Imperial Throne

Chapter 18: Bloodline Aptitude

White Forest Castle, central courtyard.

Yam was practicing swordsmanship.

It had been nearly two months since he agreed to become Giggs' retainer.

During these two months, he would return to Fisher Village every four days to spend a day with his mother, then return to White Forest Castle the following day.

Occasionally, Giggs would accompany Yam on his visits to Fisher Village.

At first, Yam thought Giggs was merely trying to strengthen their relationship by accompanying him.

After all, the living conditions in Fisher Village were certainly inferior to those in White Mountain City, let alone White Forest Castle, the symbol of power in the White Mountain Territory.

Moreover, the journey between White Mountain City and Fisher Village took nearly a day on horseback. Yam endured the fatigue of the long journey to spend a day with his mother, then set off back to White Forest Castle on the third day.

However, after several trips, Yam noticed that Giggs seemed genuinely delighted to leave White Forest Castle. Even his smile became more sincere.

He didn't mind staying in Yam's cramped and dilapidated house, nor did he mind drinking cheap barley beer and eating simple food. He even joined Yam in training the militia during their visits to Fisher Village.

At that moment, Yam had a feeling: perhaps, to Giggs, White Forest Castle was a cage that imprisoned him.

Only when he left that cage did the real Giggs emerge.

What truly made Yam respect Giggs was that, upon learning about Yam's mother's condition, Giggs immediately hired the best physician from White Mountain City to treat her in Fisher Village.

"Hey!" A cheerful voice called out from behind Yam. "Yam! You're as diligent as ever."

Giggs approached Yam, accompanied by a young girl.

Upon seeing them, Yam immediately sheathed his sword, stood upright, and bowed slightly to Giggs and the young girl approaching him. "Good morning, Young Master Giggs, Miss Lily."

In his first month at White Forest Castle, Yam had been enrolled in noble etiquette classes.

As a Bloodline Knight, having shed his commoner status and stepped into the quasi-privileged class of nobility, etiquette was essential.

Especially since the Griffin Family, currently ruling the Tyrella Kingdom, valued noble etiquette highly. To avoid offending the royal family, nobles of all ranks had to maintain proper appearances.

Yam had endured many hardships during that first month.

It was during this time that he met Giggs' sister, Lily Bole.

Unlike Giggs' two younger brothers, John and Joel, Lily had just celebrated her sixteenth birthday a month ago and had successfully awakened her second-tier bloodline, [Ice Monkey], after consuming seven doses of Bloodline Potion.

Through Lily's bloodline awakening, Yam learned that the number of Bloodline Potions consumed was an indicator of one's innate potential.

A standard Bloodline Potion recipe produced ten doses.

If all ten doses were consumed without awakening a bloodline, it indicated incompatibility with that particular bloodline.

Typically, those requiring ten doses to awaken a bloodline were considered average.

Individuals like Lily, who needed only seven doses, were deemed to have higher potential and better compatibility with their bloodline.

Those requiring five or fewer doses were categorized as geniuses.

Yam also learned another fact about bloodline awakening: it wasn't a one-time opportunity.

However, most commoners could only afford one attempt in their lifetime.

Many were unaware that after the age of thirty, awakening a bloodline became impossible. Some saved money for years, only to find they were too old when they finally could afford the Potions.

In contrast, wealthy merchants and noble offspring had multiple opportunities, second, third, even fourth attempts.

Each subsequent attempt became increasingly difficult due to the residual "pollution" from previous Potions embedding into the soul.

The second attempt was twice as hard as the first; the third, twice as hard as the second.

By the fourth attempt, failure could result in death due to bodily explosion.

Giggs' second brother, John, at twenty-three, had failed three times.

His third brother, Joel, at nineteen and a half, had just failed his second attempt.

Both had abandoned hopes of becoming Bloodline Users and chose to live off their father's influence.

"I've told you, just call me Giggs," Giggs said nonchalantly, waving his hand, showing little concern for formalities.

Yam merely smiled without responding.

