News of the Black Dragon breaking free from its seal spread not only through Duolong City.
It also spread widely throughout the demonic beast circles.
Demonic beasts had always revered strength. Following the aura released by the Black Dragon, they came knocking one after another, scrambling to pay their respects to the king among demonic beasts.
Black Dragon Elphis had not the slightest interest in demonic beasts far weaker than itself.
In its eyes, these demonic beasts were fit only to be its food.
But after tasting the Dark Crystals Han Wu provided, Black Dragon Elphis could no longer stand any other flavor.
To obtain more Dark Crystals, it could only follow Han Wu's commands and patiently endure the worship of the other demonic beasts.
At that moment, Han Wu stepped forward under the tiger's might of the fox, leading demonic beasts of third advancement and above into an alliance.
Adventurers had oppressed demonic beasts for a long time, and the demonic beasts had long wanted to rise up in resistance.
Yet because different races did not trust one another, they had never managed to unite.
But today was different. At the call of the Great Rebel, Black Dragon Elphis, quite a few demonic beasts gathered together, achieving the first alliance of demonic beasts in history.
Black Dragon Elphis crouched in the seat of honor, releasing the majesty that belonged to a Black Dragon.
Under that terrifying majesty, even the Treefolk Sage, the strongest among the demonic beasts present and level 105, did not dare show the slightest resistance.
Han Wu became the one directing this meeting.
His gaze swept over every demonic beast present, and Han Wu was in an excellent mood.
Though he could not make them acknowledge him as their master in the short term, under the Black Dragon's oppression, making them work for him was still easy.
Thus, Han Wu called upon the demonic beasts to unite and establish the Demonic Beast Alliance to oppose the Adventurer's Guild.
Its guiding principle was hunting adventurers.
The moment the demonic beasts heard that, they were wide awake.
Adventurers had ridden roughshod over them for far more than a year or two. What race had not seen its own kind slaughtered by adventurers?
But adventurers were bolstered by the Power of Profession and protected by the Will of Civilization. Their strength far surpassed that of demonic beasts.
Trying to overthrow them was practically a dream.
Han Wu responded to this.
As the advocate of the Demonic Beast Alliance, he had a way to help demonic beasts break through the limits of their racial strength and improve rapidly.
As he spoke, Han Wu took out an Energy Crystal.
The pure Energy Crystal gave off an incomparably sweet fragrance, making the demonic beasts present swallow again and again.
Had the Black Dragon not once more cowed the room, they would already have swarmed forward and snatched the Energy Crystal from Han Wu's hand.
The Black Dragon glanced at the seated demonic beasts and sneered inwardly. One Energy Crystal has you making such fools of yourselves? The Great Rebel, Black Dragon Elphis, has more than ten of them here! Tch, what a bunch of country bumpkins who have never seen the world.
Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Han Wu began laying out the rules he had devised for the Demonic Beast Alliance.
The Demonic Beast Alliance would use Energy Crystals as rewards. Demonic beasts of every race could bring Han Wu equipment and Professional Fragments obtained from killing adventurers in exchange for Energy Crystals.
To make these demonic beasts work even harder for this, Han Wu distributed one Energy Crystal of the corresponding attribute to each of them in advance.
After absorbing the Energy Crystals, the demonic beasts all gave the same response: they were delicious beyond compare, and they wanted another.
Quite a few low-level demonic beasts even leveled up on the spot after absorbing a single Energy Crystal, their strength reaching new heights.
Having witnessed the power of Energy Crystals, the demonic beasts agreed to join the Demonic Beast Alliance under the Black Dragon's pressure and the binding lure of profit, actively launching hunting operations against adventurers.
Over the following days, Han Wu counted money until his hands went limp.
His Locust retinue had become the information network through which he exchanged supplies with all kinds of demonic beasts.
Every day, swarms of Locusts delivered great quantities of Professional Fragments and seized equipment to Han Wu.
Han Wu would also set aside an appropriate amount of Energy Crystals as rewards for the demonic beasts' hunting of adventurers.
The two sides lived in perfect harmony.
Of course, the foundation of this relationship was the presence of the powerful Black Dragon.
Without the Black Dragon, the demonic beasts would long since have lost patience and hunted Han Wu down for more Energy Crystals.
After all, demonic beasts daring enough to risk killing adventurers were no harmless lot.
Han Wu also used the weapons and Professional Fragments he obtained to cultivate his own retinue.
After being nurtured with vast amounts of resources, the Locust Retinue's strength improved enormously.
