Chapter Twenty: Untitled

What Li Yang did not know was that ancient creatures were vastly different from those of the present day. The trait of evolution granted by the Perfect Blood did not extend to the mind. This was evident from William, the progenitor of werewolves: even an ordinary wolf was enough to drive its infected into madness, let alone the far more savage and brutal ancient beasts.

Through Li Yang’s alchemy, the ferocity embedded in the six-winged golden centipede’s cells was mostly absorbed by himself. Therefore, the genetic makeup of the golden centipede cells within him was relatively pure, and the spiritual essence within these cells was centered on him, no longer governed by the original instincts of the six-winged golden centipede.

This explained the primary reason for the failure of the Golden Toad serum.

...

Two hours later, the sky outside was beginning to lighten.

“Oh... what a perfect creation!”

“My god... they are incredibly strong.”

“Their eyes are so clear. I believe it’s because the violent factors in their bloodline have been removed...”

“...”

Three transformed werewolves stood inside the underground laboratory, their expressions filled with fascination and excitement, as scientists eagerly discussed their creation.

Among the three, Riz, a black man, led the group. He possessed the most abundant energy, thus his evolution was the most complete. The other two had also succeeded in evolving; although covered in dense golden scales, their joints lacked the protective armor.

However, these minor details were not the most striking changes. Despite their differences from ordinary werewolves, the overall appearance still bore the wolfish form.

The most significant transformation was in their eyes. Since the lineage of Lucien, the werewolves, though endowed with reason, were deeply influenced by a violent gene buried within their DNA. This led to their impulsive, aggressive, and bloodthirsty nature. But these three, after being altered by Serum No. 1, had clear, gentle eyes, showing no trace of their former wild savagery.

This signified the success of the modification. A creature’s potential is determined by its intelligence. Vampires had been able to suppress the werewolf clan not because they were stronger or had deeper roots, but because of their wisdom. Intelligence was the key to their long-standing dominance over werewolves.

If the ferocious nature of the werewolves remained unmitigated, they could never be considered a perfect transcendent race. A group of impulsive, combative beasts would neither care about progress nor devote themselves to cultivation. Li Yang might have considered remolding them from scratch.

Though no perfectionist, he could never allow the races he painstakingly created to be flawed products.

...

Accompanied by the three werewolves, Li Yang entered the main hall.

“Howl... howl... crack... snap...”

With a glance from Li Yang, Riz and the other two transformed, becoming tall werewolves with well-proportioned bodies, sinewy muscles, robust forepaws, and thick brown fur.

“Oh... my god...”

“What... have I missed...”

“Shit... this is...”

...

The sight of their kin’s drastic transformations stirred a mixture of frustration, envy, jealousy, and agitation among the Rikans.

Though brutal, bloodthirsty, and wild, they were not fools. From the physical changes alone, they knew that this experiment had granted these three great benefits. And they had once had the chance but missed it. How could they not be envious and jealous?

Compared to the jealousy of their peers, Lucien saw much more. The three were his subordinates, and after hundreds of years together, he knew their characters well.

Yet this time, they neither roared loudly nor boasted excitedly. Instead, they were calm and gentle. Had their faces not remained the same, he would have suspected they had been switched out. Though he was brutal and bloodthirsty himself, Lucien was one of the rare wise ones among the werewolves, and he understood exactly what this meant.

“Your Majesty! Is this the effect of Serum No. 1?”

The vampires were even more unsettled as they gazed upon the three werewolves, renewed as if having undergone an evolution.

If the werewolves’ emotions were merely envy and jealousy, the vampires were truly going mad. This golden opportunity had inexplicably fallen into the hands of those beasts they usually looked down upon.

This caused them to cast doubtful glances at Emilia, questioning whether she could truly lead the vampire clan to resurgence.

“Enough, quiet down!”

Seeing the murmurs and endless discussions, Li Yang nodded slightly, quite pleased with his creation.

“This is Serum No. 1. Its purpose, as you have seen, is to transform creatures into true transcendent races. The genes they inherit are from the six-winged golden centipede. From now on, they are the first generation of bloodline sorcerers.”

