Lava Dewdrop

At the moment of breakthrough, Robb felt an unprecedented surge of energy erupt from within his body. It was like the flutter of a butterfly's wings, subtle, yet filled with a heart-shaking power.

His internal meridians seemed to be rewoven, and the fibrous structure of his muscles underwent subtle changes, becoming denser and more elastic.

With his Breath Body Refinement reaching the Adept level, his Constitution attribute rose directly to 2.0, precisely the threshold needed to advance to a Bloodline Knight.

[Base Attribute Increased: Constitution 1.7 → 2.0 (+0.3)]

He felt a new level of control over his body; every muscle, every bone, every vein was within his perception.

It was as if a blurry world had suddenly turned sharp, and a chaotic universe had snapped into order.

[Gained Additional Trait: Primal Tracing

(When activating bloodline, allows reversion to a more primitive and pure bloodline form, increasing bloodline level)]

"Primal Tracing…" Robb muttered, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

The trait's description made his heart race uncontrollably.

To trace one's bloodline back to a purer, more ancient origin during activation, it was a tailor-made ability for him!

Among current practitioners of the Solar Breath, most could only awaken low-tier bloodlines like Fire Lizards or Wyverns.

Human bloodlines had been diluted and mutated over countless generations, leaving only faint traces of ancient beings.

But the Primal Tracing trait could shatter this limitation, directly reaching back to the source of the bloodline.

If this trait worked as described, Robb had a real chance of awakening a bloodline far stronger and purer than that of an ordinary mage.

"And if I combine it with my improved bloodline activation potion…" Robb's eyes burned with intensity. "Maybe I really can awaken a dragon-type bloodline close to the Lightlord Dragon!"

The Lightlord Dragon, a pure-blooded cosmic dragon species from the divine era.

These creatures could control fire and light at will. According to records, some of the ancient dragons within the species even held the divine throne of the Sun God. This might be why the Solar Breath could be traced back to them.

Robb wasn't delusional enough to think he could awaken such a terrifying star-ring bloodline in one go.

But with both the activation potion and the Primal Tracing trait, awakening a subspecies of that lineage, a draconic variant, wasn't out of the question.

"Still, all of this needs to be tested in practice."

Robb calmed himself, analyzing rationally.

What's theoretically possible often falls short in reality, especially in something as risky as bloodline activation.

A reckless attempt could lead to irreversible consequences. At worst, it could cause a mutation so severe he'd lose his humanity entirely and become a monster.

With that in mind, he opened the letter sent earlier by messenger from Andrey.

The blond youth's handwriting was slightly rushed, but the excitement was clear between the lines: Since your bloodline activation potion has made great progress, I'll start preparing the materials for the activation ritual and perform it before you…

Robb wasn't surprised by this, but the second half of the letter made him frown: Regarding the third stage of the Solar Breath, I need to talk to you in person. It involves the core secrets of Bloodline Knights, not suitable for writing down. I'll come tonight with the Lava Dewdrop.

"Lava Dewdrop…"

Robb softly repeated the name, recalling Andrey had mentioned this special body-tempering potion before.

According to the Solar Breath manuscripts, the third stage required Lava Dewdrop to temper the body, so the body's meridians could withstand even more powerful energy flows.

But its exact effects weren't clearly explained in the documents.

Robb carefully stored the letter and turned back to studying the bloodline activation potion formula on his desk.

After repeated trials and improvements over the past weeks, he had essentially finalized the formula:

Using Sunfire Extract as a guiding medium, combined with bloodline factors extracted from Fire Lizard scales, and mixed with stabilizers and directional enhancers.

In theory, this formula should accurately activate the dormant fragments of Lightlord Dragon lineage in the body, while locking the activation path to prevent random mutations.

[Alchemy Experience +1]

Valenwood quietly organized the herbs nearby. The once-emotionless eyes now shimmered with noticeable intelligence.

Its physical transformation had nearly stabilized, its form now mostly humanoid, though the skin remained a pale green, and the hair was composed of fine vine tendrils.

"Master," Valenwood said through leaf-formed speech, "we're running low on powdered Fire Lizard heart."

Robb nodded. "Thanks for the reminder. I'll arrange to restock it."

He couldn't help but marvel at how much Valenwood had changed.

In just a few days since being purchased, it had gone from a nearly mute semi-plant to an assistant capable of understanding complex instructions and even offering advice.

"How are you feeling today, Valenwood?" Robb asked, tidying up the workbench.

Valenwood's leaves trembled slightly as it responded with a much longer message than usual: "It feels… strange, Master. My thoughts are becoming clearer. I can remember more. I've even started to dream."

