Knock knock
Ares whistled to himself as he stood outside Dirk and Li Li's house. They lived together now which was handy for Ares as he wanted to talk to both of them. He knew they were in too because he heard something crashing inside the house when he first arrived... Unless somebody had broken in of course but that was suicidal. If Li Li or Dirk found out about a home invasion neither of them were the type to be merciful. It wasn't uncommon for some disciples to raid houses of people they didn't like, sometimes they even orchestrated large mobs for it, but the houses here in this area were considered off limits due to who lived in them. Messing with anyone here was pretty much asking to be sent to an early grave.
"Hello." A highly unexpected appearance, in the form of Water Guy, appeared before Ares as he opened the door to Dirk and Li Li's house. Ares had no idea why this Guy was in there but he could safely guess that meant Lightning Guy was also present. Ares was able to tell the difference because he reflexively used Omniscience to figure it out otherwise he would have 100% gotten it wrong.
"Ah, hey, I'm looking for Dirk and Li Li. Can you ask them if I can come in?"
"Uhh... Sure... Just give us a minute..." Water Guy was looking mighty shifty so Ares grabbed his shoulder as he tried to turn around and walk away.
"Having fun in there? What are you lot up to in this sect exactly?" Ares mentioned the 'sect' because it was arguably his right now and so he was essentially demanding an answer not as a neighbour but as a sect master.
Sigh
"We're messing around with the Cracked Crown... It's been interesting to say the least but the transformation process is messy and whips up a powerful gust of turbulent wind. The house is in disarray right now..."
Ah, so that it. They're testing the functionality of combining two people to see how it works. The Cracked Crown was an interesting treasure. It worked flawlessly for the Lighter Duo but everyone else was on a time limit when wearing it. Two people could only be merged for a couple of minutes but the end result was probably quite fascinating. Combining Dirk with Li Li made a lot of sense, for starters they were a couple so it wasn't awkward in that sense. As for combining their abilities, a close range brawler with access to blood boosting magic was a strong contender for a good merging so Kazaz asking these two for help was a solid plan in testing the Crown. They already worked well together when Dirk parasitised and resided in Li Li's heart so this was a logical extension of that and presented a seamless alternative. Ares was curious about what sort of results the experiment found but they were likely done for the day and there would be plenty of other chances to find out. Conceptually it was rather interesting to think about all the combinations of cultivators in this sect but Ares would leave that up to the Kazaz prince to mess with for now.
Water Guy took the chance, as in Ares thinking to himself and getting distracted, to scurry away inside the house. He wasn't combined into the Kazaz prince but his instinctual fear of Ares from when he was took over and sent him packing. Ares was Kazaz' weakness, big time, and that mentality transferred over to the Duo somewhat when they were split. Actually, a fair bit transferred over and so the Duo were slightly more talkative than before. Still effectively nameless grunts that Ares forgot the existence of constantly but they made their presence known way more compared to previously at least. They were also far stronger now than ever before so the trip had been good for them and Dominus' hints paid off big time. They'd probably thank Dominus if he weren't stuck inside the menacing Ares who was like a gatekeeper of sorts and spooked the duo witless. Anyway, Water Guy returned with Lightning Guy in tow. The latter briefly nodded at Ares before running away with Water Guy and bolting off towards their own residence. Ares heard Li Li yell 'come in' from the open doorway so he guessed he had permission to enter and did precisely that.
Ares walked into the living room and found both Li Li and Dirk breathing hard, exhausted as they lay in their respective chairs. Combining must have been a draining experience but Ares imagined the power they controlled in the moment made up for it. The only times Ares experienced drawbacks in the cultivation world was generally when the thing that caused it was worth using. I.E, Canis stimulants made him tired, war aura had a backlash, and the Blade could break his wrist if he was careless and overused it. Point being, if these two were tired, they'd probably used their bodies to the utmost in some form or another and the power afforded to them during that time period would have been quite something. Ares wished he'd seen it, and he maybe even wanted to try merging with someone using the Cracked Crown at some point, but he was here for something else right now and that could wait. "Are you two ok? I can come back another time if now isn't convenient..."
