Chapter 267 - Ninety-nine Portions Of Life Vibration Energy (1)

The lights Cassius turned on doused the study in a dim yellow glow. He felt full, but not in his stomach. Instead, every cell of his body felt like it was stuffed. The villa was filled with Blood Spirit Society members, and with the life vibration energy he had absorbed earlier, Cassius now had ninety portions of Decay-Rank life vibration energy and nine portions of Undying-Rank life vibration energy.

This was the benefit of hunting dark creatures. The Golem Covert Martial Arts addressed Cassius's core needs.

He casually closed the door, moved his third senior brother back behind the desk, and pulled open the curtains to gaze at the moonlight outside. The soft white light draped over the rooftop like a veil. He could see ornamental trees, a white wooden fence, and beyond, the main road.

He opened the window. It was quiet outside, likely because they were far from the central entertainment district of the Grimm District.

Cassius closed the curtains, found an open space, and sat cross-legged on the soft brown study carpet. He immediately entered a meditative state and activated the Golem Covert Martial Arts. The Golem Breathing Technique, heart rate, and blood flow frequencies reverberated with each other, creating a resonance. The golem's life magnetic field naturally radiated from his body, encompassing his human life magnetic field.

"

Huu, huu, huu...

"

Soft, white air swirled around his nostrils, faintly resembling an elephant's low growl. Cassius’s chest rose and fell in sync with his drum-like heartbeat. He soon entered a deep state of cultivation.

Cassius's eyes were half-closed; what little sliver could be seen reflecting a deep, inky blackness. The life vibration energy within him, guided by the golem's life magnetic field, began to spread throughout his body, enveloping his organs, limbs, and joints in waves of warmth.

He could feel the life vibration energy nourishing every corner of his body and each cell with Qi. It felt as if there was a powerful vitality deep within him, like a bud blooming into a flower. After a short while, sweat began to pour from his entire body, soaking his clothes. The sweat gave his skin a glossy appearance, making it gleam under the lights. Cassius glanced up at the corner of his vision.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment 22.1% (Total Three Stages)]

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment 22.2% (Total Three Stages)]

22.3%, 22.4%, 22.5%, 22.6%...

The numbers on his progress bar kept ticking upward. There was a certain beauty in watching it rise incrementally. Cassius felt immensely satisfied at seeing tangible evidence of his growing strength.

His eyes squeezed shut as he felt the Qi within his body expanding, like a balloon being forcefully inflated. Finally, the rapid increase stopped once it hit a certain threshold. The Golem Covert Martial Arts froze at a new number.

[Golem Covert Martial Arts: Qi Embodiment 26.2% (Total Three Stages)]

His progress bar had increased by 4.1%. Clearly, Undying-Rank life vibration energy was much higher quality than Decay-Rank. The fact that he could still gain so much despite being partially immune to Dead Blood's life vibration energy was impressive.

Additionally, 0.2% of that progress came from Decay-Rank life vibration energy. Twenty portions of Decay-Rank life vibration energy had only given Cassius a 0.2% increase, which was an even more exaggerated difference than before. Cassius had conducted an experiment, and it was clear that using more Decay-Rank energy in the future would only yield diminishing returns. Eventually, even 100 portions might give 0.1%.

This felt similar to genetics. Every individual Dead Blood shared many common traits, with only a few unique structures or abilities. Since the life vibration energy had been new and unfamiliar, the Golem Covert Martial Arts absorbed it well at first. But as time went on, the common frequencies in Dead Blood had less effect. His body now only absorbed the unique frequencies, making improvement less significant.

Cassius theorized that the more Dead Blood life frequencies he absorbed, the fewer unique aspects remained for him to take in, making the life vibration energy less effective. Cassius had created the Golem Covert Martial Arts during an aberrant state, and while he didn't fully understand all its principles, it didn't matter; knowing how to use it was enough. Not everything required an understanding of the underlying logic.

Now, he had seventy portions of Decay-Rank life vibration energy left in his body. Based on his current rate of consumption, it would last about a week, or roughly ten portions per day. He needed to find an opportunity to pass some of it to Saint Feinan and Feng Liusi.

Cassius took a moment to examine his body. He sensed his Qi had expanded by about one-fifth, then slowly exhaled through his nose. He opened his eyes and saw a black vapor in front of him. Looking down, he noticed it was coming from the pores on his arms. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the nature of this black vapor was oddly similar to Qi. It wasn't some waste product his body was expelling. It seemed to be related to his physique and Golem Covert Martial Arts.

One thing was clear: it had formed naturally and was of no harm to him, so he didn't bother delving further into it.

Standing up, Cassius hoisted his third senior brother onto his shoulder. He leaped out of the study window, vaulting over the white fence and landing on the road, before vanishing into the darkness.

