Beatrice had heard many legends before—tales of the ancient Titan Empire, myths of giants and colossal serpents, stories of angels and the glory of the Lord from the celestial realms, and of course, the stories of heroes defeating evil dragons to rescue princesses, not to mention the wars of knights and the sorcerers and witches that only existed in fairy tales.
Now, watching Wu Ming’s actions, her small face turned deathly pale, almost associating him with a warlock.
She had experienced many terrifying things before, but nothing could compare to the eerie scene before her.
After Wu Ming mixed some potions and extracted some blood, he began sprinkling some powder onto Alfred’s wounds.
Soon, Alfred’s corpse started to melt away in a bizarre manner.
First the skin, then the muscles, gradually revealing the white bones beneath… everything seemed like a strange spell, causing a person to slowly vanish.
Once the corpse had completely dissolved, Wu Ming obtained a yellowish pus-like liquid.
“Next, it’s time for further impurity removal and purification…”
This was merely a simple technique involving sedimentation and separation, something achievable with basic physical knowledge.
He was completely immersed in his experiment, nearly forgetting that Beatrice was still beside him.
The morning light was dim.
By the next morning, Wu Ming silently observed the approximately one pint of blue liquid before him.
“As expected… the bloodline of Conqueror Taler is mixed with the power of high-ranking beings…”
He sprinkled in a handful of white powder and turned to look at Beatrice, who seemed to have stood rigidly all night: “Tell me… what do you see in this?”
Wu Ming pointed solemnly at the surface of the blue liquid.
“I saw…”
Beatrice’s eyes also carried a hint of blue as she stared dazedly at the blue container, murmuring in a dreamy voice: “A dragon! I saw a blue dragon flying in the sky!”
“As expected… the bloodline of the blue dragon?”
Wu Ming immediately confirmed the origin of the blue-blooded nobility, including the bloodline of Conqueror Taler: “Dragonborn?!”
In any world, dragons are terrifying creatures, capable of interbreeding with nearly any race to produce half-blood and mixed-blood offspring.
Moreover, powerful beings often radiate energy around their dwellings, creating a group of subordinates.
Such influence is naturally terrifying.
“Even after Taler’s bloodline has been passed down for so long, if it still retains such power, either that blue dragon was incredibly strong, or Taler himself achieved a breakthrough…”
Looking at the blue blood before him, Wu Ming shook his head with a faint smile: “After a few more purifications, this blood should reach the level of Taler’s direct descendants within three generations… but alas…”
Needless to say, this level of bloodline power was barely worth his attention.
Even after purification, it was still nothing special to him.
“This could instead enhance Beatrice’s bloodline potential… or be used to create knightly holy oil. If I plan to develop my strength in the future, I will definitely need such things…”
“No matter what, this useless fellow still had some use!”
Wu Ming placed the blue blood into a black jar and sealed the opening with wax before turning to look at Beatrice: “Scared stiff?”
“Eh?”
Beatrice was startled and immediately collapsed onto the ground, feeling as if her hands and feet no longer belonged to her.
“You stood all night, your limbs are stiff from stagnated blood flow. Rest for a while and move around, and you’ll be fine…”
Wu Ming calmly tidied everything up, leaving no trace behind. After all, if others, or even the church, discovered this place, he would easily be mistaken for a heretic or something equally undesirable.
“After breakfast, you’ll come with me into the city. We’re heading to my fief!”
He added.
“My fief?”
As the daughter of a noble family, Beatrice was very sensitive to this: “Master, you’ve become a knight!”
“That’s right! Although I don’t know which estate will be granted to me, it must be the inheritance left behind by a fallen knight from the last war…”
Wu Ming sighed: “There might be some trouble ahead.”
He washed his hands and, together with Beatrice, ate the bread and roasted meat brought the previous day.
Meanwhile, Wu Ming didn’t waste time idly. He took out another inheritance from Alfred—a parchment scroll glowing with supernatural light—and began studying it carefully.
Beatrice curiously peeked over, only to be disappointed when she saw that the scroll merely contained a map. While such a finely detailed map might be priceless to a mercenary group, its value to a noble family was quite average.
“The magical glow on this scroll isn’t that simple…”
Wu Ming’s fingers rubbed the thick parchment, sensing a deeper secret, murmuring to himself: “A magical lock? Interesting?”
He extended his perception, discovering that the scroll had been enchanted with a minor illusion. Without the proper key, ordinary people could only see this.
“Coincidentally, I happen to have that key!”
