Zedong City
Xiang Army Villa
The moonlight outside filtered into the unlit hall, casting a pale glow. In the darkness, a vague figure lay on a rocking chair, gently swaying. He held a book in his hands, seemingly unbothered by the dimness that shrouded the room.
After a long while, a woman entered.
"What an interesting person he is. He's been making quite the waves lately, getting involved with all four families..." The figure removed the book, revealing the face of Isabella Xiang's father, Victor Xiang, in the moonlight.
A faint smile appeared on the man's face.
"Is this kid forcing our Xiang Army to make a decision? Isabella choose someone completely unexpected…"
"Master, we can proceed," the woman said.
"Tell Isabella that she can handle the matter of Leon Chen becoming the Xiang Army's agent…"
"Understood!"
After the woman left, Victor Xiang chuckled. "Hmm, although he's a big troublemaker, since he's already angered that extremely Dangerous 'Smiling Tiger', he shouldn't mind one more problem. Heh heh."
This time, it was truly embarrassing.
Shaking off his stray thoughts, Leon Chen looked around the room.
A sofa, a desk, and a wardrobe—simple decorations. This place felt unfamiliar.
An unforgettable scene.
Leon remembered the events of last night. As he tried to get up, a sharp pain shot through his body, especially his lungs, which felt like they were on fire. Last night, that Saint Hunter had punctured his lung. Leon was speechless, not expecting to be stabbed like that. It was a mystery how Ethereal Snow managed to stop the bleeding and stabilize him.
Not wanting to lie in bed in pain, Leon immediately used his ability "Heavenly Healing." Instantly, his wounds healed rapidly before his eyes, and his internal organs were restored. In no time, Leon was completely healed.
Marveling at the power of his ability, Leon got up and dressed. As he looked at the bed, he frowned, hesitated, and then extended a hand toward it.
He activated his second ability, "Time Rewind."
In an instant, the events after he lost consciousness last night replayed.
He saw Ethereal Snow place him on the bed…
He saw the girl gently caress his face with a tender expression…
He saw her sigh softly…
He saw the golden strands of hair and ocean-blue eyes slowly lose their light…
Finally, he saw…
—Serena Su!
"You're awake?" Serena Su was busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Seeing Leon come downstairs, she raised an eyebrow and smiled warmly.
Her smile was always as calm as a serene lake, mesmerizing in its tranquility.
"Mm." Leon stared at Serena—he could never have guessed that Ethereal Snow was her!
No wonder her skills were so extraordinary when dealing with Wei Zhan's bodyguard.
Serena looked up, her gaze meeting Leon's, clear and unblemished. "What's wrong?"
"Ah, do you need any help?" Leon felt his ears heat up.
"Sure," Serena replied with a smile.
The two of them busied themselves in the kitchen, occasionally laughing.
Ten minutes later, two bowls of steaming egg noodles were placed on the table.
They sat across from each other as if nothing had happened, but Leon felt the situation was bizarre. While eating, he observed Serena and noticed her elegant manner of eating—calm and unhurried, as if she had no memory of last night's events.
She's definitely a master at pretending.
"Is this your apartment?" Leon felt the need to break the awkward silence.
"Yes. But I also have a dorm at school. Last night, you couldn't go back, so I had to bring you here. I didn't take advantage of you, though." Serena laughed.
Leon choked, understanding her implication. Last night, he had been covered in blood, and this morning, everything was clean, with a new pair of shorts… Even Leon wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
"Haha." Leon laughed awkwardly.
The breakfast ended quickly. Feeling indebted, Leon washed the dishes. Serena didn't stop him, watching quietly, her eyes occasionally reflecting a hint of contemplation.
After leaving the kitchen, Leon was about to head to school when Serena suddenly said, "By the way, I didn't know you would recover so quickly, so I asked for leave on your behalf from Miss Tang…"
Leon was taken aback but nodded. It seemed he couldn't go back to school for now. While thinking, he noticed Serena staring at him. Her eyes, which had been gentle like a lake, now held the intensity of ocean waves.
The inevitable question was coming!
"Leon, when did you become a Blood Clan?" Serena asked casually, though her tone betrayed a hint of nervousness.
"I'm not sure. It seems like I got bitten by something and then changed," Leon replied, thinking he couldn't tell her about his abilities and the Heavenly Realm. He decided to give a vague answer.
"When were you bitten?"
"In a dream, maybe…" Leon raised his hands, indicating he wasn't joking. "I dreamed of being bitten, and then strange symptoms appeared." Compared to the bizarre truth, this reason seemed kinder.
