As his dragon marrow awakened, the blue flame that always lay dormant in his body appeared once more.
And like a living entity, it shot toward and drilled straight into his bones.
The moment it completely entered his bones, the pain he was experiencing increased exponentially. It felt as though an invisible hand had reached into his chest and was trying to rip his very soul from his body.
Then, without warning, his body suddenly burst into flames.
The flames were blue—the same mysterious blue flame that resided in his body—and the terrifying heat radiating from it instantly reduced his clothes to ash.
It was at this point that Valdis could no longer suppress his agony.
"AAAAAAARGHHHH!"
His screams echoed throughout the training grounds. His eyes seemed as though they were about to pop out of their sockets.
Draven instinctively took several steps back in shock, but he made no attempt to intervene because the aura emanating from these flames was identical to the one he had sensed during Valdis's evaluation, so he knew the blue flames were in some way connected to the Heaven Refining Physique, and although he had no idea what the flames were currently doing, he was certain of one thing.
The physique would never harm its host, so the result of this process will most definitely benefit his son once it is completed.
The transformation continued for nearly an hour before the flames finally began to settle. And as the last traces of blue fire faded away, Valdis's naked form was revealed. Valdis immediately collapsed. The last thing he saw before his consciousness faded was his father staring at him in astonishment.
Draven stared at his son with wide eyes as he could see and feel the changes the dragon marrow awakening had brought. Valdis's physique had undergone a tremendous transformation.
His body appeared noticeably more robust and perfectly proportioned. Every muscle looked tightly packed beneath his skin, as though immense power had been compressed into every fiber of his being. They were not overly large, yet they gave the impression that they could explode with terrifying strength at any moment.
His skin possessed an almost flawless quality. Under the light, it shimmered faintly with a healthy glow, giving him an otherworldly appearance.
Most striking of all was the aura surrounding him.
The once ordinary aura had become vastly stronger.
It felt ancient.
Regal.
And deadly.
It carried a domineering authority that seemed to have originated from a primordial era when dragons ruled the heavens.
As Draven continued observing his son, he noticed something even more astonishing. Beneath Valdis's smooth skin were countless tiny scales hidden from plain sight. They blended perfectly with his flesh and were nearly impossible to notice unless examined carefully.
Yet Draven could immediately tell how durable they were.
Judging from their density, ordinary Tier-One weapons would struggle to pierce them.
He was astonished.
A dragon marrow awakening certainly enhanced the body, but this level of improvement was simply absurd.
While he was still deep in thought, Valdis slowly opened his eyes. Noticing the movement, Draven's thoughts were brought back, and he immediately directed his gaze towards Valdis, but the moment their gazes met, Draven's expression stiffened.
His blood slowed.
It was as though every drop flowing through his veins had encountered something it instinctively feared and respected all at the same time.
A faint suppressive pressure emanated from Valdis's body.
His aura possessed an imperial quality, causing the dragon blood within Draven's body to behave as though it were a loyal subject standing before a king.
Thinking in that direction, Draven understood that only one explanation existed.
Valdis's dragon blood had become extraordinarily pure, so pure that it could faintly suppress the blood flowing through his veins, and upon reaching that conclusion, Draven stared at his son in shock.
However, the feeling quickly became uncomfortable, and without hesitation, he circulated aether throughout his body.
Powerful streams of energy surged through his veins, instantly breaking the suppressive influence, and only then did he notice another change.
Valdis's pupils had developed a faint golden hue, and around them were extremely faint lines that drew a certain pattern around his eyes.
"It seems you've undergone an evolutionary advancement," Draven said.
Valdis blinked in confusion as the term was unknown to him.
"An evolutionary advancement?"
Draven nodded.
"It means you have completely awakened your dragon marrow. Such a thing only occurred during the earliest days of the Ebonhart family's history. It has not happened even once in the last five hundred years."
His expression became weird.
"And that's not all. Your blood appears to have evolved. To be more precise, your dragon blood has undergone regression and is showing signs of returning to its origin."
Valdis frowned.
His father's explanation made no sense to him.
"Father, although we carry dragon blood, we are not true dragons. Bloodline regression should be impossible for us. Am I missing something?"
