"The effects of the Ancient Blood were potent."

After a while, Lyn gently laid Xing Luo on the bedroom bed.

Having replenished her with ample blood—now infused with the overwhelming energy from assimilated Ancient Blood—Xing Luo’s condition had fully stabilized. The transfusion had essentially restored what she’d lost.

While Lyn carried her, her body had gradually reverted to its previous form, though it showed no further growth. Now, she breathed steadily and quietly. The blood loss had plunged her into a brief slumber; though her lineage deficit was replenished, the sudden depletion had strained her body. It would take time to fully mend.

Lyn wasn’t worried. He trusted the Ancient Blood’s formidable energy would aid her recovery.

His confidence surged when he turned his attention inward. After devouring Xing Luo’s Starry Dragon bloodline and the Ancient Blood, his vampiric lineage now flowed like a torrent—powerful, dominant, surging through his veins. With time, it would only grow stronger.

His bloodline’s ascension had already occurred seamlessly. While fretting over Xing Luo, his lineage had finally undergone the first-stage evolution he’d long awaited.

As his bloodline transformed, his mana broke through its limits too.

In an instant, Lyn felt his mental power surge wildly—from the Third Rank of the Supernatural toward the Fourth Rank of the Earth Realm. The explosive growth made him feel as if he were merging with nature itself, a hallmark of Earth Rank ascension.

The Fourth Rank (Earth), Fifth Tier (Sky), and Sixth Tier (Holy Domain) all involved gradually absorbing natural forces and comprehending the world. At this stage, Lyn could now cultivate through formal Meditation Techniques, exchanging his mana with the external world to be nourished by heaven, earth, and nature.

This would drastically elevate both the quality and quantity of his mana, enabling him to learn and control more complex, powerful magic sigils.

"Nearly two years... I’ve finally broken through. Unexpectedly, forced into a do-or-die gamble. But I owe it to Xing Luo. Without her, I’d likely have been on death’s door moments ago."

Lyn reflected inwardly.

From his eager preparations for the Blood Ritual, to Xing Luo’s clash with the Ancient Blood that ruined it, then the Ancient Blood’s mutation forcing his desperate breakthrough—

He’d achieved his goal, but he never wanted to relive that rollercoaster again.

Now that his bloodline was fully restored, Lyn knew he’d never be cornered like that again.

He’d always been a prodigy in cultivation.

His rise to the Third Rank had been swift, once earning him widespread admiration. But after his bloodline weakened, his talent was shackled. While others surpassed him and broke into the Fourth Rank, he remained stuck at Third—plummeting from genius to laughingstock, branded with humiliating labels.

Especially as a Belmond heir. After enduring hellish trials and mountains of resources, breaking into the Third Rank should’ve been guaranteed. Yet his bloodline had chained him down.

Within the Belmond clan, it was a stain on their honor.

Shattering those chains felt like a boulder crushing his shoulders had finally shattered to dust.

Probing his bloodline now, Lyn sensed his Bloodrage Technique and Blood Manipulation Art had both evolved, unlocking new abilities.

Especially the Bloodrage Technique!

With a mere thought, he realized activating it could grant him traits akin to dragons.

No doubt a gift from Xing Luo’s bloodline. His devouring bloodline art had absorbed its secrets, allowing his own to mimic draconic mysteries. With time, he could fully transform into a dragon using this technique—the pinnacle of his devouring gift, a boundary other similar bloodline arts could never cross.

Yet strangely...

"The Ancient Blood’s power... after devouring it, why did it grant no new ability?"

Lyn frowned. That blood’s ferocity had haunted him; he’d barely digested it. He’d expected far greater rewards. Though his bloodline was restored—and stronger than before—the breakthrough felt... underwhelming. His vampiric lineage was formidable, but it paled against the Ancient Blood’s rampage within him earlier.

*Damn it.*

*Power spikes when corrupted but dips after redemption? Does that apply here too?*

Lyn scanned his bloodline repeatedly but detected no anomalies.

Unseen by him, a faint crimson-gold light pulsed deep within his spinal cord, slowly undergoing a profound transformation.

Shaking off his thoughts, Lyn summoned the system.

A panel materialized:

**Wrath: 5**

**Pride: 8**

**Lust: 12**

**Greed: 0**

**Sloth: 1**

**Envy: 1**

**Gluttony: 3**

**Devil King Authority: 0**

To summon Xing Luo, Lyn had emptied all collected Authorities and spent every point of Devil King Authority in a final gamble.

Yet seeing Lust skyrocket to 12 in such a short time left him speechless.

*This was utterly absurd.*

"I need to level up the other Authorities quickly," Lyn sighed inwardly. He could convert excessive Sin Authorities into Devil King Authority—but only if all others had at least one point. To convert Lust, for example, he’d need 6 Lust points plus 1 point in every other Authority, yielding 100 Devil King Authority. That currency unlocked the system’s true power and rare weekly-refreshed items.

But wielding a Devil King’s power at his current strength was wasteful. He’d mostly used it for precious items. Stuck at Third Rank, the shop’s inventory had stagnated. Once he’d stocked up, he’d focused solely on preparing for the ritual sacrifice.

Now, with his bloodline restored, his next goal was clear: complete the Third Rank Devil King Trial!

Clearing it would upgrade the system’s offerings.

"Time to reclaim my honor."

Lyn took a deep breath and reached for the system again, ready to begin the Third Rank Devil King Trial.

The space before him warped violently. His consciousness was yanked into a magnificent realm.