Three days passed.
Xue Qian returned to the inn looking utterly exhausted, her body weak and trembling. Lan An even noticed faint red marks on her neck and cheeks—clear traces left by rough handling.
"Wife, are you alright?" Xue Shang's heart clenched. He hurried forward to support her, his voice filled with concern.
Lan An's mouth twitched. This world truly had every kind of absurdity…
"I'm exhausted to death. That Xue Quan is like a damn bull!" Xue Qian panted as she sat down, taking several deep breaths before grumbling.
Xue Shang lowered his head and sat silently to the side. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, but he said nothing.
Seeing her husband's dejected look, Xue Qian could only sigh inwardly. Who told you not to be pure Blood Race? She quickly composed herself and spoke up:
"The assessment begins in twenty days. This time's rewards—besides royal blood essence and the chance to enter battlefields on other planets—also include one session of soaking in the Blood Pool… Xue Quan told me himself!"
"You can enter the Blood Pool?" Xue Shang's face instantly lit up with狂热 excitement. His eyes burned with anticipation. Clearly, this so-called Blood Pool held immense allure for him.
"Absolutely true!" Xue Qian nodded, her own expression filled with longing and hope.
"Still twenty days left?" Lan An, however, paid no attention to the so-called rewards. What bothered him was how long the assessment would take.
Every extra day spent in the Blood Realm felt unbearably dull to him…
"What—are you in a rush? You'd better prepare your body properly. This assessment has hundreds of participants, but only ten slots on the Blood Child Ranking. The elimination rate is brutal!" Xue Qian shot Lan An a sideways glance. If not for his combat strength being useful, she wouldn't bother with him at all.
Lan An nodded. The Blood Child Ranking was essentially the Blood Realm's equivalent of Yuelong Star's Golden Ranking—except it ranked the realm's most exceptional geniuses. Over the years, the number of names on the Blood Child Ranking had steadily increased to motivate young talents. More importantly, it served as a way for the Blood Royal Clan to groom gifted servants. Becoming a Blood Child meant receiving royal blood essence from the Blood Royal Clan and being taken in as a disciple—pledging loyalty to them.
The fundamental nature of the Golden Ranking and the Blood Child Ranking was completely different. The number of names on the Blood Child Ranking was many times greater.
From what Lan An had learned, the current Blood Child Ranking already had nearly three hundred names. This cycle adding ten more would only continue inflating the list.
"Have you found out the format of this assessment?" Xue Shang asked eagerly. To him, the Blood Pool and royal blood essence were must-haves. The chance to fight on alien battlefields held far less appeal.
"I did, but you'll know in twenty days. Right now, I need rest!" Xue Qian finished speaking, pushed open the door to her room, and left Xue Shang and Lan An staring at each other.
Xue Shang let out a helpless sigh and turned to Lan An with advice:
"In the future, Xue Mie, if you ever take a wife—choose someone plain-looking so she doesn't catch the eye of true Blood Race nobles. Otherwise, even if you become a Blood Child, our status will still be far beneath theirs!"
Lan An smiled and nodded…
…
Twenty days passed quickly.
On this day, Blood Heart City reached a fever pitch of excitement. Countless blood cultivators flooded the streets, blanketing the massive city in a sea of people.
Every major city in the Blood Realm shared one strict rule: only pure-blooded members of the Blood Race were permitted to fly within city limits. Everyone else had to walk on foot. Thus, Lan An and the Xue couple blended into the black tide of people, moving neither too fast nor too slow toward the center of Blood Heart City—the venue for the Blood Child Ranking assessment…
This was one of the grandest events in the Blood Realm. Don't be fooled by the current nearly three hundred names on the ranking—those three hundred were the cream of the crop, selected after countless eliminations. They were the absolute elite of the Blood Realm.
On Yuelong Star, those on the Golden Ranking earned their places through resounding battle achievements, with rankings decided collectively. In the Blood Realm, everything had to be personally recognized by the Blood Royal Clan. No matter how heaven-defying your talent or how monstrous your strength—if the Blood Royal Clan didn't acknowledge you, you were nothing.
That was why today was so lively, so crowded… Most were spectators. The actual participants numbered only a few hundred—after all, not every young genius dared risk their life in an assessment with such a high mortality rate.
