Chapter 347: Chapter 279: Preparation
On the table lay Su Ze’s entire haul for the day, sourced from Chen Suifeng and the Lin Family.
The haul included the fifth-tier Wondrous Item "Thousand Illusions," a vial of fourth-tier extract, and twelve evolution materials.
Su Ze began absorbing them one by one. As was his habit, he started with the lowest-grade evolution materials.
As the valuable materials were reduced to dross one by one, Su Ze’s power steadily rose. Each material strengthened a specific aspect of one of his skills.
In the process, even some skills that weren’t his top priority for enhancement grew stronger.
Some of his fourth-tier skills, for instance, received minor boosts.
This would save him a considerable amount of time in the future, during the Supreme Stage.
Finally, after Su Ze had absorbed most of the twelve evolution materials, another of his skills leveled up.
The skill that upgraded this time was Ant Power!
Ant Power: When active, Strength and Agility are greatly enhanced, and attacks gain an "Annihilation" effect.
Unlike the previous version of Ant Power, which only boosted Strength, the new version also enhanced his Agility.
Power without speed often translates to clumsiness. While Strength had always been Su Ze’s forte, his Agility had never been particularly outstanding.
But now, activating Ant Power would grant him nimbleness to match his Strength.
Moreover, the boost to his Strength was also significantly greater.
Of course, the most significant change was the upgrade of the original "Shatter" effect to "Annihilation." "Annihilation" could be considered an enhanced version of "Shatter."
While both were forms of destruction, "Shatter" operated on a simple level of physical force, whereas "Annihilation" destroyed the very essence of matter.
Every skill upgrade gave Su Ze tangible feedback—not just a boost to his physique, but also a subtle elevation in his level of existence.
Each skill was an ability imprinted on an evolver’s genes, an integral part of their being. Thus, an increase in a skill’s level also drove an increase in their level of existence.
After Su Ze became a Saint-level lifeform, any skill below the fourth tier was holding him back. Consequently, every skill he managed to upgrade to the fourth tier brought a noticeable increase in his power.
He continued to absorb the remaining evolution materials. Once they were all consumed, his gaze fell upon the vial of fourth-tier extract on the table.
Chen Suifeng had already told him about this particular extract.
It was a vial of fourth-tier, A-grade Thunderous Jiao Long extract.
The Thunderous Jiao Long was not a true Jiao Long, of course. It was the fourth-tier form of the third-tier aberrant beast, the Deep-Sea Electric Eel. It had earned its name because its long, thick body resembled that of a jiao.
Its extract contained Fury of the Wild Thunder, the higher-tier version of the skill Frenzied Electric Body. Since Su Ze’s Thunder God Body was a mutated and enhanced version of Frenzied Electric Body, it stood to reason that Fury of the Wild Thunder was also the higher-tier version of his Thunder God Body.
Su Ze picked up the Thunderous Jiao Long extract and downed it in one gulp. As expected, consuming an extract of a lower tier was a tasteless experience. It had the consistency of slightly viscous water.
Su Ze closed his eyes, focusing on the changes within. A moment later, his body trembled slightly. He slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of joy in their depths.
’Thunder God Body has successfully upgraded!’
The skill, originally at Tier 3, S+ grade, had easily crossed the threshold into the fourth tier.
However, there were no dramatic changes after the skill’s upgrade.
Simply put, it was an all-around enhancement.
Its charging speed, storage capacity, and shock intensity were all boosted.
It also gained the ability to charge by absorbing external energy. The previous version of Thunder God Body could do this too, but it was limited to absorbing electrical energy.
Now, however, he could convert any form of external energy into electricity and absorb it.
This conversion had a speed limit, however. If another Saint-level expert were to attack him with fire, he could convert and absorb some of the heat energy, but he couldn’t become completely immune to the flames.
The ability didn’t seem particularly useful for now. But ever since learning that skills could be upgraded indefinitely, Su Ze had adopted a more long-term perspective, refusing to judge a skill’s potential based on its current effectiveness.
If this conversion and absorption ability were upgraded further, it might have significant potential to be unlocked.
Now, only one item remained on the table: the fifth-tier Wondrous Item, Thousand Illusions!
’Which of my skills will this Wondrous Item upgrade...’ Su Ze frowned, deep in thought.
He went through all of his skills one by one and was surprised to find that only his fourth-tier, S-grade skill, Liquid Life, seemed to have any compatibility with Thousand Illusions.
’Is it going to upgrade Liquid Life to a fifth-tier skill?’
As a fifth-tier Wondrous Item, Thousand Illusions might actually be able to raise his Liquid Life skill to the fifth tier.
Although he wasn’t in a hurry to upgrade his fourth-tier skills, he figured, ’what the hell.’ Every upgrade was an upgrade, and every bit of power counted.
From his experience absorbing the Eye of Insight, Su Ze knew that absorbing this type of Wondrous Item wouldn’t be simple.
Sure enough, when he tried to infuse both his Evolutionary Power and Spiritual Power into Thousand Illusions and got no reaction, he knew he was in for a challenge.
’It seems every Wondrous Item has a different absorption method.’
Su Ze cupped Thousand Illusions, which felt like jelly in his palms. He watched as it writhed in his hands as if alive, constantly shifting its shape.
He began trying every method he could think of to absorb the Wondrous Item.
Swallow it whole? It was impossible to get down!
Spread it over his entire body? Useless.