"You are correct," Draven replied. "The dragon blood possessed by ordinary members of the Ebonhart family cannot undergo regression."
His gaze locked onto Valdis.
"What you say is true, but for some reason, yours just did."
Valdis froze.
Before he could speak, Draven continued.
"This change was most likely caused by your Heaven Refining Physique. The divine physiques are known for breaking the laws that govern the world, so although I'm shocked, I'm not suprised"
"So will this change have any effect on me?"
"It does."
Draven hesitated briefly before continuing.
"The first effect will be that the Ebonhart family's cultivation techniques have become unsuitable for the current you."
"Unsuitable?"
Valdis's eyes widened.
"Does that mean I'm no longer qualified to cultivate them?"
His heart sank.
The Ebonhart family's techniques were among the finest in the kingdom. If he lost access to them, his future cultivation path would become far more difficult.
Seeing his son's reaction, Draven suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
He laughed for several moments before finally calming down.
"If you're not qualified, then no one in the Ebonhart family is qualified to cultivate them."
Listening to his father's reply, Valdis stared at him in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that although you can still cultivate our strongest techniques, they will no longer be capable of unlocking your full potential. In fact, using them may actually hinder your growth rather than enhance it."
Valdis fell silent because, for some reason, that sounded even worse.
Seeing the disappointment on his son's face, Draven felt a slight pang in his heart.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke again.
"There may be another technique suitable for you."
Valdis's eyes immediately brightened.
"What technique?"
"The Blood Dragon Manual."
"The Blood Dragon Manual?" Valdis asked skeptically, as he had never heard of this cultivation technique before
Seeing his confusion, Draven smiled.
"I expected this reaction as knowledge of this technique is only known by me, the current head of the Ebonhart house, the grand elders, and everyone else above.
Hearing that, Valdis nodded in understanding, but was curious to know why information regarding this cultivation technique was only known by a select few.
Draven continued, "The Blood Dragon Manual is actually the original cultivation technique of the Ebonhart family."
Valdis's eyes widened.
"The original technique?"
"Yes."
Draven's voice dropped to a low, serious tone.
"But it was sealed centuries ago due to the absurd bloodline requirements needed to practice the technique and the deadly consequences faced by anyone who attempted to forcefully practice it without meeting those requirements."
"Absurd bloodline requirements? Consequences?" Valdis asked in confusion
"I'll explain. The first requirement is to have blood purity greater than eighty-five percent. This requirement, although harsh, can and has been achieved in the history of the Ebonhart house. You, your brother, and your sister are plain examples of this.
Hearing this, Valdis nodded as he knew that if this was the only requirement, a lot of individuals in the Ebonhart house had met this requirement, and at least two were present in each generation.
"The second requirement is where things begin to sound impossible. The individual must fully awaken his dragon marrow. This means the individual's talent must be insanely high, and as crazy as it sounds, this condition has been achieved three times in the last two millennia." Draven said
Valdis nodded as well.
Reaching the last part, Draven sighed, "Nobody has gotten the last requirement, not because it's harsh or an extremely rare find, no. The reason no one has fulfilled the last requirement is because it's impossible to achieve."
"What's the requirement, and if it's impossible to achieve, why recommend the technique to me?"
"The last requirement one must fulfil to practice that technique is to have dragon marrow that produces dragon blood of high purity, and your total blood concentration should be at least eighty percent dragon blood, with vampire blood being twenty percent. But we all know what will happen if your vampire blood is not able to suppress the dragon blood."
Hearing this shook Vadis to his core as the final requirement was basically suicide.
Dragon blood is volatile, and the purer it is, the harder it is for the Vampire blood to keep it in check and prevent the dragon blood from erupting and killing the individual. So, the purer the dragon blood, the less it is in concentration in the body.
But for any reason, the dragon blood is of similar concentration to that of the Vampire blood, the result will be explosive. As the dragon blood will cause the individual to literally explode.
Draven finally replied, "The reason I'm telling you this is because your physique just achieved the impossible."
"And judging by the changes you've undergone, you may be the first person after the founder capable of meeting those requirements."