Top-Tier Perception Starts From Basic Fist Techniques

Lu Changsheng studied the strange phenomenon for a while and found himself faintly confused. Conversion by blood, boundless strength, remarkable recovery... A power to suppress generation after generation of the converted beneath you. Why does that set of abilities sound so familiar?

It closely resembled the vampires from memories of his previous life. The only differences were that these newly converted did not fear sunlight, and they still seemed to die of old age rather than live forever.

Well now, it seems like I've produced a special species by accident without even noticing. To think that I'll produce a vampire...

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

It caught him off guard. It had never occurred to him that fusing the flesh of the human race with the flesh of the demon race would give birth to a vampire at the end of it. That made Lu Changsheng the vampire progenitor, and nobody could dispute that title.

A vampire can only be made by conversion through blood or flesh, but every one of these converted humans can train in the Extreme Martial Dao. If I convert enough people into vampires, the whole of humanity even, then won't my Extreme Martial Dao spread exactly as it needs to?

His eyes lit up upon this realization.

He appeared to have found himself a path that led to heaven! So long as he converted more people into vampires, he could both stand against the demons and spread the Extreme Martial Dao at the same time. With that done, would condensing a Martial Dao out of this world not be the simplest thing imaginable?

Lu Changsheng knew perfectly well how difficult converting the whole of humanity would be. It would take a very long time as well. He had a little over nine years left to him at present, which was a reasonably generous amount of time.

Turning humans into vampires can't be done through force. They have to see an enormous benefit in it and come begging to be converted, so I need to plan this properly.

A sharp glint moved in his eyes as he laid out his plans in detail.

"Done!" Lu Changsheng exclaimed with a hint of accomplishment. After a month of work, Lu Changsheng finally had the framework of his organization.

"From today, everything we do is done in the name of the Temple of Flesh and Blood. As for me, I created the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao, so I am the Flesh and Blood Progenitor. Kao Ping, you are the guardian of the Temple of Flesh and Blood."

Lu Changsheng had settled at last on how to spread the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao and how to grow the ranks of the converted vampires, or what he called blood descendants.

He had also formally settled on calling the Martial Dao that he created the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao. There were, after all, real differences between it and the Extreme Martial Dao, as it only came into existence by devouring a demon's flesh.

He called up the Status Panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Title: Flesh and Blood Progenitor

Flesh and Blood Martial Dao: Third Growth (11%)

After achieving Third Growth, his Flesh and Blood Martial Dao had climbed from one percent to eleven percent in the space of a month. Ten percent in a month was not especially fast. At such a rate, it would take roughly ten months to reach Fourth Growth, and Fourth Growth was the equivalent of the Dao Foundation Realm.

Lu Changsheng considered the pace rather slow.

I need better tonics. Better yet, I need to look for another true demon. I can try devouring their flesh again. Who knows? It might advance my Flesh and Blood Martial Dao immensely... Lu Changsheng thought with a sharp light in his gaze.

If a true demon's flesh really could push his Flesh and Blood Martial Dao higher, he would go all out to hunt them. He had no objection whatsoever whether he was given the titles demon hunter, the bane of demons, devourer of demons, or anything else along those lines.

Kao Ping was also feeling very good. Since being converted into a blood descendant, he had grown more devoted to Lu Changsheng than he had ever been before.

"Young Master, how do we spread the Flesh and Blood Martial Dao from here?" Kao Ping asked.

"By bringing people in, obviously. The Temple of Flesh and Blood now exists, and a temple naturally requires members. Nowadays, a demon holds much influence, and the common people cannot make a living.

"The court is also blind and incompetent and is gradually losing its ability to hold back demons at all. That is precisely when a temple like ours should rise up. We start with ordinary people at the very bottom. Above all, we prioritize the old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled.

"The moment a man is converted into a blood descendant, every sickness and pain in his body disappears. That one fact alone is enough to bring countless people into the Temple of Flesh and Blood and let them believe in it.

"Train in my Flesh and Blood Martial Dao, be rid of sickness and pain, and enjoy bliss forever! Kao Ping, take that as your slogan and gather people with it. Remember to target the villages and the lowest societal ranks of the city for now. Keep it quiet, and don't make any noise about it."

Lu Changsheng set out his instructions carefully.

