The central manor of the ancient castle was Li De's residence and the most luxurious and expansive estate in the entire castle.
Built a hundred years ago during the vampire clan's peak, the castle was home to three thousand vampires and over twenty thousand humans at the time.
Many of the intricate carvings were created by humans under the direction of the vampires.
The two vampire guards at the entrance immediately noticed Li De and greeted him with excitement.
"Good evening, Clan Leader."
Li De nodded. Since he was rarely in the castle, the manor was only guarded by two third-generation vampires.
But given his status and the loyalty of the vampires, there was little to worry about regarding the manor's safety.
The stone-built manor exuded a Romanesque atmosphere. The main building was a five-story structure, nearly twenty meters tall, making it the most magnificent building in the entire castle.
The estate had everything a noble manor required: a front courtyard, a backyard, stables, cellars, storage rooms, and more.
Having flown back overnight, Li De wasn't in the mood to appreciate the century-old luxurious architecture. After being attended to by the guards, he quickly washed up and went to bed.
For vampires, two sun-hours of sleep per day were sufficient. Vampires preferred to rest during the day and be active at night.
But Li De didn't have that habit. The mental strain of the day had been significant, and he slept soundly.
The next morning.
The central hall of the castle was the vampire clan's council chamber, where all major meetings were held.
Every tradition has vitality, and the fact that the vampire clan had survived in the world of "Glory" indicated that they had their strengths.
To change the current state of the vampire clan, mere coercion was far from enough.
Li De's plan to gather the vampires in the hall to hear him recount their history had another purpose.
To change the vampires' mindset.
And the most important aspect of changing their mindset was reshaping their history.
People are symbols of society, and culture is the backdrop of society.
The kind of cultural education one receives shapes who they become, regardless of skin color or race.
The vampires' previous traditions had always viewed humans as food, a fact passed down through generations.
But Li De decided to change this fact—by rewriting vampire mythology.
After a night of preparation, his draft, though still rough, was sufficient.
This bloodline of vampires were all his descendants, and no one would easily question or challenge him.
Li De didn't need the vampires to believe him completely; he only needed to shift their perspectives slightly.
"Do you know the origin of the vampire clan?"
The vampires sitting neatly on their small stools below looked bewildered.
"Wasn't the vampire clan created by the Creator when the world was made?"
This bloodline of vampires lacked sufficient historical depth. In fact, most of their knowledge about vampires came from the humans they considered food.
This was also why Li De felt confident.
"Then tell me, why do vampires need to drink human blood to survive? Why not the blood of magical beasts?
In terms of mana content, the blood of magical beasts far surpasses that of humans. So why is it that only human blood can sustain us?"
The vampires in the world of "Glory" were somewhat different from those in Earth's legends. Here, only human blood could serve as food for vampires. Even the blood of half-beastmen or elves was useless to them.
This question immediately stumped the vampires below. Few had ever thought about this before.
Everyone had taken it for granted, just as no one questions why we prefer delicious food over something unpalatable.
Li De inwardly laughed. The real show was about to begin.
"Because the vampire clan is a race cursed by the most powerful evil god of creation—the Lord of Chaos. Each of us bears the eternal curse of the Lord of Chaos."
The hall fell into stunned silence.
Everyone exchanged glances, their eyes filled with shock.
The mention of the eternal curse of the Lord of Chaos was far more terrifying than the threat of a transcendent mage.
This was a world where gods and evil deities existed. Churches often witnessed divine miracles, and evil gods occasionally made their presence known.
Being cursed by a being whose very name inspired fear was enough to make their hearts tremble.
Lucy's face showed a mix of awe and fear, her emerald-green eyes filled with confusion.
This was the first time she had heard such a thing from Li De.
The vampire bloodline granted them eternal life, making them true immortals.
Their long lives meant that every vampire was a scholar of considerable knowledge. Even those who disliked books would accumulate vast knowledge over centuries.
But Li De's words were something none of the vampires had ever heard before.
The origin of the vampire clan was widely accepted: the Creator had made vampires using his own blood.
But bearing a curse from such a terrifying evil god was unheard of.
By the Goddess of Night, this was astonishing.
Lucy stood up, her face full of questions.
"Father, why have we never heard of this before? And I've never felt any curse upon me."
Li De smiled mysteriously, adjusting his silver-black mage robe as he spoke in a slow, solemn tone.
"This is the final knowledge passed down to me by the Holy Spirit."
Knowledge passed down by the Holy Spirit?
Most vampires knew of the Holy Spirit's existence, but aside from Li De, who could see its attributes through his panel, the others only regarded it as a sacred artifact of the vampire clan, much like a noble family's crest.
They didn't know the Holy Spirit's origins, only that it was a treasure of the vampire clan and of great importance.
The Vampire Progenitor had never spoken of the Holy Spirit before, and Li De took advantage of this to weave his narrative.
He could also use this as an excuse to erase any traces of the Holy Spirit.
"The Holy Spirit was once a member of the vampire clan, one of the first vampires created from the Creator's blood."
"We once had a long and storied history."
"Millions of years ago..."
A long mythological tale began to unfold from Li De's lips, spoken in the most solemn tone.