019. Bloodline Fluctuations
[Constructing Gene Sequence…]
Lacking knowledge in fields like "Pharmacokinetics," Li Aozi was already on his way to the Grand Duchy of Grant by the time the drug's effects began to take hold. The gene construction process was slow and sometimes even paused, much to Li Aozi's frustration.
He treated it as a way to pass the boredom of the journey.
However, the journey was not smooth for Li Aozi.
First, the private plane that Tianhuan promised was grounded due to a natural disaster.
Fortunately, Tianhuan had prepared all the necessary documents. To avoid arousing suspicion from Frost-Plated's Law III agents, SCIA had him transfer to the neighboring Republic of Sasko and take a train to bypass Frost-Plated and enter the Western Continent Wasteland.
The vast plateau was majestic but devoid of life. Li Aozi, with his strong constitution, was not afraid of altitude sickness and hiked a few kilometers to meet SCIA agents. They provided him with an off-road vehicle loaded with supplies and a tourist visa to Grant.
"This is your ride."
Li Aozi took the supply package, reversed gravity, and took off directly, flying at high speed over the outer lands.
Driving couldn't compare to the speed of his flight.
Then, Li Aozi encountered two snow tornadoes on his journey. Thunder roared, winds howled, and the desolate, barren land stretched out endlessly. Li Aozi had to slow down and occasionally stop to create a sturdy gravitational sphere, securely anchoring himself to the ground.
After finally waiting out the tornado, the magnetic field changes caused by the natural disaster rendered his navigation system useless.
With Azure Star's atmosphere blocked by Calamity, there were no orbital satellites to help with positioning. Li Aozi had no choice but to rest where he was. Leaning against a mountain, he set up a tent, brewed coffee, and took a break while browsing the player forums.
With the beta test countdown approaching, forum users had mostly figured out who the first wave of Azure Star settlers would be. Besides a few corporate units and military personnel, an enthusiast had compiled a detailed list of names.
Since the first wave of professional clubs was rather weak, Li Aozi didn't pay attention to the usual professional players. Instead, he focused on the large guilds and individual players, finding a few interesting characters.
Particularly intriguing was an independent player with the ID "Caramel Snail." According to veteran forum users, this Caramel Snail was a complete newbie, with no traceable background.
Li Aozi, however, was very familiar with this person. Caramel Snail was a fellow streamer who would become a highly popular solo player, known for being a [Twilight Sword Saint] from the [Destruction] specialization, holding the all-time record of 209 consecutive PK victories in Star Abyss.
Unlike Li Aozi's path as a [Starfall Master], the [Twilight Sword Saint] was a highly popular route, and Caramel Snail was considered the top candidate for achieving godhood in that path.
However, like the [Starfall Master], this profession had its limitations and wasn't suitable for competitive play. In contrast, other paths in the [Destruction] specialization, like [Demon Shura], [Extreme Martial Artist], and [Shadow Lord], were common in tournaments.
As a rare solo player, Caramel Snail quickly attracted attention. When someone on the forum asked which area he would choose to spawn in, he answered without hesitation:
"Tianhuan. I love the clash of swords."
Good, this kid had the right mindset. Li Aozi found someone who shared his views, lifting his spirits.
After the storm subsided, Li Aozi suddenly felt a premonition. He opened his palm, and cracks appeared in his skin, from which red-black crystals began to grow.
The system immediately popped up a series of prompts:
[Integrating Gene Sequence]
[Eliminating Invalid Gene Fragments]
[Replicating Gene Fragments]
[New Omega Energy Gene Constructed]
Li Aozi rubbed his neck, admitting that his level was still a bit behind Abyss Humanitarian. At least their drugs worked quickly, while his took a full 40 hours.
[Child of the Abyss, you have opened a new gateway to the path of domination.]
[With just a slight mutation, you have gained new power, surprising indeed.]
[Please choose one of the following as your subordinate Omega Energy]:
A——[Body Enhancement]: Zeta-tier (ζ, the sixth Greek letter) Omega Energy, dual benefits of [Constitution] and [Charisma]. You possess a body of steel, with muscles capable of withstanding ordinary bullets and releasing immense power.
Omega Energy Manifestation:
Active Activation—Muscle fibers across your body are strengthened and proliferated, your muscles bulge instantly, and your bones become extremely hard (ten times the hardness of steel).
Passive State—With each advancement in tier, Constitution +15, Maximum Health +100 permanently;
"Iron bones, unyielding and uncorrupted."
B——[Electric Shock]: Alpha-tier (α, the first Greek letter) Omega Energy, single benefit of [Charisma]. You can link the power-generating cells in your body to produce a 30-volt charge, and that's it.
