[Ding! Condition to "Evolve" to Tier-1 met. Current Evolution Points 64.2/10. Would you like to initiate "Evolution"?]
…
"E-Evolution!?"
A surge of joy stirred Xuan Wu's heart as he realized what was happening.
"...As I had suspected, there is indeed a threshold for evolution! And if I'm not wrong, beyond this should be a threshold above this to evolve once more!" Thinking so, Xuan Wu shot a glance at the direction where the snake had retreated, and a sense of relief washed over him.
He began to think of the countless other entities which inhabited the canyon.
'They are strong.
But I…
I must get much stronger than them. Because I…
Never want to face this kind of situation again!'
Then, he whispered to himself,
"Confirm evolution."
Just as he gave his confirmation, Xuan Wu suddenly felt an immense torrent of energy entering his body. This wave of energy was so powerful and overwhelming that his entire body trembled the moment it entered.
'Evolve! Keep evolving.'
*Crack… crack…* With sharp yet brief cracking sounds, Xuan Wu 's bone shard kept cracking.
'Keep evolving!'
What was even more shocking was that his entire body was constantly growing bigger.
This kind of size could still not be considered a lot.
But the crux of the issue was that it had happened in a span of just a few breaths.
Furthermore, the transformation was still continuing…
'In order to survive in this jungle, I must keep getting stronger…'
Xuan Wu could keenly sense every inch of his body getting stronger as the exploding energy destroyed his cells, and a warm current repaired them immediately after. This constant destruction and reconstruction made his recovered cells stronger and stronger.
'I must keep evolving as a monster!'
Vaguely, a profound metamorphosis was taking place, transforming his very life essence. His current evolution was the transition of life itself!
His tentacles kept growing and growing, extending his reach toward the sky. At the same time, they grew increasingly sturdier and formidable. Faintly, they were emitting star-like glimmers, much like when he had first strengthened them.
Except, this spectacle was clearly visible in the broad daylight!
From the distance, one could see a magical creature, around 20-30 meters tall, radiating a stellar glow in the depths of the canyon.
And amidst this flickering glow, the red fox and falcons watched Xuan Wu intently .
In a flash, the entire canyon was bathed in his unique radiance.
Immediately, birds fled into the sky, and animals on the ground trembled in fear.
In an instant, a true overlord of the canyon was rising.
…
Apart from this, an even greater event was unfolding in the unseen depths.
Xuan Wu 's body continued to develop and grow rapidly.
But strangely enough a few parts and drops of solution from Xuan Wu separated from him and trickled into the ground beneath him.
They had seeped through the cracks and broken ground due to the battle between him and the snake.
They dug wider and deeper into the ground, giving the impression of coiling snakes traveling, moving through the ground.
But the strangest thing was that Xuan Wu could track and experience what was happening to these drops!
In fact, he'd say it felt very familiar to what he had first experienced arriving into this world.
The droplets dug deeper underground, its unyielding advance unaffected by the solid rocks. While the ground was uneven and broken, his solution had already reached the depths of around one hundred meters before it finally came to a halt.
*Drip!
"Eh?" The instant Xuan Wu was thinking about this.
"It suddenly felt heavy and suddenly felt light….. It fell into a very unstable state.
Don't tell me... I fell into water?
The moment it reached that location, Xuan Wu could clearly feel a chilling sensation.
During his days, his body had never touched any water. Which means, this place was probably the interior of a rainproof cave or room.
"I can feel my body continuously being pushed along by a strong current!"
Since there is no way for rivers or lakes to exist inside a room, in other words, this is an underground river inside a cave...
"An underground river!?"
In a state of doubt and astonishment, Xuan Wu 's heart started racing a little.
By this point he sensed the small drops of his main body had already traveled along the river for at least 50 meters, even spreading like a spider web.
Immediately after, a greater sense of chill continuously surged through them.
It was not just a simple underground river. Xuan Wu could clearly see the constant influx of unknown matter seeping into the droplets.
"Could it be a Spirit River that contained a large amount of unknown matter?" With a jolt, a conjecture popped up in Xuan Wu 's mind.
At depths of about a hundred meters, it carried a significant amount of unknown matter, so it made sense to call it a Spirit River. Only, it was not the time to dwell on such matters.
Because…
*SCREECH, SCREECH, SCREECH…
Letting out piercing cries that could tear through metal and stone, the eight Peregrine Falcons, perching next to Xuan Wu's side, rose into the air.
