Chapter 154 - 145: The Path of Saint-level Evolution

The "Needle Strike" skill was Su Ze’s only D-rank ability. He had only managed to make do with it until now because it complemented his other skills.

As Su Ze’s power grew, the skill had gradually started to feel lackluster.

But after this upgrade, it had once again become one of Su Ze’s primary offensive skills.

’Last time, drinking the Tree Marrow upgraded my "Regeneration Body" skill. The two were somewhat related, so the upgrade was understandable.’

’But this time, I randomly absorbed a tentacle from a Tier Four Coral Insect. How on earth did that upgrade "Needle Strike"?’

’Even if the Divine Grace of Evolution skill really did have some hidden effect that made my skills upgrade more easily, it’s not like they can just level up from absorbing any random thing.’

’Could it be that the stinging cells on the coral insect’s tentacle have something in common with my "Needle Strike" skill...?’ Su Ze pondered this for a long time; it was the most likely possibility he could come up with.

But where did that explosive effect come from?

And why didn’t I get an upgrade related to the coral insect’s toxin?

Su Ze didn’t know what skills a Tier Four Coral Insect actually had, so he had no way of guessing. In any case, a skill upgrade was a good thing. He decided not to dwell on it, happy enough to go home and do a little dance.

「 」

Liou Wenxin was very efficient. In less than two days, she had already written and published the paper.

She originally wanted to list Su Ze as the sole author, but at Su Ze’s insistence, they were co-authors, though Su Ze’s name was listed first.

With that, Su Ze could be said to have his own small research accomplishment in the field of evolution.

The paper wouldn’t normally have attracted much attention. However, since the authors were Su Ze and Liou Wenxin—who had become incredibly popular in Dongli recently—the publication generated a lot of extra buzz.

Suddenly, Su Ze was being hyped to the skies again. People were saying he wasn’t just powerful but also a genius of evolution.

Su Ze knew the truth of his own situation, so he just read the comments online for a good laugh. He enjoyed the praise for a moment and then put it out of his mind, not taking any of it seriously.

In addition to the paper, Liou Wenxin made a new discovery after studying Su Ze’s blood.

"I’ve discovered a very high-level energy within your cells. It doesn’t seem to be something you’ve absorbed from an external source. Instead, your body appears to be producing it on its own, which is incredible..." Liou Wenxin paused for a moment. Seeing that Su Ze was listening intently, she went on.

"This is the kind of energy only found in a Saint-level expert. In other words, only Saint-level lifeforms have the ability to produce this energy internally. But you’ve managed to do it during your Cocoon Stage—or perhaps even during the Pupa Stage, or earlier."

Su Ze mulled it over. He figured it was most likely related to his Divine Grace of Evolution skill. "What’s this energy used for?" he asked.

Liou Wenxin replied, "Remember how I told you that Saint-level experts can upgrade their own skills? This energy is the key that allows them to do it."

"So you’re saying I’ve found the reason for my two skill upgrades? I can upgrade my own skills now, just like a Saint-level expert?" Su Ze was both surprised and excited.

"It’s not that easy," Liou Wenxin said, pouring cold water on his excitement. "The amount of this energy in your body is far less than that of a typical Saint-level expert. On top of that, your evolutionary level isn’t high enough for you to control it. As a result, you can only use it passively."

"So it still comes down to luck, then."

"You’re already incredibly lucky. You should be counting your blessings." Seeing Su Ze was still not satisfied, Liou Wenxin had no choice but to educate this little brother of hers, who was clueless about evolution.

She said, "Upgrading some of your skills ahead of time not only increases your current combat strength, but it will also save you a huge amount of time later on—specifically, after you become Saint-level."

Liou Wenxin wasn’t surprised to see the confused look on Su Ze’s face.

"This is considered fairly advanced knowledge in the field of evolution. Do you know the biggest difference between the Extraordinary Stage and becoming a Saint-level lifeform after completing the fourth evolution?"

"You get stronger?" Su Ze guessed, looking just like a student who’d been suddenly called on by the teacher in class.

Liou Wenxin shot Su Ze a look that screamed, ’You’re stating the obvious.’ "It’s the number of extracts you can absorb! After becoming a Saint-level powerhouse, you can only absorb a single vial of a Tier Five extract, not three!"

Su Ze was stunned. "Doesn’t that make you weaker? During the Extraordinary Stage, you can absorb three vials of extract at each phase, obtaining three skills and strengthening your body three times. Once you reach the Saint-level, you can only gain one additional skill per phase?"

Liou Wenxin shook her head. "Gaining fewer new skills doesn’t mean you’re weaker. Why do human evolvers need to absorb extracts from higher-level lifeforms to evolve? It’s all about building a ’ladder.’"

"Each vial of extract is a ’ladder’ to a higher level of existence. During the Extraordinary Stage, you need three vials of extract—three ladders—to help an evolver climb to the next level. But at the Saint-level, you only need one ladder."

Su Ze asked, puzzled, "Then wouldn’t evolution at the Saint-level be easier?"

"Not at all. You can think of it this way: At the Extraordinary Stage, the most important thing for climbing higher is the ’ladder.’ The longer and sturdier your ladders are, the higher your chance of success. But at the Saint-level, everyone only has one ladder. Whether someone climbs it or fails depends on the person doing the climbing."

Hearing Liou Wenxin’s explanation, Su Ze felt like he was beginning to understand. After a moment of thought, he asked, "So the focus at the Saint-level is strengthening the skills you acquired before?"