“Vampire Count Mutated Bloodline, evaluation 90 points, suitable for most horror films. The Blood Energy skill allows for the use of some abilities. With the Count-level bloodline, the host's vitality greatly increases; so long as the brain and heart remain undamaged, life will continuously regenerate. Because this is a mutated bloodline, the recipient will not fear sunlight, silver, or the like. This requires one B-Class horror film side quest and rewards three thousand bonus points, along with the Vampire Viscount Mutated Bloodline as a prerequisite.” This was an attribute rarely seen even among B-Class enhancements. It required few bonus points, yet the B-Class side quest and the two preceding Vampire bloodline enhancements made the Vampire Count bloodline one of the absolute top-tier enhancements available in the B-Class tier.

Zheng Zha closed his eyes and connected with the 'Main God.' Without hesitation, he selected the Vampire Count Mutated Bloodline enhancement. Just as with previous attribute exchanges, a pillar of pure light shot down from the 'Main God,' drawing Zheng Zha entirely into its embrace. He was then suspended within the column of light, slowly levitating off the ground. After rising several meters, countless motes of light rushed out from the 'Main God,' vigorously merging into Zheng Zha’s body. This state lasted for nearly ten minutes. Then, to everyone’s astonishment, Zheng Zha strangely turned his head to look behind him; a pair of black, fleshy wings slowly unfolded from his back. As he instinctively moved to touch them, the light particles from the 'Main God' faded away, and he gently descended back to the floor.

“Wh-what was that?” Lori, who worried for Zheng Zha above all else, rushed to his side, shouting out. But upon closer inspection, apart from two slits torn open on the back of his clothes, there were absolutely no black wings present.

Zheng Zha also touched his own back with a strange expression; he could only feel the flat plane of his back muscles. There was simply nothing resembling wings.

But to dismiss it as an illusion...

Everyone had witnessed it, and even his clothes had been violently ripped open—this was not something a mere hallucination could accomplish.

Zheng Zha murmured, “Could it be that if I keep enhancing this way, I might eventually evolve into a winged vampire? But even traditional vampires don't possess a pair of wings, do they?” Xiao Honglu interjected, “According to the orthodox revelations regarding vampires, they are considered a divergent branch of humanity. Of course, that’s the European religious view. From some obscure religious texts I’ve read, however, vampires are actually a branch of infernal demons, a type of devil. Therefore, possessing wings wouldn't be particularly strange. In fact, the stronger these bloodline enhancements become, the greater the potential for drastic physical change is something I had anticipated. Judging by your transformation, this prediction has unexpectedly come true, haha.” Zheng Zha quickly closed his eyes, carefully sensing every minute detail of change within his body.

The first change was felt in the vampire energy centers within his mind. Previously, aside from the Red Flame skill, the vampire energy had been nearly immovable; now, it flowed profusely throughout his brain. Naturally, if one were to slice open his skull with a blade, no actual red energy would be visible; this was merely the sensation of energy existing, much like how one cannot find internal force by cutting open the lower abdomen’s Dantian.

The total volume of vampire energy had increased by more than tenfold compared to his Viscount stage. Furthermore, it wasn't just the quantity that multiplied; the quality of the vampire energy had also improved significantly. If the previous energy felt like blood-red gas upon use, the current energy had transformed into thick, blood-red liquid. If converted to the energy quality of the former state, the total amount usable would increase by twenty to thirty times. In other words, provided he could utilize a skill, the power of the resulting technique would reach an almost unbelievable magnitude.

Not only that, but every aspect of his physical constitution had seen enormous improvement. His current stats had reached: Intelligence 277, Spirit 332, Cell Vitality 521, Neural Reaction Speed 487, Muscle Tissue Strength 0.2, and Immunity Strength 431. This level of robustness had already pushed him to nearly half a Superman level—of course, this referred to the ordinary concept of a superman, not the specific, god-like entity from American blockbuster films.

With abundant vampire energy secured, the remaining task was acquiring more skills. He still possessed one C-Class and one D-Class side quest token, along with 770 bonus points. This was enough to exchange for a high-tech weapon and perhaps a few skills from the Necronomicon. No matter how he looked at it, this Vampire Count enhancement represented a massive surge in his overall power.

