Chapter 309: Advancing to Retreat

Wang Sheng straightened his back, calmed down, and unleashed the Heavenly Ziwei Sword Intent around him. The sword intent already had the artistic conception of "commanding all the stars," which easily created an oppressive feeling in others. Spiritless also released a subtle and profound qi fluctuation, which enveloped Wang Sheng.

Now, even an immortal at the Ascending Immortal Stage would not be able to directly assess Wang Sheng's cultivation, let alone a vampire who could not even be considered an outsider in matters of cultivation.

Wang Sheng walked forward, and as he had hoped, the vampires beyond the formation stepped back one pace at a time. The ancient vampire prince, emaciated like a dried corpse, also showed a hint of wariness.

How do I act as someone who has the confidence to outright kill an ancient vampire prince?

Wang Sheng had never studied acting, but he had met many conceited young cultivators. Mimicking some of their arrogance was not difficult for him. Right now, though, he had to make the prince wary of him without provoking him into striking first out of excessive fear.

Hence, Wang Sheng maintained a delicate balance.

He had to appear arrogant and domineering, yet not overly aggressive. Moreover, he had to make the other party feel that he could kill the vampire at any time but was simply too lazy to continue fighting.

Wang Sheng snorted coldly and lifted his longsword. He actively unfurled his sword momentum, and a wave of pressure gathered toward the ancient prince. Spiritless also emanated an imposing might that caused a faint ripple of surprise in the ancient prince's heart.

The foreign elder lowered his head slightly before Wang Sheng and apologized in modern Gelan. In ancient Hua language, he then said, "My clansmen meant no offense, esteemed Eastern cultivator..."

Wang Sheng muttered deep down, but he remained silent on the surface. He also kept his expression lively and impatient.

After bowing to Wang Sheng, the ancient prince studied his expression. The corners of his withered lips curved into a stiff smile. "Can you understand me in this language?"

Wang Sheng nodded calmly. His mind stirred, making him mentally give Yaoyun a brief instruction.

On the surface, he kept a faintly cold look, his eyes still showing a touch of impatience and a trace of sharpness.

The ancient prince kept smiling, his expression still as genial as ever. It was as if the hundreds of vampires who had just died were not his kin at all.

What Wang Sheng had told Yaoyun was to repeat his words in the archaic tone directly into his mind so that he could then use that tone to converse with the ancient prince.

A few seconds of silence passed. In the old tongue, Wang Sheng then said, "Want to fight?"

"I believe this sudden battle arose from a misunderstanding between the Blood Race and the Daoist sects," the ancient prince replied. "The Blood Race has always respected the Daoist sects of the Hua Republic. Only Gucci Vlad and his personal agendas should be blamed for this incident. Now, the Vlad family will be stripped of its status as one of the six great families, and I will personally reclaim their bloodline."

Wang Sheng couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration. The old bat fiend was truly formidable; he smiled as he shifted all the blame onto the already-doomed Gucci Vlad with just a few words.

"You and I are already at war."

"No, a small minority of our race caused this incident. They do not represent the Blood Race. Are we not speaking calmly now?"

"Are we?" Wang Sheng sneered. "You didn't seem to have come to save your clansmen."

"There are few left who can force me to appear, and you are one of them, Daoist Master," the ancient prince replied instead of answering directly.

They were both smart enough to understand that he had not come to rescue the vampires; his true goal was to kill Wang Sheng and reclaim the dignity of the Blood Race. However, the strength that Wang Sheng had displayed and the Daoist sect formation before his army made him reconsider.

The elder, whose age was unknown, had to reassess their relative strength and choose a gentler, more circuitous approach.

"In that case, why don't we have a match?" Sword radiance seemed ready to erupt from Wang Sheng's gaze as he stepped forward. "Let's put our lives on the line to settle this. What do you say?"

The two continued speaking in archaic Hua language, the tones of which differed greatly from the modern tongue. The vampires behind the prince couldn't help but be completely bewildered.

When Wang Sheng advanced and their ancient prince stepped back half a pace, the vampires could only conclude that their ancient prince, the very pinnacle of the Blood Race, doubted that he could defeat the Hua Republic cultivator.

"Daoist Master, you are too aggressive." The ancient prince sighed. "The present age is not like ancient times. We of the Blood Race are content in dwelling quietly in our estates.

