WAY OF AN OMEGA

41 - Baptism

The morning came and the birds were singing freely in the courtyard.

A delicate looking youth came into the patio and sat where the sunlight touched the ground the most. His silver-white hair lustered as if they were happily dancing in the sunlight. The milky white skin of the youth gave out a gentle aura as if it was ignoring the sunlight directed to it. 

"I have overslept..." The youth muttered to himself as he looks at the sky.

The youth inhaled a deep breath and was about to close his eyes when the door to the patio opened and a woman walked out.

"How many times do I need to tell you not to skip breakfast?!" The woman reprimanded.

"Aaaaahh! Elder Sister Terra! I'm sorry, It feels like a waste to not absorb the morning sunlight..." Yulrir naturally replied in a soft manner.

"You haven't eaten anything yet since you got back from the tournament yesterday and slept all day and just finally woke up right now at 8 AM. You've been sleeping for almost 15 hours and you dare not to eat?!" Terra shouted out in a concerned tone.

Yulrir rubbed the back of his head and smiled brightly towards Terra. "Aiyooo... I was dead tired..." 

Terra patted Yulrir's head and messed his hair. She then walked back inside the quarters. "The breakfast is long ready. I was about to wake you up if you didn't. Let's eat then afterward, we'll talk about your meridians baptism." Terra added in a gleeful tone.

Yulrir's two golden eyes twinkled and walked excitedly inside following Terra's invitation. 

He was hailed as the champion of the Interacademic Tournament this year and that news alone is enough to shake the entire academy. Probably even if an outsider were to know about this news, their eyes will bulge out and will even not believe it. A beta claiming the top position in a tournament and on top of that a junior? It sounded like a myth. What gave another headache for the master and disciple is the sudden people trying to rope Yulrir as their companion even the other elders who had their own disciples would like to arrange Yulrir as their disciple's companion. Yulrir both got the charm and prowess. This made Theo exert more effort to threaten the others what he said 'trying hards'. Fortunately, with the Headmaster's and the Tower Lord's protection, Yulrir is very likely safe from these wolves. 

The reward for the Tournament is pretty handsome. The 3 drops of Ancient Dragon Blood Essence is enough for Yulrir to baptize his body and attempt to open his qi meridians. This will help him attain a body that is suitable for absorbing qi so he can break further into his warrior cultivation rank. 

Other than the Blood Essences, the academy will allow Yulrir to enter their Dragon Pavillion which is akin to a skill library and will let Yulrir pick 2 skills without any restriction. This alone is beneficial for any junior cultivators like him. Terra instructed her to undergo body baptism first before going to pavilion and look for skills. Yulrir naturally understood that there's no way for the current him to use qi and utilize the skill.

"Go eat a lot! Afterwards, we'll prepare your baptism." Terra instructed solemnly.

"Mhhmmm! I love Elder sister's cooking as usual!" Yulrir chirped in happily.

Terra nodded with a smile.

After the duo took the breakfast, Terra had lead Yulrir to the last floor of the Dragon Tower and sealed the entire area. When everything was set, Terra had nodded in satisfaction and turned her attention back to Yulrir.

"Listen--- during the baptism process, you'll be undergoing a lot of pain. The essence of the dragon that you'll intake will attack your body and will forcefully open your qi meridians. This process will not provide a hundred percent success and may harm your body when the baptism fails." Terra paused for a while and observed Yulrir's reaction.

Yulrir gripped his fist and looked up earnestly to Terra. 

"If omegas can attain warrior meridians easily, that means, many of my fellow omegas will surely not be looked down. It's a gamble and since I am already at the door, might as well get in." Yulrir said with a determined face.

Terra sighed and rubbed Yulrir's head in the process. She always knew how strong her disciple's will is.

"Okay then... The baptism process may take days or even weeks. The reconstruction of the body takes time." Terra waved her hand and a  cauldron as big as a regular bathtub appeared. The cauldron is filled with hot water which makes the area around it misty.

Terra took out the bottle with 3 drops of Dragon Blood and poured a drop of it on a cauldron. The cauldron trembled and a mist appeared inside it. A distinct dragon roar could be heard from the inside. Terra took out several medicinal herbs like the blood ginseng and a hundred-year-old Dragon fruit and put it in the cauldron. She spent a lot in order to get these herbs.  She has originally been saving these herbs for her little brother but she knew that what matters for now is her disciple's baptism.  She can find these herbs again in the future as long as she's willing. She didn't bat an eye and decisively throw the medicinal herbs one after the other.

It is like a witchcraft as Terra continued to mumble some words making the cauldron tremble from time to time.

Yulrir was awed to the scene as he patiently observes what was his master is doing. The cauldron projects a dragon silhouette which wails from time to time making the atmosphere more intense. The dragon looked like it was being restrained.

Terra took a deep breath and turned to look at Yulrir.

"Okay, it's your turn... Drink the remaining 2 drops of blood essence and prepare to dip yourself inside the cauldron." Terra added solemnly.

Yulrir took a deep breath and drank the blood in one go. Yulrir trembled as the blood touches his throat. Terra reached to support Yulrir's back but to her surprise, Yulrir's face remained calm. 

"I'll jump in now..." Yulrir mumbled softly.

Terra nodded and gave out a bitter smile. She knew that the baptism process isn't as simple as it is because if it was that simple, many of omegas including his brother will be able to get a body capable of cultivation. Terra silently watched as her disciple had jumped into the boiling cauldron. The cauldron once again trembled and gave out a 'hong' sound.

The misty dragon inside the cauldron had begun giving off aggressive roars seemingly attacking the walls of the cauldron.

Terra activated her spatial magic and gave the cauldron a support to contain the dragon mist. Yulrir had long jumped inside the cauldron and he activated his Metal Body to help lessen the impact of the boiling water. Inside him, he can sense that a wild essence was circulating from top to bottom of his body. He can feel every blood vessels of him being boiled and an excruciating heat covers his body.

Yulrir bit his lip and ground his teeth as he tried to circulate the essence from the inside of him and prevent it to run wild any further. His milky white skin is now getting red like an apple. 

Terra gripped her sleeve as she observed her disciple undergo the painful process.

"You can do it, my child..." Terra helplessly mumbled to herself. During this time, she had no way to help her disciple as this baptism process is like a heaven's trial that should be taken alone.

Yulrir let out a painful howl as his metal body had crumbled and the water seems like forcing their way into his pores. The dragon's mist had stopped attacking the walls of the cauldron and went to attack Yulrir's body instead.

Yulrir's cloth had dissolved into nothing and like a dragon eating its prey, the water and the mist had covered Yulrir's entire being.

Yulrir muffled a scream and began to cough out blood.

"A-attacking from the inside and outside of my body..." Yulrir stopped resisting as he curled up in the cauldron.

His consciousness drifted away.