The old man gave a sly smirk, carefully hiding the flicker of thought behind his eyes.
"Come on then, brat. Let's see if that orphanage of yours taught you any manners. I'm still waiting on that foot massage."
Arthur rolled his eyes, feigning exasperation. "Don't push your luck, old man."
"Oh?" Old Man Kim leaned back, arms crossed smugly. "Then I suppose I have no choice. I don't teach ungrateful brats."
"Ah—wait, sorry, sorry, Grandpa! I was just joking!" Arthur said quickly, switching gears with a cheeky grin. "I'll massage your whole body if you want, even your wrinkly back."
"You shameless thing…" the old man muttered, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward in amusement.
As Arthur knelt and began massaging the old man's foot, the atmosphere settled into a warm, familiar rhythm—banter wrapped in hidden fondness.
"Grandpa," Arthur asked casually, pressing into the old man's sole, "which path do you follow? And what realm are you in now?"
Old Man Kim raised a brow, clearly entertained by the question. "I follow the path of cultivation," he said with a smirk. "And as for my cultivation… why don't you take a guess?"
Arthur narrowed his eyes, recalling everything the old man had done just today—blocking a pressure field, intimidating a noble family, and moving with terrifying ease.
"Nascent Soul Realm?" Arthur guessed cautiously.
Thwack!
The staff landed squarely on his head again.
"Ow! What was that for!?" Arthur cried, clutching his skull.
"You idiot," the old man scolded. "Do you really think a mere Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could hold influence over one of the most powerful families in the Emberveil Kingdom? Or be counted among the top powerhouses of the land?"
He gave a tired sigh, shaking his head.
"Honestly… you know nothing, do you?"
Arthur scratched the back of his head, sheepishly muttering, "Sorry… I didn't exactly get to attend history lessons in the orphanage."
The old man's gaze softened slightly, though his tone remained gruff. This child… no elders, no guidance, yet still reaching where others falter. Hmph.
"Well then," Old Man Kim said, his voice a little gentler now, "I suppose I'll have to start from the beginning."
He leaned forward, the light casting long, wavering shadows over his weathered face. His voice grew deeper, laced with a gravity that seemed to echo through the room like a whisper from forgotten ages.
"The history of mankind… and the roots of power that define our world… they began long before cultivation paths, soul techniques, or even kingdoms existed."
He paused for a moment, then continued, his eyes distant, as if peering into the mists of time.
"There is no written proof of those early days. But this is what most of the great scholars and elders believe to be true…
Millions of years ago, when our ancestors still crawled through life in ignorance—primitive and fragile—only humans and animals walked this world. The world itself was smaller then… more contained, more stable.
But then, a phenomenon occurred. A cataclysm. A transformation.
No one knows exactly what it was—whether it was divine intervention or a cosmic shift—but after it happened, the world expanded a thousandfold. Lands broke open, skies changed, and new races were born upon this vast and altered planet.
Some of these new species were gifted with knowledge and forged civilizations of their own. Others, driven by primal instincts and chaos, became what we now call monsters."
Arthur listened intently, his eyes widening.
The old man's voice dropped lower.
"But we humans… we were the worst off.
We were the weakest among them. No magic. No qi. No aura. No soul force. Nothing.
While the other races wielded elemental power, brute strength and their racial traits, we didn't even understand the world we had been thrown into. We were hunted, slaughtered—some for sport, others for food. Extinction loomed over our heads."
He tapped his staff softly against the floor, a rhythmic beat that matched the weight of his words.
"In desperation, our ancestors fled into the deepest corners of the world—vast, uncharted forests untouched by the claws of other races. And there, hidden beneath the canopy of ancient trees, we learned to survive.
We learned to hunt.
And from that desperate struggle… something changed.
Our ancestors discovered a method—a primitive, dangerous path. They killed beasts, monsters… and learned to absorb their blood essence. They infused it into their own bodies, evolving slowly… painfully.
That was the first true path humanity carved for itself.
The Bloodline Path."
He let the silence settle, allowing the weight of that statement to sink in.
Arthur sat still, eyes wide with wonder. The idea of absorbing a monster's essence… of drawing power from blood itself—it was raw, brutal, and yet oddly noble. A path born from desperation.
The old man gave him a moment, then leaned back slightly with a wistful look.
"That was the beginning," the old man said, voice thick with the echoes of ages past. "Our first rebellion against weakness. The first flicker of true power in our blood."
He paused, then added with a faint smile, "And unexpectedly, there was… a profit. A great one."
Arthur raised an eyebrow, leaning forward.
"You see," Grandmaster Kim continued, "the next generation—children born from those who had absorbed monster blood essence—began to change. Not just stronger in body, but… different. Their eyes saw more, their senses felt deeper. They could sense the unseen flows of energy in our environment—things we'd never noticed before."
Arthur's mouth parted slightly in surprise.
"Their very genes were transformed. And with that, the foundation was laid for something new… something vast. Thousands of paths were born—bloodline warriors, soul cultivators, elemental tamers, beast contractors, magician, aura users and more. Each one a legacy of those altered bloodlines, refined and reshaped through countless generations."
He leaned back.
"And that's how we survived. Not because we were the strongest… but because we adapted. We evolved. We endured." He looked at Arthur seriously. "But make no mistake, boy… even now, after all these years, we are still far from dominant."
Arthur furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"
The old man's expression turned grim.
"We humans still only control about one percent of this world's surface. One. Tiny. Percent. The rest belongs to species far older, fiercer, and… in many cases, smarter than us. In this single planet alone, there are ten human kingdoms and two great empires. That's all we have managed to claim."
Arthur was silent, absorbing the scale of it all.
"But… what exactly was that phenomenon? The one that changed everything?" he asked cautiously. "Was it divine? Was it a disaster?"
Grandmaster Kim chuckled, but it was hollow.
"Ah, the golden question," he said. "You're not the first to ask it. Every generation tries to answer it. Some say it was a tear in the fabric of reality—others think the gods opened a gateway from another dimension. But no one knows for sure. Whatever it was, it happened too far back. No records. No ruins. Only the changes it left behind."
Arthur nodded slowly, his thoughts still spinning.
"Grandpa… how many species have we discovered so far?"
The old man stroked his beard.
"As of the last census—though it's likely outdated—we've identified 4,238 intelligent species. That's what we've found… but who knows how many are still hidden?" He gave Arthur a sidelong look. "Some don't want to be found."
Arthur whistled low. "That's… terrifying."
"It should be," the old man said. "Because even with our cultivation paths, advanced cities, powerful artifacts… we're still prey to many of them."
He tapped his staff on the floor with a sharp crack.
"That's why strength is everything in this world. That's why you must grow strong. Not just for yourself, but for those who can't fight back."
Arthur looked into his eyes, serious for once.
"I will grandpa, i will become stronger."
Arthur finally found a reason for him to get stronger— he wants to find out about that phenomenon. And to know about it, he needs to grow stronger. Far stronger then he is now.
Grandmaster Kim smiled faintly. "Good. You have the will. Now you just need the path."
He rose slowly from his chair. "Come on. It's time we tested how much potential lies in that blood of yours."
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