When Damien opened his eyes, he found himself on yet another familiar bed. In the past few weeks, he had already been through this routine more times than he had since arriving at the Cloud Plane.
But this time, his memory wasn't as foggy. He was painfully aware of what caused him to enter such a state. 'First of all, damn that old man is powerful.'
It wasn't just the terrifying aura that made Damien say this, though that definitely contributed. The aura he felt wasn't what he expected at all.
With his experience so far, he thought that a Law Sea realm aura might be enough to bring him to his knees, but he didn't expect it to be enough to instill such primal fear into the core of his being.
'And that was just the aura he could release without killing me…'
He remembered the old man's words before they even started, and he now wholeheartedly believed them. If the old man hadn't made his move with his disciples' safety in mind, they would have died without even knowing how.
Damien realized that in his journey thus far, all the 4th class beings he met were friendly. He now had another instance he could consider he survived purely based on luck.
The other thing in Damien's mind was what happened to him under that intense suppression.
'That was like…beast mode?'
He couldn't think of a better word to describe it. It wasn't like his traits became more prominent, but the most prominent parts of his bloodline fought for supremacy while trying to emerge from his body.
His horns, scales, eyes, and even the wings that almost came out were all evidently draconic, but his legs and fangs were part of his original wolf bloodline.
He had no idea how the bloodline he first gained during his fall in the dungeon could compete with that of a literal dragon, but he didn't question it. In the first place, he didn't have enough knowledge of what was going on to question it.
"Oh, you're finally up." A disdainful voice suddenly snapped Damien out of his thoughts. Though, he did notice that it contained less hostility than before.
Standing up from the bed, Damien responded without looking over. "How long has it been since I passed out?"
"3 hours." Xue Ruyue said. However, her face soon turned bright red for a moment before she turned away. "And put some clothes on, idiot."
Only then did Damien realize why he felt so breezy. He was only wearing his underwear, his other clothes getting torn to shreds in the previous events.
"Oh." Damien didn't think much of it. If he could spend 2 years running around naked in a dungeon of beasts, this much was nothing.
Putting on a new set of clothes, Damien turned to look at his senior sister who he didn't have a good impression of. Still, her decreased hostility did make him consider changing his mind.
He would just reciprocate the attitude he received. It was that simple. "Is there anything for me to do?"
Xue Ruyue shook her head. "Master had some things to take care of, so he left you here. Until he calls you again, you are free to do as you wish."
"Alright, until next time then." Without waiting for a response, Damien warped back to his living quarters in the outer court.
Looking at the now empty space where he once stood, Xue Ruyue's eyes became complicated. Still, she simply sighed before turning away and continuing her day.
A few days passed since Damien's first lesson, and he had spent the time resting in his dorm. For a first time, he felt that he had benefitted immensely from his master's teachings.
In these last few days, Damien tried to imitate the partial transformation he incurred previously, but to no avail. He could feel a trigger within his body, but he couldn't activate it.
He visited the Grand Library to try and understand this phenomenon, but he couldn't find much information. It wasn't that humans with beast transformations or beast bloodlines were too rare, but he didn't have access to get the appropriate information.
All he could figure out was that it was normal for humans with beast bloodlines to inherit their abilities. For instance, someone with dragon bloodline inheriting their flame control or breath wasn't too rare.
As for transformations, they were a higher level of this inheriting. But for Damien it was different. He didn't have the bloodline of an existing beast, rather he had a bloodline made by devouring those of other beasts continually.
It was like he was forging a new path the way beasts did when they reached 4th class. If he manages to heighten his bloodline to its peak, he might even become part divine beast.
He mused that this was something anyone with the evolver title had the privilege of doing. The title was what granted him the ability to practice the evolution system of beasts along with the normal cultivation system of humans.
But considering the fact that he never met another evolver, they must be somewhat rare.
After his trip to the library, Damien was once again of the mind to be active. The hard truth of how weak he was on a grand scale made his drive to grow stronger burn all the more brightly. And with that in mind, made his way to the mission hall.
Entering the large hall, he went straight to the mission board. There were 3 different branches of missions one could take.
Minor, mid-level, and major missions.
The minor missions were simple collection missions or errands for the sect. Long-term occupations like guard duty were also included in these. To complete the mission quota, one would need to occupy guard duty for an entire year without pause.
As for the mid-level missions, they were things like hunting beasts that were plaguing certain areas or killing some wicked cultivators who were terrorizing people. For missions in this level, one was required to complete 10 a year if they solely relied on them.
As for the major missions, only 3 a year were necessary to fill out the mission quota. And naturally, their difficulty matched this small number.
Major missions were always complicated. Eradicating an entire wicked power, aiding kingdoms in overthrowing coupes, and other things like that.
These requests always came from more high-profile people in society who wanted to get things done without moving personally.
These missions were also the only ones that weren't limited to the Central Continent. The Central Continent was essentially the overseer of the entire Cloud Plane, and the major sects had a duty of keeping peace and providing aid when necessary.
These major missions were always shared between the 5 major sects, each having their own protocols and areas they managed.
And with the scale being so big, these missions usually required a party to complete rather than a single person.
But Damien still went straight for these missions. He wanted to participate in something big like this and was searching for something he could do alone.
Help the Xiang Family eliminate their opposition and take the throne.
Location: Southern Continent
Strength required: Core Formation realm
Reward: 2000 Spirit Stones
Damien looked at this one, but he disregarded it quickly. He didn't want to get embroiled in political drama that could come back to bite him.
He continued scouring the wall, looking for something more straightforward, before his gaze landed on a certain sheet of paper.
Eradicate the wicked power, Beguiled Devil Sect, who has been terrorizing the Shentian province.
Location: Northern Continent
Strength required: Core Foundation Realm
Reward: 2500 Spirit Stones
