Damon closed his eyes for a moment as the energy poured into his veins. His bloodline responded immediately, devouring the incoming essence greedily while the knowledge fragments buried within the ancestor's blood flashed through his mind.

He had been absolutely right to bet on this. Thanks to the drop of the ancestor's blood, he was getting so much more from the skill level ups. And this time, he did not let the stat points go to waste either. He had already stored away bottles and bottles of stat points. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Combat instincts. Weapon techniques. Blood manipulation variations. Every fallen vampire added another fragment to the growing storm of experience surging through him. He was gaining everything like never before.

Meanwhile, his blood avatar stood in the center of another collapsing district.

Another wave of poisonous miasma rolled outward from it like a silent tide, slipping through buildings and guard formations alike. More vampires dropped to the ground as the poison invaded their bodies before they could even understand what was happening.

Within seconds, another flood of blood essence rose into the air, and once again, every thread rushed toward the blood avatar. Shockingly, the blood avatar was also able to enhance the gains through the drop of the ancestor's blood.

Damon grinned from ear to ear as a euphoric feeling surged through his entire body.

Power was pouring into him from every direction, and this time it was different from anything he had experienced before. The ancestor's blood was acting like a catalyst, refining every fragment of essence he absorbed and turning it into something far more valuable.

Damon could grasp everything with terrifying clarity. Even the control over his blood avatar strengthened as the connection between them grew smoother and more efficient.

It was like a feedback loop. The stronger he became, the more efficiently he could harvest. The more efficiently he harvested, the faster he became stronger. Cracks spread across the invisible barrier that had been blocking his advancement.

The next stage was close.

Very close.

Meanwhile, outside the Black Throne settlement…

The B rank powerhouses clashing against each other finally stopped. One after another, the terrifying figures hovering in the sky pulled back from the battlefield. The shockwaves from their attacks faded, leaving the sky strangely quiet after the violent storm that had raged there moments earlier.

The quiet did not last long. One of the B-ranks started gathering massive amounts of power.

"Have you become this pathetic, you old cow? Do you not respect your path anymore? Why are you attacking the weaklings? Do you think that I would care about something so trivial? Destroy the whole damn thing for all I care! Hmph! But in return, I will take your head!"

His voice boomed across the sky like rolling thunder.

The pressure around him surged violently as his aura exploded outward, crushing the surrounding air. A massive vortex of blood energy gathered around his body as he prepared to strike again.

Opposite him, the old vampire woman he had been fighting earlier sneered coldly.

"You think I care about those insects below?" she replied with disdain. "Let them die. Their blood will only nourish the next generation of our kind."

Her aura flared just as fiercely, dark crimson energy spreading behind her like enormous wings.

"But if you think you can take my head so easily," she continued, her voice turning icy, "then come and try."

"Who are you accusing of such cheap tricks? I don't need to stoop so low to defeat a old hag like you! You are the one who needs to purge your sins! I can smell your karma all the way from here and it stinks bitch!"

"Bastard! I am going to cut off your tongue first!"

As these two bickered, the other old vampires quietly watched. One among them finally spoke up. "That's enough both of you. Can't you see? Neither of us would do such a thing in a million years. While we are wasting our time here, someone else is attacking our settlements."

The two who had been arguing froze mid-sentence. Their auras were still flaring violently, but their attention slowly shifted toward the settlement in front of them.

"We thought that the snake is headless but it seems that the new heir is not as simple as he seems. Let's stop fighting amongst ourselves and obtain the ancestor's blood first."

The woman who had spoken earlier snorted in contempt. "A child playing with poison. Today he will learn his lesson."

Another elder unexpectedly chimed in. "Apparently, the wastrel son had mastered some sort of taboo skill. He is sacrificing our clans to gain power." The elder's gaze turned cold and the others also started emitting a murderous aura.

"He wants to use our clan's blood to fight against us?" No more words were spoken. The six of them arrived at a silent agreement as they instantly appeared in front of the Black Throne Settlement.

The female vampiress first raised her hand. The air around her twisted violently as blood energy gathered at her fingertips, condensing into a dense crimson sphere. Icy runes danced around the sphere. The sky above the settlement darkened as her aura spread outward, pressing down like a collapsing mountain.

"Since the child wants to play king," she said coldly, "let's see how long his little throne lasts." Without another word, she flicked her wrist. The crimson sphere shot downward like a falling star. The moment it struck the barrier above the settlement, the sky exploded with light.

BOOM!

The entire dome of blood energy trembled violently. Massive shockwaves rippled across the surface of the barrier as cracks of red lightning spread outward from the impact point.

Inside the settlement, every vampire felt the tremor. For a brief moment, the barrier distorted as if it might collapse under the attack. Then, the crimson shield stabilized. The cracks vanished. The barrier thickened instead of weakening.

One of the elders narrowed his eyes. "Interesting..."

Another B-rank spoke calmly, though his voice carried a faint hint of surprise. "The domain formation is far stronger than it was earlier."

The female vampiress clicked her tongue. "So he strengthened it. It doesn't matter. It will break for me this time. No matter what." Her eyes turned colder as she slowly lifted both hands this time.

The blood energy surrounding her exploded outward like a storm. The crimson sphere that had struck the barrier moments ago was nothing compared to what began forming above her now. Vast streams of blood essence gathered from the battlefield itself, spiraling into the sky like rivers flowing upward.

A colossal sigil appeared behind her. Ancient runes carved themselves into the air one after another, forming a massive circular formation that stretched hundreds of meters across the sky.

The other B-rank vampires immediately recognized it.

"Blood Annihilation Formation."

One of them frowned slightly. "You're going that far already?"

The woman did not respond. She only smirked as she completed the formation with a thunderous pulse. At its center, a gigantic spear of condensed blood energy slowly formed. The weapon looked almost solid, its surface covered in countless glowing runes.

The sky trembled. Even the other B-ranks felt the terrifying pressure radiating from it. The woman then silently unleashed the attack.

***

Thank you for all the support. Got some time on my hands today so tried to do a mass release. Hope you all enjoy the chapters.