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[Emerald Swan] → [Jade Spirit Swan]
[Level: 44]
[Strength: 55.4 (18.0)]
[Speed: 79.4 (22.4)]
[Endurance: 126.4 (25.4)]
[Defense: 129.1 (40.1)]
[Skills: (Brown) Jade Spirit Shield; (Cyan) Fountain of Life]
[Attribute: Life (Supreme)]
[Potential: 7 (Peerless)]
[Next Evolution Stage: Sacred Healing Luan]
Finding the attributes ordinary, Su Wen skipped directly to the skills section.
"Jade Spirit Shield (Passive): When an ally's health falls below ten percent, this effect triggers, locking their health for ten seconds. During this period, the ally is immune to control effects. After the skill ends, the ally actively recovers twenty percent of their health. — Cooldown: One month."
"Fountain of Life (Active): When cast, the target's injury recovery speed increases by two hundred percent."
"Health locking? That's a divine skill," Su Wen exclaimed in delight.
Although the skill was passive and only worked on "allies," its effect absolutely qualified as god-tier.
Take Xiao Jin or Hurricane, for example—if they lost to an enemy by just a hair, this skill alone could turn the tables. A last-second health lock followed by a burst of healing would allow for an easy counter-kill. Ten seconds might not mean much to an ordinary person, but for experts where every strike is lethal, ten seconds was more than enough time to accomplish many things.
Whoosh—
As the pillar of light faded, the transformed Emerald Swan appeared before everyone.
Its emerald-green wings had grown longer and more slender, its bearing more elegant than before. But the most striking feature was the faintly glowing, diamond-shaped white jade crystal shimmering within its nearly transparent chest.
Bi Ji's beautiful eyes widened in shock. "Is that… the Emerald Spirit?"
"Emerald Spirit?" The other Vicious Beasts looked on blankly, and even the members of the Emerald Swan clan were equally puzzled.
"The Emerald Swan clan is born with an abundant life aura, like a mobile spring of life. To advance to a 100,000-year Soul Beast, the first step is to condense more than half of one's life force into a crystal. I call this crystal the Emerald Spirit. With it, one's future cultivation speed will increase by a thousand miles a day, with few obstacles remaining."
Bi Ji's voice was filled with disbelief.
"But… that's something one should only be able to condense after a hundred thousand years…"
Everyone fell silent.
This fortunate Emerald Swan, after signing a contract with Su Wen, had seen its cultivation drop from ten thousand years to just over six thousand. Yet its talent… seemed to have skyrocketed. It likely wouldn't be long before it was approaching Bi Ji's own realm.
"So this is evolution?" The Scarlet King's eyes flickered.
Su Wen's eloquent explanations from before paled in comparison to seeing it firsthand.
He was truly envious.
In that instant, the Emerald Swan had been completely reborn. If talent could be represented by a number, it had just increased exponentially. Its once-ordinary bloodline now held a new ripple of power. Even if it wasn't an earth-shattering change, the fact that a six-thousand-year beast had formed an Emerald Spirit—a feat that should take one hundred thousand years—was enough to stun everyone.
"And… the quality of this Emerald Spirit might even be superior to mine," Bi Ji said, her face full of envy.
She opened her palm, and a thumb-sized, emerald-green crystal rose from it, floating gently.
A dense life force radiated from it, so potent that even Xiong Jun and the Myriad Demon King gulped, greed flashing in their eyes. However, under Di Tian's oppressive aura, they forcefully suppressed their desire.
That thumb-sized Emerald Spirit was comparable to a piece of Golden Essence of Life of the same proportions!
That ratio was already terrifying.
After all, in the original story, the Skydream Iceworm's million years of cultivation essence only condensed into a piece of Golden Essence of Life the size of a teardrop.
Cradling her Emerald Spirit, Bi Ji said emotionally, "As one's cultivation increases, the Emerald Spirit gradually compresses and shrinks. Generally, a smaller Emerald Spirit means purer life energy. For example, the Emerald Spirit I formed when I reached one hundred thousand years… was three to four times larger than it is now."
The others turned to look at the other Emerald Spirit; it was about five times larger than Bi Ji's. (PS: The concentration of life force is not directly proportional to the size of the Emerald Spirit.)
"And the color," Bi Ji continued, "represents the speed of absorbing life energy, which is to say, the speed of cultivation… My Emerald Spirit was pure cyan at the beginning. As my strength grew, white began to show through the cyan, and it feels as if it's slowly transforming towards pure white."
Everyone looked. Bi Ji's Emerald Spirit had a very light color.
And the other Emerald Spirit… was even closer to white than hers?!!
Didn't that mean…
"That's right." For the first time, Bi Ji was so envious her eyes turned red.
She had endured countless hardships and trials to break through to the 100,000-year realm and refine her Emerald Spirit to its current state. Yet, a junior had surpassed her so easily, just by signing a contract with a human, even undergoing a bloodline evolution…
"The power of a bloodline… is truly terrifying," Xiong Jun lamented, glancing at the distant Xiao Jin.
If that little guy also evolved into a Behemoth, then he, the so-called ancestor, would probably be drooling with envy just like Bi Ji.
A bloodline is both a shackle and a ladder.
It can let you soar to the heavens and achieve a legendary status, or it can trap you at the final step, unable to advance for the rest of your life.
…
"Di Tian, come out!"
A voice echoed across the sky.
Di Tian's eyebrow twitched. Snapping out of his shock, he looked at Su Wen, his tone considerably gentler. "It seems that's someone from your Shrek Academy. Are you going back with him?"
"Yes," Su Wen nodded.
His mission was complete. After absorbing the Emerald Swan, his level had jumped from 40 to 44. He had also temporarily established good relations with Di Tian and the others. It seemed unlikely that he would get to meet the Silver Dragon King hidden underground.
"I'm off~"
He waved goodbye to the reluctant Auspicious Beast and left with Di Tian.
Not long after the two departed, the Lake of Life suddenly rippled.
A cold voice rang out.
"Evolution? Interesting…"
…
"You were kidnapped after all! Elder Mu was exactly right!" The moment Xuanzi saw Su Wen, he spoke excitedly, a mix of relief and helplessness in his voice. "Don't hurt him! We've already figured out which human faction is behind the abduction in the Star Dou Great Forest! Give us some time, and I demand you send your experts to help us rescue the Auspicious Beast!"
"…"
Di Tian paused for a moment, then glanced at Su Wen. "We have Soul Beasts skilled in spiritual abilities. We've already searched their minds for useful information. You're talking about the Holy Spirit Cult, located within the Sun-Moon Empire, aren't you?"
"The Holy Spirit Cult?"
Xuanzi was dumbfounded.
Di Tian had no time to waste on nonsense. He tossed Su Wen over to him.
"This kid saved our Auspicious Beast. Let him explain it to you."
"Huh???" Xuanzi's prepared negotiations died on his lips as he scrambled to catch Su Wen, his expression growing more bewildered.
"You… saved the Auspicious Beast?"
"…Wait, that gray pillar of light—was that you?!!" Xuanzi realized belatedly.
(End of Chapter)