The voices of Xiao Honglu and the others reached him. When he opened his eyes, everyone looked at him with concern. Xiao Honglu spoke first, “How do you feel? Any major leaps in power?” Zheng Zha smiled and nodded. He took a deep breath, began controlling the vampire energy in his mind, and started using the only vampire skill he knew, channeling this energy. Boom! With a sudden burst, a mass of blood-red light erupted from him, climbing three feet high around his body—much higher than the red flames he used as a Viscount. Within these flames, traces of golden wisps flickered subtly. Though he couldn't be certain, anyone could sense that these golden strands carried a destructive force far superior to the bloody flames.

Using Red Flame with the Viscount bloodline could, at best, be sustained for a few minutes; that was the limit. However, the vampire energy from the Count bloodline banished any such worry. The reserves within him could sustain this Red Flame for over half an hour, perhaps even longer. The difference between the stages was this vast. This didn't even account for the changes in his physical stats; the transformation in the vampire energy alone had elevated his strength tremendously. It was clear that this B-Class side quest and the 3,000 bonus points had been worth every expenditure.

Just as Zheng Zha intended to withdraw the Red Flame skill, as the vast reserves of vampire energy receded back into his mind, a thin stream unexpectedly seeped out from his mental nexus and began probing outward into his body. This caught him somewhat off guard. Fortunately, this sliver of energy did not exhibit the overbearing corrosive properties he expected within him; instead, it flowed gently along his meridians throughout his body. This seemed to be one of the self-adjustments occurring post-enhancement from the Vampire Count Mutated Bloodline. Thus, Zheng Zha did not attempt to forcibly alter the process, allowing the vampire energy to investigate his physical structure.

The initially gentle flow of vampire energy suddenly surged violently when it detected his Dantian. It was like a drop of water hitting a surface of boiling oil. This strand of energy violently agitated and erupted upon encountering the internal force stored in his Dantian. Simultaneously, the vampire energy in Zheng Zha’s mind seemed to receive this signal; it began pouring out of his brain in a frenzy, rushing toward the internal force at the Dantian. For a moment, these energies acted as if possessed by independent will, feeling like needle pricks wherever they passed as they began to aggressively corrode the Dantian's internal force.

The vampire energy churned and boiled like scalding water, relentlessly invading and eroding the internal force. The intensity suggested zero tolerance for any residue of internal force. Conversely, the internal force resembled a vast, gentle ocean; every invasive strand of vampire energy was immediately absorbed by a greater volume of internal force. If the quantity of vampire energy surpassed the internal force by ten times or more, it was likely that an equal volume of internal force would still prove superior to the same volume of vampire energy in terms of innate resilience. Of course, this comparison was purely based on the inherent nature of the energies. In terms of practical application, unless martial arts techniques were exchanged, the utilization of internal force was absolutely inferior to that of vampire energy.

As the vampire energy exploded outward to consume the internal force, Zheng Zha let out a sharp scream and collapsed to his knees. His skin rapidly flushed red and grew intensely hot, especially along the meridians where the vampire energy had flowed, which looked as if they had been cooked, radiating astonishing heat. He felt with absolute clarity that his Dantian area felt as if it were tearing apart as the two opposing energies violently collided. For him, this was a catastrophic disaster, and within seconds, he vomited several mouthfuls of blood.

“Activate Gene Lock state! Quickly! You must force the vampire energy back into your mind, then bind it—do not let it stray even an inch from your consciousness, quickly!” Just as Zheng Zha was agonizing as if near death, Zhang Jie’s voice unexpectedly cut through. Zheng Zha, beyond caring about anything else, instinctively triggered the second stage of the Gene Lock. Under this state, his consciousness gradually stabilized, and he immediately understood that his current situation was critical, bordering on the edge of life and death.

This was likely what was termed Qi Deviation, or more precisely, a mutual backlash between two energy systems. Although both energy systems had always existed within him, because their total volumes were roughly equal, the two energies inherently maintained a balance, neither able to completely annihilate the other. In a way, this balance made the energies easier to command—for instance, in the Alien film world, Zheng Zha could inject a small amount of vampire energy into his internal force. This was a benefit of the equilibrium. However, equilibrium also meant rigidity; thus, the comparatively weaker vampire energy could not be used freely—this was a form of self-protection. Only now, with the vampire energy vastly exceeding the internal force, had the balance finally been completely shattered.

“Unlocking the Gene Lock grants power beyond your imagination. If you attempt to utilize these enhanced attributes without the aid of the Gene Lock, you will either only access a fraction of their potential or be destroyed by backlash. You must control your enhanced attribute; this is an essential step in evolution.”

“Jump to”