Chapter 53: The Birth of the Second-Generation Serum [Double Feature]

"Greetings, great Your Majesty!"

In the manor's back hall, summoned by Li Yang, Amelia and Lucien arrived hurriedly and bowed in salutation.

"Very well, as you know, I am not fond of such formalities. Sit!"

Gesturing to the chairs below, Li Yang motioned for the two of them to take a seat and speak.

With the pioneering of the Bloodline Warlock path, he no longer needed to constantly mind the hierarchy of superiors and inferiors to maintain his majesty. The subtle, ingrained influence of the bloodline originating from within one's own body was far more effective than constantly putting on an aloof and high-and-mighty posture.

"Not bad, it seems neither of you has been slacking off recently!"

Under the sweep of Li Yang's spiritual perception, the physical conditions of the two were reflected clearly in his eyes.

The primal blood within Lucien's heart had grown significantly stronger, and a special energy unique to bloodline warlocks was slowly circulating throughout his entire vascular system.

Amelia was much the same. Compared to Lucien, the energy fluctuations within her body were markedly more intense, and the divine script rune on her forehead was gradually stabilizing.

"It is all thanks to Your Majesty's blessing!"

The two exchanged glances, recalling the process of Li Yang imparting the Dao the previous night, their faces filled with pious reverence.

"I have summoned you this time because I want you to construct an altar for the purpose of cultivation. I will need it in three months!"

Looking at the two below him, Li Yang did not beat around the bush and directly stated his purpose.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Amelia was no stranger to building altars. She had personally been responsible for constructing Li Yang's manor in the past, but three months was somewhat tight on time.

Furthermore, London was currently undergoing reconstruction, and manual labor was scarce. Even with money, it was doubtful whether enough skilled craftsmen could be hired.

However, this minor difficulty could not stump her. If manpower was lacking, the two clans could roll up their sleeves and pitch in themselves. The werewolf clan made prime physical laborers—it would be a waste not to use them. With Your Majesty's decree, she reckoned that big, foolish Lucien would not dare to refuse.

"Since that is settled, go make your preparations!"

Li Yang was quite satisfied with Amelia's attitude. He naturally knew the difficulty of building an altar within three months, yet despite this, she showed not the slightest trace of dissatisfaction and instead gave a resounding and absolute affirmative.

One had to admit that her ability to climb to her current position meant her understanding of a superior's mind had undoubtedly reached the pinnacle of perfection.

...

"Your Majesty, Dr. Yorkson wishes to invite you to come over."

At that moment, from the secret door in the back hall, Catherine's voice suddenly rang out. She poked her head through the secret door, gazed with dread at the sunlight outside the main hall, and looked toward Li Yang with a face full of aggrieved resentment.

"Very well, endure it a little longer. Soon, you won't have to fear these things anymore!"

Standing up and walking into the secret chamber, Li Yang patted Catherine on the head and said with a hint of apology.

Following behind Catherine all the way to the crude underground laboratory, he waved his hand at the busy researchers inside, signaling them not to make a sound.

Li Yang looked up at Dr. Yorkson, who wore a solemn expression and was staring intently into the microscope, and stood quietly behind him.

"Oh... Your Majesty, you have arrived. Please forgive my discourtesy!"

After a long moment, Dr. Yorkson finally raised his head, noticed Li Yang's presence, and said apologetically.

"Doctor, has the second-generation bloodline warlock serum been successfully developed?"

Waving his hand to indicate that he did not mind, Li Yang asked.

"Indeed, nothing escapes Your Majesty's discerning eyes!"

Dr. Yorkson was not surprised that Li Yang had guessed the creation of the second-generation bloodline warlock serum. In his view, there was nothing within the entire manor that could escape the eyes of the great Your Majesty.

"Have you conducted experiments with it?"

Looking at the serum in Dr. Yorkson's hand, Li Yang asked with a solemn expression.

Compared to the first-generation serum, the second-generation serum undoubtedly appeared much more ordinary. The serum as a whole was a transparent, pale blue, with tiny specks of pale golden fluorescence drifting within it.

"Not yet, Your Majesty. This time I invited you here precisely to preside over this transformation ritual!"

