Chapter 510: Blood Clan Bounty, Council Meeting, Duke Charles's Inquiry |
“Who? Who dares to provoke…”
Deep within the Gold-rank Star Tracks.
A muffled voice echoed from the dark underground.
The world trembled. The earth quaked.
Even the Gold Star Tracks shuddered slightly due to this entity's awakening and rage.
Other beings at Gold-rank all sensed the disturbance in the Star Tracks, their gazes crossing countless worlds to converge on the Blood Clan's direction.
“What happened? Wasn't he in deep sleep, preparing for another breakthrough? Why did he suddenly awaken?”
Soon, these entities all issued orders, mobilizing every resource to gather intelligence on the Blood Clan.
And every Blood Clan member, regardless of strength or rank.
“Someone has intruded into our clan's Bloodline River… Find him…”
The Blood Clan was horrified…
The Blood Clan Council was immediately convened.
Seventy-two Council Elders appeared in a void, where a massive conference table stood.
At the head of the table were five high-backed ducal thrones.
Below the dukes were twenty-two marquess seats.
At the very bottom were forty-five count seats.
This was the complete structure of the Blood Clan's Silver-rank Council.
Moon Shadow's Breath sat among the Blood Clan Counts, her gaze fixed on those five seats at the table's head.
A flicker of intense longing flashed in her eyes.
The flame of ambition ignited in her heart.
“The ducal throne! That's where I'll be sitting one day…”
This was Xiao Xi's first Council meeting since advancing to Silver-rank, and she felt immense excitement.
She was also the first to answer the meeting's summons and manifest her projection.
Other Council members in their seats manifested their forms one by one.
Just a few breaths passed.
All Council members had arrived, but Xiao Xi noticed that diagonally across from her, one seat remained empty.
Clang, clang, clang—
Three clear chimes rang out, and everyone fell silent, their eyes turning to those five seats at the head.
The next moment, it felt as if the entire void was shrouded in shadow. Five dark silhouettes descended from above, landing on the five high-backed ducal thrones.
They gradually solidified into five figures.
These were the five strongest voices of power among the Blood Clan at Silver-rank.
The Newborn Faction's leader—Duke Yegu.
The Old Guard Faction's leader—Duke Charles.
The Integration Faction's leader—Duke Manguinan.
The Philosophical Faction's leader—Duke Anding.
The Ideological Faction's leader—Duchess Rosmarin.
Xiao Xi watched the five dukes, especially the last one, Duchess Rosmarin, her eyes burning with fervor.
These five dukes each represented a faction.
But in reality, true control over discourse rested with the three major factions: the Newborn Faction, the Old Guard Faction, and the Integration Faction.
They were the strongest, so naturally they held the most influence.
The Philosophical Faction was a group of extremely rational and cold individuals who did not engage in political struggles nor cared about conflicts between the Blood Clan and other forces.
They were obsessed only with the Blood Clan itself. They explored the essence of the Blood Clan and the mysteries of the soul, desperate to unravel the 'curse' in the Blood Clan's bloodline energy tides.
They wanted sunlight to no longer be the Blood Clan's bane.
To study these things, they even secretly researched terrifying forbidden knowledge.
As a result, even the three major factions maintained a necessary respect for the Philosophical Faction.
As for the Ideological Faction, calling it a single faction was not quite accurate. More precisely, it was a coalition of all minor factions.
And it was precisely because of Duchess Rosmarin's existence that other minor factions, such as the Blood Faith Faction, the Vegetarian Faction, and the Reform Faction, managed to barely survive.
But it was undeniable that as one of the five Silver-rank dukes.
Duchess Rosmarin's strength was not to be underestimated.
And she was also the only female duke among the five.
Naturally, she became the goal for countless female vampires.
Xiao Xi felt the same.
“Since everyone is here, let's begin!”
Duke Yegu, as the strongest among the five dukes and the leader of the 'Newborn Faction,' started presiding over the meeting.
“The reason for summoning you all today, I believe everyone is well aware.” Duke Yegu's cold gaze swept over the assembly.
His eyes lingered for half a second on that single empty seat.
Then he continued:
“The Bloodline River, which we concealed within the Spiritual Dimension, has been invaded. The Council will immediately issue a bounty, offering a high reward for any useful clues…”
“Through the spiritual imprints you all have embedded in the Bloodline River, you should have sensed the previous tremor. Since the intruder managed to bypass everyone's perception, including ours, his strength cannot be lacking. At the very least, he is on par with the five of us.”
“If you find any clues, do not act rashly. Notify us immediately.”
As Duke Yegu finished speaking, the leader of the Old Guard Faction, Duke Charles, revealed a faint smile on his rigid face.
“That person didn't just bypass our perception so easily. He even managed to escape from Archduke Gute. So you'd all better take Duke Yegu's words to heart…”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone in the Council wore expressions of sheer disbelief.
Above a Blood Clan duke was the archduke.
Archdukes were Gold-rank existences, beings who had already completed transcendence and touched greatness.
And even such an existence couldn't stop the intruder.
What level of strength did that infiltrator actually possess? Silver-rank peak… or Gold-rank?
This question flashed through everyone's mind.
But Duke Charles shifted the topic, looking at Duke Yegu.
“Duke Yegu, who do you think this infiltrator is?”
“Duke Charles, how would I know?”
Duke Yegu's eyes narrowed slightly. He could hear the hostility in the other's words.
But Duke Charles revealed a mysterious smile.
His gaze left Duke Yegu and fixed on a woman sitting in the counts' area.
The others naturally followed his gaze.
Xiao Xi, who had been lost in thought, was startled to find everyone's eyes on her.
“This must be our little hero, Count Moon Shadow's Breath, am I right?”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xi rose and bowed to Duke Charles.
“Honorable Duke Charles, I am Moon Shadow's Breath.”
Duke Yegu tapped his finger on the table, his brow slightly furrowed.
He couldn't quite figure out Duke Charles's intentions.
Moon Shadow's Breath was someone he had promoted from Bronze-rank—she was his person.
What was he trying to do?
But Duke Charles's next words caught him off guard.
“I've heard a rumor lately. They say you've mastered the brewing method for Legendary Blood Brew. Is that true?”
At this, Moon Shadow's Breath was stunned.
Duke Yegu was also stunned.
To be precise, everyone except Duke Charles was stunned.
They all stared at Xiao Xi in disbelief.
Legendary Blood Brew?
Were they sure she could make that?
Although many Blood Brew recipes had been scattered during the ancient battle between the Blood Duke and the Lord of Dawn.
What had been scattered, however, were only recipes for Ordinary Blood Brew, at most Excellent-tier.
Even the Council members themselves mostly used Rare-tier Blood Brew on a daily basis—and that was after the Blood Clan had improved the formula themselves.
Epic Blood Brew was already extremely rare.
Occasionally, a bottle or two would appear, and that was considered a stroke of luck.
Perhaps only the five dukes had the ability to brew Epic Blood Brew consistently.
Let alone Legendary-tier.
Duke Yegu's gaze deepened as he looked at Xiao Xi.
He had no idea that Moon Shadow's Breath had brewed Legendary Blood Brew. Was it even possible?
But he didn't speak up immediately. He wanted to see what trick that old fox, Duke Charles, was playing.