By the looks of it, Xuan Wu's evolution had also influenced them!
But why would they not?
Currently, a storm of Spiritual Energy, resembling a vortex, has emerged around Xuan Wu with his body as it's center.
As the Peregrine Falcons were closest to Xuan Wu , they had naturally benefited significantly from this.
Not only the Peregrine Falcons, the Red Fox beside him began to undergo a new round of metamorphosis!
Its claws gradually became longer and sharper, and the red fire in the depths of its eyes also became even more splendid…
Its fur continued to grow bigger, and subtly, became brighter and more beautiful.
From a distance, this Red Fox, even larger than the size of a young calf, appeared as if it was bathing in flames.
It looked sacred, yet fearsome.
"ROAR…"
A long roar suddenly echoed in the canyon.
The Red Fox, engulfed in the flames, leaped up and landed straight on a huge rock. Then, it kept scanning all the directions of the gorge with a cold look in its eyes, as if it was on guard against something.
On the other side…
*Screech… Screech… Screech…* Sharp cries rose one after another, as the eight Peregrine Falcon, who now resembled full grown adults Peregrine Falcons with a body length of about seventy centimeters and wingspan reaching one to two meters, spread their wings and soared into the sky.
*Screech…* With a united sharp and high-pitched scream, that shook the entire canyon and could truly be called a screech that could truly pierce through rocks and metal, the eight Peregrine Falcons spread out in eight directions, their frigid eyes relentlessly scouring every nook and corner of the canyon like eagles.
"All the kindness I've shown you has not been wasted." Xuan Wu chuckled, feeling relieved at the reaction of the Red Fox and Peregrine Falcons.
"Such protective behavior was enough to prove that all my recent efforts have not been in vain!" With these thoughts, Xuan Wu 's consciousness slowly sank deeper into his body.
Though he had many he still needed to understand clearly, his mind couldn't wander for long.
Away from everyone's sight, a deeper transformation was already underway…
…
Meanwhile, at the entrance of the canyon…
Two figures slowly approached. However, at this moment, both He Qing Er and her sister He Ling Er were pale. In their vision, the entire canyon was shimmering as if adorned with starlight.
"Sis, am I seeing things?"
The younger sister, He Ling Er tightened her clothes, staring blankly at the Giant Golden Eagle with a wingspan of over five meters inside the canyon not too far away from their location.
It seemed that the eagle's body had somehow been moved here, whether in the middle of the battle or some other time one could not know.
Fresh blood kept flowing out from its golden wings. Each and every wound on it was so gruesome that it made the onlookers' pupils involuntarily contract.
But what was even more terrifying was the piercing holes that tore through the Giant Golden Eagle!
As she took a closer look, He Ling Er could not help but fall into silence as she noticed that the holes could not have been of human origin…
After a while, He Ling Er turned her head and looked at her sister, He Qing Er, who had the same look of disbelief plastered on her face. He Ling Er hesitatingly asked,
"A Demon!?"
Yes, a Demon.
According to ancient myths and legends, Demons were born from the depths of primordial chaos, embodying unparalleled power and unfathomable strength.
"I…I don't know."
Shaking her head, the elder sister of the two, He Qing Er, who had always been the decisive one, was also at a loss at this moment.
Only, her faintly paled cheeks rather betrayed her inner fear.
She had only come with her young sister for a bath. How could she have ever expected to encounter such a shocking event.
A battle between a Giant Golden Eagle and a terrifying demon. The Demon's attacks even shot upward, piercing the Giant Golden Eagle.
"My goodness, is it really the world I know?"
"Is it really like what was reported on television?"
Over the past month or two, He Qing Er had watched many unbelievable news reports on television.
For instance, powerful current surging in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, followed by a dark shadow that swallowed an entire luxury cruise ship.
Or a passenger plane encountering a murder of crows in the sky, and disappeared without a trace before it could land.
Even though He Qing Er was from the depths of the mountains, she found it hard to believe these stories. While it was true that strange things had been happening in the past month or two, things had not reached such an extreme level. At most, there were reports of wild animals charging out of the forests and attacking passersby. In response, various experts of different fields had willingly stepped forward to explain these occurrences…
Of course, the most convincing among their explanations was the presence of an unknown matter in the air. And it was this unknown matter that was causing animals to undergo varying degrees of mutation.
In the East, this unknown matter was referred to as 'Spiritual Energy'.
