Chapter 700: Strange Blood

Li Yi looked at the mountain fruit before him, its head bowed.

Indeed, time and experience change a person; when he first met this mountain fruit in Shou Village, she had been confident and proud, but now she was humble and restrained.

But he said nothing—after all, surviving without shedding her slave status was already the mountain fruit's greatest fortune.

"Since you've chosen to recognize me as your master and follow me, from today you are my servant. But rest assured, I will not humiliate you—I have no boredom to torment or disgrace a woman. Yet you must do everything you are capable of." Li Yi said.

The mountain fruit slowly lifted her head to look at Li Yi and said, "Yes, Master. But I don't yet know your name—could you tell me?"

Li Yi said, "I am Da Yi. This is E Ji. She is Su Ji. They are my beauties."

Beside him, E Ji and Su Ji smiled and nodded in greeting to the mountain fruit.

Though the mountain fruit was newly purchased, she seemed to have known Da Yi before; as his beauties, they naturally had to maintain good relations with everyone near him, never offending him, for trusted servants held high status.

"Da Yi. E and Su." The mountain fruit murmured the names, committing them to memory.

Li Yi then tossed the mountain fruit a piece of meat and a pill: "This is Shan Yi meat—it neutralizes poison. I see you're weak, showing signs of poisoning. Eat it—it will help you. This pill replenishes strength, preventing you from fainting from hunger."

"Th-thank you, Master." The mountain fruit hastily grabbed the items, visibly flustered—she was still unaccustomed to being Li Yi's servant.

Yet seeing the glistening Shan Yi meat, she made no pretense and ate it raw, swallowing the pill whole.

The Shan Yi meat was indeed miraculous.

Soon, the mountain fruit felt her body grow significantly lighter, as if some poison had been neutralized; the pill also contained vast amounts of blood qi—it was scrap from the Bald Daoist's alchemy, but to her it was a full meal.

After eating, the mountain fruit clearly gained strength, walking more steadily, though her body remained scarred with countless wounds and marks—all left by her torment as a slave.

"When we return, wash your body, change clothes, take up a weapon—you will become a warrior again." Li Yi said calmly.

The mountain fruit nodded and followed him without leaving his side.

Seeing she could manage on her own, Li Yi left her be and continued wandering the slave market.

Soon.

He spotted a slave master he had met once before.

He was an old slave master, around fifty or sixty, thin but with a broad frame, now leaning on a cane and sitting on a rock, guarding his latest batch of slaves.

Li Yi's appearance immediately drew the old slave master's attention.

He had spent many years in the slave market and remembered certain clients vividly—Li Yi happened to be one.

Because Li Yi's aura was unlike that of a Beihuang City native, and unlike any other slave—he was the most unusual person the old man had ever seen. Last time, Li Yi had come with Merchant Xiu Xiang, which spared him much trouble.

But this time…

"Silver lightning. He's a Divine Blood warrior, still transforming—becoming a true Divine Blood descendant is inevitable. His change is astonishing; last time he was just an ordinary warrior."

The old slave master squinted at Li Yi, as if trying to see through every secret of him.

"You're Xiu Xiang's guest, aren't you?" he said outright.

Li Yi replied, "You remember me?"

"Few spend a hundred taels to find three weak slaves. I'm sorry, but I only found one—his name is strange: Hu Fei. I've already delivered him to Xiu Xiang. The other two remain missing."

The old slave master shook his head, expressing his regret.

The two missing men were naturally Zhao Fangji and Jiang Mingtian.

After all, the Wildlands were vast, and slave masters traded slaves everywhere; finding a few weak, sold-off slaves was difficult. Strong slaves, or beauties like E Ji and Su Ji, were far easier to locate.

Li Yi had hoped to inquire about the two men's whereabouts, but hearing this, he could only temporarily abandon the idea and asked, "Slave master, have you heard of Divine Arts?"

Since he was here, he naturally wanted to gather other information.

"Ha! You're a Divine Blood warrior asking a slave master about Divine Arts—how odd." The old slave master laughed. "Isn't that a natural ability within Divine Blood? When your Divine Blood concentration reaches the Dixi level, you awaken the gods' memories and naturally gain the Divine Arts."

Hearing this, Li Yi immediately understood.

It was ancestral memory passed through bloodline.

And such ancestral memory existed only among Divine Blood Dixi.

No wonder the status of Divine Blood Dixi was worlds apart from ordinary Divine Blood warriors.

With the gods' memories passed down, it meant limitless potential—not just knowledge, but also reproduction.

In contrast, ordinary Divine Blood warriors possessed neither—unable to unlock the divine heritage within their blood, nor capable of producing Divine Blood offspring.

"Can other Divine Blood warriors learn each other's Divine Arts?" Li Yi asked again.

The old slave master said nothing, only extended a withered finger: "That question costs a hundred taels."

In this world, knowledge and Divine Arts were always expensive.

The old slave master charging this fee was not excessive—it was a fair transaction.

Li Yi said nothing, immediately handing over a piece of crimson gold.

The old slave master took the warm, familiar crimson gold and smiled: "Divine Blood families possess inherited Divine Arts—these are priceless treasures, hard to obtain. Unless you defeat a Divine Blood Dixi and take their life, you might trade it for their Divine Art."

"But the descendants of the Thunder God cannot easily wield the Earth God's Divine Art. Only the Divine Art within your own bloodline suits you best. Don't greedily pursue other gods' legacies—it invites great disaster."

Moved by the crimson gold, he offered Li Yi the advice of an elder.

Li Yi nodded, understanding.

His curiosity about Divine Arts was merely to grasp the knowledge of this world; after all, his prior memories held no cultivation in the Wildlands, so the sudden appearance of Divine Arts demanded clarification.

Now, he was at ease.

Divine Blood warriors could only wield the Divine Art of their own bloodline—even if they stole another's precious knowledge, they could not wield it effectively.

So his task was simply to wait until his Divine Blood matured, and draw his own Divine Art from his bloodline?

The Divine Arts of the Wildlands came from the gods—surely they were powerful.

Li Yi thought to himself.

"Thank you, elder, for your explanation. I understand." He then thanked the slave master.

"No thanks needed. You paid gold, I give knowledge in return. Would you like to buy a slave? I have fine goods." The old slave master smiled again. "I have beauties too."

He believed this young Divine Blood warrior needed a group of beauties to bear Divine Blood offspring.

"Beauties are unnecessary—I already have two. I need slaves with potential." Li Yi said.

"An Yixue slave suits you perfectly," the old slave master said at once. "I have a Dragon Blood warrior with true dragon blood—but he's hard to raise and tame. If you're interested, a thousand taels."

" Yixue?" Li Yi's expression shifted, curiosity stirred.

The old slave master rose from the rock with a smile: "Descendants of gods are called Divine Blood warriors; descendants of strange beasts are called Yixue warriors. Though powerful Yixue warriors can rival Divine Blood warriors, they are still Yixue —never as perfect as Divine Blood."

"Can I see him?" Li Yi asked.

"Guest, follow me," the old slave master gestured.

Li Yi nodded.

Soon, the old slave master led Li Yi into the slave compound, where inside a cage made of beast bones sat a man of extraordinary bulk.

The man's entire body was covered in scales, horns sprouted from his head, and he radiated a wild, bestial fury.

Perhaps sensing something, the massive Yixue warrior suddenly lifted his head.

Golden, vertical pupils—like those of a true dragon—locked onto Li Yi as he approached.

For some reason, he smelled the scent of a kin.

It was Li Yi's other bloodline—the World Dragon's aura.

(End of Chapter)