Lin Feng carried Jiang Ming's luggage and pushed open the door: "This is the room the association has prepared for you. I hope you like it."
Jiang Ming walked around inside: "The room is beautiful, but it feels a bit mismatched for someone my age. I hope it'll be comfortable to live in."
The room blended traditional Chinese elements with modern design, showcasing a unique charm and comfort. The main color scheme was warm, with the walls painted in a soft beige tone, complemented by dark wooden furniture and decorations, creating a warm and harmonious atmosphere. At the entrance, there was an abstract Chinese ink painting, depicting landscapes or birds and flowers, adding an artistic touch to the room.
The main bedroom area featured a large and comfortable wooden bed, with an exquisite Chinese silk painting hanging above the headboard, displaying the exquisite craftsmanship and beauty of traditional Chinese art. On the bedside table was an antique bronze lamp, emitting a soft light that created a peaceful sleeping environment.
In one corner of the room, there was a desk and a bookshelf. On the desk was a modern laptop, and the bookshelf held several classic Chinese literature works and art books, reflecting his appreciation and love for cultural traditions.
Hanging on the walls were several classical Chinese calligraphy and paintings, with elegant and dignified script, enhancing the cultural atmosphere of the room. In another corner was a tea set and a few boxes of selected Chinese teas, showcasing Jiang Ming's fondness for traditional Chinese tea culture.
The entire room utilized modern lighting and home facilities, such as hidden lighting and smart control systems, merging traditional and modern elements to create a sophisticated yet comfortable modern Chinese living space for Jiang Ming.
Jiang Ming didn't have many belongings, so he quickly settled in.
"Brother Feng, let's go test my bloodline attributes."
Jiang Ming was eager to know his bloodline attributes, hoping to start practicing the breathing techniques and become as strong as Lin Feng.
The new president of the association aroused curiosity among the members, and many were paying attention to Jiang Ming's every move. As Jiang Ming and Lin Feng headed to the Bloodline Hall, a large group of members gathered at the hall's entrance to watch.
The "Bloodline Hall" was a solemn and mysterious place, specifically for testing the bloodline attributes of members and outsiders.
Someone in the crowd said, "Have you heard? The president is coming to test his bloodline attributes. I wonder what attribute he has. If it's earth, he might become my junior brother."
"I think the president looks fair and tender, probably a water attribute."
"Becoming president at such a young age, he must have a high talent."
Liu Wei sneered: "That's not necessarily true. The association has its fair share of people who got in through connections."
Liu Wei was very dissatisfied with Jiang Ming becoming president. In his view, his father Liu Jianye was the most qualified to be president. If not his father, it should be one of the department heads.
Liu Yiyi, feeling unhappy, retorted: "You can talk nonsense, but don't eat nonsense. Are you questioning Grandpa's judgment?"
Liu Wei was left speechless, only managing a grunt.
"Just a reminder, Jiang Ming is now the president, and he has the authority to expel you from the Exorcist Association."
Liu Wei disdainfully replied, "We'll see if he can hold onto that position. If his talent is poor, who knows who will expel whom?"
"Here he comes, the president is here!" someone cheered.
The chattering members of the association quieted down immediately upon seeing Jiang Ming and Lin Feng, making way for them.
"Hello everyone!" Jiang Ming forced a smile and greeted them.
Inside, Jiang Ming felt overwhelmed: "What's going on? It's just a bloodline test, why are so many people watching? This is so awkward! Who leaked the news? I'm so annoyed."
The Bloodline Hall adopted a classical architectural style, with a simple and dignified design. The entrance was flanked by carvings of ancient battles between monsters and exorcists, showcasing the association's history and mission.
Upon entering the hall, the first thing one saw was the tall vaulted ceiling, adorned with complex divine symbols and monster patterns. The hall's interior walls were mainly dark red and gold, emphasizing the solemn and mysterious atmosphere.
At the core of the Bloodline Hall were several bloodline testing instruments, each with a detection platform inlaid with dragon crystals. Wooden stools were placed around the platforms for those waiting to be tested.
The walls bore inscriptions recounting the origins of the bloodline testing instruments. Before the formal test, Jiang Ming glanced at these inscriptions.
Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn period, there was a craftsman named Lu Ban, known for his superb skills and as a genius inventor. One day, he discovered an ancient legend in an old scroll: a mysterious stone used by Nüwa to mend the sky, capable of detecting special attributes within humans.
This piqued his interest, and he decided to invent a tool that could test people's monster bloodline attributes. After several years, Lu Ban found fragments of Nüwa's stone and spent ten years creating a magical tool—the "Demon Vein Detector."
This tool, exquisitely crafted, resembled an ancient handheld mirror, with a piece of Nüwa's stone at its center, emitting a faint glow. This stone was the core and source of its magical power.
After Lu Ban invented the Demon Vein Detector, the scarcity of Nüwa's stone made it difficult to obtain, forcing later generations to seek alternative materials. After years of research and experimentation, they eventually discovered a special stone to replace Nüwa's stone, known as "dragon crystal."
