Chapter 14: The Perilous Blood Moon
(This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation)
In the corner of the crowd, Zhang Zhen stood, his gaze fixed on Zhuang Rui, who was surrounded like the moon amidst stars. His eyes darkened with envy and malice.
With a cold snort, Zhang Zhen turned on his heel and left.
He Fei, casting a jealous glance at the corpse of the Blood-Eyed Wolf, hurried to follow Zhang Zhen.
“Brother Zhen, should we try to trade for some beast meat with Zhuang Rui?”
Since being rejected by Zhuang Rui that day, the two of them had gone to Manlan Hotel and exchanged food with the survivors there for True Essence Art. However, because they had no exotic beast meat, they had been unable to begin training.
Now, seeing Zhuang Rui’s group capable of hunting exotic beasts, He Fei felt an urgent sense of frustration.
Zhang Zhen scoffed. “With so many people in their group, a single Blood-Eyed Wolf won’t even be enough to go around. Why would they offer any for trade?”
He Fei nodded in reluctant agreement, his face creased with worry. “But what should we do then?”
Zhang Zhen glared at him, his tone sharp. “What’s the rush? Just wait a few more days. I’ve already got a solution for the beast meat problem.”
He Fei looked skeptical but said nothing. Seeing this, Zhang Zhen leaned closer and lowered his voice to explain, “Yesterday, while gathering food, I ran into my cousin. He said there’s a settlement near Weifeng University. They’ve brought together a large population, have plenty of food, and even have a Hunting Team entirely made up of Martial Practitioners dedicated to hunting exotic beasts.”
“As long as you’re a healthy young adult and agree to follow their orders, they’ll provide you with martial arts techniques and beast meat.”
“My cousin plans to check it out. If everything looks good, he’ll come back to take me there.”
He Fei’s eyes sparkled with excitement. Such benefits? If true, they wouldn’t have to worry about the beast meat needed for cultivation anymore.
Seeing He Fei’s elated expression, Zhang Zhen’s mood lightened. He patted He Fei’s shoulder and said, “Just stay calm for the next few days. Don’t overthink things. We’ll decide once my cousin gets back.”
“Alright, Brother Zhen, I’ll follow your lead!”
…
Deep Night.
Baiyun Forest Park.
The faintly red glow of the Blood Moon cast a thin veil over the land, sparse and scattered. Its light failed to penetrate the dense canopy above. The silhouettes of trees loomed in the darkness, resembling clawing monsters.
Whoosh!
A piercing sound shattered the stillness of the night, echoing endlessly.
In a forest clearing, Lin Ze was immersed in practicing his martial technique.
The icy light of his blade danced like leaping lightning, slicing through the void.
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Ze suddenly paused mid-swing. His body trembled as if struck by an electric current. A faint, almost imperceptible sound resonated around him.
Invisible to the naked eye, countless streams of energy from heaven and earth surged into his body, pouring into every corner and swiftly refining his physique, making it tighter and sturdier.
After a long while, Lin Ze opened his eyes, exhaling deeply with joy.
“Finally, I’ve unlocked my first acupoint!”
In the past twelve days, aside from eating to sustain himself and taking brief naps to restore his spirit, he had devoted all his time to practicing the Black Blade technique. At last, he had successfully entered its first layer.
When he broke through the first layer of the Black Blade, his reserves of True Qi surged significantly. Seizing this opportunity, he immediately pushed to unlock an acupoint. Thanks to the newfound abundance of True Qi, he succeeded in a single effort.
“Strength, speed, reflexes… all improved by roughly five percent.”
Lin Ze flexed his limbs, testing his newfound capabilities, and nodded in satisfaction.
He then focused inward, sensing the flow of True Qi within.
“The recovery rate of True Qi has also improved by about five percent.”
“As for its quality, it’s hard to gauge for now. But it does feel slightly more refined than before.”
“If every acupoint unlocked yields similar improvements, then a Second Level Martial Artist will have about fifty percent more physical and Qi recovery capabilities compared to a First Level Martial Artist.”
In battles between Martial Artists, possessing an advantage of even three-tenths is overwhelming—let alone nearly half.
Unless there is a vast disparity in combat experience or mastery of martial arts techniques, a Second Level Martial Artist will typically dominate a First Level Martial Artist with ease.
“Even my Blood Factor Concentration is rising faster now.”
After condensing True Qi, Lin Ze discovered that the speed at which his Blood Factor Concentration increased had noticeably accelerated.
In just twelve days, it had grown by a staggering 1.8%.
Currently, his Blood Factor Concentration had reached 12.39%.
Although he didn’t fully understand the underlying principle, it was undoubtedly a boon for him. The higher his Blood Factor Concentration, the stronger his physical capabilities and regenerative abilities became.
Moreover, his dependence on blood and sensitivity to sunlight would diminish accordingly.
In fact, the various special abilities of the Vampire Race all grew stronger in tandem with increasing Blood Factor Concentration.
Once a breakthrough in rank occurred, additional special abilities would awaken.
Lin Ze was eagerly looking forward to the new abilities he would unlock upon advancing to the Knight Rank. However, such an evolution would only happen after a period of Dormancy, a moment still far in the future for him.
“Now that I’ve reached the entry level of the Black Blade technique, the power of my swordsmanship should have significantly improved.”
Lin Ze’s gaze fell on his Tang Blade, and with a thought, he activated the circulation method of the Black Blade Technique.
As True Qi coursed through the blade, faint, inky-black streams of energy appeared on its surface. These wisps of darkness coiled around the blade, enhancing its already menacing and chilling aura.
Whoosh!
With a single strike, Lin Ze cleaved a nearby stone bench. The once-sturdy bench, heavy and dense, split in two with the ease of a hot knife slicing through butter. The severed halves collapsed to the ground with a resounding thud.
“Amazing!”
Lin Ze’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Previously, channeling True Qi into the blade had allowed him to bisect the stone bench, but never with such effortless grace.
The black streams swirling along the blade’s surface clearly amplified its sharpness and durability by a significant margin.
“As expected of a technique that can only be cultivated in the True Qi Stage. Its power is astounding, even at the first layer.”
Lin Ze’s heart brimmed with joy.
He couldn’t help but imagine the strength he would wield when he mastered the second, third, or even the fifth layer of the Black Blade Technique. How devastating would its power be then?
“With this technique, my combat strength has increased by at least thirty to forty percent!”
The impact of a lethal martial technique on a Martial Artist’s combat prowess was immediate and profound.
If he had already mastered the Black Blade during his hunt for the Black-Armored Python, he could have slain the beast without sustaining a single injury.
After calming the excitement surging within him, Lin Ze raised his eyes to the night sky.
Over half a month had passed, and the moon had grown visibly redder, as though shrouded in an eerie crimson glow. This gave it an ominous and unsettling appearance.
Lin Ze had attempted to glean information about the Blood Moon from his Heritage Information, but his findings were sparse. Much of the inherited knowledge seemed obscured, as though shrouded in mist, and remained unclear.
To this day, much of his heritage only revealed itself when he encountered related phenomena, as though being activated by proximity.
Lin Ze speculated that the Blood Moon likely followed the same principle.
Perhaps only when the moon turned completely blood-red would the corresponding information in his heritage be unlocked.
Even the vague impressions he could sense suggested that the appearance of the Blood Moon was no good omen. The feeling of unease it invoked within him was overwhelming.
It was an even stronger sense of foreboding than when he had faced the Black-Armored Python or the Frost Blade Leopard before becoming a Martial Artist!
Lin Ze realized he needed to start making preparations to mitigate whatever calamity the Blood Moon might bring.