Chapter 274: The Secret of the Blood Clan

Because Huang Zhongqian was about to arrive in Linhai City, Yang Kai stopped harassing Huang Hun.

The manor where Huang Hun resided was, for once, peaceful.

Lin Chao changed into modern clothes, tied his hair back casually, and walked out of the manor.

Within the manor, his freedom was not restricted.

Over these past few days, he had only seen Huang Hun a few times, and the two had not interacted much.

"Extra, extra, read all about it!"

"New daggers just in, buy one for self-defense, anyone buying?"

The technology of the world today was a notch weaker than in his previous life.

The streets presented a different kind of atmosphere.

The girls wore clothes that were wrapped up tightly, yet they still appeared flashy and colorful on the main streets.

In the streets and alleys, thugs often loitered, and there were underground black markets, as well as places that sold Spear weapons.

This was an era that possessed modern-leaning civilization, yet was slightly chaotic.

However, because of the existence of the three great warlords, order had been maintained for nearly ten years.

"Handsome, short on cash?" a sleazy man wearing black clothes suddenly spoke to Lin Chao, "You only need a form of identification, and our company can lend you ten thousand yuan!"

Lin Chao was speechless.

He hadn't expected to encounter loan sharks here.

"No thanks."

Lin Chao refused.

His purpose for coming out today was to find a member of the Blood Clan to study.

As for these loan sharks, he would let them off for now.

"Handsome, don't be like that!" the sleazy man continued to pursue him.

People like them who ran loan sharking businesses had powerful backgrounds.

When Ordinary people got involved, they weren't afraid that the borrowers wouldn't have money to pay them back.

After all, isn't the human body full of treasures?

Lin Chao stopped in his tracks, and he looked at the sleazy man: "Your boss probably thinks you're too enthusiastic about your work."

"Isn't being enthusiastic about work a good thing?" the sleazy man didn't understand Lin Chao's words.

Lin Chao's gaze was calm: "Take me to your company."

Since someone was in a hurry to die, he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity.

"Alright!" a smile appeared on the sleazy man's face.

If he closed this deal, he could get a commission of five hundred yuan.

Five hundred yuan was enough to go out and party at the night clubs for three or four days.

Thinking of this, the sleazy man was incredibly excited.

Under the guidance of the sleazy man, Lin Chao entered a small alley, and then entered an empty Building.

Forty minutes later.

A strange expression appeared on Lin Chao's face: "I didn't expect that borrowing from loan sharks would lead me to the trail of the Blood Clan."

The force behind this loan sharking was Fang Clan Real Estate.

Those who issued the loans lent money to others.

When others had no money to pay it back, they forced the debtors to sign certain contracts.

One of the clauses was to trade blood for loans.

Roughly 400 milliliters of blood could offset a debt of 100 yuan.

Among them was a hidden clause, a method where 600 milliliters of blood at once could offset a debt of 1000 yuan.

That was... to provide it for the Blood Clan to consume directly.

This kind of direct consumption caused huge trauma to the human body.

It was just that ordinary people didn't know at all, and in the short term, they couldn't discover it.

Looking at the few corpses lying on the floor of the room, Lin Chao did not have a shred of pity.

His figure vanished.

One hour later.

Outside a dilapidated small building.

Lin Chao stopped his steps.

In the small building ahead, a middle-aged woman with an Ordinary appearance and revealing clothing seemed to be basking in the Sun.

When she saw Lin Chao, a look of greed appeared in her eyes, and saliva even flowed from her mouth.

Human blood also had levels.

In her opinion, good-looking people had better-tasting blood.

Those with strong bodies also had more delicious blood.

The young man before her had a tall, straight figure and a Superb appearance, and she instantly felt the desire to drink his blood.

"Handsome, come here."

A sense of enchantment flowed from the middle-aged woman's eyes.

This kind of enchantment was something those with weaker willpower would be unable to resist.

Even those with strong consciousness would be momentarily dazed.

She didn't have this kind of sudden desire often; it only happened three or four times a year.

As long as she did not touch those big shots, these Commoners were hers to take, were they not?

Buried in her small building were quite a few Commoner corpses.

After all, she was of the Blood Clan.

Standing behind her was Grand Marshal Zhang.

"Blood Clan?"

A hint of a smile appeared in Lin Chao's eyes.

This Blood Clan capture had come too easily.

His figure turned, and he instantly appeared beside the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman's expression changed drastically.

"Who are you?"

How could a human possess such speed?

Furthermore, she had not smelled the scent of her own kind on the other party.

What was going on?

Without thinking much, a red light appeared in the center of the middle-aged woman's palm, and she pushed it toward Lin Chao.

"Corrosion, chaos?"

