My Blood Legacy: Bloodlines

Victor floated on his back in the center of a small lake behind the mansion, leaving only his face and part of his chest above the water. The sky was clear, with a few clouds slowly crossing his vision, and for the first time since Yu Jin Cheon had begun the training, no one was yelling that his foot was wrong, breaking his bones, or explaining that even the way he breathed revealed his intentions.

His entire body hurt.

It was not an intense pain concentrated in a single place. It was that deep exhaustion that began in the muscles and reached all the way into the bones, accompanied by dozens of small injuries his regeneration still had not managed to eliminate. Yu Jin Cheon had spent hours interrupting the healing with some kind of internal energy that remained trapped inside the wounds, forcing Victor to feel every consequence of his mistakes instead of simply rebuilding his body and moving on.

He did not even know how he had not passed out yet.

But there he was.

Floating.

Staring at the sky like a corpse that, for some reason, was still thinking.

"I was being arrogant."

His own voice sounded strange after so much silence.

Victor let his arms float beside his body.

"Arrogant and stupid."

Admitting it was not pleasant, but after spending hours being dismantled by someone capable of identifying dozens of mistakes in a single movement, continuing to pretend the problem was only the difference in power would have been even more stupid.

He had gone back in time.

He knew things no one in that era should know. He knew future events, deaths that had not yet happened, and threats that had not even begun to move. For a while, that had given him the impression that he was always several steps ahead.

Maybe he had confused knowledge with superiority.

Victor closed his eyes.

In his previous life, practically everything had been taken from him before he even had the chance to choose. His body was weak. The terminal illness dictated what he could eat, how far he could walk, and even how long he could stay awake. Good days were the ones when he could get out of bed without help. Bad days were spent waiting for the pain to ease.

He had lived that way until he died.

Then he woke up again.

Healthy.

Young.

With a body capable of becoming stronger.

With the freedom to run, fight, fuck, travel, choose his own risks, and decide who he wanted to be.

Victor released a tired sigh.

"Maybe freedom went to my head."

It was easy to understand why. After spending an entire life trapped inside his own body, he could finally do everything. Every new ability felt like another door opening. Every victory confirmed that this life did not have to end like the previous one.

The problem was that he had started treating every limit like a personal insult.

If something was difficult, he trained harder.

If he encountered someone stronger, he sought another technique.

If his body reached its limit, he trusted regeneration to fix it.

Yu Jin Cheon had shown him, in a very painful way, where that ended.

Victor opened his eyes.

"Did I really need to get beaten that badly?"

No answer came.

Better that way.

He remained floating for a few more minutes until he noticed a presence approaching along the path around the lake. It was not hostile, but it was far too familiar to ignore.

Victor raised one hand.

The surface froze.

Ice spread rapidly around his body, forming a solid layer over almost the entire lake. Victor planted his feet on the surface and slowly stood. Water ran from his clothes as he walked across the ice toward the shore.

Rakshasa was coming down the path.

She was no longer wearing the elaborate hanfu she had used when she arrived at the mansion. Now she wore simpler clothes, still elegant, but suited for training. Asura remained secured at her waist, and her gaze immediately passed over the injuries scattered across Victor’s body.

He stepped out of the lake and walked toward her.

Rakshasa stopped in front of him.

Her hand rose to Victor’s face and touched an opening still visible near his eyebrow.

"It has not fully regenerated?"

"Your father used internal Qi or something like that." Victor touched the side of his abdomen, where another cut remained open. "I cannot regenerate."

Rakshasa made a small expression of understanding.

"Of course he did."

"You say that like it is completely normal."

"For him, it is."

She ran her thumb over the wound on Victor’s face. A thin energy left his skin and began gathering around her fingers. Rakshasa carefully pulled that presence out, removing something Victor could feel but could not control.

The cut immediately began closing.

She repeated the process on the wound in his abdomen and then on two other places near his ribs. As soon as the strange energy disappeared, Victor’s regeneration resumed its work and rebuilt the tissue within seconds.

Rakshasa took a step back.

"Much better."

Victor rolled his shoulder.

"Much better indeed."

She began walking along the shore, and Victor followed beside her.

"How was it?"

He looked at her.

"Are you seriously asking?"

"I am."

"Your father thinks I do not know how to breathe."

Rakshasa laughed.

"Then he liked you."

"That is his version of liking someone?"

"If he did not like you, he would have left after the first ten minutes."

Victor remained silent for several steps.

"He said I am terrible at everything."

"That also means he saw enough things worth correcting."

"Can you turn every insult from that old man into something positive?"

"No." Rakshasa looked at him. "Sometimes he is just being an old son of a bitch."

Victor released a small laugh.

That still hurt in his chest.

"But he was right."

Rakshasa slowed her pace.

Victor kept looking toward the path.

"I have too many things, and I do not completely master any of them. Lilith, White Fire, Black Ice, Black Lightning, regeneration, my blood... whenever a problem appears, my first reaction is to try to combine everything and crush the problem with more power."

"You usually manage."

"That is the problem."

Rakshasa remained silent.

Victor raised one hand and looked at his own fingers as he walked.

"It worked enough times for me to believe I was doing everything right. But against your father, nothing worked. He did not need to be faster because he knew what I would do. He did not need to break through my defense because I left openings myself. I was trying to compensate for basic mistakes with powers."

"And now?"

"Now I am going to do what both of you said."

Rakshasa raised an eyebrow.

"Now I want to hear this."

"One thing at a time." Victor put his hands in his pockets. "First the sword. Then the body. Then I learn how to integrate the elements properly. I am not going to stop getting stronger, but I am going to stop trying to do everything at once."

