Chapter 197: Bloodline Awakening

At this moment, Rod was in the midst of a fierce battle with Crow. Crow held an oriental sword in both hands, having brought his strength to itslimit. His wind-type combat energy allowed his sword strikes to trace delicate arcs, changing constantly and moving at astonishing speeds. On the other side, Rod’s Dark Dragon emitted a strange black glow as he skillfully executed even the simplest moves from his sword techniques to the fullest extent. Yet, this did not give Crow a significant advantage. Rod could accurately predict Crow’s moves and block his attacks before they even happened!
“Damn you, die!” Failing to make any progress after prolonged attacks, Crow grew anxious. His own assaults had no effect at all against Rod, which frustrated him greatly. Rod’s speed far exceeded his expectations.
After all, he possessed wind-type combat energy, giving him an absolute advantage in speed. Yet this damned guy only had fire-type combat energy, and yet Rod could not overwhelm him in speed. Moreover, Rod’s strength and judgment allowed him to anticipate Crow’s attacks and defend against them. His strength was terrifying—each clash sent a massive shock through Rod’s arms, leaving him in pain. If things continued like this, he would only become more and more passive. He never expected to encounter such a tricky opponent.
Silverwing and the others were watching from behind. Rod had boasted earlier that he didn’t need their help, but now he regretted it. If he lost, how could he face them again? How could he hold his head high? The immense pressure made him irritable, and his movements became erratic and full of flaws.
“Crow has lost!” Silverwing’s calm voice came from afar, as if everything was expected. Yet Rod’s strength truly amazed him—a fire-type warrior who could match Crow, a wind-type fighter, in speed. This came as a slight surprise to him. Clearly, Knight Rod’s achievements were admirable.
The situation was now clear. As time passed, Crow’s attacks were completely under Knight Rod’s control. Every move was within his grasp, leaving Crow with no hope left.

Watching this scene, the others couldn’t help but feel emotional—borning a genius was no easy task, and losing one was a tremendous loss. No matter how talented Knightrod was, he had to leave here filled with regret today.

On Rod’s side, he had now completely subdued Crow, putting him at a severe disadvantage. Yet, he wasn’t feeling any relief at all; the pressure in his heart remained immense.

Although he had heard the instructions from the man in black earlier—not to let his comrades interfere—he didn’t trust those words at all. With those people watching closely, it was impossible for him to focus on fighting properly. He had to constantly keep an eye on their movements. Rod knew that as long as he pushed the man in black into danger, those guys would definitely intervene, and then the most dangerous moment would arrive.

“Damn it!” Thinking of this, he cursed inwardly. The situation was far more complicated than he had imagined—four people against one? He had no chance of winning.

“Forget it, deal with this first!” With a firm decision, Rod thought to himself that continuing to stall with this guy would only waste his combat energy, making things worse for him. Since he knew that moment would come sooner or later, he might as well face it head-on.

Gritting his teeth, he instantly unleashed the Shadow Sword. His figure split in an instant—into two, then four, and soon there were sixteen figures. That’s right, to end the battle quickly and safely, Rod used the Shadow Sword, the unmodified version. This was the move he knew best and was most skilled at using. Against opponents of his own level, he didn’t even need to resort to more complex techniques; this move was sufficient.

“Not good! Attack, take care of this guy!” Seeing this, Crow was stunned. A hellish cold enveloped him, and death seemed imminently close. In the distance, Silverwing’s expression changed drastically as he hurriedly shouted at Nightingale and Viper beside him.

Nightingale and Viper also lost their earlier casual attitude and became extremely serious. The next moment, three figures shot toward Rod like lightning.

“Die!” With a loud shout, seeing those people charging over, Rod grew anxious. The Shadow Sword erupted instantly, and a dark black barrier covered the entire sky, enclosing Crow inside.

