Archfiend

SLAP!!! A slap loudly slammed into Warren’s face.

In the Tullius Family’s conference room, Warren covered his face, not daring to speak a word.

Inside the family’s most pure and holy ancestral grounds, everyone in the Tullius Family was seated. A typical old western man, a beard on his face and his head bald, slapped Warren several meters away. The old man fixed his eyes on Warren as if he wanted to eat him. At the side, three men and three women, all of them Perfect Counts, and two of them even quasi Marquises, glared at Warren in disappointment, hating iron for not being steel. Their eyes flared with rage as they looked at Warren—ordinarily the most pampered and doted upon son of the Tullius Family. [1]

“How many times have I told you?!?!” the old man shouted angrily, “Why did you risk provoking a Chinese cultivator!!!”

“Although they’re not as good as America in the mortal world… in the cultivation world, they’re on the same level as superpowers like India, Greece, and Scandinavia! If all their Marquises came out, then they could swallow all of the Americas!!! How many Grand Dukes do the Americas have? Huh? Not even seven!!! On paper, China has TWELVE!!!”

“And this doesn’t even include China’s three legendary schools of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism… I suspect… No! I’m sure that there’s absolutely a Prince-rank super powerhouse among them! One person can slaughter one country! I’ve told you countless times! Don’t go to Chinatown! And do you know why?!”

The old man gnashed his teeth as he sat down. He picked up a cup of coffee and took a sip, but smashed it on the ground before he even finished drinking it. He exploded with an angry shout, “Because there might be a Grand Duke living in seclusion in Chinatown! Just Chinatown! Not even the Corvinus and Dracul there to go there! Do you really think there are no benefits to be sought in Chinatown?!”

“Thirty-three years ago, the Dracul’s newly advanced Grand Duke wanted to annex Chinatown into their territory. Three days later he came back seriously injured! But… You stupid idiot! Fuck!!!” Finished speaking, the old man moved in to kick Warren, but the people beside him held him back. However, they were shaken back seven to eight meters away by the old man’s Marquis-rank spiritual pressure. The veins on the old man’s forehead pulsed wildly, but finally settled down. He returned to sit in his seat.

Crack… The precious chair he was sitting on, crafted out of authentic European wood, instantly turned into powder. He sat in midair and gazed furiously at Warren. “You’ve provoked a Chinese cultivator… A great expert who can trade moves with the overseer and two direct descendants, and who almost heavily injured the overseer as well! Are you trying to bury the Tullius Family under your stupidity?! Huh?!”

The old man nearly kicked Warren to death, but he could only blame himself… Normally, he spoiled his grandson far too much! And now, such a massive inconvenience had been provoked!

A meeting?

What a joke! They were a vassal family under the House of Dracul! Outside of other vampire clans, vampire clans never treated these underlings with added flair! And that wasn’t to mention that such an action was the same as directly striking an overseer’s and two Third Bittens’ faces!

The old man could imagine their words now.

Hehe… We’re going to fucking kill him. You actually dare to go meet him? You really think to dare act as you please just because you manage the House of Dracul’s finances?

But if he didn’t see this other Marquis expert?

Bullshit… this was all bullshit!

Such a valiant Marquis was beyond him in strength! If this Chinese cultivator didn’t leave New York one day, then his own family members wouldn’t dare to go out!

New York didn’t have China’s heavenly paradises! Would they just stay inside a skyscraper and cultivate?

Wouldn’t that aftermath pretty much be the same as 9/11?!

“Fuck… you dumb swine!” He clenched his teeth and massaged his temples. After ages, his face ashened. “Immediately… report to the House of Dracul…”

“Your Highness!”

“Your Highness Laurent!”

“Shut up!” Laurent was seething with anger. “Do you know what it is to be afraid right now?! Do you know of a Marquis’s terror?! Just ask yourselves—are you scared of him or the Dracul?!”

“Yes… in the future, we might not be able to survive. The amount of people dead will entirely depend on that Chinese cultivator’s perceived prestige! But if I go see him tomorrow… we’ll definitely die straightaway!”

“Grandpa…”

“Call me Your Highness!” Laurent coldly snorted and cursed Warren out for failing to meet his expectations. Such was the story of iron failing to become steel. “Right now… scram back to the Dracul and cultivate! Unless you reach Marquis, you’re not allowed to come back to the Tullius Family!”

“You better pray… You better pray for the sake of our family having worked like an ox for the Dracul all these years that they can dispatch an apex Marquis expert to protect us… otherwise…” he let out two barks of cold laughter without finishing his sentence.

Warren shivered and stammered out, “Yes… Your Highness… t-that Chinese cultivator had something that he wanted me to bring to you…”

Laurent was dazed. Afterwards, two lightning-like beams of light fired straight at Warren when he heard that the item was in Warren’s pocket. With a light snort, a fingernail-sized paper bag wrapped in foil suddenly flew out.

“What’s this…”

Before he even finished speaking, the paper bag unexpectedly exploded! Soon, a handful of silver dust inside floated in the air.

No good!

These two words promptly flashed in Laurent’s mind.

This was a show of strength!

This Chinese cultivator’s grasp over essence was already wonderfully supreme! It was unknown what tricks there were on the paper bag, but it surprisingly flew out from within and exploded!

Such a thing was called a restriction in China. It was unfortunate that it was unknown abroad.

Regardless, Laurent only knew that something used as a show of strength was definitely not a good item.

“Get down!” A ring of red spiritual force loudly swirled up around him. In the next second, though, he cried out in surprise and charged over. His hand outstretched, he seized onto the silver dust.

