The east of the city.
Big Mouth Barbecue.
Yu Xian and Nora sat at a table by the street. He ordered a huge spread of food, then resumed chatting with Nora.
Just then, several students in school uniforms walked over. They sat down at a table not far away, laughing and chatting in low voices.
From their conversation, Yu Xian learned that one of them was celebrating his eighteenth birthday today. Feeling adventurous, they had decided to brave new horizons and cross over into the transcendent district to sample transcendent cuisine.
"Those are students from Class 2," Nora said softly to Yu Xian.
Because of her stunning looks, she had received quite a few love letters from students lately, though she had burned every single one to ash with her Blood Flame without even glancing at them.
Even so, plenty of boys still made a habit of strolling past Class 1's classroom on purpose, trying to catch her eye.
Though she had zero interest, some sort of impression lingered anyway—like *this guy is childish, that guy is an idiot, and this one is plain ugly*.
"Youth is great, isn't it?" Yu Xian said with a faint smile.
Nora immediately rolled her eyes at him. The boy was celebrating his eighteenth birthday, whereas Yu Xian was only seventeen, still months away from turning eighteen.
At that moment, the students at the other table noticed Yu Xian and Nora, and their voices dropped considerably lower.
"Lao Zhao, look, your dream girl. But she's clearly hooked up with Fish God," a chubby boy whispered.
*Fish God?*
The corner of Yu Xian's mouth twitched slightly. When had this nickname cropped up? How come he knew nothing about it?
In truth, the moniker had spread among the Class 1 classmates he had rescued. Back then, his slaughter at the school had been unforgettable—the aberrant worms hadn't even managed to close in before they were shredded by his silver threads. The sight had been profoundly shocking, horrifyingly grotesque yet immensely satisfying and cool.
Add to that Zhang Shou, Chen Ling, and other old classmates who already knew his nickname was Salty Fish.
As a result, many students around school secretly called him Fish God. Yu Xian had taken so much time off, and hung out only with Zhang Shou, Chen Ling, and Nora, so he had simply been kept in the dark.
Zhao Kang stole a glance toward Yu Xian and Nora, his face flushing as he whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. Today is Lao Li's birthday."
"What's there to be afraid of? We're all schoolmates. Why not invite them over to celebrate with us?" the chubby boy teased, getting a bit carried away.
His suggestion was swiftly vetoed by the birthday boy himself. He didn't want to spend his birthday with strangers; hanging out, eating, and drinking with close friends was comfortable and relaxed, but throwing two unfamiliar classmates into the mix would just make things awkward.
Yu Xian and Nora had arrived first, so the server soon brought out their dishes. In the blink of an eye, the table was laden with all sorts of delicacies.
"So spicy... Can vampires really eat this? Won't it upset my stomach?" Nora picked up a slice of blood curd, swallowed it, then stuck out her tongue, eyeing Yu Xian with doubt.
Yu Xian nodded as he munched on barbecue. Swallowing a mouthful of meat, he said, "Of course you can. Lao Zhang and I have been here twice. Back then, I couldn't even stomach ordinary food."
"..."
Watching Yu Xian wolf down meat by the mouthful, Nora suspected he was showing off.
She really wanted to eat meat too, to know what it tasted like.
It was worth mentioning that spiciness was actually a perception of pain rather than a true flavor, which was why vampires could indeed experience spice.
Meanwhile, the students at the other table were livening up.
"Happy birthday to you!"
"Happy birthday to you!"
"Lao Li, happy birthday! May you have today's joy every year and this happiness every day!"
Seeing the server deliver a custom meat-mountain cake, the students stood up with grins, chiming in with their wishes.
The student named Li Cheng stood up with a smile, looking touched by the gesture. But just as he leaned in to blow out the candles, his face suddenly flushed beet-red, and a wave of dizziness washed over him.
He braced one hand against the table and clutched his head with the other, his temples throbbing violently.
"Lao Li?"
"Are you okay?"
Seeing his distress, his friends asked in concern.
Li Cheng shook his head, wanting to say he was fine, but in the next instant, his eyes turned crimson.
With a sharp tearing sound, his clothes ripped open. His body rapidly swelled, and his head began transforming into that of a wolf.
Li Cheng.
Eighteen years old.
Was, quite literally... a werewolf!
Yu Xian rose from his seat and instantly cast Appraisal on Li Cheng.
***
**Name:** Li Cheng
**Codename:** Lao Li
**Race:** Werewolf
**Gender:** Male
**Age:** 18
**Lifespan:** 521
**Rank:** Insect Lower
**Faction:** Superpower Academy - Grade 12, Class 2 - Student
**Abilities:**
[Night Wolf Transformation: Can transform into a werewolf at night, vastly improving overall physical attributes.]
[Summary: You might not be a ruthless hardass, but you are definitely a werewolf!]
***
After checking the stats, Yu Xian understood the situation.
*"Awooo!"*
By now, Li Cheng had fully morphed into a two-and-a-half-meter-tall werewolf. He raised both arms and howled at the sky.
His classmates froze, utterly dumbfounded. They had all agreed to stay ordinary people together—how had he suddenly become a transcendent?
Without warning, the transformed Li Cheng snapped his jaws toward Zhao Kang beside him. If that bite landed, Zhao Kang's head would be bitten clean off.
Yet in the nick of time, a bubble enveloped Zhao Kang. Li Cheng clamped down onto the sphere, but because the bubble was so large, his fangs merely skimmed along the surface without raising so much as a ripple.
"Yu Xian, don't hit him too hard. His werewolf bloodline probably just awakened," Nora reminded him softly.
Yu Xian nodded. Activating Spatial Jump Art, he materialized behind Li Cheng and dropped him with a gentle chop to the neck. Smiling, he said, "All right, everyone, go ahead and keep eating. Everything's fine."
He wrapped Li Cheng in a bubble, then pulled out his phone and dialed Zhang Kai, asking him to come pick Li Cheng up.
"Fish God, thank you!"
Zhao Kang's legs were still trembling. As the bubble dissolved, he slumped into his chair, blurting out his thanks the moment his senses returned.
"No problem. Enjoy your meal."
Yu Xian waved a hand and returned to his seat.
As a Snake-rank capable of killing enemies above his rank, handling a mere Insect-rank posed zero pressure.
Many diners around them chuckled, some marveling at Li Cheng's good fortune while others discussed Yu Xian's strength. Zhao Kang and his friends, on the other hand, had completely lost their appetites and sat in stunned silence.
The birthday boy was out cold—what were they supposed to do now?
And now that Li Cheng had turned into a werewolf, did that mean he was a transcendent from here on out?
"That's the first time I've ever seen a bloodline awakening," Nora said to Yu Xian as she ate.
Yu Xian smiled. "Same here. In fact, I used to wonder if my ancestors carried any special bloodline that might suddenly awaken in my generation."
"What if they really did?" Nora teased.
Yu Xian shrugged. There was truly no telling with these things.
After all, many transcendent bloodlines were exceptionally difficult to awaken, and over time, their descendants simply faded into ordinary folk.
Chapter 81