Chapter 47: Imprisoned
If he intended to challenge the organizations hidden within the shadows...
If he wanted to uncover the force that had murdered Original...
Then he needed something far greater than individual power.
He needed people.
Reliable people.
People capable of standing beside him instead of stabbing him in the back.
As countless thoughts flashed through his mind, a sharp light flickered deep within his eyes.
When he claimed to possess a cure for Jessica’s condition...
He hadn’t been exaggerating in the slightest.
On the contrary...
He was more certain than ever before.
Jessica’s strange illness required heavenly lightning merely to suppress its symptoms.
Then...
What if the lightning didn’t come from the heavens?
What if...
It originated from an abyssal bloodline instead?
Cole lowered his head, quietly contemplating the possibility.
The electricity produced by the Thunder Worm Leviathan wasn’t ordinary lightning.
It wasn’t merely destructive.
It flowed through every cell within his body, continuously tempering his flesh while nourishing it at the same time.
Its nature was fundamentally different from natural lightning.
If Jessica could successfully fuse with a suitable lightning-type bloodline...
Perhaps...
She wouldn’t merely suppress her illness.
She might eradicate it entirely.
The more he thought about it...
The more feasible the idea appeared.
Even so...
Cole wasn’t foolish enough to act immediately.
His expression gradually became solemn.
The Bloodline Potion...
Was far more than his greatest achievement.
It was the foundation of everything.
His greatest weapon.
His greatest secret.
Once exposed.....
It would undoubtedly shake the entire continent.
Every major family...
Every royal faction...
Every hidden organization...
Every wizard and alchemist...
Would descend upon him like starving wolves smelling fresh blood.
His current strength wasn’t nearly enough to withstand that kind of storm.
Giving Jessica a Bloodline Potion...
Wasn’t impossible.
But before doing so...
He needed guarantees.
Absolute guarantees.
Trust...
Could never be built upon gratitude alone.
Especially in this world.
People changed.
Hearts changed.
Loyalty changed.
Cole had witnessed far too many betrayals throughout both his lives to blindly place his faith in another person’s character.
Before revealing the Bloodline Path...
He first needed a method capable of ensuring Jessica’s unwavering loyalty.
Only then...
Would he consider taking the next step.
Some people might think his actions overly cautious.
After all...
Why not simply keep the Bloodline Path for himself?
Wouldn’t monopolizing such power be the safest option?
Cole naturally understood that reasoning.
In fact...
No one wanted that outcome more than he did.
Unfortunately...
Reality rarely unfolded according to one’s wishes.
The Bloodline Path wasn’t something that could remain hidden forever.
The moment he continued growing stronger...
The moment his bloodline displayed abilities impossible for ordinary humans...
Someone would eventually begin asking questions.
One clue would become two.
Two would become ten.
Eventually...
The truth would surface.
Rather than waiting until then...
He would rather prepare loyal allies before the inevitable happened.
Besides...
There were other considerations as well.
Thoughts of future experiments...
Future bloodline combinations...
Future research...
One person alone could never accomplish everything.
No civilization had ever been built by a single individual.
No empire had ever risen through solitary effort.
After organizing these thoughts, Cole gradually pushed the matter to the back of his mind.
There would be plenty of time to think about it later.
For now...
He had far more pressing matters.
Taking a slow breath, Cole blended into the bustling streets once again.
Blessed Moon City remained as lively as ever.
Rows of shops stretched endlessly along both sides of the broad avenue.
Merchants loudly promoted their wares.
Children ran through the crowds laughing.
Carriages continuously entered and exited the city center.
On the surface...
Everything appeared peaceful.
Yet beneath that prosperity...
An invisible current quietly flowed.
The Saint Family was one of the Four Great Families governing Blessed Moon City.
As the former young master of such an influential clan...
Cole had never been an unknown figure.
Perhaps people once knew him as nothing more than a useless heir.
Even so...
Recognition was recognition.
Before long...
Whispers quietly began spreading through the crowd.
"...Isn’t that the trash young master of the Saint Family?"
"What?"
Someone immediately turned around.
"It really is him!"
"I thought the Saint Family was searching everywhere for him."
"I heard they’ve even offered a generous reward for anyone who reports his whereabouts."
"Didn’t the new Patriarch personally issue the order?"
"I heard Markovich Saint demanded that Cole be brought back alive."
The discussions quietly spread from one person to another.
Some merely watched from afar.
Others revealed expressions of surprise.
Several people’s eyes gradually lit up with unconcealed greed.
A reward from one of the Four Great Families...
Was enough to tempt countless ordinary awakeners.
Before long...
A few inconspicuous figures quietly slipped away into the crowd, moving toward different directions as quickly as possible.
Clearly...
They hoped to become the first to inform the Saint Family.
However...
Not everyone focused solely on the reward.
Among the countless gazes...
There were several that lingered on Cole far longer than the others.
Unlike ordinary civilians...
These individuals possessed the keen instincts of veterans who had survived countless battles.
Their eyes narrowed almost instinctively.
Something...
Was wrong.
One middle-aged mercenary quietly folded his arms.
Another scar-faced adventurer stopped polishing his blade.
Their gazes remained fixed upon Cole’s figure.
His aura...
It had changed completely.
The young man walking calmly through the streets no longer resembled the weak, useless heir people remembered.
Instead...
He carried an indescribable sharpness.
Although he wasn’t deliberately releasing any pressure...
An invisible aura naturally radiated from him.
Cold.
Steady.
Dangerous.
It wasn’t the aura of a pampered young master.
It was the aura of someone who had repeatedly stood at death’s doorstep...
...and walked away alive every single time.
The scent of blood and battle had become deeply engraved into his very bones.
Yet...
His appearance remained unmistakable.
No matter how much he had changed...
He was undoubtedly Cole Saint.
Meanwhile...
Cole continued walking through the crowd without slowing down.
His expression remained calm.
Yet inwardly...
His vigilance had already risen to its highest level.
He could clearly feel the countless eyes secretly observing him.
Some carried greed.
Some curiosity.
Some hostility.
But mixed among them...
There existed another emotion.
Something heavy.
Oppressive.
Almost suffocating.
It reminded him of the eerie stillness before a violent thunderstorm.
There is something wrong...
Cole’s eyes subtly narrowed.
Without attracting attention, he continued moving through different streets, allowing himself to blend naturally into the endless stream of people.
Meanwhile...
The A.I. Chip had already begun operating at full capacity.
Its calculations continuously processed every conversation, every facial expression, every subtle movement occurring around him.
Although Cole’s senses had already surpassed ordinary humans after the successful bloodline fusion...
The A.I. Chip remained capable of extracting details invisible to the naked eye.
Tiny inconsistencies.
Behavioral patterns.
Information hidden beneath seemingly ordinary conversations.
Piece by piece...
The scattered fragments gradually came together.
A complete picture slowly formed inside Cole’s mind.
The Blue Pegasus Family...
And the Saint Family...
Their relationship had completely collapsed.
The fragile balance maintained over the past several years had finally shattered.
The conflict surrounding the Blue Pegasus Family’s young master had merely become the final spark.
A citywide lockdown had already been implemented.
The gates were under strict surveillance.
Trade involving mana essence and strategic resources had almost completely ceased.
Merchant caravans had disappeared from the roads.
Even ordinary civilians subconsciously lowered their voices whenever the two great families were mentioned.
The atmosphere hanging over Blessed Moon City had become unbearably tense.
Everything...
Pointed toward a single conclusion.
War...
Could erupt at any moment.