As consciousness returned to Ambrose, his Mind’s Eye ability activated automatically, presenting him with Hualing’s transford status:
[Na: Sun Hualing???]
[Level: C]
[Talent: Blood Knight (Transcendent)]
[Health: 6000/6000]
[Mana: 400/400]
[Strength: 62]
[Stamina: 79]
[Agility: 60]
[Blood Knight’s Oath](Intrinsic) - A profound talent born from absolute loyalty and sacrifice, manifesting in those who have offered their life and blood to their lord. This covenant grants powerful abilities fueled by blood, while binding the knight’s existence to their lord’s life force. (Subskills: [Lord’s Shield](S), [Blood Communion](S), [Crimson Blade](A), [Blood Armor](B), [Vitality Drain](B), [Blood Forge](B))
Ambrose’s eyes widened as he processed the information before him. A Transcendent-level talent? Such a rare talent, the only people that he knew had such a talent were—only his parents, Friedrich and Victoria Rothschild. The fact that Hualing had awakened such a powerful talent was shocking enough, but the nature of the talent itself sent a chill down his spine. "Blood Knight’s Oath" seed perfectly aligned with Hualing’s devoted personality, yet sothing about it felt deeply unsettling.
Studying her stats more closely, Ambrose noticed significant improvents across the board. Each parater had increased by roughly half their original values, with her stamina showing the most dramatic change, nearly doubling. This revelation challenged his previous assessnt of Hualing as a berserker-type fighter—her stat distribution now suggested she was more suited for a defensive, tank-like role.
However, what truly caught his attention was the peculiar question mark in her na display. With his ntal strength now fully recovered, he channeled more power into his Mind’s Eye ability, causing the display to shift:
[Na: Sun Hualing/Sun Minghua]
"Minghua?" The na echoed in his thoughts, though he kept silent. The shared surna and similar given nas suggested a possible family connection. Could this be a case of possession by a sibling? But as he studied her current deanor—calm and collected rather than displaying Hualing’s characteristic enthusiasm—he began to form another theory.
Drawing upon his extensive knowledge of novels (his primary source of worldly information during his bedridden years), Ambrose recalled countless stories where protagonists received inheritances from powerful ancestral spirits. Following this line of thought, he began scrutinizing Hualing’s form more intently, searching for the telltale ring or artifact that typically housed such ancient souls.
"Young Master?" Minghua’s voice interrupted his examination, having noticed his intense scrutiny. Internally, she fought down a wave of panic. "Have I been found out?" she wondered, quickly reassuring herself, "It can’t be! I’m also Hualing—how could I fail to imitate myself perfectly?"
Realizing he’d been caught staring, Ambrose cleared his throat awkwardly. "It’s nothing," he muttered, sowhat embarrassed at finding no mysterious ring. Perhaps he’d let his novel-influenced imagination run wild again. The thought reminded him that once this crisis ended, he should probably expand his reading material beyond fiction.
His self-reflection was cut short as his enhanced perception caught movent in his peripheral vision—the Spider Queen was bearing down on ihua. Without hesitation, he instructed Hualing to assist, but noticed her obvious reluctance.
Minghua’s internal struggle played across her features. After their talent’s transformation, she couldn’t risk letting Ambrose out of her sight—their lives were now literally bound together. "B-but what will happen to the young master if I leave?" she protested, channeling Hualing’s characteristic concern.
"This ancestor is remarkably good at imitating her descendant," Ambrose mused, amused by what he assud was thod acting. "The tree really doesn’t fall far from the apple—or is it the other way around?" Aloud, he assured her, "Just go, there’s no one else here. What could possibly happen?"
Though Minghua complied, she kept glancing back as she moved toward the battle, maintaining visual contact with Ambrose. He responded with encouraging waves and smiled, confident in what he believed to be an ancient expert’s abilities. "Surely an ancestral spirit can handle a re level gap," he reasoned, turning his attention to Marcus’s prone form.
With Minghua engaged in combat, Ambrose began making his way toward his injured companion. His mother’s paranoid preparation had left his spatial ring well-stocked with dical supplies—nearly half its capacity dedicated to various healing items. As he approached Marcus, a wry smile crossed his face. "After all the embarrassnt I went through for you," he muttered, "how could I possibly let you die so easily?"
…
Liu ihua watched with bated breath as the Spider Queen’s massive limb descended toward her. "Any day now," she thought grimly, feeling her active skills flickering and dying one by one as her depleted mana pool finally ran dry. The monster’s appendage was re inches from her face when a blur of motion intercepted the attack.
Minghua had arrived just in ti, deflecting the deadly strike with seemingly casual ease. Before the Spider Queen could recover its balance, she followed through with a devastating kick that sent the massive creature flying several ters backward, its chitinous body crashing through the underbrush.
Relief flooded through ihua’s body, her legs finally giving out as she slumped to the ground. Despite having anticipated this rescue, the close call had left her heart racing—death had been a little too close for comfort. She let herself fall backward, lying flat on the forest floor as she struggled to catch her breath, her chest heaving with each desperate gulp of air.
Turning her head slightly, she caught sight of Ambrose administering treatnt to Marcus in the distance. The knowledge that both of them were safe finally allowed the tension to leave her body. With her final reserves of strength depleted and her task complete, she surrendered to the exhaustion pulling at her consciousness, her eyes drifting closed as she passed out.
The Spider Queen, anwhile, struggled to right itself after the unexpected attack. As it regained its footing, its internal assessnt registered a surprising two percent drop in its HP from that single strike—a shocking amount of damage from soone it had previously deed insignificant. Its many eyes focused on Minghua with newfound wariness.
Minghua responded by extending her arm, summoning her power. Blood materialized above her palm, defying gravity as it stretched and shaped itself. The crimson liquid condensed and hardened, forming a perfectly crafted katana that caught the filtered sunlight with an ominous gleam.
"Ti for round two," she declared, her voice carrying a quiet confidence as she raised her blood-forged blade and charged at the monster, closing the distance with frightening speed.
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