Before Lan An stood a vast plaza dyed blood-red. High above on a raised platform sat ten Blood Race members lounging casually. They held goblets filled with blood, sipping slowly. Their black robes were embroidered with vivid crimson human hearts—grotesque and eerie.
"They are the Four-Heart Blood Envoys—honored guests overseeing this assessment!" Xue Qian said with clear envy as she gazed at the ten envoys, her eyes filled with worship.
Lan An remained utterly indifferent from start to finish. Envoy or not, he felt none of them could withstand more than a few moves if he went all out.
"Greetings, Blood King!"
Just then, the ten Blood Envoys on the platform hurriedly rose and knelt on one knee toward the sky in salute.
Space tore open. A vortex of blood surged out, slowly coalescing into a ten-meter-tall figure. Its features were savage, yet its aura was overwhelming—crushing in all directions. Every drop of blood in the city roiled violently; many nearly vomited.
It was a full-transformed vampire—bat wings, gaping fanged maw, tall and emaciated frame, clawed hands. Utterly hideous.
Of course, hideous in Lan An's eyes. In the Blood Realm, such a figure held an untouchable status. Across the entire Blood Realm, Blood Kings could be counted on one hand—and every one was direct lineage of the Blood Royal Clan.
Cheers and reverent cries echoed to the heavens…
"Is a Blood King already at Half-Immortal level?" Lan An wondered silently.
He hadn't expected blood power could evolve into something so advanced. Just the aura radiating from this Blood King was enough to tell—it far surpassed the envoys. The scent of blood was purer… far less foul.
"Of course. Every form of power in the world can evolve—become stronger, purer… The energy of a Blood King can be called Blood Immortal Power! Though he's still in the process of fully transforming…" Jin'er nodded in confirmation.
The Great Dao was boundless; all rivers flowed to the sea… Even cultivating blood essence was simply another path…
"Xue Shang, is a Blood King the strongest existence in our Blood Realm?" Lan An pretended to ask naively through voice transmission.
"Not at all! Above Blood Kings is His Majesty the Blood Emperor—he is the true terror. No one in the entire Blood Realm can rival him!" Xue Shang's face filled with reverence. In his heart, he wished he could kneel and lick the Blood Emperor's boots.
Lan An nodded, silently gauging whether a figure like the Blood Emperor could compare to the Giant Demon Clan's elders. And whether the Blood Royal Clan could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Giant Demon Clan.
"Silence…" The Blood King raised a hand lightly. The entire plaza instantly fell deathly quiet—no one dared defy him.
Seeing the crowd obey, the Blood King nodded in satisfaction and spoke:
"For this cycle, there has been a slight change in the rules. The number of Blood Child slots has increased—from ten to twenty. A rare opportunity for you young ones!"
"What?!" The crowd's expressions changed dramatically. Doubling the slots from ten to twenty made every participant's breathing quicken.
"I didn't expect ten extra slots this time—our chances have just gotten much bigger!" Xue Shang trembled with excitement, already imagining himself as a Blood Child.
"That's strange. Xue Quan clearly said only ten slots. Now they're adding more—he's completely unreliable!" Xue Qian's face twisted with resentment, mentally placing Xue Quan on her blacklist.
What no one knew was that too many Blood Children had recently died on Yuelong Star. The Blood Race was forced to replenish their ranks, increasing the number on the Blood Child Ranking.
Of course, the Blood King would never reveal the real reason. He simply delivered a long, tedious speech before finally announcing:
"The Blood Child assessment officially begins! Blood Guidance Labyrinth—appear!" The Blood King roared. In his hand materialized an architectural treasure. He hurled it downward…
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The treasure rapidly expanded. In moments, it reached a diameter of tens of thousands of li, covering a vast swath of sky and blocking most people's view.
Lan An activated Thousand-Li Insight and saw it was an endlessly twisting labyrinth filled with countless winding paths…
"An ultra-low-grade treasure used purely for assessment? Not bad!" Lan An secretly nodded. A Blood King casually took out something of ultra-low grade—proof that his decision not to recklessly rampage through the Blood Realm was wise.
"So powerful!"
The crowd erupted in excitement. Many were seeing this treasure for the first time and recognized its extraordinary grade. Countless eyes burned with fascination…
"This is the Blood Guidance Labyrinth. As the name implies… at the exit of the labyrinth is placed the scent of pure fresh blood. Participants must rely on their sense of smell to follow the blood scent and reach the exit as quickly as possible. The first twenty to escape the labyrinth will be declared victors!"
