Blood Qi

Keith gazed at himself in the mirror when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

A maid in her late teens brought a glass of blood for him.

"Young master, here is your blood."

"Put it on the table." Keith refrained from taking the glass from her.

The maid placed the glass of blood on the nearby table and bowed.

"Is there anything else you need?" she asked Keith.

"No, you can leave." He didn't want anything for now; he needed time to clear his mind and make sense of all this.

The maid left his room and closed the doors. As soon as she was gone, he sat down on his bed and closed his eyes. From the memories of the previous Keith, he learned about the various power levels in vampire society.

Every vampire was born with Blood Condensation Phase One. When they evolved their Blood Condensation to the tenth phase, they acquired the Blood Core—the essence of all the power a vampire possessed. The Baron class Blood Core marked the entry to the vampire power hierarchy. The subsequent levels were Viscount, Count, Marquis, Duke, Archduke, and, finally, the King.

Each increment in the Blood Core equated to exponential power growth. A Viscount was many times stronger than a Baron, and so on. The Vampire King, at the pinnacle of power, could single-handedly destroy entire armies. However, the strength of vampires and their Blood Cores didn't always match. Some inherited titles without the required Blood Core, given they had the means to retain it. Occasionally, a fight for the title ensued if there was no unanimous decision, such as the position of King, which was purely based on individual power and not automatically passed to the next generation. Every vampire had a chance to become a vampire king, but very few actually succeeded.

The evolving process significantly depended on blood concentration, which indicated the number of original vampire genes a vampire possessed. The original vampires, ancestors, and true-bloods who created the vampire race were like gods to ordinary vampires. History revealed that vampire ancestors had inhabited the continent 100 thousand years ago. The climate suited vampires, with the sun absent year-round and the cold persisting throughout. Vampire settlements enslaved humans in the continent, using them like cattle.

However, under the rule of the 15th king in recent years, humans were treated fairly. While some families opposed this, they ultimately acquiesced to the king's decision.

Keith focused all his attention on his body; his blood concentration was very low, and his weak physique hindered his blood condensation. He was born with a genetic disability that caused backlash every time blood condensed in his body, preventing the formation of the blood channeling path. He was trying hard to increase his blood condensation to the next phase, but each attempt resulted in backlash and disrupted flow.

"I need to find a way to make my blood qi flow, or else Marvin will kill me after he gets the inheritance, if not before."

He recalled everything about his condition and attempted to find a solution to this obstacle. As per his understanding, the rate at which blood qi flows depended on blood concentration. The primary reason for blood qi not flowing was the absence of vampire genes. In this era, nobody suspected mixed genes; they assumed his talent was low and he lacked the blood concentration to evolve further. However, Keith could sense that his blood flow was normal; it was just unable to circulate inside his body.

Digging deeper into his memories, he discovered that mixed-bloods could circulate their blood qi, but the vampire side had to dominate over the weaker genes.

"Does that mean the genes I have are as powerful as the vampires or even more than that?"

He pondered this deeply. If that were the case, he needed to find a way to suppress the other gene so that the vampire gene could flourish.

This time, instead of making his blood qi flow, he focused on scanning his entire body to find the dominant gene. However, his efforts yielded nothing until he scanned the mark on his forehead, causing it to glow. Intrigued, he used his blood qi to scan the mark, and something strange occurred. Purple tendrils emerged and enveloped his blood qi, moving downward and coiling into his palms, creating a peculiar mark on his right palm.

When he scanned his right palm with his blood qi, he sensed nothing unusual. However, a new sensation coursed through his body, allowing his blood qi to flow with ease. He could channel the blood qi without any hindrance.

"What in the world? Is this because of those purple tendrils? What exactly are those?"

Keith felt deeply intrigued by the purple mark and tendrils. The reason he transmigrated to this world was the purple butterfly, so what was the connection between the butterfly and this world?

"Forget it. I will think about that later. Now, I have to increase my blood qi."

He sat on his bed for six hours, focusing all his energy on circulating his blood qi and condensation it in his heart. The flow of blood qi accelerated, and he felt his body improving. His complexion became healthier, and he looked more vigorous.

"If I keep this up, I can increase my blood condensation to phase two within one week."

At twenty years old, he was already considered an adult by human standards, but for vampires, twenty years was akin to infancy. Powerful vampires like the king lived for thousands of years, making twenty years seem like a fleeting moment.

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*

"Young master, I brought you dinner."

"Uh..."

He didn't know what to do. Until today, he was human, and now he had to drink human blood. From the memories of past Keith, he knew that it was essential for vampires to drink blood. Although they could drink the blood of other organisms, it caused severe side effects, making human blood the ideal choice for them. Some vampires attempted to experiment and create hybrid blood to increase its quality, but so far, only pure human blood yielded the best results. As a result, drinking human blood had become the norm.