More than an hour later, Gu Yuexi, who was sitting cross-legged, slowly opened her eyes. She let out a long, foul breath that smelled of blood.
Her face was still a little pale, but her eyes were much brighter than before.
'First-Grade Middle Stage…' She felt the Qi Blood Power within her swell, a small sense of relief finally washing over her.
Breaking through from the First-Grade Early Stage to the First-Grade Middle Stage in a single day… if word of this cultivation speed got out, it would be enough to shock all of Jiang City Lingwu High School!
'This Ten Thousand Beasts Melting Furnace Technique is as domineering as they say!'
However, she could also clearly feel the violent will within the Spiritual Cyan Snake's Essence Blood mounting an ever-increasing Spiritual Shock against her. If not for her previous life's Emperor Realm willpower forcibly suppressing it, she probably would have undergone Beastification long ago.
'I still need to get my hands on a Vein-Protecting Pill as soon as possible…' Gu Yuexi calculated inwardly, her gaze falling once more on the Spiritual Cyan Snake's corpse before her.
However, a single glance was enough to make her freeze.
"Hm?"
Gu Yuexi's delicate brows furrowed slightly, a trace of confusion flashing in her eyes.
'Why does it feel like… this snake's corpse is a little more shriveled than before?'
'Is it my imagination? Or did my Perception get skewed because I was so focused during my cultivation?'
Gu Yuexi couldn't make sense of it. She subconsciously turned her head and glanced at the mosquito on the desk.
She saw Chu Sheng lying there motionless, his belly swollen like a small ball. His entire body was a dark red, and he looked like he'd eaten too much and fallen asleep.
…
Gu Yuexi stared at him for several seconds before a ridiculous thought popped into her head.
'Damn it, don't tell me this little guy was stealing my food?'
But the moment the thought appeared, she immediately dismissed it.
'Impossible!'
'Absolutely impossible!'
'That's the Essence Blood of a High-Level Bloodline Demon Beast! How could anyone imagine the violent energy it contains?'
Forget a tiny mosquito. Even an ordinary First-Grade Demon Beast would only meet one fate if it dared to drink the blood so directly—its body would explode on the spot!
'This mosquito might be an Alien Species, but it's still fundamentally a fragile insect. How could it possibly withstand that?'
'I must be overthinking things…'
Gu Yuexi shook her head, casting the unrealistic speculation from her mind and attributing it to mental exhaustion from over-cultivation.
She carefully placed the Spiritual Cyan Snake's corpse back into the bag and stuffed it under her bed. It represented her entire hope for breaking through to Second-Grade Martial Artist in the next two weeks, so she couldn't afford any more losses.
Meanwhile, Chu Sheng, who was playing dead on the desk, heard her inner thoughts as clear as day and nearly burst out laughing.
'Congratulations, you guessed right! Too bad there's no prize!'
'Body exploding? You're underestimating a system wielder, aren't you? If it weren't for my limited stomach capacity, I would've sucked you dry like snake jerky today!'
Chu Sheng gloated inwardly while also waiting anxiously.
The Energy in this High-Level Bloodline snake blood was just too immense. The system's notification indicated that digestion would take a full three hours!
He could only lie on the desk, pretending to be in a post-meal stupor while silently enduring the feeling of Energy rampaging through his belly. It was like he'd chugged an entire bottle of concentrated caffeine, leaving his whole mosquito body in a state of agitated discomfort.
After she finished tidying up, Gu Yuexi was indeed exhausted. She quickly washed up and then fell asleep on her bed.
Too much had happened today, and the mental toll was immense. She really needed to rest well.
「Night deepened.」
In the rented room, only the sound of the young woman's steady breathing remained.
Finally, at a little past three in the morning, the heavenly sound that Chu Sheng had been waiting for rang out right on time!
[Ding! Blood digestion complete. +2.1 Evolution Points! +3 days to Lifespan!]
[Panel updated!]
[Host: Chu Sheng]
[Race: Primary Mutant Blood Mosquito]
[Lifespan: 33 days]
[Qi Blood: 6.1]
[Evolution Points: 3.0]
[Equal Tier: Nothingness]
[Skills: Female Mosquito's Mouthpart Lv2, Blood Food Tracking Lv1, Insect Race Space Lv1]
[Notice: The next evolution requires reaching a Qi Blood Value of 10 and consuming 1 Evolution Point!]
'It's here!'
Chu Sheng's eyes snapped "open," a sharp light glinting in his black, bean-sized eyes!
He could feel his nearly bursting belly deflate in an instant. In its place, a purer, more powerful force surged through every fiber of his being!
His physique had grown stronger once again!
'Three Evolution Points!' Chu Sheng looked at his panel, feeling absolutely ecstatic.
'System, upgrade [Insect Race Space] for me!' he commanded without hesitation in his mind.
[Ding! Consumed 2 Evolution Points. 'Insect Race Space Lv1' has been upgraded to 'Insect Race Space Lv2'!]
[Insect Race Space Lv2: The Host can absorb any insect of an equal tier into the 'Insect Race Space'. Insects absorbed into the space will unconditionally obey the Host's commands! The current Insect Race Space can accommodate 500 insects! The Host's spiritual load is greatly reduced!]
The moment the upgrade was complete, Chu Sheng felt the once-cramped little space in his mind suddenly expand more than tenfold!
And the faint dizziness he'd felt while controlling his five little mosquito underlings completely vanished, replaced by a feeling of effortless control, as if they were an extension of his own body!
'Awesome! This is so awesome!'
Chu Sheng flapped his wings excitedly, wishing he could roar at the sky… oh, wait, no, he'd have to *buzz* at the sky!
'It's time to build my first mosquito legion!'
Chu Sheng glanced at Gu Yuexi, who was sleeping soundly on the bed, and quietly flew to the window.
The dilapidated, old-fashioned window was full of cracks along its frame. To him, it was practically a network of superhighways.
He slipped out with ease and entered the dark hallway outside.
A wave of damp, decaying odors mixed with the smell of various household garbage washed over him.
If this were the old Chu Sheng, the smell probably would have made him drop dead on the spot.
But now, as a mosquito, he was completely immune to these smells. He even found them a little… comforting?
'This place is a paradise for insects!'
Chu Sheng rubbed his front legs together excitedly. Although [Blood Food Tracking] was mainly for tracking blood, it still gave him a perception of life forms. He could clearly "see" countless "potential recruits" hidden within this dilapidated residential building!
He didn't rush to recruit other mosquitoes. While numerous, they had a combat effectiveness of practically zero. Besides, they were too conspicuous; their BUZZ BUZZ BUZZing would easily give him away.
'First, I'll find some tough, thick-skinned cannon fodder!'
With a plan in mind, Chu Sheng flew along the corner of the wall down to the garbage pile on the ground floor.
It was a massive insect party down there!
His eyes immediately locked onto a group of cockroaches munching on rotten vegetable leaves!
[Common Cockroach, No Equal Tier, Tenacious Life Force, Adept at Squeezing into Cracks…]
'They're a little disgusting, but their Life Force is incredible. They're known as the unkillable cockroaches, which makes them a perfect match for meat shields and scouts!'
Chu Sheng schemed, and with a thought, he directly targeted the largest, fattest cockroach in the group.
'Absorb!'
SWOOSH! The cockroach instantly vanished from its spot and reappeared inside the [Insect Race Space] in his mind.
'It worked!'
Chu Sheng felt a faint Spiritual Link form with the cockroach. He could even "see" his few trembling mosquito underlings in the space through the cockroach's perspective.
'Not bad, not bad. Let's continue!'
Chu Sheng's interest was piqued, and he began his grand "recruitment" plan.