The secret realm was like a place completely detached from the world. Qianye sat there quietly listening to Nighteye talk about the past.

“We were young back then, an age of pride and arrogance. The vampire race was having a hard time surviving, we had countless enemies including other dark races and outsiders who had appeared in our world. My memories from back then were all about battles…”

This was likely a fragment of memory from ages ago. There was hardly any record of outside invasion in the Empire’s records; there would be the occasional void colossus, at most. The Evernight side had also categorized such stories as ancient legends.

“Later on… there was nothing. I don’t remember how I fell. All my memories of the time are blank, as though they had been wiped away. I asked Reynold after my awakening, but he didn’t reply. Reportedly, my whereabouts were unknown when news of my death started to spread.”

“Who exactly are you?”

Nighteye sighed softly. “I am Nighteye, I never changed. Awakening is just a lot of memories appearing in the consciousness.”

“Then why did you leave?”

“After my awakening, the new-formed blood core sent a message through the River of Blood and received a reply. I realized then that they would seek me out sooner or later and take me back. If we were together, you would be in danger. My ancient incarnation had a lot more enemies than friends like Reynold. If I can awaken, so can they.”

“No matter what kind of enemies they are, we can face them together. Look, not much time has passed since then.”

Nighteye sighed. “In addition to danger, there’s also duty. If the Evernight Council summons me back, I’ll have no choice but to go back. There was no way you would be willing to work for the council, even if they promised not to pit you against the Empire.”

Qianye was silent. That was indeed his mindset back then.

Nighteye continued, “Later on, the council’s emissary found me and Reynold came as well. You know what happened later on.”

“The Azure… Reynold, why did he save me?” Qianye didn’t understand.

From all the signs and from Nighteye’s words, it was obvious that the Azure King had special feelings for Nighteye. Even though she never responded, the king’s sentiments never changed throughout the millennia. If Nighteye was the one injured, it would make sense that he would give his life-saving treasure for her use. Qianye could be considered a love rival, so why would Reynold be so generous?

Nighteye sighed. “He wanted to save me, not you.”

Qianye suddenly realized that if he were to die, Nighteye would not continue living with the guilt of having killed him. The Azure King had noticed this, and that was why he went all out with the rescue.

Qianye’s heart was filled with a feeling that he could not explain. “I was too rash.”

“It’s all in the past now.”

Qianye pointed at his chest. “What’s up with my body? The Book of Darkness seems to have merged with me.”

Nighteye glared at him unceremoniously. “You ask what’s up?! You tricked me! That sword strike contained all of my power, else I would never be able to block that shot of yours. Awakening Dream will always find the target’s weak point, so your blood core and heart were shattered.”

“Then how did things end up like this?”

“Fortunately, you had the book of darkness. That book was called the Book of Genesis in ancient times, an object reportedly born together with this world. Recorded within are the lower world’s true profundities and secrets. All the races would fight over the book whenever it appeared. The last owner of the book was Andruil, who gained great power and even sought to challenge the Queen of the Night.”

Qianye knew the book was extraordinary, but he hadn’t expected it to have such an impressive origin. It was actually a treasure sought after by the powerhouses throughout history.

Nighteye said, “At one point in time, Reynold had obtained the book and studied it for a while. He used the Book of Darkness’s power of genesis to reform your heart and blood core, then he used the blood of azure darkness to seal them in the book of darkness.

This was a miracle. The Book of Darkness possessed such wondrous powers, yet the Azure King had done his utmost to save Qianye instead of taking the book. This kindness was truly difficult to shoulder.

It was at this time that Nighteye’s brows knitted together. She looked hesitant and puzzled, but also hopeful. Qianye reached out to smooth her brows, asking, “What’s on your mind?”

Nighteye said in a daze, “My connection with Reynold’s blood seal was completely cut off just a little earlier… but now…”

It was at this time that they both sensed something and looked up at the sky. There was a faint ripple in the River of Blood as one of the seals dimmed down—it was the Azure King’s seal.

The ripple was cryptic, weak, and extremely short-lived, yet Nighteye and Qianye were able to catch it. They were both dukes now, with a much stronger connection to the river than many of their peers.

Nighteye was just feeling hopeful when the seal dimmed even further. Fortunately, it stopped there.

