The Baboon Commander could scream all he wanted. Luo Zhen wasn't listening. Every ounce of his focus was turned inward, tracking the seismic shifts happening inside his own body.
The drop of essence blood had dissolved the moment it entered him, unleashing a ferocious power that surged through his veins. Just as he was reeling from the sensation, a familiar, disembodied voice echoed in his mind.
You have devoured the essence blood of the Blackwater Profound Snake.
Species Match Detected: Serpent Class. Bloodline Acquired: Profound Yin Bloodline.
Bloodline Compatibility Alert: Profound Yin and Teng Snake bloodlines are both ancient spirit-class serpent abilities. Synthesis available. Do you wish to combine them?
The rapid-fire notifications left Luo Zhen's head spinning.
An ancient spirit snake? My gamble actually paid off! he thought, a thrill shooting through him. The system made it sound like this new bloodline was every bit as potent as his own.
Even better, this meant he was on the verge of another evolution.
Synthesize Profound Yin and Teng Snake bloodlines?
"Do it," Luo Zhen confirmed without hesitation.
He'd done this before. His Poison Arrow technique was the result of fusing two lesser abilities, and the result was always greater than the sum of its parts. This was a no-brainer.
Synthesis in progress...
Success!
Congratulations. You have obtained the Flying Sky Serpent Bloodline.
The moment the voice faded, a blinding black light erupted from Luo Zhen's body.
Under the obsidian glare, two massive wings burst from his sides. He already had wings, so that part wasn't a shock. But these were different. His old wings were translucent and crystalline; these were pitch-black, radiating an intense, chilling aura of pure Yin energy.
Acting on instinct, Luo Zhen opened his mouth and exhaled.
Whoosh!
A bone-chilling wind ripped through the plaza. The temperature plunged, and in seconds, a thick layer of frost crept across the ground.
Ice powers? He was stunned for a second before a grin spread across his face. On top of water and fire, he now commanded a third element. This evolution was a serious upgrade.
Aside from that, though, nothing else seemed to have changed. He was the same size, his power level still at the same stage.
"You—you grew wings!" the Baboon Commander shrieked from across the square, his voice laced with venom. "You got all that from the essence blood? That was supposed to be for me! MINE!"
"Relax, genius. I already had wings," Luo Zhen scoffed, retracting the new black wings into his body with a thought.
He then became aware of a new stream of information flowing into his mind—memories and instincts from the Blackwater Profound Snake, along with data on his new form as a Flying Sky Serpent.
But just as he started to process it, a primal sense of danger screamed at him. He dodged instinctively.
SHING!
A razor-thin claw of white energy sliced through the air where he'd just been, catching the tip of his tail.
With a sickening rip, a three-foot section of his tail was severed. Blood poured from the wound. Shock and fury warred within him as he channeled his demonic energy to seal the injury, his head snapping toward the attacker.
The Baboon Commander stood panting, a faint white glow still fading from his claws. The attack had clearly come from him.
"Heh, you're fast, little snake," the commander sneered, his breath ragged. "Too bad. I was hoping to cut you in two."
Luo Zhen's blood ran cold. If not for the supernatural intuition that came with his spirit-class bloodline, he'd be dead. A split second slower, and that would have been it.
He studied the baboon carefully. The commander was clearly exhausted, practically on his last legs. That attack must have taken everything he had left. He wouldn't be able to pull off another one like that anytime soon.
A cold, predatory light gleamed in Luo Zhen's eyes.
Never let a good crisis go to waste.
He shot forward, closing the distance in a blur. Opening his jaws, he unleashed a torrent of power. A fireball the size of a small car erupted from his mouth and slammed into the Baboon Commander, exploding into a raging inferno that swallowed the beast whole.
"ARGHHH!"
The commander's screams were muffled by the flames as his fur and skin were instantly charred black.
A satisfied smile touched Luo Zhen's lips, but it vanished a moment later, replaced by disbelief.
The fire wasn't killing him.
Luo Zhen's demonic flames were scorching hot, and they were clearly causing the commander immense pain, but that's all they were doing. When the fire died down, the baboon, though blackened and smoking, was still very much alive.
Stunned, Luo Zhen blasted him again, engulfing him in an even bigger fireball. The result was the same. The commander was taking damage, but nothing critical.
Frustrated, Luo Zhen switched tactics, spitting high-pressure jets of water. They hammered against the baboon's body with the clang of metal striking metal.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
His skin was like steel plating. The water jets couldn't break through.
