Chapter 178: A Meager Seventh Level
Yashan’s evolution went incredibly smoothly, and when he woke up again, he had become a sixth-level mutant, an “Earth Lord.”
After testing his newly acquired abilities, he found that he had gained three new powers.
The first was that his steel armor had transformed into “Black Crystal,” a material with a strength roughly 1.8 times that of steel. It was decent but not as strong as he had imagined. Su Hao estimated that this strength would quickly reach its limit, and even evolving into a seventh-level mutant, a “Life Bearer,” wouldn’t enhance it significantly.
The second ability was “Blood Resilience.” By actively channeling his blood, he could redirect over 80% of the damage to his blood, using it to counteract the harm. With this ability, an “Earth Lord’s” survival capabilities reached a new level, making it hard for them to truly die. However, if caught off guard and unable to react in time, “Blood Resilience” wouldn’t automatically kick in.
The third ability was “Flesh and Blood Shifting.” In the transformed state, he could relocate parts of his body to other positions, effectively avoiding critical attacks.
One could only say that the “Earth Lord” was truly invincible!
Su Hao had a sudden insight and curiously asked Yashan, “Yashan, when I was fighting the ‘Earth Lord,’ I chopped off his head, but he grew it back and was perfectly fine. Do you want to try that?”
Yashan immediately jumped away from Su Hao, taking several steps back and said, “Boss Wei, please don’t! I can endure losing a hand or a foot, but cutting off a head? I wouldn’t dare! Let’s talk about that later, much later!”
Since Yashan was unwilling to try, Su Hao didn’t insist.
The next step was to test the feasibility of rune operation, which went smoothly.
After inscribing the “second-level” runes for Yashan and recording his genetic information, Su Hao handed him a small booklet, saying, “Yashan, for the next month, follow the exercises written in there. Don’t worry; this time, it’s not about writing, but drawing. You’ll get the hang of it quickly.”
Yashan smiled awkwardly and said, “Thank you, Boss Wei.”
…
After Yashan left, Su Hao began adjusting his state, preparing to evolve into an “Earth Lord.” He didn’t plan to wait for Yashan to pass through the second stage of evolution. He needed to seize time to gain more power and increase his risk-bearing foundation.
As night fell, Su Hao lay quietly in bed, awaiting the completion of his evolution.
As the “Transformer” contracted sharply, a wave of drowsiness overcame him, and Su Hao fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up again, he immediately understood that he had successfully evolved into an “Earth Lord.”
Su Hao controlled his transformation, and his body instantly grew, inflating like a balloon, becoming a small giant of nearly four meters in height.
The appearance was similar to the “Steel Armor King,” but the once dull steel had transformed into black crystal, gleaming with a faint luster.
In terms of temperament, he had transitioned from a loser to a handsome and wealthy individual!
It’s pure visual charisma in action.
Not only is the strength impressive, but the key point is the shine. If you polish this armor, you could probably sell it for a good sum!
He had transformed into a gem knight from head to toe, and from now on, he couldn’t be low-key.
Even when he reverted to his normal state, Su Hao felt different. Every single cell in his body seemed so valuable.
Su Hao looked at his sparkling black crystal armor with satisfaction and couldn’t help but make a few perfect poses.
Next, he began to experiment with engraving runes.
Starting from the chest, layer by layer, aesthetic runes climbed up the black crystal armor.
“Cool!” Su Hao couldn’t help but exclaim.
But it still wasn’t cool enough. It could be even more dazzling!
The black crystal had some transparency, and Su Hao’s eyes lit up. “If I bury the patterns beneath the surface to create that elusive feeling…”
He thought it and immediately went into the Pinball Space to design it, taking advantage of his current transformed state.
“If it’s buried too deep, it won’t be visible. A bit shallower, a bit shallower… visible enough to appreciate the beauty of the rune patterns while still maintaining the luster of the black crystal… Hmm, let’s add a toned-down version of the ‘Strong Light’ rune. Illuminate myself during the transformation, and the entrance effect must be maxed out! Haha!”
Soon, Su Hao’s design was complete. Towards the end, he even made it a bit more understated due to how excessively cool it was.
Su Hao exited the Pinball Space and began his magnificent transformation.
“Ka ka ka~”
Black crystals kept forming. Shoulder pads rose like birds spreading their wings, the smooth lines on the chest extended down to the abdominal armor, creating a perfect arc that disappeared on both sides.
Layers of thick black crystal scales lined down his legs, making his physique appear extremely sleek and muscular.
Su Hao slowly clenched his fist.
“Inscribe the runes.”
A fist-sized circular pattern began to form at his chest, concealed beneath the black crystal surface, yet clearly visible.
Following that, from his chest, a series of intricate patterns spread across his entire body, adding a touch of mystery.
“Weakened – Strong Light!”
A faint light ignited from the chest and extended along the beautiful arc, finally illuminating the entire black crystal armor.
It was dazzling beyond belief.
After playing around for a while, Su Hao gradually calmed down and reverted from his “Earth Lord” state.
After thinking about it, he decided to remove the lighting effect. Most battles took place at night, and while having flashy lights was cool, it also attracted unwanted attention. Su Hao, who wasn’t fond of sticking out like a sore thumb, decided it was better to keep it subtle.
But even without the lighting effect, Su Hao in this black crystal armor was bound to leave people in awe.
Over the next month, Su Hao continuously tried to activate new abilities, but he could only become more proficient in his existing powers. No new abilities were activated.
Among the three new abilities gained by the “Earth Lord,” the most useful for Su Hao is “Blood Resistance.”
After a month of analysis and research, Su Hao has figured out how “Blood Resistance” works. Upon evolving into the “Earth Lord,” he has gained control over a unique arrangement of blood energy that can create a protective force field on the surface of his body, within which a buffering structure is generated to absorb the majority of impact forces when an attack is imminent, thus protecting his flesh from harm. This structure is extremely stable and can remain active as long as there is a continuous supply of blood energy.
What’s more, the “Blood Resistance” structure does not conflict with his runes, which is good news for Su Hao. It means he has acquired a powerful defensive skill, and by understanding the principles behind the “Blood Resistance” structure, even without corresponding genetic assistance, he can control the generation of the blood energy structure to achieve “Blood Resistance.”
As for the “Black Crystal Armor,” its purpose is simply to look impressive, while “Flesh Transfer” is mostly unnecessary for Su Hao because he’s confident that no one can decapitate him in the first place.
In terms of combat, Su Hao’s advantages are apparent. Unlike the instincts-based combat style of most other mutants in this world, Su Hao has a wealth of combat techniques at his disposal. He also possesses a variety of runes, offering solutions for most situations. Coupled with his robust black crystal armor and abilities like “Hardening,” “Barrier,” “Deflection,” and the new “Blood Resistance,” breaking through his defenses seems almost impossible.
Furthermore, he has nearly 10,000 meters of radar perception, high-speed flight, and exceptional maneuverability. Escaping or engaging him on his terms is a considerable challenge. Even the most skilled mutants from the “Shell People” sequence would find it difficult to get close to him. How do you behead someone like Su Hao? He doesn’t even know the answer himself.
In Su Hao’s eyes, no mere seventh-level mutant, not even the infamous [Slaughterer], can pose a threat to him. This is Su Hao’s confidence.
However, Su Hao decides to take a cautious approach and puts his rune genetics experiments on hold. He plans to head to Huixiang City and obtain the “Life Bearer” blood before making further decisions.
