Chapter 8: Practicing Blood Magic

Ten minutes later, Xu Fengling changed her clothes and came downstairs.

She was wearing a light blue dress that ended just above her knees, directly revealing her fair calves, and on her feet were a pair of small white leather shoes.

“Is it nice?”

She asked, a little embarrassed.

Ling Yue looked her up and down before nodding and saying, “It looks very good~”

“Hehe…”

“Let’s go, to the basement.”

“The basement?” Fengling was a bit surprised.

“Yes, releasing Blood Magic requires a relatively large space… and there’s no suitable place on the first or second floor. There just happens to be an empty room in the basement.”

After that, the two followed the stairs all the way to a door at the very end of the underground floor.

Ye Lingyue pushed the door open to reveal an empty room about half the size of a basketball court.

The walls and floor were made of stone, looking very sturdy.

Additionally, there were several shelves placed in the four corners of the room, holding various bottles and jars… it was impossible to tell what was inside them.

“What was this place used for before?”

Xu Fengling asked curiously, looking around.

“A training ground.”

“Ah! Training for what?”

“Various things.”

Ye Lingyue’s answer was vague, clearly not wanting to elaborate.

And Xu Fengling didn’t press further.

Anyway, her mind was now completely filled with learning magic; everything else had been pushed to the back of her mind.

“Alright… first, let me explain the basic principles of Blood Magic to you.”

Ye Lingyue walked to the center of the room and turned to face her.

“Blood Magic, as the name implies, is magic released using blood. The blood of our Vampire clan contains powerful energy. Through specific methods and incantations, it can be transformed into various forms.”

“Like what, like what?” Fengling asked like an eager child.

“Like fire, ice, lightning, wind… basically any element you can think of can be transformed… Of course, the prerequisite is that you have enough blood and a strong enough affinity for the element. But you’re still in the fledgling stage, so you can’t learn those powerful attack spells for now. Other than that, you can learn any magic.”

Xu Fengling’s eyes sparkled as she listened.

“Can I learn Fireball?”

“You can.”

“Can I learn Lightning?”

“You can.”

“Can I learn Frost Nova?”

Hearing this, Ye Lingyue fell silent for a second before asking helplessly, “What game have you been playing recently?”

“Diablo…”

“No wonder… But you’re right, you can learn all of those. The ceiling of Blood Magic is very high, so high it’s practically limitless. However…”

She raised a finger, and her tone became serious.

“…The cost of Blood Magic is also very high… Every time you cast a spell, you consume a corresponding amount of blood. The more you use, the greater the consumption. If you use up all the blood in your body at once, you will fall directly into a deep sleep.”

Hearing this, Xu Fengling gulped.

“So, the first lesson in learning Blood Magic is… know your limits, don’t drain yourself dry. Remember that?”

“I remember!” Fengling nodded vigorously, because she noticed that Sister Lingyue’s eyes looked very dangerous as she said this.

“Good, now let’s start the first step… hold out your hand.”

Fengling obediently held out her hand.

Lingyue then took hold of her wrist and, using her own fingernail, lightly drew a line across Fengling’s palm, creating a cut from which blood began to seep.

“Does it hurt?”

Ye Lingyue asked.

“No.”

“Good, now try to feel the blood in your palm… feel its flow, feel its temperature, feel its power.”

Fengling looked down at the cut on her palm.

Blood seeped from the wound and slowly spread along the lines of her palm.

At the same time, she could feel its warmth and a strange, faint energy.

“Hey, Sister Lingyue, I think I feel something…”

“Keep going, don’t rush.”

Xu Fengling stared at the blood on her palm, trying hard to sense that energy.

Gradually, she realized that the blood seemed to have formed some kind of connection with her consciousness… in simple terms, it was like an invisible thread linking her thoughts to the blood.

“And then?” she asked.

“Then try to make the blood move… don’t do anything too complicated, just try to form it into a ball in your palm.”

Hearing this, Fengling concentrated, causing the blood to tremble once, but after that, it didn’t move again.

“…”

Seeing this, Fengling tried again… and this time, the blood just trembled once more before stopping, causing her expression to turn sour.

“Don’t rush… it’s like this the first time. Try a few more times,” Lingyue said.

Fengling then took a deep breath and continued trying.

On the fifth try, there was finally a reaction… a drop of blood floated up from the wound and hovered about a decimeter above her palm.

