What could Liu Lei do? He certainly couldn't tell his parents that, at this moment, the girl's neck held more allure for him than her chest. How could he explain that sharing a room with her every day would inevitably expose everything? Sometimes, he even entertained the idea of revealing to them that he was a vampire, but he dared not take such a risk. He had no idea whether his parents would be able to accept it or if they would regard him as some monstrous aberration.
The evening meal was steeped in an oppressive silence. Liu's mother persistently tried to start a conversation, and at first, the girl responded with a few words, but Liu Lei, like a wooden statue, focused entirely on his food. Even when his mother asked him questions, he merely mumbled a few grunts. Gradually, the girl stopped speaking altogether, and Liu Lei's mother, seething with frustration, felt an overwhelming urge to strangle her son. After the meal, the girl rose to leave. Liu Lei's mother quickly urged him to see her off. Liu Lei stood, escorted her downstairs, and bid her a brief farewell before turning back.
Upon returning home, his mother immediately asked, "Well, how did it go?" Before Liu Lei could answer, his father interjected, "Does it really need asking? You didn't say a word to the girl over dinner, what else could have happened?" Liu Lei's mother ignored his father's comment and turned back to him, "Son, how did you really feel about her?"
Liu Lei hung his head, muttering glumly, "Not much."
"Not much?" His mother responded, "She's quite a beautiful girl, isn't she? Are you saying she's unattractive? You're not exactly a handsome one yourself, so be content with what you have." Liu Lei could only laugh bitterly. "Mom, is this how you talk about your own son?"
"What's wrong with that? I never said I was very good-looking myself," his mother retorted, holding up a mirror to him.
Liu Lei forced a strained smile. "If I'm not handsome, who do you think I got it from? It's your fault and Dad's. I haven't blamed you yet, and here you are lecturing me."
His mother cried out in disbelief, "How can it be my fault? I was the class beauty in high school! It's your father's ugly genes that you inherited!"
"How is it always my fault? Daughters take after their fathers, sons take after their mothers, so this is clearly your fault," Liu Lei quipped.
"..."
"..."
Liu Lei could only smile bitterly. Didn't they worry about destroying his self-esteem? What if he truly became so self-conscious that he couldn't even bring himself to date? Whose fault would that be?
The first blind date ended in failure, but Liu Lei's mother refused to give up, convinced that her son was simply too shy and embarrassed. From then on, whenever she heard of a single girl in their social circle, she would drag Liu Lei along to meet them, eagerly asking his opinion afterward, hoping that through this widespread approach, he might find someone who captured his heart.
"Son, how do you feel?"
"Mom, wouldn't it be easier to stay home and watch *Jurassic Park*? Why do we have to go so far?"
"Son, this one seems nice, right?"
"Mom, who's the man standing next to her, glaring at me?"
"… How should I know? Her husband just came back from a business trip..."
"Son, how about this one?"
"Mom, her husband just died. Let's wait a little longer."
"Son, this one... forget it. She's only in second year of middle school. By the time she finishes college, you'll be an old man!"
"..."
From that moment on, the vampire zombie king feared not righteous masters or demon hunters, but one thing above all—blind dates.
The most terrifying of all are those who have lost their minds—and Liu Lei was sure that his mother had gone mad, just like he had during his earlier days. The repeated failures of blind dates had driven his mother to the brink of madness. If she couldn't succeed herself, she would try through others. His mother mobilized the entire community, chatting with anyone she could, purchasing cotton thread at a local shop, and asking elderly ladies for help in finding a daughter-in-law. Thanks to China's vast population of idle elderly people—no, rather, warm-hearted uncles and aunts—the search was relentless. In no time, Liu Lei's home was filled with photos of young women.
Although it was a nuisance, Liu Lei also felt a strange sense of gratitude. He had never seen his mother invest so much care into anything since he had grown up. Perhaps it was time to just go along with it and play the part? After all, a little money should make things easier.
And then the full moon rose once again, but Liu Lei decided not to think about it for the moment. Slowly drawing in a deep breath, he activated his cultivation technique. Gradually, his body was enveloped in a layer of black mist, with tendrils of silver light flickering within it like lightning rolling in dark clouds. Since he had started practicing the dark magic of the vampire clan, the energy inside him had taken this form, and even the old Count could not explain it. Nevertheless, the two energies did not conflict, and the lazy vampire paid it no mind, continuing his usual routine—practicing the *Blood Corpse Art* in the first half of the night and refining his magical energy in the latter half.
