The Fallen System: Gaining Bloodlines of the Fallen-Chapter 50: Prisoners

Cairen had read about many beasts and different creatures. Some formed from spiritual energy itself, some gifted with consciousness and even speech. Some, according to the records, possessed ancient contracts with entire kingdoms.

Cairen then expanded his consciousness to the deepest part of the castle. He could feel a terrible presence there. He thought about asking Princess Ling but didn’t, and now he already imagined what that beast was.

Definitely, the guardian beast of the kingdom probably possessed some kind of contract with the Rhyne kingdom.

He also found a tome about other races.

Humanoid races with draconic bloodlines that lived beyond the continent’s territory.

Beings that inhabited the skies and were immune to earthly Qi.

And even an almost extinct race of energy devourers that had nearly destroyed the balance of the continents millennia ago.

With each discovery, Cairen’s view of the world expanded.

He finally understood the scale of the place he was in.

It wasn’t just a kingdom. It was an entire continent ruled by forces that had been fighting for centuries, millennia, for supremacy and resources. And the War Academy was now one of the forces that fueled this chaos, at least in one part of the continent.

He remained in the library without noticing for three entire days. Learning about absolutely everything he considered necessary. With his soul strength and spiritual sense, reading was absurdly faster than for an ordinary person.

Not only that, but he also wouldn’t forget any of the information he read. On that day, while reading, someone arrived at the lower part of the library, making Cairen stop his intensive study.

Cairen realized who it was before they even arrived, feeling the one connected to him by the bond approaching, not too fast, not too slow.

Cairen watched Ling cross the silent hall of the underground library, a tray balanced in her hands. Torchlight reflected off her silver hair, creating a soft glow as the princess walked between ancient shelves.

She stopped in front of him and placed the tray on the table.

"You’re overdoing it," she said suddenly, simply but firmly.

"Even with your cultivation, you still need to eat. Going three days without stopping will slow you down, not strengthen you."

Cairen blinked a few times. He hadn’t expected her to come as well. Much less with food.

"Thank you," he murmured in response, his voice low but sincere.

Ling simply nodded and, without saying anything else, walked to the opposite table.

She sat and opened three books at once, then began reading with the same concentration Cairen had maintained in the past days.

Cairen let out a light sigh. At least he wouldn’t be the only one obsessed with information there anymore.

In the following days, the scene repeated itself countless times.

He read in absolute silence, immersed in scrolls about geography, known bloodlines, ancient wars, and politics between kingdoms.

Ling, on the other side of the room, dove into studies on historical battles, records of ancient academy tests, and maps.

She didn’t talk much. She knew that was important to Cairen, so she left him completely free.

Her presence also reminded Cairen of something.

They were preparing to step into a completely competitive place.

For an entire week, both remained in the library, barely leaving.

Cairen absorbed each line of knowledge with absurd speed. A result of the strength of his soul and his expanded spiritual sense.

On the eighth day, however, he closed the last book with a long sigh.

"I believe that’s enough," he murmured.

His voice echoed between the silent shelves.

Ling lifted her gaze for a moment, evaluating him, then nodded slightly, as if in agreement. Then she returned to her reading.

Cairen organized everything he had studied and realized something important.

Now he understood the basics of this world. Enough to no longer be an ignorant outsider dropped into a hostile world.

In fact, he now knew more than many born into this world.

The library of the Rhyne kingdom contained knowledge accumulated over hundreds of years, and he had absorbed most of it.

When he left the lower level, he climbed the stairs slowly. The gray-robed elder was still sitting in the same position as before, motionless, as if he were part of the furniture.

Cairen made a slight bow. A gesture of thanks.

The old man didn’t respond, but a small movement at the corner of his mouth suggested approval.

Cairen then returned to his room when the sun was already beginning to set.

The rain from previous days had disappeared, replaced by a golden sky that lit the corridor.

Now only one week remained before they departed for the War Academy.

He sat on the bed and let his body sink into the soft mattress.

He thought.

And the more he thought, the clearer the truth became.

Strength meant everything.

Without strength in this place, you were nothing.

He knew that. He had always known. Both in his old world and this one.

And despite being in the 4th stage of the Qi Accumulation realm, that level was ridiculously low compared to the main geniuses of the thirty kingdoms.

Even if he could rely on his bloodline abilities, on his soul strength, he didn’t like being inferior to others in that regard.

Ling was already in the Qi Liberation realm. Other participants would probably be at least in the seventh or eighth stage of the Accumulation realm.

Perhaps some even higher.

Cairen frowned.

He needed to advance more.

He wanted to be, at minimum, in the later stages of Accumulation before the trip. But cultivating that fast...

Was impossible.

Or... maybe not.

A thought cut through him like a blade.

"The prisoners..."

Those condemned to death in the castle. The ones he had asked the princess about before leaving for the mountain range.

He hadn’t thought much about it since, but now, knowing what awaited him at the academy... it became a real possibility in his mind.

Perhaps the only one. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

He remained still.

The silence in the room seemed to grow even heavier.

The world he had studied for an entire week was cruel. Direct. Merciless.

And Cairen knew. He had always known. That to survive and grow stronger, many didn’t care about morality at all.

It was a game of power.

’Then why am I hesitating?’

The thought echoed in his mind.

It wasn’t as if he were a good person. He had already killed during the inheritance. He had already used lives to strengthen himself.

And, if he were being honest with himself...

He didn’t feel guilt.

It was necessary.

"This world doesn’t accept the indecisive," he murmured.

"It doesn’t accept the weak."

He took a deep breath.

The prisoners were condemned. Dead either way.

And he needed strength. He needed to grow. He needed to survive in this world.

It wasn’t a matter of choice, but of necessity.

Cairen stood up, his eyes completely dark, like bottomless pits.

The decision was made. And he wouldn’t go back on it.

He left the room, his silent steps echoing through the empty corridor as the moonlight appeared through the windows.

He walked toward Ling’s room, where he felt the bond strongest.

He needed authorization for this.

Cairen inhaled deeply and then knocked on the door.