The two Heroic Lifeform Locust People both obtained suitable third-advancement professions, their levels soaring to 85 and continuing to rise.
Another 32 Locust People also broke past level 60 with the help of the Power of Profession.
Receiving feedback from his retinue, Han Wu himself leaped to level 105.
With such strength, Han Wu felt stronger than ever before. A casual strike could snap a century-old tree at the waist.
But Han Wu knew perfectly well that compared with adventurers of the same level in Duolong City, he was still lacking in some respects.
This was mainly reflected in his use of skills.
Professional adventurers had used their skills hundreds and thousands of times, giving them solid control over force, angle, and timing.
But skills were Han Wu's weak point. Growth Acceleration was used for support, Life Sacrifice could only be used once a day and was restricted to his own retinue. His only attack skill, Summon Fairy Shortbow, merely amounted to carrying a long-range Divine Power Weapon with him.
After turning it over in his mind, Han Wu made a decision. He would also use the Power of Profession to improve himself.
Based on his circumstances, Han Wu chose Warrior as his basic profession and obtained the talent Battle Intent. Effect: increased physical performance by 10%. Skills mastered: Heavy Strike, Mighty Slash.
For his first advancement, he chose Demon Warrior and obtained the talent Elemental Perception. Effect: increased resistance to all elements by 20%. Skills mastered: Fire Infusion, Ice Infusion, Light Infusion, Shadow Infusion.
For his second advancement, he chose Dragon Blood Warrior and obtained the talent Dragon Blood. Effect: increased physical performance by 20%, increased resistance to all elements by 20%, and enhanced strength. Skill mastered: Tyrant Dragon Slash.
As for a third-advancement profession, Han Wu did not have one on hand.
The main reason was that among the adventurers killed, too few were professional adventurers who had reached third advancement. He simply could not piece together a complete third-advancement profession.
However, sensing the faint scent of dragon blood emanating from Han Wu, the Black Dragon took the initiative to offer him help.
But the condition was that Han Wu had to pay 1,000 Dark Crystals.
Han Wu did not have that many Dark Crystals. After some haggling, they settled on 500 Dark Crystals, to be paid in installments.
Even so, the Black Dragon was still thrilled, feeling that it had made a killing.
Once the terms were settled, the Black Dragon began its assistance.
Its method was to find a large cauldron, fill it with its own blood, and have Han Wu soak in it for an entire day.
By then, the Black Dragon Blood would replace the thin dragon blood in Han Wu's body, allowing him to gain power comparable to a third-advancement profession.
Han Wu did as instructed.
Han Wu soaked for a full day in the somewhat fishy Black Dragon Blood.
During that time, under the pretext of speeding up absorption, the Black Dragon lit a fire beneath the cauldron.
It gave Han Wu a firsthand understanding of what it meant to stew himself in an iron pot.
Though the process was somewhat comical, the effect was remarkably good.
After the thin dragon blood in his body had been completely replaced with Black Dragon Blood, Han Wu's second-advancement profession automatically advanced into a third-advancement profession.
Black Dragon Warrior!
Talent obtained: Black Dragon Blood. Effect: increased physical performance by 50%, increased resistance to all elements by 50%, greatly enhanced strength, and gained affinity with the dark attribute.
Skill mastered: Dragon Transformation.
Upon activating the skill, Han Wu heard the crackling of bones throughout his body. His muscles swelled with pain, while his skin gradually turned black and hardened.
Only after three seconds did the changes to his body stop.
Han Wu had completely transformed into a humanoid Black Dragon.
His entire body was covered in black dragon scales with extremely high defensive power. A pair of sturdy, powerful Dragon Wings grew from his back, and his muscles swelled as though he possessed the strength to destroy everything.
As Han Wu felt this power, his information panel appeared before his eyes.
The panel's background was black.
Codename: King of Demon Locusts Level: 125 (highest retinue level 85 + Divine Being level 20 + Power of Profession level 20) Profession: Black Dragon Warrior (third advancement) Talents: Chosen One (unique), Battle Intent, Dark Elemental Perception, Black Dragon Blood Equipment: Gourd Pot (Two-Star Divine Artifact), Eye of Detection (Zero-Star Divine Artifact), Greedy Wolf (One-Star Divine Artifact) Skills: Growth Acceleration, Life Sacrifice (unique), Summon Fairy Shortbow, Heavy Strike, Mighty Slash, Shadow Infusion, Tyrant Dragon Slash, Dragon Transformation
Han Wu looked at his current build with satisfaction. He felt that he now had the strength to go to Duolong City and challenge a hero one-on-one.
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