Scout

The Blood Mist Barrier surged up, and the light within the Yin Clan City-State immediately dimmed.

Faint footsteps came from all around; Yin Clan Warriors on night patrol were changing shifts. The flapping of garments swept through the air as the Yin Clan Experts responsible for nighttime patrols returned one after another to the External Affairs Hall to hand over their duties after the Blood Mist Barrier opened.

Yin Xuege awoke from his ethereal state of cultivation.

At once, he lowered his head and gripped the Silver Jade Cicada hanging from his chest. Feeling its warm, smooth touch, a strange expression surfaced on Yin Xuege's childish face—half smile, half sorrow.

"My mother, whom I have never met, actually left me such a treasure!"

The Autumn Cicada Hibernation Art had already been deeply branded into Yin Xuege's heart. With every breath, the secret art operated naturally, requiring no effort or concentration from him. His aura remained obscure as before, no different from that of an ordinary child.

Yet when he focused inward, thirty-six drops of azure, radiant essence blood within Yin Xuege's heart expanded and contracted with every beat. Azure halos flowed through his blood and spread throughout his body, little by little carving and tempering his physique, strengthening his power.

When Yin Clan children first broke through to become Star Warriors, they could condense only a single drop of Blood Demon Essence Blood. Thereafter, each additional drop increased their strength by a measure. Once a hundred drops of Blood Demon Essence Blood had been refined within the heart, one had reached the ultimate perfection of a Star Warrior!

Never had anyone heard of a child condensing thirty-six drops of essence blood upon breaking through to Star Warrior! It had never happened before; it was unheard of! Yin Xuege's current strength already rivaled that of Yin Clan members who had cultivated bitterly for three to five years after their breakthrough.

Slowly rising to his feet, Yin Xuege's body flickered, suddenly leaving six afterimages in the small room. Like a ghost, he appeared and vanished throughout the chamber, at times running across the walls and ceiling. Having broken through to Star Warrior, whether sprinting along walls or simply running upside down across the ceiling, he moved as though walking on level ground, without the slightest discomfort!

The afterimages abruptly drew in, and Yin Xuege stood in the center of the room with his aura as calm as ever. The blood energy suffusing his body withdrew into his heart, and the surging blood energy immediately stirred the essence blood he had just condensed. A flash of bloodlight passed through his eyes. All thirty-six drops of Blood Demon Essence Blood in his heart flickered with azure light at once, and a subtle sensation flooded into his mind. Yin Xuege suddenly understood two wondrous abilities.

Whenever a Yin Clan child broke through to become a Star Warrior, one or two strange abilities would awaken from their bloodline. If such an ability was a close-combat move, it was called a Blood Skill. If it was a long-range spell, it was called Blood Arts.

The azure glow of one drop of essence blood suddenly erupted in full. Yin Xuege's body was enveloped in a dense layer of blood mist, while three-inch streams of sharp bloodlight burst from the five fingers of his right hand. He looked around his room, grabbed a bronze paperweight he used daily from the table, and savagely clawed down at the bronze bar, over a foot long and roughly an inch thick.

With a crisp crack, the sturdy, heavy bronze paperweight was split into six pieces by Yin Xuege's claw. The bronze fragments, their cut surfaces smooth as mirrors, fell one after another and struck the floor with clanging sounds. Yin Xuege's little face twitched unconsciously. The Blood Skill he had awakened, Blood Dripping Claw, possessed such terrifying power—its killing force was at least ten times greater than the standard soft sword used by the Children's Hall.

A flush rose across his fair face. Excited, Yin Xuege dispersed the power of Blood Dripping Claw, and threads of blood energy flowed back into his heart. That dimmed drop of azure essence blood immediately regained its luster. However, tearing apart the bronze paperweight had consumed quite a bit of strength, and the azure radiance flowing from that drop of essence blood was noticeably weaker than before.

His body swayed, and Yin Xuege began chanting an eerie incantation. Three other drops of azure essence blood in his heart suddenly dimmed. His body became a hazy blood shadow, then vanished without a trace. The next instant, he appeared in a corner of the room several meters away, his face once more flushed crimson with excitement!

This was the exceedingly rare escape secret art, Blood Shadow Technique—the life-saving art of transforming into a blood shadow and fleeing thousands of miles in an instant!

