Chapter 92: Advancing to the Third Rank Evolutionary

This black-scaled giant was the first level-three mutated creature Zhang Ran had ever slain, but it would certainly not be the last. In this wasteland world, the road to evolution was a road of slaughter; only through the blood and lives of enemies could one forge a throne upon that path.

As he thought this, Zhang Ran strode to the giant’s side. With a shift of will, the five Blood Spears embedded in the black-scaled giant suddenly surged out, drawing forth five great clots of thick, dark crimson blood.

“What a pity. This black-scaled giant’s blood is far too tainted to absorb. If Blood Plunder could advance a step further and directly draw the blood energy from the blood itself, that would be ideal.”

Shaking his head in regret, Zhang Ran moved his thoughts again. The five clots of blood spilled onto the ground, staining a broad stretch of earth and withered grass red, while the five Blood Spears returned to his body.

Then Zhang Ran swung the greatsword in his hand to gather the materials from the black-scaled giant, rested for a while to recover his strength, and continued on his hunting journey across the wilderness.

......

Five days later.

After condensing his second Evolution Point, Zhang Ran’s strength had increased. Naturally, his speed in hunting mutated beasts rose again as well. In only five days, he had accumulated enough evolutionary energy to successfully condense his third Evolution Point.

For level-two evolvers in Black Hawk Company, even if they possessed a C-rank ability, they could on average only kill one or two level-two mutated creatures a day. To advance to level-three evolver, they would need close to half a year—seven or eight times the time Zhang Ran had spent.

As for level-two evolvers with D-rank abilities, their strength was often inferior to mutated creatures of the same level, making it even harder to hunt level-two mutated beasts; their advancement was correspondingly more difficult, often taking two or three years.

Not only that, but only about one in five of them succeeded in advancing. The remaining four-fifths either died on the wasteland or suffered severe injuries, making it difficult to continue fighting there.

Compared with these evolvers, Zhang Ran’s advancement speed was nothing short of miraculous. And after successfully condensing his third Evolution Point, he had already reached the peak of level-two evolver. So long as he completed the guidance smoothly, allowing his body to absorb the power of the Evolution Point and undergo its transformation, he would successfully advance to level-three evolver.

Quickly gathering the mutated beast materials on the ground, Zhang Ran ended his hunt, turned around, and headed back toward Black Hawk City.

Arriving at the guild hall and selling the mutated beast materials on his person, Zhang Ran’s Black Hawk coins reached five hundred thousand. He did not spend a single coin, however, and instead returned to his apartment.

After locking the door, Zhang Ran sat cross-legged, cast aside stray thoughts, slowed his breathing, and focused his mind on his spine.

In Zhang Ran’s awareness, he could clearly “see” the three Evolution Points within his spine. Their 10,081 crystal facets were exquisitely refined, looking delicate, mysterious, and beautiful in a way impossible to describe. They rotated within his spinal column.

With a thought, Zhang Ran’s consciousness established a connection with the first Evolution Point. Then, following his intention, that point left its original position. After a brief passage, it smoothly entered Zhang Ran’s body, moving along his blood and radiating surging evolutionary power.

As the first Evolution Point moved, the cells in Zhang Ran’s body frantically absorbed that power and underwent transformation. Zhang Ran then shifted his focus, locked onto the second Evolution Point, and drew it into his body.

With the second point entering him, the total amount of evolutionary power in Zhang Ran’s body surged dramatically, giving him the illusion that his body was burning in fire.

Compared with the process of advancing to level-two evolver, the pain of advancing to level three was greater, but Zhang Ran’s physique, spirit, and willpower had all improved significantly. He withstood the pain with relative ease and concentrated fully, pulling at the final Evolution Point.

As before, this third point remained obstinately resistant. It took a full ten minutes of drawing before it reluctantly left Zhang Ran’s spine, then continued upward into his sea of consciousness, flying to the space beneath the Tree of Evolution at the center of his mind.

Upon reaching that place, the Evolution Point disintegrated at a visibly rapid pace, transforming into a dense, golden, viscous liquid shimmering with wondrous light, which then merged into the tree’s roots.

With the infusion of this golden liquid, the surface of the Tree of Evolution also radiated a rainbow glow, growing taller at a pace visible to the naked eye. New branches and leaves sprouted, while the existing branches became thicker and sturdier.

Not only that, but as the Tree of Evolution grew, it also emitted streams of profound, life-filled, incomparably soothing source power of evolution, which then flowed without end into Zhang Ran’s body.

As this source power of evolution coursed through him, the pain in Zhang Ran’s body immediately subsided. Moreover, his cells greedily absorbed the streams of source power, undergoing evolution and metamorphosis.

Source power of evolution was a higher-level existence than evolutionary power. Under its influence, countless genetic shackles binding Zhang Ran were broken, greatly enhancing his evolutionary potential and removing the attribute restrictions faced by ordinary evolvers.

In addition, under these principles, the gene sequences within Zhang Ran’s cells were rearranged one by one. The genetic defects that had previously existed were all repaired, allowing the genes in his body to grow continuously and bear even greater power.

Furthermore, this source power of evolution had the effect of tempering the body and purging genetic impurities.

When evolvers obtained evolutionary energy, their bodies also absorbed certain gene fragments from mutated creatures, contaminating their own genes, which greatly reduced their potential for further evolution and even shortened their lifespans.

Because of this, even though their physical condition far surpassed that of pre-apocalypse humans, evolvers at the scavenger level often lived only to around sixty, far below the standards of the old era. Even higher-ranked hunters could only reach a lifespan of one hundred years, merely matching humans of the old era.

For Zhang Ran, however, such a problem did not exist at all. As the source power of evolution spread, the genetic impurities accumulated within his cells were continuously expelled, leaving his body through his pores and turning into pitch-black sweat.

After expelling those genetic impurities, Zhang Ran’s cells took on a jade-like hue, and his skin became fair and tender, almost strikingly handsome. More than that, according to the chip’s estimate, Zhang Ran’s theoretical lifespan had already reached one hundred and fifty years, two and a half times that of an ordinary evolver.