"We have no reason to fight. Our race will ensure that the Vlad family, which presumptuously provoked the Daoist sects of the Hua Republic, faces severe punishment. So please, let us calm down. As extraordinary beings on this blue planet, we should not be enemies."

Estates, dwell quietly... Extraordinary beings...

Wang Sheng's lips twitched slightly. The elder before him looked friendly yet was extremely dangerous. From the elder's few words alone, Wang Sheng could tell that the elder had killed countless people and looked down on ordinary humans as ants or even food.

Wang Sheng's gaze pressed on the vampire prince like a blade. "If you want to fight, then come at me. Your Blood Race's current princes are far too weak. You, however, are decent."

He paused and narrowed his eyes slightly. "My master is on his way here. If you keep stalling, I might lose the chance to

spar

with you."

He deliberately stressed the word "spar."

The ancient prince's brow twitched, but he kept his smile.

"I am already of great age. Let us forgo sparring. The Blood Race will instead find a way to apologize to the Daoist sects for the Vlad family's actions. How do you think we should do that?"

"Apologize? Forget it. A fight will do."

"Please, Daoist Master, calm down." Seemingly coming up with an idea, the ancient prince smiled with renewed confidence. "How about this? Give me some time to prepare. We can set a date and spar openly before everyone, as friends."

"Oh?" Wang Sheng seemed intrigued by the proposal. Grinning, he mimicked the archaic tone that Yaoyun had telepathically demonstrated. "Are you saying you want to make an appointment to fight me?"

The ancient prince quickly shook his head. "No, no. The word 'fight' is too severe for us. It would be a friendly exchange, and I would use the resources of the Blood Race to let the whole world witness your heroic might."

"Very well. Time and place are yours to decide." Wang Sheng casually flicked Spiritless, withdrawing some of his imposing aura. "If you dare play tricks, I will simply visit your remaining families one by one in the future."

Instead of waiting for a reply, he turned away from the ancient prince.

Exposing his back completely to his opponent was a dangerous move. Yet at that moment, it showed his complete confidence in himself.

A flicker of coldness passed through the ancient prince's eyes, quickly hidden behind a faint smile as he watched Wang Sheng vanish into the white mist.

The vampires were puzzled, but since their ancient prince made no move, they simply stood still. Many even breathed a little easier now that all imminent battles had been cancelled.

Though hundreds of vampires had rushed to this place and threw themselves at Wang Sheng, wave after wave, in a desperate fight, it was not to rescue their clansmen. Their kind did not have such deep bonds. They simply came to kill Wang Sheng, avenge their prince, and make him pay for trampling on their pride in Saros.

Now that their anger had subsided, they realized that they had picked the wrong opponent to mess with. Even their ancient prince, the core of their race's heritage, had to speak to the cultivator politely in old Hua language. Though they could not understand him, his demeanor made it clear that he was not confident in defeating Wang Sheng.

Their dignity had been trampled on multiple times, and they had lost countless clansmen. The very notion of revenge now seemed laughable. If the ancient prince had not intervened, the Hua Republic cultivator would have likely killed all of them in the white mist.

When Wang Sheng's aura finally faded, the ancient prince instructed in modern Gelan, "Get out of here. Now."

"My lord, why did you not keep him here?"

The ancient prince shook his head and lowered his voice. "I wasn't certain of victory. He didn't know how strong I truly was, either, which was why he didn't immediately attack me. It was clear that he wanted me to make the first move and exploit any flaw, though.

"Go now. We will discuss our next steps later. These Hua Republic cultivators are still as obsessed with ceremony and saving face as they were a thousand years ago."

"But our losses today..."

The elder's tone grew heavier. "Remember, reputation and dignity are never as important as survival."

A pale-red glow gathered around him. As he gradually dissolved into the air, he instructed, "Notify the leaders of the five families to gather at the Vlad family's estate immediately."

Among the remaining vampires, those belonging to the Vlad family looked the most conflicted.

***

Within the formation.

"

They've left,

" Yaoyun telepathically reported.

Wang Sheng breathed a long sigh of relief, though his expression barely changed.

He had already decided earlier that if he could not intimidate them, he would fight. Fortunately, he had succeeded, essentially eliminating the need to take such a risk. Even so, he still had that duel with the vampire prince to worry about.

Eh, I'll just postpone it.

Once he formed his Nascent Soul, he would fight.