The sun blazed overhead, and the air reeked of scorched earth and decay. The squad had been fighting nonstop along the outer edge of the hilltop ruins, clearing out lingering mutant clusters and searching for high-purity crystals to break through their current limits.
Phase One: Hunting Rift Beasts Lu Ye used the Eye of the World to mark three high-density monster zones. Chen Mo charged in first, his bronze-hardened arms smashing cracks into the ground. Zhao Yang laid blood mist traps behind him, while Qin Hao used light threads to restrict enemy movement. At critical moments, Hu Hao issued "Stasis" commands to enemy espers, disrupting their rhythm. He Xuan sealed off escape routes with metal constructs.
Inside an abandoned research station, the squad encountered another team of espers. A fierce clash broke out over a cache of high-purity crystals. Lu Ye used spatial folding to split the enemy formation. Zhao Yang blinked through shadows and severed their backline. Chen Mo held off three attackers at once, while Qin Hao rescued a critically wounded He Xuan mid-battle.
In the end, the squad claimed the crystals by a narrow margin. After a brief rest, they began their advancement rituals.
Lu Ye embedded the crystal into the core of the Eye of the World. His vision expanded to a 100-meter radius, and spatial freeze could now lock three targets simultaneously. He awakened Spatial Fold Net, allowing him to construct temporary battlefield boundaries. He could feel space flowing through his fingertips, folding like water into tactical tools.
Qin Hao fused the crystal into his light thread core. The threads became thinner and tougher, awakening Thread Resonance, which linked his life force to his teammates, allowing partial status sharing. For the first time, he felt their heartbeats and pain—as if the squad had become a single living organism.
Chen Mo consumed the crystal, triggering the second stage of his bronze transformation. His muscle density increased, and he awakened Bronze Burst, doubling his strength for a short time at the cost of extreme fatigue. When he clenched his fists, the air trembled—as if one punch could shatter the earth's crust.
Zhao Yang absorbed the crystal, expanding his blood mist domain to 10 meters. His blood blades grew sharper, but he felt a strange restlessness—his blood was boiling, as if awaiting a "summons."
As the last rays of sunlight vanished, the Blood Moon hung in the sky like a wound. Zhao Yang's body began to tremble violently. His blood mist expanded on its own, covering half the ruined plaza. His pupils narrowed into slits, and pure blood energy seeped from his fingertips.
"Zhao Yang?" Qin Hao asked quietly. Zhao Yang didn't respond. He slowly raised his head, voice low and distant: "I… can hear it calling me."
The Blood Moon's energy surged into him like a tidal wave. His blood blades morphed into wings, and his domain expanded to 20 meters. All undead within it began to bleed, slow down, and collapse.
Zhao Yang Ascends: Tier 3 (Blood Moon Empowered Form)
Blood Moon Devour: Absorbs life energy from undead to rapidly heal and strengthen
Blood Shadow Blink: Teleports to any blood mist marker with minimal cooldown
Bloodline Domain: 20-meter radius; enemies suffer 80% movement reduction and continuous bleeding
Blood Moon Resonance: During Blood Moon, all abilities gain a 1.5× multiplier until moonset
Zhao Yang stepped out of the mist, laughing wildly, trailing a crimson shadow behind him. Chen Mo muttered, "He's not in our league anymore." Lu Ye paused. "Even I'm only at the brink of Tier 2 peak. He's our trump card now."
He Xuan's metal disc adjusted its orbit around Zhao Yang, as if instinctively avoiding a higher-tier energy.
Hu Hao stood at the rear, calmly observing. "He's… no longer just a vampire."
Zhao Yang's presence dominated the field. Even Lu Ye felt spatial folds ripple under the pressure. Chen Mo clenched his fists. "He's beyond us now." Qin Hao whispered, "He didn't just ascend. He was chosen by the Blood Moon."
Zhao Yang's pupils glowed red. His voice was low and steady: "I can feel it… the Blood Moon is calling me."
After the Blood Moon faded, He Xuan hesitated. "Should we… become vampires too? Maybe we'd level up faster like him." Lu Ye shook his head. "Don't even think about it. His vampire physiology must come with a price—and a heavy one. Even if it didn't, the pain of turning into a vampire would break us. One mistake, and we'd all become zombies."