“Don’t think you can succeed!” Silverwing’s furious shout came from ahead. The battle had reached a critical moment—every second could determine life or death. It was a race between Crow and Rod to see who would laugh last.
“Wind God Slash!” On the verge of despair, Crow unleashed all his combat energy. Faced with the Shadow Sword and death, he made one last desperate attempt.
Ding ding ding… A clear sound accompanied by a muffled thud as blood splattered into the air. At the same time, Silverwing and his allies joined the fight.
Five figures twisted together, moving swiftly. Only three red figures and two yellow figures could be faintly distinguished.
Five distinct weapons flew through the air. The most eye-catching were Nightingale’s Bone Whip and Rod’s Dark Dragon—black and white, strikingly visible.
“Bastards, die!” His Shadow Sword was only half-used when these guys already arrived to stop him, preventing that damned guy from escaping death. He had only managed to leave three wounds on him. Trying to attack again, he found himself surrounded by several opponents.
Attacked by three imperial-level powerhouses! In just an instant, Rod suffered several more wounds. Blood streamed from him, his appearance pitiful. With disheveled hair, he roared loudly and charged at Crow again, who was panting heavily, collapsed on the ground, and protected by his allies.
Even if he had to die, he would take one with him—this was Rod’s strongest desire now. Unfortunately, his Shadow Sword couldn’t break through the defenses of those three imperial-level powerhouses and was blocked back! His fist hurt terribly as blood seeped out; the force had cracked his knuckles.
“Damn it, kid! If you don’t want to die, hurry up and try to awaken your bloodline! Otherwise, you’re really going to die!” Xuanyuan, who had been observing the battle inside Rod’s body the whole time, shouted anxiously.
A roar soared into the sky, followed by a red light piercing through the heavens, connecting earth and sky like a divine pillar. Without Rod’s permission, Fen Tian appeared directly, sensing its master’s danger, and joined the battle resolutely.
Hoo… Seeing Fen Tian appear, Silverwing and his allies snorted coldly and unleashed their own fantasy beasts. Normally, they wouldn’t use beast souls—after all, against such opponents, it wasn’t necessary, and using fantasy beasts could easily expose them. But now, they couldn’t care less.

The enraged Knightrod continuously used the Shadow Sword, with variations of the same move being so fast that they couldn’t react or counter them. After two consecutive attacks, wounds of varying sizes appeared on their bodies as well.
The noise of the battle here had clearly spread far and wide; if they didn’t end it quickly, they might lose. With this in mind, the three of them launched a fierce attack on Rod with all their might.
Swords, long blades, and bone whips clashed loudly, while Rod’s Dark Dragon emitted excited buzzing sounds.
Xuanyuan’s words reminded Rod that he still had one last ace up his sleeve, giving him a glimmer of hope.
The pain from his wounds kept his nerves sharp, keeping him clear-headed despite the chaotic and dangerous situation around him.
“Ahh…” A cry of agony echoed through the forest as a pool of pale purple blood spilled down, landing on Rod’s body and causing a burning sensation. Looking up, he saw that Fen Tian was in a terrible state—under the attack of four phantom beasts, its already weak strength was failing it, and even its formidable defenses couldn’t prevent it from sustaining severe injuries. That blood came from a long wound inflicted on its abdomen by the sharp claws of a giant eagle after it was attacked.
“Fen Tian…” Rod couldn’t help but roar in anger. Seeing Fen Tian hurt filled him with even greater fury and sorrow than his own injuries.
A moment of distraction led to more wounds, the pain nearly driving him crazy. A large gap appeared in his abdomen, caused by the Silver-Winged Sword. His mysterious armor was now torn beyond recognition, no longer offering any protection. After blocking one of Silver Wing’s attacks, it completely failed, and its minimal defenses still allowed the Silver-Winged Sword to pierce his abdomen deep inside!
Fortunately, he had dodged a critical strike just moments earlier; otherwise, he would likely have fallen already.
Driven by intense anger, unbearable pain, and a strong will, Rod gradually regained the feeling he experienced during his bloodline awakening. His fierce desire to win caused his body to begin changing!

Consciousness gradually blurred. It felt as though some energy was rapidly spreading throughout his body, causing his wounds to heal at an astonishing speed. The world seemed to quiet down, and his body moved left and right instinctively to avoid enemy attacks, as if another consciousness had taken control. It was a mad, brutal presence—a wicked and powerful force, like a volcano about to erupt. Rod’s changes also caught the attention of the three attackers. Looking at Knight Rod with his empty eyes, they were slightly puzzled, while the changes in Rod’s body filled them with horror. They had no idea what was going on.