Thoom!

The wind seemed to explode as the Ironblood spike shot forwards with insane speed, leaving a visible trail of air along its path.

Miles couldn’t help but be surprised, despite being the one who had actually launched the spike. The speed of the Ironblood spike just didn’t make sense when compared to its size. It almost seemed to be defying physics.

And there was something else. He could… feel, almost sense the blood spike? Somehow he could see its path and trajectory in his mind’s eye. He knew that if it continued as it was, it would strike old Zhan, smack-dab in his chest.

Meanwhile, Zhan Shen, who had been momentarily distracted by the first blood spike, noticed the incoming second spike. To him, it didn’t feel all that different from the others, just larger and maybe a bit faster.

So with that same confident poise, he directly faced off against it.

BOOM!

A massive shockwave rang out, sending a burst of air blowing throughout the room.

Miles was forced to close his eyes as the wind whipped against his face, but... he could still see the spike and what was in its immediate vicinity.

The blood spike, now barely intact with multiple cracks and fractures over it, struggled against something… a fist?

This fist was small, especially when compared to the absolutely massive 2-meter long blood spike. The sharp point of the spike had even pierced deep into its flesh, and yet, the fist remained indomitable.

Kacha!

A splintering sound rang out, as a mysterious ripple passed through the fist into the blood spike, pushing the cracks and ruptures to their very limit, until it finally shattered.

BOOM!

As expected, the Ironblood Spike(+14) exploded in a burst of crystal shards. But while the previous blood spikes had not done much after exploding, being mostly harmless, this was not the same. In an instant, the shards riddled the fist with scratches and gashes, until it finally vanished.

Feeling his connection to the blood spike disappear along with its destruction, Miles finally re-opened his eyes.

It was obvious that Zhan Shen was the owner of the fist, but what Miles hadn’t seen through the spike, was that the old butler had been pushed back to the very edge of the room, his back almost pushed against the wall.

However, the damage Zhan Shen had gained from the blood spike was mostly cosmetic. His hair had been ruffled a bit, and one of his shirt sleeves was ripped, revealing a few small scratches. But besides that, the only major injury was a pin-like wound on his fist, which was surrounded by minor lacerations.

Even those injuries seemed to be healing, thanks to the old butler's regeneration, perhaps gained from the stream as well.

Zhan Shen's gaze shifted between his scratched hand and his ward with a mixture of shock and amazement for a few seconds. Finally, he smiled, and immediately started to dash forwards, as if the massive Ironblood spike had done nothing at all.

‘F*ck! That’s all my blood spike can do against his soul stream?’

Miles prepared to fight once more, but… he couldn’t help but glance at the meager amount of blood points remaining.

[BP: 1/100]

Sure he had 10 more left within himself, but if he used that he would suffer from the thirst again.

Not to mention the overwhelming stream-enhanced strength old Zhan possessed, that had broken his wrist with a single punch.

But Miles didn’t want to accept defeat like this. When Zhan Shen and he practiced martial arts without any abilities or attribute enhancements, while Miles had lost almost all of the time, at least he could land multiple solid hits on the old butler. Not just a stab with a pin and some cat scratches!

He really didn’t want it to end like this. Unfortunately, the result of this battle was cemented the moment he ran out of blood points. He no longer had any choice in the matter.

With a sigh, Miles wisely, yet unhappily raised his hands, “I yield.”

Zhan Shen immediately stopped, once again rather surprised. “Why? Didn’t you just make a breakthrough in your skill?”

Miles shook his head with a pained smile, still displeased with having to face defeat due to a technicality. “Kind of. But… I basically ran out of energy.”

The old butler nodded, seemingly understanding his ward’s feelings. With a wave of his hands, he dispelled the markings on his face, canceling the power of the soul stream.

With a relaxed smile, Zhan Shen bowed, palm upon fist once more, “Good bout, Master Miles. I did not expect your blood spike to make it through the defenses of the stream. That final blood spike reached the early Epsilon level, perhaps even the mid-level. Not bad for a fellow who’s only been a vampire for a day.”

Miles couldn’t help but smile at that. It was true. He hadn’t even been a vampire for a day. His progress wasn’t bad at all!

With a smile, he bowed back to his guardian and teacher, “Good bout, old Zhan.”

***

After the battle, Miles had been surprised to find out that he didn’t feel even a bit tired. Despite having shot dozens of blood spikes, he didn’t have even a speck of the exhaustion that ordinary Fae Humans tended to suffer from after using their Fae abilities.

An advantage to being conditionally undead perhaps?

Well, he wasn’t complaining.

Miles gulped down a blood bag and threw it to the side.

Immediately after the battle, he had begun to replenish his blood points, and so far he was only a quarter of the way to reaching 100.

Zhan Shen raised an eyebrow, “You’ve embraced the blood-drinking part of being a Vampire then, have you?”

Reaching for another blood bag, Miles shrugged, “I guess? I’m not really drinking for the taste. Well maybe a little bit, but mostly because I need the energy. I fought you with less than half in the tank, you know? I might have been able to beat your stream if I had!”

The old butler snorted, “In your dreams. I myself wasn’t even using half as much of the soul stream I had to use against that flying knight of yours.”

Miles threw aside the empty blood bag and grabbed another. Glossing over the reply, he asked a question instead, “By the way old Zhan, you didn’t just show me this Soul Stream and the Art of the Spirit, just to rub it in my face, did you? You’re going to teach me, I assume?”

