NOVEL WEB vol. 1 chapter 1 - Defeated and Captured
Under a blood-red sunset.
Hundreds of high-ranking vampires had surrounded Chu Zhao in a tight encirclement.
Above them, three vampire princes hovered mid-air, their silver hair cascading like snow, crimson eyes glowing like fresh blood.
“Chu Zhao,” murmured Catherine, her voice husky and languid, the hem of her dark red dress fluttering in the breeze.
“Why resist? Become mine… and enjoy eternal life. Isn’t that better?”
She licked the corner of her lips, her smile indulgent. “I’ll take good care of you.”
At her side, a youthful vampire princess toyed with a blood-colored folding fan, while a loli-sized princess tilted her head with a smile both innocent and cruel.
Chu Zhao sneered, the thunderblade in his hand buzzing violently, arcs of lightning leaping from its edge.
Without hesitation, he summoned his system panel:
【Remaining Temporary Lifespan: 1000 Years】
“Infuse it — Eternal Thunder Emperor Technique!”
In an instant, thunder erupted from within his body, radiant lightning veins glowing across his skin.
The cultivation art surged to its peak.
【Evolution Complete: Tier-9 Martial Emperor Body Refinement Art — Imperishable Thunderform (Initial Mastery)】
“Boom—!”
The sky darkened. Thunderclouds churned.
Chu Zhao’s black hair whipped wildly, his entire body wreathed in devastating lightning. The pressure he released surged outward like a tsunami.
The vampires’ expressions changed dramatically—even the three princes stepped back slightly.
“A seventeen-year-old Martial Emperor…” Catherine’s crimson pupils narrowed, then trembled with delight.
“Perfect! Only someone like you is worthy of being my blood slave!”
But Chu Zhao only closed his /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ eyes and murmured:
“Too late…”
If he had broken through a year earlier… perhaps he could have stopped the vampire invasion. Perhaps those cities wouldn’t have fallen.
But now, only one path remained.
“This strike… is for Blue Star!”
He raised his thunderblade, igniting both his true energy and his life force.
A blinding arc of sword light split the night sky, cleaving straight toward the interdimensional portal.
“Crack—!”
The shattering of the portal echoed through heaven and earth, spatial rifts spreading like spiderwebs.
Panic finally appeared on the vampires’ faces. Even the three princes paused, stunned—
One human… had destroyed a portal stable for a thousand years!
“How curious,” Catherine murmured, touching her bloodstained lips with a fingertip. “A human… reaching such heights.”
The fan-wielding princess tapped out a rhythm on her palm. “Looks like we underestimated Blue Star cultivators.”
The loli princess tilted her head, watching Chu Zhao’s staggering figure through crimson eyes.
“No going back now~”
Her voice was tinged with teasing delight.
“To sever the portal… you cut off your own return too, didn’t you?”
Chu Zhao froze. Then a bitter smile tugged at his bloodied lips.
He looked toward the collapsing spatial rift. Beyond it… once lay his familiar blue planet.
Now, it was a fading illusion, forever out of reach.
In that dazed moment, pain exploded at his throat.
Catherine’s thorned whip had coiled around his neck, barbs digging into his flesh. Blood ran down his collarbone.
“You think this is the end?” Her voice whispered beside his ear. “Oh no. The game’s just beginning.”
Chu Zhao struggled—but his limbs had gone limp.
Only now did he realize… even as a Martial Emperor, he was still no match for the three vampire royals.
Catherine’s whip coiled tighter, dragging him into her embrace.
“Death… is nothing,” Chu Zhao rasped, blood at his lips.
But Catherine just chuckled. Her icy fingers traced his cheek. “Is that what you think?”
Her crimson eyes glowed with dangerous light.
“Then I’m afraid… I’ll have to disappoint you~”
Voices echoed faintly as Chu Zhao drifted in unconsciousness.
“My turn,” the fan-wielding princess snapped her fan shut, pointing at him. “You got the last prey, remember?”
“No fair! I want to play too!” the loli princess puffed her cheeks, her tiny shoes kicking up dust. “He smells… so sweet.”
Catherine lifted Chu Zhao’s unconscious body with one hand, her voice cold:
“He’s mine.”
She lowered her head, inhaling the scent at his neck. Her fangs gleamed faintly beneath her lips.
“This scent alone… is utterly addictive.”
The other two princesses frowned slightly.
The fan-wielding one touched her lips with her folded fan. “You're not planning to keep him all to yourself, are you?”