Blood Dripping Claw was merely a lowly close-combat Blood Skill, a move used by low-level warriors to fight for their lives at close quarters. Though Blood Dripping Claw had astonishing destructive power, it was of little significance. Within the Yin Clan, only low-ranking vassal warriors used Blood Dripping Claw to fight enemies to the death!

Blood Arts such as Blood Shadow Technique, on the other hand, consumed enormous amounts of power and required at least all the energy contained within three drops of essence blood to use. They were the arts most prized by the direct line of the Yin Clan. The Blood Demon Clan was treacherous and unpredictable; they believed in striking once and, if the blow missed, fleeing a thousand miles. Naturally, they valued escape and life-preserving arts above all else!

Having received the most orthodox teachings of the Yin Clan in the Children's Hall since childhood, Yin Xuege naturally valued this life-saving Blood Shadow Technique even more!

Moreover, Yin Xuege knew full well that enemies were everywhere within the Yin Clan. A secret art for preserving his life was far more practical than a combat technique for risking it! Not every Yin Clan child who broke through to Star Warrior could comprehend a life-saving secret art like Blood Shadow Technique. This Blood Shadow Technique could entirely serve as Yin Xuege's trump card for survival!

Filled with excitement, Yin Xuege exhausted all the energy contained within the thirty-six drops of essence blood in his heart, familiarizing himself with the newly comprehended Blood Skill and Blood Arts. When the drums of the Children's Hall sounded once again, Yin Xuege fell silent for a while, then feigned being at death's door and lay on his bed. Even after the Children's Hall's three rounds of drums had ended, he did not go to the Children's Hall!

After living in the Yin Clan for eleven years, Yin Xuege had already developed his own way of protecting himself!

He had not appeared for several days in a row, and everyone in the Yin Clan knew he had been severely injured by Yin Jiwu's palm strike. Yin Xuege vanished for days on end, yet no one found it strange! Even those direct descendants who usually loved causing trouble for him did not come to make a racket outside his little building.

Every day, a Blood Servant delivered Yin Xuege's prescribed share of blood to his room—fresh blood drawn from Blood Slaves, the daily food required by Yin Clan children. Without fresh blood to dissolve the cold energy within their bodies, these children would die when their bloodlines froze.

Yin Xuege consumed fresh Blood Slave blood at the appointed time each day, absorbed moon essence every night to temper himself, and exhausted the power of the Blood Demon Essence Blood in his heart every day, doing his utmost to familiarize himself with the Blood Dripping Claw and Blood Shadow Technique he had just comprehended.

Half a month passed in a rush. Yin Xuege discovered with some surprise that his body seemed to have undergone certain wondrous changes. Even if he did not consume his daily fresh blood, his body was no longer affected by the chill. Moreover, his efficiency in absorbing moonlight essence had increased to a degree that shocked even him. It was as if an inexhaustible black hole existed within him. He was not absorbing moonlight essence at all—he was plundering it, devouring it!

After an ordinary Yin Clan Star Warrior successfully condensed their first drop of essence blood, they had to painstakingly ponder the blood within their bodies and refine its blood energy before they could generate another drop of essence blood. Yet in just half a month, Yin Xuege had gained three new drops of essence blood within his body. The efficiency frightened even Yin Xuege himself!

Such talent was unheard of within the Yin Clan. It could only be described as monstrous!

Yin Xuege knew even more clearly that if Yin Jiwu, Yin Jihuang, and the others learned what had happened to him, what awaited him would surely be death by a thousand cuts—or simply vanishing from the face of the earth. Therefore, apart from cultivation each day, he continuously practiced the Autumn Cicada Hibernation Art, concealing every last trace of his aura.

Another half month passed. It had now been exactly one month since Yin Xuege had severely injured Yin Xuejiao in the Children's Hall.

Yin Xuejiao, whose neck had been cut halfway through and who had lost a great deal of blood energy, nearly falling from the Star Warrior realm he had just entered back into the Juvenile Realm, had also fully recovered under the nourishment of large quantities of precious Blood Essence.

After drinking the last bowl of specially prepared Blood Essence, Yin Xuejiao let out a satisfied burp. His complexion was rosy, heat radiated from his entire body, and the number of essence blood drops in his heart had reached three. Having gained considerable strength, Yin Xuejiao leaped from the bed with a pant, then viciously smashed the white jade bowl in his hand against the floor.

