Mystical Journey

"Yes, it’s just part of it . " Angela nodded .

"It’s unfortunate that I have no use for it . " Garen regretted . "Do you have any information regarding the function of the Blood of Eternal Life?

"Now that one’s much easier; it’s widely known," Angela paused to align the relevant information before continuing, "Each Blood of Eternal Life has different functions . In fact, all of them come from non-humans . "

"Non-humans?" This was the first time Garen had heard of the term .

"That’s right . Most of the non-humans have life spans that far surpass humans, and the special ones are called the Everlasting Beings . The most extreme fighters among us have interested in these non-human race’s long lifespans, as they’ve come to realize that they don’t have enough time to achieve the extreme edges of martial arts .

Angela exhaled and continued calmly, owing to Garen’s increasing interest in the topic .

"Hence, some of our top talents from the human race started investigating ways of attaining a lifespan equal to these Everlasting Beings . The two main methods were hybridization and food consumption, both of which are also the most effective methods . Hybridization is by far the best, as one could obtain a stronger blood lineage and offspring through copulation . This slowly begins to form some of the ethnic groups we see in certain countries . On the other hand, strong individuals like to increase their lifespan through edible consumption . After the Great Draught a millennia ago, which was the worst drought we’ve had, a lot of the Everlasting Beings left the land and went into the ocean . They took a boat and wandered the seas for decades . Humans are completely incapable of sailing the seas in the same way .

Naturally, their conflict with the humans gradually dissipated . "

"So the Blood of Eternal Life was something they left behind?" Garen asked .

"Yes . Due to the sparsity of these Everlasting Beings, you can only find a small amount of Blood of Eternal Life from some of the remains . But then again, these have already been contaminated by the ancient humans who consumed them into their bloodstream . Although the blood has been contaminated, its ability to lengthen one’s lifespan still remains . " Angela explained .

"Since the Everlasting Beings left just a thousand years ago, there should still be human descendants who possessed the Blood of Eternal Life besides the corpses right? If they really have such a long lifespan, it should be just a few generations to them for the past millennia . " Vampires and werewolves were the first thing Garen thought of when he heard the word Everlasting Beings . These mysterious creatures were known everywhere and became legends on Earth . The legendary vampire was said to be forever young and immortal . This gave earthlings a very strong impression .

"It is true that there are descendants from the Everlasting Beings . However, they hide themselves within the human world and it would be difficult to trace them unless they transformed, or use a specially made soul detector . "

"There are detectors for them?"

"Li Gaode, the academician of the Champagne Empire’s Science Academy invented a detector called the boiling blood . It’s very expensive to manufacture and we, the Behemoth Gate could only buy two sets . It’s very impractical as well due to its high electricity consumption . "

The Champagne Empire was one of the three large empires in the Azure Continent, currently in a minor conflict with the Republic of the Tulip . The Champagne Empire was once a well developed country with a deep background . They were not afraid to go up against three dominating empires .

Garen understood well since he had learnt the world’s geography .

"Furthermore, there are a lot of types of Blood of Eternal Life . " Angela added on as she glanced at Garen .

"Types?"

"Other than increasing one’s lifespan, they can give humans different talents . " Angela observed Garen’s expression closely as she explained . She found out that Garen was genuinely surprised as if it was his first time hearing such a common knowledge . This shook her assumption of Garen being a mixed between an Everlasting Being and human .

"What species are you guys mixed with?"

"We are mixed with the white dog’s bloodline . Once you have absorbed the bloodline, you can live for a maximum of 300 years and about two hundred years on average, which is about 145 years of increased lifespan . You can live for more than two hundred years if you incorporate a series of Essence Locking Techniques . "

"White Dog Man…" Garen was said aimlessly, as he had lost interest after hearing such a bloodline . With the talent he possessed, there was no need for him to obtain such a thing . He had reached the utmost limits of a human being before the age of 20 . There was no rush for him to pursue such a thing as he still had at least seventy to eighty years to explore his options .

"What about the origins of the telekinesis from the Immortal Palace?" He asked a question that he had been very curious about .

"The Immortal Palace represents the bloodline of the Everlasting Beings . They are the last remaining organization which consists mainly of tainted half-breeds, so it is common for them to have special abilities . Furthermore, the majority of those humans, including those tainted half-breeds, would do whatever it took to kill the Everlasting Beings and obtain the Blood of Eternal Life . Once the tainted half-breeds were revealed, they would be in an unimaginable state, like becoming a experiment subject or a blood slave . Flamingo and Sylphalan, the powerhouses of the Immortal Palace, are prime examples . Both of them are tainted half-breeds, and their family members were mercilessly murdered . They have an insatiable hatred towards human kind . "

She stopped for a while and continued .