“And if I am?” Catherine's aura flared. Blood-colored roses bloomed in midair. “Do you want to test me?”
The air thickened instantly.
A moment passed. The loli princess pouted. “So stingy…”
Among the three, Catherine was undeniably the strongest.
As Chu Zhao’s consciousness slipped into complete darkness, the last thing he heard was Catherine’s whisper at his ear:
“We’re going to have so much fun… little one.”
****
Floating in a void. Time lost meaning.
Suddenly—an icy chill jolted Chu Zhao awake.
“Ngh…!”
His eyes snapped open to flickering candlelight and dark red curtains overhead.
His body felt drained, like every ounce of strength had been siphoned away. Even lifting a hand was a struggle.
“I'm… alive?”
He pinched his thigh. The sharp pain confirmed it—he wasn’t dreaming.
Memories crashed back in waves:
Blue Star. His sister in Magic City. His comrades awaiting his triumphant return. And that hopeless final battle.
The last thing he remembered was the three vampire princesses arguing over his fate.
“I have to escape…”
Gritting his teeth, he forced himself up—but the clink of chains rang out from his limbs.
He looked down. His wrists and ankles were bound in shackles etched with glowing runes—clearly meant to suppress a Martial Emperor’s power.
“Awake already?” came a lazy voice from the shadows.
Catherine Lilith stepped into the light, her dark red gown brushing the cold stone floor, a blood-colored rose twirling between her fingers.
She leaned down, crimson eyes locking with his, her smile playful:
“Welcome to Twilight Forest—my castle.”
Chu Zhao glared at her silently.
“No need to be so tense~” Catherine chuckled, her finger tracing his jaw.
“I just want to offer you a choice: become my thrall, and you’ll gain eternity.”
She tilted her head. “Humans, even Martial Emperors, live what—barely a thousand years?”
“But we bloodkin… we have forever.”
“Filthy vampire!” Chu Zhao turned his face away, rage blazing in his eyes. “You think I’d become a monster like you? Never!”
Catherine wasn’t offended—instead, she smiled wider.
“So defiant. I like that.”
She straightened, looking down at him from above.
“No matter. I’ve got time… I’ll tame you.”
On the surface, Chu Zhao’s eyes burned with fury.
But inside, he was calculating—fast.
The system was still there.
If he could kill Catherine… he could seize her lifespan—thousands of years.
With that, he could push his Imperishable Thunderform to full mastery—maybe even perfection.
Then, not even vampire royalty could stop his blade.
He focused, quietly stirring the remnants of his true energy.
Though bound by shackles, faint lightning still pulsed beneath his skin.
Catherine didn’t seem to notice. She turned with practiced elegance, heading for the door.
Now.
In a flash, Chu Zhao surged up, lightning erupting from his limbs as the chains cracked and sparked.
His palm flashed with thunder—a Thunder Palm shot straight at Catherine’s chest.
“Boom!”
The blast shaved past her hair, reducing a stone pillar behind her to rubble.
But the vampire princess was gone.
She reappeared three steps away, like a ghost, eyes gleaming with surprise—and delight.
“Oh my, little one’s still got some fight in him.”
She brushed singed strands of hair aside, dark red magic already knitting the damage.
“Still resisting, hmm?”
She licked her lips. From her sleeve, a thorned whip snapped forth, coiling around Chu Zhao’s still-glowing arm.
“I underestimated you.”
The whip tightened. Magic surged like venom, attacking the lightning coursing beneath his skin.
Catherine appeared in front of him in an instant, seizing him by the throat. Her fangs glinted behind parted lips.
“Looks like I’ll need to cut off your hope… at the root.”
She examined his face, then frowned slightly.
“Handsome, I suppose…” Her gloved hand traced his brow.
“But not my type.”
“You—!” Chu Zhao began to curse—but then her lips parted, and her fangs extended.
“Every noble bloodkin has a right: the First Embrace,” she said, finger trailing down his racing pulse.
“And I’ll use mine on you, little one… because…”
Her breath tickled his ear, warm and soft.
“We’re going to be together for a very… long… time.”
Chu Zhao’s eyes widened in horror.
He had heard the stories—vampires’ First Embrace reshaped the victim to suit their desires.
“Don’t you dare—!” he roared, struggling as the broken chains clattered.
But—
“Ah—!”
Pain exploded as her fangs pierced his throat. The world went white.