Level 1 to Infinity: My Bloodline Is the Ultimate Cheat!

Ethan had to admit, the girl struck him as someone who was a little slow on the uptake.

As Blackie might have put it, her compassion was spilling over the edges. Clearly, she hadn't endured much real hardship. And yet… he couldn't bring himself to dislike her. He didn't agree with her way of doing things, but he respected her untainted, straightforward nature.

"Blackie, take them and go ahead," Ethan said, glancing at the cooling waves of molten rock around them. The fiercest eruptions had passed, and the stray stones still raining down no longer posed much of a threat. Without waiting for a reply, he sprinted after the woman in red.

"Boss! That's your sister-in-law! You've got to bring her back… in one piece!" Blackie shouted after him.

Ethan had just twisted midair to avoid a swirling pocket of superheated air when the words hit him. His step faltered, and he almost lost his balance.

Bring her back in one piece? What was that supposed to mean? Did Blackie think he was going to eat her?

For his part, Blackie was actually panicking. Ethan already had plenty of women orbiting around him, and most of them had feelings for him. The red-clad woman was the rare kind who matched Blackie's own kind—a Fire Qilin. The last thing Blackie wanted was for the Boss to steal her away.

If Ethan had known what was going through the Black Qilin's mind, he might have turned around right then and knocked some sense into him with a stick, never mind the Infernal Core or any other treasure. A man's reputation mattered.

Yes, Ethan appreciated beauty, but he wasn't the type to flirt indiscriminately—and even if he were, she was a Qilin. That was crossing a line in ways he didn't even want to contemplate.

Adjusting his stance, Ethan closed the distance. The woman—Reddie, as Blackie had called her, was heading straight for the volcano's heart.

"Let's move," Blackie urged Julian and Micah.

Micah dug into his dimensional pouch, his fingers brushing past a jumble of items until his eyes lit up. "No rush," he murmured, pulling out a stack of rune-etched scrolls sheets along with several small wooden disks. He flipped a couple of the disks in his hand. "If anything goes south, these can get us out in an instant."

Julian recognized the teleportation scrolls Micah had once mentioned. Ethan had killed their previous owner and recovered them for him. At least Micah had learned to keep some insurance now.

A low rumble rolled through the air.

By then, Reddie had reached a point directly above the crater, with Ethan closing in. The air here was blistering, the heat waves making the space shimmer. Ethan noticed something odd—buried in the roiling magma below, a massive chain was faintly visible.

Without hesitation, Reddie dove straight into the volcano. Ethan followed, a thin film of protective energy wrapping around him as the molten heat pressed in from all sides.

Strangely, once they were inside, the violent lava began to calm. It still glowed a deep, liquid red, but the surging force eased, the surface drawing back as though retreating.

The chain became clearer as the molten rock fell away. It was enormous, thick enough for several people to stand abreast, and unlike the surrounding heat, it radiated an unnatural chill that prickled the skin. That cold didn't belong here; it seemed to seep out of some other place entirely.

The chain disappeared into the depths below. Ethan couldn't guess how far it went—or what it was anchored to.

Reddie landed lightly on the chain, clutching the glowing orb in one hand. She frowned at it, hesitating.

"I'm warning you," Ethan called, stepping onto the chain behind her. "If you try to throw that down, I'll toss you after it."

Startled, she spun to face him. "I wasn't going to!" she protested.

"Then what?" he asked.

"I… want to go down. There's something down there I need." Her gaze drifted into the abyss below, her voice far away.

Ethan frowned. If she went down there, he wasn't following—not unless he had no choice. Blackie's parting words rang in his head: bring her back in one piece. If she insisted, he might have to knock her out and carry her back himself.

Before he could decide, the quiet lava then began to bubble again.

Closing his eyes, Ethan sent his senses downward. Heat flared as his perception touched the molten layer. He pushed harder, searching.

A moment later, he opened his eyes. "You don't need to go down. Whatever it is… it's coming up."

Reddie blinked at him, then looked where he was staring. Something enormous was rising through the lava.

"It's here," Ethan murmured, even as his own shock mounted.

"That's… that's my ancestor," Reddie whispered, voice trembling. "The Blazing Qilin… its remains."

They stood side by side on the chain as the colossal form pushed its way free of the magma. Reddie's breath hitched, her hands flying to her mouth to stifle a cry. She started forward.

"Easy," Ethan said, catching her arm. "We don't know what else is coming with it."

She flushed, unsure if she should shake him off or not. "Um… Boss—"

"My name's Ethan," he corrected with a faint smile.

"Ethan, please. I need your help. I have to get that sword." She pointed toward the corpse.

Only then did he see it—a fiery red longsword, floating near the remains, its color blending perfectly with the lava until now.

"I'll get it for you," Ethan promised. "But not yet."

"Why not?" she asked, confused.

"Because something else is still down there," he said. His voice was calm, but each word was deliberate. Earlier, he had sensed a strange presence below—deathly, yet carrying a pulse of something disturbingly alive.

The Blazing Qilin's body finally emerged in full, its massive head lifting clear of the molten surface. And there, clamped between its jaws, was a creature unlike anything Ethan had ever seen.