CHAPTER 166: INTENSE BLOODLUST AND EVOLVING TRAIT (PART 1)

"Why is she calling me to New Port City?" Azrael pondered as his hover car glided swiftly toward the location Elyara had sent him.

Before leaving, he had asked her if she had encountered any trouble, but she told him that she and Luo Bingqing had discovered something and needed his help.

’Since both of them can’t handle the issue even though they are together, then it’s most likely something related to an Epic Level warrior.’

New Port City was more than five hundred kilometers away from his current location. However, with the help of the hover car, it didn’t take him long to draw closer to it.

As he neared the city, he could already see the vast ocean in the distance. Because the sky on Planet Fras was a light purple hue, the sea wasn’t blue but lavender in color, appearing extremely beautiful as it stretched out beyond the city.

The cold sea breeze drifted inland, carrying with it the distinct salty scent of the ocean.

Since New Port was a coastal city, it served as a major trade hub. As a result, even though many people had gone missing over the last month, the streets of the city were still bustling with activity.

Crowds of people filled the marketplace, and Azrael could see many ocean specialties—fish, crabs, and other sea creatures being sold everywhere.

Elyara had asked him to meet her at one of the hotels in the city, and soon, his hover car arrived at the designated location.

After parking it in the lot, he sent a message to Elyara, informing her of his arrival. She quickly responded with the room number she was in.

Azrael made his way through the hotel, soon arriving at her room.

He knocked on the door, and Elyara, still in her human form opened it a moment later.

Even before stepping inside, Azrael could sense Luo Bingqing’s presence within the room.

"What’s the matter?" He asked as he entered.

"I found a member of the Transcendent Organization," Elyara replied, closing the door behind him before following him into the living room, where Luo Bingqing sat with his eyes closed, as if meditating.

Azrael observed Luo Bingqing for a few seconds before speaking.

"Did that Epic Level warrior of the Transcendent Organization come to New Port from Lorato City?"

Elyara froze in her tracks and stared at Azrael in shock, her eyes widening as though to say: How did you know?

Azrael caught her expression from the corner of his eye and confirmed his deduction.

After receiving her message, he had already considered the most likely reason she called him.

Joseph had told him earlier that there was an Epic Level warrior from the Transcendent Organization in Lorato City. Elyara had gone to that same city in the morning, yet now she was calling him to New Port.

The only explanation was that she had tracked that very warrior, who had now relocated to New Port city for some reason.

What intrigued Azrael, however, was how she had found out about that Epic Level warrior in the first place. If he hadn’t captured Joseph, even he wouldn’t have known about the man’s existence.

"How did you find out about that Epic Level warrior?" Elyara finally asked, unable to contain her curiosity when Azrael remained silent.

"I caught a small fry of the Transcendent Organization before coming here. He told me a few things," Azrael replied calmly.

’Caught a small fry...’ Elyara was once again stunned. Not only had Azrael managed to apprehend someone from the Transcendent Organization in such a short amount of time, but he had also extracted useful information despite the powerful curse placed on their members.

Although she wanted to ask how he managed to bypass the curse, she knew Azrael wouldn’t answer such questions. So, she kept silent and simply nodded.

"You are right," Elyara admitted. "I discovered an Epic Level warrior of the Transcendent Organization in Lorato City, and now he’s here in New Port City."

Azrael acknowledged her words with a nod.

"What is he doing?" He asked, gesturing toward Luo Bingqing.

"He is monitoring that Epic Level warrior."

"Monitoring him?" Azrael raised an eyebrow.

He couldn’t sense any fluctuations of cosmic energy or any other type of energy coming from Luo Bingqing.

That meant he wasn’t using a skill, an Essentia Art, or anything similar to track the man.

’If there are no energy fluctuations, then what he is using must either be tied to the Rune he has embedded... or his Trait.’

Generally, when a person used the power of their embedded Rune, there would always be energy fluctuations.

However, if the Rune granted passive abilities, then those abilities would function without releasing any detectable energy.

For example, Azrael’s own Rune of Spirit had three effects:

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---) Rune of Spirit

1. Upon embedding, it grants the wielder a second consciousness that is half as powerful as the original. The original and secondary consciousness can think and act independently.

2. It protects the wielder from one spiritual attack per day, as long as the attacker is not more than two ranks higher.

3. If the wielder is struck by a powerful spiritual attack that stuns their original consciousness, the second consciousness can take over the body to prevent complete incapacitation.

====

All three of these effects were passive. Azrael didn’t need to expend energy to activate them, which meant he gave off no energy fluctuations while using them.

But there were also Runes that carried both passive and active effects, and activating the latter would cause detectable fluctuations.

For example, a Rune in his status window’s shop, The Rune of Nightfall had one passive and one active effect.

Its passive effect slightly increased the user’s stats at night, boosting their power considerably during nighttime.

Its active effect, however, allowed the user to conceal their presence and become invisible for a set period. But when activated, the Rune would emit fluctuations of dark energy, which sensitive individuals could detect.

That was why Azrael immediately concluded that if Luo Bingqing was indeed monitoring someone without emitting fluctuations, then it had to be either due to his Rune’s passive ability or his Trait—since Traits also did not release detectable energy when used.

Azrael studied Luo Bingqing in silence for a few seconds before asking.

"You two want to capture this Epic Level warrior?"

"Yes," Elyara nodded. "If we capture him, we might be able to uncover the location of their hideout."

Azrael remained silent at her words as he had already obtained a clue that their hideout was somewhere in Rolivia Forest.

"In fact," Elyara continued, "While monitoring him, Luo Bingqing overheard that their hideout is protected by a powerful formation. That’s why the security forces have been unable to find it, even with their advanced monitoring systems. However, this man carries a token that can bypass the formation and allow entry."

’A formation...’ Azrael noted mentally. This was information Joseph hadn’t known, so he made a mental note to treat it as a critical discovery.

At the same time, another thought crossed his mind.

’Did Elyara use her Trait to locate that Epic Level warrior?’

He recalled the aspect of Elyara’s Trait he had discovered back on the spaceship, and his eyes narrowed.

’If she really tracked him with the help of her Trait, then it might be possible for us to locate their hideout in Rolivia Forest without much difficulty.’

After a moment of thought, Azrael turned to Elyara and said.

"I already know their hideout is in Rolivia Forest. But we may need to rely on your Trait to pinpoint its exact location."