Zhan Shen smirked. He immediately gazed at the wall on the side, his hands behind his back, as he wondered aloud, “Hmmm… Should I? Maybe I shouldn’t? You’re pretty strong already, and you’ll only grow stronger thanks to this ‘system’ of yours. If you master the power of the soul stream as well, this old man will have nothing special to his name!”

Realizing what the old butler was doing, Miles replied back with a smirk of his own, “Oh? The Great Zhan Shen is so unsure of his own talent? I’m grateful for the praise, but you really shouldn’t think so little of yourself! Surely I couldn’t exceed your achievements that quickly?!”

Zhan Shen couldn’t help but scowl at the logic, “Bah!”

Shaking his head with a smile, Miles asked a question that had been bothering him for a while, his tone serious, “Anyways old Zhan, is there a reason that you didn’t tell me about this Spiritual Enlightenment stuff earlier?”

Surely, there had to be a reason. Miles had suffered so much due to the insufficiency of his Faetality. If he had known there was a way to grow stronger, even if it was based on Spiritualism, he would’ve practiced with all his might. Not to mention the fact he would’ve felt a lot better and more confident about his future.

The old butler heaved a sigh, “Yes, there is. I wouldn’t have hidden it from you otherwise. Practicing the Art of the Spirit, entering the soul stream, is not primarily meant for gaining battle prowess. As I said before, it is a search for yourself, to achieve self-realization and enlightenment.

But once you enter the stream, you must wade against the currents. And these spirit currents are not as simple as their ordinary counterparts. Spirit currents will attack your sense of self, your spirit, your soul, attempting to break you, shatter you.

Many adults have lost themselves in the process, and for a child, one who is still building up their sense of self, to attempt this is akin to suicide.”

Zhan Shen smiled lightly, “If I had told you about this when you were younger, you wouldn’t have given up. If not me, you would’ve found someone else or another way. I couldn’t take the risk.”

Miles nodded in understanding. Indeed, if he had known back then, it would’ve been exactly as Zhan Shen said. He had been rather desperate when he was younger.

He reached for another blood bag, vaguely feeling full but not entirely, and asked, “So I’m ready? I’ll be 18 in a few months, a true adult, but that still doesn’t seem like the perfect age to start a journey of self-realization.”

The elderly butler paused, before answering with a small smile, “There isn’t a perfect age really. While it is considered particularly dangerous for children, my master mentioned saints who achieved perfect enlightenment even before becoming full-fledged adults.

But I hadn’t exactly heard of child saints in the recent past, so I felt it better to not take risks.

As for your age, I was going to wait till you were a bit older, but… back in the safe house, by controlling yourself against the blood lust, you showed me you were ready.

Even though I made it seem easy, and gave you advice on what to do, I was entirely prepared to stop you if you failed. But you didn’t. You revealed a surprisingly advanced level of self-control.

And I believe that if a young man can handle the urges of being a Vampire, a race with a spirit as corrupt as the Beast Within, he can handle the stream."

Zhan Shen fell into thought for a moment, and added, “Well, the human soul stream at least. I’m not really sure of how it will be with a Vampire. I know for a fact that it’s not the same for Fae, so…”

Miles raised an eyebrow, as he gulped down another bag of blood, “How do you know it’s different for Fae? I’ve heard of Fae that can talk in our tongue, but either they are rumors, or they are settled closer to Galgaroth. So how would you know about the soul stream of Fae?”

The old butler slowly answered, with a shrug, “It’s… it’s just something my Master passed onto me.”

Miles nodded without much thought, “Alright, well it’s not really clear if Vampires are Fae either, so we’ll just have to figure it out for ourselves.”

Excited at the prospect of combining the prowess of Kindred with the Soul Stream, he asked with an expectant grin, “So, assuming we start practicing immediately, how long do you think it would take me to get to your level?”

Zhan Shen smirked, “A decade, at the very least.”

Miles’s grin died instantly, “What?!”

The old butler continued with that same smirk, “What?! Did you think Spiritual Enlightenment grew on trees? If it was that easy, everyone would do it! But while you cannot achieve Sotapanna soon, I should be able to allow you to use the power of the stream like Martial Artists do, within a few weeks, a month at worst. Even that is due to my Master’s particularly rigorous training method.”

Miles heaved a sigh of relief at that. A few weeks were manageable. With a smile, he patted his chest, “No worries old Zhan. I can regenerate.”

Zhan Shen smirked once more, “Famous last words.”

Miles was just about to inquire about the specifics of the training while reaching for another blood bag, when suddenly, a streak of bright orange light illuminated the floor, brightening the rest of the room.

It seemed to have originated from a small window placed at that edge of the room.

The window gazed out at the outer city, revealing a jungle of mostly identical concrete buildings upon even more buildings. But above these dreary constructions, he could barely glimpse an orange sky igniting away the darkness of the night before.

“The Sun,” he spoke out, almost unconsciously.

Zhan Shen raised an eyebrow, “So?” Until he realized it. His eyes widened, “Oh. Oh…”

Miles nodded, releasing a nervous breath.

This was something he had been worried about for the entire night. Especially since he saw the mention of [Sol’s Hatred] within the Cursed title.

It was time to face the music… actually, face the sun.

It was time to see if he could never walk in the day again.