A Martial God's Bloodline

Li Ye had a very keen interest in the Legacy Realm.

In the end however, he noticed that his range of activities was limited to the old castle. Any further, and he would face a frightening pressure!

Without even moving one step, simply standing where he was could already make him feel as though his entire person was going to be crushed into dust!

“Such terrifying force! What is this place outside?”

He discovered that he would be completely fine as long as he stayed in the castle. Once he left the castle area, he felt as if he was subjected to a thousand-fold increase in pressure. If he was an ordinary person instead of a vampire, he would have immediately exploded after leaving the castle!

With no other choice, Li Ye gave up his plan to explore the outside and returned to the castle.

Li Ye then spent half a day studying the so-called Ichorian Legacy.

“Ichorians start from the lowest rank of Baron, progressing upward to Viscount, Count, Marquis, Duke and King.”

The classification system was linked to the six doors[1] of the castle. Recalling the giant golden door above all six that exuded a formidable force, it was as though he confirmed something.

“Are there any higher bloodlines above the King?”

Li Ye looked directly at the legacy elf.

“Yes, above the King, it was rumored that the Ichor race originally had twelve True Ancestors in the ancient times. They existed above all Ichorians as gods, but in this respect, they were nothing more than legends.”

True Ancestor? Li Ye nodded his head and said, “Then the door above these six doors can only be entered by True Ancestors.”

Li Ye finally had a general understanding of his own situation.

The bloodline within him belonged to the nobler Ichorians.

A Marquis Ichorian, even when considered in the context of such an ancient race, also belonged to the upper-middle class. Such status was not at all inferior. Generally, when an Ichorian reaches the status of Count, the resistance to the sun and other things is greatly enhanced. As for Marquis, they were practically immune to most of the dangerous items that could potentially restrain an Ichorian.

“Sir, you now have the Marquis’ bloodline. You need not fear the sun, or garlic, or silver items. You can maintain your vitality by eating just like any ordinary person.”

Recent days had allowed Li Ye to confirm that fact.

“Nevertheless, you are still at the awakening tier of your bloodline. As of now, you are currently unable to use a great majority of a Marquis’ ability.”

The topic changed and the legacy elf made that sudden remark.

“Awakening tier of the bloodline? What does that mean?” Was Li Ye not considered a true Marquis yet?

“Yes, the bloodline in your body has just only been activated and awakened, so strictly speaking, you are not yet a true Ichorian. Only when you have fully ignited your bloodline’s full strength will you formally be considered a member of the Ichor race.”

Li Ye frowned. Although he discovered that he was stronger than ordinary people, he was still not as powerful as those in legends.

“How are true Ichorians like? How strong will they be if their status is that of a Marquis?”

“I can’t answer this question in full, but at least, according to the strength of the world you are residing in currently, an ordinary Baron can completely demolish anyone below the Innate Sovereign Level. As for Viscounts, your world’s so-called Innate Sovereign Level would struggle to hold them back. A Count Ichorian would be difficult to kill by ordinary means, and perhaps the only people capable of contending against them are one or two Dark Earth State cultivators. Your bloodline, on the other hand, can easily destroy hundreds of Dark Earth State cultivators once you have awakened it to its fullest.”

GASP!

Li Ye inhaled sharply. He knew that the Ichor race was one of the ancient races that proliferated since ancient times, while the legends heard in his past life also told him that it was a very powerful race. However, he never expected that an Ichorian would have such incredible power.

Destroying hundreds or thousands of Dark Earth State Masters? Those who have reached the Dark Earth State were considered deity-like beings not only in the entire Wu Prefecture City, but also in other similar cities within the entire Jiangnan Circuit! Such Masters were only present in those uber-formidable super-sects.

“Of course, only an Ichorian of Marquis status can have their own servitors! This is something that the lower-status Ichorians could never compare with!”

The legacy elf looked proud when he mentioned that, as if he was one of the higher-status noblemen in the Ichor race.

“Servitors?” Li Ye’s interest was piqued and he asked, “What exactly is a servitor?”

“Servitors are slaves by which a high-status Ichorian created using their own blood essence. The person who is turned into a slave will themselves become an Ichorian!”

Hearing that, Li Ye suddenly wondered if he was considered to be someone else’s servitor, since he had changed from a normal person to what he was then?

“You mean, only a higher-status Ichorian can transform ordinary people into servitors?”

“Yes! They must at least be on the rank of Marquis. Ordinary lower-status Ichorians are unable to do so!”

Li Ye was eighty percent confident that the reason for him becoming that way was because of the beautiful girl whom he met that night.

“In that case, the girl must be a fairly high-ranking Ichorian?”

He found it a little creepy to think that he would be a slave to someone. Servitors could not resist their own owner, and their owner could turn the servitors into ashes with a single thought!

