Asher was silent, not knowing how to answer.
For some reason, he had a feeling that Shishou already knew something.
She just wasn't clear on the specifics yet.
Should he tell the truth?
Asher sat on the edge of the bed, secretly thinking about this.
Looking at Asher's troubled face, Scáthach quickly shook her head.
"Forget it. As long as you're not secretly going to some dangerous place, you can do whatever you want."
Shishou let me off so easily...?
Asher quickly reacted and raised his head in surprise.
Noticing the surprise in her disciple's eyes, Scáthach just sighed, raised her hand, and ruffled Asher's hair into a mess, saying earnestly,
"You've grown up, so naturally you'll have your own privacy. As long as it doesn't involve any personal danger, I won't interfere too much."
"Thank you, Shishou," Asher could only reply.
Scáthach nodded slightly.
"Also, there's something you need to pay attention to. The black dragon essence blood contains some kind of violent element. You need to use it in portions over a week, and there will be a drawback afterwards."
"What drawback?"
"Remember what Cú Chulainn's overloaded combat state looked like when he was crossing the Trial Bridge?"
When Cú Chulainn crossed the Trial Bridge before, under the overloaded combat state, his power was enhanced, but his body also underwent strange changes. If it hadn't been for the sun god's blessing, he would probably have completely lost his mind.
However, Cú Chulainn's immense power was also thanks to this. Once he transformed into a Mad King, his combat power would increase exponentially, and because of the sun god's blessing, he still had enough reason to return to normal after the battle ended.
"In other words, once I take the black dragon essence blood, I'll need to control myself during battles in the future, otherwise I might completely go berserk in an overloaded combat state?" Asher asked.
Scáthach nodded slightly, placing the small bottle, which now contained only a small amount of the refined essence, in Asher's hand.
"Think carefully before deciding whether to take it."
Asher looked down at the golden liquid flowing in the bottle, lost in thought.
Scáthach didn't speak, just sat on the edge of the bed, quietly waiting for Asher's final answer.
"What do you think I should do, Shishou?" After thinking for a long time, he turned his head to look at Scáthach and asked.
"Make your own decision," Scáthach said finally, but her gaze remained fixed on Asher, a strange light in her red eyes.
Even if her disciple refused, she wouldn't feel disappointed because of it.
Refusing the black dragon's essence blood would lead to another path for him:
— Marrying Uathach and spending the rest of his life in the Land of Shadows.
But if he wanted to become stronger, even reaching her level, the black dragon's essence blood, if not necessary now, was something he would eventually face the same problem with due to his weak body.
After a long period of contemplation, Asher nodded heavily.
"I will take the black dragon's essence blood, Shishou."
He had no choice. Without the black dragon's essence blood, even with the mysterious power of the magic cauldron to bring his physical strength to the level of an ordinary person, he still wouldn't have the right to survive in this era.
Besides, as long as he didn't use combat power overload, there shouldn't be any problems.
Cú Chulainn was able to maintain clarity of mind under combat power overload because he possessed the blessing of the sun god.
But he was different. He didn't have such a blessing. Once he entered combat power overload, he would no longer be himself.
The blessing of the death goddess allowed him to be immune to most spoken spells, such as the concept of "death" that Morgan le Fay had uttered that day, which was ineffective against Asher.
But to maintain clarity of mind even under combat power overload, only the blessing of the sun god could achieve that.
"Is that so... is that your final decision?"
Hearing Asher's reply, Scáthach inadvertently revealed a faint smile.
"Don't worry. If you accidentally enter a berserk state one day, I will stop you."
Scáthach didn't intend to reveal her plan to find Lugus and bestow the sun god's blessing upon her disciple just yet.
Because she didn't know if she could find Lugus, and even if she did, the other party might not necessarily help Asher.
"If anything happens, you can have the guard at the door come and call me."
Looking at Asher's determined expression, Scáthach's eyes held satisfaction. She patted his head again and turned to leave the room.
After Scáthach left, Asher couldn't wait to open the bottle of black dragon essence blood.
The golden blood flowing in the small bottle rippled with a dazzling and violent luster.
This was the black dragon essence blood refined by Scáthach. Only in this way could Asher's body avoid directly bleeding to death due to being unable to withstand the violent power of the essence blood.
Since Scáthach had previously put the essence blood into the magic cauldron for filtration, Asher didn't need any other complicated steps.
He directly took a drop of the essence blood and sat down on the edge of the bed.
Then, after a short while, he paused slightly.
"Strange, why don't I feel anything? This can't be fake, right?"
Thump!
Just as he thought this, his heart suddenly beat violently, as if wailing.
The blood all over his body was as hot as magma.
Asher tightly clutched his heart. At this moment, he didn't even dare to breathe.
