Half an hour later, Little Vlad, who had been knocked out by Pei Yan's kick, slowly regained consciousness under Elder Lin's care. Amidst a series of whimpering moans, Elder Lin walked over to Pei Yan and whispered, "Next time, be more careful. Technically, she's the Child of Origin, and your kick shouldn't have hurt her too much. But her powers are currently restricted, and much of her vital blood is drawn into you. Coupled with Du Guangyuan's constant torment, she's weak. If you keep doing this, you won't get anything useful out of her."

"Understood, Elder Lin!" Pei Yan said, casting a glance at Little Vlad before asking, "How is she doing now?"

"A starved camel is bigger than a horse. After all, she's still the Child of Origin. Her foundation is there. I loosened her shackles a bit earlier, her self-healing abilities automatically activated, started healing her wounds, and with my assistance, her internal injuries are pretty much recovered. I've treated the wound on her eyes as well. Now that she's locked up again, you can continue the interrogation. Just remember not to be too harsh."

"Got it!" Pei Yan nodded, thanked Elder Lin, and took out a bottle of mineral water and a towel from his storage ring. After soaking the towel with the water, he approached Little Vlad and casually tossed them to her, saying coldly, "Stop whining! Your body won't fool me. Wipe the blood off your face with the towel and continue answering my questions."

As Pei Yan raised his hand, Little Vlad, already psychologically traumatized by his torture, shuddered. Seeing the towel thrown at her, she quickly picked it up and obediently wiped her face, finally looking somewhat human. Holding the towel, she curled up in the corner and stared at Pei Yan with a trembling voice, "I told you everything, yet you still hit me!"

Seeing her grievance-stricken, teary-eyed look, Pei Yan felt both annoyed and amused. He calmed himself, sat in the chair, took a deep breath, and forced a smile to comfort her, "Keep answering the questions. I'll control my emotions and try not to hit you."

"What else do you want to know?"

"Why didn't you kill all of us, but chose to curse Ye Jiumu while letting the rest of us go? With your overwhelming power at the time, even if reinforcement arrived, you could have finished your task and retreated. Why didn't you do it?" Before Pei Yan could speak, Xia Yu quickly asked.

Upon hearing this question, Pei Yan turned his head to look at Xia Yu, noticing her face flushed red with emotions, and Zheng Jia Ru next to her had the same reaction. Compared to him, they witnessed their friends' sacrifice firsthand, leaving them with deeper psychological scars. This issue seemed to have become a severe mental burden for them.

With a sigh, Pei Yan turned back to Little Vlad, who was hesitantly looking at him, unsure whether to answer or not, afraid that an honest response might lead to another round of beatings.

"Be honest! Just tell the truth! Hurry up!" Pei Yan impatiently scolded.

"To spread our name! Leaving you alive is to spread the Vlad Clan's fame across the Superpower Realm. That giant's death was to establish reputation, and the horrifying fate of the cursed ones later is to threaten others. By using the mouths of insignificant witnesses like you to propagate the consequences of provoking the Vlad Clan, this is our family's usual practice."

"Hehe, well done. We survived because the enemy underestimated us. When the flames of our squad's vengeance reach your family, you'll regret your actions. I promise, we'll show you what real intimidation is! The person sitting before you has done this many times, and he's very skilled at it!" Xia Yu, with eyes blazing, finished speaking and walked out of the basement into the corridor. If unnecessary, she never wanted to share a room with this detestable person again.

Embarrassed after Xia Yu's remarks, Pei Yan rubbed his nose and self-mockingly said, "They make me sound like an executioner. Well, executioner it is, then."

Finishing his words, he looked up at Little Vlad to pursue further, "The Blood Curse, do you have a way to lift it?"

This question caught everyone in the room's full attention, including Xia Yu, who had just left and now leaned by the door, eager to hear a definitive answer. Saving Ye Jiumu was the team's highest priority alongside combating the bloodshed.

"Blood Curse? Who's cursed?" Little Vlad asked, confused.

"Don't play dumb!" Zheng Jia Ru stepped forward, intending to hit, scolding, "Your father hurt our companion, who do you think is cursed."

"You mean your 'Ye Jiumu'? He's still alive? Impossible!"

Seeing Little Vlad first puzzled then adamantly shaken, Pei Yan thought she wasn't faking it and asked, "Didn't your professor ever tell you? Ye Jiumu isn't dead; he's alive. It was your professor's avatar, along with several other origin entities, that performed a time seal on him. They locked time's impact on him, delaying the Blood Curse's onset."

"This happened?" Little Vlad knew Pei Yan wouldn't lie about this matter, hung her head and muttered.

"So I'm asking, do you know of any way to lift the Blood Curse?"

"No," Little Vlad answered bluntly. Then, seeing the displeased expressions of those in front of her, hurriedly explained, "That's my father's Blood Curse, I have no ability to lift it. Every Blood Race's Blood Curse is their unique secret, different for everyone. To break it needs one of two possibilities: first, the curser removes it himself; second, a superior from the Blood Race, whose power vastly exceeds the curser, may force its removal. Do you think I'm stronger than my father?"

Afraid of disbelief from Pei Yan and others, pointing at Du Guangyuan on the side, she said, "Isn't he your Blood Race expert? He knows these things. Ask him if you don't believe me!"

Du Guangyuan, seeing Pei Yan turn to him, nodded in confirmation, signaling Little Vlad spoke correctly. This conclusion Pei Yan had anticipated beforehand, yet hearing it still left him dejected. After a long sigh, he pressed, "You are already the Child of Origin, your strength vastly exceeds peers. Even ordinary Tier Nine Cultivators are no match for you. Do you still think your strength is inferior to your father's?"

Hearing this from Pei Yan, Little Vlad bitterly smiled, "Your thinking is misguided. In the Blood Race, strength indeed can enhance status, but we are more concerned with bloodline. The length and depth of bloodline development determines our personal power limit. Just based on this point alone, I and my father aren't even in the same dimension. The gap between us is too vast."