Chapter 86: The Toothless Vampire Becomes Blade's Apprentice

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to join any organization for now. Maybe after I get through this crisis, and if I'm in a good mood someday, I'll consider joining the Blades," Lin Xiao finally declined Eric's offer.

On one hand, he didn't know much about the group; on the other, he carried too many secrets—joining an organization could expose him, and besides, he didn't need outsiders to protect himself. As long as Zoe returned, along with the help she'd recruited, there was a good chance they could handle Lestat. Unless the vampire archduke intervened, they'd be safe.

"Level 8 now, and soon I'll reach level 9. The career shift isn't far off. Once I become an Exorcist, I should be able to take Lestat down one-on-one. Even against an archduke, as long as I grow past level 15, I should be able to put up a decent fight."

What he needed most was time—time and source energy to grow stronger. His current pace of improvement was still far too slow, so slow it made him anxious. He wished desperately to reach level 36 and awaken again as the True Dragon Star Lord; then, no matter how powerful his foes, he'd have nothing to fear.

Eric looked regretful; he'd hoped the tense situation would scare Lin Xiao into joining the Blades. But Lin Xiao's courage was extraordinary; even in the face of danger, he refused to join recklessly. It showed he had immense confidence in himself and his abilities.

"Very well, I'll keep the offer open. If you ever become interested, just contact me—I'll always welcome you into the Blades," Eric said, turning to leave. Lin Xiao quickly stopped him.

"Wait, Mr. Smith."

Eric turned around, delighted, thinking Lin Xiao had changed his mind. But Lin Xiao pointed at Dustin, unconscious on the ground.

"Although I don't want to join the Blades, I think you could take on a disciple—train him to be a Blade. For instance, this unconscious kid here. What do you think?"

Dustin, now a vampire, would inevitably cause trouble in the future. Lin Xiao simply didn't have the energy to watch over three companions—not to mention, with Number Eleven and Will, that made five. Even if he mastered the Shadow Clone technique, he couldn't care for five people at once. The best solution was to find them a proper mentor, someone like a Blade.

First, it would lighten his own burden; second, it would satisfy the Blades' requirements; third, it would tie Eric to his own cause—a win-win-win.

Eric turned to study Dustin, silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, I can't take a vampire as my apprentice. They're too unstable and could cause trouble for me. Besides, he's too young—it'll take years for him to be combat-ready, and I don't have that kind of time to wait for him to grow."

He obviously saw through Lin Xiao's intentions, guessed his hidden motives, and wisely refused.

"Is that so? What if I could speed up his growth? Like this," Lin Xiao said with a smile. He walked over to Dustin, picked up the Star Destroyer Axe, and lightly sliced his own left wrist. Drops of bright red blood fell into Dustin's mouth.

The unconscious Dustin suddenly opened his eyes, mouth agape, greedily swallowing the blood. His aura surged, visible even to the naked eye, quickly reaching the level of a vampire baron.

Eric, across from him, stared in amazement and confusion at Lin Xiao's actions. Was it his imagination, or did Lin Xiao see a flash of crimson in Eric's eyes, gone in an instant? The Blade turned away, as if unable to stand the sight of blood, and hurriedly agreed.

"Stop bleeding yourself—I accept your request. I'll take him as my apprentice."

Relieved by Eric's answer, Lin Xiao didn't stop right away. He let about three hundred milliliters of blood flow before pressing his right hand to his left wrist and activating Purify. The wound, made by the axe, healed instantly, returning to its original state.

The strength of his extraordinary constitution was evident.

He gave Dustin his blood both to awaken him and to test how powerful his blood was for vampires. He'd managed to boost an ordinary vampire to a level 5 baron in one go—Lin Xiao now had a good grasp of his blood's potency.

Such astonishing results explained why Damont had abandoned noble principles and resorted to underhanded tricks to obtain his blood. The reason lay in his extraordinary constitution, and perhaps also in his recent advance to level 8.

The higher his level, the stronger his constitution, and the more potent his blood becomes; otherwise, the effect wouldn't have been so dramatic.

Dustin finished drinking and stood up, curious, unsure what had happened. He vaguely remembered being bitten, then his mind went foggy and he slept, only to be awakened now.

"Dustin, I have some bad news for you. Prepare yourself," Lin Xiao said, his tone serious.

Dustin, mouth gapingly toothless, stammered, "What happened, Jonathan? Am I okay?"

"You're unlucky. You were bitten by a vampire. I killed that vampire and made you drink his blood—you've become a vampire too. The worst part is, with your teeth, as a vampire, you probably can't even break anyone's skin."

Chief Hope and Eric were momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing, both peering at Dustin's mouth. Sure enough, the boy's upper lip had no teeth.

Dustin was dazed too, touching his mouth. He was at that age for losing teeth—his upper teeth hadn't grown in yet, and because of that, he'd been bullied at school.

Now, as a vampire, his body would stay as it was—meaning he'd always look this way, and his teeth would never grow in. The world's first toothless vampire had been born.

Eric slapped his thigh, laughing so hard he bent forward and back. The black warrior, who'd initially resisted taking Dustin, now didn't need any persuasion. He was eager to take Dustin as his apprentice and train him well.

A toothless vampire—such a hilarious situation, he couldn't let it pass. He pictured a vampire opening his mouth to bite, only to realize he had no teeth, and couldn't even break the skin—the image was too funny.

Lin Xiao carefully explained, and to his surprise, Dustin wasn't frightened at all. Instead, he seemed delighted, eagerly examining himself and asking,

"So you mean I have superpowers now?"

Except for Michael and Lucas, Dustin's obsession with superpowers was just as strong. In truth, what child didn't dream of having amazing abilities? Even becoming a vampire didn't bother him.

"This is the teacher I found for you: Blade Warrior, Eric Smith."

Eric stopped laughing, put on a serious face, though his cheeks puffed out so much he nearly hurt himself. Dustin opened his mouth to call him teacher, but Eric couldn't hold it in anymore. He clutched his stomach and laughed, waving his hand.

"Don't rush to call me teacher yet—let me laugh a bit more. A toothless vampire! This is the best dark joke ever."

Lin Xiao joined in the laughter, Chief Hope chuckled till his face bloomed, and Dustin, carefree, laughed along, totally unaware of what becoming a vampire really meant.

They laughed for several minutes before Eric finally stopped, hands on his knees, turning to Dustin,

"Hello, Dustin. I'm Eric Smith. Welcome to the ranks of the Blades."