Chapter 148

After many days of travel.

The three of them finally stepped into Blood Fortress territory, the towering ancient castle on the distant mountain already coming into view.

Luge glanced at Old Lun Se again; although this old dog head had repeatedly assured him of safety, and the shop Old Lun Se traded with was, he claimed, connected to the Blood Race lord family here. These Blood Race, in Old Lun Se's explanation, were a group of Bloodline Wizards whose path forward was restricted; their bloodline came not from modification but from ancestral legacy, yet Old Lun Se said there was a saying in Burning Blood City that those ancestors who no longer existed in their mouths were merely some Wizard's experimental modifications.

Although this group of Blood Race were not modified Bloodline Wizards, they craved the power of Burning Blood City even more than ordinary Bloodline Wizards; that power seemed able to trigger some wondrous changes in them, and conflict arose from this.

A very peculiar loose opposition relationship; Wizards and other Extraordinaries in Burning Blood City came and went, replaced batch after batch over hundreds of years, perhaps even longer ago, yet no one ever forcibly organized them, but they still repelled the Blood Race's attempts to occupy Burning Blood City time and again; this peculiar loose opposition even allowed individual Blood Race to live in the city unmolested, but once the Blood Race acted up, gathered in numbers, and tried to occupy Burning Blood City by other means, they would be driven out again.

Gradually, the two sides formed an instinctive hostility lasting countless years; but the identity of Burning Blood City's residents was not fixed, which caused the Blood Race to transfer their hostility onto those Wizards with outwardly visible bloodline modification features — like the fellow with a dog head perched on his neck.

And they even saw two at once.

Luge had already discovered several people passing by his pack beast who would glare at him ruthlessly; when glaring at him, their eyes would even turn blood-red.

This was different from that Irene; that attic neighbor, her eyes were always blood-red.

"Don't be afraid, that old Blood Race I trade with is the current lord's distant cousin; we've dealt for decades, and aside from some initial minor unpleasantness, there hasn't been a single problem." Old Lun Se curled his big dog mouth, despising Luge's cowardice once more.

Green leapt lightly onto Luge's pack beast; he had been like this all along, occasionally sitting down to chat a few words, or sitting on the beast's back to eat; his shoes were issued to Apprentice Seekers of the Knowledge Sanctuary, and he said there were several items to choose from, each person's situation differed, and he ultimately chose these shoes, which had a good amplification effect on three spells including Light Body Technique.

Light Body Technique was the easiest to discern, and there was no need to conceal it; as for the remaining spells, Luge naturally would not rashly inquire, only knowing that Green's figure was indeed both light and fast.

People on the road gradually increased, and malice kept welling up.

Seeing this, Old Lun Se took out a family emblem and wore it on his chest; only then did some of the hostile gazes subside.

Luge stretched out his hand toward his uncle.

"Do what? I only have this one family emblem; it was given to me after decades of cooperation with that old miser, and only because he saw my condition was bad, afraid I'd die and cut off his source of wealth," Old Lun Se said, "Once we arrive there, you just stay indoors as much as possible, there won't be any problems; the main difficulty lies in the return journey, that's when you'll need to be active."

Green, enjoying the journey, smiled as he watched the uncle and nephew.

Luge sat on the pack beast, his posture swaying slightly with the beast's steps; he now rode the pack beast very naturally and relaxed.

Listening to Old Lun Se's words, he couldn't help but give rise to some doubts that had always existed in his heart.

Just what kind of Bloodline Wizard was Old Lun Se ultimately? Or was he like some crazy Wizards, a masterpiece of perfect combination of multiple modifications?

Additionally, Luge was also curious whether Old Lun Se, when in good condition in the past, could still maintain a human big head.

It sounded like he could.

Perhaps in their eyes, I am also a freak, a weirdo modified into a kobold by my mentor to increase giant dragon bloodline carrying capacity while simultaneously lowering rejection rate, Luge thought.

And might even be considered a former test subject; after all, Burning Blood City has many bloodline modifiers struggling to survive who were once some Wizards' experimental subjects.

Luge recalled the dark elf young lady he had encountered before, and several other Wizard apprentices, who had all made similar speculations about him.

Being in Blood Fortress territory, they didn't dare let the pack beasts run wild; swaying along, it was nearly when the blood sun turned dark that they arrived at Blood Fortress's truly bustling area.

Old Lun Se's family emblem took effect, and the three successfully entered the small city at the foot of Blood Fortress mountain.

The messy, filthy, shabby territory before them truly disgraced the Blood Race identity.

Luge saw it and curled his lip.

They stowed the six-legged pack beasts and began wandering the city under Old Lun Se's guidance.

The blood sun's illumination power here had already weakened to a certain degree; according to Old Lun Se, the Blood Race lived here because they awaited their ancestors' impossible revival; there was also a saying that their attempts to occupy Burning Blood City were not just for themselves, but also for their ancestors' faster revival, but the specifics were probably known only to the few strongest Blood Race in their tribe, perhaps also the few Official Wizards of First Circle and above who had long resided in Burning Blood City.

The three came to a slightly cleaner street and stopped before a shop.

Luge raised his head to look at the sign before the door; painted on it was a potion bottle and a fang.

Green also stood to the side, raising his head to look just like him, truly like a passerby on a journey.

Old Lun Se had already pushed the door open and walked in.

"You old thing, I knew after that rain you'd definitely come; are your experiments that short on magic stones?" A wrinkled old man dressed entirely in black said.

"I was worried those bloodline infected might knock your head off..." Old Lun Se said as he walked.

The shop door closed again, and for a moment nothing more could be heard clearly.

Luge raised his head to gaze at the ancient castle on the mountain, feeling it had a similar concept to the mountain caves in Burning Blood City, as if living high up, closer to the blood sun, could gain more benefits.

"Let's go in too." Luge said.

Passersby around them occasionally looked over with hostile gazes; of course only at him, Green was merely implicated by him; he felt if Green actively revealed his Seeker identity, he might even receive different treatment.

After all, the Blood Race near Burning Blood City were not just blood-sucking monsters; they considered themselves Bloodline Wizards and cultivated their meditation methods properly, only their spells were mostly related to blood control.

Luge entered the interior and sensed there seemed to be a soundproof magic array here as well.

Old Lun Se was arguing with that neatly dressed old man in black; it seemed the old dog head's price had deeply wounded this partner of decades.

"Your nephew? Why make him a dog head too? Does your family bloodline only suit this type of bloodline modification? Ah haha!" The black-clothed old man laughed loudly; he looked wrinkled and withered, yet his laughter was full of vigor.

"You two go rest in the back first! The backyard has rooms this old fellow has kept for me year-round," Old Lun Se curled his big dog mouth, tossing over a cultivation bag, "Release the pack beasts, let them rest in the yard."

Luge reached out and caught the cultivation bag.

That black-clothed old man laughing fiercely took out a small bell from the side and shook it.

But Luge heard no sound.

A young man also dressed in black walked out from the back, smiling and beckoning to Luge and Green.

Seeing them approach, the black-clothed young man led the way; Luge and Green followed through the back door of this quite vintage three-story building, arriving at a spacious backyard.

"Are you... from Burning Blood City? Are they Old Lun Se's new apprentices?" The black-clothed youth walking ahead suddenly spoke.

The blood sun had already begun to darken at this time.

"I am Old Lun Se's nephew," Luge said, "This Mr. Green is a friend we met on the way and traveled together."

(Chapter End)