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nIn a dark room covered with countless shimmering runes, a single figure was resting inside a blood pool. The blood inside was very pure and from the freshness, it was collected not too long ago.

nThe sound of slow footsteps was heard from the other side.

n“What brings you here?” The vampire inside the blood pool said without looking back.

n“The orientation ceremony has already ended and we have a lot to handle. You missed out on a lot of action by not attending the event.” The vampire that just arrived in the room said.

n“Hmm? Is there some good talent you came across, Jesper?” The vampire inside the pool creased his brows.

nDean Jesper came out of the shadow, fully revealing his face. His aura was terrifying but it had no effect on the vampire inside the blood pool.

n“Indeed. We have quite a few good entries this year. One in particular, is very promising.” Dean Jesper said with a smile.

n“Oh, for you to give this much praise, the vampire must be very powerful. Above 50 percent original genes?”

n“Unfortunately his original genes couldn’t be determined. That doesn’t mean he lacks original genes, for a vampire to show this much strength and control over blood-qi, I doubt his genes are lower than 20 percent in the worst case.

nThe judgment pillar failed to analyze his genes, do you understand what this means, Lucien?”Dean Jesper asked.

nThe vampire inside the blood pool turned his head. Two glowing red eyes reflected the vastness of his aura. He slowly got out of the pool and the runes changed surrounding the pool.

nTwo bars came out from the ground and wrapped Lucien with a fabric that changed shape into a magnificent attire. Simultaneously, he expelled the residue of blood dripping from his body with his aura.

nEven after wearing his dress, his toned outline was somewhat perceivable as his ripped shoulders and arms were noticeable.

n“Did you break through to the final stage of your warrior frame?” Dean Jesper asked.

nThe man in front of him was the dean of the blood warrior department, Lucien Vi. He was at the Final Stage of the duke level. And his warrior frame was stuck at the second stage of the duke level for decades.

n“Not yet. But I can feel the meridians open, so it will be happening soon.” Lucien replied politely.

n“I don’t understand. Why don’t you agree to the council’s offer? They could help you reach the king stage. Then the position of the director would come easy to you.” Dean Jesper looked at Lucien with a complicated face.

nHe was very envious and respectful to Lucien. Being only a century old, Lucien was one of the youngest Dukes on the continent. On top of that, he was never involved in any major scruffles, but all of the higher-level vampires knew his strength, as he defeated a Duke ghoul while being an early stage duke. This was almost thirty years ago.

nNow, nobody knew his exact battle strength as he rarely got out of his chambers. They could roughly guess from the aura emitted by him, but that also was suppressed by him.

n“You know how they do things. I will be a king on the name, but be a slave to those council elders, no thank you. I can reach there on my own, maybe it will take some time, but I am not short of it.

n“As for the position of the director, I have no interest in it. With the amount of work I have to do, I will have no time to train. I can somehow manage due to my excellent subordinates.” Lucien replied confidently.

n“As strong as you are, you are a terrible dean. If it wasn’t for your strength, the director would have fired you already.” Dean Jesper replied with a snort.

n“Oh come on! I have tenure. He can’t fire me. I’m the youngest dean in the history of the academy and the earliest to get tenure.” Lucien laughed.

n“Hmph! Can’t you figure it out? The council is trying to rope you in. They are not aggressive now, but if you keep this up, they will come after you sooner or later.” Dean Jesper warned.

n“I know. They are some tough old bats. I need to get stronger if I even hope to hold them back. One one one, I can beat an early stage King, but if they gang up on me, I’m done for. How many king-level elders are there in the council? I forgot.” Lucien tried to remember.

n“Seven. They are all over a thousand. The youngest in the council elder’s seat is a duke at the age of 800.” Jesper replied.

n“Damn! They are still keeping them. The system is corrupt from the inside.” Lucien looked angry.

n“Do you even know how rare dukes are? If you stay in your own little bubble, even kings will be mediocre to you.”

n“Isn’t that a good thing? Why bother about useless politics when strength determines all. I want to see the faces of those elders when I reach the final stage of King. I bet they will bow down and worship me.” Lucien laughed out loud.

n“Don’t underestimate the council. They have many hidden cards yet to reveal. If you recklessly put them down, don’t whine later. Besides, reaching the king stage will take you centuries if not millennia. Can you hold them back for such a long time?

nAh! Look at the time. I’m late again.” Jesper checked his rune which glowed with a message.

n“Aren’t you happy to see me after such a long time? How about you join me for a cup of balché blood.” Lucien asked temptingly.

n“Please, I have a department to run. Unlike you, I don’t have good subordinates. Look into this, you will know everything.”

nDean Jesper handed Lucien a rune card and vanished from his spot.

n“There he goes again. I wonder why he was so worked up?”

nLucien attached the rune card to his own and all the information transferred to his rune circle.

nAs he read through the reports, his eyes shined brightly.

n“Interesting! He crossed the king layer with only a baron-level blood core and viscount-level warrior frame. I have to give him a visit.” Lucien kept reading the file and his smile became brighter.

n***

nBack in the training facility, Keith talked it out with the duo and they postponed the plan to meet the Lennar family heir a bit later. Keith was still in the phase of accumulating and he wanted to break through to the viscount stage before proceeding with the plan.

nSitting in his spot, Keith absorbed the blood-qi and focused his mind entirely on leveling up his warrior frame. He wanted to level it up to the count stage before leveling up his blood core.

nThat way his blood-qi density and base would be at the peak of perfection. There will be no gaps and empty spaces inside his body. His body will be fully packed with blood-qi. Also, the warrior frame will act independently from the blood core and his overall blood-qi will be way higher than regular viscounts.

nThe afternoon passed and Keith left the training facility with a satisfied face. He came out of the building and headed to his living quarters. As he took a turn into a nearby corridor, a handsome man stood there, leaning against the wall.

nKeith walked past him without any thought but as he crossed him a tremendous pressure descended on him. He couldn’t move his body forward. Only his eyes could move and he looked at the handsome man, with sweat dripping from his forehead.

nAfter his movements stopped, he immediately ordered the system to scan the vampire next to him. But to their surprise, the system couldn’t scan his body. The senses couldn’t penetrate the aura surrounding him.

nThe entire figure looked like a black hole, just like he felt the high stage at the orientation.

n“Don’t be afraid. I’m here to talk.” Lucien smiled at Keith and the suppression lifted immediately.

n“Who… Who are you?” Keith asked while gasping.

nEven after the aura was lifted the lingering feeling stayed. The vampire in front of him was so strong, the mere presence of him suffocated Keith.

n“Wow! You’ve been training in my facility all this time, and you didn’t take the time to inquire about me.” Lucien shook his head.

n“Are… you the dean of the blood warrior department?” Keith asked reluctantly.

n“Bingo! I thought you would never figure it out. Why would anyone from other departments come here? Can’t you feel my aura?”

nKeith already guessed that the vampire in front of him was above duke level. He couldn’t even fathom his blood-qi level. Keith stood there silently without making any expression. Just a straight face. He tried to look calm, but the sweat on his forehead gave it away.

n“I’ve read your report. You secured the first rank in the orientation, but that’s not the highlight.”

n“You crossed the king layer with your level of blood-qi. That really fascinates me.” Lucien said with a beaming smile.

n“What do you mean?” Keith asked with a blank face.

n“How did you do it? If I am pleased by your answer, I might take you in as my direct disciple.” Lucien declared.

n“DON’T YOU DARE TAKE MY ASSISTANT AWAY FROM ME, LUCIEN!”

nA loud scream was heard from the other side of the corridor and the figure that Keith was quite familiar with entered into his vision.

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