The Blood King smiled faintly and continued:
"Of course, to make things more thrilling—you are allowed to kill any competitors you encounter inside the labyrinth. I have also prepared plenty of challenges within to add excitement!"
Many faces paled at his words. Challenges arranged by a Blood King would definitely not be simple…
Lan An, however, didn't care. These blood cultivators relied on scent to find the exit—while he had White Moon Soul-Seizing Eyes. He had no need to sniff around like a dog…
"This cycle's assessment has 369 participants. This King will only select the twenty most outstanding. Do not disappoint me…" The Blood King threw his head back and laughed loudly, officially declaring the assessment begun.
Creak…
Row after row of labyrinth gates opened. Countless young men and women rushed in without hesitation. Though the elimination rate was brutal and they would have to tear each other apart to win—this was the fastest path to changing their fate.
"Let's go in too!" Xue Shang nodded at Lan An.
"Together or separately?" Lan An asked.
"Together, of course! Form a three-man team and clear all obstacles!" Xue Qian hurriedly said.
Xue Shang also nodded in agreement. Having finally lured Lan An in, how could they abandon such a powerful combat asset?
"Then let's go!" Lan An shrugged.
"No problem!" Xue Shang laughed heartily. As a half-blood, his blood sense was far sharper than most—giving him a significant advantage.
Lan An didn't hesitate further. While others transformed into blood light and shot inside, he relied purely on physical power—blasting forward like a meteor.
"Projection!"
Once all participants had entered, the Blood King sealed every entrance of the Blood Guidance Labyrinth. He shouted:
"Display!"
Following his command, the entire labyrinth lit up. A massive projection screen appeared in the sky above, reflecting every scene inside the maze for the outside spectators to watch.
In an instant, the crowd grew even louder—betting had already begun… on who would make it onto the Blood Child Ranking.
The common currency in the Blood Realm was Bloodstone—a type of rock that could replenish blood power. Still, it couldn't compare to blood essence naturally devoured from others…
…
Before Lan An and the Xue couple now stretched endless blood-red stone walls in every direction—no visible exit. Xue Shang's expression turned serious. He barked:
"Blood Sense!"
His body suddenly swelled slightly. His already pale skin turned even whiter; his fangs protruded sharply. His nose twitched as he sniffed the air…
Clearly, he had activated his half-blood abilities to track the scent of blood…
Heh heh heh…
Before Xue Shang could lock onto anything, a sinister laugh echoed. Three figures shot toward them at blinding speed, launching vicious attacks.
"Hmph—Blood Shield!" Xue Qian shouted coldly. Blood essence surged outward, forming a protective barrier in front of them.
BOOM…
Something heavy slammed into the shield, forcing her back several steps.
The other two figures split off—one charging toward Lan An, the other toward Xue Shang…
BANG!
Lan An extended both powerful arms. Muscle Gate activated. Like iron clamps, he seized the incoming attackers and pinned them in place.
"Bloodfiend Corpse Puppets?" Lan An's eyes flickered strangely. He had encountered these things more than once.
"Late Seventh Revolution corpse puppets—clearly one of the challenges here!" Xue Qian watched Lan An effortlessly restrain two puppets above his realm. Her eyes lit up with joy.
"Blood Blade!" Xue Shang refused to fall behind. A razor-sharp blood blade appeared in his hand. He slashed viciously toward the necks of the two puppets Lan An held immobilized…
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
The two corpse puppets struggled furiously—but under Lan An's overwhelming strength, they were helpless. Xue Shang hacked away until their heads rolled—rendering them combat ineffective.
"GRR!"
The remaining corpse puppet that had attacked Xue Qian saw its companions fall and went berserk. It lunged forward, jaws wide to reveal fangs, aiming straight for her slender neck.
"Get lost!" Xue Shang swung his blade, forcing it back.
Lan An seized the opening. He leaped high and delivered a Meteor Kick downward…
BOOM!
The corpse puppet's head exploded like a watermelon. Chunks of flesh splattered everywhere.
Gulp…
Witnessing Lan An's brutal, overwhelming power, Xue Shang and Xue Qian exchanged glances. Excitement shone in their eyes as the same thought crossed their minds:
"We picked the right person!"