The magical energy condensing technique that the old Count had taught him was the opposite of *Blood Corpse Art*—it involved resonating the internal energy with external forces and absorbing that which resonated. However, vampire energy was stored in the blood, and *Blood Corpse Art* involved absorbing and assimilating energy internally. Liu Lei had just practiced the Moon energy within his body and wondered whether he could use *Blood Corpse Art* to cultivate the dark energy, using the magical energy condensation technique to refine the moon's energy. He had never considered this before, and after comparing the two methods, he still couldn't make up his mind, unsure whether it was a risk worth taking. He glanced up at the moon as it began to descend—night was nearly over. He bit his lip, thinking, *the essence of energy should be the same; it's just the methods that differ. A different approach shouldn't be a problem, right? Besides, I'm a vampire, and I've cultivated to become a Zombie King. I shouldn't die so easily, right?*
With no time to waste, Liu Lei was eager to begin—he couldn't endure the itchy feeling of wanting to act but being unable to. As for how much confidence he had in this "perhaps" and "should," he could only hope that the ancestors, General Qin and Cain, would bless him.
Liu Lei activated both techniques, but this time, they contradicted his usual practice. The dark energy had been absorbed into his body but, before he could refine it, it began to spiral wildly, completely out of his control. The moon's energy, however, easily resonated with the external forces, and the energy began to flood in like a tidal wave. Soon, Liu Lei's veins were saturated, and though he wished to stop, he found himself unable to. The surging energy crashed through his body like a flood, causing excruciating pain, as though his entire body was being sliced open.
For the first time since becoming a vampire, Liu Lei truly believed he was going to die. He couldn't help but laugh bitterly in his heart, *This time, I've really messed up. Mom, Dad, I'm sorry. I thought I'd outlive you both… Lian Feng, why haven't you called me after all this time?*
Thinking of Lian Feng reminded him of Mount Diancang, where he had learned two important techniques: *Blood Refining Art* and *Great River True Solution*. It had been a long time since he had practiced them, and since he might die tonight anyway, he decided to give it one last try. Recklessly, he activated both techniques. Immediately, four types of energy surged through his body, clashing against one another, each refusing to yield. His meridians became a battlefield, and the pain was unimaginable. He couldn't even scream.
In the end, the four energies converged in his chest, colliding with such force that they formed an energy vortex. The vortex absorbed the energy, growing smaller with each intake. Liu Lei sighed in relief, thinking for sure that his body would explode. But as the vortex shrank, he soon realized it was absorbing the energy, and curiosity overtook his fear. He hastily replenished the energy that had been drained by the vortex. The faster he replenished, the faster the vortex absorbed it, shrinking at an accelerated rate.
Outside, the moon had already set, and time was running out. Finally, the vortex became a small purple orb. Liu Lei's heart leaped with joy. He understood in an instant—this orb was the *Golden Dan of the Great Dao*, the very one Lian Feng had mentioned to him many times on Mount Diancang. It was the mark of becoming a true cultivator. Originally, with his minor success in *Blood Corpse Art*, it would have taken fifty years of focused cultivation to condense the Golden Dan. But that night, through reckless abandon and the simultaneous operation of four techniques, he had condensed it in a single night.
Lian Feng had spent seven hundred years cultivating, and it wasn't until twenty years ago that he finally broke through to the Golden Dan stage, reaching the *Breaking Dan, Refining Infant* stage. Among the second-generation disciples of the God Sect, fewer than fifteen had succeeded in condensing the Golden Dan. Liu Lei, once a vampire embraced with thirteen drops of blood, and now a Zombie King, had combined the effects of *Blood Refining Art* and *Great River True Solution*, even surpassing Count Hopkinson in power, reaching the strength of a vampire prince. Now, with the Golden Dan, he could forge magical artifacts using the Three True Flames and practice powerful high-level Daoist techniques. It was a monumental leap in strength. Though he had never sought power for its own sake, the elevation of his realm was undeniably cause for joy.