Blackstone Manor.
Aaron, with the title of Baron Blackstone, returned to his own territory.
After the martial arts tournament, Theodore had started handing out titles. Basically, all the knights in the Green Forest had been promoted by one rank, and some had even become viscounts.
However, it was just an empty title and no one’s fiefdom had increased at all.
From Aaron’s point of view, a baron’s title sounded better than a knight’s.
Apart from that, there was another strange phenomenon. Colin’s son, Char, had been made an honorary lord, though he was nothing. Aaron had thought he could get an honorary title like Viscount Sotos. From the looks of it, Theodore was expressing his dissatisfaction with Colin, but he was very happy with the third-generation successor.
There seemed to be some undercurrent to this, but Aaron did not think much of it.
….
In the bedroom.
Aaron opened his eyes and felt the difference in his body.
This was the first time he had accepted a ritual and sacrifice in the dream world. The disappearance of the red essence at the end gave him an indescribable feeling.
The Red Essence as a sacrifice is actually the essence and concentration of the Red Spirituality. In terms of quantity, it might be enough for an ordinary person to fully awaken their spirituality and enter the Beyond Path.
At that time, the sacrifice in the ritual disappeared. My consciousness felt that it might have come here, the real world, in my body?
Aaron’s eyes lit up. If that was the case, he might have finally found the path to the Transcendence in the real world!
“Master!”
He rang the bell and asked Daly to come in and help him dress. He could hardly wait to feel the difference in his body.
It seems to be an illusion … but I feel I’m particularly energetic today?
Aaron looked at Daly in front of him and could not deny that his body seemed to have a reaction.
Daly seemed to feel something too. With a flushed face, she helped Aaron tidy up his clothes.
It’s a bit troublesome, I feel a surge of desire.
Aaron was a little embarrassed. It seems I have to be more careful in the future. I can’t accept sacrifices carelessly.“What would you like for breakfast?”
Daly asked just then.
“Steak, medium-rare, and a cup of deer blood!”
Aaron blurted out.
Daly looked surprised, but she quickly calmed down and left.
…
In the dining room of the villa.
The almost raw cow lay on the white china plate, blood still oozing from it.
Aaron’s breakfast usually consisted of a vegetable salad with bread and jam. The taste was rather bland, which was why Daly was surprised.
At that moment, Daly stood to the side. She watched as Aaron gracefully picked up the knife and fork. The slight pressure of the cold fork caused the veal to bleed profusely again. It was as if it was struggling, screaming and resisting.
But it was useless. The table knife cut mercilessly, separating the flesh and causing blood to gush out. It had the elegance of a predator.
A handful of coarse salt and a handful of black pepper were sprinkled on the cow’s body, as if it were a sacrifice…
Finally, the piece of meat was placed in his mouth as if it had fallen into a bottomless abyss …
“Hmm, the taste is surprisingly good?”
Aaron drank another mouthful of deer blood as he thought to himself, “Is this the joy of eating flesh and blood? There’s actually Red in my body and it’s affecting me!
Fortunately, I can still control my mind. It’s probably because the existence in the dream world is not in this world?
And Daly, what’s with that expression, What’s that fearful and hopeful look?
Has she been influenced by me?
Aaron put down his knife and fork. “Clean up!”
“Oh, yes!”
Daly shuddered, as if she had finally snapped out of her stupor. She moved forward to clear the table, breathing heavily.
“I’m going out to train!”Aaron could feel his self-control slipping away. He didn’t dare stay any longer or Daly might not be enough. He immediately went to the training ground outside the villa and brandished the huge cross sword.
Normally, a few swings of such a heavy sword would consume a lot of energy.
But now, Aaron felt different.
It wasn’t that his size or strength had increased. Instead, every time he was about to reach his limit, a new wave of energy would surge out of his body.
It was as if there was an extra source of energy in his body!
“This is the extraordinary thing about Red!”
Aaron’s eyes lit up. “Even though I don’t really like this path, I can’t deny that all the extraordinary things are so dazzling and enchanting.”
After a few hours of training, he was already sweating profusely. He grabbed a towel and wiped himself down. Suddenly, Aaron picked up a dagger and made a small cut on his arm.
Fresh blood flowed quickly. He watched with rapt attention and saw that the bleeding stopped by itself. There was even a numb and itchy feeling.
“Vitality that promotes wound healing?
Aaron frowned. What Lin had sacrificed was the concentrated essence of many Red. It was enough to open the door to the extraordinary.
But when it came to him, there seemed to be very little left.
“This is the wear and tear of crossing two worlds? But it doesn’t matter. Let Lin sacrifice a few more times, and the accumulation will be enough for me to push open the door to the extraordinary. But I don’t like the way of Red.”
“Hmm, I’ll let Lin sacrifice another essence next time, But she only knows how to collect the essence of Red. Each field has its own specialisation. It seems like it was a good decision to let her form a multi-path cult.”
After a while, Aaron stood up and shook his arm. The wound on his arm had long since disappeared, leaving only a shallow white mark.
“Very good!”
He looked up at the sky, feeling a little hungry. “It’s time for lunch is it still medium rare steak for lunch?”
Aaron felt the hunger in his body and his expression gradually changed.
As it turned out, this was not the only change.
That night, as he looked at the medium-rare steak, he could not bring himself to eat it. In the end, he asked Daly to take it back to the kitchen and make it well done.
The rich and warm texture of the steak went into his mouth, but Aaron sighed inwardly. “The spirituality is dissipating so its influence on me is weakening as well.”
…
The next day.
Aaron rang the bell and let Daly in.
He looked at the maid’s various actions and his heart was calm. There was only endless regret. “This world really doesn’t have a spiritual side, Even the spirituality I’ve gained with great difficulty will continue to dissipate with time.”