Qilin headquarters, conference room.
Yu Lie sat at the head of the table. Beside him was Xiao Cheng, followed by Department Directors Hua Qiang, Xu Hebai, Cheng Caitian, and others.
Further down along the middle of the conference table, the younger generation sat in a row led by Gong Qian. Yu Xian sat right beside Gong Qian, opposite Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, with Tianshu on his left.
"According to the latest intelligence, Edward, the Blood Clan Progenitor, has officially proclaimed the founding of a nation. Rome Huchen has been officially renamed the Dragon Blood Ancestral Court. Furthermore, over the next ten days, a Black Sky Blood Banquet will be held, and any civilian holding Rome Huchen citizenship may apply to be transformed into a vampire," Xiao Cheng said grimly.
Hua Qiang sucked in a breath of cold air and spoke up. "Rome Huchen has a population of over five hundred million. If they're all transformed into vampires, even draining every living creature on Earth dry probably wouldn't keep them fed for more than a few days."
"There's another issue: the Blood Clan Progenitor's breakthrough is far too bizarre. Normal long-lived species typically advance quite slowly. The Blood Clan Progenitor is only a little over five hundred years old. According to estimates by Qilin's internal think tank, he should have needed to reach at least seven hundred before it was even possible for him to advance to Dragon-rank," Cheng Caitian said with a furrowed brow.
Xu Hebai glanced at Yu Xian and added, "Additionally, having advanced to Dragon-rank, Edward will definitely possess a new innate ability—one likely unique to him among the entire Blood Clan. We must find a way to determine exactly what innate ability he has awakened."
Everyone present felt a massive headache coming on. Originally, as long as the powerhouses of the various nations remained a rank higher than the Blood Clan Progenitor, the balance of power wouldn't be broken.
Two centuries later, when the Progenitor reached seven hundred, the other factions would most likely already possess God rank powerhouses. Even if the Progenitor advanced to Dragon-rank then, he wouldn't be able to make any waves.
Who would have guessed that he would achieve a breakthrough in secrecy, catching every country completely flat-footed?
The trouble was that no one knew what ability the Progenitor had awakened. Unwilling to act rashly now, they could only watch helplessly as he established his nation.
Once a country was established, the Blood Clan Progenitor would no longer just be the patriarch of an extraordinary race, but the head of a state, which meant many actions could no longer be taken out in the open.
In truth, ordinary extraordinary races founding a nation wouldn't be a huge concern. The real problem was that the Blood Clan was exceedingly wealthy and influential.
To say nothing else, even within Huaxia, numerous wealthy merchants were Blood Clan members. If all those tycoons took their fortunes and defected to the Dragon Blood Ancestral Court, it would be a substantial loss for Huaxia.
"This is bad! Bat suddenly died!"
Just then, the conference room doors burst open, and a researcher rushed in, shouting in a cold sweat.
Everyone present froze. Some wondered who Bat was, while those who knew him were utterly stunned. Bat might have been aloof and impersonal, but he was genuinely reliable; if you went to him with a problem, there was a very good chance it would be solved.
Yu Lie rose to his feet and said, "Come, let's go see!"
With that, he led the way out of the conference room, and the others followed close behind.
Upon arriving at Bat's laboratory, Yu Xian looked through the crowd and saw that Bat's body had already shriveled up, appearing as though all his blood had been drained dry by some creature while he was still alive.
"Did anyone enter this room?" Yu Lie inspected Bat's corpse before asking the researcher nearby.
The researcher shook his head. "Under normal circumstances, none of us like coming into Bat's lab. I only came to deliver materials to him, and that's when I found him dead."
"Then let's check the surveillance footage. Have the monitoring room send it over," Yu Lie said to Xiao Cheng beside him, pulling out a Qilin-manufactured tablet.
Xiao Cheng nodded and immediately contacted the monitoring room by phone. A moment later, the surveillance footage began playing on the tablet.
On screen, Bat was conducting an experiment as usual, working over a corpse. Suddenly, his brow furrowed slightly. Clutching his chest, he took two steps back.
He instantly looked up at the surveillance camera and mouthed something. In the next second, his body rapidly shriveled into a desiccated corpse, collapsing heavily to the ground.
"He said... 'Progenitor'!" Xiao Cheng, who could read lips, said grimly.
Yu Lie reacted, abruptly turning to look at Yu Xian. "Quick, activate the Qilin Central Barrier! Protect Little Yu first!"
Evidently, the Blood Clan Progenitor no longer held his former wariness toward Huaxia, daring to strike openly at a vampire within Qilin itself.
Yu Lie worried that Yu Xian would be the next victim.
He knew Yu Xian was powerful, but some abilities defied all logic, even striking at targets from their very source.
The Blood Clan Progenitor was the source of all vampires. If he had awakened some means of attacking other vampires from that source, no other vampire would be able to defend against it.
Ten minutes later, the entirety of Qilin headquarters was enveloped in a formation.
Everyone present stared intently at Yu Xian, dreading that he might turn into a desiccated corpse in the next second.
"Auntie, will I turn into a desiccated corpse?" Influenced by the tense atmosphere, Yu Xian asked Zhenwo Changjing.
Zhenwo Changjing replied calmly, "Appraise yourself and you'll find out."
"Right."
Yu Xian immediately used Appraisal on himself. Seeing that long string of numbers in his theoretical lifespan, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Salty Fish, who are you talking to?" Gong Qian, worried about Yu Xian, had stayed right beside him. Seeing him seemingly conversing with someone, she asked at once.
Yu Xian couldn't be bothered to explain Zhenwo Changjing's existence, so he made up an excuse: "A new ability of mine called Imaginary Auntie. She can answer all my questions. It seems I won't be affected by the Blood Clan Progenitor's new ability."
Having said this, he looked a bit guiltily toward Zhenwo Changjing, who merely smiled without speaking.
"Then can you ask what ability the Blood Clan Progenitor actually awakened?" Gong Qian asked immediately upon hearing this.
Yu Xian looked at Zhenwo Changjing and asked, "Auntie, can I tell them?"
"Edward Vlad Stoker's newly awakened ability is called 'True Ancestor of Blood,'" Zhenwo Changjing replied. "This ability allows him to control all vampires who originate from him; their life and death lie entirely within his whim. Through this ability, he can reclaim the blood within any vampire's body to bolster his own power.
"Presently, only naturally born hybrid vampires and completely mutated vampires like you fall outside his sphere of control.
"However, by draining the blood of special vampires like you, he can acquire your abilities. You and Nora will likely become his prime targets.
"Furthermore, the greater the number of ordinary embraced vampires, the more additional power 'True Ancestor of Blood' will grant him. If he truly converts all the residents of Rome Huchen into vampires, he will become this world's first native Star Rank powerhouse."
A Star Rank powerhouse!
Yu Xian sucked in a sharp breath upon hearing this.
Among everyone present, the strongest was Minister Yu Lie, whose Force had only just reached 0.9, whereas the weakest Star Rank had a Force of 100.
If the Blood Clan Progenitor truly ascended to Star Rank, Yu Xian and Nora would probably have only one path left: flee to another world. Otherwise, remaining on Earth would mean certain death.
He hurriedly relayed Zhenwo Changjing's words to everyone present. After listening to him, every face grew grave as never before.
Chapter 153