. "The evolution... it’s true. He’s doing it!"
Old Saintess closed her eyes, tears welling as she whispered, "Just like in the Lower Domain... he’s raising us again."
Razel, the current leader, stood frozen, his composure shattered as his aura skyrocketed. He had doubted. He had scoffed. But now, with his own bloodline evolving in real time, there was no longer room for disbelief. His voice trembled, equal parts awe and terror. "He... he really has control over all of us."
Back inside the tower...
Max’s eyes snapped open, glowing with a fusion of crimson and black. His aura exploded, flooding the seventh floor with a suffocating presence. His flames were no longer just fire—they carried the weight of dominion. They were not merely destructive—they were law.
The parrot spirit’s voice rang out, echoing with ancient finality. "It is done. From this day forward, the bloodlines of the Black Lotus Guild answer to you alone. Their evolution is your gift. Their loyalty is your chain. You are their master."
Max clenched his fist, black flames wrapping around it like a dragon coiling its prey. For the first time since Valora’s fall, a faint smile tugged at his lips—not of joy, but of grim satisfaction.
Outside the Inheritance Tower, the glow of runes was still fading when a quiet settled over the hidden city. But it was not the silence of emptiness—it was the silence after a storm, when every heart beat louder than thunder.
The members of the Black Lotus Guild were trembling, their auras swelling, their veins boiling with newly awakened power. Every assassin, every elder, even the weakest initiate... all of them had just crossed into a higher stage of their bloodline. Their strength surged so violently that the entire hidden city now pulsed like the heart of a beast.
Old Saintess stood with Elder Owen and Razel, her aged eyes glowing faintly. She could feel her own bloodline, tempered by centuries, suddenly stretch to heights she never thought possible. The power coursing through her veins was intoxicating, terrifying, and awe-inspiring all at once.
Razel’s hands trembled slightly as he gazed at the glowing tower, his usual composure nowhere to be found. His aura had exploded severalfold, his bloodline evolving so completely that he could barely contain it.