blood sublimation

"Roar…"

The burly man stepped out of the bar, letting out an angry roar, his blood-red eyes flashing with a vicious gleam. He took large strides and charged directly at the two. As he ran, his body began to expand rapidly. In just the blink of an eye, the man transformed into a towering brown bear, standing over five meters tall.

The brown bear roared toward the sky, swinging its sharp claws like it was swatting a fly, aiming straight at Ye Fan. Noticing this, Ye Fan's pupils contracted slightly. He quickly grabbed the snow wolf and met the bear's claws head-on, spinning swiftly to move behind the bear.

The bear, forced by Ye Fan's maneuver, tried to retract its claws, but it was too late. The snow wolf, just freed from Ye Fan's grip, was knocked out cold by the bear's furious swipe.

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Fan delivered a powerful kick to the bear's backside. He put all his strength into it, a force of five thousand pounds capable of shattering mountains. Yet, the bear didn't even flinch; it was as if nothing had happened.

On the contrary, Ye Fan felt as if he had kicked a block of iron, and a searing pain shot up his leg. Realizing the sudden turn of events, Ye Fan knew he was in trouble. Before he could pull back, the enraged bear swung its paw in a swift, backward strike without even looking.

The strike came too fast for Ye Fan to dodge. In desperation, he crossed his arms in front of his chest to block the blow. As man and bear collided, Ye Fan felt an overwhelming force surge through him, sending him skidding across the ground.

While airborne, Ye Fan's arms went numb. He silently cursed, knowing that his arms were likely broken from that hit. As the bear roared and charged at him again, Ye Fan gathered his strength, landed steadily, and then darted into the crowd without a word.

The bear, despite its immense strength and formidable defense, was slowed by its lack of speed. It could only watch as Ye Fan disappeared into the crowd. This place was within the grounds of Tianlan Academy, and their reckless killing likely had already alerted the academy's enforcers.

Reluctant but knowing he had no choice, the bear let out a final roar before reverting to human form. He picked up his companion, who had also returned to human form, and quickly fled to a secluded area. Mere minutes after they left, several siren-blaring airships arrived, surveying the scene before speeding off.

Ye Fan ducked into a narrow, deserted alleyway, and once he confirmed no one was following him, he leaned against the wall, drenched in cold sweat. Before he could catch his breath, a sudden surge of hot blood rose in his throat, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Heh… to think I got pushed this far by two beast warriors," Ye Fan muttered with a bitter smile as he looked down at his limp arms.

The snow wolf was known for its speed, and Ye Fan could easily take it down using his battle experience. But the brown bear that showed up afterward not only possessed terrifying strength but also had incredible defense. Ye Fan's punches couldn't even scratch it.

As the saying goes, brute force can overpower tenfold wisdom.

In the face of overwhelming strength, all experience and technique are rendered meaningless. Understanding this, Ye Fan decided to flee after just one exchange. Though he managed to escape, that last hit from the bear nearly cost him his life.

His arms were fractured, and some of his internal organs were damaged—a severe injury indeed. Had Ye Fan not injected himself with the Iron Serpent defense gene earlier, he might have already collapsed on the ground, unable even to stand, let alone escape.

Snap…

Ye Fan removed his backpack and, enduring the pain, took out a B-grade life potion. A B-grade life potion costs fifty thousand star dollars per bottle and is several times more effective than an A-grade life potion.

With such severe injuries, Ye Fan drank a bottle of the potion. Within fifteen minutes, his arms were already movable, but returning to normal would likely take several more days. His ruptured internal organs had mostly healed and were no longer affecting his daily life.

Of course, this astonishing recovery was due largely to the life potion, but Ye Fan's intense training over the past six months and the iron-snake defense gene chain also played a crucial role. The transformation of his blood hinted at a fundamental leap in his life essence. This leap not only extends his lifespan but also enhances his physical recovery capabilities. Though Ye Fan had not yet reached the first stage of blood transformation, he was close, and his cells were significantly more resilient and active than those of an average person.

With his injuries mostly healed, Ye Fan quietly left the alley. He didn't delay and immediately called for a spaceship to head straight to Tianlan Star. The assassination attempt had come as a shock, and even now Ye Fan couldn't make sense of it. However, the incident served as a wake-up call, making him more cautious.

As days passed, life in the Billy Laboratory was relatively calm for Ye Fan. The assassination seemed like a minor disruption; despite the danger, it hadn't greatly affected his daily routine. During this peaceful period, Ye Fan continued to work and used the lab's equipment and materials to secretly manufacture gene chains for himself. When not working, he dedicated almost all his time to intense training.