"The Immortal Palace consists of five people in total . Now that Duskdune Shura has left due to his severe injury, there are only four left . All of them have their own secret organizations under them . Flamingo and Sylphalan have revealed their identities to the public, and we also know that Ghette, the general of Weisman, is one of them as well . Unfortunately, the last member is still in the dark . "

Garen stroked his chin as he processed the information he had obtained in his mind . He recalled Celine stating that the Immortal Palace initially had five members and there are currently four as one of them had left the group . This matched the information Angela had given .

"Alright, what is the Behemoth Gate’s motive? You used Rosetta to lure me here so that Clark and the Killer Hunters Squad may attempt to murder me . What do you want?" Garen finally brought the issue up .

"I think you know why . We are after the Blood of Eternal Life that you are hiding . " Angela confessed .

"Unfortunately, I am not a carrier of the Blood of Eternal Life . " Garen shrugged . "There are a lot of humans with strong talents too . It’s not just the tainted half-breeds . "

"No one will believe that . " Angela helplessly smiled .

"This can be proven by using the detecting device, right?" Garen needlessly explained .

Angela’s eyes were wide open as she couldn’t believe what she heard .

"Why are you staring at me? I am born from a normal family . I don’t have any Blood of Eternal Life . All of this information can be obtained with some research . " Garen explained .

Garen didn’t stay long since he had obtained enough information . He went back to the study room through another prison tunnel .

The eighth Golden Hoop was already sitting inside the room serving himself drinks from the pot of hot coffee on the table in front of him .

When he saw Garen, he silently took out a roll of dark red paper from his arms, and used a white porcelain cup to hold it down, placing it on the table . .

Garen sat in front of the eight Golden Hoop, taking the cup and open the roll of paper .

‘Nominating NO . 9 as Province Galantia’s regional director . Granting authority to mobilize all stationed military within the province . ’ With a stamping at the back, ‘Golden Hoop Headquarters’

Garen understood intention of the piece of paper in his grasp .

"Is this prepared specially for me?"

"Yes . " The eight Golden Hoop replied . "The upper management needs to evaluate your performance . If you can finish a small, specific task, you will have the authority to secretly mobilize the military of this province . Galantia’s chief commander and most of the commanders are our people . "

Garen understood that the Golden Hoop wanted him to continue staying in the organization as his value had increased . It is also probably that they wanted him to depend on the organization’s power . Judging from the looks of it, it was so powerful that influencing the country leaders was no problem .

No . It might be the opposite, where the country leaders were planning to use him through the Golden Hoop . It was definitely a possibility .

"What do you want me to do with such authority?" Garen asked as he put down the paper .

"Just to clean up some trouble for the government . " the eighth Golden Hoop smiled . "Although this is equivalent to hiring a mercenary, we won’t mobilize you most of the time . It would considered remarkable to receive a task once in a few years . "

"I need something solid . I do not want these vague answers . " Garen knew that with his strength, he could not live a good life even without the Federation’s support . Hence he didn’t oppose such headhunting .

"How about a mission once every three years?" The eighth Golden Hoop had obviously reached an agreement with the upper management . "The success rate of the mission must be at least fifty percent and the government will supply you the necessary monetary resources . "

"Fine . " Garen wasn’t stingy at all . It was preferential treatment to him as the best among the grandmasters of combat, to have a mission only once every three years .

Firearms, which were once a threat to him were no longer so, due to his rapid growth .

It showed that the government was experienced in these affairs, based on their arrangements . They were able to protect the country when needed, by gathering enough power from the citizens even with regulations this loose . It was similar to an arrangement of hiring bounty hunters .

Garen, who was seated well, poured himself a cup of coffee and surmised his recent lifestyle .

From studying sincerely in Huaishan City to finding the Antique of Tragedy . He initially thought that he could study in a university and find a job after graduation while slowly climbing up to the top of the martial arts world with his talent . It was unfortunate that things had changed so quickly .

He had unknowingly made a name for himself by helping Su Lin with his troubles since he had owed Su Lin two favors . He was also made known in the time the Immortal Palace invaded, and the changes to his master’s dojo .

He had reached the highest level in the martial art world in a very short amount of time .

Now that he had taken over the White Cloud Gate, he had become an important person in the eyes of the government, as he was also in a powerful organization in the martial arts world .

Garen felt surreal recalling these events . Practically speaking, he hasn’t even reached 19 yet, he was barely 18 .