Bloodline Power

"Master, you've asked the wrong person. I'm just a petty thief from the Thieves' Guild. I'm not familiar with that sort of thing. I still need to take bread back to the orphanage for the children."

The corner of Loren's mouth twitched. A thief delivering bread to an orphanage?

He could even come up with such a lousy excuse.

Loren could not be bothered to waste words.

"I'll ask you one more time. What merchant guilds in Decker City have considerable assets but are not protected by Nobles?"

The instant those words fell, the aura of a Silver Beginner Warrior erupted from Loren. Brilliant silver-white light bloomed around him, drawing startled cries from the surrounding pedestrians.

"Bloodline Power? An Awakened?!"

"He can release pale energy from his body. He's definitely a Silver Grade Awakened."

"I heard that among those of the same level, someone who has awakened Bloodline Power can fight off seven or eight people who haven't awakened it."

"Of course. Awakening Bloodline Power is incredibly difficult. There are pitifully few people in Decker City who can do it.

"As long as someone awakens Bloodline Power, they will be respected no matter which faction they join."

"The higher the bloodline potential, the stronger the awakened Bloodline Power. I wonder whether this noble master awakened a C-class or D-class bloodline."

"How could it be D-class? With such a surging aura, it has to be at least C-class. It might even be B-class."

"Gasp, B-class Bloodline Power? That's far too terrifying!!"

Amid the waves of shocked cries around him, the skinny thief was utterly consumed by fear.

This noble master had awakened Bloodline Power at only seventeen or eighteen, and it was very likely a B-class bloodline. His background was obviously unimaginably terrifying.

Why had such an important figure set his sights on him? He felt as though he had suffered eight lifetimes' worth of bad luck.

"Master, I remember now, I remember!"

His voice was rushed. "District Twelve! Most of the merchant guilds in District Twelve have no backing.

"That's where commoners live. The Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild is the largest merchant guild there. Perhaps, perhaps you'll find what you want there."

Only then did Loren slowly withdraw the faint silver Bloodline Power around him.

"Are you familiar with the merchant guilds there? Stop wasting my time!"

Startled by Loren's cold voice, the skinny thief could only nod with a bitter smile.

"I'm familiar with them. I work there often."

Work? What kind of work could a thief possibly do?

"Good. Lead the way."

Those two simple words made the thief's expression change again and again. In the end, he pulled a long face, looking as though he wanted to die.

But at that moment, an emerald-green fairy banknote the length of a palm appeared before his eyes.

The young thief's gloom instantly vanished. Brimming with delight, he accepted the 1,000 Puke fairy banknote, and all his earlier reluctance was immediately thrown to the back of his mind.

"Thank you for your generosity, respected master. District Twelve is not far away. We can get there in just twenty minutes.

"Please follow me. I'll call a carriage right away."

"No need to deliver bread now?" Loren looked at him with a faintly amused smile.

The skinny thief awkwardly rubbed his nose. "No rush. They still have food. That bread is for tomorrow."

As he spoke, he hurried to flag down a carriage by the roadside.

"Respected master, please."

Loren showed little reaction to the man's fawning expression.

He had no interest in putting on noble airs before a thief. His way of doing things had always been to use the simplest method to solve a problem.

The frosty Fiana silently watched Loren from behind without speaking. But after he handed the 1,000 Puke to the thief, her gaze suddenly grew colder.

She knew Loren only had this last 1,000 Puke left. Yet he was still putting on airs like a noble?!

She did not know what Loren wanted to accomplish by coming out here. She only knew that the person who had just refused to use her savings would probably not even be able to afford a room at the inn once they returned.

As Loren prepared to board the carriage, Fiana was furious. After seeing the skinny thief sit beside the driver, she asked coldly,

"Why did you find a thief to lead the way?"

Loren turned to look at the icy guardian and smiled.

"A thief may not make a living through theft, but every low-level thief has definitely stolen before.

"For a Bronze Grade thief to survive, the first thing he needs to understand is who he can offend and who he cannot.

"To protect their own lives, these thieves will certainly investigate the local merchant guilds—their prey—thoroughly.

"And I happen to need merchant guilds without backing. Choosing him was not a whim."

A trace of surprise flashed through Fiana's eyes. She looked Loren up and down, as if she were meeting this extraordinary young man for the first time.

Loren did not waste any more words and stepped directly into the carriage.

Fiana came back to her senses, gave him a deep look, then silently followed and sat in a corner of the carriage far from Loren.

Loren ignored the strange atmosphere inside the carriage and said casually to the thief seated at the front, still wearing a delighted expression behind a pane of glass,

"Tell me about the five largest merchant guilds in District Twelve."

Hearing this, the skinny thief smiled.

"Master, the largest merchant guild in District Twelve is the Jasmine Flower Merchant Guild. Its President is from Decker City, a ruthless man who rose from the slums.

"They mainly deal in slaves and Magic Beast pelts. The President is a Gold Beginner Warrior and has not awakened Bloodline Power. He has over a hundred Bronze Warriors and more than twenty Silver-level Warriors under him.

"The second-ranked guild is the Cuckoo Merchant Guild. Its President came from the Falcon Royal Capital and is a down-and-out Noble who lost his title.

"The third-ranked is—"

Holding that 1,000 Puke fairy banknote, the skinny young thief was especially cooperative with Loren's questions.

Not only were his answers extremely detailed, but he also gave an overview of the important information regarding District Twelve's merchant guilds, including their scale, strength, background, assets, and more.

The completeness of the intelligence made Loren glance at him several times. He even considered hiring the man for a few more days. Someone well-informed could save him quite a bit of time.

As the thief continued speaking, Loren gradually gained a general understanding of his next destination—District Twelve.

District Twelve lay between the noble district and the slums. Most of its residents were commoners with no backing, bullied by Nobles while able to bully those in the slums.

Most merchant guilds operating in District Twelve had little backing. Their main businesses consisted of the scraps left behind by noble masters, and their influence was neither high nor low.

Loren was exceptionally serious about gathering information. He even asked the driver for quite a bit of information.

But this behavior made Fiana increasingly convinced that he truly intended to extort those merchant guilds.

Otherwise, why would he only inquire about merchant guilds with no backing?

But she had already promised not to interfere in Loren's affairs, so she could only watch coldly.

She was his guardian, not his nanny. If Loren himself refused to make something of himself, no one could help him.

The uneven cobblestone road clattered as the wheels crushed loose stones. After a little over twenty minutes, the carriage slowly entered a dimly lit street and came to a stop.

"Master, we've arrived at District Twelve."