Chapter 269: Level Four Dragon's Blood

Chapter 269: Level Four Dragon's Blood

Eternal Day Merit Points: 146!

Ji Xinghuo checked his merit points and a smile spread across his face. He had earned 141 points from this battle, more than he had anticipated.

The horde of monsters they had gathered earlier must have numbered in the tens of thousands.

Only a small portion of them had been killed by his own hands; most of his merit points came from the Ionic Storm he had unleashed, instantly clearing the area of monsters and earning him the recognition of the Eternal Day badge. The rest of the monsters had perished under the relentless bombardment of the laser cannons.

But he was more than satisfied.

From the initial gathering of the monsters, which had created quite a ruckus and attracted even more creatures, to the final onslaught that wiped them out, nearly three hours had passed. This was a daytime-only activity, as the daylight hours on Abyssal Star lasted only seven and a half hours, allowing for a maximum of two such gatherings per day.

"Twice is enough," Ji Xinghuo mused.

Based on today's yield, two gatherings a day would net him over 20,000 units of Spiritual Source Energy and nearly 300 Eternal Day merit points.

Of course, that was assuming no unexpected events occurred, but Ji Xinghuo had a nagging feeling that things might not always go so smoothly.

He glanced up at the sky; it was still early.

The countless monsters had been reduced to ashes by the laser cannons, leaving behind little in the way of corpses to search through. Naturally, there were no exotic beasts among them, and Ji Xinghuo didn't waste time looking. Without even pausing to rest, he oriented himself and set off in search of his next target.

The surrounding area had been mostly cleared of monsters.

Thus, Ji Xinghuo ventured into a neighboring region, also ranked as a Level One danger zone.

He had no desire to venture into higher-level areas for the time being. Regardless of the type of monster, he gained one unit of Spiritual Source Energy from each kill, so there was no need to take unnecessary risks.

As he traveled, his Stellar Power gradually recovered to its peak state.

Over an hour later...

Ji Xinghuo stumbled upon a group of Thorn Viper Snakes. They lay on the ground like fallen deadwood, camouflaged by the surrounding grass and bushes. These vicious plant-snakes possessed high growth potential; even the smallest ones were three or four meters long, and they could easily grow to over ten meters in length. Their bodies were as thick as tree trunks, devoid of scales but covered in countless sharp wooden thorns, and their fangs carried a deadly poison. They were extremely dangerous.

Their numbers were even denser than those of the Sawtooth Mantises, with over two hundred snakes in this single nest.

Ji Xinghuo pulled up the satellite map and planned his route for gathering the monsters, then moved closer to the snakes and opened fire, shooting down several of them.

The gunfire echoed through the forest, immediately alerting the snake horde.

The snakes began to slither towards him rapidly.

As hundreds of giant snakes surrounded him, the very trees seemed to shake, creating an oppressive and chilling atmosphere.

Ji Xinghuo quickly took off running, maintaining a safe distance from the creatures while occasionally turning to fire a few shots.

He led the pursuing snakes on a wild chase through the forest, soon stumbling upon another group of Sawtooth Mantises. He repeated his tactic, firing from a distance to attract the creatures' attention before changing direction and running in a circle, causing both groups of monsters to end up chasing him from behind. He continued on, seeking out more monsters.

Wolf Soul Wood, Sawtooth Mantises, Spiked Vine Balls, Swamp Crawlers, and more—all manner of monsters converged in pursuit.

The number of pursuing monsters grew, and the commotion they caused became ever more pronounced, drawing the attention of even more monsters from far away, who joined the growing army in pursuit.

After over two hours of this, the number of monsters had reached six to seven thousand.

Ji Xinghuo had wanted to gather an even larger horde, but the terrain of this mountainous region was rugged and complex, making the pursuit difficult. Some of the monsters gave up the chase, and he had to turn back and get closer to them to give them a chance to resume their pursuit.

Moreover, "Membrane Leaf Fleas" appeared in the sky.

These creatures resembled giant flea magnified a thousandfold, with two pairs of grass-like green membrane wings spanning over three meters. They had a pair of massive fangs on either side of their mouthparts, and their bodies emitted a poisonous gas. Though they didn't self-detonate like the Spore Bats, their sinister appearance made them even more threatening.

There weren't as many Membrane Leaf Fleas as there had been Spore Bats, perhaps a few hundred at most.

But they were faster fliers.

On several occasions, Ji Xinghuo found himself pursued by these creatures, forced to expend his Stellar Power to burst forward and create distance while shooting them down.

The presence of flying monsters increased the difficulty of gathering monsters by more than one level, and it was far more dangerous.

Ji Xinghuo didn't want to push his luck.

So, he lured this group of monsters toward the valley he had located through electromagnetic induction, and a fierce battle soon ensued.

He activated the Spirit Sword Ring, and sword lights crisscrossed as they slashed through the monsters.

Gunshots rang out continuously.

Then, he unleashed another Ionic Storm. As his Stellar Power reserves dwindled, Ji Xinghuo took to the air, and the orbital laser cannons above fired down massive crimson beams, bombarding the entire valley and turning the remaining monsters within into ashes.

Ji Xinghuo descended back into the ravaged valley.

Due to the narrow terrain, the monsters had had nowhere to flee, and the laser cannon's power had reflected back and forth within the valley, ensuring that almost every monster was slain.

He reaped a substantial harvest of Spiritual Source Energy and a substantial increase in his Eternal Day merit points.

"277 merit points!" Ji Xinghuo exclaimed to himself, feeling incredibly pleased and accomplished.

On the forum, many Eternal Day Guardians complained about the difficulty of earning merit points. The vast majority of players hunted monsters in teams, and the Eternal Day merit points had to be divided among teammates. It wasn't uncommon for players to spend an entire cold season risking their lives on Abyssal Star and still struggle to accumulate even 100 merit points.

