Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 299: Morning Hunger, Morning Plans

When Jamie opened his eyes, two things immediately entered his field of vision.

First was the golden morning light filtering through the windows directly opposite the bed. The second—and far more important—was the head of silver-purple hair resting against his chest.

Deciding the first was entirely irrelevant, he focused on the second instead.

Reaching out with his left hand, he ran his fingers through her soft hair. The light motion stirred her awake, and she slowly pushed herself up, blinking groggily as she stared at him, still caught in the haze of sleep.

Jamie offered a lazy smile.

"Good morning, Mira."

She blinked again, then shook her head as if trying to dispel her drowsiness. A second later, she pressed the heel of her palm to the side of her head and tapped it lightly.

Immediately, her body seemed to reset—her drowsiness vanished, her posture straightened, and whatever self-imposed limitations she had placed on her stamina were gone in an instant.

Her hunger, however, remained.

Without hesitation, Miranda leaned forward and sank her fangs into Jamie’s neck.

Jamie simply rested a hand on her head, letting her drink her fill. Miranda had been restraining her craving for his blood ever since he awakened last year, but now that he had recovered to the High Tier Deity level, that restraint had vanished—she knew she wouldn’t weaken him even if she indulged a little more.

He let out a light yawn, stretching slightly as Miranda continued feeding.

Only when she heard the sound of his yawn did she finally pull away, her trance broken. A drop of blood lingered on her lips, slipping down onto his chest.

But before it could even settle, the blood reversed its course, flowing back into the small puncture wounds on his neck as they sealed shut in an instant.

Due to her position and the way she was sitting over him—practically straddling him—Jamie had an unobstructed view of her bare body. His gaze lazily trailed from top to bottom before he spoke.

"You wanna go another round?"

Miranda, who had been stretching the sleep out of her limbs, finally responded with a flick to his forehead.

"Didn’t you get enough last night, you horndog?"

Jamie just shrugged.

"I can never get enough of you, so no, I didn’t."

Miranda didn’t seem particularly moved by the words, which might have had any other woman swooning. Instead, she simply stood up, grabbed a nearby bathrobe, and slipped it on.

Jamie sat up as well, his eyes shifting to the clock on the wall.

’8 a.m.? Earlier than I thought.’

His thoughts drifted back to the previous night as his eyes lingered on the clock.

The impromptu fashion show had stretched on for quite a while, with Miranda, Rowena, Davina, and Wanete fully engrossed in trying on different outfits.

Jamie, on the other hand, had grown tired of simply sitting back and watching. So, the moment the other three looked away, he took matters into his own hands—literally.

In an instant, he teleported behind Miranda, wrapped his arms around her waist, and whisked her away, vanishing from the room entirely. By the time Rowena turned back around, Jamie had effectively kidnapped Miranda to his bedroom.

One steamy night later, here they were, having a simple breakfast provided by the resort.

Today marked the start of the Summoners Grand Tournament Jamie had decided to enter.

According to the schedule, the tournament was divided into multiple divisions, each held on a different day.

Every division followed the same structure—knockout rounds, quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place matches, and the finals—all wrapped up in a single day.

As he debated which division to enter, his mind wandered to Glox, the Negative Life wielder he had encountered back in Clurg City on Estea last January.

At the time, Jamie had taken Glox’s original corpse, combined it with the bodies of several dead dragons, applied some biological law manipulation, with a little alchemy and morphogenesis to create an entirely new body for him.

That new form had been tested in battle against the space beast Irenot later that year.

Since then, Glox hadn’t been given much to do and Jamie figured it was about time to change that.

Since Glox’s current strength was that of a Transcendent, Jamie decided he’d throw him into the tournament’s Transcendent Division and see how things played out.

The thought crossed Jamie’s mind as he and Miranda’s breakfast were delivered by the resort staff. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

As they ate, their conversation drifted from idle chatter to more serious topics.

Miranda eventually brought up the Founding Festival of the Argent Empire, the grand event that would take place later in the year.

"You planning to show up this time?" she asked, setting down her cup of tea.

Jamie nodded. "Yeah, I’ll be there."

Last year, he’d been in a danger zone on Anadus Prime, focused on recovering his power to the peak of the Half Deity Realm.

But now? Now, he was in the High Tier Deity Realm, and by the time the festival rolled around, he expected to reach the Monarch Realm—the Realm of Race Emperors.

It had been far too long since he last set foot in Argent, his empire, and it was about time he made an appearance.

This was also part of the reason he’d been ordering dresses from Rowena for Miranda.

The Founding Festival wasn’t a one-day affair. It stretched across multiple days, with multiple parties attended by multiple dignitaries from other Intergalactic Forces.

Miranda would need different outfits for each occasion, and Rowena had been tasked with designing them.

Speaking of Rowena, her identity hadn’t been explicitly stated so far, but she was one of Jamie’s many disciples. In fact, she was part of his first generation of disciples—one of the very first people he’d taken under his wing.

He had picked her up when he was around 200 million years old. Back then, Rowena had been just a kid struggling to survive the endless war tearing apart her home planet.

Jamie, who had been passing through, had decided to watch the war purely for entertainment, and that was when he noticed her.

The young Rowena’s tenacity had caught his interest, and on a whim, he’d decided to take her in.

As for her race? Her crimson eyes were a dead giveaway—Rowena was a vampire. But she hadn’t always been one.

Originally, she was human.

Rowena had explicitly requested to become a vampire because she wanted to extend her lifespan—long enough to reach a level of power where her longevity would be virtually infinite.

Apparently, she didn’t think she could achieve that as a human. Jamie had obliged her request without much thought, and the transformation had taken place a long time ago.

Despite the weaknesses that came with being a vampire, Rowena never once regretted her decision. In her eyes, the benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.

Now, over 800 million years later, Rowena had held every Race Ruler title there was and had long since surpassed the peak of the universe, taking several steps beyond it.

At this point, it was no exaggeration to call her one of the powerhouses of the Zanerth Universe.

But that was a story for another time.

Jamie and Miranda finished their breakfast and their conversation, their idle chatter eventually winding down.

Miranda had a packed schedule and had to leave soon. Overseeing the Argent Empire, managing the Orilan Realm, and dealing with several ongoing matters regarding the giants kept her occupied.

The situation with Eldros and the giants from last year still wasn’t fully resolved. There were loose ends to tie up, and Miranda was seriously considering replacing Eldros altogether.

If things continued on their current path, she might move forward with selecting a different giant from another planet to assume the role of Universe Master.

This was exactly what the Giant Race’s powerhouses were striving to prevent, as having the Universe Master replaced during their tenure would be a major stain on their race’s reputation.

These constant back-and-forths between both sides were gradually wearing down Miranda’s patience. The Giants just didn’t realise it...yet.

After finishing their meal and lingering for just a bit longer, Miranda bid Jamie a temporary farewell and returned to Argent.

Jamie, on the other hand, headed straight for Elytherion, the capital city of the planet, and the location where the tournament would be held.

◇　◇　◇

Elytherion was a city bursting with life, filled with millions of people from various races and walks of life.

The city buzzed with even more energy due to the Grand Summoners Tournament, as waves of people poured in daily—spectators, competitors, merchants, and the occasional noble entourage.

The Summoners Grand Tournament was a spectacle that gathered the strongest and most talented summoners of this world.

Word was spreading fast that the Planet Lord was coming to watch all the Tournament Divisions, including the Transcendent Division taking place today.

Jamie, however, couldn’t care less about all that.