Even though the first attempt ended in failure, Fang Zhouâs expression remained unchanged. He calmly gestured for his two Skeleton assistants to clean up the mess on the operating table. He then selected another Kobold with a broken left leg as a new test subject. This time, Fang Zhou was more cautious, carefully controlling the injection speed of the Life Energy essence to minimize the shock to the Koboldâs body.
Soon, the Life Energy essence stabilized within the Koboldâs body without triggering a violent physiological reaction like the previous attempt. However, just as Fang Zhou thought he was making progress, the Kobold suddenly lost consciousness. Fang Zhou immediately realized something was wrong and quickly checked the Koboldâs physical condition.
The Kobold hadnât died from an explosion of Life Energy. Instead, the Light-Attribute Healing Skills cast by Instructor Huang Qiuyue had hyperactivated the Life Energy essence. This caused the Koboldâs blood to become dangerously agitated, and a massive amount of it rushed to the brain, resulting in a fatal hemorrhage.
Two consecutive failures did not discourage Fang Zhou; he composed himself and prepared for the next experiment.
POP. POP. POP.
BARK. BARK. BARK.
The laboratory echoed with the Wailing of Kobolds, a sound like a requiem for their lives. These poor, Low-Level Demons fell one by one under Fang Zhouâs ruthless and crude procedures. The other Demons huddled in the corners of their iron cages, watching him with terror, as if he were the cold and merciless Death God himself.
Nearly an hour passed as the sounds of Wailing gradually faded away. Amid a dazzling light, Instructor Huang Qiuyue once again cast her Light-Attribute Healing Magic.
Fang Zhou had grown somewhat numb and was resigned to this Kobold dying in the experiment just like its predecessors. But this time, things were different. Miraculously, after receiving the infusion of Life Crystal Energy, the Kobold tenaciously clung to life. Although the injected Energy didnât regenerate its severed limb as Fang Zhou had hoped, it at least caused no fatal harm. This meant the first stepâachieving a harmless coexistence with the Life Crystalâs Energyâwas, to some extent, a success.
Fang Zhou and Instructor Huang Qiuyue exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with incredible joy. They both knew this marked a significant breakthrough.
Therefore, Fang Zhou decided to continue the trial, repeating the Life Crystal Energy infusion process on the resilient Kobold. He carefully controlled his actions, ensuring every step was identical to the last to avoid squandering this rare opportunity. Under his strict control, the Kobold withstood the intense fluctuations of the Life Crystalâs Energy and remained alive.
After several more trials, Fang Zhou isolated the crucial segment from the video recordings of the successful experimentâthe key moment of his procedure. He played the clip repeatedly, meticulously observing every movement and detail, striving to extract the most effective method. Subsequently, he selected several more Kobolds in varying conditions to conduct multiple control experiments, hoping to fully verify the methodâs effectiveness.
The results were heartening. Except for one Kobold whose Life Energy was already severely depleted, all the others survived. This was very encouraging progress.
As the final set of experiments concluded, Fang Zhou realized he was famished. He glanced at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearly time for the afternoon combat training session to begin. He put down the scalpel, stained with blood and sweat, and stretched slightly to relieve the stiffness in his muscles from standing for so long.
Turning to face the instructors who had been watching his procedure with rapt attention, Fang Zhou said, "Every beginning is difficult, but weâve finally taken the first step toward success. Next, Iâll gradually try this on other types of Demons, hoping to make further discoveries."
Instructor Huang Qiuyue also looked somewhat fatigued. As a Silver Lower-Rank Light Priest casting on Apprentice-level, Low-Level Demons, she only needed to use Apprentice-level Light-Attribute Healing Magic. Even so, she had been casting spells continuously for over an hour. The effort consumed considerable stamina, but her Mana was still abundant.
Looking at the Kobold corpses that were about to be disposed of, she shook her head and said to Fang Zhou, "Youâre right. We canât rush experiments. We must hypothesize boldly but verify cautiously. You have combat training this afternoon, so go get some rest."
Fang Zhou nodded, then directed his two Skeleton assistants and Shen Ziwei to begin cleaning the operating room.
Afterward, Instructor Su Xinyan unhesitatingly dismissed the onlookers. As the footsteps outside faded away, she gave Fang Zhou a meaningful glance, signaling him to follow her into the inner lounge. The lounge was simply yet elegantly decorated. On a wooden table sat an exquisite meal box that exuded a faint, fragrant aroma, which had clearly been prepared especially for him.
"I knew you hadnât eaten lunch, so I prepared a nutritious meal for you," she said. "Youâve worked hard these past few days. Make sure to replenish your energy."