Chapter 192: The First Bloodkin Born of the First Bite
An endless stream of darkness and warmth surged inside Yu Xian's heart. His Power slowly climbed from 43 to 44, then to 45, 46, 47, and so on.
When he finished refining the Tao Tie bloodline, he acquired two new innate abilities: Energy Storage and Efficient Conversion. The former created an organ resembling a "primordial sac" inside him, allowing him to store a vast amount of energy. The latter enabled him to efficiently convert that energy into the various nutrients his body required.
Notably, the Tao Tie bloodline Yu Xian had acquired was likewise not a true Tao Tie bloodline. Its primary components came from a tiger and a pig. The tiger was a White Tiger whose primordial sac could store immense amounts of energy. Every movement it made possessed enough power to devastate heaven and earth. Had it not suffered exceptionally bad luck, it would have never died in the Abyss.
Unfortunately, the Tao Tie bloodline had not inherited the White Tiger's complete bloodline, only the portion associated with its primordial sac. That was also why the Forbidden Fruit had used its bloodline as one of the pieces from which to assemble the Tao Tie bloodline.
The other component came from a Titan Pig. Unfortunately, it was not a member of the pig's golden imperial lineage, but merely an ordinary magical beast. Put simply, it was a pig-headed humanoid.
Titan Pigs were far larger than ordinary Pigs and possessed astonishing appetites, capable of devouring an entire mountain in a single sitting. Consequently, they needed the ability to efficiently convert food into energy. Evidently, the Abyss had acquired this ability, and it had therefore become part of the Tao Tie bloodline as well.
These two abilities suited Yu Xian perfectly. His capacity for energy increased tremendously, and he could also absorb energy through the Light-Devouring Tree much faster. Previously, it had taken him three hours to gain one point of Power. Now, he could refine one bloodline and gain one point every hour.
Just as he devoted himself completely to refining even more bloodlines, a hand entered the range of his senses. With his current capacity, Yu Xian no longer needed to sleep while refining bloodlines. His brain even had enough processing power left over to handle other matters.
The moment he sensed that hand, he transformed the distant spatial bubble that had detected it into an eyeball bubble. Hovering at the edge of the Blue Planet's atmosphere, the eyeball bubble gazed into the distance. Ahead stretched the pitch-black void of space.
πππππ¨π²πππ¨π―ππ.ππΌπΊ
Somewhat puzzled, Yu Xian rotated the eyeball bubble in a full circle but found no one. He looked upward next, but still saw nothing. Finally, he directed the eye downward. What he saw startled him. Ether was plummeting at tremendous speed, clearly unconscious from oxygen deprivation.
"Holy crap! What is Cheng Pi doing here?"
Yu Xian was briefly taken aback, but he controlled the bubble to race downward. Fortunately, the speed Cheng Pi fell at was not particularly fast by Yu Xian's standards. The bubble soon caught up with him, then expanded and enclosed him. A large amount of oxygen flooded into the bubble, and Cheng Pi's lips, which had turned purple, gradually returned to their normal color.
Cheng Pi remained unconscious. Yu Xian therefore created a hand-shaped bubble inside the larger bubble and gently patted his cheek.
Still not awake?
Yu Xian struck him a little harder, leaving a red palm print on his cheek, but Cheng Pi remained unconscious. Cheng Pi had clearly suffered severe oxygen deprivation, and his brain could already have been damaged. Simply restoring his oxygen supply could not repair that damage, which was why he had yet to regain consciousness. There was even a possibility that he would remain in a vegetative state and never wake again.
After a moment of thought, Yu Xian created a tiny bubble inside the Pureblood Cocoon. Droplets of blood travelled through it to the Blue Planet.
The hand-shaped bubble slowly transformed into a needle. Yu Xian guided it into Cheng Pi's brain, where it rapidly split into countless tiny tendrils to examine his condition.
"He did suffer brain damage."
Yu Xian soon discovered that some of Cheng Pi's brain cells had permanently died from oxygen deprivation. Technically, Cheng Pi was already in a vegetative state, one with an extremely low chance of ever awakening from.
However, this was obviously no challenge for Yu Xian. He transformed the blood into a pair of fangs that bit into Cheng Pi's neck, then sent the blood surging into his veins. Cheng Pi's skin instantly turned deathly pale.
This was the first time Yu Xian had properly performed First Bite on someone. Although he was remotely controlling his Primordial Pureblood to perform it, he could still clearly sense his control over Cheng Pi gradually taking shape. At the same time, his power increased ever so slightly.
Once Cheng Pi became a second-generation Shining Vampire, Yu Xian gained complete control over his life. Moreover, the greatest difference between Yu Xian and Edward was that none of Yu Xian's bloodkins could ever become wild vampires beyond his control.
Primordial Pureblood already contained the abilities of Ultimate Source Blood. Even if someone used the blood of one of his bloodkins to transform themselves into a vampire, Yu Xian would be able to control them. In contrast, Edward had no control whatsoever over wild vampires before awakening the True Progenitor of Blood.
A short while later, Cheng Pi regained consciousness. He immediately noticed the changes in his body. As light shone upon him, his stamina rapidly recovered. He had also inherited two of Yu Xian's innate abilities, Fire and Water Manipulation.
Yu Xian possessed an extremely comprehensive range of abilities, but that did not mean a second-generation Shining Vampire could inherit all of them. Likewise, Marcus and the other vampires had been unable to inherit every one of Edward's abilities.
Cheng Pi realized that he was inside a bubble and saw the hand-shaped bubble before him. He asked with uncertainty, "Salted Fish, did I mutate?"
Yu Xian's voice came through the bubble. "Unfortunately, you didn't mutate. You died, and I brought you back to life. The price is... you've become one of my bloodkins. Put simply, you're now..."
Cheng Pi's eyes widened as he blurted out the answer before Yu Xian could finish. "So, I've become a light-sucking vampire?"
Yu Xian paused briefly before replying, "Yes. From now on, you're a light-sucking... vampire."
"Thank you."
Cheng Pi's reaction was somewhat sluggish, and only then did he realize that Yu Xian had saved his life. He and Yu Xian had known each other since before Yu Xian rose to prominence. Moreover, he had watched Yu Xian grow stronger step by step until he eventually became a hero in the eyes of the entire nation.
Before Cheng Pi left the Huaxia Pocket Dimension, news about Yu Xian had been everywhere. He also knew that many people wanted Yu Xian to grant them the First Bite, but Yu Xian had never given a direct response. Clearly, it was not a decision he made lightly.
Yet Yu Xian had made an exception and transformed him into a vampire to save his life. Cheng Pi felt that from this moment onward, his life belonged to Yu Xian.
Yu Xian smiled. "There's no need to thank me. We're friends, aren't we?"
He genuinely had no intention of controlling his friends. He had never controlled Bat after reviving him, and now that Cheng Pi had become a second-generation Shining Vampire, he likewise had no intention of restricting his freedom.
Of course, if either of them began committing crimes, Yu Xian certainly would not allow them to run wild. After all, that would be no different from him indirectly participating in their crimes.
Cheng Pi explained why he had flown up there to find him. Upon learning that the man had taken such a risk to save others, Yu Xian became even more certain that he had made the right choice. He truly had not saved the wrong person. As the old saying went, those who gather firewood to warm others must never be left to freeze to death in the wind and snow. Not saving Cheng Pi would have been the real mistake.