Dragon crystal, with its translucent appearance and dragon-scale-like patterns, emitted a faint rainbow glow. The stone was very hard, smooth, and cool to the touch. Although it wasn't as powerful or precise as Nüwa's stone, it was sufficient for most bloodline detection needs.
Jiang Ming grasped the handle and dripped a drop of blood from his finger into the detector. After absorbing the blood, the dragon crystal began to flicker and eventually emitted a dazzling deep purple light.
The middle-aged staff member furrowed his brows, unable to recall what attribute the deep purple color represented.
Typically, each color represented a monster attribute: red for fire, blue for water, green for wood, gray for earth, and yellow for metal.
The middle-aged staff member awkwardly said, "President, the dragon crystal shows deep purple. Let me check the ancient records to see which attribute this bloodline corresponds to."
Before the middle-aged staff member could open the book, a bespectacled young man adjusted his glasses and said, "Deep purple represents the spatial attribute bloodline. This bloodline is extremely rare. According to historical records, the last one with a spatial bloodline was Li Bai."
The middle-aged man halted his book search, as if he remembered: "President, I recall now. Deep purple indeed represents the spatial attribute."
"Li Bai," Jiang Ming muttered, "Is it the Li Bai who said, 'I laugh as I go out the door, how can I be a common man?'"
Zhang Siyuan, the bespectacled man, nodded: "Yes, that's the Li Bai, the renowned swordsman and famous poet of the Tang Dynasty."
"What? The president's monster bloodline is the spatial attribute, just like Li Bai's!"
"How can that be? This bloodline hasn't appeared for over a thousand years!"
The crowd was in an uproar, almost in disbelief. Li Bai held a very high status among exorcists, comparable to Newton in the scientific community. He was one of the few top-tier exorcists in history. His deeds were known to almost every exorcist, a miracle that could hardly be replicated.
Liu Wei scoffed: "So what if he has the spatial attribute bloodline? Our association doesn't have a dedicated spatial department. This means he has no mentor to guide him. Let's see how he trains."
Liu Yiyi frowned, disliking Liu Wei's words but also thinking he had a point. Training without a mentor and relying solely on oneself was extremely difficult, nearly impossible to succeed.
Li Qinglin chuckled lightly and turned to leave. He initially thought Jiang Ming might become a potential rival in the future.
Zhao Mingcheng sighed, feeling a bit disappointed with the result. He truly hoped there would be someone among the younger generation who could surpass him. He had already realized that more and more monsters were awakening, and the exorcists needed more talented newcomers.
Ying Yanjie frowned, seemingly worried about Jiang Ming. As the president, if Jiang Ming's talent wasn't sufficient, it would be hard for everyone to accept his leadership.
"Monster vein concentration 45%!" the test instrument announced.
The entire hall suddenly fell silent. Li Qinglin paused mid-turn, and Liu Jianye, who was hiding on the roof, almost slipped, fortunately caught by Lei Department Head Zhao Rui.
"Only 45%? Does that mean my talent is relatively poor?" Jiang Ming thought, considering that being a half-demon meant half of his bloodline was monster blood.
Zhang Siyuan, the bespectacled man, recovered from his astonishment and patiently explained: "Typically, a monster bloodline exceeding ten percent indicates high talent, qualifying one to learn all the techniques of a specific breathing method."
"A monster bloodline exceeding fifty percent implies that one parent was a monster. Historically, this was common, but with the disappearance of monsters, such high concentrations are almost non-existent in modern society."
Jiang Ming roughly understood the issue of demon blood concentration. The demon blood was like a drop of ink in a glass of water; the more water added, the lower the concentration of ink. An ordinary person's blood was like the water added to the glass.
Zhang Siyuan concluded, "A 45% demon blood concentration means that someone in your family married a demon within the last three generations."
Hearing this, Jiang Ming's heart skipped a beat. To Jiang Ming, Zhang Siyuan's words provided a clue to unraveling the mystery of his lineage.
Liu Wei snorted and turned to leave. Jiang Ming's test results were not what he wanted to see. He didn't expect Jiang Ming to have such high talent. With such high talent, it didn't matter if there was no one to guide his training; as long as his comprehension wasn't too poor, becoming a high-level demon slayer in the future wouldn't be a problem.
Zhao Mingcheng smiled with relief and then disappeared into the crowd.
Ying Yanjie secretly gave Jiang Ming a thumbs up, silently encouraging him, "Good luck, little brother!"
Li Qinglin walked up to Jiang Ming and smiled, "President Jiang, I recently found a biography of Li Bai in the association's library. It includes some information about the Space Breathing Technique. If you plan to cultivate the Space Technique, this book would be very useful."
"Thank you for the advice, Brother Li!" Although Jiang Ming was the president, Li Qinglin had joined the Demon Slayer Association earlier, so Jiang Ming addressed him as "Brother."
"President, there's no need to be so polite. It's my duty. If you need anything in the future, feel free to assign it to me."
Jiang Ming smiled awkwardly, puzzled by Brother Li's sudden warmth. In the morning, when Li Qinglin had picked him up, he hadn't even wanted to say a word to him.