My Blood Legacy: Bloodlines

Victor advanced with the Executioner’s Step exactly as Rakshasa had taught him. His foot touched the ground, his hip followed the movement, and the full force of his body was conducted into Lilith, which cut through space in a direct line toward Yu Jin Cheon’s neck. There was no hesitation, no excess movement, and no attempt to make the attack more beautiful than it needed to be.

The blade passed through empty air.

Yu Jin Cheon had not stepped back. Victor was certain the old man had remained in the same place, but the sword simply failed to find him. He only understood what had happened when he felt two fingers touch his elbow and push his arm a few inches upward.

"The angle of your wrist is wrong," Yu Jin Cheon said. "You opened your elbow too much at the end, your shoulder became rigid, and your hip lost force before the blade reached the target. The step began correctly, but you accelerated when you became impatient."

Victor turned the sword and attacked again.

Yu Jin Cheon tilted his head just enough for Lilith to pass through his hair.

"Now your eyes revealed where you intended to cut."

Victor changed direction in the middle of the strike, transforming the blade into a chain of blood that tried to wrap around the old man’s body. Yu Jin Cheon touched one of the links with the tip of his finger, and the entire structure lost tension. The chain fell to the floor like ordinary blood before returning to Victor’s arm.

"You change the weapon before deciding what you want to do with it. Versatility without intention is merely indecision."

Victor stepped back, wrapped his feet in Black Lightning, and disappeared. The floor cracked beneath the acceleration, and he appeared behind Yu Jin Cheon with Lilith coated in a thin layer of Black Ice. The sword descended toward the old man’s spine while ice stakes rose from the floor to restrict any lateral movement.

Yu Jin Cheon remained with his back turned.

"Your right foot touched the ground too early."

Victor felt a light pressure against the side of his knee.

His balance vanished.

The sword passed far from the target, the stakes emerged in the wrong positions, and Victor was hurled forward by his own speed. He rotated in the air, drove Lilith into the floor, and transformed the fall into another attack. White Fire covered the blade before it rose in a vertical cut.

Yu Jin Cheon caught his wrist.

He did not grab the sword or block the White Fire. He merely closed his fingers around Victor’s wrist before the strike gained enough speed.

"The fire is covering the blade unevenly. You placed too much energy near the tip and almost none near the base. If I were an enemy capable of enduring the first contact, your own weapon would break on impact."

Victor tried to pull his arm away.

He could not.

He released Black Lightning directly through his wrist, hoping to at least force Yu Jin Cheon to let go. Electricity wrapped around the old man’s hand, ran through his fingers, and disappeared without causing any reaction.

"You are also wasting electricity."

Yu Jin Cheon released his arm.

Victor immediately retreated and created distance. His face remained controlled, but the second ring rotated rapidly around his heart. Blood accelerated through the newly refined vessels, carrying energy to his muscles and reorganizing the flaws the old man had pointed out.

He advanced again.

This time, he did not use the Executioner’s Step. He created three copies of Lilith around his body, launched two as projectiles, and kept the third in his hand. The blades attacked from different directions while Black Ice covered the floor and White Fire spread through the air, closing every path Yu Jin Cheon might use.

The old man took a single step to the left.

All three swords missed.

The ice did not reach his feet.

The flames passed through his clothes without touching him.

"You created too many attacks because you do not trust any of them."

Victor appeared at the point where Yu Jin Cheon had moved and threw a punch covered in Black Lightning. The old man turned his body a few inches, allowing the strike to pass beside his face, and touched Victor’s ribs with an open palm.

Victor was thrown across the room.

His body crashed through two weapon racks and struck the wall. Stone gave way around his back, but he pulled himself free before the fragments finished falling. His regeneration closed the small ruptures in his organs while Lilith formed again in his hand.

Yu Jin Cheon had not even drawn his sword.

In truth, Victor still did not know where the weapon was. The old man carried nothing at his waist, on his back, or hidden beneath his clothes. Perhaps the sword was stored in some private space. Perhaps he could create it like Asura. It did not matter. Victor could not produce a situation that justified its use.

The difference between them was not that of a young warrior standing before an experienced master.

It was the difference between a snowflake and an iceberg.

Victor might be faster, more resilient, or more creative than most vampires of his generation. Before Yu Jin Cheon, however, every quality seemed incomplete. The old man did not need to surpass him in speed because he already knew where the attack would end. He did not need to withstand White Fire because he was never standing on the correct line. He did not need to destroy Black Ice because Victor positioned it with small flaws that always left an exit.

"Again," Victor said.

Yu Jin Cheon looked at him.

"Your jaw is tense."

"What?"

"You are irritated, so you are clenching your jaw. That locks your neck, stiffens your shoulders, and reduces the mobility of your arms."

Victor released the tension without having realized he was doing it.

"Again."

He advanced.