His body is insane! Luo Zhen thought, a knot of dread tightening in his stomach. He tried his poison arrows and his new ice abilities. Nothing worked. The Baboon Commander's physical defense was like a fortress.
"Haha! See the power of a true Demon Spirit!" the commander roared, laughing through his exhaustion. "Even with your fancy new bloodline, your power level is too low! You can't touch me!" he gloated. "Your little tricks can sting, but they can't hurt my core!"
Luo Zhen's face was grim. The baboon was right. He had thrown everything he had at him and hadn't made a dent. And this was while the commander was grievously wounded and could barely fight back.
If that baboon started to recover, Luo Zhen was screwed.
It was time to go.
As if reading his mind, the commander sneered. "That's right, run away, you worthless snake! You stole what was mine, and you dared to attack me! Just wait. Once I'm healed, I'll hunt you down, skin you alive, and grind your bones to dust!"
Luo Zhen's anger flared. He unleashed one last volley of fireballs, engulfing the baboon in flames one more time.
"I told you," the commander's hateful voice echoed from the inferno, "your fire can't kill me! Just you wait!"
"Maybe not," Luo Zhen called back coldly, watching the baboon burn. "But knowing I can make you suffer is good enough for now."
With a final, wary look, he turned and disappeared into the wilderness.
Luo Zhen flew until he found a secluded peak, far from the decaying mountain. He landed and immediately pulled up his status screen.
Name: Luo Zhen
Race: Serpent (Peak-Grade Mutated Spirit Species)
Species Name: Flying Sky Serpent
Innate Bloodline: Flying Sky Serpent Bloodline
Innate Abilities: Water, Fire, & Ice Magic; Flight
Other Abilities: Poison Arrow, Constrict
Passive Ability: Thick Scales
EXP: 1731/3000
Realm: Late-Stage Demon Origin
System Note: A chance for bloodline evolution may occur after each major realm breakthrough.
Peak-Grade Mutated Spirit Species? The description was new. He'd heard of Teng Snakes and Blackwater Snakes, but never a "Flying Sky Serpent." He was probably the first of his kind—a complete anomaly born from the fusion of two ancient bloodlines.
Well, if the system says it's 'peak-grade,' it must be stronger than either one on its own, he reasoned, dismissing the thought.
Curious, he opened his mouth and focused his new power.
Fwish!
A dozen razor-sharp blades of ice shot out, slamming into a nearby cliff face. They shattered on impact, carving a massive gash in the solid rock. The temperature around him plummeted, and a thick layer of frost instantly coated every tree and blade of grass for hundreds of feet around, turning the lush clearing into a frozen wasteland.
After playing with his new abilities until he had a solid handle on them, Luo Zhen settled down and began to absorb the memories inherited from the Blackwater Snake.
Time ticked by. An hour passed.
As more and more information flooded his mind, his expression shifted from calm curiosity to wide-eyed astonishment, and finally, to utter shock.
When he had finally processed it all, he was left breathless, a mix of awe and excitement churning within him.
"The Blackwater Snakes... their story is incredible," he whispered to the empty clearing. "And to think they came from that place. If I could get there... I might actually evolve into a true dragon."
The story, as he now understood it, began at Blackwater Lake, a massive body of water on the border of the Eastern Yue Kingdom, teeming with powerful demonic beasts and their rival factions. The Blackwater Snake's clan was once at the top of the food chain, a dominant force.
Then, two hundred years ago, a Silver Dragon, a Jiaolong, arrived at the lake after failing its final tribulation to achieve true dragonhood. Mortally wounded, it died soon after.
Its death sent the entire lake into a frenzy.
A dragon, even a failed one, was a sacred and unbelievably rare creature. Its body contained a trace of true dragon bloodline. Any beast that could claim its corpse and absorb that power would become unstoppable.
What followed was a century of brutal, bloody warfare. The factions of Blackwater Lake tore each other apart over the dragon's remains. Countless beasts died, entire clans were annihilated—including the Blackwater Snakes.
By the time the war ended, Luo Zhen's predecessor was one of the last of his kind and still just a juvenile. Though his clan had been shattered, they had managed to secure one of the spoils of the war: a "pass" that granted access to the dragon's body. No single faction had been strong enough to claim the prize outright, so they had sealed the corpse away. Every five years, when the seal weakened, those with a pass could enter and absorb a portion of the dragon's power.