"Damn Yin Xuege! I'm not finished with him!" Yin Xuejiao touched his neck, now as perfect as before without even the slightest scar, and roared furiously. He stomped hard, and the mighty power of a Star Warrior erupted. His bed immediately shattered into countless fragments.

Yin Jihuan, a Yin Family steward sent by Yin Jiwu to serve Yin Xuejiao exclusively, smiled and bowed slightly toward him. Like all Yin Clan members, Yin Jihuan appeared to be a handsome young man. Only his triangular eyes ruined the overall impression, making him seem somewhat sinister and cunning.

"Young Master Xuejiao, Yin Xuege has not had an easy time these days either. Second Master gave him a palm strike last time. Though it did not kill him on the spot, he has spent this entire month lying in his little building without stepping outside."

His thin lips curled slightly, and Yin Jihuan gave a few gleeful snickers.

"That bastard is nothing compared to you, Young Master. You receive carefully prepared Essence Blood Potions every day. Not only has your body fully recovered, your strength is advancing by leaps and bounds! That bastard only gets the most basic Blood Slave blood three times a day. He is probably still suffering right now."

Yin Xuejiao raised a brow and suddenly burst into laughter. He cast a vicious glance at Yin Jihuan, then swung his hand and slapped Yin Jihuan across the face.

"Nonsense! What is that bastard? Born to parents but never taught by them, a wild bastard who does not even know who his real father is—and you dare compare him to me? Think of a way. I don't want him to suffer. I want him dead!"

Though Yin Jihuan was a steward of the Yin Clan, he was only among its lowest-ranking stewards, handling nothing but the lowly work of serving others. Although he and Yin Jiying of the Children's Hall belonged to the same generation of Yin Clan members, he came from a distant collateral branch. His status in the Yin Clan was only slightly higher than that of Blood Servants and Blood Slaves.

Thus, after receiving Yin Xuejiao's slap, Yin Jihuan did not become angry. Instead, he approached Yin Xuejiao with an even more brilliant smile and humbly consoled him. "Young Master Xuejiao, though that wild bastard is worthless and we all want him dead, he still bears the title of a direct descendant of the Yin Family. If he is truly killed, should there be an investigation, I fear you would not escape involvement either, Young Master!"

Yin Xuejiao ground his teeth until they crackled. He stared fixedly at Yin Jihuan, then viciously kicked him in the face.

"Cut the nonsense! I broke through to Star Warrior at fourteen. I am the greatest genius the Yin Clan has seen in centuries! He is only a bastard, a wild mongrel who does not know who his father is, yet before so many people, he nearly cut off my head!"

The more Yin Xuejiao thought about it, the angrier he became. Blood mist surged around his body in agitation, and every strand of his long hair stood straight up!

After breaking through to become a Star Warrior, Yin Xuejiao had believed he would earn his father's favor and receive the full support of the Lineage's resources. From then on, he would soar to the heavens in a single step and grow smoothly into one of the Lineage's core elites!

Never in his dreams had he imagined that he would suffer such a huge loss at Yin Xuege's hands! Before everyone's eyes, he, a newly advanced Star Warrior, had been severely injured by a child and nearly killed by Yin Xuege's sword! Not only had this made him the laughingstock of the entire Yin Clan, turning both father and son into objects of ridicule for the other clansmen, it had also earned Yin Xuejiao a month of cold looks and scoldings from his father!

"He must die! Yin Jihuan, stop talking nonsense!"

Glaring viciously at Yin Jihuan, who lay on the ground too afraid to move, Yin Xuejiao snarled, "Think of a way to kill him. I know your son is about to reach the age to enter the Children's Hall. I will naturally see that he receives proper cultivation! Or keep playing dumb, and I will have the people of the Children's Hall kill your son! You decide for yourself!"

Yin Jihuan's body shuddered violently. His sinister triangular eyes darted rapidly as he racked his brains for a way to kill Yin Xuege. As for whether there would be any consequences after Yin Xuege died, he could no longer afford to care.

The Yin Clan struggled to produce offspring. Affected by the cold energy contained within the Blood Demon Physique, Yin Clan members produced a new generation only once every hundred years on average. Yin Jihuan held neither power nor influence in the Yin Clan, and naturally did not have many wives or concubines. He had only managed to sire a son six years ago, treating him as dearly as his own heart and liver. Yin Xuejiao threatened him with his only child, so naturally he had no fear that Yin Jihuan would refuse to comply.

