Reward: Nihility Devouring Flame!

The Blacklight Virus is highly infectious.

This point had already been verified with the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle earlier.

After being infected by the Blacklight Virus, a creature's body is slowly eroded bit by bit. In the initial stages of infection, the brain is damaged by the virus, leading to symptoms such as dizziness and limb weakness, which only improve once the host has fully integrated with the virus.

Although the Blacklight Virus spreads rapidly, as the sole prototype and progenitor of the virus, Su Zhe retains the ability to control those infected by it.

Of course, none of this is the most important thing right now.

What matters most at this moment is killing and devouring this Shadow Dragon!

"Roar!"

The Shadow Dragon, overcome by pain, let out a sorrowful cry that echoed for dozens of kilometers.

As a High-Level Overlord monster, the Shadow Dragon had no other Overlord-level monsters guarding its side.

This was due to the Shadow Dragon's nature; it was impossible for any creature of comparable strength to exist near it. Even a Junior-Level Overlord would, in the eyes of the Shadow Dragon, be seen as a challenger to its status.

"Die!"

The Blacklight Virus infected the Shadow Dragon's brain. Taking advantage of this window, Su Zhe manipulated the claws embedded within the dragon's body, extending and lengthening them. While devouring the dragon's flesh and blood, he finally located its brain!

For an Apprentice Level monster, the brain remains a fatal weakness.

Especially when there are no domains or similar means to prevent Su Zhe from getting close, he can use this method to kill almost any monster of massive size.

"Squelch!"

The claws pierced through the Shadow Dragon's flesh without resistance, shredding its brain like a meat grinder.

"Awoo—!!!"

The Shadow Dragon's body stiffened, and it let out an unprecedented, shrill howl. Its massive head thrashed wildly, attempting to shake Su Zhe off, but as its life force drained away, the Shadow Dragon finally collapsed with a thunderous crash!

"Bang!"

The Shadow Dragon's massive corpse slammed into the ground, kicking up a sky full of dust!

In the span of just a few minutes of combat, the entire bathhouse had been leveled to the ground.

[Devoured Apprentice Level 9 monster, gained 0.9 Devour Points]
[Fighter rank increased: Apprentice Level 8 (Intermediate Wargod)]
[Psychic rank increased: Apprentice Level 7 (Junior Wargod)]
[New ability acquired: Acidic Substance]
[Devour Points: 10000.1 (10000)]
[Detected Devour Points reached 10,000, eligible for second-stage growth reward. Redeem?]

The cold notification sounded in Su Zhe's mind like a heavenly melody.

It worked!

Su Zhe pulled his claws out of the Shadow Dragon's massive carcass and shook off the clinging dragon blood. He felt the surging power within his body—Intermediate Wargod! His Psychic power had also reached the Junior Wargod level! He had even acquired the Scale Armor Form, granting him the Shadow Dragon's terrifying defense and stealth capabilities!

But what he looked forward to most was the system panel notification that appeared after hitting the threshold—the second-stage growth reward!

"Redeem!"

Su Zhe issued the command in his heart without hesitation.

"Whoosh!"

The next instant, a cluster of pitch-black flames appeared before Su Zhe, and he froze for a moment.

[Nihility Devouring Flame]

This is Nihility Devouring Flame?

As for the legendary Nihility Devouring Flame, it was impossible for Su Zhe not to know what kind of existence this was.

As the second-ranked flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, the Nihility Devouring Flame possesses the ability to devour all things, as well as the special ability to plunder the bloodlines of other races.

Truly... just when one is sleepy, a pillow is delivered!

Su Zhe had originally been worried that relying solely on the Blacklight Virus would not allow him to perfectly inherit all the abilities of those he devoured. He mostly inherited the creature's inherent abilities, and some special traits might not be obtainable through devouring alone.

But now.

With the ability of the Nihility Devouring Flame, Su Zhe could perfectly inherit the innate secret techniques of special lifeforms through devouring—for instance... inheriting the innate secret techniques of the Golden Horned Beast?

At the same time, with the Nihility Devouring Flame, the issue of law talent that had been troubling Su Zhe could also be perfectly resolved!

The Nihility Devouring Flame itself could be considered a part of the Law of Fire. Although it was not the Law of Fire of this world, there were bound to be commonalities.

Integrate!

Su Zhe grasped the Nihility Devouring Flame before him.

There was no need to worry about being backlashed by the Nihility Devouring Flame.

Any reward bestowed by the panel could be perfectly integrated by Su Zhe.

Otherwise, Su Zhe wouldn't have even survived the initial integration with the Blacklight Virus, let alone anything else.

The pitch-black flames merged into Su Zhe's body, accompanied by a scorching sensation that spread throughout his entire being. A black seed of fire simultaneously appeared within his body, settling into a space that could tentatively be called his sea of consciousness.

"Whoosh!"

Su Zhe flipped his hand, and a cluster of black flames manifested in his palm.

As the Nihility Devouring Flame was integrated by Su Zhe, he vaguely sensed a nascent, unawakened consciousness emerging within that black seed of fire.

It was reasonable enough.

Exotic flames could naturally give birth to intelligence; in this vast universe, it was perfectly normal for self-awareness to emerge. Regardless, it was Su Zhe's possession, and it would never defy him.

As for when that newborn consciousness would fully awaken, there was no telling.

Su Zhe chose to first take a look at his current status panel.

[Name]: Su Zhe
[Martial Artist Level]: Apprentice Level 8 (Intermediate War God)
[Psychic Level]: Apprentice Level 6 (Advanced War General)
[Bloodline]: Blacklight Virus
[Abilities]: Devour, Camouflage, Thermal Sensing, Psychic Power, Acidic Substance, Nihility Devouring Flame
[Forms]: Claw Form, Wing Speed Form, Fire Scale Form
[Laws]: None
[Items]: Communication Watch...
[Devour Points]: 0 (1,000,000)

To obtain the next reward, 1,000,000 Devour Points were required.

In other words, he would need to kill 10,000,000 Junior Soldier-Level Beasts.

Hm?

Wait, after killing that Shadow Dragon just now, shouldn't there have been an extra 0.1 Devour Points?

Had the panel swallowed that 0.1?

Su Zhe suddenly realized that the decimal point on the panel had vanished!

What did this mean?

Could it be that killing Apprentice Level beasts no longer granted Devour Points?

Su Zhe narrowed his eyes, his figure flickering as he arrived on the street outside. He found a random Beast General-level monster and killed it... Sure enough, there was no way to gain Devour Points anymore!

Did this mean that from now on, he could only kill Planet-level monsters?

Yet, he was currently only at Apprentice Level 8.

It seemed that there was no need to waste time killing those useless Soldier-level and General-level beasts anymore. His primary goal would be to hunt down those powerful Lord-level monsters, or even King-level monsters, to break through to the Planet level as quickly as possible!

In the short term, he wouldn't be able to obtain the third reward.

However, it was not a major issue.

Relying solely on the Blacklight Virus and the Nihility Devouring Flame, Su Zhe would not need to worry about his strength stagnating for a very long time!