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nGoing back to the city wall, he noticed a ruckus. A lot of injured vampires were lining up outside the city gate. He noticed Jovan was standing alongside a city guard.

nAs he approached him, the city guard noticed his arrival and looked at him from head to toe.

n“Drew, you’re back. How did the scouting go? Did you find all the ghouls?” Jovan asked.

n“Yes, I’ve gathered all the ghoul corpses at the entrance of the cave. We have to do another round trip to get them.” Keith replied.

n“Great job. Now, wait for me at the mercenary headquarters. I will go there after sorting things out here.”

n“It’s okay. I have some important matters to attend to, so I will catch up with you later. Don’t forget your promise.” Keith said as he walked inside the gate.

n“Who’s that kid?” asked the city guard.

n“Someone who just joined the guild. Don’t worry about him. He’s with me.” Jovan replied as he looked at Keith.

n*******

nMeanwhile, in the castle, Rena was pouring blood for Keith’s breakfast. She woke up early and completed the decoration of her room. Then she went to the kitchen, where the daily supply of fresh blood was put inside a golden vessel. The golden vessel was used for generations for the purpose of storing blood.

nIt was also enchanted and several blood rituals were carved inside it. Rena poured the blood into another golden glass embroidered with exquisite carvings. This was one of the glasses Keith used every day to drink.

nThe glass was also enchanted to detect any harmful elements within the blood. All the enchantments ensured that the blood was of the best quality. As Rena poured blood into the glass, he thought about Keith.

n‘Should I… No, young master will be angry if he finds out. Also, I don’t think my blood is as good as this.’ Several thoughts came to her mind as she looked at the glass.

nIn the end, she decided against it. She didn’t want to experience another scolding from Keith. Holding the tray, she put two glasses on it. She walked out of the kitchen with a beaming smile and headed to Keith’s room. Unbeknown to her, someone was stalking her from the other side of the corridor.

nInside Keith’s room, the windows opened, and a dark figure entered the room. Taking off his hoodie, Keith sat down on his bed. He was exhausted after all the ghoul hunting and absorbing blood essence. Now he wanted to stay put and consolidate his blood-qi.

nPhew!

nCracking his hands and neck, he sat quietly, focusing his mind on the blood essence circulating throughout his body. He concentrated on his blood core and siphoned the blood essence to his blood core. The blood essence slowly entered the blood core and turned into blood-qi.

nThen the blood-qi was imbued with his own essence and circulated back to all his organs. He continued this process repeatedly and his focus was entirely on the blood-qi condensation. After converting the blood essence to blood-qi, the blood core condensed it as small layers on the outside.

nThe blood core was slowly growing bigger with each cycle of refinement. Keith estimated that it would take him at least two days to fully convert all blood essence into blood-qi.

n“Young master! I’ve brought your breakfast.” Rena entered his room.

nSeeing that there was no response, she figured he was busy with his cultivation. His eyes were closed and an intimidating aura covered him. She put the glasses on the table and walked closer to him. Her face was awfully close to his, as stared at his face with a pout.

n“What are you doing?” Keith asked without opening his eyes.

n“Ah! I just brought your breakfast. I happened to notice some dirt on your face, so I looked closely.” She replied.

n“….” Keith didn’t know that some dried-up blood lingered on his face.

n“Don’t you have anything better to do?” He asked.

n“Not at the moment. Besides, what can be more important than looking after young master?” She said with a grin.

n“You’re hopeless.” Keith closed his eyes and resumed his blood condensation.

n“Maybe…” Rena mumbled as she looked at him.

nShe turned around and scanned the room. Even though the room was very clean, she noticed some dirt here and there. She picked up the broom and started cleaning the room.

nSeveral hours passed, and Keith opened his eyes. He heaved a sigh and examined his body. He condensed about one-fifth of the entire blood essence. He was quite happy with the progress, as it was faster than he anticipated.

nHis blood core increased in size and his body was filled with energy. The blood-qi circulating inside his body doubled. Noticing the changes in his body, he got up and moved his body. A couple of punches and kicks later, he smiled.

n“Condensing this much blood essence gave me this much power. I wonder how strong I will be after absorbing all of it. Then there is the opportunity to break through the viscount stage.”

nThe thing he also recognized was that this was not the most important thing, even though it seemed that way. Gaining strength without the blood-qi techniques was like being a knight without a sword. He could gain strength and raise his level quickly, which was a good thing in the short term.

nBut he wanted to gain the corresponding blood-qi techniques as well, which would allow him to utilize the full potential of his blood-qi.

nNow that he assimilated some of the blood essence, he took a stroll outside. After getting out of his room, he checked on Rena’s room. She was in her room, sleeping. He didn’t want to disturb her, so he quietly walked away.

nAs he walked forward, he sensed a presence. Quickly moving in a blur, he appeared in front of the figure hiding behind the pillars.

n“Who are you? Why are you hiding near my chambers?” Keith asked in a threatening tone.

n“F-Forgive me! Young master. I was just checking why Rena was here. After she left her room, I couldn’t find her.”

nA lady vampire looked at him with a tinge of fear peeking from her eyes half-closed. She was one foot shorter and quite petite. Her azure-colored eyes looked hypnotic with slender eyebrows. She was wearing a dark gothic dress that was covering her entire body.

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