Lin Chao pinched the middle-aged woman's palm, looking at the red light emerging from it, and began to examine it.

"You..." The middle-aged woman trembled all over; the strength in her body was completely Imprisoned, and she could not move.

The tall, straight man before her had a figure that looked slightly thin, yet he gave her pressure like a mountain.

With this kind of strength, he must be at least a Commander-level Vampire, right?

She was incredibly terrified; how could such a human exist?

"Release some more red light." Seeing the red light vanish, Lin Chao spoke indifferently.

As the powerful pressure descended, the middle-aged woman dared not resist at all and, following Lin Chao's words, continued to release red light from her hand.

At this moment, she was no longer imposing; she was like a lightbulb, with the switch controlled by Lin Chao.

Three minutes later.

Bang.

This lightbulb shattered.

A look of doubt appeared in Lin Chao's gaze: "Sure enough, the power of this Blood Clan is very special; it is somewhat similar to Qi-Blood Martial Dao, but the essence seems completely different, as if standing on the opposite side."

Lin Chao frowned.

"The essence of Qi-Blood Martial Dao is the belief in Innate Gods.

The essence of the Blood Clan is the belief in the Abyss Prince.

Nowadays, the Innate Gods all rest upon my body.

Where, then, is the Abyss Prince?"

In the bodies of former Qi-Blood Martial Dao martial artists, Lin Chao could feel a clear parasitic relationship.

Yet, on this member of the Blood Clan, he had not discovered such traces of parasitism.

It was not parasitism, but rather like contamination.

"That Supreme Treasure likely reached the Ninth Tier; after I withstood the backlash of the Supreme Treasure, Qi-Blood Martial Dao was already severed, and no martial artists emerged.

Why would the Blood Clan continue to exist in this world?"

When he accepted the backlash of the Supreme Treasure, the backlash contained both Qi-Blood Martial Dao and the methods of the Blood Clan.

Among them, the light shadows he bore mostly belonged to Innate Gods, but there was also one light shadow that belonged to the Abyss Prince.

That Supreme Treasure dealt with not only Innate Gods but also the Blood Clan.

Therefore, logically speaking, the Blood Clan should not continue to exist either.

"Moreover, these Blood Clan members are no longer blonde and blue-eyed."

Lin Chao pondered.

"Could it be that the former Blood Clan was severed?

Are the current New Blood Clan a new form of contamination?"

Lin Chao could only explain it this way.

This was analogous to how that Supreme Treasure severed the entanglement between those two hundred-plus Innate Gods and the Human Race.

Later, new Innate Gods appeared and became entangled with the Human Race once again.

There were loopholes in this as well.

If new Innate Gods existed in this world, they would be affected by that Supreme Treasure and unable to entangle with the Human Race.

The only guess was that the Abyss Prince was not in this world.

Regardless, the Abyss Prince was a terrifying existence.

"Become stronger."

Lin Chao murmured.

He was still very weak now, not even reaching the level of a god.

Ninth Tier was even further away, with no end in sight.

Glancing at the corpse on the ground, Lin Chao's figure disappeared.

One day later, in front of the small building, Qi Lin frowned deeply: "This method is at least that of a Commander-level Vampire.

Who on earth killed Tong Jiao?"

Tong Jiao's state of death was extremely miserable; her body had exploded, and fresh blood was splattered everywhere.

It could be said that there was no corpse left intact.

It was as if someone had crushed them with great force.

"In our Linhai City, all Blood Clan members are registered; there is simply no Commander-level Vampire in existence.

Incoming Blood Clan members have also been recorded by the Blood Guard, and there are no Commanders among them," a Blood Clan member nearby replied.

Qi Lin frowned: "There are only so many Commander-level Vampires, and not one fits the profile for killing Tong Jiao.

In Linhai City, are there still unregistered Blood Clan members?"

"There is... there is one.

At His Highness Huang Hun's manor, there is a suspected Blood Clan member named Xu Ling.

He has not come to our Blood Guard to register."

"Xu Ling?" Qi Lin raised an eyebrow, "Why would he kill Tong Jiao?

However, if he is a Commander-level Vampire, I must report this matter to Lord Wen."

Lord Wen is the Commander of the Haitian Province Blood Guard; he possesses great strength and is a Commander-level Vampire.

Matters concerning Commander-level Vampires are not for him to manage.

A Commander-level Vampire pledging loyalty to Huang Hun is a major event.

"In a few days, go privately to test whether Xu Ling has Commander-level strength. Be respectful in your attitude. Also, do not let Huang Hun know. Tomorrow, Huang Zhongqian will arrive in Linhai City," Qi Lin said to the Blood Clan member beside him.

