Bloodline Rule

Heaven Dou Royal Academy was built among the mountains outside the city.

It was different from the Crown Prince's Mansion.

The Crown Prince's Mansion prized rules; the Royal Academy prized grandeur.

Its gates were tall, its stone steps long, and it had plenty of guards.

Meow Meow crouched in a tree, watching the black cloth carriage below take a side road into the Academy Back Mountain. His eyes narrowed slightly.

Gray Ear lay on another branch, twitching his nose.

He caught the scent of the White Tiger Cub.

He also caught the bloody stench of the polluted blood.

Meow Meow didn't follow right away.

Heaven Dou Royal Academy wasn't the Western Suburb Hunting Ground.

There were Soul Master teachers, noble students, and guards sent by the Heavenly Dou Royal Family.

If he ran around here, the odds of being spotted were much higher than at the hunting ground.

"Gray Ear."

Gray Ear immediately looked at him.

"Stay outside."

"Remember the carriage's scent."

"If anyone comes out, follow them only as far as the gates. Don't enter the Academy."

Gray Ear gave a low meow.

Meow Meow was pleased to see that he wasn't eyeing the meat jerky at a roadside vendor's stall.

It seemed the first lesson had worked.

At least not every cat was as easily lured away by food as Numb Tail.

Meow Meow held down his aura and made his way toward the back mountain, following the shadows of the trees.

There was a Beast Garden on the Academy Back Mountain.

Officially, it was a place where students could learn about Soul Beasts and their habits.

Some low-rank Soul Beasts were kept inside, mostly under a hundred years old, along with a few thousand-year-old ones.

That wasn't unusual in itself.

Many high-level Soul Master Academies had similar places.

What was strange was that the black cloth carriage didn't stop at the Beast Garden's main gate. Instead, it went around to the back of a secluded Stone House.

There was an underground entrance there.

Two Soul Masters stood guard outside.

One was a Soul Ancestor.

The other was a Soul Elder.

Meow Meow hid in the bushes and watched as members of the Black Eagle Family carried out the White Tiger Cub.

The cub was still in its cage.

It looked even weaker than it had the previous night.

Its white fur had darkened, and the strand of Nether aura along its back had grown more erratic.

Jianbing woke at once inside the Calming Bell.

"It won't last much longer."

Meow Meow didn't reply.

He could see that too.

The White Tiger Blood and Nether aura inside the cub had been forcibly mixed together, and the Black Water had repeatedly aggravated the pollution.

This wasn't raising a Soul Beast.

They were using its life for an experiment.

A Middle-aged Soul Master walked out of the Stone House.

He wore the robes of a teacher at Heaven Dou Royal Academy, but a tiny Black Eagle Crest was engraved on the bracer peeking out from his sleeve.

Meow Meow's gaze turned cold.

"So there really is someone inside the Academy."

The Middle-aged Soul Master glanced at the cub in its cage and asked quietly:

"Is this one more stable than the first two?"

The Soul King from the Black Eagle Family nodded.

"A little more stable."

"But that White Cat ruined things last night. We lost seven bottles of the third batch of medicinal solution."

The Middle-aged Soul Master's face darkened.

"A White Cat?"

"Yeah, a very strange White Cat."

"It can suppress Pollution, and it can collect things."

"It seems like a Soul Beast, but not like an ordinary one."

The Middle-aged Soul Master fell silent for a moment.

"Leave it for now."

"Take this cub to the Bloodline Chamber."

"A distinguished guest wants to see the results tomorrow."

Meow Meow's ears twitched.

A distinguished guest.

Those two words were useful.

There really was someone behind the Black Eagle Family.

He edged a little closer, wanting to hear more clearly.

Inside the Stone House, the two men carried the cage in.

The Soul Ancestor guarding the entrance glanced toward the bushes.

Meow Meow immediately froze.

Mimic Breath suppressed his Soul Beast aura to the barest trace.

The Soul Ancestor watched for a few moments. Seeing nothing amiss, he turned away.