Under such rigorous training, Ye Fan's strength improved rapidly, with notable progress in the past week. He felt the energy in his blood growing increasingly intense, often feeling a surge of turbulence within.

This change was most noticeable to Shane, who was linked to Ye Fan. Every time Ye Fan's blood surged, Shane's own blood experienced slight disturbances. While these disturbances were not extremely uncomfortable, they still caused a flutter in his heart.

As the sun set and the workers left the lab for the day, Ye Fan, unusually, did not stay behind. Instead, he headed straight for the source power training room. It had been over twenty days since he last bought medicine, and the supplies were nearly depleted. Tonight, Ye Fan felt it was the moment for his blood to undergo its first transformation.

However, blood transformation was not as simple as regular training. If regular training was like simmering water, blood transformation was like bringing it to a boil. It required a much more intense source power to reach the boiling point. Thus, a large amount of source power was necessary for blood transformation.

The Billy Laboratory provided decent conditions for workers, and Ye Fan had accumulated ten hours of source power room time each month. He had saved these hours, waiting for this moment.

The source power room was small and constructed from black crystal. In the center of the room was a round mat, similar to a meditation cushion used by monks. After entering the room and securely closing the door, Ye Fan prepared for his transformation. The source power room had excellent defenses, making it difficult to be opened from the outside and preventing interruptions during training.

Ye Fan took a deep breath, feeling the turbulence in his blood, and couldn't help but smile. If he succeeded in this transformation tonight, he would lay the foundation to become a gene warrior. With enhanced strength, he could fully showcase his abilities rather than having to act secretly.

Calming his mind, Ye Fan took out a bottle of gene nutrient solution from his backpack and drank it. The massive source power in the nutrient solution flowed through his body like a warm current. Ye Fan relaxed and began practicing the Five Breathing Techniques in the source power room:

1. Golden Toad Breathing

2. Cang Bear Strength Training

3. White Tiger Bone Forging

4. Spirit Snake Flexibility

5. Cold Cicada Spirit Nourishment

As Ye Fan relaxed his body, the source power training room was immediately filled with the sounds of tiger roars and cicada chirps. The dense source power was continuously absorbed by Ye Fan, yet the concentration in the room showed no sign of diminishing.

In the realm of cultivation, there is no concept of day or night. When Ye Fan finished consuming the fifth bottle of gene nutrient solution, the evolution of his cells seemed to reach its limit. At some point, a cell within his body suddenly burst open, and at a speed too rapid to be perceived by the eye, it quickly fused and reorganized into a new cell.

This change, once it began, spread like ink dropped into clear water, expanding rapidly. Old cells exploded, new cells emerged, and the entire process was so natural.

Ye Fan curled up, resembling a hibernating cicada. If one listened carefully, they would hear faint, intermittent popping sounds from his body, akin to the distant crackle of firecrackers, though extremely subtle.

With the sounds came an attraction of the ambient source power in the air. Tiny particles of source power seemed to be drawn out of the air and entered Ye Fan's body through his sweat pores. At this moment, Ye Fan was in a peculiar state, with his consciousness retreating from the external world into the sea of consciousness.

Having had similar experiences, Ye Fan recognized this as the sea of consciousness, the dwelling place of the soul. During a qualitative leap in human life, the consciousness can return to this sea and observe the soul. This sensation was incredibly mysterious, beyond verbal description, and only those who experienced it could truly understand.

An old saying goes, "A human face with a beast's heart."

Modern humanity has confirmed that the soul has a shape, and it reflects the deepest truth of a person's inner self. When one's heart is filled with evil, their soul takes on the form of an evil monster.

In contemporary soul studies, there are two major debates. One group believes that the shape of the soul is predestined; for instance, a wolf is inherently vicious, so its soul shape would be that of a fierce monster. The other group argues that the shape of the soul is influenced by external factors, changing with shifts in a person's nature.

These two schools of thought have been in debate for thousands of years, with no unified answer. Ye Fan distinctly remembered that in his previous life, his soul shape was a streak of lightning and flame. However, upon rebirth, when he saw his soul shape again, he was astonished!

What appeared before him was a black vortex, slowly rotating, with a flickering streak of lightning and flame visible within it.

"This is a black hole!" Ye Fan stared at the eerie vortex for a long time, murmuring in disbelief.