"Ah... Don't worry about it... Just give us a minute or so to cool off." Li Li slumped further in her seat and looked like a dead fish with hollow eyes. Ares brought out two of Bahru's freshly made drinks and forked them over. Li Li and Dirk, blissfully unaware of what they were about swallow thanked Ares and leant their heads back...
...
"HOLY SHIT!" Dirk almost bounced off his seat as his body was reinvigorated to a near perfect state. He almost fell forward out of his chair and had to hold onto the armrest for dear life and Li Li wasn't faring much better. From 'never been so tired' to 'never been so energised' in a second flat, Bahru's work was impressive as always. The two looked at their drinks before gulping the rest down and sighing in satisfaction.
"Well, if you liked it, go pay Bahru's Bless Up a visit and you can get your fix there." Ares did a bit of friendly advocating and promoting. One can never have too many customers after all.
"Bless Up? Ah! That's where dad gets his alcohol from... The Li clan raves about it nonstop and has been championing that place ever since they first learned of it. I can see why, this stuff is addictive. The alcohol must be equally good." Li Li swirled her finger around the inside of her now empty glass. The Li clan pretty much universally liked their drinks, alcoholic or otherwise, so it was understandable Bahru had caught their attention already. Funnily enough, though, the same was partially true of the Nick clan.
"Bahru's a genius when it comes to pretty much anything involving 'liquid'." Dirk mused. "Sometimes we haemomancers consume rare bloods because they benefit us in various ways but the prep work is pretty hard even for us. It's usually better to work together with expert brewers to prepare blood as we can get the full benefits without losing out on efficacy that way. Our clan has a contract with Bahru already but I didn't know his drinks were this good. Might have to pay him a visit and stock up on refreshments, and not the blood bag kind this time."
"You won't regret it... Speaking of blood, though, there was actually something I wanted to talk about regarding my own. Actually, I want to speak to Poniard about it but I don't really have a connection to him other than through you so I was hoping you could refer me to him and let him know I want to talk."
"You want to speak to my father about blood? I mean that's fine and all but it's not like I can't answer any questions you might have. No need to bother him I don't think?"
"There will be, I assure you. Actually, in a similar vein, I also want to talk to Li Fray as well so I was hoping you could put in a good word for me too Li Li. Of course I come baring a gift!" Ares wasn't above bribery. He figured the two would be more willing to go along with his wishes once he showed what he had to offer but he happened to have something on him right now he didn't mind giving away so why not up his chances? It's not like he would ever use this treasure himself anyway and he planned on giving it to Li Li from the start as soon as he found it. Ares brought out the FlaReflection, the orange tinged mirror he also got from the Xasca trio of delinquents alongside the Targeter and the Elliot, and handed it over to Li Li. "Sorry I don't have anything for you Dirk but none of the treasures I came across were fitting." Dirk waved his hand as he wasn't bothered, he wasn't expecting anything to begin with. Plus Li Li getting stronger was more important than him getting stronger right now as he already had his heart to keep him in line with the other strong powerhouses of the sect.
Li Li fiddled with the FlaReflection for a while and learnt how to 'teleport' her punches, spawning them from remote locations distant from her current position. Even just with some basic testing this was shaping up to a be a really great treasure for her so now was as good a time as any to get started on the real discussion. Ares started with Dirk and floated some golden blood over to him which caught Dirk by surprise. Coloured blood was fairly rare and usually indicated a unique bloodline or an animal that had consumed some sort of mythical treasure. Even then, it was typically only a small part of the bloodstream dyed in a strange colour not all of it. As far as Dirk could tell, Ares' blood, from top to bottom, was all this golden colour now and that was enough to leave him intrigued. Dirk placed the blood on the tip of his finger and wrapped his own blood around it like a cocoon, closed his eyes, and delved deep into its hidden intricacies and secrets. Clearly this was going to take some time, as he'd stated earlier this process never usually took more than a minute or two and he'd already been at it for five, so Ares directed his attention to Li Li instead and began his business with her in earnest. He handed over a small chunk of roasted meat of some kind and asked her to try it and see how she felt after. Ares promised her he'd eaten the meat himself, and that it was safe, but refused to disclose what animal he'd taken it from...