But holding such a treasure while being so weak was a death sentence. The remaining factions turned on the weakened snake clan. The Blackwater Snake from the mountains had been the only one to escape the slaughter, carrying the pass with him—a single golden scale on his neck. He fled, wounded and broken, only to die alone on that decaying peak.
And now, Luo Zhen understood the bitter irony of it all.
"His entire family was wiped out chasing a dragon's power," he murmured, shaking his head. "He barely escapes, dies here, and then his own power becomes the prize for a bunch of brawling beasts. It's almost poetic."
The implications were staggering. "The Blackwater Snakes were an ancient spirit species, a powerful clan in their own right. If even they were destroyed, Blackwater Lake must be a slaughterhouse."
He flicked his tongue, a shiver of desire running through him. "Still... to get my hands on a dragon's bloodline..." The thought was intoxicating. It was the ultimate prize.
"But first, I'd need to be strong enough to survive there. And I'd need that pass."
The pass. The golden scale. It was still on the snake's corpse, which was currently being guarded by the last thing he wanted to face again: the Baboon Commander.
"Later," Luo Zhen decided. "First, I need to heal."
He spread his new wings and launched into the air, setting a course for the heart of the mountain range: Brightmoon Lake.
The lake was the epicenter of the mountains' spiritual energy, a place where priceless herbs and treasures grew. It was also the Baboon Commander's personal territory, a place no other beast dared to trespass.
But the commander was stuck in his cave, licking his wounds. His private stash was ripe for the picking.
It didn't take long to reach the lake. It was a serene, beautiful place, more of a large pond than a lake, surrounded by exotic plants. A large thatched hut stood on the shore, the air around it thick with the overwhelming scent of powerful medicinal herbs.
Luo Zhen slithered inside. Bunches of enormous, potent-smelling herbs hung from the rafters.
He didn't hesitate. His tongue shot out, snatching seven or eight of them and swallowing them whole.
Consumed 300-Year-Old Crimson Leaf. +160 EXP.
Consumed Low-Grade Spirit Herb: Purple-Vein Flower. +500 EXP.
Consumed Low-Grade Spirit Herb: Goldcrystal Fruit. +600 EXP.
Consumed...
His experience bar skyrocketed. In moments, a new notification popped up.
Experience threshold reached. Level up?
"Yes!"
A soft glow enveloped him. As the light pulsed, he felt his severed tail knit itself back together, good as new.
Breakthrough successful. Current Level: Late-Stage Demon Origin.
Feeling the surge of new power, Luo Zhen grinned and went back to his feast, devouring every last herb in the hut. After he'd refined them all, however, he was still short of the next level. Undeterred, he kept searching.
He soon found a wooden box filled with jars and pots. He uncorked one and was hit with the sweet, fermented scent of wine, laced with a complex herbal aroma.
Wine? He used his tail to tip the jar, pouring some into his mouth.
Consumed Monkey Wine. +67 EXP.
Monkey Wine! It was a legendary brew, made by high-level monkey beasts who were masters of fermentation and alchemy. The older and smarter the monkey, the more potent the wine. Given the baboon's power and the sheer EXP from a single sip, this stuff had to be loaded with spirit herbs.
This was a goldmine.
Luo Zhen began chugging, downing jar after jar.
Glug... glug... glug...
Consumed Monkey Wine. +480 EXP.
Consumed Monkey Wine. +480 EXP.
Consumed Monkey Wine. +480 EXP.
...
Experience threshold reached. Level up?
"Confirm!"
The light washed over him again.
Breakthrough successful!
Current Level: Late-Stage Demon Origin.
"Late-stage! Haha!" Luo Zhen laughed, the sound echoing in the empty hut. "This trip was more than worth it. A single jar of that wine is almost as good as a spirit herb!" He quickly circulated his demonic energy, forcing the potent alcohol out of his system before it could knock him out.
Sober and stronger than ever, he checked his stats again, a feeling of deep satisfaction washing over him. He'd gained more power in the last hour, raiding the baboon's pantry than he had in weeks of fighting for his life. It was a testament to his unique ability to devour and absorb energy. Any other beast would have exploded from consuming so much potent magic at once. For him, it was just fuel.
"That old baboon had quite the collection," he mused, continuing his search. But the hut was bare. He'd cleaned it out.
"Guess that's everything," he sighed. Then, a thought struck him, a detail from the old map he'd found.
Wait a minute.
This lake is the most energy-rich place in the mountains for a reason. The map said there's an Origin Stone Vein right next to it!