The Executioner’s Step came out cleaner. Victor corrected his wrist, relaxed his shoulder, and kept his gaze on the center of the old man’s body so he would not reveal the target. Yu Jin Cheon merely raised one hand and caught the side of Lilith between two fingers.

The blade stopped.

"The step improved, but you tried to correct five problems at once. Because of that, you forgot to breathe."

Victor realized he was holding his breath.

Yu Jin Cheon released the sword.

Victor attacked immediately without retreating. He delivered a lateral cut, rotated Lilith to strike the neck from the opposite side, and transformed part of the blade into spikes that advanced toward the old man’s chest.

"Your first strike was a distraction."

Yu Jin Cheon dodged.

"The second was made without support from your feet."

Another dodge.

"And the third appeared because you panicked when you realized the first two had failed."

The spikes passed around his body.

Victor tried to strike his face with his forehead.

Yu Jin Cheon placed one finger between them and stopped Victor’s head before contact.

"That was merely childish."

Victor retreated with an electrical impulse. Irritation began to seep through his concentration, although he tried to keep it under control. He had faced enemies far stronger than himself before, but he could normally cause some damage, force them to defend, or at least surprise them with an unexpected combination.

Yu Jin Cheon showed no effort.

Worse than that, he did not allow Victor to lie to himself about his performance. With every movement, the old man pointed out a flaw. A foot placed a few inches outside the line. A shoulder that rose before the strike. A change in breathing rhythm. The exact moment Victor looked away to prepare a technique.

"You use Black Lightning whenever you lose patience."

"Your Black Ice always appears first on the left because your right hand is occupied with the sword."

"You lower your chin when preparing White Fire."

"Lilith changes weight before changing form. Any competent swordsman would notice."

"Your body has strength, but your strikes have no structure."

"You regenerate too quickly and have begun accepting damage you could avoid."

"Stop using powers to hide basic problems."

Every sentence struck Victor harder than the blows.

He advanced again, this time without answering. Lilith divided into two smaller swords, and Victor used both in a rapid sequence of cuts. Yu Jin Cheon walked through the attacks without raising his hands. The tip of one blade passed less than a finger from his neck, but Victor realized even that had been permitted.

"Better," the old man commented. "Still bad."

Victor ground his teeth.

"You enjoy talking."

"And you enjoy hearing praise you do not deserve."

Black Lightning exploded around Victor’s body.

His blood production increased immediately. His heart accelerated, both refinement rings rotated, and his vessels began transporting three times more blood than before. His skin gained a reddish tone, his muscles became denser, and Lilith grew in his hand, absorbing the excess energy.

Victor’s body was reacting to the pressure.

Every flaw pointed out by Yu Jin Cheon was being recorded. His adaptive blood tried to correct his posture, strengthen the muscles used at the wrong moment, and alter the response time of his nerves. Small adjustments occurred every second. His body refused to remain inferior and began producing more resources in an attempt to reach the old man by force.

Yu Jin Cheon noticed immediately.

Victor advanced faster than before. The first strike came from the right, followed by a Black Ice stake that rose behind the old man. Lilith dissolved in the middle of the movement and appeared in his opposite hand, covered in White Fire.

Yu Jin Cheon did not dodge.

He struck Victor with an open hand.

It did not appear to be a powerful blow.

The palm touched the center of Victor’s chest, and nothing was destroyed externally. There was no explosion, crater, or loud sound. Victor simply felt something pass through his skin and reach every part of his body at the same time.

His muscles stopped.

The Black Lightning vanished.

The Black Ice dissolved before it could finish emerging, and the White Fire was extinguished together with Lilith. The two rings around his heart became motionless. The blood circulating at extreme speed lost pressure all at once, leaving his arms, legs, and brain without the energy required to continue functioning.

Victor fell.

He could not move his hands to soften the impact. His face struck the floor, but even the pain was not felt correctly. The nerves were still present, but their signals no longer reached the brain in an organized manner. His vision blurred, sounds became distant, and his tongue lost the ability to form words.

His regeneration tried to act.

It failed.

Not because it had been destroyed, but because every cell had received a different command. Some tried to accelerate, others remained still, and part of them began rebuilding tissues that were not injured. Victor’s entire system had been disorganized by a single touch.

He could not breathe voluntarily.

His body continued drawing small amounts of air through reflex, enough to keep him conscious, but none of his muscles obeyed him. Even the blood felt heavy inside his veins.

Yu Jin Cheon looked down at him.

"That is the reaction I expected."

Victor tried to raise his head.

Nothing happened.

"Your body began adapting because your mind refused to accept the difference between us. You tripled your blood production, accelerated the evolution of your muscles, and tried to correct dozens of flaws at the same time." Yu Jin Cheon crouched beside him. "It sounds impressive until someone realizes you controlled none of those changes."

Victor could see him only from the corner of his eye.

"Rakshasa asked me to beat you until you could no longer keep that smile on your face," the old man said. "When I asked why she did not do it herself, she answered that you would not take her seriously."

