17: Chapter 17 The Demon Grand Duke's Bloodline Awakens

After confirming the successful establishment of the trade alliance at City Hall, and once the heads of the five chambers of commerce had received their respective tax exemption documents, Loren immediately received 20 million in funds—all deposited into the Fairy Bank, ready to be withdrawn at any time.

The remaining 5 million belonged to the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce. Since the Jasmine Chamber of Commerce operated a portion of the slave trade, and Loren needed a batch of slave soldiers to make up for the shortage of manpower after his territory was breached, he did not take the money.

Chairman Robert was also a shrewd person and readily agreed to this.

The moment he stepped out of City Hall, the system notification sound rang out immediately.

"Ding~ Task: First Pot of Gold completed. Reward: Activate Demon Grand Duke Bloodline. Do you wish to claim it?"

Loren saw the system prompt and instantly revealed a brilliant smile.

The Demon Grand Duke Bloodline, was this powerful trump card finally about to awaken?!

Feeling an itch in his heart, he righteously refused the invitation from several chamber chairmen to have a few drinks and watch cat-maid striptease, and hurriedly brought Fiana back to the hotel.

That appearance made several chairmen show ambiguous smiles.

"Young people, always so eager."

Returning to the hotel in a rush, he instructed Fiana and Arnold, who looked at him with strange expressions, to forbid anyone from going to the third floor. Then, he closed the door tightly and sat on the bed.

He summoned the system.

"Ding~ Detected that the Demon Grand Duke Bloodline has not yet fully awakened. Reward has been issued. Do you wish to activate it?"

The unawakened Demon Grand Duke Bloodline could be considered one of Loren's greatest assets.

Demons were terrifying lifeforms living in interdimensional planes, and the Demon Grand Duke was a ruler among them, possessing incredible talent and potential.

Once the bloodline was activated, one could imagine the degree of improvement it would bring.

But Loren was somewhat hesitant at this moment. If he activated the Demon Grand Duke Bloodline within Decker City, wouldn't he be exposed??

Given the reputation of demons among humans, it would be a miracle if he could walk three streets.

Seemingly sensing his worries, the system transmitted a piece of information into his mind.

After activating the Demon Grand Duke Bloodline, the human bloodline will be retained, and forms can be switched freely.

Loren was overjoyed by this. It was worthy of a system that required a godhead to activate; it was truly powerful.

"Confirm activation!"

The moment he chose to confirm, a terrifying, throbbing pain surged through the blood vessels in his body.

A certain long-hidden power was awakening...

It felt like millions of ants were tearing and gnawing at his flesh and blood inside his body.

The exaggerated pain of "ten thousand ants gnawing at the heart" made Loren's already pale complexion turn even paler.

"Even having your balls crushed wouldn't hurt this much, right??"

His body's muscles even began to twitch uncontrollably, and his originally extremely handsome facial features became stiff and distorted...

The energy within his bloodline was tearing his muscles and shattering his bones. Clenching his teeth, Loren felt wave after wave of terrifying shocks, and several times he almost couldn't hold on and nearly fainted.

After his body was torn by the energy in his bloodline, his muscles and blood vessels would often heal rapidly, then become tougher, as if transforming from cotton into steel wire...

At the same time, Loren's eyes were also slowly changing from black to blood-red...

An evil aura began to rise within the room.

Five minutes, ten minutes...

Loren had forgotten the existence of time; the excruciating pain inside his body had blurred his consciousness.

He only felt as if a century had passed, endless and boundless, as if it would never reach an end...

Just as his will was about to collapse from the excruciating pain, the system notification sound finally rang out.

"Ding~ Demon Grand Duke Bloodline activation successful. Obtained bloodline inheritance—Demon Breathing Technique."

The horrifying pain in his body quickly disappeared, replaced by a comfortable feeling like soaking in a hot spring, and all the muscles in his body relaxed at this moment.

Ah~

Loren couldn't help but let out a soft groan... It felt too good after the pain.

The weakness in his body quickly vanished, replaced by a sense of power, an unprecedented strength and feeling of fulfillment.

He even felt that he could smash a city wall with one punch right now.

Suppressing the urge to test his firepower against the wall, he thought to himself, and the attribute panel appeared before his eyes.

Loren Grant. Identity: Lord of Grey Eagle Territory, descendant of the Bauhinia Family.

Lord Talent: Eye of Truth (can observe the loyalty of subordinates).

Level: Silver Rank Initial.

Bloodline: Bauhinia Family Bloodline (A+ Rank, Awakened). Trait: Mental Toughness (A Rank), significantly increases mental power, can immunize against mental spells below the 2nd Circle.

Demon Grand Duke Bloodline (S+ Rank, Awakened). Trait: Demon Body (S+ Rank), significantly increases strength and constitution, can immunize against poisons, instant-death skills, and curses.

