Imperial Throne

Chapter 132: The Bourbon Secret

The battle came to a complete end with Raven’s decision to stop resisting.

And when Ion demanded he take the Calmative Agent, Raven, after hesitating for a few seconds, ultimately agreed.

Because he had no choice.

After that, Ion left Ruby Village with Raven, escorted by a group of Bloodline Knights.

The battle in the miner’s residential district had clearly drawn the attention of several merchant guilds stationed in Ruby Village, so interrogating Raven there was clearly inappropriate. As for the compensation and cleanup work in Ruby Village afterward, Ion entrusted it all to Lain.

Lain was one of the veteran soldiers who had survived the White Mountain Territory defense battle alongside Baron Ster and Ion. Like Sien, he had also taken the Second-Tier Bloodline Elixir. Ion had assigned him to the Gem Territory as the leader of the seven veteran Bloodline Users primarily to protect Baroness Anna. But in truth, Baroness Anna usually stayed inside the City Lord's Manor in Gem City and rarely ventured out, so Lain and the others were often dispatched to carry out missions.

As one of Baroness Anna’s external liaisons, Lain was now the de facto third most important figure in the Gem Territory—first being Akar, and second was Shunes, whom Baroness Anna had personally recruited. However, both had their own primary responsibilities: for instance, Shunes was in charge of integrating underground forces in Gem City and gathering intelligence, essentially handling the dirty work; whereas Lain, most of the time, was responsible for the laborious tasks.

After assigning Lain to manage the aftermath, the others finished packing and departed overnight with Raven in custody.

The group neither rode horses nor used carriages, so their travel speed was naturally not very fast.

Raven observed the group scattered around, realizing that only Ion and Akar were by his side, and then understood something. “It seems that outsiders don’t know about your family’s rise to power.”

Ion glanced at Raven but didn’t reply.

“Let’s cooperate. I’m serious,” Raven lowered his voice. “I can tell you the location of the ruins, and we split whatever is inside.”

“What exactly is that ruin?” Ion pondered for a moment before asking.

“It’s a secret base where the Bourbon Family stored their family fortune,” Raven replied. “The Bourbon Family—you’ve heard of them, right?”

“The former Count family of the Red Eagle Territory that was wiped out a hundred years ago. It was precisely after their fall that the Kasein Family rose to become the current Marquisate of Red Eagle.”

Ion gave a brief answer, but of course, he didn’t mention that the Kasein Family had pledged fealty to the current Tyrella Royal Family and were now in a rather delicate antagonistic relationship with the Southern Duke.

“Then do you know why the Bourbon Family was destroyed?”

Ion didn’t answer and simply looked at Raven.

“Because of Bloodline Power.”

“What do you mean?” Ion could sense that Raven’s emotions had suddenly become slightly agitated, which was clearly abnormal.

“Did Arsen ever talk to you about bloodlines?”

“He mentioned a few things,” Ion replied ambiguously.

In fact, up until tonight, their family hadn’t even known that Arsen was a Bloodline User, let alone heard anything from him about bloodlines. The term “bloodline” had first come to Ion and Akar from Burton. As their strength increased and the Soderbell Family began to gain recognition, especially after Akar got together with Baroness Anna, their family finally began to understand bloodlines more deeply.

Of course, none of this would be shared openly with Raven.

Because Ion was acutely aware that Raven was no longer the comrade he could entrust his back to in life-or-death situations. If what Raven said was true, then when he had heard news about Akar and Yam, he would have tried to reunite with them instead of laying a false trail to lead them toward the Red River Territory. Ion had discovered several suspicious locations during his investigation, each closer to Red River Territory.

So, if it hadn’t been for Yam proposing an alternative hypothesis at the time, and if they had simply followed the misleading clues Raven had left behind, they might still be wandering around Red River Territory now, completely unable to find Raven.

Therefore, regarding what Raven was saying now, Ion clearly recognized it was a mixture of truth and falsehood. Just how much of it was real and how much was deception, he would have to determine himself.

“If Arsen talked to you, then this will be easier to explain,” Raven nodded. “The Bourbon Family’s bloodline wasn’t the rumored Raging Flame Lion advancement route, but one of the Four Extremes—Fire.”

Ion turned his head and stared at Raven in shock.

Even Akar showed an expression of disbelief.

They had heard from Burton that among the existing Four Extremes Bloodlines in the world today, only Water and Wind remained. Fire had been eradicated a hundred years ago, and Earth had vanished even earlier in history.

So hearing Raven say this, combined with what they had previously learned, Ion realized this was a true piece of information.

“The Tyrella Royal Family wanted to control Fire for themselves, so they targeted the Bourbon Family. There were many accomplices, including the Golden Lion Family of the Southern Duke. Because of this, by the time the Bourbon Family realized what was happening, they were already unable to change their fate. They could only mount a desperate resistance while relocating their family inheritance and even sending their blood descendants away in batches.”

Ion recalled something Burton had once said.

Once a bloodline was formed, as long as all the inheritors of that bloodline imprint were not dead, that bloodline advancement route would continue to exist.

But now, the Fire—one of the Four Extremes—had been completely annihilated. That left only one possible answer.

So, he spoke somewhat ruefully. “But in the end, it didn’t succeed.”

“No,” Raven shook his head. “It should be said, it only half succeeded.”

Hearing this, Ion let out a cold laugh. “The family inheritance transfer succeeded, right?”

“Yes.” Raven chuckled. “They divided the family inheritance into several parts. I’m not sure exactly how many, but I can confirm two of them now. One is the Bourbon Family’s secret vault, but I don’t know where that is. What I do know is the ruins—an ancestral land left behind by the Bourbon Family. They called it the Origin Ancestral Land. According to the information preserved within the ruins, it was the place where they first rose to power.”

