The Invitation for the Chosen was a treasure that Qin Ming absolutely had to use.
After all, if he wanted to make it in the Nightmare Space, then gaining the status of a Chosen was essential.
However, he wasn't in a rush to use it right away—because he had something important to handle first: strengthening the forces on his side.
His own combat power didn't need any boosting—and honestly, Qin Ming didn't dare enhance it recklessly anymore. He was worried he might end up blowing himself up.
After returning, he had sought out advice from the top-tier adventurer Sun God, and only then did he realize how risky his previous actions had been.
Apparently, once you chose an undying-type bloodline like his, it was a do-or-die situation. Either it succeeded, or you exploded on the spot. There wasn't even a chance of barely surviving a failed fusion. After learning that, Qin Ming wasn't about to keep gambling with upgrades.
Instead, his focus was now on strengthening his underlings—to be precise, his summoned creatures.
Kasamoto Eiri had already fused with the Demon Sword and had received a significant power boost, so there was no urgent need to enhance her further.
What really needed upgrading now was his other group of summons—the fighters from the King of Fighters manual!
And how would he power them up? Simple! Don't forget—Qin Ming was now a vampire! A noble Vampire Marquis!
And the vampire bloodline… could create bloodkin by consuming vital blood!
The process, however, was extremely taxing on the body. Once vital blood was consumed, it would take a very long time to regenerate—and the Nightmare Space wouldn't help you recover it.
But after a round of testing, Qin Ming quickly found a way to replenish his vital blood: the Dreamwater from Dream Island!
By absorbing this Dreamwater, he could rapidly regenerate the vital blood he spent.
And with that, he could start churning out vampire minions one after another.
At the higher ranks, he could create Vampire Counts; at the lower ones, Viscounts and Barons. Even weaker than those were the blood thralls—vampiric cannon fodder used as walking blood banks.
Of course, Qin Ming had no intention of creating blood thralls—they were completely useless.
What kind of dignified vampire fears garlic, fire, or even sunlight? That was just embarrassing!
Even the lowest-level vampire nobles, the Blood Barons, were only afraid of silver and couldn't transform into blood mist—that was it.
And unless their Blood Core, hidden near their heart, was destroyed, they wouldn't die.
But those blood thralls? They had no special powers at all. The only thing going for them was being slightly stronger than normal humans and living longer. That was literally it.
And they had a bunch of extra weaknesses on top of that.
Seriously, it was better to just stay human than to become one of those!
To be fair, the blood thralls' weakness was understandable. They weren't true vampires to begin with. They were just humans with high-quality blood who had been injected with a small trace of vital blood—just enough to keep them from aging or rotting. That was all.
Basically, they were mobile food storage. And you don't expect your food to have superpowers.
Qin Ming began by activating the King of Fighters Manual, calling out his contracted characters one by one to talk with them and see who was willing to receive his "First Embrace."
Then he activated the Holy Fork and the satellite phone, summoning more underlings for a little chat about life and ideals.
Faced with the temptation of a vampire's power, almost 99% of people couldn't resist. Fighters were no exception.
Even putting everything else aside, just the promise of eternal youth and immortality was enough to make anyone's heart waver.
Qin Ming's vampire expansion project kept him busy for a full month before it finally wound down.
Once he confirmed that his underlings had experienced a massive boost in power—and more importantly, that his supply of Dreamwater was running low—Qin Ming finally nodded in satisfaction.
Under the watchful gazes of a large crowd of female fighters, Qin Ming solemnly took out the Invitation for the Chosen and activated it on the spot.
As a portal of light rapidly formed before him, Qin Ming took a deep breath, slung the greatsword on his back, and stepped into it.
.....
Behind him, the female fighters began whispering among themselves, speculating on who would be summoned this time.
As Qin Ming passed through the portal, his vision blurred for a moment—and when it cleared, he found himself standing in the middle of a town.
Before he could even take a good look at his surroundings, a sharp system alert suddenly rang out—louder than usual this time.
[Ding! Congratulations to Participant #441985 for activating the Invitation for the Chosen! This world is a special instance!]
[This world is: The Journey to the West: Legend of the Demons]
[Mission Difficulty: S-Class]
[Number of Participants: 5]
[Main Mission Objective: Personally kill a key character or main protagonist from the storyline.]
[Reward for Mission Completion: Official Chosen status]
[Penalty for Mission Failure: This Chosen slot will be voided]
[World Summary: White Dragon Horse! Galloping West... cough! Remember—Journey to the West has deep waters! And it's full of big shots!]
Hearing the system notification in his ear, Qin Ming's eyes widened instantly, and his face twisted into a look of utter disbelief.
What the hell? S-class difficulty? What kind of cursed world is this?!
The highest difficulty he'd faced before was only A-class!
And now this world was The Journey to the West: Legend of the Demons? The arcade game version of Journey to the West?
Didn't that mean… he might actually run into the legendary Sun Wukong?!
If this had been before, Qin Ming would've been absolutely thrilled to meet the Monkey King—after all, that was his childhood hero.
But things were different now. Now he was a vampire, and Sun Wukong had Fiery Golden Eyes that could see through all illusions.
If Wukong took even a casual glance at him—good grief! He'd instantly recognize him as a clump of corrupted blood that gained sentience! Wouldn't he just smash him on sight?!
Just like those poor fox spirits in the stories, thinking a chance meeting meant destiny, only to get whacked the moment they made eye contact.
Dammit! This time, it won't be White Bone Demon who gets beaten three times—it's gonna be me, isn't it?!
The thought that he, with his very suspicious identity, might have to fight the legendary Monkey King made Qin Ming break out in cold sweat.
After all, Sun Wukong's reputation was terrifying.
Realizing things might go very wrong, Qin Ming immediately checked his assigned identity in this world. Maybe his title would give him some sort of special status?
Something like a heavenly soldier or minor deity? The Heavenly Court had a bunch of lesser monsters working under it—maybe he'd lucked into that kind of role.
If that were the case, then everything would be fine.
Unfortunately, life rarely goes the way you want. After reviewing his status, Qin Ming's face dropped on the spot.
Because it turned out that his starting identity this time… wasn't a deity. And thankfully, it wasn't a villain either.
No—he was something even worse: a wild roadside god. The kind of "local spirit" worshipped spontaneously by villagers without any divine recognition or heavenly registration.
That was the polite version. The less flattering truth? He was just a monster pretending to be a deity to steal incense offerings.
And his name? Absolutely outrageous—Blood God Ancestor.
Good grief! That name alone didn't sound like anything remotely righteous. It sounded more like some unholy spirit demanding child sacrifices or else he'd unleash calamity on the land!
What if he was some distant cousin of that Spirit King in Tongtian River? That guy got whacked by Sun Wukong too!
Just great! Now the odds of Monkey King beating him to death had gone up again!
(End of Chapter)