Meow Meow waited a little before slipping through a crack in the side of the Stone House.

Inside was a narrow passage leading underground.

The smell was overpowering.

Blood.

Medicine.

And the fear of Soul Beasts.

Suppressing his discomfort, Meow Meow made his way down along the wall.

Soon, he found the so-called "Bloodline Chamber."

It didn't look like an ordinary Beast Garden.

Animal bones hung on all four walls, and several stone tables stood in the middle.

Formation patterns were carved into the tables.

The White Tiger Cub they'd just brought in was locked in an iron cage on one table, with several bottles of red-and-black liquid beside it.

A stack of Record Paper lay spread across a table on the other side.

Meow Meow leaped onto a beam and looked down.

The writing was messy.

But he could make out a few lines.

[White Tiger bloodline stability insufficient.]

[Obvious rejection of Nether aura.]

[For the third batch, use a cub as the host to avoid exposing human Soul Masters.]

[If it stabilizes, attempt transfer to a Low-Rank Soul Master.]

Meow Meow's eyes turned icy at the last line.

They weren't just experimenting on Soul Beasts.

They planned to experiment on people next.

Jianbing's voice tightened inside the bell.

"They want to put White Tiger Blood into a human body?"

"More or less."

Meow Meow answered softly.

"Or, to put it another way, they want to make a White Tiger Martial Soul that obeys them."

Jianbing didn't understand the twists and turns involving Spirit Hall, Heavenly Dou, and Star Luo.

But it understood "a White Tiger that obeys."

It fell silent for a while.

"White Tigers shouldn't be like that."

"Yeah."

Meow Meow nodded.

"They shouldn't."

In the Bloodline Chamber, the Middle-aged Soul Master took out a small Soul Tool.

The Soul Tool projected a pale-blue screen.

Several lines of names appeared on it.

Meow Meow couldn't see all of them.

He only caught a few terms.

[Star Luo collateral branch.]

[Hell Spirit Cat.]

[Age: seven to ten.]

[Not to be brought into Heavenly Dou for now.]

Meow Meow's heart sank further.

The connection was obvious.

Someone had obtained materials related to the White Tiger and the Nether from Star Luo.

First, they tested them on Soul Beasts.

If successful, they would consider transferring them to Low-Rank Soul Masters.

And Heaven Dou Royal Academy was simply a hidden testing site.

"Nobles sure know how to amuse themselves."

Meow Meow cursed inwardly.

"They treat Soul Beasts, children, and bloodlines of Martial Souls as materials."

He didn't stay any longer.

He'd seen enough.

Going deeper would risk exposing himself.

While several Soul Masters examined the cub, Meow Meow quietly used the Calming Bell to collect a little of the aura in the Bloodline Chamber, then tore off a small corner of the Record Paper on the table.

Then he left quickly.

Gray Ear was still waiting in the tree when Meow Meow came out of the Academy Back Mountain.

The moment Gray Ear saw him, he jumped down.

Meow Meow checked that there was no scent of blood on him and nodded in satisfaction.

"Good."

"You didn't run off."

Gray Ear flicked his tail proudly.

Meow Meow didn't speak on the way back to the Crown Prince's Mansion.

Jianbing stayed quiet too.

It wasn't until they entered Clear Radiance Pavilion and Qian Renxue looked up that Meow Meow placed the scrap of Record Paper on the table.

Qian Renxue read it, her expression frighteningly cold.

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

"The Black Eagle Family."

"Star Luo's collateral branch."

"They've got some nerve."

Meow Meow leaped onto the table and sat down.

"You need nerve to pull off something like this."

"And they didn't come up with it on the spur of the moment."

"The Bloodline Chamber has complete records. They've tried it at least a few times."

Qian Renxue looked at the scrap.

"Low-Rank Soul Masters..."

"Yeah."

Meow Meow nodded.

"They're still testing it on Soul Beasts."

"Once it's stable, they'll move on to humans."

Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment.

"If this is confirmed, that teacher at Heaven Dou Royal Academy won't get away."