A few minutes later, one of the elite officers of the Blood Spirit Society, who had come to nudge the Blood Nest into action, discovered the situation. When he opened the hall door, he was greeted by a river of blood. The main force of elite experts hadn’t even had the chance to mobilize before they met their tragic end.

There were eighty Decay-Rank and six Undying-Rank members. The Hongli Federation's Black Ops Agency would have classified them as a B-level threat. And yet, they were all dead. The officer had been here just a few moments ago, meaning these elite fighters were all wiped out in a very short span of time.

Who were these attackers? And how many of them? No one knew...

What was even more bizarre was the state of the Dead Blood bodies; they had all solidified into a waxy form. Their bodies had turned a pale, lifeless color, as if they had been drained of all vitality. The eerie sight was enough to send chills down anyone's spine. The officer quickly reported everything to Vice President Dino; this was an immense loss.

A black-cloaked Dino stood silently on the third-floor balcony of the villa for a moment, deep in thought. It didn't take him long to realize this was no ordinary event.

He had just finished negotiations with Garoro from the Gate Organization, which had occupied much of his attention. But by the time the talks had concluded, a third of his Blood Nest's forces had been killed. Dino's face, obscured by the shadows, furrowed as he glanced at his subordinate.

"The strike was extremely clean and efficient. No one managed to escape. The enemy must be equivalent to our Indestructible-Rank, and it's likely there's more than one of them. You mentioned earlier that someone has been targeting our members and causing trouble in the Grimm District's entertainment venues. That was likely a diversion to split our attention! It seems these people have been watching us for a while now." Dino swirled the glass of thick, red liquid in his hand. The sloshing liquid sounded much heavier than water or wine.

"An expert targeting your Blood Spirit Society?" A shadowy figure sitting on the sofa rasped.

Garoro's half-profile was illuminated by the moonlight, giving off a refined yet weathered look. His sharp features were cold and chiseled, and his eyes seemed dark and brooding.

"Dino, we're not the only forces eyeing the antiques at the Tulip Antique Exhibition. There must be hidden factions coveting them as well. They’ve simply made the first move," Garoro added.

Dino slowly turned his body. "What do you mean?"

"Those forces know that a conflict with your Blood Spirit Society is inevitable, so they've taken the initiative to weaken your forces in the area. Since your main forces are in Kura City, the Blood Spirit Society's strength there is much too great. Attacking would mean a direct confrontation, but here in East Sea City..."

Garoro didn't finish, but Dino continued, "There are fewer Indestructible-Rank leaders here, as most have gone to Kura City. Only I remain, making this place an easier target. They'll destroy us here first, and when the real fight comes, the Blood Spirit Society will have one less force in reserve."

His tone grew icier. "There are no spies in the Blood Spirit Society, so this can only mean these people's intelligence work is excellent. They knew that this temporary Blood Nest in East Sea City had only one Indestructible-Rank, which is why they struck decisively! They're taking advantage of our slow reaction."

Dino took a deep breath, and the gloom on his face suddenly melted into a smile. "Their plan was well thought out, but they missed one key piece of information."

He looked at Garoro, who was now on his feet. "Who could have known that the Blade Demon, a core member of the Gate Organization, would be in the Blood Spirit Society's Blood Nest in East Sea City at this very moment?" Dino burst into laughter. To be fair, even he found it a bit surprising.

Garoro hadn't gone to Kura City to negotiate with the main forces of the Blood Spirit Society. Instead, he had come to East Sea City to meet with Dino, the vice president in charge of the reserve forces. As unexpected as it was, Dino knew that the Black Ops Agency had been monitoring the Gate Organization for years and constantly kept track of its key members. Perhaps that was why Garoro had come in the first place.

However, none of that mattered now. The crucial thing was that the unknown enemy had misjudged the Blood Nest’s strength. Dino knew that Garoro was exceptionally powerful even among Indestructible-Rank fighters. If the two of them worked together, the Blood Nest in East Sea City would not fall.

He thought that Garoro, who had just formed an alliance, wouldn't refuse to help. Dino turned and met the other man’s gaze. His icy eyes were sharp as blades.

"Garoro, two experts are fighting with my Blood Spirit Society members in Grimm District. I'm planning on going there. Interested in joining me?" Dino asked.

Garoro expressionlessly gripped the hilt of one of his blades. "Can I kill them?"

"One. You can kill one. We need to leave the other for questioning. But if more show up," Dino smiled broadly as he set down his glass, "Then by all means, do whatever you want."

Swoosh!

The black cloak on the balcony whipped around him like a cloud of darkness as Dino vanished.

Garoro's eyes looked like a still, dark, deep pool. He took one slow step from the shadows and into the moonlight.

Poof...

Garoro disappeared like a wisp of mist, leaving no trace in either the dark shadows or the soft moonlight.