Serena frowned slightly, considering the validity of Leon's words. She stood up, walked to the window, and looked back at him. "Do you fear sunlight?"
Leon shook his head.
Serena nodded, pulled open the curtains, and sunlight flooded the room, illuminating Leon's eyes. He blinked. "You have a lot of sunlight here."
Serena smiled like a spring breeze.
"What's going on? Southern Saint Hunter, Western Blood Clan?" Leon took his turn to question her.
Serena had spent the night thinking about how to explain. In the end, she decided to be honest. She had no reason to lie after sparing Leon.
"Blood Clan are like the vampires in novels. They've existed for a long time. You might know the details from movies and books. We call them Blood Clan. After the 'Witch Hunts' and the 'Thousand-Year Holy War' in the West, Blood Clan became the representatives of the West."
Seeing Leon still confused, Serena smiled. "It's quite complex. Even I don't fully understand. Essentially, the world is divided into two forces—'Day and Night.'"
"?"
"Day represents everything visible, like governments and nations, controlling human society."
"And Night represents the unseen?" Leon asked.
"Yes," Serena nodded. "The surface forces are a facade; the real danger is hidden. This hidden struggle shapes the world!"
"There's an interesting, lesser-known history about Blood Clan. During Hitler's era, Germany secretly researched super soldiers who could withstand cold, feel no pain, and have superior reflexes and physical abilities. The experiment failed because they found something stronger…"
"Blood Clan?!" Leon guessed.
Serena nodded. "Germany's Blitzkrieg success and the key moments when the Allies faltered had Blood Clan involvement."
Hearing Serena describe it as the Allies "getting soy sauce" made Leon laugh, but the history left him in awe.
"Unfortunately, Hitler's hubris led him to attack the Soviet Union. Blood Clan were significantly connected to the Soviet Union, turning Germany into a dining table full of tragedies!" Serena chuckled.
Leon had a question: Why did Blood Clan help Hitler?
"They made a pact, related to the Jews," Serena shook her head. "I'm not sure about the details."
Serena then shared a wealth of fantastical knowledge. According to her, these things represented the world's true nature.
If Blood Clan were the product of the Heavenly Realm, the origin of the Southern Saint Hunter was more mysterious. Even Serena didn't know much. She only knew their headquarters was in Africa, and the highest leader of the Saint Hunter might know their origin but never explained it. Saint Hunter only needed to know one thing: to completely annihilate Blood Clan!
Saint Hunter possessed mutating genes, appearing as ordinary people but undergoing a transformation when using their power, marked by glowing golden hair and ocean-blue eyes.
An excellent Saint Hunter could wipe out a regiment without breaking a sweat.
Hearing this, Leon gulped. Despite being mentally prepared, Serena's words still amazed him—it was so surreal!
"Is that how Ethereal Snow came to be?" Leon asked helplessly.
Serena covered her mouth, laughing. "I didn't know Ethereal Snow referred to me."
"By the way, if the West has Blood Clan and the South has Saint Hunter, what about the other directions?" Leon asked, though he already had an idea.
Unfortunately, Serena wasn't sure.
"The East is known as the Royal Clan, and the North is the Spiritualists. The former is ancient and mysterious, while the latter is a product of America's high-tech 'Starlight Project.' These four forces represent the hidden world order. However, with the Saint Hunter and Blood Clan's enmity and the rise of the Royal Clan and Spiritualists, the West and South have started to decline."
Leon rubbed his temples. He needed to digest this information. How many twisted nerves did it take to come up with such a convoluted setting?
Serena's face softened.
After a while, she handed Leon a raw gemstone. "This belongs to you!"
Leon remembered the chip inside and, after thanking her, retrieved it. "Do you know why Bloodkind wanted this?"
"No idea!" Serena shook her head.
"Since you're fine now, shall we go out?" Serena stood up and headed toward her room.
As Leon extracted the chip, he casually asked where they were going.
"I told Miss Tang that we were looking for An Xinmeng."
"What? We're really going? But why?" Leon was puzzled.
The bedroom door closed, and a light laugh came from inside, with no answer.
Leon finished extracting the chip, sat on the sofa, and placed it in his watch. He wasn't too concerned about its ability. Taking a sip of soda to soothe his dry throat, his mind was filled with thoughts of Day and Night, and the four forces.
At that moment, the soft voice of his watch echoed in his mind.
"NO.9 ability data loading, ability code: Successful Integration…"
Pfft!
Leon spat out the water.
NO.9?
Top-tier ability!