If anyone was the most excited about the birth of the second-generation bloodline warlock serum, it would undoubtedly be the group of researchers. Most of them had recently been converted into first-generation newborn werewolves, making them insufficient to bear the tyrannical first-generation serum. Thus, the second-generation serum had undoubtedly become their best choice.

"Has the second-generation serum's reliance on the Blood of Perfection been diminished?"

In truth, this was the question Li Yang cared about the most. The bloodline warlock serum's reliance on the Blood of Perfection was simply too high. It could be said that without the Blood of Perfection, the path of the bloodline warlock would have no possibility of growing.

This fatal flaw had always been a thorn in Li Yang's heart. For as long as this problem remained unresolved, his bloodline warlock orthodoxy could never truly be considered complete.

"Your Majesty, this is precisely the key point I wish to raise. The demand for the Blood of Perfection in the second-generation serum has been greatly reduced. The amount of the Blood of Perfection required for a single first-generation serum is enough to produce one hundred doses of the second-generation serum."

Upon mentioning this, Dr. Yorkson's face beamed with exhilaration. This meant that the werewolf and vampire races would truly achieve a metamorphosis, and he would be recorded in history by the two races—no, by the newly born bloodline warlock race—and remembered forever.

"Very good, Doctor. Keep up the hard work. I hope the research and development of the third-generation serum can completely dispense with the Blood of Perfection."

Hearing this good news, Li Yang's spirits perked up immediately, and he announced on the spot: "Doctor, prepare for the experiment!"

...

"Your Majesty, I wish to have William participate in this experiment as well!"

At that moment, Marcus stepped forward, lowering his head with a somewhat apprehensive expression.

When he had first sworn allegiance to Li Yang, he had been promised that once the Blood of Perfection and Alexander Corvinus were found, Li Yang would help restore William's sanity. But now, he had only completed half of the tasks. Even so, he had long been impatient to see his brother.

"No problem. Have the doctor prepare a dose of the first-generation bloodline warlock serum!"

Regarding Marcus's proposal, Li Yang merely paused slightly before readily agreeing.

In fact, even if Marcus had not brought it up, he had already intended to do so. Ever since he brought William out, he had entertained this thought. The only reason he had not acted until now was that he was considering which gene could better unleash William's full potential.

As everyone knew, as the progenitor of the werewolf race, William's potential was unquestionable. Once transformed, he would become a formidable combat force, serving as high-end muscle for the bloodline warlock sect.

"Thank you, great Your Majesty!"

Seeing that Li Yang agreed without hesitation, Marcus's face was filled with excitement.

Though he had a premonition that Your Majesty would not refuse him, when this day truly arrived, he still felt a heartfelt gratitude toward Li Yang. He had waited far too long for this day.

Impatiently turning around, he carried the coffin sealing William into the laboratory, stared solemnly at the coffin, pulled out the key, and pressed it into the lock.

"Click... creak..."

Accompanied by the grinding sound of metal gears, the three-meter-tall giant sarcophagus slowly opened, revealing the werewolf inside, who looked like a desiccated corpse.

"William, my brother, are you well..."

The moment the sarcophagus opened, Marcus rushed forward impatiently, his face a mix of excitement and anticipation.

"Awooo... awooo..."

The instant it made contact with the outside air, the werewolf corpse plumped up at a visible rate, quickly transforming into a white-furred werewolf over two meters tall, its eyes filled with tyrannical rage.

"NO... brother, you cannot be like this. I am Marcus, do you not remember me?"

The moment the white-furred werewolf awoke, it launched a fierce attack against him. Marcus dodged while crying out in alarm.

"Enough, Marcus. His sanity is currently consumed by rage; he does not recognize you!"

Glancing at Marcus, who was dodging left and right, a trace of impatience flashed in Li Yang's eyes. He had no mood to watch this emotional drama of brothers reuniting. With a thought, the surrounding space suddenly began to contract, firmly binding William in place, leaving him completely unable to move.

"Forgive me, great Your Majesty. William did not mean to offend!"

Seeing William restrained by Li Yang, Marcus stepped forward, his face a mask of apology as he bowed repeatedly.

"Doctor, begin the experiment. Administer the second-generation serum first. As for this big fellow, save him for last!"

Waving his hand at Marcus to show he didn't mind, Li Yang turned his head and instructed Dr. Yorkson.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

At Li Yang's command, Dr. Yorkson gestured, and the assistants who had been waiting nearby immediately brought out the second-generation serum.