Because with every breath, his heart felt like it was about to jump out, bringing a stabbing pain.
Then, as if silver needles were simultaneously piercing all parts of his body, the intense pain in that instant almost made him faint.
Asher gritted his teeth, and the healing power of Rune magic was activated in an instant, which made him feel a little better.
But the place that had just been healed felt like deeper needles were piercing down again.
Asher bit his lip tightly. The moment the stinging pain attacked, the power of Rune magic was activated again, healing his painful wounds.
While Asher was still undergoing this painful tempering, Scáthach was sitting on her usual throne, her hand supporting her cheek, her legs crossed, looking at the sky outside the hall.
Hang in there, disciple. Once you get through this round, the subsequent training will be smoother.
Although it was painful, this was the price of gaining strength.
And if one wanted to reach the top, the black dragon essence blood... was just the beginning.
Time passed quickly, and a week went by unknowingly.
During this week, Asher didn't leave his room, experiencing the pain and joy of power advancing every day.
He could feel his physical strength increasing day by day.
This could be seen from the sparring a week later.
Previously, when Scáthach held back, he could last a dozen moves against her, but now, he could last more than twenty moves.
But because of this, Asher hadn't seen Morgan le Fay and Artoria for a week.
Originally, he wanted to go out and tell them, but Scáthach said that his current state was very unstable and he couldn't leave the Land of Shadows without permission, so Asher had no choice but to give up.
Half a month later.
"Your current state is much better than before," Scáthach said, looking at Asher, who was standing opposite her, panting with his hands on his knees.
"It's all thanks to Shishou's guidance. If I were alone, I wouldn't be able to achieve this level no matter what," Asher shook his head, without a trace of arrogance.
Without Scáthach's help, and if Big Sister Uathach hadn't taken him to steal the dragon blood before, his physical strength would still be as poor as before.
It could be said that Shishou and Big Sister had helped him too much.
"Not arrogant or impetuous, very good," Scáthach nodded slightly.
"If it's the current you, you should be able to defeat that child Uathach, curb her arrogance, and make her train harder."
Hearing this, Asher just shook his head and smiled wryly.
"If I defeat Big Sister Uathach, she'll just be very unconvinced and fight back, right?"
"Then continue fighting her until she is convinced," Scáthach said, pausing slightly.
"With Uathach's current strength, your training should also have good results..."
Asher vaguely felt that something was wrong and raised his head to look at Scáthach.
"Are you going somewhere, Shishou?"
Scáthach nodded slightly.
"As a Shishou, I haven't been able to do anything for my disciples. I have a great responsibility. That child Uathach is right. I may be a qualified queen, but not a qualified Shishou."
"That's not right! Shishou has taught me so much. If it weren't for you, I might have died in the wilderness years ago," Asher said firmly.
Five years ago, he had planned to leave the Land of Shadows, but Scáthach had forcibly kept him. Looking back now, he realized she had been protecting him all along.
This era was full of wars and chaos, and the wild was teeming with all kinds of monsters. If he, a mere ten-year-old at the time, had left, he probably would have died that very day.
In the Land of Shadows, Scáthach had taught him many things and given him the feeling of "home"—something Asher hadn't dared to imagine before.
Looking into Asher's determined gaze, Scáthach paused briefly, then a faint smile appeared on her face. "That kind of thing, whatever."
"I believe I have been derelict in my duty. This time I leave, I will completely heal your weak physical condition," she said, patting Asher's head. "During my absence, protect the Land of Shadows with your Big Sister. If necessary, you can abandon this city. Although my younger sister is warlike, she will not kill innocent people indiscriminately. You can temporarily give this kingdom to her. When I return, I will take it all back, one by one."
This time, no matter what, she was determined to completely resolve Asher's physical condition.
It was not only to help Asher but also to ensure he could live longer.
She had witnessed the passing of too many disciples. Most who had come to the Land of Shadows early on sought to challenge her. Only after defeat did they become her disciples, training to grow stronger. Scáthach had wholeheartedly taught them martial arts, hoping that someone could eventually defeat her.
But unfortunately, after all this time, she had yet to meet anyone capable of matching her.
No, such a person might exist—but they wouldn't be a mere human. They would be a god.
However, gods were not warmongers. Although they might intervene in human wars, they did not fight without purpose, let alone come to fight her for their own satisfaction.
In this loneliness at the top, Scáthach had thought her life would remain endlessly dull.
Until one day, a child appeared before her, gradually allowing Scáthach to discover a new side of herself.
Listening to Asher tell stories of powerful figures from other eras every night.
Yes, just that—but she found it surprisingly interesting.
Therefore, if possible, she hoped that Asher could live with her forever.
For this reason, the sun god's blessing was absolutely necessary.
--------More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter