Chapter Eighteen: Stepping Stones on the Road to Success

If Wang Jingtian truly met with misfortune, my source of income would be cut off, and a surge of anger roared in my heart. I couldn't help but curse and shot a glare at Ma De, exclaiming, "Damn it!"

Ma De clearly misunderstood my words; he actually thought I was calling him. Tilting his head, he looked at me and said, "Kid, why are you calling me?"

Good grief! "Damn it" sounds just like "Ma De"! No wonder he got confused.

Without giving it much thought, I pointed straight at Ma De and said, "I said I was cursing at you." This time, I jabbed my finger right at his nose, showing him no courtesy at all. Since he was an enemy, he would always be an enemy.

Ma De was obviously enraged. He hadn’t expected an ordinary human like me, in such a situation, not to run but to curse him to his face.

Unfurling his blood-red wings, Ma De swooped toward me. In the darkness, I could clearly see his claws, at least five centimeters long, gleaming like steel blades in the moonlight, making the scene all the more uncanny.

Seeing his hostile approach, a cold smile curled at my lips as I muttered, "Like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—overestimating yourself." As I spoke, my purple-black wings, inscribed with golden runes, emitted a faint glow, releasing a surge of murderous energy. Of course, only supernatural beings like zombies and monsters could sense this aura; to ordinary people, it would simply feel as if the air had grown colder, prompting them to bundle up.

The marquis was clearly startled by this sudden change. His body, suspended in midair, involuntarily plummeted to the ground, landing in a most ungraceful heap.

With a trembling hand, he pointed at me and stammered, "You—you—you’re actually a first-generation demon corpse of the Zombie Clan!" His voice shook with fear.

I sneered, "Well, now you know. But unfortunately, you’re too late!" With that, I cracked my knuckles and strode toward Ma De, saying as I approached, "Let me make this clear: you’ve violated the treaty signed by the Eastern and Western Night Clans. Do you know what that means? It means—death!"

As soon as those words left my lips, a faint golden energy burst from my body, giving me a start; I hadn’t expected to have such an ability as a first-generation demon corpse. The golden energy, directed by my will, swiftly condensed into a golden longsword. With three swift strokes, three giant bat corpses lay on the ground.

Looking from the bats to Ma De, I realized with some amusement that Western bloodlines all cultivated from bats. On second thought, it was quite astonishing—a mere bat could evolve into human form.

Night was nearly over. I turned to Te and said, "It’s time to go. Summon your wings and follow me." Spreading my wings wide, I soared into the sky. Hovering for a moment, I noticed Te hadn’t followed.

Sigh—how could I leave this clueless foreigner in a strange city? I drifted back down and saw Te still standing there, looking lost.

"Your wings!" I called out. I had assumed that all bloodsuckers would have wings, but I’d overlooked one thing: Smith Te was still a minor baron. According to the bloodline hierarchy, knight is the lowest rank, followed by baron, viscount, count, marquis, and grand duke. Old Ma had told me that knights had no wings, but from baron onward, wings were standard.

Te, despite being a grown man, was actually embarrassed. For the blood clan, face was as important as life itself; to lose it was to lose one’s status.

Head lowered, Te pointed at his back, then fell silent.

I looked where he indicated and instantly understood. Barons did have wings, but his were ridiculously small—together, they were no bigger than a pair of pigeon’s wings. How could they possibly carry his six-foot frame aloft? With no other choice, I had to haul Te into the sky with my own wings and head for the academy.

After what happened at the archaeological site, there was no way the excavation could continue. Old Ma and the others had probably returned to the academy yesterday.

I thought to myself, "With all this trouble, will the academy expel me? Even if I’m the top student, the rules are the rules. But then I remembered Old Ma and Er Peng; they say money makes the world go round, and with Old Ma’s plea and Er Peng’s deep pockets, what could possibly go wrong?"

At that moment, I could only marvel at the convenience of wings—before dawn, we’d already arrived at the academy. Old Ma and the others had long since returned. In this unstable situation, Te and I slipped quietly into the dormitory to avoid notice.

As soon as we entered, I saw all twelve of my brothers still awake. Naturally, our reunion was boisterous, full of bear hugs. I introduced Te, and, as young men do, everyone quickly warmed to him. Before long, Te was chatting comfortably with the group.

When the conversation turned to how I’d sabotaged the yellow jade under the watchful eyes of armed guards and how I’d met Te, I hurriedly changed the subject and asked Er Peng about the current situation—would the headmaster come looking for me tomorrow?

Er Peng didn’t mind my diversion. Lying on his bed with his hands behind his head, he said, "You know the headmaster—under the might of the Ran Group, he’s bound to nod and bow. But now you owe me a big favor!" He chuckled in satisfaction.

Indeed, I did owe him. If it hadn’t been for Er Peng’s help, Te and I would have been wanted fugitives by now.

After a few words of thanks, everyone turned in for the night. Te naturally had to sleep beside me; if this guy went crazy and bit one of my friends, that would be a disaster.

Te tossed and turned on my bed, unable to get comfortable. Imagine two grown men squeezed together on a single bed, and one of them has the world’s worst case of hyperactivity—it’s enough to give anyone a headache.

The dorm wasn’t very dark; the full moon outside bathed the entire building in a pale light. It gave the place a slightly ashen look, but it was better than pitch black.

It must have been just past three in the morning—the thirtieth minute of me enduring Te’s restlessness. My friends were all deep in dreams by then, but I could take no more. With a flick to his forehead, I whispered, "Do you have ADHD or what?"

Though Te stood six feet tall, as a baron he was emotionally just a seventeen-year-old youth, and with his baby face, no one would ever guess he was a thousand-year-old monster.

Te pouted, inhaling sharply as he clutched his head with one hand and pointed at me with the other, half-shouting, "Stop hitting my head!" He looked absolutely adorable.

I grinned, "Just go to sleep—stop squirming."

Te replied, "I’d love to sleep, but I’m not used to this kind of bed."

Hearing that, I remembered that in movies, vampires always slept in coffins. But there was no way I could set up a coffin for Te in the middle of the dorm. Thinking quickly, I clapped my hands and said, "I’ve got an idea!" The solution was simple—let Te return to his bat form and hang upside down from my bedpost, while I could stretch out comfortably and pursue the Way of Heaven, as Uncle Ma would put it. Though to me, the Way of Heaven was just another term for "the way of sleep."

It’s only when you grow up that you realize how much faster youth passes than childhood. Time becomes so cheap—four hours slipped by in a blink, and when I opened my eyes, daylight was streaming in and the sun was nearly up.

I got dressed as usual to check in with my department, only this time there was a little bat tucked inside my jacket.

Te couldn’t fly in human form, but as a bat he certainly could, though the lazy guy was still asleep—clinging to my inner pocket, hanging upside down.

I’d long since outgrown my habit of skipping classes; apart from self-study, I attended everything. In the third year, there were only three main classes a week; the rest was all self-directed.

Today, I’d heard that a professor was coming to give a special lecture, so out of curiosity I decided to attend. To my surprise, the lecture hall was filled almost entirely with campus beauties; the plain girls were few and far between. Except for a few chubby ones in front, it was a sea of handsome guys and pretty girls, making an average guy like me feel quite out of place.

But honestly, I’m not that ordinary—just a tad more handsome, if I do say so. Don’t call me narcissistic; several attractive girls had already surrounded me, making me feel as if my springtime had arrived, the perfume around me so overwhelming I nearly swooned.

Looking at their shapely figures, luscious lips, enticing thighs, and swelling bosoms barely concealed by their clothes, I couldn’t help but want to sigh to the heavens, "Why must it be so complicated?"

Just as I was mired in these thoughts, I sensed movement—Te, now in bat form, was stirring...

...

(On the occasion of the Spring Festival, I wish all my readers eternal happiness, endless joy, sudden wealth, and instant success.)