The Blood Clan member beside him, named Wen Kao, is a junior of Lord Wen. His strength has reached the Elite-level Vampire stage, so testing Xu Ling's strength would be effortless.

"Understood," Wen Kao replied. He thought of something, and a look of worry appeared on his face, "Recently, there have been many accidents among our Blood Clan; it is truly strange."

Starting a few days ago, not only in Linhai City but in other provinces and cities, incidents of Blood Clan members going missing have occurred one after another.

Because of this, Grand Marshal Zhang is extremely furious and has organized a special team to investigate the matter.

Fortunately, the currently missing Blood Clan members are all very weak, not even reaching Elite-level Vampire status, which is why it has not yet caused a major stir.

"Notify those below to be careful recently and try to go out less, especially those who are weak," Qi Lin held his forehead, his eyes filled with deep anxiety.

"Understood," Wen Kao replied.

Qi Lin frowned, the clouds of worry in his heart never dissipating.

At the pier.

A massive warship docked.

Soldiers wearing uniform military attire disembarked from the warship.

The leader was a burly middle-aged man with a square face and a buzz cut, looking strong and powerful.

Hanging at his waist was a long sword, which looked out of place with his attire.

"Uncle!" Not far away, Huang Hun waved continuously with an excited look on his face.

The burly man was Huang Zhongqian, the sworn younger brother of Huang Hun's father. Seeing Huang Hun, the stern look on his face vanished, replaced by a kindly smile.

At this moment, Yang Kai, who was responsible for the reception, stepped forward: "General Huang, long time no see. Welcome to Linhai City. Tonight, I have prepared a banquet and invited celebrities from all walks of life in Linhai to host a welcome dinner for General Huang."

Huang Zhongqian did not even look at Yang Kai, but instead said to a man in black beside him: "Commander Wen, His Highness is waiting for me. I will not attend today's banquet. Please convey my greetings to Grand Marshal Zhang on my behalf."

Huang Zhongqian spoke, mentioning only Grand Marshal Zhang.

As for Yang Kai, who was hosting the welcome dinner for him, he did not mention a single word.

Huang Zhongqian did not even glance at Yang Kai.

In front, Yang Kai wore a smile, but deep down there was a trace of embarrassment and anger.

However, he could not afford to offend the current Huang Zhongqian, so naturally, he did not say much, nor would he lower himself to curry favor.

"Understood," the man in black replied, "General Huang, do not forget the business discussion in seven days.

In seven days, the Grand Marshal will personally arrive in Linhai City."

"Understood," Huang Zhongqian said, his voice stern.

He walked straight past Yang Kai and headed toward Huang Hun.

"Your Highness, you... have suffered." There was a trace of guilt in Huang Zhongqian's tone.

Back then, he had failed to take Huang Hun away and had placed him in a dangerous situation, which he had always regretted.

Zhang Yuanmou placing Huang Hun in Linhai City was intended to lure the snake out of its hole.

However, the situation had changed, and since he, Huang Zhongqian, had mastered the Golden Cloud Sword Technique, Zhang Yuanmou's attitude toward him had shifted from suppression and extermination to solicitation.

"Uncle, I heard you have mastered a sword technique?" Huang Hun's face was filled with joy.

"It was just luck," Huang Zhongqian sighed.

The two chatted as they walked, got into a car, and drove toward the manor.

"If the Qi-Blood Martial Dao were still around, with Uncle's aptitude, you would definitely be an expert of the Innate Realm!" Huang Hun was genuinely amazed.

To slay a Commander-level Vampire with a human body was unheard of.

"Compared to the ancestors, I am far behind," Huang Zhongqian sighed.

He had read many ancient texts and naturally knew the power of Qi-Blood martial artists.

A Commander-level Vampire was only similar to a Refining Strength martial artist.

The Innate Realm was an even more unfathomable state.

If one reached the Innate Realm, one could slice a warship in half with a single sword strike.

This was something he could never achieve.

In the current world, whoever possessed Innate-level combat power could easily unify the world.

"It is a pity that the Martial Arts are no longer manifest," Huang Zhongqian sighed, "There are no longer any Qi-Blood martial artists in the world."

The Martial Arts he yearned for most did not exist in this world.

Fortunately, relying on the Gene Serum and the Golden Cloud Sword Technique, he is able to unleash powerful strength.

Currently, what he is doing is replicating this type of martial artist.

However, there have been no successful cases to date.

"There are many who yearn for the old martial arts; in my garden, a new... gentleman has arrived.

He has always referred to himself as a martial artist.

By the way, Uncle, this sword at my waist was lent to me by that gentleman for self-defense.

This sword is extremely peculiar.

Since you love swords, Uncle, perhaps you can see the clues within it."