Rakshasa smiled.

"Finally."

"Do not look so satisfied."

"I brought my father here precisely for this. I can be very satisfied."

Victor gave her a look.

"So it really was your idea."

"Yes."

"You knew he was going to break me like that?"

"I asked him to."

Victor stopped walking.

Rakshasa took two more steps before noticing and turning around.

He was staring at her.

"You asked him to beat the shit out of me."

"Until your smile disappeared."

"Rakshasa."

"It worked."

Victor ran a hand over his face.

"You are a terrible master."

"And you are a terrible disciple."

He started walking again.

"Fair."

Rakshasa followed, now a little closer.

"I could not have done it."

Victor looked at her.

"Because I would not take you seriously?"

"That too." She shrugged. "But mostly because I like you too much. After breaking three or four bones, I probably would have started going easier."

Victor fell silent.

Rakshasa noticed his look.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You are smiling."

"You just admitted something."

"Do not get used to it."

They continued down the path until they reached the garden. Victor already felt much better now that Yu Jin Cheon’s energy had been removed. He was still tired, but at least his muscles were responding again without resistance.

He stopped.

Rakshasa did too.

"Thank you."

She looked surprised.

"For what?"

"For noticing before I did." Victor looked at her with a calmer expression. "I was taking myself down a bad path. Maybe not now, but eventually I would have made a mistake no amount of regeneration could fix."

Rakshasa held his gaze for several seconds.

"That is one of a master’s duties."

"Then maybe you are not so bad."

"Maybe?"

Victor smiled and held her waist. Rakshasa did not resist when he pulled her a little closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and Victor began leaning his face toward hers.

"Cough. Cough."

Both stopped.

"I am still here."

Victor closed his eyes.

Rakshasa slowly turned her head.

Yu Jin Cheon was sitting calmly beneath a tree a few meters away, holding a cup of tea.

Victor released a sigh.

"Of course you are."

Rakshasa kept looking at her father, irritated by the interruption. Victor was still beside her, but any attempt at a kiss had ended the moment Yu Jin Cheon decided to remind them that he was still there.

"You can leave," Rakshasa said.

Yu Jin took another sip of tea.

"I can."

"Then go."

"I do not want to."

Rakshasa narrowed her eyes.

"You already did what I asked."

"I am not finished."

Victor felt that meant more suffering for him.

Rakshasa pointed at Victor.

"He can barely stand. You blocked his regeneration for hours."

"And you removed my Qi."

"Because he was injured."

"Now he is not."

Victor looked at the two of them.

"Does my opinion count?"

"No one asked," both replied almost at the same time.

Victor sighed.

Yu Jin pointed toward a bench.

"Sit and wait."

Rakshasa raised an eyebrow.

"Are you ordering me around?"

"I am teaching your disciple. So stop interfering."

She stared at her father for several seconds, but eventually sat down.

"Annoying old man."

Yu Jin ignored her and pointed at Victor.

"Come back."

"I just trained for hours."

"And you are still bad."

Victor took a deep breath. The answer irritated him, but he knew complaining would not help. He walked back to the center of the field and extended his hand.

Lilith appeared.

"No elements," Yu Jin said.

"I know."

"Then stop using lightning."

Victor looked at his hand and noticed a small black spark between his fingers.

He remained silent.

Yu Jin looked toward Rakshasa.

"Your disciple uses powers without noticing."

"I noticed."

"After I said it."

Rakshasa began laughing.

Victor pointed Lilith at her.

"You are supposed to defend me."

"I am your master, not your mother."

"Finally said something useful," Yu Jin commented.

Rakshasa stopped laughing.

"Do not start."

Victor returned to position. He relaxed his shoulders, adjusted his feet, and kept Lilith simple.

"Executioner’s Step," Yu Jin ordered.

Victor advanced.

The sword followed a direct line.

Yu Jin dodged.

"Better."

Victor stopped.

"Did you say better?"

"I did."

"Without an insult?"

"Your elbow is still wrong."

Victor exhaled.

"Of course."

"But it improved."

This time, Victor simply returned to position.

Rakshasa noticed the difference. He was no longer trying to do everything at once. He was slower, but his movements were cleaner.

"Now attack my chest," Yu Jin said.

Victor advanced.

Yu Jin moved to the left.

"Again."

Victor repeated it.

This time, the old man went to the right.

On the third attempt, Victor saw a shift in his weight and altered the cut.

He missed again.

"Do not guess," Yu Jin said.

"I read your movement."

"No. You gambled. Reading allows you to react after confirmation. You decided beforehand."

Victor returned to position without arguing.

After several repetitions, Yu Jin finally raised one hand.

"Enough."

Victor lowered Lilith.

"Finished?"

"For now."

Yu Jin looked toward Rakshasa.

"Take him to eat."

Rakshasa stood immediately.

"Finally."

Victor dismissed Lilith and started following her.

"Then come back," Yu Jin added.

Victor stopped.

Rakshasa looked at her father.

"You are still going to continue?"

"I said I am not finished."

Yu Jin pointed at Victor.

"He still needs to learn something decent before I leave."

Victor closed his eyes for a moment.

Rakshasa laughed.

"You wanted a good master."

"I wanted to learn techniques."

"It came with the package."

Victor resumed walking.

"Now I understand why you live far away from him."

Yu Jin answered from a distance.

"I heard that."

"You were supposed to."

Rakshasa held Victor’s arm.

"Let us eat before you manage to earn another beating."

Victor did not argue. This time, he simply went with her.