“Your Majesty! May we also have the chance to undergo this transformation?”

Before Li Yang could finish, Emilia eagerly stepped forward and knelt, speaking out.

Not only her, but the vampires behind her and the Rikans nearby all looked at Li Yang with hopeful expressions.

“Of course, you have the chance. To me, you are all hard-working contributors. This transformation is not exclusive to them; any member of the vampire or Rikan clans who accomplishes great deeds will have the opportunity.”

“However, producing the serum is still difficult and the yield low. I must choose carefully and select candidates suitable for transformation.”

“Here’s the plan: Each month, your clans will determine the quotas based on completed tasks. Given the current production, I can produce about four serums monthly. How you divide them is up to your respective clans.”

The primary components of Serum No. 1 were the golden centipede cells from Li Yang’s body and Vincent’s Perfect Blood.

Extracting the golden centipede cells posed no problem for Li Yang; with his metabolism, he could produce as many as needed. The main bottleneck was the supply of Perfect Blood.

Though Vincent was the vessel of the Perfect Blood, he was an ordinary man. Without harming his body, only a very limited amount could be extracted monthly. Coupled with various experiments, the serum’s production was further reduced.

In truth, the Perfect Blood was the main factor in the bloodline sorcerers’ growth and development. Until a substitute was found, Li Yang would not let anything happen to Vincent. He even considered having Vincent take more wives to increase the supply swiftly. Perhaps in decades, the shortage of Perfect Blood would be resolved.

...

After sending Emilia and Lucien away, Li Yang brought the three newly born bloodline sorcerers to the altar at the estate’s center.

“Now, fight each other. Let me see your strength.”

The bloodline sorcerers had just been born; their traits and abilities could only be fully realized in battle. Li Yang was eager to discover which characteristics of the six-winged golden centipede they had inherited.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Howl... howl...”

At Li Yang’s command, the three exchanged glances and transformed. Kur and Ove paired off, moving in perfect synchronization to pounce on Riz.

“Bang, bang, bang...”

Their claws flashed, limbs grounded, circling Riz quickly to find any weaknesses.

Though they had never formally trained in combat, their instincts and centuries of battle experience made their fighting skills formidable. While lacking flashy moves, every strike carried lethal intent.

All three were remarkably resilient undead creatures. If they were ordinary beings, such fierce combat would have ended swiftly.

The fight lasted nearly forty minutes, with Riz emerging slightly victorious due to greater stamina and experience.

From this intense battle, Li Yang drew an unfortunate conclusion: they seemed not to have inherited the innate talents of the six-winged golden centipede.

Though their speed, stamina, and recovery had greatly improved and their defense had become somewhat extraordinary, they did not inherit the centipede’s spatial or venomous talents.

In truth, Li Yang had been a bit hasty. First, they had just been born; the six-winged golden centipede genes in their bodies were very weak. Inheriting some traits was already fortunate, but expecting innate talents was wishful thinking.

Venom was easier to explain, as every six-winged golden centipede possessed that innate skill. But spatial abilities were rare and not all centipedes awakened them.

Ancient beasts’ talents varied greatly, and the awakened powers differed widely. Not every six-winged golden centipede had spatial gifts. At most, if the ancestor had such abilities, descendants were likelier to awaken them—but even that was not guaranteed.

“Very well, for now, follow me in cultivation. It’s best if you can quickly adapt to your new powers and physical characteristics.”

Though disappointed, Li Yang understood that the chance of awakening innate powers was low. After all, they were newly born bloodline sorcerers. Perhaps, as their cultivation advanced, the six-winged golden centipede’s powers would gradually awaken. That thought comforted him considerably.

“Your Majesty! Is cultivation the same as learning?”

The three exchanged puzzled glances. In Western thought, cultivation and learning were often considered the same concept.

“You may think of it that way.”

Li Yang gave no further explanation. Cultural differences were too intricate to clarify easily.

In fact, even he was not entirely clear on the distinction.