“Rose to power?” Ion thought of the Demonic Sword currently in Yam’s hands. “You mean, they weren’t originally Bloodline Nobles?”

“There are not that many Bloodline Nobles to begin with.” Raven clearly possessed much deeper knowledge about Bloodline Users than Ion, who barely knew anything. “The oldest Bloodline Nobles were only eight families, now known as the Eight Golden Bloodlines. Later came the terms Silver Blood, Bronze Blood, and Black Iron Blood. But except for the Twelve Silver Bloodlines recognized by the Hall of Spirits, all the other so-called bloodline claims were just vanity stories made up by Bloodline Users to glorify themselves.”

“Then guess how the original Twelve Silver Bloodlines came to be?”

“Ordinary people with nothing?” Ion asked.

“Yes.” Raven nodded, a fanatical light flashing in his eyes. “Among the Bloodline Nobles, there is a saying: ‘Twelve rotate, only gold endures.’ It means the Twelve Silver Bloodlines can be replaced, but the Eight Golden Bloodlines have never been replaced.”

“Then what about the Four Extremes?”

“The Four Extremes aren’t necessarily much stronger than the Golden Bloodlines. They’re about equal. The difference is, the Eight Golden Bloodlines have a continuous lineage. Many existing bloodlines today can trace their origins directly to those eight. But the Four Extremes Bloodlines are an exception. These are the noblest bloodlines all Bloodline Users aspire to obtain—at the very least, on par with the Golden Bloodlines.”

At this point, Raven suddenly asked, “Do you know why all Bloodline Users strive to keep advancing and seek the Bloodline Imprint?”

Ion shook his head.

“You’re fifty this year, right?”

“Fifty-two,” Ion glanced at Raven and then slowly replied. “Aren’t you almost there too?”

“Yeah, I’m over fifty as well.” Raven gave a bitter smile. “But have you realized that although we’re both over fifty, people easily forget our age?”

Hearing this, Ion suddenly realized that he hadn’t changed in appearance over the past few years—still looking like a middle-aged man. Many people subconsciously overlooked the fact that he was over fifty.

“Bloodline Users…”

“You’re getting old, and you’ve lost an arm. You can’t even reach Third Tier anymore.” Raven shook his head. “I’m only two years younger than you, but I’m already ready—just missing the final main component to advance to Third Tier. And then I’ll have another fifteen years.”

“Fifteen years of what?”

Ion suddenly realized this might be the key to high-tier Bloodline User advancement.

It was just that their family’s status had always been too low. Baron Ster died too early, and Baroness Anna hadn’t studied these things much due to her low aptitude. So they always subconsciously ignored the hierarchy among Bloodline Users.

“At fifty, one’s blood vitality starts to decline. But if you can advance to Third Tier before then, you’ll gain ten to fifteen years of stable vitality. It’s a little-known trick among Bloodline Users.” Raven spoke seriously. “If you manage to advance to Fourth Tier during that period and your vitality transforms, your blood energy won’t decline until age one hundred.”

“One hundred!?” Ion exclaimed in shock.

The longest-lived person he had ever known had only reached seventy. Most people died around fifty. And mercenaries like them rarely made it to forty because no one could predict what kind of commission tomorrow would bring.

Ion, now living to fifty-two and having seen his two grandsons, already felt satisfied.

Moreover, ever since he lost one arm, he truly felt his strength waning. He often felt cold, which made him realize he was indeed growing old.

It was precisely because of this that he had so desperately sought Raven over the past year.

“A Fourth-Tier Bloodline User, as long as they aren’t killed in battle or crippled, can easily live to one hundred,” Raven said quietly. “And a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User can live to two hundred! That’s why so many strive to reach Sixth Tier. Gaining a Bloodline Imprint is only one benefit—the real one is that barring irreversible injuries, you can live to two hundred.”

“That’s also why the older a Bloodline Noble lineage, the more terrifying their strength and heritage.”

“A Bloodline User who activates their imprint passes it to their descendants. Even if not all descendants have outstanding aptitude, as long as one talented heir is born and doesn’t die young, the family can continue to thrive. Even if the child is a fool, the family can remain stable for over a hundred years.”

“You may have no more hope, but your children still do.”

“Especially Akar, who inherited the Bourbon Family’s bloodline. He has remarkable talent and is close to Third Tier now, right? He’s still young. His chances of reaching Sixth Tier are very high! Don’t you want your clan to leave its name in this world?”

Ion looked at Raven calmly, which made Raven feel slightly confused.

He didn’t understand why Ion remained so indifferent to all this.

He had said all of this to move Ion and drag him into this together. But Ion’s reaction was far beyond his expectations. He even wondered if Ion hadn’t understood what a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User meant.

But in truth, Ion understood it even more clearly than Raven did.

Because he had already seen how Count Shuvaric and Marquis Visen acted.

And he also knew, better than anyone, that for Yam and Akar, Third Tier was already the limit—and that was only because of the Demonic Sword.

The one who might have real potential was Cindy. After all, she could resonate with the Demonic Sword.

But Ion didn’t truly expect Cindy to become a Sixth-Tier Bloodline User. After all, neither Yam nor Lily were geniuses. In Ion’s view, if Cindy could reach Fourth Tier, that would be enough. From Fourth Tier onward, the Demonic Sword would no longer be of any help. So Ion’s hope for Cindy was that she could one day restore the Demonic Sword as much as possible, so that the next generation of their family could have higher expectations.

Because of these practical thoughts, Ion was not so easily tempted by Raven.

He only spoke calmly. “I don’t trust what you’re saying.”