"Dream?" Robb paused in surprise. "What did you dream about?"

"A forest," Valenwood wrote, "One completely different from here, bathed in sunlight, full of tall trees, vibrant flowers, and overflowing with life. And many… beings like me. But they were more human, able to speak and dance."

Robb nodded thoughtfully. This further confirmed his theory: those dreams might be the awakening of ancestral memories, echoes of a distant age.

"That sounds like a beautiful place," he said gently. "Maybe someday, you'll remember even more."

Valenwood's vines trembled again, as if expressing emotion, but it chose not to continue the topic and went back to sorting herbs.

Robb also returned to his work.

Over the next few hours, he completed several alchemical orders for clients and continued refining the final details of his bloodline activation potion.

As the sun dipped westward, Andrey arrived as promised, carrying a delicate wooden box.

"Finally done with today's Enforcer Squad tasks. I split open dozens of experimental logs for them… my arms are basically numb," he said with a tired sigh.

Aside from his knight training, Andrey often took on various grunt tasks from the Enforcer Squad to earn magic stone fragments.

He only got such internal work thanks to his connections to the Farwynd royal family. Apprentices without backing had to risk their lives doing dangerous fieldwork.

Despite his fatigue, the blond youth's eyes gleamed with excitement:

"This box holds the Lava Dewdrop, and some information you need to know."

Robb led him to the second-floor sitting room of the workshop. Valenwood quietly prepared hot tea for them, then withdrew without a sound.

Andrey carefully opened the wooden box and took out a small crystal vial.

Inside was a dark red liquid, with golden flecks flickering like miniature magma flows.

"Lava Dewdrop," Andrey said solemnly, lowering his voice: "It's the third-stage tempering potion of the Solar Breath, and the last secret potion I could sneak out of the royal stash."

Robb took the vial and felt a wave of heat radiate from the container. Even through the thick crystal, the potion's temperature was intense.

"What exactly is this?" Robb asked, gently swirling the vial to observe the flow.

Andrey glanced around, ensuring privacy, before replying:

"Lava Dewdrop isn't just for strengthening meridians like Scorching Essence Oil."

His tone grew grave: "Its true purpose is to help Bloodline Knights survive the post-awakening danger phase."

He pulled a roll of parchment from his coat and carefully unrolled it:

"This is something I secretly copied from the royal archives: After the bloodline awakening ritual, a Bloodline Knight enters a six-month growth surge. During that time, the awakened bloodline power increases rapidly, but so does the risk of mutation."

Robb frowned. "Mutation risk?"

"Yes," Andrey nodded firmly:

"If the awakened ancient bloodline can't be fully controlled by the body, it starts corrupting the host's flesh and mind, leading to irreversible mutation. That's why so many who attempt bloodline awakening end up monsters."

He pointed to the vial. "Lava Dewdrop stabilizes the awakened bloodline, letting it merge gradually with the host body, avoiding runaway mutations."

Robb finally understood the true purpose of the Solar Breath's third stage: "So it's actually a transition period to help knights master their awakened bloodline?"

"Exactly," Andrey nodded. "Even among royals, most Solar Breath inheritances stop at the third stage."

"What about the final stage, reaching full Solar Knight status?" Robb asked.

Andrey gave a wry smile and shook his head: "Sadly, as an unfavoured thirteenth prince, I don't have that part of the inheritance. From what I know, only the king and crown prince can access it."

Robb nodded thoughtfully.

That meant if he wanted to delve deeper into the technique someday, he might have to return to the Farwynd Kingdom.

"But even though I don't have the full version, I've heard rumors."

Andrey's eyes glinted mischievously:

"They say the complete Solar Breath not only helps control bloodline power, but also leads to a higher realm, becoming a Solar Knight, a being capable of channeling solar energy directly."

He lowered his voice: "Since the founding of Farwynd, only two knights have ever reached that level. And both appeared in the kingdom's darkest times. Their power was said to rival true wizards, maybe even some of the stronger ones."

Robb fell silent. If those rumors were true, perhaps once he became a High Apprentice, he'd really need to find time to meet the king.

"When do you plan to start the ritual?" he asked.

"As soon as your potion's ready," Andrey replied. "But the ritual's best done at noon, when solar energy peaks."

The two of them went over the details and preparations for the ritual and agreed to perform it early morning three days later.

After Andrey left, Robb returned to the lab and poured all his focus into the final tuning of the bloodline activation potion.

Now that he understood more about Bloodline Knight secrets, he had even clearer goals for the formula:

It must not only guide the awakening in the right direction, but also minimize the risk of post-awakening mutation.