Volume 4 – Perpetual Conflict, Chapter 30: Bloodline
The tone of this aged voice couldn’t be considered very polite toward Farah and Ge Shitu, but even so, the two of them didn’t reveal the slightest bit of dissatisfaction.
Everyone in the great hall became silent. The continuously forming lines on the bloody mist atop the altar gradually began to stabilize, vaguely forming the silhouette of a large unadorned door. Furthermore, it was gradually materializing and no longer illusory.
The surroundings were completely quiet. One could clearly hear the breathing of some of the Evernight Council members deepen. Even a council member would find it hard to stay calm before the legendary treasure of the Dark Monarch Andruil.
After a short wait, the great door materializing from fresh blood finally took form. At the center of this door was a boundless and profound darkness. It almost seemed as if one would reach another unknown world after crossing through this threshold.
In the perception of these Evernight powerhouses, the space beyond this bloody door seemed to be undergoing myriad changes every instant and constantly rotating like a wheel as if there were infinitely different realms therein. The worlds were simply switching too quickly—it had already switched over to a new realm by the time their probing consciousnesses began to condense upon it.
The incisive forces generated during the spatial changes were absolutely beyond compare and could easily bisect even those Evernight Council members known for their strong physical bodies.
This was the Black Winged Monarch’s terrifying might—a single sanguineous door had effectively stumped the 12 council members. After careful investigation, these great characters of the Evernight faction silently withdrew all thoughts of forcefully breaking through.
Ge Shitu slowly spoke, “It seems we have no other way to open this bloody door without a descendant of Andruil’s bloodline. This is also fine. Your Majesty Nighteye, we have arrived at the critical juncture. It’ll be up to you whether or not we succeed.”
Nighteye had just taken a step forward when a tall young lady, possessing the beauty of a frigid night-blooming cereus, suddenly walked out first and stood in front of Nighteye.
She raised her head and addressed all the council members, “Respectful lord council members, I also have Dark Monarch Andruil’s blood flowing in my veins and, from many aspects, my own bloodline isn’t inferior to Her Majesty Nighteye’s. At this moment, I’m willing to devote all my blood as a key to opening this treasured door!”
Ge Shitu was visibly enraged and said coldly, “Nonsense! Twilight, do you know what the dark monarch’s treasure signifies? How can we allow you to mess around with such a major business.”
Twilight ground her teeth and said, “I know! Great Monarch Andruil sealed his most formidable power within. A core array with the potential to rival one of the ten grand magnums. An array with its own sentience and one that will choose its own master!”
As she spoke these words, some from among the young people who were not yet privy to this secret let out gasps of astonishment.
Ge Shitu’s voice became even colder and began to emit a frosty killing intent. “This is a secret of the highest level which only council members have the qualification to know. Where did you obtain this news?”
Twilight was evidently feeling uneasy under Ge Shitu’s suppressive might, but she had thrown all caution to the wind. Not only did she not lower her head, but she instead raised her voice and said, “It’s not important where I learned this. What’s important is that we, the chosen of the darkness and the descendants of the sacred bloodline, obtain Dark Monarch Andruil’s most valuable inheritance, is it not?! A sentient core array with an unlimited ability to mature—if we can successfully obtain it, we will have a famed gun that can rival the Red Spider Lily. Isn’t it better that we get an extra attempt toward such a goal?”
Ge Shitu was furious and was just about to say something when a certain vampire council member slowly spoke, “The core array will automatically judge all bloodlines in the vicinity and select its partner according to their strength and purity. There’s nothing wrong with letting Twilight try since the contents of the previous agreement will not change. It's fine as long as Her Majesty Nighteye is standing nearby when the core array appears.”
Ge Shitu let out a deep humph and glared fiercely at Twilight. “So you’ve found some backing, have you? No wonder you’re so daring!”
At this point, Ge Shitu turned toward the majestic figure in their midst and said angrily, “If this test succeeds, then wouldn’t the future magnum become hers? This isn’t what we agreed on back then!”
The figure, as majestic as a mountain, was only a mirage. It was a shadow which extended from the ground all the way toward the roof of the hall. No one knew where his real body was or if he was, in fact, present all along.
After hearing Ge Shitu’s protests, the majestic figure said indifferently, “This can be considered an internal matter of Black Wing’s descendant branches. But since Twilight wishes for an opportunity, Sylvester, are you prepared to pay the price?”
The vampire council member’s face lit up with delight and immediately replied, “Our clan has already prepared sufficient supplies and can definitely give everyone a satisfactory compensation!”
The gigantic mirage slowly lowered its head. A pair of illusory eyes appeared to gaze at Nighteye as he asked amiably, “Nighteye, are you willing to let Twilight try once?”
At this time, the depths of Nighteye’s pupils was like a vast and boundless ocean of fresh blood, the waves suffused with a faint golden glow. As she gazed silently at the sanguineous door, the ripples in her eyes began to converge upon the blood energy fluctuations of the door.