Huang Hun said this as he drew the sword from its scabbard inside the spacious carriage.

Instantly, a flash of red light flickered within the carriage.

"Such a thick scent of blood!" Huang Zhongqian exclaimed, examining the sword.

"Does Uncle know what material this sword is made of, and why the blade appears red?" Huang Hun asked.

"I do not." Huang Zhongqian shook his head, "But judging solely by its form, it is a fine sword."

He had read the records of ancient famous swords and knew the methods for forging them.

However, this was his first time seeing a sword that was entirely red.

"Uncle, take a look." Huang Hun handed the sword to Huang Zhongqian.

Huang Zhongqian held the sword, and suddenly a look of confusion appeared on his face: "I seem to have seen the design of this sword somewhere before.

Could it be an ancient famous sword?

But, logically, I should have a deep impression of a sword that is entirely red; how could I not recall it?"

Huang Zhongqian looked at the sword, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

His hand rested on the scabbard at Huang Hun's waist.

"Give me the scabbard." His face wore an expression of excitement.

Huang Hun was slightly stunned.

Does Uncle recognize this sword?

He unfastened the scabbard and handed it to Huang Zhongqian.

Huang Zhongqian held the scabbard, an excited expression appearing on his face.

"Sword Yellow Path!"

"Indeed, this is the Sword Yellow Path!"

On the scabbard, two small characters were engraved... Sword Yellow Path.

"What, Sword Yellow Path?" Huang Hun was still somewhat puzzled.

"The ancestor of the Huang Clan was a powerful martial artist and also a swordsmith who once served in the Holy Dynasty.

His proudest work in his lifetime was the famous sword, Sword Yellow Path.

This sword was gifted by him to a close friend.

I never expected that I would have the chance to see this legendary sword."

"What?" Huang Hun was also slightly surprised.

This was a sword gifted by an ancestor to a friend.

Now, it is actually in the hands of Mr. Xu Ling.

Xu Ling is currently still protecting his safety; is this fate?

This kind of fate spanning hundreds of years made Huang Hun feel somewhat wondrous.

"This sword..." Huang Zhongqian frowned, pondering something.

Beside him, Huang Hun smiled and said: "Since the ancestor gifted it to another, then it is no longer an object of our Huang Clan.

Mr. Xu Ling holding this sword might even be a descendant of the ancestor's friend."

"That is true." Huang Zhongqian did not refute, "I am now quite curious about that Mr. Xu Ling."

"That gentleman's background is not simple; he was salvaged from the sea by Lord Jiji."

Huang Hun told Huang Zhongqian about Xu Ling's background.

He added another sentence: "I initially thought Xu Ling was of the Blood Clan, but Mr. Xu Ling said he is not of the Blood Clan, but a martial artist."

"In the sea? A red crystal wall?" Huang Zhongqian pondered, "Besides the Blood Clan, who in the world has such ability?"

An Ordinary person sinking to the bottom of the sea, especially to the depths, would inevitably die.

Only the Blood Clan has any hope of survival.

Therefore, Huang Zhongqian's first reaction was that Mr. Xu Ling was also of the Blood Clan.

However, there is nothing to hide about a Blood Clan identity.

Why would Xu Ling say he is not of the Blood Clan?

However, he thought of something.

He could not help but feel suspicious in his heart: Could it be that Xu Ling is truly not of the Blood Clan as he claimed, but a martial artist?

There has always been debate about whether Qi-Blood martial artists exist. But Huang Zhongqian knew they did indeed exist in the past.

The severance of the Qi-Blood Martial Dao is related to the Yusu Shenghuang.

However, whether new Qi-Blood martial artists would appear after the Qi-Blood Martial Dao was severed has always been an unsolvable mystery.

Some people speculate that the Qi-Blood Martial Dao might still exist, but the threshold for cultivation has become higher, and the difficulty has increased.

Just because no one has succeeded in cultivation yet does not mean the Qi-Blood Martial Dao has truly disappeared; it is that people's talent is insufficient.

"I am now becoming more and more curious about who exactly that Mr. Xu Ling is." Huang Zhongqian swept away his look of confusion, his face carrying a smile.

If he were truly a martial artist, that would be for the best.

I recommend a friend's book, "I Have Been Practicing Immortal Cultivation in the Forbidden Land for Nearly a Hundred Years"; everyone can go take a look.

Synopsis: Wei Yan transmigrates into a mysterious forbidden land and can never leave, only to discover one day a screen wall carved with nine dragons.

It can reflect...

Sun Wukong seeking the Dao by taking a master.

Nüwa creating humanity.

A hundred years later, he walks out of the forbidden land, the heavens tremble, and all spirits bow their heads.

(End of this chapter)