CRACK! CRACK!
A crisp cracking sound echoed continuously. The surface of the blood-red cocoon, which was covered in fissures, was dimming at a visible rate.
However, the boundless life force contained within was surging like an impending volcanic eruption, rising higher and higher as if it were about to burst the entire Space of the Beast Taming Pouch!
Gu Yuexiâs heart tightened. She could clearly sense that the Energy fluctuations from this evolution were more terrifying than the previous four combined!
âWhat in the world is this mosquito going to become...?â
BOOMâ!!!
The moment that thought flashed through her mind, the blood-red cocoon exploded violently!
A furious torrent of air swept out, transforming into a sky full of blood-red motes of light, which finally converged and merged back into the figure hovering in mid-air.
Gu Yuexi focused her gaze, a hint of surprise flashing through her cool, indifferent eyes.
This time, the mosquitoâs appearance hadnât changed much after its evolution.
Its body was still about eighteen centimeters long. On its jet-black carapace, the strange, intertwining patterns of faint blue and dark red had only grown a little deeper.
Beneath the patterns, there seemed to be a new, indestructible layer of dark gold chitin that exuded a heavy, earthen aura.
The ring of pure flame around its head, resembling a lionâs mane, had only solidified slightly.
Overall, it looked almost the same as before the evolution.
But...
Gu Yuexi could keenly sense that the power within its body had undergone a world-shaking qualitative change!
If it was a raging fire before, now it was a dormant volcano, contained but ready to erupt at any moment!
"Bzz! Bzz! (Awesome! This feels so damn awesome!)"
Chu Sheng circled excitedly twice within the Beast Taming Pouchâs Space, his heart pounding as he felt the explosive power coursing through his body!
Although his appearance hadnât changed much with this evolution...
...he could feel that this upgrade was internal! A complete overhaul of his core abilities!
Without a momentâs hesitation, he opened his system panel to check the gains from this evolution!
[Updating Panel...]
[Host: Chu Sheng]
[Race: Soul-devouring Nether Mosquito]
[Lifespan: 100 years]
[Bloodline: High-Level (One Star)]
[Qi Blood: 4108 (Third-Grade Late Stage)]
[Spirit: 1050 (Second-Grade Middle Stage)]
[Evolution Points: 5]
[Earth Realm: Entry (350/500)]
...
[Core Skills: Soul-devouring Demon Spike Lv6, Nether Flame Insect Nest Lv9 (New Mechanism)]
[Passive Skills: Monarchâs Suppression Lv2, Ten Thousand Insects Substitute Lv1 (New)]
[Active Skills: Primitive Form (New), Nether Flame Battle Armor Lv2, Soul-Bursting Flame Feather Lv5...]
[Notice: The next full evolution requires reaching 10,000 Qi Blood Value (Fourth-Grade Early Stage), 2000 Mental Power, and consuming 2000 Evolution Points!]
[Notice: Reaching Great Success (2000 points) in any Realm allows for a minor, specialized evolution!]
"Wuhu! Takeoff!"
Chu Shengâs heart pounded as he stared at his brand-new, super-deluxe panel.
His Bloodline had finally broken through to High-Level! And his Lifespan had skyrocketed to a hundred years!
âA mosquito that can live for a century! Tell me, how badass is that?!â
At the same time, his Mental Power had surged by one hundred points, successfully breaking through to the Second-Grade Middle Stage!
âAs for Skills...â
âThe improvement in Skills this time doesnât seem that big, just two new ones...â
"Hiss! Hold on! These two skills seem pretty damn incredible!"
A look of delight appeared in Chu Shengâs compound eyes as he read the descriptions of the two new skills.
"[Ten Thousand Insects Substitute Lv1]: Passive Skill. Can randomly transfer all physical damage received by the host to the insects within the [Nether Flame Insect Nest]!"
"As long as the insects in the Insect Nest are not all dead, the hostâs main body will be immune to all physical damage!"
