CHAPTER 99: BLOOD SKILL REWIRED

Harry realized the man was using his hardened blood as crystals to defend. It gave him the idea to use blood as an extension of his body. Until now, he had just been using blood as a weapon that would injure others if they had open wounds.

There was a reason he had never realized this kind of use for blood.

He couldn’t control the blood inside other people’s bodies, but he had forgotten that he could control his own and use it as an extension of himself.

This discovery opened a whole new world for him to explore. The obvious drawback was that when blood comes out, it needs an exit, and that would leave holes in his skin.

But did he care? The biggest reason to avoid skin tearing was blood loss. But he could control his blood to prevent it from leaking, and his blood regeneration speed was far faster than that of any normal being.

Moreover, skin tears weren’t injuries that would interfere with his body’s functioning. It was just a matter of lost skin in certain areas, which he would recover quickly thanks to his accelerated healing.

He already had many ideas for using his blood skills in different ways. But unfortunately, he had encountered the worst opponent to try these methods against.

He couldn’t retract the blood once it was mixed with poison, so he couldn’t use the skill extensively or he would have to give up the blood he used.

And he certainly didn’t want to test whether he would live or die after losing all of it.

The other man kept watching the fight as if enjoying a show. He hadn’t interfered yet, which was fortunate. Harry was prepared to fight both of them at once if needed.

But one-on-one was preferable.

He needed to find out what they were planning.

This time, his punch landed cleanly on the man’s right cheek. A blood crystal did appear, but his punch shattered it, and the man felt his teeth breaking.

One might overly depend on elemental abilities, but the raw power gained from leveling up was no less formidable than elemental skills. And in Harry’s case, he had the advantage of three types of cultivation.

Thus, he could easily compete with level seven or eight cultivators.

Truly, brute force often triumphed over elemental techniques unless they were specifically designed for defense. People gravitated toward elemental skills because of the variety and flexibility they offered.

Multiple skills, each with numerous applications.

Harry accelerated, landing punch after punch—until he suddenly felt a chilling pain in his hand.

He saw a purple spike piercing through it. Just as he tried to pull it out, it melted and mixed with his blood.

He felt his hand go numb. But the man on the ground was also in no condition to retaliate. His face was swollen, his teeth shattered, and his skull broken.

Without healing, his death was inevitable.

The previously idle man began approaching. Harry screamed at the top of his lungs, this time using soul energy around his hand and delivering one final punch with full force.

He could imagine the man losing his sense of self from this soul attack. Currently the guy was defenseless against such assaults, so it would strike at his core.

Harry backed away, numbness now creeping toward his shoulders.

"Will you explain, or do you want to end up like him?" Harry pointed at the man who was barely breathing.

He stood there, fully confident. He wasn’t sure if he could kill a level eight cultivator after the last fight.

He was confident he could beat the guy, but killing was a different matter. Everyone kept a trump card for the end—some even had self-destruct techniques that would drag their enemies to the grave.

The man hesitated when he saw the confidence in Harry’s eyes. He couldn’t gauge Harry’s exact level, and he hadn’t been ordered to kill such a promising individual.

Though he didn’t care about orders since no one would know he had killed him, but the earlier fight had proven Harry wasn’t inferior to him.

"You can pass the exam when the number of students goes down to ten thousand," the man said.

He sat beside the battered guy, still cautious of Harry.

Harry didn’t attack. He could feel the numbness creeping up his shoulders and would soon spread throughout his body.

He hid his hand so the man wouldn’t notice the weakness.

But the man had no intention of fighting. He retrieved a small, rectangular piece of wood that had carved circles and intricate patterns.

He reached into the injured guy’s space ring and pulled out another piece of similar wood.

He placed it in the injured guy’s hand, who could barely move.

A creepy smile spread across the injured man’s face, as if he knew Harry wouldn’t survive.

"We’ll meet again—if you survive."

With that, both of them activated the wooden pieces. Two glowing circles appeared beneath them, and they vanished into thin air.

"Teleportation," Harry murmured. It was similar to how they had arrived on this planet, but on a smaller scale.

Harry rushed back to his room. He had deduced many things, but now wasn’t the time to ponder them.

He sat cross-legged, his mind drifting inward. He could feel his nerves pumping blood, and with a little more focus, he could see the blood flowing.

He could sense the patterns—he could almost control the flow.

His mind zeroed in on his right hand, which was gradually becoming paralyzed.

He saw the purple poison mixed with his red blood. That was what was causing the numbness. If left untreated, it could kill him.

His first instinct was to run to Tyler after discovering the problem—but then he realized something.

He controlled the blood in his right hand, forming a round ball in his palm. It was dark red mixed with purple.

His skin turned pale as the blood drained from his hand, but fresh blood rushed in at an astonishing speed.

He scanned the rest of his body—some of the poisoned blood had already spread.