Cultivation Technique: Bauhinia Breathing Technique (S Rank). Pros: Focuses on mental power. After cultivation, it will significantly strengthen mental power and increase mental toughness. When cultivated to the later stages, it can immunize against a Spellcaster's mental shock. When used with corresponding skills, it can unleash powerful force.

Cons: The Bauhinia Breathing Technique lacks sufficient training for the body, and it is easy to cause significant damage to the body after fully unleashing it.

Innate Skill: Steel-Breaking Slash (S Rank). Can condense all mental power, concentrating the body's full strength to unleash it.

Storm Slash (S Rank, learnable at Gold Rank), Armor Piercing (S Rank, learnable at Platinum Rank).

Demon Breathing Technique (S+ Rank). Pros: The top-tier cultivation technique of demons, can significantly enhance physique and strengthen the body. When cultivated to the end, it allows for limb regeneration, significantly increases resistance to magic, and provides inexhaustible strength.

Cons: After cultivation, one will be unable to learn spells and easily fall into a berserk and bloodthirsty state, requiring extremely high mental control.

Innate Skill: Demon Berserk (S Rank). After activation, it can significantly improve physical attributes, but will cause an extreme craving for battle and slaughter, with a risk of losing control.

Super Recovery (Passive, Initial). Injury recovery speed increased by 5 times.

Stamina Recovery (Passive, Initial). Stamina Recovery speed increased by 5 times.

Magic Resistance (Passive, Initial). Magic damage below 2nd Circle reduced by 50%, magic damage above 2nd Circle reduced by 10%.

After reading the attributes, Loren's expression became extremely fascinating.

Was this heaven's will??!

The biggest weakness of the Bauhinia Breathing Technique was that it only focused on mental power and lacked training for the body. It could unleash powerful attack power, but it could not last long.

Now, after the Demon Grand Duke Bloodline awakened, it directly made up for this weakness...

Moreover, the innate Demon Breathing Technique also increased physical strength.

More importantly, the Demon Breathing Technique required extremely high mental power, otherwise it would easily go out of control... wasn't this exactly the effect of the Bauhinia Breathing Technique?

The bloodlines complemented each other, and the breathing techniques also complemented each other!

This feeling was very much like when your partner was afraid of getting pregnant and refused, only to suddenly discover an unopened sealing barrier on the bedside table...

How could it be described as just a coincidence?

Loren felt the power surging like magma within his body and almost groaned aloud.

He felt that his combat power had increased by more than several times compared to before!

Activating the system at the start, awakening two top-tier bloodlines, being a high-ranking noble himself, and already owning a territory... this start was a bit too strong.

But it didn't matter; I could still endure this kind of pain, even more would be fine...

Loren laughed out loud.

A moment later, as if remembering something, his gaze searched the room, and he saw a mirror placed in the corner.

He stepped up to the floor-length mirror, and immediately, a perfect young man with sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, whose facial features seemed to be meticulously carved by the world's top sculptor, appeared in the mirror.

He looked heroic and spirited.

What was most striking was that pair of blood-red eyes, as transparent as rubies.

These should have been the Demon Eyes symbolizing evil, but combined with his almost maxed-out good looks, they gave people a unique charm that made their hearts beat faster.

His originally elegant noble temperament, due to the appearance of the blood-red eyes, had turned into something with a touch of evil and charm, making people unable to help but glance at him.

A super handsome guy with an imposing evil aura.

"I feel like I've come to the wrong place. If I were to go back to Earth... wouldn't the girls I know go crazy?"

Feeling that he was born in the wrong era, Loren was greatly regretful.

With a thought, the blood-red eyes slowly faded, and the evil aura emanating from his body also returned to normal.

That elegant and handsome high-ranking noble appeared once again.

Loren let out a sigh of relief; the system was indeed reliable.

But after coming back to his senses, he immediately fell into deep thought again.

Although the system had been activated, and the Demon Grand Duke Bloodline in his body had not disappointed his expectations, bringing him powerful strength.

But the problems he faced now were still urgent.

How to face the Day of Blood, how to survive on the Endless Wasteland, how to deal with that Demon Overlord who was always searching for the godhead...

After taking a few deep breaths, Loren's dark, deep eyes were like a sword blade wiped of dust, sharp as a falcon's, capturing people's hearts.

The future might be full of storms, but he would definitely be able to overcome all obstacles.

"One month later, no, twenty-four days later, the Day of Blood will descend again. During this time, I must accumulate enough strength to confront the next wave of incoming Bloody Corruptors."

"Decker City has a slave market. The predecessor's pioneer team of hundreds of people was purchased in the slave market."

"I still have 25 million in my hands, enough to buy a batch of high-quality slave soldiers."

"Now, my biggest trump card, besides having awakened dual bloodlines myself, is one point that is invincible—the system's upgrade function. I can completely buy a batch of low-level Bronze or Silver soldiers and upgrade them to Gold or Platinum Rank..."