The lizard remained curled in the corner, tail wrapped tightly around its body, wings folded close against its sides. Its golden eyes stared at nothing in particular—unblinking, distant.
How many points do I have now? it asked within its mind.
The system's voice echoed calmly in response.
105,000 evolution points.
Available genes:
Shadow Leopard gene
Crimson-Backed Dire Ape gene
Echo Bat gene
108 Wind gene points
34 Water gene points
Silence lingered.
Echo Bat…
Its thoughts shifted, sharpening.
Its ability likely involves sound. Similar to the Moonlight Bat?
What are the abilities of the Echo Bat? it asked internally.
The system responded without delay.
---
Ability — Echo Sense
The Echo Bat releases subtle sound pulses infused with faint qi.
These pulses:
• Map surroundings in complete darkness
• Detect breathing, heartbeats, and muscle tension
• Sense hidden enemies through vibration
• Reveal invisible or concealed cultivators (within limits)
It does not "see" with its eyes.
It reads the world through returning vibrations.
Secondary Trait — Qi-Sensitive Hearing
Allows detection of disturbances in qi flow.
Effective against stealth techniques and weaker concealment arrays.
---
The lizard's pupils narrowed to thin slits.
So… not sight.
Perception.
Its claws tapped lightly against the blood-dried stone floor.
If integrated, it would no longer rely solely on scent or instinct. Even invisible enemies… even suppressed breathing… even hidden formations—
It would feel them.
Its mind drifted briefly to the recent battle.
Invisible strikes.
A hidden formation master.
Qi distortions it had barely sensed.
Useful.
Very useful.
Its tail flicked once.
But 105,000 evolution points…
That was no small amount.
Curled in the corner, wings tucked tight, its growing body coiled with restrained power. Its golden eyes remained open—unfocused, calculating.
The Echo Bat gene.
The timing was… convenient.
A little too convenient.
Its slit pupils narrowed faintly.
It had just fought invisible enemies. Just dealt with concealment techniques. Just relied on smell and instinct alone.
And now—
A gene that countered invisibility and stealth.
Silence stretched within its mind.
Convenient.
Its claws flexed against the blood-stained stone.
But after a moment—
It did not care.
Convenient or not—
It benefited.
And that was enough.
Its thoughts sharpened into cold decisiveness.
One hundred and five thousand points.
Its command rang clearly through its consciousness:
"Use twenty thousand points to evolve my poison gene."
"Ten thousand to evolve my eyes."
"Ten thousand to evolve the Echo Bat gene."
"Twenty thousand to evolve the White Scale Lizard gene."
"Another twenty thousand to further evolve the poison gene."
"Twenty thousand to evolve my scales, claws, and fangs."
"Ten thousand to evolve my acidic saliva."
"Fuse all genes."
"And use the remaining points to evolve the lightning gene."
A brief pause.
Then—
{System} Request confirmed.
Now proceeding with evolution.
For a heartbeat—
Nothing.
Then—
Its body convulsed.
A guttural, distorted growl tore from its maw as its spine arched violently. Muscles bulged beneath its scales, veins lighting faintly under the surface as energy surged through every cell.
Crack.
Its claws gouged into the stone floor.
Crack—crack.
Its scales rippled as if something beneath them was shifting, rearranging, restructuring.
Its wings twitched violently, membranes stretching and tightening. The small horns atop its head pulsed faintly with light. Poison glands swelled. Fangs elongated, their edges sharpening to an unnatural, microscopic precision.
A searing heat ignited behind its eyes.
Then—
Sound.
It could hear it.
Too much of it.
The faint crackle of lightning from the fox's refinement across the room.
The fox's heartbeat.
The subtle hum of the defensive formation.
The friction of air sliding along the walls.
Even the minute tremor of dust settling.
Its senses exploded outward in all directions.
The lizard thrashed once—twice—its tail smashing against the ground as a low, pained roar reverberated through the chamber.
Lightning flickered across its scales.
Acid hissed faintly between its teeth.
Its body was rewriting itself.
Inside, genes collided.
Shadow.
Wind.
Water.
Lightning.
Poison.
Sound.
They intertwined.
Merged.
Clashed violently for dominance.
Its skeleton creaked. Muscles compressed and expanded. Organs pulsed with unfamiliar rhythms.
The air around it vibrated faintly—an almost imperceptible pulse radiating outward like a heartbeat made of sound.
{System} To minimize pain and prevent external disruption, host consciousness will be temporarily suspended. Evolution will proceed in 3… 2… 1…
The lizard's jaw clenched shut.
Its thoughts began to blur.
The agony did not fade—
But its awareness dimmed.
The last sensation it perceived was the violent rhythm of its own heart, pounding like a war drum within its chest.
Then—
Even that disappeared.
Its body continued to twitch and pulse faintly as arcs of lightning crawled along its scales. A low, rhythmic vibration hummed from deep within its core.
{System} Host consciousness suspended.
Evolution proceeding.
The chamber fell silent once more.
Across the room, the fox remained focused on refining its flying artifact—unaware that the creature in the corner was undergoing something far more terrifying than refinement.
Something ancient.
Something breaking past its former limits.
Something evolving into something else entirely.