In the West, it was referred to as 'Mana'.
The most popular theory these days was the 'Rise of Transcendence' or 'the advent of the Era of Transcendents', as some proclaimed.
Despite the reports, He Qing Er did not believe a single word of it.
"What a joke!? Every day they talk about atheism, and now suddenly there's talk of an Era of Transcendents!?"
…
But now, He Qing Er, looking at the scene at the other end of the canyon, could not help but be shaken up.
Yes, shaken.
It seemed as if this was no longer the era she was familiar with.
A demon lurking in the forest, and the Golden Eagle dripping blood…
The brutal survival of the fittest in the food chain was displayed here vividly.
"Sis, Sis…"
Hearing her younger sister's anxious voice, He Qing Er grabbed her sister's hand tightly, gulped her nervousness down before reassuring her,
"Don't worry, let's go back to the village and report to Grandpa." Saying so, a glimmer of excitement flashed in her eyes as she recalled something, exclaiming in excitement,
"Grandpa mentioned that anyone who reports about any anomalies they find, he or she would be rewarded."
"Mhmm…" He Ling Er repeatedly nodded, but did not say anything in response.
It was not that she did not want to speak, rather her legs had already gone weak at this moment. There was even a strange smell coming from her lower body.
*Gulp.* Unable to stop herself from gulping in nervousness, He Qing Er took a deep look at the tree's in the canyon. Then, she grabbed her sister's hand and ran away without looking back.
…
Returning to Xuan Wu's side.
The bright light that had enveloped Xuan Wu and the surrounding area slowly dimmed down, revealing the figure of a new monster!
[Evolution Points: 54.2]
Xuan Wu opened his eyes and saw the new changes in his body.
It seemed that the Bone shard he had enhanced hastily in battle once more changed form, previously it looked like one solid piece of bone, but now it seemed as there were two layers of them that were stuck together, looking almost as if there were two levels of surfaces to it.
Several jagged spikes protruded from it's side in a uniform fashion, almost like small horns. Though it looked more angular, almost like a knife, it's overall silhouette remained mostly the same.
His muscles were now even denser with robust fibers that extended well past 10 meters.
Xuan Wu quickly extracted some of his solution, seeing its translucent exterior now shimmered with iridescent hues, casting a kaleidoscope of colors onto the surrounding flora.
With his transformation complete, Xuan Wu's senses became heightened, almost as if somehow, his understanding of the forest deepened. He could closely perceive the delicate rustle of leaves, the symphony of bird songs, and the whispers of hidden creatures.
"Not only that, the branches that were cut grew back! My body's even bigger now!" Xuan Wu remarked, surmising that he could now even wrestle and contend with the snake's physicality!
But what was most important to him was this!
[ Xuan Wu
Body: 『Variation Crimson Ooze』
Lifespan: 0.3/10 years
Evolution point: 54.2
Rank: First Order
(Acquisition method, one receives nutrients, absorbs unknown energy for refining, and the second plunders other animals and even plants, and then extracts.)
Skills:
Variant Tongue: 0/24
Variant Bone plate: 0/1
Essence of Life: Solution contains spiritual liquid, which can accelerate the evolution of species ]
His Properties panel had upgraded!
There were several new pieces of information that he could now see along with the addition of a very important aspect.
"Rank!? First order!?"
Xuan Wu became a little puzzled, looking at this brand new term.
But the next moment, he seemed to have thought of something as he suddenly focused his consciousness on himself.
"What's this First Order? Does this mean that the future ranks would be Second Order, Third Order…"
After giving it a thought, Xuan Wu found himself in partial agreement.
If this was really the case, the ranks in the future would be intuitive and clear.
He then looked at the Fox and Falcons next to him, discovering yet another new feature !
In his gaze, a status screen just like his own had surfaced just above the Red Fox!
[Race: Mutant Red Fox
Life: 3/20 Years
Rank: Entry Level 4
Unique Abilities: Enchanting Eyes – Its gorgeous eyes are the treasures of the world with the mystical power of bewitching.]
"It's just as I thought! After the Entry Level, one would enter the First Order!" The Fox was suddenly surprised by Xuan Wu.
This time, Xuan Wu had obtained a massive harvest!
He had become even more intimidating and powerful with all his newfound skills.
But it wasn't just the physical changes that left Xuan Wu in awe. His system had seemingly expanded, unlocking a reservoir of knowledge and capabilities!