Seeing Yin Jihuan in this state, Yin Xuejiao could not help sneering repeatedly.

He proudly raised his head and said leisurely, "Think carefully about how to kill that boy Yin Xuege without leading anyone back to us. Do this well, and not only will your son receive the Lineage's full cultivation, I can even reward you with several Blood Slaves. The Inner Hall stewards can transform them into Blood Demon Physiques and grant them to you as concubines. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Bloodlight rippled through Yin Jihuan's eyes. He heavily kowtowed to Yin Xuejiao, devoting all his thoughts to how to kill Yin Xuege without implicating Yin Xuejiao.

After pondering for a long while, Yin Jihuan took a black scroll from his sleeve. After unfolding it, he pointed at a line of blood-red writing upon it.

Yin Xuejiao was instantly delighted. He happily patted Yin Jihuan on the shoulder, grabbed a robe to wrap around himself, and hurried out of the little building. Yin Jihuan smugly shook his head for a moment, then hurriedly shouted, "Young Master Xuejiao!" and scampered after him.

Another ten days passed. During those ten days, Yin Xuege suddenly received treatment more generous than ever before.

During those ten days, he received an Essence Blood Potion infused with Hundred-Medicine Essence every day to nourish his body. Not only had his injuries completely healed, even during the first two days after Yin Jiwu had injured him, had he received an Essence Blood Potion each day to nourish himself, his body would have recovered almost completely.

Then something that surprised Yin Xuege even more happened—his treatment was directly elevated to the same level as that of the other direct descendants!

He received a set of soft armor made from the hide of a low-grade Demonic Beast, a soft sword forged through a thousand hammerings and extraordinarily sharp, and the Internal Affairs Hall even eagerly allocated five hundred Merit Points to him in the name of his victory over Yin Xuejiao!

Heavens have mercy, over the past few years Yin Xuege had been ordered about throughout the Yin Clan to perform all manner of odd jobs. The Merit Points in his possession had been accumulated three or five points, two or three points at a time. This time, the Internal Affairs Hall rewarded him with five hundred Merit Points at once. Had the moon risen in the west?

Five more days passed, and the Yin Clan's External Affairs Hall suddenly rang a bell summoning all low-level warriors and children. More than ten thousand low-level Yin Clan warriors and several thousand children swiftly gathered to receive the External Affairs Hall's orders.

Twelve thousand seven hundred low-level warriors stood neatly on the eastern side of the square before the External Affairs Hall, while six thousand four hundred and thirty children stood on the eastern side. On the steps before the External Affairs Hall, Yin Jiyan, the chief steward of the External Affairs Hall, stood proudly before the crowd with his hands behind his back.

"In just over a month, it will be the annual Clan Martial Grand Ceremony." Yin Jiyan's smile was strange, and his deep gaze, like a venomous serpent's tongue, swept swiftly across everyone's faces.

"I am delighted to learn that among this group of children, some have already successfully broken through to become powerful Star Warriors!"

"According to the Lineage's custom, before each year's Martial Grand Ceremony, you children have the opportunity to leave the city-state for experience and broader horizons."

"Because children have successfully broken through this year, and because there are many of them, this year's training missions have been made somewhat more difficult!"

After coughing lightly, Yin Jiyan said slowly, "Some of you children will accompany the Lineage's warriors to hunt Blood Slaves, strengthening the Lineage's foundations! Others will accompany the Lineage's hunting teams to kill Demonic Beasts, clearing the surroundings of the city-state! Naturally, there are all sorts of other missions as well. Under the protection of the Lineage's warriors, all of you will broaden your horizons!"

Yin Jiyan swept a glance over several External Affairs Hall stewards standing beside him, then slowly nodded.

An External Affairs Hall steward immediately came forward carrying a large basket. "All children will draw lots in order and see what missions you receive! These missions range from difficult to easy. Whatever you draw is what you get. Nothing could be fairer."

One child after another drew mission slips from the large basket. As usual, Yin Xuege stood at the very end of all the children. When it was his turn to draw, only the final slip remained in the basket:

Accompany the Lineage's Scout Team and infiltrate the Great Berlin City-State of the Human Alliance to investigate enemy movements!

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