Breakthrough

"Though it felt kind of perverse, I never expected blood to taste this delicious..." Mu Xiao wore a slightly intoxicated expression, then suddenly came to his senses. "This strange change in my mindset isn't a good sign. And this bloody fragrance is far too addictive. It might be my body's bloodline genes at work."

The blood-red heart gradually shriveled. The deep wounds across Mu Xiao's body healed at a visible speed, his skin regained its healthy color, and his slightly sunken cheeks slowly became rosy again. His spirits lifted, and his hunger faded considerably. Yet the bright red blood filling his mouth gave him an eerie feeling.

The blood throughout Mu Xiao's body boiled like scalding water. He felt as though he were soaking in a hot spring, with every current of heat circulating within him. Every tendon, bone, muscle, and nerve was nourished, making him so comfortable he nearly moaned.

"My physique and strength are growing, my hidden injuries are healing, and my genes are actively optimizing my bodily functions. Is this devouring an evil aberration, or instinctive evolution?"

Mu Xiao enjoyed the comfort spreading through his body while carefully observing his condition. Remembering certain things, he could not help but wonder, "As far as I know, Mutant Monster blood usually contains extreme properties. Recklessly devouring it only leads to one outcome: being assimilated by those 'extreme' attributes and becoming another Mutant Monster. With bad luck, one might even explode to death. But why can I directly devour blood without being assimilated by those 'extreme' attributes? Could this be the unknown nature of the true Miracle Bloodline Formula?"

The hearts of Mutant Monsters and Zombies contained Blood Beads and Blood Crystals, which were also forms of blood energy. However, that blood energy was safe. It could be said that the original Blood Energy of Zombies and Mutant Monsters—even of any evolved species, whether failed products or half-finished ones—contained something worth taking from their bloodline genes. Blood Beads and Blood Crystals were those worthwhile things: the purest blood energy.

However, only a small portion of the Blood Energy throughout a Mutant Monster's body was usable. Most of it contained genes with harmful traits such as "extremity" and "negativity."

Ordinary people would either become madmen, turn into Mutant Humans, or simply die after absorbing it.

If Mu Xiao had not felt the intense craving within his bloodline and understood that Blood Energy was not harmful but beneficial, he would never have devoured such "unprocessed" Blood Energy.

But at that moment, he could not clearly understand his physical condition. He could only attribute everything to the unknown properties brought by the Miracle Bloodline Formula.

When Mu Xiao's body recovered to its peak condition, the heart that had lost its blood energy resembled a shriveled rubber ball. Only a small portion of newly formed Blood Beads remained wrapped inside it.

However, Mu Xiao did not get up, because the injected blood was still improving and optimizing his muscles, bones, skin...

It was Mu Xiao's first time absorbing special Blood Energy, so his body needed time to accept it. That was why the process was somewhat slow.

The bloodline genes of the Mutant Human gradually fused with Mu Xiao's unknown bloodline genes. He felt his physique breaking through at its peak...

His physique rapidly grew stronger...

The Blood Energy boiled, producing a Life Source that circulated through every part of his body. The strength contained within his muscles was rising at a terrifying rate, while his vitality continuously grew stronger, radiating vigorous life force. The bones throughout his body were also strengthening, producing faint metallic clinks. Their hardness and density were nearly comparable to ordinary metal.

Mu Xiao's physique was like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon, completely surpassing the limits of Old Humans and achieving the Apex Physique of a New Human at the Top-Tier First Realm.

"The New Human Physique I've longed for. Though I'm only at the Top-Tier First Realm, it's already far beyond an SSS-Class Physique." Mu Xiao stood up and clenched his fists. He felt as though his body possessed inexhaustible strength, as if a single punch could create an air burst. Even his Mind Force had improved tremendously, indirectly giving his Mental Power and Telekinesis a considerable increase in might.

The sturdier the container, the more powerful energy it could hold, and the more freely it could unleash its characteristics.