Wu Ming took out a dinner knife: “Cut your finger and smear some blood on it!”
“As you command, Master!”
Beatrice’s small hands trembled slightly, but she obeyed. A ruby-like drop of blood fell onto the scroll and quickly spread.
“Ahh…”
Beatrice gasped as she watched the area where her blood had touched begin to reveal lines of text.
In the previously blank spaces of the map, dark brown letters emerged, along with a pentagram emblem.
A pentagram!
This emblem held a status in the Western world similar to the Bagua diagram in Wu Ming’s past life, symbolizing mystery and advanced magical arrays.
“As expected… the key to unlocking this scroll is still blue blood!”
Wu Ming had already deeply experienced the nobility’s obsession with blue blood: “A pentagram… representing the four elements—earth, fire, wind, and water—plus human spiritual energy, symbolizing powerful arrays and forces…”
He first carefully examined the intricate and exquisite pentagram array structure, then turned his attention to the text.
“In the year of Blossoms and Green Leaves, after the third harvest moon, the red omen crosses the sky, and the ancient slumbering serpent shall awaken…”
Wu Ming carefully read the words on the scroll: “It seems to be the same prophecy, just slightly more precise.”
He continued reading: “The descendants who inherit the blue bloodline… shall follow the ancient pact of the Five Kings, to oppose the world-destroying serpent, and the strength of all people shall be with you!”
The original map now changed. The lines redrew themselves, transforming into the appearance of a treasure map, with a blood-red dagger marking a specific location.
“It seems like some hidden treasure location, perhaps accompanied by some ancient oath, worth exploring…”
Wu Ming estimated that this treasure must be quite dangerous, or else Alfred would have already excavated it long ago.
Of course, it was also possible that the inheritance had been interrupted, and he simply didn’t know how to unlock the scroll.
“Still a decent discovery…”
Wu Ming tugged at Beatrice: “Come on, let’s go to the Earl’s castle…”
“Master!”
At this moment, Beatrice suddenly spoke up: “Can you teach me magic?”
“Hmm? Do you think I’m a warlock?”
Wu Ming chuckled, suddenly realizing that, in the eyes of a little girl, his actions might indeed seem no different from those of the mysterious and sinister warlocks: “You want magical power to seek revenge? Not a bad idea!”
Given Beatrice’s physical strength and inherent limitations, becoming a knight would be extremely difficult for her.
Perhaps, the only power she could rely on was magical force.
“Unfortunately… I’m not a legendary wizard or sorcerer, nor do I possess magical power…”
Wu Ming said calmly, unsurprised to see disappointment in Beatrice’s eyes. He shook his head with a faint smile, suddenly changing his tone: “But I can train you, awaken the original power of your blue blood… I must warn you in advance, it’s a completely different method from the knight’s baptism, tapping into the primal power of the blue blood. As for what you may become in the future, it’s hard to say. Are you willing to take this risk?”
“I am willing, Master!”
Beatrice almost immediately agreed without hesitation.
…
Howling Castle.
“Ah… dear William, I’ve already heard about your ‘exploits’ from yesterday. Truly unbelievable!”
Baron Terry immediately approached Wu Ming as soon as he saw him, his face filled with a look of admiration, as if a devout believer had just witnessed the descent of a deity.
“Too kind…”
Wu Ming inwardly chuckled. No wonder the expressions of the maids and noble ladies who had passed by him earlier were so subtle, especially the men’s mix of inferiority and jealousy, which left him quite speechless.
“You must definitely teach me those techniques!”
Baron Terry completely disregarded his wife and children, and after some casual conversation, finally got to the main topic: “So? Have you decided on your family name yet, William?”
In this world, surnames were rare among commoners. Surnames represented bloodline inheritance, serving as proof of nobility or at least noble ancestry.
His voice carried a rare hint of anxiety, fearing that William might choose his family’s surname.
“I plan to create a new one. What do you think of ‘Wallace’?”
“Excellent! Excellent!”
In fact, as long as it wasn’t his own family name, anything would do.
Baron Terry felt a great relief: “It seems you’ve already decided on your surname and crest.”
“Yes, I plan to use olive branches and tulips, with a cross-sword in the center!”
Wu Ming nodded in agreement.
“In that case, let me inform you of another piece of news!”
Baron Terry’s face now bore a relaxed smile: “Your fief has already been confirmed. It’s located at the foot of the Tark Mountains. Lucky fellow…”
For some reason, Wu Ming felt that his smile contained many hidden meanings, even a hint of jealousy.
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