Chapter 26: Metamorphosis, Blood Spear!

After making some basic arrangements, Ye Mingqiu found a room near the city gate. After repeatedly checking that there were no enemies nearby, he took off his armor and washed away the dried blood with clear water.

It was not because he was a neat freak, but because the caked blood felt uncomfortable against his skin and hindered his movement during combat. Cleaning it off made him feel much better, and the stench of the dried blood was overwhelming—it was far too pungent to keep.

The clear water had been looted from a treasure chest. Water was a resource, and thus could be found in chests, but in most cases, it was no different from trash. Many psionicists felt their spirits break when they opened a chest only to find water inside. It was essentially the same as finding nothing but air.

However, for Ye Mingqiu, obtaining water resources was not entirely useless. Finding water took time and energy; although the amount was small, saving a bit of effort was always welcome.

After giving his armor and body a quick rinse, he sat down beside his armor to let them air-dry. He then put the armor back on and sat by the doorway, drifting into a light, shallow sleep.

While it would be more comfortable to take off the armor and lie down, sleeping too soundly carried the risk of being assassinated. Resting while sitting in his armor allowed him to stay alert to any movement at the door, ensuring he could react and wake up at the fastest possible speed if anyone approached.

"Whew... survival... is hard."

Ye Mingqiu sighed, then took out the blood crystals from his storage space to examine them closely. He was curious about what this item could do and how to use it; if he could master it, his combat prowess would surely see a significant boost.

He brought a blood crystal close to his blood crystal necklace, hoping to see if they would react. It would be great if he could use the crystals to reinforce the necklace. Unfortunately, there was no reaction.

"Sigh."

Ye Mingqiu sighed, though he wasn't surprised. When the dropped blood crystal touched his bronze war spear, however, a strange ripple emerged.

[Notification: The bronze war spear has formed a mysterious reaction with the blood crystal and will undergo an unknown transformation. Once the transformation is complete, the transmuted weapon will belong to you.]

"Oh?"

Ye Mingqiu’s eyes lit up. He had been worrying about lacking a decent weapon; was this not the solution?

He did not just wait. He placed the bronze war spear and the blood crystal together, then took out the remaining three blood crystals and laid them all beside the spear to maximize the reinforcement.

The bronze war spear trembled slightly, as if it could sense the changes around it. Ye Mingqiu guessed that the weapon might be awakening a spirit core, which explained the special transformation.

There were many conditions for awakening a spirit core, one of which was blood sacrifice—nourishing a weapon with the blood of countless living beings until it developed a spirit.

Ye Mingqiu had killed countless people in battle, and the bronze war spear had tasted blood repeatedly in a short span of time. Therefore, it was likely to develop a spirit core under the right circumstances, and the blood crystals provided exactly that catalyst.

He smiled, sliced his finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto the bronze war spear. A mist of blood swirled, and the spear emitted waves of energy.

[Notification: The bronze war spear's spirit core has recognized you as its master.]

...

Dawn pierced the darkness, and the morning sun spilled into the room. A gentle breeze brushed against the young man’s cheek, waking him from his already light slumber.

Ye Mingqiu opened his eyes abruptly and scanned his surroundings. Finding nothing amiss, he let out a long breath and relaxed slightly, leaning back against the wall. This was the countless time he had been startled awake that night; he lived in constant fear that if he woke up, he would be met with an assassin's blade and fall into an eternal sleep.

"Is it morning already?"

He whispered to himself, then turned his gaze to the bronze war spear beside him. It had completely absorbed the four blood crystals and transformed into a blood-colored spear.

He checked its information.

[Notification: You have received the recognition of the spirit core; you may view detailed information.]

Under normal circumstances, psionicists only saw basic, summarized information. Detailed data required special identification items or the "Appraiser" profession. Recognition by a spirit core, however, was another channel for accessing such details.

[Blood Spear]
Rank: Tier 1
Quality: Silver
Category: War Spear
Attack Power: 18-29
Durability: 80/80
Equipment Requirements: Strength 50, Agility 50, Constitution 50, Spirit 50, Health 3000.
Note: You have obtained the recognition of the spirit core; you may ignore equipment requirements.

Equipment Characteristics:
① Unstoppable: Sharpness +3
② Blood Crystal Divine Power: While wielding the Blood Spear, your health recovery efficiency is increased by 100%. The weapon repairs its own durability after depletion; nourishing it with fresh blood accelerates this recovery. Absorbing blood crystals can further enhance the spear's attributes and generate new abilities.
③ Life Source Force: When holding the Blood Spear and suffering fatal damage, the spear will trigger the life source force within the blood crystals to heal your wounds—including, but not limited to, a ruptured heart, shattered brain, or the loss of 80% of vital organs—and heal them completely.

After the healing is complete, the Blood Spear will permanently lose the life source force of the blood crystals, its attributes will drop significantly, and the healing effect of the life source force will decrease as your maximum health increases.

④ Mental Erosion: The life source force within the Blood Spear possesses strong erosive properties. When fighting with the spear, your mind will be subjected to this erosion, making you more frenzied and bloodthirsty than usual.
Note 1: The spirit core has exempted you from over 80% of the erosion, preventing mental damage.
Note 2: Under the state of mental erosion, your reaction speed and sensory perception are enhanced.
Note 3: If anyone not recognized by the spirit core picks up the weapon, the spirit core will increase the erosion intensity by more than 3 times. If the resistance check fails, the wielder's base attributes and maximum health will be permanently reduced until death.

Description: A weapon specialized according to the master's will, possessing an extreme rejection of use by others and an ultimate life-saving ability, reflecting the will of its master...

...

To be honest, Ye Mingqiu was truly shocked when he saw the equipment requirements. A 10th-level powerhouse might not even be able to meet those stats! The requirements were absurdly high! If he had ended up with a weapon he couldn't use after all that reinforcement, it would have been a disaster.

Fortunately, thanks to the spirit core's recognition, he could ignore the requirements.

The effects of the Blood Spear were also quite formidable, especially the superior life-saving ability. "Health recovery efficiency" was different from the natural health regeneration rate; it also provided bonuses when being healed by a healer, making it a very powerful attribute.

However...

"A weapon specialized according to the master's will?" Was he really that afraid of death? If he were such a coward, how could he fight so fiercely on the battlefield? Did they think he was a masochist seeking thrills?

But then again, a life-saving ability like "Life Source Force" was still quite good.

Ye Mingqiu liked it.

He could be even more reckless now!

It was a pity that the fourth effect of the Blood Spear had an obvious negative side—it would erode the master’s sanity. This meant he couldn't use it during friendly sparring sessions; otherwise, what if he accidentally developed a murderous intent while fighting? That wouldn't do.

But it was no big deal. Being bloodthirsty on the battlefield didn't matter much; after all, there was no right or wrong in war—only the victor had the right to speak.