"Neither will the Black Eagle Family."

"The problem is whoever's behind it."

Meow Meow picked up where she left off.

"Prince Xue Xing?"

"Maybe."

Qian Renxue didn't jump to conclusions.

"Someone might just be using his name."

"But no one without connections could get into a place like Academy Back Mountain."

"So no matter what, someone inside the Heavenly Dou Royal Family must have let them in."

Meow Meow lowered his head to look at the paper, and suddenly thought of something.

For the sake of so-called bloodline stability, these people were willing to force the White Tiger, Nether, and Pollution together.

If it failed, they moved on to the next batch.

If it worked, they used it to test on humans.

That was completely different from the Sacred Flame Spirit Cat system he was building.

He was changing bloodlines too.

But he wanted to give cats more choices.

Not treat them like materials.

At the thought, Meow Meow's tail went still.

"Qinghe."

"Hmm?"

"I want to establish a Bloodline Rule for the Sacred Flame Spirit Cats."

Qian Renxue froze.

"A Bloodline Rule?"

Meow Meow nodded.

"Not one that forcibly changes bloodlines."

"Nor one that makes every cat look the same."

"It would let the descendants of the Sacred Flame Spirit Cats inherit suitable talents from their parents more stably, both at birth and when their spirits are ignited."

"For example, White Dew's calming ability."

"Charcoal Ball's Stealth."

"Blue Tail's formation patterns."

"A Ju's..."

Meow Meow paused.

"Never mind. Let's not bring up A Ju's for now."

Qian Renxue almost laughed.

But she quickly turned serious again.

"Are you worried the Sacred Flame Spirit Cats' bloodline will become diluted in the future?"

"Mm."

Meow Meow said,

"As the cats multiply, their bloodlines will become more mixed."

"Without guidance, the next generation might just be ordinary spirit-ignition cats."

"Some talents might disappear."

"Some cats might be suited to calming others, yet end up being sent to patrol the courtyards."

"Those suited to formation patterns might spend all day looking for food."

"Those suited to finding food might..."

He paused again.

"Anyway, we need a natural way for them to identify and pass on their talents."

Qian Renxue understood.

This wasn't about forcibly combining bloodlines like the Black Eagle Family.

It was about establishing paths of inheritance for the Sacred Flame Spirit Cats.

"Can you do it?"

"I'll try."

Meow Meow closed his eyes.

The Calming Bell rang softly.

Ding.

As its chime faded, a faint ring of holy fire appeared in Clear Radiance Pavilion.

White Dew looked up.

Jianbing also looked over from inside the bell.

Meow Meow's consciousness entered the Calming Bell's space.

There was holy fire, moonlight, a clear spring, and the traces of White Tiger and Nether energy he had just brought back from the Bloodline Chamber.

But this time, he didn't absorb any of that chaotic energy.

Instead, he used the holy fire to separate out the Pollution, leaving only the principles behind "how bloodlines diverge, repel one another, and combine."

The traces were faint.

Like a picture he couldn't quite make out.

But they were useful to Meow Meow.

He didn't need to follow the Black Eagle Family's path.

He only needed to know which paths not to take.

"No forced fusion."

"No Pollution."

"Don't erase a path that was already a good fit just for the sake of becoming stronger."

Meow Meow worked through the principles one by one.

The System Panel appeared.

[Would you like to spend Meow Wish Value to establish Sacred Flame Spirit Cat Basic Bloodline Guidance?]

[Establishing Sacred Flame Spirit Cat Basic Bloodline Guidance.]

[Current rules: Natural inheritance, talent affinity, Pollution rejection.]

[Description: When the spirits of Sacred Flame Spirit Cat descendants are ignited, they will more easily reveal the talent paths that suit them. If both parents' talents are compatible, there is a chance of inheriting an affinity for both.]

[Note: This rule is basic and only applies to the Sacred Flame Spirit Cat system. It does not affect Soul Beasts from other races.]