While Li Li scrutinised the meat, before, during, and after testing it, Dirk came back to his senses and threw Ares' blood in his mouth. "This is... Astonishing stuff. Consuming it for permanent benefits... Is not possible in my current state. I don't think even my father could handle this blood right now even if he diluted it. It's a strong bloodline, stronger than anything our clan has ever dealt with, and could be massively beneficial to anyone with any kind of similar bloodline. Basically, anyone who uses pressure, anyone who has wolven or draconic ancestry, anyone who can use destruction magic... So pretty much only you and I guess Aejaz when he steals it, and anyone who specialises in blood manipulation will massively appreciate this blood. Realistically, haemomancers are the ones who stand to gain the most because this blood can improve their mastery, affiliation, control, power, and even be used as a weapon incomparable to anything else we own. There's no reason for me to ever use my own blood if I could have a sample of yours handy, it's just infinitely more potent. How the blood benefits each induvial haemomancer depends on the path they take and how they can improve themselves on that path. Those who like to support by hiding in other people's hearts will want the blood of rare parasites, mosquitos, blood related monsters, vampires, etc. Those who become blood beasts prefer wild, dangerous animals that can transform, etc. Basically specialised blood for specialised needs. Yours, however, works for pretty much anything. It's a giga ultra rare elixir, a one of a kind item drop that you'll never see again for as long as you live. The fact that you're an endless fountain of the stuff... I mean, I can't even begin to describe how much your existence could shift the balance of haemomancers across the universe. If you donated your blood regularly to haemomancers they would probably become a dominant force by the end of the decade, capable of founding their own country with sufficient military might to invade well established nations. By the end of the century, with this blood at their disposal, they could take over the world I'm pretty sure."
With a nod, Ares agreed. He already had an idea in his head that his blood would be something to fight and die for. A fundamental champions unique bloodline with hints of fundamental magic? That was only ever going to end one way, realistically. His heart was probably worth a massive fortune too but he wasn't planning on giving that away and so didn't bring it up. If he wanted to sell it later, he was a revenant so he technically could when his cultivation was able to regenerate a heart, he could likely buy an entire higher domain outright with it if not more than one. This was the kind of item Gods would trade for and look to purchase so the cost of it, even as it was now, was no joke. To those it would benefit they would be willing to pay more for it than even the Primordial Blade... But that was troublesome in its own way. Wolven cultivators were one thing, he was basically their God and so would probably be left well enough alone. Most wolven cultivators were revenants or feared and respected revenants so the chances of squabbling with a traitor were low. Not impossible, someone might want to evolve their wolven form and seek Ares' blood, but low. The real issue were dragons and draconic adjacent creatures, pressure wielders, and haemomancers... Ares would have to keep an eye open for these lot and make sure they weren't hunting him down when he least expected it. "I want to supply this blood to your clan."
"In exchange for close ties to the sect right?" Dirk already knew the plan. Ares had done his utmost to keep talented people around, himself included, so this wasn't a surprise. This was just Ares forming a border around the sect with strong, loyal cultivators. The Nick clan would agree. They weren't so ignorant they couldn't understand who Ares was and what he represented. The tides were shifting underneath their feet but they would move in tandem with it and get whatever they could out of this situation. Tying themselves at the hip to Ares was risky, sure, but the potential gains... This blood... It outweighed the risks and by a metric ton at that too. Taking on board Ares' grudges in exchange for his blood was something every single rational haemomancer would agree to in a heartbeat. Dirk and Poniard's fathers, forefathers, and ancestors of old would curse them from the grave if they dared refuse this. This was an avenue to become a legendary clan, wimping out would be pathetic. "I'll speak to my father. Can I take a blood sample? It will make the talks progress much faster."
