Chapter 182 Leaving the Blood Pool (1/2)

Arran naturally intended to destroy the Blood er And now, he had an idea on how to eli force he had gained froainst it

Still, he did not act iic had already been stopped froer, and now, ti th frorew, the ic

With that inforces within his body as his strength gradually increased

Once more, he was surprised at the si forces that hungrily consumed power, and both seemed to be far more efficient than the Body Refineic was a hostile parasite, the devouring power in the dragon blood had fully ed with Arran's body Any power it consumed benefited hiht

More questions arose in Arran's ic had previously only absorbed life force froon's blood, it had begun to devour Natural Essence as well

This gave him some pause, and he wondered whether it always had that capability or whether the dragon blood had merely awakened it And in either case, he was still unclear on what life force actually was — though noondered if perhaps it was some special kind of Natural Essence

He considered the question for several hours, then gave up Perhaps he would be able to learn more about it once he returned to the Sixth Valley, but for now, he had no way to find the answer

Instead, he focused his attention on the forces within his body, preparing hile ahead

He re in the vast amount of power it contained It was an opportunity the likes of which he wouldn't see again soon, so he wouldn't dare waste it

After sorow thinner, and he knew the ic, and eradicate it once and for all

This was soer He could starve the Blood ic of power for a time, but only if he kept his attention focused And while the constant supply of power in the blood around him had kept him awake so far, he would eventually need to sleep — and the ic would once more try to devour him

He took a moment to steel his resolve and prepare his mind for the battle ahead While he was confident in his chances, he knew that succeeding would require all his willpower, and perhaps so power he had gained froic — to devour it the way it had tried to devour him

Yet the battle that Arran expected did not happen

While the Blood ic furiously resisted his attack, its resistance lasted only on blood had ian to consume it just a moment later

His effortless victory left Arran baffled The Blood ic had nearly killed hith to resist the devouring power fro struck by a heavy steel blade, collapsing al forces, it almost seemed like one was an inferior copy of the other, forced to recognize its master when the two confronted each other

Arran didn't have the tiht As his body devoured the Blood ht the Blood ic had acquired for itself now became Arran's in an instant

The sudden influx of strength briefly overwhelon's blood, he could feel his body take another step forward

Then, the swell of energy suddenly ended, disappearing as quickly as it had come

Arran did not dare feel relieved just yet Hurriedly, he checked whether any of the Bloodevery shred of power he could feel within his body

What he found left him confused The parasitic force itself had co force fro it

This didn't exactly worry Arran — he could feel that it was fully under his control, which had never been true for the Blood ic — but it did leave him with even more unanswered questions

He forced himself to put the matter aside, at least for the one, and there was little point in worrying about things he could not change

Instead, he focused on draining the last of the power from the blood pool This took him several more hours, and when he had finally absorbed as an to move toward the surface

His head rose from the crimson liquid a moment later, and as he opened his eyes, he sacloud and Crassus sitting on the ground a dozen paces away