"Yes, Young Master." Kao Ping turned to go at once, a spark of excitement showing in his eyes. He had a faint sense that the Temple of Flesh and Blood his young master had founded was going to turn into something extraordinary, and that he was helping his young master do something great. That thought made him incredibly excited.

No showing off for now. I need to hold steady since I'm only at Third Growth, barely across the line into transcendence. In this world, that puts me equivalent to a greater demon and no higher. Let's build strength first and keep a low profile.

Lu Changsheng was a practical man. At present, he had nothing at all. The Temple of Flesh and Blood consisted of himself and Kao Ping, which were two men in total. He told himself that was fine, as the temple was like a seed. Given time, it would grow and strengthen exponentially.

In the end, it would roll like a snowball down a hill, gaining in size until nothing could stop it.

In a thatched hut at the eastern end of Niu Clan village, Niu Dashan was too sick to get out of bed. He had three children. The eldest was eight, and the youngest only three, and all of them were crying to be fed.

There was nothing whatsoever that he could do about it.

His wife had died of illness the year before, and this year, he had fallen sick himself and had no money for medicine. Even if he had bought medicine, it would most likely have been wasted money since his illness was not the kind that could be cured.

The youngest came in with a long trail of snot down his face, rubbing his stomach with no more tears left to cry. "Papa, I'm hungry."

"Go next door to your auntie's..." Niu Dashan said weakly.

"Auntie says they don't have any brown rice left either..."

The child tugged at his father's callused hand and broke into a wailing, hungry cry. Niu Dashan knew that his neighbors truly had nothing left to give. He himself could not get out of bed, and the food in the house had run out long ago.

Grief rose up in him all at once.

It doesn't matter if I die, but my three children can't die! They're still so young...

His own tears had run dry as well. He forced his sick body to move, trying to roll over and get up.

Thud!

He ended up rolling off the bed and onto the floor instead, and the fall very nearly ended his life.

Just then, he heard the front door being pushed open.

Creak.

A stranger walked into the house and came to stand over him.

"You're Niu Dashan?" the man asked.

Niu Dashan lifted his head with much effort and looked at him. The stranger's clothes were clean and very neat, and he had a hand over his nose, plainly put off by the stink of the room.

By the look of what he was wearing, he came from a respectable household.

What would a respectable household want with him, though? Was the man here to buy his children? The thought had barely formed before Niu Dashan was speaking. "Yes, I'm Niu Dashan. Has Your Honor come to buy children? One boy and two girls. Your Honor needn't pay me anything. Just give them something to eat..."

He hurried to kowtow on the floor. All he wanted was for his three children to live. It didn't matter whether they became slaves or servants if that was what it took. In such a world, what did being a slave or a servant matter? What mattered was staying alive!

Kao Ping let out a long sigh. He had been born into a poor household himself, one much like Niu Dashan's household, except Niu Dashan was in worse straits than his family had ever been.

He had been fortunate enough to be sold to the Kao Clan and became a young master's manservant. Otherwise, he would have most likely starved to death. He crouched down and gently said, "I haven't come to buy your children. I've come to cure your illness."

"Cure it?" Niu Dashan stared at him, then shook his head and said bitterly, "I've no money for a cure..."

"It costs nothing. All you have to do is agree to join the Temple of Flesh and Blood."

"I agree. I'll join the Temple of Flesh and Blood. If it cures me, I'll agree to anything..."

How could Niu Dashan possibly refuse? As someone at rock bottom, simply being allowed to live was the greatest gift for him. So long as he lived, then however bitter and exhausting it got, he could at least painstakingly raise his three children to adulthood.

"Good. Open your mouth..."

Kao Ping cut his own finger with a dagger and squeezed a single drop of blood into Niu Dashan's mouth.

"Ahh!" Niu Dashan screamed and was instantly rolling across the floor in pain.

"Bear with it. There's a little pain at the start, but get through it and your illness will be cured. Remember that once you're well, you're to come to the Kao Clan's estate outside the city for your induction ceremony..."

With that, Kao Ping rose to his feet. He patted himself down, found some dry rations on him, and tossed them to Niu Dashan's three children. Then, he quickly left as his trip had not been made for the sake of converting Niu Dashan.

There was a myriad of people in the same condition waiting for him to convert.

It was already dark when Niu Dashan came to his senses.

"Papa, you're awake. This is the flatbread that man gave us today. My brother and sister and I didn't finish it. We saved it for you."

The eldest was eight and already understood a great deal. She brought out a piece of the bread and held it out to him.