Chapter 293 : Blood Snake Guards
Chapter 293: Blood Snake Guards
Inside the living room of the Lake-center Small Building, Su Mei, Aina, Li Hu, and other senior members of the Camp looked at Zhou Ming sitting on the sofa with unusual expressions in their eyes.
“What’s wrong?”
Noticing their abnormal reactions, Zhou Ming felt somewhat puzzled.
In the end, it was Aina—dressed in protective gear like a Valkyrie—who stepped forward to explain.
“My lord, you’ve become more handsome.”
Seeing the Catgirl Aina show a rare trace of bashfulness for the first time, Zhou Ming’s thoughts stirred. Shadow Energy Particles immediately gathered before his eyes.
They eventually formed a smooth, mirror-like black crystal.
Under the reflection of the living room lights, Zhou Ming could barely make out his own appearance.
There were no drastic changes. Long hair, smooth like silk, cascaded down his back, tied near the lower part of his neck with a purple ribbon.
On both sides of his temples hung a straight lock of bangs.
His face was handsome, his skin fair and tender. Two sword-like eyebrows revealed a trace of sharpness, dispersing the previously feminine softness of his temperament.
Of course, the most striking change was his aura—filled with a lofty, superior dignity, along with a strange charm.
In plain terms, overwhelmingly handsome, extraordinary in bearing, capable of attracting the opposite sex with just a face.
Transcendent Charm?
Knowledge regarding Bloodline Warlocks flashed through Zhou Ming’s mind. When one possessed a high-level bloodline, there was a certain probability of giving birth to a special ability known as Transcendent Charm.
This ability was not a spell, but rather a special temperament formed naturally by the organism itself. It could only be resisted through one’s own willpower.
After understanding the reason, Zhou Ming shook his head helplessly. For someone who did not care about his own appearance, to actually awaken Transcendent Charm…
Am I naturally suited to relying on powerful backing?
After making a self-deprecating joke in his heart, Zhou Ming consciously restrained his Bloodline Aura. The imposing temperament on his face faded considerably.
However, with his current appearance, he still could not escape the word “handsome.”
“Alright, let’s talk about serious matters.”
Zhou Ming did not dwell on the earlier interlude. Instead, he introduced to those present his advancement to Transcendent Master and the matter of inviting several Transcendent-level experts to develop a passage into the Dark Domain.
“My lord, that means we only have one month to prepare?”
As the person in charge of the Camp, Su Mei immediately felt immense pressure upon learning that several Transcendent-level experts would descend upon the Camp.
If anything went wrong with the reception, it would damage their lord’s reputation. If word spread, it might even become a joke.
“Don’t feel pressured. Even if the Camp were just a broken thatched hut, with me here, outsiders would only say I don’t care for material comforts.”
Seeing the rare nervousness on Su Mei’s face, Zhou Ming easily guessed her thoughts and reassured her directly.
“Please rest assured, my lord. This subordinate will handle it properly.”
Although Zhou Ming had told her not to worry, Su Mei had already made up her mind to properly host the Transcendent-level experts coming to discuss cooperation.
Hearing her assurance, Zhou Ming left the arrangements to her. After all, she had been appointed Camp General Manager precisely to handle such matters.
Afterward, Zhou Ming gave concrete guidance for the Camp’s future development, focusing primarily on the development of the Dark Domain.
Although he had advanced to Transcendent Master, the surface Alliance’s internal interests had already been divided among the major forces.
If he had not discovered the passage into the Dark Domain, he might have had to compete with the major forces to cultivate his Spirit Molting Snake Race.
But now that such a passage existed, he had no intention of causing unnecessary trouble. The major forces were not weak entities to be trifled with.
As for the Dark Domain, although it had existed for several hundred years, its complex environment and sparse population meant that many areas remained undeveloped.
As long as they did not provoke the Legendary Saint who had advanced through the Undead Overlord profession, there were not many powerful forces in the Dark Domain. Moreover, he had taken the initiative to invite several other Transcendent-level experts this time.