An Undying Body?!
âWhat the hell is this if not an Undying Body?!â
Chu Sheng stared at the skill description, his compound eyes wide and his breathing ragged!
âImmunity to all physical damage!â
âAs long as my little brothers arenât all dead, I, Lord Mosquito, will never be injured!â
âHoly crap! Isnât this skill a bit too overpowered?!â
He had a full sixteen thousand Peak of Second-Grade Spirit-Devouring Worm underlings stored in his [Nether Flame Insect Nest]!
âThis means I just got sixteen thousand extra lives out of nowhere!â
âWhy would I be afraid of any physical Attack after this?â
âI can just stand here and let you hit me!â
âCan you kill me sixteen thousand times?â
âWell... thatâs some serious staying power.â
This was the ultimate life-saving Divine Technique! His sense of security was instantly maxed out!
After a long moment of excitement, Chu Sheng turned his attention to the other new Active Skillâ
"[Primitive Form]: The host can freely switch between the current âSoul-devouring Nether Mosquitoâ form and the initial âWhite-striped Aedes Mosquitoâ Primitive Form!"
âSwitch forms?â
âThis Skill... is actually really useful!â
Chu Shengâs eyes lit up.
âMy current form, with its flaming mane and burning wings, definitely looks maxed-out and majestic.â
âThe problem is, itâs way too conspicuous!â
âIf I use swarm tactics again, anyone who isnât blind will be able to tell at a glance that this "giant lightbulb" flying in the sky is the leader of the swarm!â
âWouldnât I just become a target? Theyâd just follow the principle of "to catch bandits, first catch the king"!â
âBut now that I have this disguise ability, things are different!â
âIn future fights, I can just turn into an ordinary White-striped Aedes Mosquito and mix in with my tens of thousands of underlings. Whoâs going to find me?â
âItâs the perfect combo for ambushes, sneak attacks, and playing dirty!â
âItâs too perfect!â
Chu Sheng immediately wanted to test the skill out. With a single thought, he flew out of the Storage Pouch and appeared before Gu Yuexi.
"Bzz! Bzz! (Empress, look at me, look at me! Iâm gonna show you something cool!)"
In the next second, under Gu Yuexiâs stunned gaze, Chu Shengâs palm-sized, menacing bodyâwith a carapace that seemed to hold a starry abyssâbegan to shrink and transform rapidly!
In the blink of an eye, the Soul-devouring Nether Mosquito, once full of oppressive and dangerous aura, had completely vanished.
In its place was an ordinary, unremarkable White-striped Aedes Mosquito, from which not even a trace of Energy fluctuation could be felt.
It landed lightly on Gu Yuexiâs fingertip, buzzing as it flapped its wings.
"???"
Gu Yuexi looked astonished. "This... it can change size..."
Chu Sheng: "Bzz bzz? (Cool, right?)"
Gu Yuexi: "..."
A tempest was already raging in her heart!
âThis is... form switching?!â
âIsnât this the Mountain-Shaking Demon Apeâs most famous innate ability, [Wishful Size]?!â
The Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape, a preeminent figure among King-level Demon Beasts, possessed immense power capable of shaking mountains and splitting the earth. And yet... it was a notoriously dirty player!
Normally, it appeared as a harmless little monkey, its aura indistinguishable from that of an ordinary wild animal. Anyone who saw it would just think it was a cute little creature.
But when the Mountain-Shaking Demon Ape decided to fight, its transformation from a small monkey into a hundred-meter-tall demonic ape, as colossal as a mountain, took only an instant!
This extreme visual shock was enough to make any enemyâs blood run cold!
âThis mosquito... actually inherited even the most core ability from that Bloodlineâs Origin?â
âIs it really that overpowered?â
The corner of Gu Yuexiâs mouth twitched slightly. She had already lost count of how many times it had shocked her.
âThis thing... is a straight-up cheat!â