Twilight turned toward Nighteye, raised her chin and said coldly, “She doesn’t dare agree! Dark Monarch Andruil’s bloodline also flows within me and our branch is the direct descendant of the great monarch. She’s but a fortunate awakener from a branch of a branch family and she’s not even a champion. Am I right, sister, Nighteye?!”
She placed a great deal of emphasis on the word “sister”.
In the face of such a provocation, Nighteye only continued to gaze at the bloody door and replied with a cold laugh only after some time, “Mixed bloods will always be mixed bloods. There’ll always be idiots who don’t know the immensity of the heaven and earth.”
Nighteye faced the lofty figure and said indifferently, “Let her try. I just hope she’s considered the consequences of paying such a significant compensation. Additionally, I want two shares.”
Twilight’s eyes ignited with the flames of fury and stressed her reply word by word, “You can have five!”
Seeing that the majestic figure had no objections and that Nighteye had also agreed, the other council members no longer expressed their opinion.
That vampire council member had already openly expressed his standpoint by supporting Twilight. Thus, there was each a council member behind Nighteye and Twilight.
The purity of Nighteye’s bloodline after awakening had received the recognition of all members of the Evernight Council. However, Twilight was younger, rose to fame earlier, and as the inheritor of an ancient bloodline, her current strength was greater than Nighteye’s. It was just that her bloodline, after awakening, wasn’t as pure as the latter and thus her future prospects were deemed inferior.
However, there never was a unified standard for such a thing as bloodline purity and had always been a matter of much controversy. This became even more pronounced when such a greater matter as the inheritance of the Black Winged Monarch was involved. The bloodline of Andruil similarly flowed through Twilight’s veins—if not for Nighteye’s existence, the spot in front of this altar would’ve rightfully been hers.
Twilight had to fight for this opportunity even if she must offend Nighteye and the council member supporting her because the one opening the bloody door would have a greater chance of becoming the core array’s master. Being able to grasp a grand magnum would cement her position in the whole of the Evernight faction.
Twilight exhaled a sigh of relief after seeing her objective fulfilled. Her face was flushed with undisguised delight and excitement as she walked over and took her place before the altar.
With a clang, Ge Shitu tossed a dagger at her feet.
The dagger’s sharp edge was engraved with countless runes, and embedded within the hilt, instead of gems, was an actual live eyeball! The eyeball rotated and stared fixedly at Twilight. One could clearly feel its overflowing bloodthirst despite it being a mere eyeball.
Twilight picked up the dagger, extended her left hand, and suddenly slashed her palm.
She suddenly let out a miserably cry—rows of sharp teeth had actually appeared on the dagger’s edge, leaving a wound so deep that it almost cut off her palm! It seemed this dagger didn’t just cut through flesh and blood but instead the soul. Even with her willpower and wild mindset, she couldn’t help but cry out wretchedly from the pain.
Fresh blood flowed madly from the wound as if guided by an invisible force, transforming into a ribbon of blood which flew toward the sanguineous door.
The great door immediately reacted—the arrays on the door frame lit up one by one as the profound darkness churned, gradually forming a pathway leading toward a certain space within its depths. However, the borders of the pathway were blurry and indistinct as if they were swaying violently in a tempestuous downpour.
Twilight’s face had gone pale and ashen amidst the deathly stillness, but the arrays on the bloody door hadn’t lit up completely. Fresh blood flowed out from Twilight’s body like a waterfall—she would be sucked dry by the door within a minute if this went on.
But judging from the current speed, the door would require at least ten more minutes to open completely.
Twilight ground her teeth as her left hand trembled—she was unwilling to withdraw no matter what.
“Enough.” The vampire council member sighed. He appeared before the altar in a flash and broke the stream of blood with a wave of his hand.
“No! I can still hold on! I…” Twilight wanted to struggle but was forcefully dragged away.
Only then did Nighteye respond, “Is it finally my turn?”
She slowly walked toward the altar, but as she was passing by, that vampire council member suddenly said, “Your Majesty Nighteye, I hope you won’t disappoint us!”
Nighteye paused her steps and cast her gaze upon that vampire council member. “Duke Jotun, you should be very clear that your current position is not the end of my ambitions. Therefore, I would suggest you don’t offend me again out of consideration for yourself and your descendants. I shall remember today’s incident. And remember, I’m taking five shares and not a single gold coin less!”
Duke Jotun’s face naturally grew extremely ugly. He snorted deeply and said, “Let’s continue this discussion when you’ve opened the bloody door!”
Nighteye walked toward the altar and picked up the dagger. She then glanced up at the ten-meter tall sanguineous door before slowly cutting her palm.
The dagger let out a joyful scream the very instant it tasted Nighteye’s blood!