Victor’s eyes moved slightly.

Yu Jin Cheon noticed.

"She said you would turn the training into provocation, try to kiss her between strikes, and interpret every punishment as part of the fun. So she needed someone you considered genuinely dangerous to make you calm down."

Victor tried to curse.

His mouth did not move.

"You do not need to answer. I imagine you have some impolite words for my daughter."

Yu Jin Cheon stood and walked around Victor’s body. His expression showed no pleasure at seeing him in that condition. He appeared merely to be analyzing a problem that needed correction before it became worse.

"You seek power with urgency, but you do not know what to do with everything you already possess. You have a living weapon, three incompatible energies, high-level regeneration, adaptive blood, advanced senses, and now two techniques my daughter spent thousands of years perfecting."

He stopped in front of Victor.

"Even so, your swordsmanship is poor."

Victor would have clenched his teeth if he still controlled his jaw.

"Your energy control is poor. Your movement is poor. Your combat reading is poor. You depend on regeneration to correct mistakes, use speed to hide your lack of technique, and throw several powers at once because you believe quantity creates complexity."

Yu Jin Cheon crouched again and held Victor’s face, turning it enough for their eyes to meet.

"If you were a demonic cultivator, you would be a fraud."

The old man’s eyes were calm.

"You are terrible at everything."

Victor tried to move his arm once more. One finger trembled, but that was all he managed.

"There is not a single truly refined point within you. Everything is half-finished. Your sword is powerful because Lilith is powerful. Your body survives because your regeneration corrects your decisions. Your elements work because they were born with absurd properties, not because you mastered them."

Yu Jin Cheon released his face.

"You have everything, and at the same time, you possess nothing."

Victor remained on the floor, listening.

"Too many resources made you obsolete. Whenever you encounter difficulty, you search for another ability, another transformation, or another source of energy. You never remain before a single flaw long enough to truly correct it."

Yu Jin Cheon pointed toward Lilith, which had returned inside Victor’s body.

"First, learn how to hold a sword."

Then he pointed toward Victor’s legs.

"Then learn how to walk with it."

His hand passed over Victor’s chest.

"Then learn how to attack without depending on energy."

Finally, he lightly touched Victor’s forehead.

"And only then should you think about combining everything."

Victor began recovering part of his sensitivity. A slow pain appeared in his chest, accompanied by tingling in his arms and legs. His regeneration was also beginning to work again, although still without its normal speed.

"Versatility is useful when you know what you are doing," Yu Jin Cheon continued. "In your hands, it became an excuse to never master anything."

Victor managed to move his mouth.

His voice came out low and dragged.

"Finished?"

Yu Jin Cheon watched him for a moment.

"No."

He placed one foot on Victor’s back and pressed only enough to keep him on the floor when the younger man tried to rise.

"You are still concerned with appearing defiant."

Victor gathered strength in his right arm.

Yu Jin Cheon increased the pressure slightly, and the arm lost movement again.

"Listen without preparing an answer. That is another one of your problems."

Victor remained still. Not by choice, but because his body still allowed nothing else.

"You asked how to become stronger," Yu Jin Cheon said. "The answer is far more unpleasant than finding another technique. Choose one thing and accept being bad at it. Repeat it until you are no longer bad. Then continue until you no longer need to think. Only then move to the next."

"How long?"

"As long as necessary."

Victor closed his eyes for several seconds.

"I do not have all the time necessary."

"You have more time than you will have if you continue trying to evolve ten things at once and destroy your own foundation."

Yu Jin Cheon removed his foot from Victor’s back. Victor placed his hands on the floor and tried to rise, but his arms still trembled. This time, the old man did not stop him.

Victor took almost a minute to sit upright. His regeneration had already resumed working, but the blow had left every system disorganized. He would need several hours to regain complete control.

"Where do I begin?" he asked.

Yu Jin Cheon looked at him.

It was the first question in the entire conversation that contained no provocation.

"The Executioner’s Step."

Victor looked at his empty hand.

"Only that?"

"Only that."

"No Black Lightning?"

"No."

"Ice?"

"No."

"Fire?"

"No."

"Can Lilith change form?"

"She will be a sword and remain a sword."

Victor breathed slowly.

"For how long?"

"Until you force me to take one step."

He looked at Yu Jin Cheon and then at the empty space where the old man had avoided every attack without effort.

"That may take a while."

"Taking time is different from wasting it."

Victor recognized Rakshasa’s words.

Yu Jin Cheon turned and began walking toward the exit.

"Rest until you can stand. Then perform the Executioner’s Step ten thousand times."

Victor watched his back.

"You are leaving?"

"I am going to get a chair."

"What for?"

The old man stopped at the door and looked at him over his shoulder.

"To point out every mistake."

Victor remained silent.

Yu Jin Cheon gave a small smile.

"My daughter requested complete humiliation. As a good father, I intend to do the job properly."