Chapter 002: The Blue-Blooded Man

Dust filled the air as carriages and warhorses rushed forward. The rest of the group was fine, but Old Mark, a knight and Du Fan’s personal guard, though accompanying the caravan, had his heart remaining with Du Fan.

Although they knew Du Fan already possessed strength at the peak of level 9, how could they feel at ease knowing their young master was unguarded? In truth, they simply couldn’t shake a sense of unease—they were worried. Moreover, they had just entered the territory of Rose Province when they were attacked by bandits. Could this journey back truly go smoothly?

Old Mark was also anxious. He knew Du Fan was extremely strong, with few able to harm him. Four or five warriors at levels 7 or 8 certainly couldn’t hurt him, and as a level 6 swordsman, he could only cause trouble. Yet he couldn’t help thinking that having one more person by the young master’s side would provide better protection.

With this thought, Old Mark suddenly called out to Barty, ordering him to stop the caravan.

“What’s wrong, Old Mark?” Barty now served Du Fan wholeheartedly, and since Du Fan respected Old Mark greatly, Barty treated him well too. But the supplies they carried were meant for building a city, so the sooner they reached City of Doha, the better.

Old Mark understood this, so he asked Barty to bring out the map. Pointing to a remote valley, he said, “Go rest there for the night. If we can’t bring the young master back today, head back first. But don’t take the main roads—use side paths, and spread out. Choose routes that are rarely used and rarely visited by bandits.”

Old Mark paused, scanning the map for a route. “This one, this one, and this one. Split into three groups. It will dilute our forces, but it will be safer. If you encounter bandits, don’t resist—just bring people back.”

He sensed something amiss about this robbery incident but couldn’t figure out what. He was indeed getting old. If only he were twenty years younger, he could have further improved his skills and stay by the young master’s side. Too old… too old to see through such things.

Although Batti heard Old Mark’s words, he didn’t want to give up the supplies he had. Old Mark understood Batti’s thoughts. “They have experts at levels seven or eight—people we can’t handle. It’s better to conserve our strength and wait for the young master to return. You know this area well; decide for yourself what to do.” With that, Old Mark began calling names. Hearing that they were going to go back and support Du Fan, everyone volunteered to go! They were even willing to sacrifice their lives! Old Mark also had his own plans. He couldn’t take all the strong fighters with him, otherwise the caravan would lack someone to hold back the enemy, and those weaker ones would only die in vain. Against those Utreeds, even his own level-six swordsman wouldn’t be of any use—let alone Du Fan, who was even lower in rank. More people wouldn’t help; instead, they’d only serve to sharpen the enemy’s weapons. Thus, seven names appeared in Old Mark’s mind. Old Mark called them one by one. Those called out prepared for battle, knowing they were facing not level-seven or eight strongmen but just a bunch of disorganized thieves. Those not called out were naturally upset. Having spent so much time in the duke’s mansion, Old Mark knew how to soothe people’s emotions. “Don’t think you can live easily just because you didn’t go to save the young master. On the contrary, your responsibility is even greater! What you’re protecting now is our future home! Without these supplies, building a city will be difficult! Saving the young master is important, but protecting our home is just as important! The road ahead may be even more dangerous than going back to support the young master—there might be a band of fierce thieves behind us, or a pack of wolves and tigers ahead! Are you afraid?” Hearing this, everyone shouted in unison, “Du Fan’s men are none weak! The Green family has no fearless warriors! We’re not afraid! Not afraid! Not afraid!!” Old Mark nodded. “Those called out, step forward! Those not called out, follow Batti’s orders and head toward the valley!” After saying that, Old Mark didn’t check on them anymore and left them to Batti, still very confident. After giving his orders, he mounted his warhorse, turned it around, and spurred it back, thinking to himself—Young master, I will surely die right behind you! After Old Mark left, the caravan also deviated from the main road and headed toward the valley he had chosen, which was easy to defend but hard to attack. When Old Mark arrived at Du Fan’s side, Frostfall Snow hung diagonally in the air beside Du Fan, who stared blankly into the distance.

