Chapter 49: First battle

The names were jumbled up together and after a while came out as one pair of names listed one after the other with a line connecting them.

"This is the current match-up, so enter the arena accordingly. We will start the fight from the left."

The host called out two vampires who were at the early stage baron level. Two of them entered the arena and stood in front of each other.

"Are you two ready, or does someone need a little time to warm up?" The host asked.

"No, I'm ready." Said the first vampire.

"Me too." The other one said.

"Very well then. Let's commence the very first match of the tournament. The circle at the center will glow three times and the runes will get activated. So you can start fighting after the third glow."

Both of them didn't respond and stared daggers into each other. They flared up their blood-qi and waited for the signal.

The vampire who cast the blood ritual on the arena used his hands to activate the circle. The circle glowed red for a while then faded. Then the second time it was quicker. The two vampire's eyes were locked in on the circle.

At the third glow, both of them dashed forward and clashed in the middle.

The fight was very intense as both sides were evenly matched with equal strength. Both of them were at baron level and used their full strength to suppress each other. 

Keith paid attention to the fight and analyzed their fighting patterns. Even though they were weaker than him in terms of raw strength, their fighting style was unique and the martial arts used looked refined.

They didn't use any advanced blood-qi techniques but their martial arts were not inferior. Even without blood-qi techniques, they displayed great strength. 

One thing Keith noticed was that both of them were decades older than him, which meant they stayed at the baron level for so many years. Still, their martial art reached its peak and their moves showed elegance.

'They don't have access to the same blood-qi techniques as the family leaders. All they can do is practice the martial arts they are given. The common vampires are in a position where they don't even know the existence of blood-qi techniques. 

The innate blood-qi is only what they can cultivate.