“As a servitor, everything will be dedicated to your owner, including life! Of course, if the owner dies, the servitor will also die. At the same time, if the servitor’s bloodline sees a future increase in strength, it will always remain one status lower than the owner’s bloodline, unless the servitor forcibly breaks the prohibition by devouring the master’s blood! In that way, the slave will then become the master.”

According to the legacy elf, the Ichor race was a very cruel one. Even within the race itself, its members can devour the blood of other Ichorians to increase their status. Some lower-status Ichorians can even elevate their status by devouring the blood of higher-status Ichorians.

“So, does that mean that a lower-status Ichorian can devour my bloodline to increase their status?”

“Yes! In theory, this may be the case. But lower Ichorians are inherently subjugated by higher Ichorians. Lower Ichorians are unable to oppose it, even if they are merely one level lower than their counterpart. The difference is just too great, unless…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless they’re like you, Sir, whose bloodline has just been awakened but yet to be fully activated. If you encounter a lower-status Ichorian who has developed their bloodline to the fullest, they will likely devour your blood!”

Li Ye felt cold throughout his entire body. According to the legacy elf, Li Ye was analogous to a baby—his level of awakening was exceedingly low despite the high status of his bloodline. He would be unable to suppress strong lower-status Ichorians. Their thirst and desire were enough to spur them into devouring him by force!

“In this case, wouldn’t all Ichorians want to devour each other then?”

As Li Ye thought of that, he felt a churning in his stomach along with a deep fear toward the Ichor race itself.

“Yes, which is why you have servitors! Higher-status Ichorians reinforce their own servitors. One reason for that is to make them your servants, but the other reason is to turn them into your bodyguards.”

“Then, as a Marquis, can I transform some strong individuals into my own servitors to protect myself?” If so, Li Ye would immediately transform some of Innate Sovereign Masters into a servitor. By then, the whole Wu Prefecture City would probably be his to control.

“Sir, you have not awakened enough yet. You need to awaken to at least the third tier if you want to transform someone to become your servitor. The strength of the transformed person cannot exceed your own strength too much, otherwise the transformation will not be successful.”

Like a pot of cold water poured directly onto his head, the legacy elf immediately shot down Li Ye’s beautiful plan.

“Third tier? What tier have I awakened to, then?”

“Sir, you only activated your bloodline a while ago, so it can only be considered the first tier.”

The first tier! Li Ye was speechless, but he nonetheless asked, “How do you differentiate the tiers of awakening?”

“As soon as your strength enters Innatism, the second tier of awakening will begin.”

Damn! At the end of the day, he still needed to cultivate to Innatism to awaken the second tier of the bloodline! That was not the end either, since there was still a third tier!

“How many tiers would be considered a complete awakening?”

“There are four tiers according to the status of your bloodline. If your bloodline is higher, then you will have to awaken it to a higher degree.”

Coming out of the Legacy Realm, Li Ye’s consciousness discovered two more additional battle skills that were tailored specifically for the blood race.

“The Shadow Raid is actually a stealth assassination technique!”

It allowed one to conceal one’s body in the dark or in the shadows. It was rather more appropriate to call it a physical technique rather than a battle technique. Despite the incredible efficacy of that ability, it was also greatly limited in the sense that it was useless in bright places or during the day.

“Batmorphosis allows one to transform between humans and bats!”

It was similar to scenes in movies where vampires disappeared by turning into a flock of bats. Although the real Ichorian ability was not that amazing, it still allowed one to switch between human state and bat form. Nevertheless, it could only be done in a dark environment and had similarly massive restrictions.

Despite having an additional two battle techniques, Li Ye was not very satisfied. Techniques with significantly strict restrictions did nothing in terms of improving his strength.

He was more interested in the natural ability of the Ichor race, which was recuperation through the absorption of other people’s blood essence.

In addition, Ichorians were ten times faster in the dark than in the daytime! Li Ye finally knew why nightfall enhanced his acuity of heaven and earth’s vitality and enabled him to cultivate so quickly.

“Simply put, Ichorians are born for the night. They are the kings of darkness.”

Li Ye closed his eyes. It turned out to be night time in the outside world, and Li Ye discovered that his senses had improved in many aspects. His union with the vitality of his natural surroundings had increased several times.

Whoosh!

His entire figure disappeared from the room and completely merged with the darkness. He was already at the door when he reappeared the next moment.

[1] In an earlier chapter where the Legacy Realm was first mentioned, we were told that there were seven doors (in addition to another gold-engraved one above them, thus totaling eight). but we were never told what the sixth door was. In this chapter, the author states it is six doors (plus the one above, thus totaling seven) and we will choose to keep it that way.