Bloodline Fusion

System prompt: Host has acquired the Gold-tier skill, Highland Bloodline.

"Highland Bloodline—the ultimate of Master Yi from League of Legends. I never thought I'd actually draw it."

It had been said before that when Lu Chen's company designed its skills, they had borrowed many abilities from characters in other games.

And because the game had not been completed, those copied skills had not yet been altered or given new skins.

Thus, what Lu Chen had obtained now was the original version of the skill.

Thinking of Highland Bloodline's power, Lu Chen could not help but reveal a faint smile.

Speaking of Highland Bloodline, one had to mention League of Legends. Wuji Sword Saint Master Yi was a hero within League of Legends and was commonly known as Mad Dog Yi.

And the origin of that title was, for the most part, tied to the skill Highland Bloodline.

Highland Bloodline: Passive: Upon gaining a kill or assist, the cooldown of the host's basic abilities is reduced by 70%.

Active: Movement speed increases by 35/45/55%, attack speed increases by 30/55/80%, and all slowing effects are negated for 7 seconds.

While active, every kill or assist extends Highland Bloodline's duration by 7 seconds.

That was the description of this skill.

This ability increased attack speed and movement speed while also granting immunity to slows. So long as this skill was activated, Wuji Sword Saint Master Yi would be like a mad dog, wildly reaping his enemies.

And now, this skill belonged to Lu Chen.

Thinking of how, in future battles, he would activate this skill and sweep through everything like a gale, slaughtering all in his path, Lu Chen felt rather pleased with himself.

"This skill is great. It boosts movement speed and grants immunity to slows. And with it, even if I can't win, I can still run."

Lu Chen was extremely satisfied with Highland Bloodline.

But while Lu Chen was rejoicing, he suddenly discovered that Highland Bloodline's golden icon had not imprinted itself onto the system interface as it had in the game. Instead, it shattered directly, turning into a sheet of golden light that flowed into Lu Chen's body.

This startled Lu Chen at first, but he quickly understood.

"I keep forgetting that reality isn't a game. An ability like Highland Bloodline can't possibly be activated just by clicking an icon like in a game."

"Just like when I level up, that golden light should be modifying my body so that I can use Highland Bloodline in the future."

Thinking that, Lu Chen relaxed.

But clearly, he had relaxed too soon.

The golden light produced by the shattered Highland Bloodline icon did not harm him. Like the golden light from leveling up, it warmly modified Lu Chen's body.

However, that modification clearly did not come without cost.

The golden light formed from experience points was indeed miraculous and could replace part of the required energy, but it could not replace all of it. While changing his body to make it suited for this skill, it still required Lu Chen himself to provide some energy.

At that moment, Lu Chen felt his stomach constantly writhing. The chunks of meat he had just swallowed were rapidly dissolving.

But the food he had eaten was nowhere near enough for the transformation brought by a Gold-tier skill. Lu Chen's stomach was now like a Black Hole, endlessly sending out signals of hunger.

Without hesitation, Lu Chen struggled out of bed and began gnawing on the few remaining chunks of meat in his home.

The cured meat was tough, but Lu Chen, nearly mad with hunger, could not care about that anymore. He tore into it desperately, then rushed out of the house into the courtyard and kept drinking from the water vat, hoping to ease the hunger in his stomach.

But Gold-tier skills were immensely powerful, and at the same time, the energy required for their transformation was equally terrifying.

Though Lu Chen desperately tore at the food in his hands and kept pouring water down his throat, he still could not stop the consumption.

And this transformation would not stop simply because Lu Chen had run out of food.

In the reflection on the water vat, Lu Chen clearly saw his body, which had originally been somewhat thin but still had some flesh on it, continuously shriveling. In almost the blink of an eye, his reflection in the vat had become as gaunt as skin stretched over bones.

A vast amount of flesh and blood essence was continuously drawn out by the system to modify Lu Chen's body.

What made Lu Chen feel even worse was that after he finished the cured meat in his hand, that draining still did not stop.

"Damn it, am I going to die here? Damn it, I never thought leveling up could cost me my life. I was too careless."

Reality and games really were different. In a game, as long as one had enough experience, one could casually click and level up. But reality clearly could not work like a game, where one clicked and leveled up.

Reality had to obey the law of conservation of energy.

Lu Chen could only say that he had suffered from having no experience.

Yet even while facing such a desperate situation, Lu Chen did not give up his hope of survival. Just as he was about to faint, his gaze fell upon a jujube tree in the courtyard.

It was a large tree grown in the courtyard. Usually, they could pick some green jujubes from it to stave off hunger. Of course, there were no green jujubes now, but Lu Chen's eyes still did not leave it.

"Tree bark... should be edible, right?"

Driven to the very limit by hunger, Lu Chen was already prepared to chew tree bark.

But before Lu Chen could act, the gate to his courtyard opened with a loud BANG.

Then, a burly man around two meters tall appeared, carrying half a bloody Deer Leg on one shoulder and holding a machete in the other hand as he looked anxiously at Lu Chen.

The moment he saw the burly man, Lu Chen's eyes lit up.

"Uncle Da Zhuang, save me! I'm starving to death!"

Da Zhuang was the village Hunter, the neighbor of the Barbarian youth Chen, and also a close friend of Chen's father.

After Chen's parents died, Uncle Da Zhuang had taken care of him quite a bit.

And now, seeing the entire Deer Leg Da Shi carried on his shoulder, Lu Chen felt that he was saved.

But Lu Chen's cry did not make Da Shi approach. Instead, he gripped his machete and watched Lu Chen warily, ready to pounce at any time.

"Who are you?"

The sudden question startled Lu Chen. He thought his transmigration had been exposed, but Lu Chen was not stupid. He quickly recalled something by combining it with A'Chen's memories.

"Uncle Da Zhuang, I'm A'Chen. I didn't die, and I wasn't possessed by an evil spirit. Witch Master gave me a bowl of medicine and saved me."

Lu Chen spoke with complete sincerity, but unfortunately, those words did not make Da Zhuang relax.

"Witch Doctor Master did give you a bowl of medicine, and he also told me to keep watch over you. But the way you look now is not the look of someone who has recovered."

As he spoke, the Barbarian Tribe strongman named Da Zhuang gripped his machete tighter and tighter, becoming increasingly vigilant.

Lu Chen could only sigh. The Barbarians of this world might not be very cultured, but they were still highly alert toward evil spirits.

But the more vigilant they were, the more danger Lu Chen was in. His condition could no longer be delayed.

If he were the original Barbarian youth, he would probably have anxiously tried to explain himself now.

But such explanations would only make people misunderstand him further. There was no helping it—Lu Chen currently looked almost exactly like a starving ghost.

Yet Lu Chen had come from the twenty-first century. Compared with the Barbarian youth, he possessed an extra measure of calmness and many more ideas.

"Uncle Da Zhuang, I know you don't believe what I'm saying. Evil spirits really are impossible to guard against, but my body truly can't wait any longer."

"How about this? Don't come over. Throw the meat in your hand to me, then call someone to fetch the Witch Doctor Master. Witch Doctor Master can tell whether I'm an evil spirit or not."