“This… This is…” He studied the silver dust in his hand in disbelief. Everyone else was about to get down, but they doubtingly stood half way back up upon seeing his expression.

But in the next moment, they were all sent rocketing out of the room. The door leading in slammed shut with a bang.

No one knew why.

Inside the room, Laurent and Warren were the only two. Laurent seemed as if he’d seen a ghost, and his fingers shakily touched the powder in his hand. His lips trembled as if he was having a stroke.

Essence!

Such intense essence!

This essence… wasn’t of major use to him, but he could sense that this essence would absolutely be useful to Count-rank cultivators, in particular to those breaking through the bodily limiter!

“What is this?” He swiftly looked at Warren. He’d never seen anything like this! If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he simply wouldn’t believe it!

In an instant, he realized this powder’s benefits! If he could sell it in bulk… if it could be mass-produced… the entire cultivation world would possibly be changed!

But if it couldn’t be… his Tullius Family had encountered a tremendous opportunity all the same!

This powder was a hundred million times better than the purest fucking meth! What in the world was this?!

“Tell me…” His voice softened, and he looked closely at Warren. “What is this?”

“I-I don’t know…” Warren’s voice still held traces of trepidation. He didn’t understand all too well what was so marvelous about this powder. In reality, however, he was not alone. There were just too many ways for a Marquis-rank expert to keep a Count from seeing anything.

“You don’t know what it is? What else did he say?” Already, Laurent could be said to be amiable as he continued to ask questions.

“A-All he said was to invite you to see him, sir…”

Unexpectedly, Laurent didn’t reply.

While he was the House of Dracul’s hunting dog, he was first of all the elder of the Tullius Family!

With a bright-colored family crest on his chest, he understood his responsibility. He moreover understood… that even if he’d assailed the realm of Marquis, this had given the family a hundred-plus years of good living at most. If the Tullius Family couldn’t produce another Marquis in these hundred-somewhat years, then their great authority over the House of Dracul’s finances, this chunk of fatty meat, would be easily taken!

His enemies definitely wouldn’t let go of the opportunity to beat down a drowning dog, and the Dracul certainly wouldn’t take mercy on a second-rate clan that didn’t have value to be exploited!

He gripped the paper bag in his palm, his heart home to many complex feelings. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth. “Who in the world is this Chinese cultivator… To actually bring out an item like this… I swear that not even China has seen this before! And the most advanced pill-elixir machines are all produced in America! This powder… This thing practically oozes magic… If the Chinese had it, would they still use pill-elixirs?!”

“Just by feeling the essence energy alone, it’s a good couple grades higher than pill-elixir!

After ages, he raised his head, and a wisp of struggle flashed through his eyes. Several minutes later, he said, “Tomorrow… get someone trustworthy, an unfamiliar face, to go meet him.”

“Yes… huh?” Warren was struck dumb. His grandfather wasn’t making him go to the Dracul?

Why wasn’t he going?

“Your Highness… didn’t you say… not to go see him…?”

“I’m making you go, so just go!!! Why do you have to talk so much crap!!!” Laurent involuntarily raised his voice, his face also somewhat red. He immediately went back on the words he’d just said. If possible, he didn’t want to act this way! Warren, though, was presently the only person to have met that Chinese cultivator! He himself couldn’t go!

This renegement was still necessary of him.

“But… His Highness said to have you…”

“Use your pig brain and carefully think! Do you think I’m going to risk that?! Warren, I’ll tell you that this paper bag of his is hiding huge benefit! For this benefit, I’d dare to make a deal with the Devil! But if even a tiny bit of this is leaked out before this deal goes through, you’ll be the Tullius Family’s sinner!” Clenching his teeth, he said in a low voice, “I… will give you something. It can allow me to talk directly with him…”

“Grandpa!” Warren was startled. “Y-You know how cruel the Dracul are! If anyone finds out…”

Before his voice even fell, an invisible force pulled him in front of Laurent’s fully bearded face. The abnormalness of Laurent’s reddened eyes was just like a gold miner who discovered an amazing gold mine.

His speech clear and concise, Laurent enunciated each of his words, “In that case, don’t let anyone find out!”

“Yes…” Warren said against his better judgement. He honestly didn’t understand why his grandfather would suddenly back out. Major business like this didn’t even require discussion? And it was reneged on so quickly at that?

…...

The next day, it was already twelve noon when Xu Yangyi opened his eyes.

He was sleeping because he basically couldn’t cultivate now. A fire seed hadn’t been ignited in his body. Apart from the Clearcloud Realm’s decennial Sky Burial Festival, he was incapable of cultivating.

He turned to the azure universe-like vortex in his body. As before, it was ceaselessly spinning. The four eyes on the Dream Eater’s black wings were all shut. Evidently, it was cultivating something. It, which evolved by eating dreams, already possessed its own tentative consciousness. It appeared that it innately knew how to cultivate, not even needing an arcane effort.

“Is this an ancient spirit-entity? The elysial bestowment of a demon king’s larva?” Xu Yangyi laughed wryly. What was to be born with a golden spoon in the mouth? Not him, but the Dream Eater.

He passionately looked at the Eternal Alchemy Canon. Only A Thousand Li Invincible and the Dragon’s Form part of Dragon’s Form, Tiger’s Shape could be read. These two moves didn’t need qi, but he had no way to buy heavenly treasures for physique refinement.

It wasn’t that he didn’t have spirit stones, though. He still had half of his earnings from his auction in the past. The amount was enough for him to act freely with his purchases, but… while cultivating the first page of A Thousand Li Invincible wasn’t hard, the items spent on cultivation were enough to leave him speechless.

1. It’s noted here that Warren is the son of the first wife.