The primary issues now were how to distribute the benefits and how the Camp would cultivate its backbone forces.
Aside from Catgirl Aina and Su Mei, the Camp currently had no Professional Rank combat power. Zhou Ming could not possibly devote all his energy to resource gathering.
Thus, for this summons, in addition to Su Mei and Aina, several senior members who had undergone Bloodline Modification were also called.
“My lord, you intend to continue conducting Bloodline Modification on us?”
Upon learning the purpose of Zhou Ming’s summons, Qiu Tieyi appeared especially excited.
Among the Camp’s senior members, his duties were the fewest. Aside from training the Camp guards, he had ample time to hone himself.
Therefore, he was the strongest among them. His bloodline power had been excavated to its limit, and with the Thunder Type-2 Revolver, he could single-handedly handle the vast majority of low-tier Ferocious Beasts.
Yet precisely because of this, his strength had stagnated for a long time.
“Your current strength is too weak. It’s no longer of much help to me. Developing the Dark Domain requires a large number of Professional Rank combatants, so this is a good opportunity to perform Bloodline Modification on you again.”
Upon receiving Zhou Ming’s confirmation, whether it was Qiu Tieyi or Lin Hai—who controlled the power of toxins—they were all extremely excited.
After arranging everything, Zhou Ming kept Qiu Tieyi, Lin Hai, Li Hu, Li Bao, Lu Tao, and Xiong Lie, who had once served as an external operations squad leader.
Because Xiong Lie had performed well and cultivated the Mad Python Martial Way to completion, he had already been included in the second batch of Bloodline Modification and now served as the captain of the Special Operations Squad.
As for keeping Lu Tao, it was merely to fulfill his long-standing wish.
Lu Tao’s foundational Bloodline Modification was simple, primarily based on the Ironthread Snake bloodline. A bloodline that was too powerful would be beyond his endurance.
Next came the Bloodline Modification of Qiu Tieyi and the others, which was somewhat more difficult than foundational modification.
However, after obtaining Transcendent knowledge regarding Bloodline Warlocks and Rune Mages in Tamu World, Zhou Ming had long formed ideas about modifying his subordinates’ bloodlines.
He would use the power of bloodlines to condense runes and imprint them onto their bodies, thereby gradually strengthening their physiques.
Since Qiu Tieyi and the others were not adept in Spiritual Power, spellcasting ability was abandoned. The focus would be on physical enhancement, forming a physical profession.
As for mental defense, it could rely on the Bloodline Will inherently contained within the bloodline.
With Zhou Ming’s current ability, whether it was the Spirit Molting Snake bloodline or the Ironthread Snake bloodline, under the enhancement of his Emperor bloodline, he could manipulate them at will.
At the same time, he could use the power of Bloodline Will to temper Qiu Tieyi and the others’ own spiritual will, laying groundwork for future advancement.
Several days later, strange blood-colored runes resembling scars appeared on their skin. These runes formed the bizarre tattoo of a giant python, imprinted upon their bodies.
At this moment, their aura resembled humanoid Ferocious Beasts.
To allow Qiu Tieyi and the others to unleash their full strength, Zhou Ming also modified the armor obtained from the Secret Realm Tower through bloodline erosion and equipped them with the Thunder Type-3 Revolver purchased at the Blood-colored Fortress.
The profession Zhou Ming had created—the Blood Snake Guards—was successfully born. Although their abilities could not compare to Beast Tamers of the same rank, they were genuine Professional Rank combat power, equivalent to the most ordinary class advancements in Tamu World.
Moreover, they were exclusively Zhou Ming’s guards.
He still remembered the fanatical expressions on Qiu Tieyi and the others’ faces when he revealed the bloodline of the Spirit Molting Snake Emperor—it had resembled religious zealots.
If Zhou Ming wished, he could even erase their self-awareness.
However, he had no interest in mindless puppets, so he had no intention of doing so. Only if they committed unforgivable mistakes would he consider making use of them by stripping away their self-awareness.