Chapter 78: The Secret History of Sorcery and Martial Arts

Back when Rollin fought the puppet in a two-hour battle for life and death, his experience in physical combat soared. Now, under the effects of the Blood Dominator Elixir, he had become a level-three martial warrior. During this new encounter with the puppet, Rollin spent only a brief period acclimating himself to the changes brought by his upgrade, and as time passed, his movements grew increasingly fluid.

Moreover, Rollin discovered that with the Blood Dominator energy circulating at full force, his defense, attack, and speed had all risen to a new level. In the exchange of blows with the puppet, he was not at all disadvantaged—a truly terrifying feat. After all, the puppet was crafted from special materials, its physical strength and attacks the strongest among its rank. Now, Rollin could withstand its assaults using only his own body; it was undeniable that the Blood Dominator Elixir, refined by Mishus and surpassing the Nine-Star Elixir, was astoundingly powerful.

Yet, the puppet was just that—a puppet. Its greatest assets were its defense, attack, and speed. But now, Rollin matched it in all three aspects, stripping it of its primary advantage. As a puppet, it also lacked flexibility in its techniques. Thus, after nearly half an hour of fighting, Rollin entered a mode of complete domination.

Punches, palms, elbows, knees, and legs struck in turn, beating the puppet until it rolled across the floor, its body accumulating new scars at every moment. Though it felt no pain, its energy gradually waned as the wounds multiplied.

With its simple mind, the puppet could not comprehend what had happened. The Rollin it had once tormented at will now had the roles completely reversed; it had no power to fight back. Yet, despite being utterly defeated, the puppet harbored no anger, for it recognized that Rollin’s blows were from true skill—a fact it respected deeply.

Having vented all the frustration pent up in his heart, Rollin finally delivered a fierce kick, leaving the puppet immobile and ending this battle that had carried almost no suspense.

“Rollin, have you had enough?” called Mishus, who had been observing from the side. He was very satisfied with the results of his Blood Dominator Elixir. He knew the strength of his level-three puppet best, and Rollin had utterly crushed it. Having witnessed the elixir’s effects, Mishus was not inclined to waste any more time, for the state he maintained could not last long. After all, he was a man who had died ten thousand years ago, his current existence sustained only by secret arts.

Though Rollin had vented his anger over the puppet’s earlier beating, he still bore a grudge against Mishus for force-feeding him the Blood Dominator Elixir. So when Mishus spoke to him, Rollin merely snorted and ignored him.

Mishus was not annoyed; his voice remained calm. “Do you know why I set these three trials ten thousand years ago?”

Rollin rolled his eyes, as if to show he had no interest in knowing. Yet his ears were stretched wide, listening intently, for he was actually quite curious.

Mishus paid no heed to Rollin’s gestures and continued, “My greatest achievements are not my cultivation, but my mastery of alchemical elixirs and the cultivation of spatial energy!”

He seemed to be speaking both to Rollin and to himself. “The Blood Dominator Elixir is the pinnacle of my alchemical art. To succeed in its creation, I poured my own life force into it at the last moment. That is why I ended up like this—otherwise, I would still be alive and well.”

Rollin was shaken. As a child, he’d heard stories of ancient alchemy masters who sacrificed their lives to forge divine weapons, plunging themselves into the flames. He had always thought such tales exaggerated; how could anyone die for a weapon? But hearing Mishus speak now, Rollin reconsidered those childhood stories.

“Because alchemical elixirs are my pride, I made them the first trial,” Mishus continued. “As for the second trial, it was to test the effect of the Blood Dominator Elixir, forged at the cost of my life. If I gave it to a fool unworthy of the martial path, it would insult the elixir. So the candidate had to defeat the puppet I designed. Only then, even if he became a martial warrior by drinking the elixir, he would not disgrace it.”

Only now did Rollin realize the truth. When the black-robed Mishus brought him to the second trial, Rollin had not understood why it included a martial warrior reward and required fighting like a warrior. It turned out Mishus wanted to avoid shaming his elixir, seeking someone with talent in martial arts. Even a frail magician could qualify, so long as he defeated the puppet, proving some aptitude in the warrior’s path.

Mishus glanced at Rollin and continued, “The black robe and white robe must have told you some things. As mere fragments of soul, they knew little of the secrets from back then. For instance, they didn’t know the true purpose of the Blood Dominator Elixir, crafted at the final hour, nor the real reason behind the second martial warrior trial.”

“To prevent the two souls from quarreling and to ensure they worked for this body, I stopped when my cultivation reached the peak of the sanctuary. Becoming a god was too difficult, so I turned my attention to other fields, such as the three great branches of alchemy. In fact, besides these three, we explored another domain—martial warriors. That is why, in the end, the Blood Dominator Elixir could directly transform a person into a warrior.”

“I was a magician, one who advanced rapidly, but I knew nothing of the martial warrior’s path. I’d tried to cultivate it, but my constitution was abysmal—much like yours before you took the elixir. So I began to investigate, even surveying ten thousand children who had just become either warriors or magicians. In the end, I reached a startling conclusion!”

Rollin forgot his annoyance, compelled to ask, “What conclusion?”

Mishus breathed out a heavy sigh. “That a person’s spiritual strength and their physical body—their total innate talent—are relatively fixed. If someone’s spiritual strength is great, their body will not be strong; the stronger the mind, the weaker the flesh. Conversely, those with powerful bodies rarely have strong spirits.”

“In all things, there are exceptions. The continent’s vast population must include a few anomalies, with both strong minds and bodies; these are the rare born candidates for dual cultivation of magic and martial arts. But among hundreds of millions, such marvels are a mere drop in the ocean. Most are as I’ve described, and aside from these two types, the vast majority have weak minds and bodies—ordinary people.”

A gleam flashed in Mishus’s eye. “With this research, I understood the importance of talent. So I began studying the Blood Dominator Elixir, hoping it could alter my innate gifts and let me master both magic and martial arts. Yet, at the final stage of refining, something went wrong. To prevent years of work from going to waste, I sacrificed my life force and finally succeeded. But I never had the chance to take it myself, so I arranged everything to find a suitable candidate.”

Rollin couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. “Mishus truly was mad—willing to risk death for the sake of the Blood Dominator Elixir.”

“Now, let me speak of my second proud achievement: the cultivation of spatial energy!” Mishus’s face showed a hint of pride as he spoke.