Nighteye mumbled, “I must’ve sensed something wrong because of the anxiety.”

Qianye held her hand, saying, “Not many can threaten Reynold, considering how powerful he is. Unless a supreme takes action.”

Qianye pulled her into his arms, the warmth of the embrace allowing both of them to relax.

Nighteye said, “Maybe we should go out and take a look.”

“Okay.”

“Wait, there’s no rush. You should get used to your new body first.”

Qianye didn’t object. He was not familiar with his current body; every joint felt rusted and difficult to control. His fighting power was no more than thirty percent under such conditions.

The Andruil’s Space still remained. Even that powerful explosion couldn’t destroy this treasure. After a while of rest, Qianye stretched and brought out East Peak. Following a casual shake, the blade began to vibrate dramatically, creaking and groaning in the process.

Qianye was surprised. During that shake, the book of darkness had poured out chaos origin power and greatly increased his strength. The force had almost destroyed East Peak.

East Peak had been reinforced first at the Zhao clan and then upgraded with the giant rhinoceros horn at the Pond of Life. It was practically invincible, showing no signs of strain even against giant hammers and axes. How come it was almost ruined with a single shake?

Qianye carefully sensed the structure of his body. There was little change in his muscles, and the auric flame blood was still flowing in his veins. The only change was that the flame granules within his body had become more cryptic. His skeleton had reached a completely remodeled state. This could be one of the reasons why he could withstand more energy flow, but that wasn’t enough to explain the explosive strength from just now.

The only explanation at the moment was the special power flowing out from the Book of Darkness.

Qianye no longer dared to apply strength at will. He decided to keep his power output controlled at half the capacity during practice. He would slowly increase his power after he was familiar with it.

Qianye’s heart was as calm as still water when he entered practice mode. He no longer cared about the surroundings and only focused on practicing his sword arts and techniques.

Three days passed by in the blink of an eye before Qianye woke up from his practice.

Surprised after checking the time, he stretched his perception to the River of Blood. He was relieved to see that the Azure King’s seal hadn’t disappeared completely.

Nighteye had been sitting nearby all this time, watching Qianye in silence.

Just as he was about to dial down his origin power and walk toward Nighteye, a surge of origin power appeared from the Book of Darkness. The blood crystal on the cover began to grow rapidly, releasing a large amount of auric flame blood to repair the last bit of damage in Qianye’s body.

Qianye’s aura rose sharply until he was almost at the level of a grand duke.

“That’s about right,” Qianye said.

Nighteye had already packed. She passed Qianye a backpack full of supplies, which he placed in Andruil’s Space. Then, he changed into a good set of battle armor before leaving the secret realm with Nighteye.

…

On one of the demonkin continents, there was a magnificent castle overlooking the dark central region. This was the demonkins’ holy ground, the Demon Palace.

The Demon King was seated within the palace, gazing at the Azure King’s blood core in silence.

Progia and the Eternal Flame stood quietly at the side.

“So you two didn’t find Nighteye and Qianye?” The Demon King’s voice was always that gentle, but Progia and the Eternal Flame were evidently anxious.

It would be hard to believe this scene without witnessing it. There was definitely a gap in power between great dark monarchs and supremes, but the suppression shouldn’t be so great. The Eternal Flame was just like the Wolf Sovereign, an entity considered fairly close to the supreme rank. Yet, the duo was, for some reason, fearful of the Demon King.

Progia said, “Who would’ve thought Reynold could erupt with such terrifying power at the end of his life?”

The Demon King sighed. “You didn’t underestimate his strength, but rather his resolve. Not all vampires are like Medanzo.”

Moments later, the Demon King waved his hand gently. Several wisps of demonic energy weaved together into an intricate polyhedron around the Azure King’s blood core.

“Keep this safe. The blood core contains his last bit of vitality. As long as it remains intact, his seal in the River of Blood will not disappear, and the Queen of the Night will not be alerted. Medanzo didn’t disappoint me this time.”

The Eternal Flame stowed the blood core away, guiding it with a thread of white fire.

The Demon King said after some thought, “It would be great if we can use this blood core to find out some of the River of Blood’s secrets. I feel a bit uneasy about what those humans are up to.”

The Demon King remained standing after Progia and the Eternal Flame left; no one knew what he was thinking.