Omega Energy Manifestation:
Active Activation—Discharge, 30 volts, 0.2 milliamps, be content.
Passive State—Immune to paralysis caused by electric shocks.
"Come on, shake my hand."
C——[Rose Dragon Scales]: Kappa-tier (κ, the tenth Greek letter) Omega Energy, single benefit of [Charisma]. You've integrated certain genes into a dragon sequence, enhancing your bloodline potential. Dragon scales are just the beginning.
Omega Energy Manifestation:
Active Activation—Your body is covered with rose petal-like dragon scales, each scale as strong as stainless steel with 50 times the strength, capable of absorbing some thermal energy. When a scale sustains excessive impact, it will automatically shed.
Passive State—Dragon genetic factors are embedded in your gene sequence, gradually evolving your species towards the dragon race.
D——[Armor of the Mountains]: Kappa-tier (κ, the tenth Greek letter) Omega Energy, single benefit of [Charisma]. Your genes have unexpectedly achieved a caster's gene combination, drawing elemental power from the earth to form an indestructible armor.
Omega Energy Manifestation:
Active Activation—Consumes Omega Energy to summon a set of sturdy armor on your body.
Passive State—You can now absorb elemental power from free space to restore Omega Energy.
——————————
"Tsk, cheap things are never good."
Li Aozi muttered in frustration.
The quality of these Omega Energies was mediocre at best; only [Rose Dragon Scales] and [Armor of the Mountains] were barely acceptable.
The problem with [Rose Dragon Scales] was that it would modify the holder's genes to a certain extent, integrating dragon race factors.
Everyone knows that even a tiny bit of dragon blood makes one part of the dragon race.
Within the dragon race, hierarchy is strict, with the upper class having absolute dominance and bloodline control over the lower class. Higher dragons can even sense and control the behavior and consciousness of lower dragons through bloodline connection.
Li Aozi didn't want to gain a fatal weakness because of a mere Kappa-tier Omega Energy.
Moreover, he knew that the high dragon, Grina Waterswirl, was currently in Narrative Zone No. 10, so he dared not let his guard down.
Although the dragon bloodline was extremely powerful, Li Aozi didn't want to pursue that route.
As a transmigrator, Li Aozi knew of three bloodline routes to avoid: dragons, Titans, and the Technites.
The potential of these three races was already locked; there was little future in them. Li Aozi intended to pursue the [Starfall Master] path, with no need to chase after other racial bloodlines.
Strictly speaking, the Void and Demon races were also out of consideration. The Void had an unstable evolutionary path, extremely contrary to reality and physical laws. Who knew what one might evolve into? Some players even discovered that after taking the Void path, they turned around and found they no longer had a brain.
All demons, regardless of nationality or purity, were essentially citizens of the Outer Realm Society of Pergalay.
Demons were a powerful race with both technology and magic, and each demon had immense casting potential. Even the weakest demon was a born mage. Why is that?
Why do you think magic is called magic?
A widely circulated theory suggests that demons were the first civilization in the universe, and the way they transformed and understood the world was called magic.
Long ago, Pergalay, as the leader of the demon civilization, was happy to share magical knowledge. But people also discovered that the demon civilization had advanced technological means, making them a top-tier civilization capable of dual cultivation in both magic and science.
For unknown reasons, this once thriving and courteous demon civilization suddenly chose to ascend to society, becoming the enemy of all other civilizations.
Li Aozi had no desire to be branded as a "traitor to society." That label was too heavy and would make him a target for everyone.
Omega Energy already defied physical common sense. For example, Li Aozi's [Gravity], with only 150G of effect, could bend light and achieve invisibility.
Anyone who understood gravitational lenses knew that even a massive celestial body like the sun could only deflect light by about 1°.
So how could he become invisible? Li Aozi really didn't know.
One major characteristic of Omega Energy is: even if I don't know the principle behind it, I can still use it, and it produces this effect. And by the time I understand my Omega Energy's principle, the world will be on the brink of destruction.
Use it first, understand it later.
The [Craft] specialization was the exact opposite. You had to grasp the underlying concepts and objective theories first before you could release one skill after another. But this behavior had universality and replicability, making it more suitable for widespread dissemination.
This belongs to the "understand first, use later" approach.
For this reason, unless it's Alpha-tier, Omega Energies are too shallow and lack any real potential—almost all Omega Energies, aside from this, can be said to have limitless potential.
The Zeta-tier [Body Enhancement] was just okay, and this Omega Energy was common enough to be considered mundane. Upgrading it with gene fragments would be costly… and its future path was quite average.
Its origin was definitely Sequence 82: [Bloodline]. No need to think about it; this Omega Energy was exclusive to [Conqueror], and the [Starfall Master] path had something even more powerful.
—Sequence 6: [Strength].