Activating faith energy was simple. All of it was stored within his mental sea, and with a mere act of will, Li De could command the faith energy to move as he wished.
However, such activation was akin to transporting cargo, it couldn't unleash the true potential of faith energy's power.
Calming himself, Li De stood under the gaze of several second-generation Bloodline Descendants. Slowly, a sacred glow began to emanate from his hand.
Vampires were highly sensitive to all things holy, one might even say that all dark creatures feared and despised sacred attributes.
This was an innate aversion, much like how humans instinctively detested undead and evil auras.
Yet at this moment, the sacred energy radiating from Li De didn't make the second-generation Bloodline Descendants uncomfortable. Quite the opposite, it felt rather miraculous.
The Dawn Order that Li De founded belonged to the Good Alignment. Its doctrine and method of spreading belief were upright, encouraging people toward goodness and self-improvement.
As a result, the faith energy generated was imbued with sacred attributes. But at the root of it all.
The deity they believed in… was a Vampire, a creature of darkness.
This had produced an extremely interesting phenomenon: sacred faith energy, because it originated from a dark race's deity, bore no hostility toward Vampires.
Such a thing had never happened before.
Of course, the main reason it had never occurred was that no dark creature had ever done what Li De had and founded a Good-aligned order.
Li De's unorthodox approach had caused a remarkable shift in sacred faith energy. As for the exact reason, even Li De didn't yet understand, he hadn't reached the level required to study divine powers in depth.
Faith energy surged through his arm and began pouring into the Whispering Bat. Under his slightly anxious gaze, the bat showed no sign of pain. Instead, its previously curled-up body slowly began to stretch out.
Meanwhile, the amount of faith energy on Li De's panel plummeted rapidly.
3400... 3200... 2000... 1000...
It wasn't until every last point of faith energy, which was accumulated over several months had been poured into the bat's body that Li De finally pulled his hand back from its head.
Unbeknownst to Li De, the moment the sacred faith energy entered the bat's body, the previously stagnant cells were revitalized, as if injected with new life, becoming lively and active.
The Whispering Bat had already absorbed a tremendous amount of energy from the Bronze Cyclops' blood, and Dylon had later fed it plenty of Mana-Infused Blood. The bat was nearly bursting with power.
On top of that, Li De had just injected it with the Vampire Progenitor's bloodline.
All this made the energy within the bat incredibly dense, like magma on the verge of eruption. Without outside intervention, it might've soon exploded on its own.
Then came the soft and sacred faith energy, acting like a fuse. The previously compressed energy was like gunpowder with nowhere to release—until now.
The faith energy ignited it all.
Terrifying energy erupted inside the Whispering Bat's body—more dazzling than molten lava.
Under the influence of an indescribable mysterious force, that explosive energy began to reconstruct the Whispering Bat.
The Bronze Cyclops bloodline was incomparably powerful. The bat's original structure shattered like glass under the pressure of this ancient bloodline.
But the bat's own energy and innate traits allowed its cells to immediately regenerate into tougher, more durable forms after being destroyed.
Its internal structure grew stronger and stronger.
And then, the bloodline energy Li De had infused also joined the reconstruction.
With near-overwhelming energy as support, the Bronze Cyclops bloodline and the Vampire Progenitor bloodline began to collide. The bat's body became a battlefield for these two mighty bloodlines.
Its internal systems were thrown into disarray, and its enormous body began to convulse. The gleaming, razor-sharp claws gouged deep scars into the bluestone platform beneath.
Fragments of stone went flying.
Just as it seemed the two bloodlines might tear the bat apart completely, the gentle faith energy emerged.
Still flowing into the bat, the faith energy caused the two already intertwined bloodlines to merge even more mysteriously.
They began to fuse in a way that defied understanding, with faith energy taking part in the process, forming a new type of power.
This mysterious new bloodline immediately gained absolute control over the bat's body and initiated another round of reconstruction.
Old genes were severed, new genes formed, superior genetic material was preserved and merged with the new to form mutated genes.
The Bronze Cyclops bloodline, the Vampire Progenitor bloodline, the sacred faith energy—a power only gods could wield—and the bat's own bloodline… all these forces, shattered and then fused.
An unseen mutation was unfolding within the Whispering Bat.
Only after Li De finished channeling all his faith energy did he withdraw his hand and quickly pull up the bat's status panel.
At that moment, new changes had occurred.
Whispering Bat (Undergoing Transformation)
Transforming Race: Unknown
Current Transformation Progress: 35%
Current State: In Transformation
Success Rate: 37%... 38%… 39%...
Everything else was stable, but the success rate kept rising, 1% every few seconds. Within a few minutes, it had climbed directly to 85% before gradually slowing down.
Seeing this, Li De's eyes gleamed with surprise and delight. He hadn't expected faith energy to genuinely aid the Whispering Bat's transformation.
His already high regard for faith energy was elevated even further.
Faith energy had been incredibly useful lately. Whether it was helping him evade detection by the Level 17 Elf Archer in front of the Elviss Tavern, bluffing the Mind Eater Wales, or now, assisting in the Whispering Bat's transformation, it had proven itself a superior power.
"Lord Progenitor, I can feel that the Whispering Bat's body is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Faith energy really is effective!"
Emi stepped forward, excitement written all over his face. He could sense a powerful force gathering inside the bat's body.
It was like a dragon hatchling on the verge of breaking out of its shell.
Li De's eyes also held a glint of excitement.
He was eager to know, what kind of being would emerge from a transformation that required all his stored faith energy?
Could it… possibly become a creature as mighty as a dragon?