Yet, here he was, on his second day on Abyssal Star, with 277 merit points already!

The difference in efficiency was like the gap between heaven and earth.

In the auction house of Eternal Day City, the treasures auctioned by the Crystal English Clan were dual-priced, accepting bids in both Aetherus Crystals and merit points. Whichever bid was higher, be it in crystals or points, would win the auction.

Ji Xinghuo didn't have a large number of Aetherus Crystals, but he could outbid his competitors using his Eternal Day merit points.

He performed some lightweight exercises and opened the interface of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil.

Spiritual Source Energy: 25,663

This was the total harvest from the past two days.

Today's second wave of monsters was smaller than the first, so the Spiritual Source Energy gained was also slightly less, totaling over 25,000 points.

Ji Xinghuo checked his ability information.

With this Spiritual Source Energy, he could upgrade several abilities.

Thousand Spirit Dexterity, Instant Step, Symbiotic Species, Thunderclap Hands, Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood, Stellar Power, and Hyper-Frequency Thought. Qinghong also had several abilities that could be upgraded. Before this, he had considered that if he had enough Spiritual Source Energy, he should prioritize upgrading Symbiotic Species or Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood.

Given the current situation on the Abyssal Star, he needed stronger endurance and a more robust Stellar Power.

Therefore, Ji Xinghuo was more inclined to upgrade Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood.

Upgrading Symbiotic Species by one level would allow him to share an ability from Qinghong. However, aside from Miniaturization and Gigantism, Qinghong's existing abilities didn't match his very well.

Shared abilities were random, and Ji Xinghuo wasn't confident about getting those two abilities.

Although there was Gene Reconstruction, one of the Starfall abilities, to be honest, he wasn't very interested in this ability. Gene Reconstruction required him to completely devour a biological entity, and what if the ability he wanted came from a massive creature? How would he be able to devour it whole? In the worst-case scenario, he might end up sharing "Spiritual Scent," which would be useless.

"It's better to play it safe."

After some thought, Ji Xinghuo decided to upgrade Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood first. He took a look at the current progress: Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood (Level 3: 2,120/7,639).

When he had advanced to a Super Evolver, the Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood had also been enhanced to some extent.

He would need just over 5,500 points of Spiritual Source Energy to upgrade it.

"Let's begin!"

Ji Xinghuo channeled his Spiritual Source Energy into the ability. Instantly, he felt the blood in his body begin to flow rapidly.

Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood comprehensively enhanced his physical attributes, most notably his strength.

Additionally, it granted him titanium-like hardened skin, greatly increased energy damage resistance, faster wound healing, and astonishing physical recovery. For Ji Xinghuo, Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood also amplified the effects of his Rotating Magnetic Field and Holy Scale Armor, resulting in a cumulative boost.

As his Dragon Blood reached Level 4, he once again experienced that unparalleled enhancement, clear and exhilarating.

The most noticeable improvement was in his strength.

When he invested over 5,000 points of Spiritual Source Energy, the Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood finally reached Level 4.

The enhancement didn't stop there. Ji Xinghuo felt his body transforming as the Holy Scale Armor activated on its own, generating thick golden, silver, and aquamarine scales on the surface of his body.

Within his body, the flow of blood quickened, resembling a boiling frenzy.

Ji Xinghuo's body emanated heat, and he felt as if he were about to explode. His eyes turned silver, exuding a terrifying mental aura, and his body grew slightly beyond his control, though not as exaggerated as the Bloodthirsty Frenzy or Gigantism.

Finally, after a few minutes, he adapted to this "frenzied" state, and with a mental shake, the interface of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil displayed the updated information.

Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood (Level 4: 1/44,449)



As expected, upon reaching Level 4, Ji Xinghuo immediately realized that he had awakened a new ability—one that accelerated the flow of his Dragon Blood, continuously consuming a large amount of Stellar Power to amplify his strength.

He raised his hand in front of him to observe, clenching and unclenching it gently.

"My strength has increased by about half. My bench press should exceed 75 tons now!"

The barbells in the shelter's cultivation room were too light for strength testing, and Ji Xinghuo thought to himself, "If I can make my blood boil, my strength will become even stronger. The effect should be similar to Bloodthirsty Frenzy, causing my strength to surge, at least doubling it!"

Moreover, entering this state of boiling Dragon Blood didn't show much difference in appearance, which could confuse his opponents.

His body would only increase in size slightly, but not noticeably.

Ji Xinghuo tried to calm his boiling blood and quickly cool it down, feeling no discomfort other than the consumption of Stellar Power.

"Excellent, none of the usual side effects of a frenzy."

This meant that he could activate it freely, considering only the consumption of Stellar Power.

Compared to the limitations of Bloodthirsty Frenzy, this Dragon Blood boiling provided a strength amplification that was in no way inferior and even held higher potential. The more Stellar Power he consumed, the greater the amplification of his strength.

Ji Xinghuo explored for a moment, grasping the application of Dragon Blood boiling, and after some thought, he decided to call it "Dragon Rage."

Level 4 Titanium-Cobalt Dragon's Blood had awakened Dragon Rage.

Furthermore, the progress of Holy Scale Armor increased significantly, providing stronger defense, wound healing, and physical recovery. Ji Xinghuo felt like he had an endless supply of energy, and even when facing a legendary giant, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage.

With over 20,000 points of Spiritual Source Energy remaining, Ji Xinghuo deliberated and ultimately chose to upgrade Symbiotic Species.

"Let's test my luck."

"Qinghong will gain more abilities in the future, and the probability of sharing the abilities I want will decrease. I might as well try it now."

He watched as the progress of Symbiotic Species skyrocketed, his heart filled with anticipation.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end