"This Fire-Thorn Vine sure follows the usual rules for recognizing its master. It just has to suck a lot of blood." Huang Wuye clicked his tongue, sounding a little rueful.
But the slight curl of his lips gave away how he really felt.
It was no wonder he was happy. The Fire-Thorn Vine had a gene strength three times the norm, making it a once-in-a-millennium rarity among plant life.
On top of that, its body was large and sturdy. Combined with its unique Innate Secret Technique, Iron Wall, its defenses were boosted to an absurd degree.
Its entire body was covered in sharp thorns, making it a formidable attacker as well. It was also attuned to the laws of fire, so it no longer had the weakness of being vulnerable to fire. That was a huge advantage for plant life.
Huang Wuye took out the Fire-Thorn Vine sapling. A plant appeared in midair, its tightly coiled vines slowly unfurling as bright red tendrils swayed in the breeze.
Sharp thorns densely covered its vines, their glinting tips giving off a chilling gleam that made one's heart skip a beat.
Its body spread out to about half Huang Wuye's height, roughly five meters tall. It truly lived up to its status as a large plant life-form.
It had only just been released, and it was already somewhat agitated. The thorns covering its body stood slightly on end.
"Come here, little one!" Huang Wuye smiled at the sight and grabbed the Fire-Thorn Vine. Then he took a small silver knife from his World Ring and lightly cut his wrist. A gash appeared at once, and blood began to well out.
"Thank goodness this little knife is made of C-Grade Alloy. Otherwise, cutting my arm would've been a real challenge."
The Fire-Thorn Vine drank Huang Wuye's blood, its tendrils dancing with delight.
Before long, it stopped drinking. Now calm, it gently tapped Huang Wuye with one of its vines, radiating affection.
"Little one, from now on, your name is Little Fire." Huang Wuye felt as if their blood and flesh had become one, and couldn't help feeling close to the Fire-Thorn Vine.
With a thought, the Fire-Thorn Vine flashed into a streak of red light and merged into Huang Wuye's body. It then transformed into red armor that enveloped him.
Huang Wuye felt his strength increase slightly, and the armor's protection filled him with delight.
"Not bad. Little Fire is only at Planetary Level One, but the strength boost it gives me is almost enough to put me at Planetary Level Five.
"This armor can probably withstand attacks from around Planetary Level Nine. And Little Fire can recover quickly, so it should even be able to block one or two attacks at Star Level."
Then he reached into his Space Ring and took out a pile of colorful fruits, handing them to Little Fire.
Little Fire had already begun radiating longing the moment he took out the fruits. Several tendrils had quietly emerged from the armor, and were now swaying impatiently.
"Go on. These are for you."
Feeling Little Fire's eagerness, Huang Wuye smiled and nodded.
With permission, Little Fire swept up the fruits at lightning speed and swallowed them all. Then it merged back into Huang Wuye's body.
"Get some sleep. By the time you wake up, you should be close to Universe Level." Huang Wuye couldn't help feeling envious. Plant life really had it easy: as long as they had resources, they could grow stronger quickly.
But thinking of how much those fruits had cost still made his heart ache. Each one was worth more than a fortune. Any single fruit could have bought several life-bearing planets.
Their total value, measured in Hunyuan, was enough to bankrupt an ordinary World Lord Level powerhouse.
Only Huang Tian was wealthy enough not to care about the expense. As for Huang Wuye, all he could say was that they were worth every penny.
After making Little Fire his, Huang Wuye continued taking stock of his belongings. He called for Dasheng, who passed along Huang Tian's records on genetic material.
After a while, Huang Wuye finished memorizing everything. Then he began checking the contents of each box against the records.
"These are the horns of the Rhino-Horn Clan; these are the hooves of the Sky-Hoof Clan; these are the fins of the Roaring Whale Clan; and this is a corpse from the Demon-Slaying Clan...
"There are over three thousand corpses, scales, claws, or other remains from special races in all. I'll have to buy genetic material from ordinary races on the Virtual Universe myself." After finishing his inventory, Huang Wuye considered the matter, then said to Dasheng,
"Dasheng, use the family's privileges to search the Virtual Universe for genetic material from ordinary races. Hurry and get me a batch first."
"Sure, boss. I checked, and we can expedite a batch of genetic material. It should take about three days, and there'll be around a hundred species, though they're all common races.
"We can collect around twenty thousand more samples beyond that, at an estimated cost of three thousand Hunyuan. That's with your father having already prepared the genetic material from most of the precious races. Still, the money he sent you will be reduced by a tenth." After carrying out a series of operations, Dasheng reported back to Huang Wuye.
Even though Huang Wuye had been prepared, the figure still shocked him. But necessary expenses couldn't be avoided.
He stopped thinking about it and took out one of the samples.
"I'll try it on this Demon-Slaying Clan corpse!" He activated his Innate Secret Technique, and the corpse in front of him vanished.
Inside a mysterious space, the Demon-Slaying Clan corpse appeared out of thin air. Then waves of barely visible light swept over it, analyzing every inch of its body.
"Thank goodness I don't have to eat this stuff raw. Now I just have to wait for my Innate Secret Technique, Life Analysis and Modification, to take effect. It feels great to boost my gene multiplier just by lying here." Huang Wuye felt a rush of pleasure as insights into the Demon-Slaying Clan's life structure flowed to him through his Innate Secret Technique.
"This Innate Secret Technique is incredible. Once it finishes analyzing the target, I'll also receive the entire analysis process. That means I'll have mastered the knowledge of the analysis myself, and later, I'll even be able to teach others." Huang Wuye was overjoyed. He hadn't expected such a bonus; he'd thought it was just a passive ability. Now it seemed to be much more than that.
"Hmm, judging by the progress, it'll take about three months. I'll just go about my business in the meantime."
In the blink of an eye, three months passed. During that time, he settled into a regular routine: soaking in Nutrient Solution, studying the laws, practicing his marksmanship in the Killing Field, and fighting all sorts of geniuses in the Battle Space.
He also got to know quite a few talented people. Among them, he became friends with one in particular: Ye Wuhen.
After fighting many times, Huang Wuye and Ye Wuhen had become friends through their battles. Ye Wuhen could be rather obnoxious at times.
But he wasn't a bad person by nature. On top of that, he was powerful, while Huang Wuye was progressing rapidly. After fighting each other again and again, the two grew to appreciate one another. They happened to meet outside the Battle Space one day and became friends.
Over those three months, Huang Wuye's strength had also improved considerably. As a warrior, he had reached Star Level Eight and was about to advance to Star Level Nine. As a spirit reader, he was just one step away from Universe Level. If not for his body holding him back, he would have already reached Universe Level.
That day, Huang Wuye was sitting cross-legged in the Nutrient Solution. "Oh, the analysis is complete? Then let's begin the modification!"
Before you continue