Roll up the sleeves, and administer the second-generation bloodline warlock serum to the group of researchers in the laboratory.

The injection of this serum was far less troublesome than the first-generation serum, and the transformation process was extremely rapid. Shortly after receiving the injection, the researchers completed the transition without experiencing any abnormalities.

The effect of the second-generation serum was merely to implant a genetic seed of the Six-Winged Golden Centipede into their bodies, granting them the ability to cultivate the Bloodline Secret Tome, without being as tyrannical as the first-generation serum, which directly mutated their cells.

However, the consequence of this was that bloodline warlocks who injected the second-generation serum were not amplified by the serum itself. If they wanted to gain power, they had to go through step-by-step rigorous cultivation.

Yet this was only natural; no power appeared out of thin air. The creatures capable of enduring the first-generation serum were themselves elites of the two races, every single one of them an undead being over two centuries old, and their power amplification was merely the digestion of their accumulated heritage.

After all, although the werewolf and vampire races had flaws, they slowly absorbed the energy of heaven and earth over time, which was also the reason why the older they were, the stronger they became.

"Very well, Doctor, administer the first-generation serum to William!"

After the researchers were transformed, Li Yang looked with anticipation at William, who was bound in place.

One had to know that William was a werewolf transformed from the Blood of Perfection, and his genetic structure was different from ordinary werewolves.

After such a long period of study, Li Yang had long since understood the characteristics of the Blood of Perfection.

If the bloodlines of the undead were to be graded, Alexander Corvinus was undoubtedly the strongest. He was the origin of the undead, the progenitor of the bloodline, and the only undead in the world with an explicit bloodline.

As for Marcus and William, they were both undead with recessive bloodlines. Without external forces to stimulate them, they would age and die like ordinary people, which showed the gap between them.

Although William's undead bloodline was recessive, it was also pure. His genes were transformed from the undead bloodline; the first half was identical to Marcus's, meaning their genes shared a single origin, while the second half consisted of mutated genes.

As for the genes of ordinary werewolves, the first half was a hodgepodge of the genes they possessed when they were human, and only the second half was werewolf genes, which doomed their potential to be limited.

Of course, Lucien's genes were different once again. He had been infected by the mother while in the womb, so his genes were purely werewolf genes with no admixture, making him equivalent to a purebred werewolf.

The werewolf race was mostly composed of male werewolves, with almost no females, meaning the number of purebred werewolves in the werewolf race was extremely small. Coupled with their harsh living environment, those who survived were virtually nonexistent, and the werewolf race had always grown its numbers by converting ordinary humans.

In this regard, the vampire race did quite well; purebred vampires were not few among them, making up nearly a quarter of their population.

Speaking solely of bloodline potential, the first-generation undead, Corvinus, was naturally the first tier; next were the progenitors of the werewolf and vampire races, whose bloodlines ranked second; third were the often-ignored purebred vampires and werewolves; while those undead transformed from ordinary humans possessed the lowest potential of all.

Of course, these were not absolute and varied from person to person—Catherine's potential was certainly no lower than that of Marcus and William.

"Awoo... wooo... crack crack crack... shhh shhh shhh..."

The moment he was injected with the first-generation serum, William immediately let out a heaven-shaking, miserable howl. His flesh split open all over his body, and pale white bones pierced through his skin, exposed to the air. Dense popping sounds erupted between his bones like firecrackers.

"Awoo awoo awoo..."

As time passed, William struggled even more violently, but he was held tightly in place by space, completely unable to move, capable only of emitting miserable, mournful howls akin to a domestic dog.

"Your Majesty, is William alright?"

Looking at his brother's wretched state, Marcus wore a look of unbearable sympathy. After hesitating for a long time, he still could not help but cast a pleading gaze at Li Yang.

"You must have faith in William's vitality!"

Li Yang felt quite helpless toward Marcus's extreme brother-complex. Had this been before his tribulation, when he was affected by the golden centipede's tyrannical genes, he would have had Marcus's mouth sewn shut.

Yet now, although annoyed, he still offered a word of explanation.

Perhaps sensing Li Yang's displeasure, Marcus sensibly refrained from saying anything further.