Mu Xiao's body was that container. Mind Force was an ability formed from the union of Source Force and the soul. The stronger his body became, even without truly cultivating it, merely combining Telekinesis and Mental Power—

—to create a thread of Mind Force would produce tyrannical power. Now that his physique had strengthened, the power he unleashed would no longer exceed what his body could bear and cause it to collapse. "If I faced that Mutant Woman again, I definitely wouldn't be as wretched as before." Mu Xiao quickly became familiar with the strength brought by his evolved physique. After all, he had once been a powerful New Human with a Veteran Evolution Level. His control over bodily functions was entirely instinctive, sparing him the process of adapting to his strength and allowing him to directly unleash combat power beyond his normal limits.

After the breakthrough and the series of physical enhancements, all the wounds on Mu Xiao's body had fully healed without leaving even the faintest scar.

In truth, after eighteen Gene Resonances, Mu Xiao's physique had already reached the Top-Tier First Realm. His progress was astonishingly fast. He also understood that if not for the strange Consciousness Sea refining a Primordial Source, directing part of it toward strengthening his physique, along with his bizarre ability to devour the Blood Energy of Mutant Humans, he could not possibly have broken through to the Top-Tier First Realm with so few Gene Resonances.

"The bloodline genes of Mutant Humans actually have such a tremendous effect on me." Mu Xiao pondered silently. Should I get rid of this psychological resistance, hunt more Mutant Humans, and turn them into the source of my evolution?

People would stop at nothing for evolution. Forget devouring blood—some deranged Evolvers would even eat living people raw.

However, as far as Mu Xiao knew, he was not the only one capable of strengthening himself through Blood Energy.

In the future Age of Evolution, there was a supreme powerhouse who commanded an enormous faction—the Blood Queen!

She was a queen who drank Blood Energy, controlled Blood Energy, and could even refine Blood Energy into an Evolutionary Power Source exclusively for herself.

"As long as I keep to my principles, remain true to myself, and do not let negative emotions influence me, devouring blood to strengthen myself isn't necessarily unacceptable." Mu Xiao felt at ease. Everyone's path of evolution was different; there was no distinction between righteous and evil paths... Only the strong were worthy of respect!

Mu Xiao picked up the Mutant Woman's shriveled heart and rummaged through it, finding ten purple-red Premium Blood Beads.

"It seems this Mutant Human had not evolved for long. She hadn't even condensed the lowest-quality Blood Crystal." Mu Xiao examined the Premium Blood Beads, his first harvest, in his hand.

Generally speaking, the highest-grade Blood Energy Zombies could condense was Premium Blood Beads. Once a Zombie transformed into a Mutant Human, the blood throughout its body would be reorganized into Blood Crystals. However, it was also possible for it to form a large number of Premium Blood Beads instead.

If a Mutant Human condensed an Initial Blood Crystal, then even an Inferior Blood Crystal would be very powerful—far stronger than a Mutant Human that formed Premium Blood Beads. Moreover, as the Mutant Human grew stronger, the quality of its Blood Crystals would rise from vermilion to deep red, then Premium grade.

Of course, if a Zombie condensed a Blood Crystal from the beginning, then even if it was only an Inferior Blood Crystal, it would possess tremendous potential after evolving into a Mutant Human. At the very least, in terms of Blood Energy, it would be stronger than other Mutant Humans that only had Blood Beads.

Simply put, Blood Crystals and Blood Beads were Blood Energy suppliers. Blood Beads provided energy at a low frequency, while Blood Crystals supplied it at a high frequency. The might of one's abilities and the output of physical strength naturally depended on the strength of those suppliers.

However, like New Humans, Mutant Humans also differed in potential.

Just as Mu Xiao was about to retrieve his severed backpack and put away the Blood Beads, he noticed a mass of substance on the Mutant Woman's corpse. It flickered in and out of sight, constantly changing into different shapes.

"This is an Ability Source for Mechanical Mastery!" Mu Xiao's heart filled with delight. The Mechanical Ability he had needed to obtain as his first step had unexpectedly appeared before him, saving him a great deal of trouble.

