Chapter 83: Dragon Blood
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In almost all the cultivation novels Ethan had read, the protagonists, and even others in general, not only had special techniques but also unique attacks based on their element or whatever made them stronger.
There were all kinds, but as he was now, he had none.
Even the charged attack he had used by compressing the blue lotus flame into a ball of condensed fire barely qualified as one.
He thought about it for a moment but then realized what the problem was.
He didn't have any special techniques.
Exactly.
A good portion of these special attacks were derived from offensive or defensive techniques passed down within families and sects.
Since he wasn't part of any large family, or any family at all considering he couldn't remember who he was in this world, he obviously had none.
The same went for the sect.
He was simply an outer disciple.
No sect would share their special techniques with outer disciples.
At most, they would teach them basic combat techniques and Qi gathering methods, but beyond that, there were no other benefits.
If one wanted to learn some distinctive technique of the sect, they had to prove themselves worthy.
More precisely, they had to show their value over the course of the year by making great strides in cultivation or by advancing to the inner sect, where they would be granted some benefits, including certain sect techniques.
Ethan was almost tempted to reveal his cultivation level just to get his hands on one of these techniques, but then he reconsidered.
If he could fully control his current strength, then he could manipulate and release it to a degree that wouldn't be too shocking in the eyes of others, yet not too lacking either.
A middle ground, so to speak.
He knew he needed to intensify his daily training to keep up with his ever-growing cultivation base.
Normally, it would be the opposite case for most people.
They would consolidate their foundations and strive each day to accumulate more Qi and continually improve.
Ethan, on the other hand, had to constantly consolidate the Qi he received in abundance from refining, and each time it was never enough.
Overall, things were going well; his strength was great, his spiritual energy reserves improved with each level, but if he didn't have good control over it, sooner or later he could end up in trouble.
Ethan wasn't yet at a level where he could ignore most worldly problems.
He was still too weak to do so, so he tried to fill in the gaps he had.
Now that he had the minor dimension, which practically provided him with an infinite amount of extra time, he could work on this without too much worry.
Ethan wondered if the system's shop would eventually sell techniques or other things beyond pill recipes.
'Well, I can only keep leveling up and see if I unlock some other function,' he thought, then turned his gaze to Bai Yu.
He wondered if she could teach him some special attack.
Who knows, maybe there was some technique he could use even without being of the dragon race.
"Hey Bai Yu, regarding attack and defense techniques, do you think you could teach me some?" he asked hopefully.
"No."
"…"
Seeing Ethan's dejected expression, she explained.
"It's not that I don't have any techniques you could learn; it's just that all of them are impossible for you to practice at your current level.
The energy and strength requirements to use them are too high for the current you."
And with that, Ethan's last hope was extinguished.
"Is there really no way for you to teach me something?" he asked, completely resigned.
His idea was to fill his various gaps as soon as possible, but it seemed that would take time as well.
Bai Yu didn't answer his question immediately and remained silent, pondering something.
Seeing this, Ethan couldn't help but ask in a hopeful tone.
"What are you thinking about?"
Bai Yu, hearing his voice, came out of her thoughts and then said uncertainly.
"There might be a way to teach you some of my race's techniques, but I'm not sure if it will work," she said.
Ethan, hearing this, quickly asked:
"What way?"
Still a bit uncertain, she replied:
"The main reason you can't learn almost any of the techniques I possess is because they are strictly linked to my race.
So unless you are of the dragon race or at least have a bit of dragon bloodline, it's impossible for you to learn my techniques."
Upon hearing this, Ethan immediately had a premonition.
'Could she be suggesting…'
And as if to confirm his thought, Bai Yu's next words echoed.
"The only way for you to learn my race's techniques would be to absorb and develop a dragon bloodline within you."
"Is something like that even possible?"
Ethan asked, not sure what to think about it.
Not that he was an expert on blood-related matters, or more precisely DNA, but he knew how dangerous it could be to introduce foreign blood into one's body, especially if it wasn't compatible with the person.
This would be problematic even among beings of the same race, but if we're talking about two completely different races, then the result was obvious.
But then, thinking about it, Ethan wasn't in his previous world where everything had to have a scientific explanation behind it.
In this world, science couldn't explain many things that were considered normal here.
The mere fact that a person could fly or shoot fire from their hands could in itself baffle an Earth scientist.
Who was to say that modifying one's bloodline here was impossible?
Wasn't that what various protagonists of the novels he had read had done at some point in their journey?
Although many things there made no sense even in this world, many others had proven to be possible.
So why couldn't this be as well?
Just the fact that Bai Yu had mentioned it meant that such a thing wasn't impossible.
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FRANK_LEE_JUNIOR:
Here's today's chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.
As usual, if you have any comments, suggestions, or errors to report, don't hesitate to do so below.
See you tomorrow with another chapter.