“So, next, I plan to make you establish your authority.”
Shen Ji visibly stiffened, let out a self-deprecating laugh, and then said, “I’m only at the Third Evolution, even with my King Seed identity.”
“No one will believe I can defeat you.”
Ye Hai chuckled softly and shook his head, replying, “There’s more than one way to establish authority besides beating me.”
“Do you have a better idea?”
Ye Hai nodded slightly and pulled out a bottle of blue liquid from his person.
He continued, “Drink this. It will temporarily give you the aura of a Seventh Evolution.”
Shen Ji looked at Ye Hai with suspicion, taking the bottle carefully.
Then he asked, “What are the side effects?”
Ye Hai didn’t intend to hide it and murmured, “You probably won’t be able to activate your Blood Tribe Form for a while. In other words, for the next few days or even half a month, you’ll be pretty much the same as a human.”
Shen Ji held his breath and stared motionlessly at the blue potion in his hand.
This meant that for the next few days, he would lose the ability to protect himself. If this news leaked out…
What awaited him would most likely be a so-called uprising.
After all, in the world of the Blood Race, strength was the only creed.
Ask yourself—would any Blood Race member willingly obey a King Seed who was no different from a human, bossing them around?
Seeing Shen Ji’s troubled expression, Ye Hai seemed to see through his thoughts.
He spoke up, “As for safety, I’ll leave some people behind to protect you. And besides—”
Ye Hai trailed off, keeping him in suspense.
Shen Ji quickly asked, “Besides what?”
“Besides, the Ancestor of the Yun Family will also come to help you.”
At the mention of the Ancestor of the Yun Family, Shen Ji’s mind immediately conjured the image of a middle-aged man who came and went without a trace.
If he were here, at the very least Shen Ji could extricate himself from this place.
But judging by Ye Hai’s plan, Ye Hai clearly didn’t want him to leave.
Thinking this over, Shen Ji finally voiced the doubt in his heart.
“Aren’t you afraid I’ll leave this place?”
Ye Hai shook his head and said calmly, “This place has what you want. To gain power, you’ll need resources from The Official. You’ll stay here.”
Ye Hai’s words were firm and resolute. Shen Ji sighed.
It felt terrible being seen through by an old fox like this.
His own schemes had been easily uncovered by the other party.
Now the question was: how did Ye Hai persuade the Ancestor of the Yun Family to help him?
In the past, Shen Ji had only been able to move the Yun Family Ancestor by relying on resources and his King Seed identity.
Even then, it was barely enough.
Moreover, in his opinion, the Ancestor of the Yun Family wouldn’t come alone.
Yun Hai and Yun Xiaotao would likely accompany him.
As for whether the entire Yun Family would come, Shen Ji thought it impossible.
He believed Ye Hai might have promised the other party considerable benefits.
But those benefits weren’t enough to make the Yun Family Ancestor gamble the entire clan’s strength.
After sorting out his thoughts, Shen Ji asked again, “Anything else?”
“If not, I’m going to act now.”
As he spoke, he opened the cap of the blue potion.
Ye Hai just shook his head, then seemed to remember something.
He reached out a hand and stopped Shen Ji, who was about to down the liquid.
Suddenly, he said, “Xiao Xi, she…”
Shen Ji’s pupils contracted, then he replied, “Just say it straight.”
“How… how does Xiao Xi see me?”
At this moment, Ye Hai had completely lost the commanding demeanor from earlier.
Instead, he paced back and forth, visibly anxious.
Yes, in the face of this arrogant man,
a flustered expression actually appeared.
As expected, no matter the world,
the ultimate fate of a middle-aged man was to be a doting father to his daughter.
“Ye Xi doesn’t understand you, so she can’t understand you even more.”
Shen Ji’s gaze was steady, staring straight at Ye Hai.
Including himself, no one could see what the purpose behind Ye Hai’s contradictory schemes was.
Was it for some grand ideal?
To live worry-free in the future?
Shen Ji couldn’t tell.
In his eyes, Ye Hai seemed nothing more than a scheming conspirator.
And from Ye Xi’s fragmentary words, that image of a conspirator was only reinforced.
Beyond that, there was nothing but unfamiliarity and unwillingness to face it.
Ye Hai lowered his eyes and said nothing.
This path had never allowed him to have it all from the start.
His long-held thought was to waver between family and ideals.
Even now, he still wanted to be the one who could have both.
It was just that no one understood the thoughts behind it.
Ye Hai withdrew his sentimental emotions and said firmly, “Alright, can we continue?”
“Once you’ve fully established your authority, I’ll leave this place.”
“The Midnight Society and a few Blood Race members under my command will all be led by Ye Xi.”
“Oh, and your sister, Shen Wan, has voluntarily requested to become a permanent Blood Race member.”
Hearing this, Shen Ji, who had just swallowed half the potion,
immediately choked.
“What?”
Last time in that world, when he talked with Shen Wan, the girl never mentioned any of this!
“No way. How can she become a Blood Race member?”
Ye Hai’s expression hardened.
He hadn’t wanted to bring this up, but he continued, “Unless you have a better way to cure her original illness, becoming a Blood Race member is her best choice.”
Shen Ji sighed.
He knew that all too well.
Becoming a Blood Race member meant facing danger.
Returning to being a human meant facing a terminal illness.
Such a dilemma left Shen Ji troubled as well.
“As for the method to become a Blood Race member, I have one. And your sister already knows about it. The next step depends on your wishes.”
Shen Ji nodded and replied, “I understand.”
For now, the most important thing was to get through the authority-establishing hurdle.
As for Xiao Wan, he could only figure it out afterward.
Shen Ji then downed the blue potion in one gulp.
The aura around him continuously rose.
Even Ye Hai began to feel surprised.
Previously, because his Evolution level was higher than Shen Ji’s, he had never felt the oppressive pressure of a King Seed from Shen Ji.
But now, as Shen Ji’s aura grew closer,
Ye Hai finally realized just how extraordinary the talent of a King Seed truly was!
At the same time, the System’s alarm once again rang in Shen Ji’s mind.
[Warning! Host is using an illegal method to increase Evolution level. Please stop immediately.]
By now, Shen Ji was long accustomed to this.
The damn System never said a word when things were fine, but when something went wrong, it just kept sounding warnings.
Everything after that was left for him to bear alone.
Shen Ji let out a long sigh.
He spoke a bizarre sentence with a calm expression.
“I wish I had never come to this world in the first place.”
Ye Hai was full of question marks.
Although he couldn’t understand what the other meant,
he suppressed his curiosity and said, “Alright, now drink it down.”
With that, Ye Hai gave Shen Ji a knowing look.