Elder Mark had never seen Du Fan like this before. He dismounted his warhorse, pushed Du Fan aside, and examined him thoroughly three times before finally relaxing, relieved that Du Fan was unharmed, though his clothes were messy, dirty, and in a terrible state. “Young master? Are you alright?”
“Aleksander, Aleksander…” Du Fan turned his gaze back to himself, looking at Frostfall Snow in his hand with a bitter smile. In the end, he had only managed to kill Utreid. “What a pity.”
Muttering to himself for a while, he turned to look at Elder Mark, who was visibly anxious, his bitter smile deepening. “Grandpa Mark, could you please help me take Frostfall Snow from my hand?”
Upon hearing this, Elder Mark didn’t think too deeply about why Du Fan didn’t put the sword away himself and reached out to take it from his hand. As Elder Mark moved, Du Fan gasped sharply, letting out a long inhale.
“Hiss—”
It was then that Elder Mark took a closer look at Frostfall Snow in Du Fan’s hand. On the ice-blue sword, there was a faint blue glow—something that wouldn’t be noticed unless one looked closely. Meanwhile, a dark red streak was flowing from Du Fan’s hand along the blade of Frostfall Snow.
“This…”
Elder Mark noticed the blood from Du Fan on Frostfall Snow, while Du Fan focused on that eerie blue color. It wasn’t a color that Frostfall Snow originally had! It was just that no one else had noticed it.
Du Fan sighed inwardly—just a little more, and it would have worked!
His original target had been Aleksander, but Utreid, who hadn’t yet completed his transformation, let out a roar. Before Frostfall Snow could pierce Aleksander’s heart, he used some secret technique to suddenly boost his strength to almost match Du Fan’s—indeed, even surpassing him slightly.
It wasn’t Du Fan’s illusion; he truly felt that Utreid’s strength had surpassed his in that instant! It felt like… the Saint rank! Yes, the Saint rank! A Saint rank without mastering a domain! It was very similar to his own situation back then. So he knew he couldn’t be mistaken.
Utreid’s first reaction wasn’t to kill Du Fan but to save Aleksander first. If it meant sacrificing his own life to save his elder brother’s, he certainly wouldn’t agree. So the moment he could act, a blue figure appeared between the two of them.

No, it wasn’t between the two of them—it was inserted in front of the Frostfall Sword, knocking Du Fan to the side. At that moment, Du Fan and Alexander were too close together; it seemed as though Utreid had inserted himself between them.

In the urgency of the situation, Utreid not only knocked Du Fan away but also pushed Alexander to the side. He himself took a few steps forward before stopping his momentum.

Du Fan never expected to be “ambushed” under such circumstances. He was knocked to the ground and rolled twice, ending up covered in dirt and grime.

When he looked up at Utreid again, his skin was a water-blue color, with hair slightly darker blue than his skin. Everything about him was blue except for his teeth and the whites of his eyes, which were white—just in varying shades of blue. Even the patterns on his body were silver-blue.

Compared to his earlier towering stature, he now appeared much “smaller”—at least 1.8 meters tall. He didn’t have particularly bulging muscles, but he didn’t seem weak either. Instead, he exuded a beauty that combined strength and softness. He resembled a fairy, though slightly taller than one.

Unreasonably, the term “Blue-Blooded One” popped into Du Fan’s mind.

Utreid’s force was immense. Alexander was knocked so hard that half of his body went numb, unable to feel anything, let alone move. He knew that Utreid was now sacrificing his own life to manifest the full form of the Dark Demon race—a form that couldn’t be achieved by unleashing power alone!

It was the only time in a Dark Demon’s life that such a blue glow would appear!

When that single blue glow disappeared, it would also mean the end of his life!

Alexander’s eyes filled with tears. This was his brother! He had sacrificed his life to save him! In just one day, within hours, three brothers had left him!

After saving Alexander, Utreid glanced at the “Blue Stone” barrier. With just a wave of his hand, the barrier became stronger!

Du Fan’s pupils contracted sharply. He saw Utreid vanish from his spot, followed by a gust of wind rushing toward him. Instinctively, Du Fan used Frostfall Sword to block it. He took a defensive stance, firmly rooted to the ground. Yet the impact pushed him backward, leaving two deep footprints in the ground.

But Utreid did not stop his assault. It seemed he had endless strength; each of his punches struck Du Fan’s combat aura shield with increasing force. Du Fan lost any chance to counter from the start and was firmly suppressed, barely able to rely on his combat aura to prevent Utreid from gaining an advantage.