On a medium-sized stone, peaking above the surface level of the lake, Luciel was sitting in a full lotus position without shoes or socks. There was a huge waterfall falling down behind him.
He was revealing his well-defined muscles and a body without a trace of fat. There was also no scar to be seen.
After becoming a vampire, he had gained a perfect body any human would dream about.
While meditating, he did not wear a shirt because of the constant splashing of the waterfall against his back made him partly wet.
He held his head down, touching the tips of his fingers as he focused on moving the Qi around his body.
It felt like a warm, gentle energy spreading through his veins, flowing across his whole body. From the tips of his fingers to the every cell in his body.
A month had passed since Nosferatu started teaching him the basics of Blood Cultivation and Luciel was still in the early stage: Crimson Awakening, trying to get past the first level, Blood Infusion.
Luciel felt thankful to Nosferatu who managed to buy Kai a little bit more time by helping him go into eternal slumber, giving him half a year till the infection takes over.
He wanted to go out now and search for the cause of the issue. He believed that if he finds the root of the problem, he will discover the solution as well, but Nosferatu forbid him from going out without a permission.
Luciel was still weak and while waiting for him to get stronger, Nosferatu decided to send a few groups of vampires to go and find a cure for this zombie infection. It was noted that it was spreading among humans as well.
If humans would go extinct, so will the vampires.
Luciel slowly inhaled and exhaled, pushing away the thoughts about his friend.
First, he needed to focus on the flow of his Qi going across his veins, mixed in with blood.
Vampires were interesting creatures when it came to manipulating Qi.
Nosferatu explained to Luciel that, unlike humans, vampires cannot create Qi channels and instead, they circulate it through their veins, inside their blood.
Blood Cultivation was a perfect technique made for vampires.
Luciel continued to meditate, breathing slowly. He could feel Qi rushing through his whole body, but he was struggling with the next step.
He had to differentiate between the two forces that were making up his Qi - Yin and Yang.
Sweat started to appear on Luciel's forehead. He could feel Yin flowing inside his body, but he couldn't find traces of Yang. It was like it didn't exist.
He continued to focus, not giving up, but right at the moment when he thought he had it, a loud noise and vibration woke him up from his trance.
"Ready for a round?"
It was Nosferatu who opened the entrance and walked in with a cheerful smile.
Luciel frowned once his mentor walked in. He felt like he finally had it until this annoying mosquito showed up.
The old vampire stared at his pupil's displeased expression, wondering what he did wrong to deserve such a treatment.
"What?" Nosferatu asked, taking off his coat, shirt, shoes, and socks, revealing an impressive bulky body for an old man in his early 60's.
"No matter what, I can't sense my Yang. You interrupted me just when I almost had it." Luciel complained, glaring at his teacher.
"Hm…" Nosferatu tapped his chin, shifting all of his weight on one leg. "Come here for a moment."
Luciel groaned slightly and got up, approaching Nosferatu.
"What are you planning now? Will you hit me like the last time or what?"
Without saying anything, Nosferatu gently closed his eyes and placed the palm of his hand in the middle of Luciel's chest.
"Well then, let's start sparing." Nosferatu removed his hand from Luciel's chest and placed it behind his back, getting into a battle stance while gesturing with the other hand for Luciel to come at him.
The young vampire sighed, going for the high kick toward Nosferatu who blocked it with his arm.
Luciel's training sessions were separated into two parts. He would meditate for the whole night, getting a hang of his Qi.
And a few hours before the sun would go up, Nosferatu would come and visit him.
He would be teaching Luciel more about the fighting styles of a vampire and was helping him get used to his body until he would make it his own.
"Your Yang is weak," Nosferatu said, sending a fast punch toward Luciel who blocked it with both of his hands. The sheer force of the punch made him slide backward for a good few meters.
"What do you mean by that?" Luciel rushed towards his teacher, extending his claws as we went for the face.
"Vampires can't produce Yang on their own." The opposing vampire moved out of the way and revealed his claws too.
He moved behind Luciel and made a large slash across his back before kicking him into the wall, using only a fraction of his strenght.
Luciel groaned. Blood could be seen all over his body as he fell to the ground, leaving a crater on the wall.
'That son of a bitch.' He thought, baring his fangs as he rubbed the top of his head, waiting for the body to heal.
"If vampires are pure Yin creatures, and can't produce Yang on their own. How are we still here then?" Luciel asked, feeling confused about the whole situation.
If all living creatures had Qi that was made from Yin and Yang, how can vampires still walk the Earth?
Nosferatu chuckled, wiping some dust from his shoulder, "Luciel… When was the last time you fed?"
The confused vampire's eyes darted left and right around the cave wall, thinking why Nosferatu asked him about that.
"Five days ago."
"And if all living creatures have Qi inside them, why are the vampires feeding on blood?"
Luciel stayed quiet. He was trying to find a reasonable solution to this problem.
"Maybe because of Yang's energy in other creatures. But why are vampires drinking mostly human blood then?" He answered and continued to question Nosfreratu.
"Humans have the largest Qi amount even without the use of any cultivation techniques. And where is Qi, there is Yang." Nosferatu explained, but he still didn't give Luciel the answer he was searching for, giving him some more room to think about all of this.
"So if humans have the largest amount of Yang…" Luciel started, slowly getting up, "Then does that mean that vampires have naturally evolved to prey on humans?"
"Correct!" The teacher exclaimed, pointing with his finger towards Luciel, "With each feeding, vampires always take a small amount of Yang, but with Blood Cultivation, you can take even more, but take too much, and the human will die."
Slowly, everything was starting to make sense to Luciel. This new information managed to shed some new insight into vampires which even the researchers didn't know about.
Hearing this and being one of them now made Luciel see vampires in a slightly different light.
While he still doesn't approve of their cruel nature, the fact that they can't help themselves but feast on humans makes him feel understanding toward them. After all, he could relate to their struggles.
"And when we start to lose control of ourselves, is that because of…?"
"Yes, it's because we reached critical levels of Qi. Our wild instincts for survival start to take over. It's the final burst of energy before we die."
Luciel gulped at hearing this. So whenever he would feel his mind slipping, that would mean that he was getting closer to croaking.
"This is enough training for now. Take some rest for the rest of the night."
Nosferatu walked towards Luciel, placing a hand on his shoulder, "And tomorrow, take Melisa with you. Make sure to eat and investigate the case with the infection. Melisa will inform you about the rest."
Nosferatu walked towards Luciel, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Go eat something tomorrow. Try to feel the Qi inside your prey and make it yours."
"I'll do as you say." Luciel bowed a little, showing his respect to the master, "If you don't mind, I'll take my leave then."
He was about to walk out, but before he could, Nosferatu stopped him, having more things to say.
"Also, I would want you to go and investigate the zombie infection that's spreading. I already sent many of my vampires, but you are the one who's the most familiar with the colony structure and human hierarchy. Melisa will go with you, she will fill you in about everything you need to know."
Luciel frowned at the mention of Melisa, they weren't on good terms ever since what happened to Kai, but he felt like he couldn't just say no to Nosferatu. Leader's orders are absolute. He made a deal with him after all.
"As you say, master." There was a frown on Luciel's face as he walked out, making sure that Nosferatu wouldn't see his expression.