“I did it!” Fengling exclaimed excitedly.

Then the drop of blood fell, plop, landing back on her palm.

Seeing this, Ye Lingyue couldn’t help but laugh.

“Don’t laugh!” Xu Fengling said, puffing out her cheeks.

“Okay, okay, okay, I won’t laugh… You’re already doing very well. Being able to make the blood separate from the wound on your first try is quite remarkable talent.”

“Really?”

“Really. A Vampire friend of mine spent an entire day to reach the level you just did when she first learned this.”

Fengling immediately felt much better.

She tried a few more times after that… the drop of blood hovered above her palm for longer and longer, and finally, she could even make it slowly spin in circles under her control.

“Alright, let’s stop here for today. Don’t push yourself too hard.”

“I want to practice a little more…”

“No.”

Ye Lingyue’s tone suddenly turned a bit cold.

“I said you mustn’t drain yourself dry… You’ve just learned to control blood, and the consumption is high. Practicing more will put a strain on your body.”

Xu Fengling originally wanted to argue a bit, but seeing Ye Lingyue’s expression, the words died in her throat.

Actually… Sister Lingyue’s expression was still gentle, but there seemed to be something in her eyes that didn’t allow refusal.

“Okay,” she said obediently.

“Good girl.”

Ye Lingyue’s expression instantly returned to its gentle state, the change so fast it made Fengling wonder if she had studied Sichuan opera.

“Go upstairs and rest. I’ll make you something delicious.”

…

In the afternoon, Fengling curled up on the sofa watching anime.

She had been following a new series recently, about a high school student who travels to another world to become a hero…

The plot was quite cliché, but the fight scenes were exceptionally well done, getting her all fired up…

In short, it was top-tier junk food entertainment.

“If only I could use those skills too…” she muttered to herself.

“You can.”

Then Ye Lingyue’s voice came from beside her.

“Blood Magic is much more powerful than those skills.”

“Really?”

Fengling asked with delight.

“Really. Think about it… those skills consume MP, but Blood Magic consumes blood directly… and power exchanged for blood, wouldn’t that be strong?”

Xu Fengling thought about it carefully.

It seemed to make sense, but also felt a bit off somewhere.

“Then, Sister Lingyue, what’s your most powerful Blood Magic?”

She asked.

Hearing this, Ye Lingyue fell silent for a few seconds before asking in return, “You want to see?”

“Yes! Very much! Absolutely!”

Ye Lingyue then walked to the center of the living room, extended her right hand with her palm facing up, and the next second, a mass of dark red flame rose from her palm.

The flame was very strange.

Unlike ordinary fire that leaps upward, it writhed and rolled in her palm like a living thing.

Staring at that flame, Fengling felt her heart rate accelerate.

That flame… had an indescribable sense of pressure.

Even though she was several meters away, she could clearly feel its scorching heat and a strong, murderous aura… she even felt that if she got any closer, she would instantly turn to ash.

“W-what kind of fire is that?”

She asked, her voice trembling.

Her legs were even going weak…

If she weren’t sitting, she probably would have knelt by now.

“Flame of End, weakened version. It can burn away everything in the world. Generally used to clear out large groups of enemies or instantly kill a troublesome opponent. Of course, the one I described isn’t the weakened version. I’m showing the weakened version now because I’m afraid of destroying our entire home.”

After saying this, Ye Lingyue extinguished the flame.

“So amazing…”

Xu Fengling couldn’t help but exclaim.

“This thing is very dangerous. I’m just showing it to you this time,” Lingyue said as she sat back down on the sofa, picked up a blood cup from the table, and took a sip.

At that moment, Fengling was observing Sister Lingyue’s fair hand… Her nails were much longer and sharper than hers, like ten small knives.

“By the way, Sister Lingyue, have your nails always been this long?”

“Mhm.”

“Isn’t it inconvenient? Like… for typing or something?”

“No, you get used to it.”

Xu Fengling looked at her own hands, then at Ye Lingyue’s hands.

Since these things can be used as weapons… then if they grow to a certain length, wouldn’t that be like Wolverine?

Kind of looking forward to it…

“So when will my nails grow that long?”

“In a year or two,” Lingyue answered softly.

“Oh—”

Fengling let out a disappointed, drawn-out sigh.

“Don’t rush. You will become very strong.”

Lingyue patted her head.