He grabbed the mass of white vapor-like substance. A refreshing, spring-cool energy surged directly into his mind, as if a mechanical master were imparting every bit of his knowledge without reservation. Things he had previously failed to understand, comprehend, or notice instantly became clear. A surge of enlightenment allowed him to see the essence of all machinery.

The next moment, Mu Xiao's Consciousness Sea intercepted the source of Mechanical Mastery. His thoughts informed him that it could be transformed into innate potential. If he chose to absorb it, it would become a new ability. Furthermore, after becoming a new ability, any Primordial Source he absorbed in the future could be used to enhance Mechanical Mastery. He would no longer be limited to strengthening his overall innate potential, but could focus on improving a single ability's characteristics. Such targeted enhancement would be far more effective than spreading the source across his entire innate potential.

Mu Xiao naturally would not waste such an important ability. He continued to take control of this new ability. Thus, in addition to Mind Force, he now possessed Mechanical Mastery. In the future, he could allocate refined sources to it and accelerate his comprehension of mechanical knowledge.

However, Mu Xiao had once mastered some mechanical knowledge during the Age of Evolution. Otherwise, he could not have modified the Overclocked Microwave Blade and Stun Gun into Overclocked Weapons earlier. Therefore, his improvement in Mechanical Mastery comprehension was much faster than that of ordinary people.

Mechanical Mastery was an ability of the Intelligence System. It granted excellent comprehension of mechanical knowledge, along with the ability to repair machinery, modify overclocking values, control the characteristics of any machine, and more. Generally speaking, Intelligence System abilities were difficult to level up and relied entirely on comprehension. But Mu Xiao possessed a Primordial Source, which could strengthen his soul's comprehension of "machinery," giving him an incomparable innate advantage.

The Intelligence System was a form of wisdom existing within the soul. Once an Intelligence System ability reached its limit, further breakthroughs required one to comprehend their own Mechanical Soul Secret Art and undergo the final evolution of power. If one cultivated a mechanical-type Soul Secret Art, their Mechanical Ability would become even stronger. They could unite with machines, form ideal weapons with a thought, or even turn machinery into their own incarnation.

Furthermore, some Soul Secret Arts could command a vast number of machines as puppets. Mu Xiao did not know much about their cultivation methods, since he had not followed that path in the past. However, he could improve his innate potential, giving him some ability to cultivate mechanical-type Soul Secret Arts. With Mind Force also granting him the potential to cultivate both Source Force Martial Arts and Soul Secret Arts, he felt that he could comprehend every method of cultivation.

"No wonder this Mutant Woman didn't display any special abilities during the battle. Her Ability Source turned out to be 'mechanical knowledge'..." Mu Xiao examined the Mutant Woman's corpse and noticed an employee badge on her work uniform. Her position was listed as mechanical engineer.

There was a mechanical research laboratory beneath the Lawyer Building. Mu Xiao guessed that this Mutant Woman had been one of its technicians. When the mutation occurred, she might have eaten the brains of several other technicians, allowing her to fully evolve into a Mutant Human, gain a vast amount of mechanical knowledge, and produce an Intelligence System source.

This also demonstrated the power of Mutant Humans. This Mutant Woman had not been a combat type, so the ability that emerged had been an Intelligence System source. If she had been a combat-type Mutant Human, the ability that surfaced probably would not have belonged to the Intelligence System.

"I should go back and prepare for the moving work... But first, I need to return to the underground level and change into a set of inner armor equipment and weapons." Mu Xiao stood up and stretched lazily. His entire body cracked like beans popping in a pan. He retrieved the backpack that had fallen near the stairs and put away the ten most valuable Premium Blood Beads.

Having mastered the ability of "machinery," Mu Xiao could remove the ion virus attached to machine components. Although his Mechanical Ability was not yet very strong, it was enough to activate a small portion of his weapons' and equipment's functions. This would help him on the way back and during the return trip. Even if he encountered powerful mutated creatures, he would have stronger means of adapting to the situation.