"Sure." Ares handed over another few droplets which Dirk carefully stored in beakers designed for this sort of thing. Blood was his domain so it was only natural he carried around appropriate tools at all times. "And Li Li? You can sort of guess where I'm going with this right?"
Li Li sighed and gave a wry smile. If Dirk got Ares' blood then she must have gotten... "This is Garmr's flesh isn't it?" It was disgusting, Li Li had basically just eaten a chunk of Ares' leg, but at least this was Garmr meat and wolf meat in general wasn't that out there. Knowing Ares was Garmr did complicate Li Li's feelings on the matter but she knew it was for the best to approach this from a clear minded, neutral perspective and analyse it properly. So what if Ares tore of part of his own limb to feed to others and grew it back? All that meant was that he was a living sustainable food source! And, to be honest... "I can't deny it, this meat is nutritious and pretty much a rare resource in and of itself." The raw energy and power flowing through Garmr could be ingested by others and body cultivators, in particular, would be able to refine themselves. Resources typically stopped having an effect at some point but that was relative to the quality of the resource compared to the quality of the consumer. A cultivator becoming strong enough that Garmr's flesh no longer benefitted them was pretty unthinkable and, even then, Ares could just cultivate some more, make Garmr stronger, and then provide an even higher quality of meat. Sure cultivating with this meat would be hard, Li Li was just checking it right now and hadn't actually made full use of it, but for the Li clan as a whole this could revolutionise their entire method of improvement. If they could stomach eating Ares, and deal with the immense pain that would follow, their future would look brighter than ever. Both the Nick and Li clans stood to gain to a degree that would make others endlessly jealous and all they had to do was pledge allegiance to Ares. He'd probably expect an oath, just to make sure there wasn't any risk of a broken contract, but it was so very worth it. As long as Ares kept cultivating the clans following him would never run out of mythical quality resources... Plus Ares was still just developing his foundations right now, his bloodline and physical Garmr form could be improved further and developed more. Every resource he consumed only made him more and more appealing in the eyes of these two clans as he would only keep becoming a rarer and rarer specimen each and every time. It was actually in their best interest to give him all their rare resources and treasures and search high and low for more to hand over. "I'll talk to Fray."
Ares handed over another sample of flesh and was glad things went as planned. "As a side note, does the meat taste good do you think? It had an interesting flavour and I think I can make it into a dish worth selling for a high price if money ever becomes an issue." Ares was hesitant to sell such a rare meat but if the sect was in dire straights he would have a secret measure up his sleeve to save the day! Though, granted, he had multiple options and wouldn't have to resort to this immediately. More than anything, really, he was just curious about it as a chef. Mutated revenant meat was an ingredient to drool over but knowing he had to be careful in handing it out honestly made Ares feel a little sad... Worse still, he eventually managed to get Li Li to admit it tasted nice which only made him feel terrible because he couldn't use it as an ingredient whenever he wasn't cooking for family! What a waste of good, hearty meat... Ares truly had no qualms with cutting off his own body parts but maybe that was a sign he was becoming more and more like a revenant with each passing day... "Alright, I'll take my leave then. Let me know when your patriarchs are good to see me. I shouldn't be so swamped I can't be flexible with my schedule going forward." Ares bid the two goodbye and left the building, walked over back to his own house, and went inside. Aejaz, Trixie, Appa, and Allie were all in the living room now too and it seemed Aejaz was being berated heavily by his partners for the succubus incident... If he had just listened to Ares and gone down the other corridor he could have escaped his current fate but, alas, right now he was on trials for poor conduct and letting his guard down. He tried to shift blame to Ares who could have saved him sooner but that wasn't going to dig him out of his current hole and so he was being judged harshly in the courtroom of public opinion. It didn't help that the succubus was still hanging around the house either so it seemed like he wasn't permitted to speak to her without a supervisor around to ensure modest behaviour... Ares could only chuckle at his brother's comeuppance though... Really... He was probably also about to get his own...