Meow Meow looked it over and sighed with relief.

Basic was fine.

At least it was a foundation.

They could improve it bit by bit later.

Inside the Calming Bell, a faint flame pattern spread out.

It soon connected to the East Side Courtyard.

Then it reached Qian Family Villa.

Finally, it settled on White Dew.

White Dew blinked, seemingly sensing something. The holy flame mark on her forehead glimmered faintly.

Far away in the East Side Courtyard, Little Flame suddenly looked up.

Charcoal Ball, Snowball, Swirl, and Blue Tail sensed it too.

A Ju was waiting near the kitchen for someone to feed him. He suddenly shuddered, nearly dropping the meat in his mouth.

Through Distant Bell Communication, Meow Meow contacted Da Hei.

[How are the clan's newborn kittens doing lately?]

Da Hei replied quickly.

[Stable.]

[Several kittens have clearer auras than before.]

Meow Meow's heart stirred.

[Keep an eye out for dual affinities.]

[For example, calming and Stealth, formation patterns and communication, holy fire and medicinal herbs.]

Da Hei paused.

He was clearly trying to understand those terms.

Then he replied seriously.

[Understood.]

Meow Meow thought for a moment, then added:

[If A Ju's line produces anyone especially good at finding food, record that too.]

Da Hei was silent for a moment.

[Understood.]

Meow Meow felt a little guilty.

That counted as a talent too.

He shouldn't discriminate.

After leaving the Calming Bell, Meow Meow opened his eyes.

Qian Renxue looked at him.

"Did it work?"

"More or less."

Meow Meow flicked his tail.

"It's only basic guidance."

"It'll make it easier for Sacred Flame Spirit Cat descendants to reveal the paths that suit them."

"But it won't forcibly change their bloodlines."

Qian Renxue nodded.

"This is better than the Black Eagle Family's method."

"Of course."

Meow Meow's expression grew serious.

"They're clan members, not materials."

Jianbing trembled slightly at those words.

He lowered his head and looked at his faint, translucent paws.

After a while, he said softly,

"I'm not material either."

"Of course not."

Meow Meow looked at him.

"You're Jianbing."

"Once you've recovered, you'll have to settle the score for the White Tiger Sample line."

Jianbing's eyes brightened a little.

"Mm."

Watching them, Qian Renxue's expression softened too.

But soon, she put the Record Paper away.

"Your Bloodline Guidance is a step forward on your end."

"But we can't leave the matter at Heaven Dou Royal Academy alone."

"I know."

Meow Meow nodded.

"But we can't expose everything just yet."

"First, investigate that teacher."

"Then look into Prince Xue Xing's approval."

"And the Star Luo Caravan."

Qian Renxue said:

"I'll have someone investigate discreetly."

"Maybe we can try Ning Fengzhi again."

Meow Meow thought it over.

"Sure."

"But only have him look into the beast bones and medicinal herbs in the West Suburb."

"Don't mention the White Tiger Sample or Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

Qian Renxue nodded.

"Mm."

Just then, Gray Ear leaped in through the window.

He was carrying a tiny Copper Token in his mouth.

It smelled of soil from the Academy Back Mountain.

There was also a faint trace of the White Tiger Cub's scent.

Meow Meow took it and had a look.

A line of tiny writing was engraved on the back of the Copper Token.

[In three days, transfer to the Practical Test.]

Meow Meow's expression darkened.

"They're getting serious."

Qian Renxue looked over too.

"The Practical Test?"

"They're probably going to use the White Tiger Sample in more dangerous experiments."

Meow Meow looked up.

"They might also be involving Low-Rank Soul Masters."

Clear Radiance Pavilion fell silent for a moment.

White Dew let out a soft mew.

Jianbing clenched his paws.

Meow Meow looked out the window.

The mountains where Heaven Dou Royal Academy stood were shrouded in darkness.

But the lights over there were still faintly visible.

"Three days."

"That's enough time for us to prepare."

Meow Meow put away the Copper Token.

"This time, we can't just watch."