What could Liu Lei do? There was no way he could tell his parents that the girl's neck was far more attractive to him than her chest. And if he lived in the same room with a girl every day, wouldn't everything be exposed? Sometimes he wanted to confess the truth—that he was a vampire—but he didn't dare risk it. He wasn't sure if his parents could accept such a thing. Would they see him as a monster?
Dinner was tense and awkward. Liu's mother kept trying to start conversations. The girl replied politely at first, but Liu Lei was like a block of wood, only focused on eating. Even when his mother asked him questions, he merely hummed responses. Gradually, the girl fell silent, and Liu's mother grew so frustrated she wanted to pinch her stubborn son.
After the meal, the girl stood up to leave. Liu's mother urged Liu Lei to see her out. He got up, walked her downstairs, said goodbye, and immediately turned back.
Once home, Liu's mother asked eagerly, "So, how was it?"
Before Liu Lei could answer, his father cut in, "Do you even need to ask? Not a single word spoken all meal. What do you expect?"
Ignoring her husband, Liu's mother pressed, "Son, what do you really think?"
Liu Lei lowered his head and muttered, "Not great."
"Not great? The girl was quite pretty. What, you think she's ugly? You're not exactly a heartthrob yourself, so you better be grateful."
Liu Lei laughed bitterly. "Mom, do parents usually say that about their own son?"
"What's wrong with that? I wasn't exactly a looker either." She held up a mirror to him.
Liu Lei forced a smile. "If I'm not handsome, whose fault is that? Yours and Dad's. I haven't blamed you yet, but you're quick to blame me."
His mother immediately protested, "How could that be my fault? I was class beauty in high school. It must be your father's ugly genes."
"Why is it always my fault? Daughters take after their dads; sons take after their moms. Of course it's your fault!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Liu Lei could only smile wryly. Didn't they worry about crushing his confidence? What if he became so self-conscious he never dared to date?
The first blind date ended in failure, but his mother refused to give up, convinced her son was just too shy and embarrassed. From then on, whenever she heard of any single young women in their social circle, she dragged Liu Lei along to visit. After each visit, she'd eagerly ask how he felt, hoping that with a wider net, he might find someone he liked.
"Son, how was it?"
"Mom, why not just watch Jurassic Park at home instead of running all over town?"
"Son, what about this one?"
"Mom, who's that man glaring at me standing next to her?"
"...I don't know. Maybe her husband just happened to come back from a business trip."
"Son, how about this one?"
"Mom, her husband just died. Let's wait."
"Son, this one... well, she's only in eighth grade. By the time you graduate college, you'll be an old man!"
"..."
From then on, the greatest fear of the vampire zombie king was not righteous exorcists or demon hunters, but one thing—blind dates.
The maddest person is the maddest mother—and Liu Lei believed his mother had gone crazy, just like he had in his youth. Repeated failures only fueled her madness. If she couldn't do it herself, she'd find others.
Mobilizing the whole neighborhood, she bought cotton threads at roadside shops, chatted with old ladies, and enlisted their help finding a bride for her son. And the enthusiastic aunts and uncles really got involved. Within days, Liu Lei's dining table was covered with photos of young women.
Though it annoyed him, Liu Lei was touched. He'd never seen his mother so dedicated to anything. Maybe he should just find someone to satisfy them—he could give her some money, and it would be no problem.
Another full moon night arrived. No time to think about that now. Taking a deep breath, he activated his cultivation method.
A layer of black mist slowly enveloped his body, silver sparks flickering like lightning in a storm cloud. Since studying the vampire's dark magic, his internal energy had taken this form—something even the old count couldn't explain.
No matter. These two energies didn't conflict, and the lazy vampire didn't care. He still practiced the "Blood Corpse Technique" in the early hours and cultivated magical energy later in the night.
The magical energy condensation technique taught by the old count was the opposite of the "Blood Corpse Technique." It involved resonating with external energy to draw it inside and store it—though vampire energy was stored in the blood. The "Blood Corpse Technique" absorbed energy first, then assimilated it.
That night, as Liu Lei circulated the moon's energy through his body, he suddenly wondered if he could use the "Blood Corpse Technique" to cultivate dark energy, and the magical energy condensation technique to refine moon energy.
He'd never thought about this before. After much thought, he couldn't decide whether to take the risk.
Looking up, he saw the moon hanging low; dawn was near.
He gritted his teeth. The essence of energy should be the same—it was just different cultivation methods. Trying another approach shouldn't hurt. Besides, he was a vampire and a zombie king—he probably wouldn't die so easily.
Knowing if he waited another day, he'd just itch to try, Liu Lei eagerly began.
But this time, his cultivation was the reverse of usual. Dark energy was drawn inside but ran wildly without obeying his will. Moon energy easily resonated with the outside world but surged like a tide, quickly saturating his veins. He tried to stop but couldn't.
His nerves went haywire. Torrents of energy crashed through him, pain slicing his whole body like knives.
For the first time since becoming a vampire, Liu Lei felt like he was dying. Bitterly, he thought, "This time I really messed up. Sorry, Mom and Dad. I thought I'd outlive you. Lian Feng, I've been gone so long—why didn't you call me?"
He recalled Mount Dian Cang, remembering two cultivation techniques he'd learned there: the Blood Refining Method and the Great River True Insight. He hadn't practiced them in a long time.
Since he was about to die anyway, he decided to give it one last try.
Ignoring the pain, he activated both methods. Four energies surged through his body, strong and weak but competing fiercely.
His meridians became a battlefield; the agony was unimaginable. Worse, he couldn't even scream.
Eventually, the four energies converged in his chest. A massive collision formed an energy vortex that sucked in more energy, shrinking the vortex.
Liu Lei exhaled. He had expected to die, but now he had survived.
Curiously, the energies around him were drawn into the vortex. Forgetting his near-death, he redoubled his cultivation, feeding the vortex faster.
The moon sank below the horizon; time was running out.
Finally, the vortex condensed into a purple pearl.
Liu Lei's heart soared. He realized this pearl was the legendary Dao Golden Core Elder Lian Feng had spoken of—a sign of becoming a true cultivator.
Normally, his "Blood Corpse Technique" cultivation would require fifty years of meditation after small success to form such a core. But that reckless night, cultivating four methods simultaneously and frantically gathering energy, he had done it.
To put this in perspective: Elder Lian Feng had spent seven centuries to break through to this stage just twenty years ago. The Divine Sect had fewer than fifteen disciples who'd ever formed a core.
Liu Lei was originally embraced with thirteen drops of blood, then cultivated to zombie king status, combined with the Blood Refining and Great River Insight methods. His comprehensive strength even surpassed Count Hopkinson to prince-level.
This newly formed Dao Golden Core meant he could use the Three Flavors True Fire to forge artifacts and cultivate powerful high-level Dao Golden Core magic.
Though he didn't seek great power, this breakthrough was an exhilarating leap in strength.