Lily, observing Yam, suddenly spoke, "Sir Yam, you're close to reaching the second tier, aren't you?"

Faced with Lily's question, Yam was momentarily taken aback. Although unsure why she asked, he shook his head and replied honestly, "Not yet. My current bloodline scale is only seven."

Lily's delicate, fair face showed little expression. She merely nodded slightly in understanding.

After a brief chat, Giggs and Lily turned and left together.

Yam resumed his sword practice.

He repeatedly practiced the Kingdom's Military Swordsmanship his father had taught him.

With each swing, his bloodline power surged, keeping his bloodline active and stimulating the bloodline concentration within his soul to boil and rise.

At a certain moment, the bloodline deep within his soul surged and condensed into a gem-like, translucent blood droplet.

This made nine such droplets within his soul.

These droplets represented the so-called bloodline scale, symbolizing bloodline concentration.

Each droplet counted as one scale.

Ten droplets could merge into a higher concentration of true blood, signifying an advancement in tier.

Before arriving at White Forest Castle, Yam was unaware of these aspects of Bloodline Users.

He had been training aimlessly, instinctively feeling that these true blood droplets were beneficial.

Later, he discovered that practicing swordsmanship accelerated the condensation of bloodline power, prompting him to focus more on sword training.

Consequently, he asked Giggs to sell his Rare Iron Saber and replace it with an Rare Iron Longsword.

With a bloodline scale of nine, he was just one step away from becoming a second-tier Bloodline User.

It had been less than nine months since he became a Bloodline User.

Yet, Yam didn't feel elated. Instead, he pondered whether he should slow down his training.

After all, when Lily had asked how many doses of Bloodline Potion he used to awaken his bloodline, his naive answer had been ten.

...

"Brother, you've found a genius."

Lily walked beside Giggs.

Having recently become a Bloodline User with greater talent than Giggs, she might have had a higher succession rank if not for other considerations.

"What do you mean?" Giggs asked, puzzled.

Lily glanced at her brother, who sometimes made her question if she was a half-sibling, and sighed, "That Yam, he didn't awaken his bloodline after ten doses. He's likely like me, or even more talented."

"Haha, you're overthinking it, sister," Giggs chuckled, shaking his head. "You've only been a Bloodline User for a month. Don't believe everything in books. Experience will teach you that not all texts are accurate."

Lily didn't argue.

Instead, she asked, "Brother, do you remember how long it took you to reach the second scale?"

"About seven months," Giggs replied after some thought. "Sister, don't rush your training. I know you're talented, and father is excited about your potential. But you're still young. Take your time. I'm now a second-tier Bloodline User. Though far from the third tier, I can still support and protect you."

Despite often finding her elder brother foolish, Lily respected him.

She knew the immense pressure he bore, especially with their second and third brothers being so unreliable.

Watching her brother ramble on, Lily sighed internally.

She had indeed only just become a Bloodline User.

But precisely because of that, her bloodline perception was still in a highly sensitive state.

Previously, she had never encountered Yam in the midst of his training and therefore hadn’t sensed the bloodline aura he kept so well hidden.

But today, as she and Giggs passed through the central courtyard, she was shocked to discover that the bloodline aura Yam emitted had already caught up to her brother’s.

That was why she dared to assert that Yam was already close to becoming a second-tier Bloodline User.

As a knight-retainer to her brother, intelligence on Yam had naturally been gathered.

After becoming a Bloodline User herself, Lily had reviewed the profiles of all the family’s knight-retainers, not just Yam’s, but those of the other three serving the household as well. So she knew that Yam had been a Bloodline User for no more than nine months.

Nine months, and he was already on the verge of becoming a second-tier Bloodline User. That meant his training pace averaged one scale per month.

In comparison, Lily had been a Bloodline User for a month. Due to her early maturity, she had immediately begun training to stimulate her bloodline concentration.

Yet to this day, she had not managed to condense a second drop of true blood. Naturally, she started to doubt Yam’s earlier claim.

‘Yam must have awakened his bloodline with only five doses of Bloodline Potion.’

‘Maybe even just three!’