Han Wu and his party faced increasingly fierce attacks as they pressed deeper into the forest. Swarms of demons blocked their path and slowed their progress to a crawl.
The death of Ding Shanhai weighed heavily on Su i and Xue Qian, leaving them distracted in the midst of the relentless assaults. If this continued, they would never reach their destination, let alone survive the forest.
When the group finally found a montary respite, Han Wu called Su i over. “Su i, I know Ding Shanhai’s death has hit you hard, but if this continues, we will lose more than just him. Do you understand?”
He spoke with deliberate severity to force her to snap out of her grief.
Su i nodded, acknowledging his words, though she struggled to regain control of her emotions. She was brilliant, but young and inexperienced. A seasoned leader would not falter over the loss of a single ally.
“I’ll control my emotions and keep everything in order. But I would like you to help monitor the team during this trying ti.” Her words made it clear she was temporarily relinquishing command to Han Wu.
He didn’t relish the role, but he accepted it without complaint. The position ant little to him. To lift her spirits, he produced an enhanceable organ he had discovered among the mutated life forms and handed it to her. “Carefully sense this. It can strengthen you further.”
Su i hesitated but followed his instructions. At first, she detected nothing and suspected he was teasing her.
Han Wu looked puzzled before instructing her to use Succubus Descend again. This ti, she detected sothing unique about the organ. Unfortunately, its low compatibility prevented her from grafting it onto her body.
Su i then called Xue Qian to use Shadow Demon Descend and probe the organ with his senses. He discovered it was highly compatible and decided to graft it onto his head. Once grafted, a small horn sprouted whenever he activated Shadow Demon Descend. The horn was sharp and durable, and it increased the requirents to upgrade the Skill from nine tis the usual threshold to eleven. In effect, the organ enhanced the Skill’s potential.
Su i was imdiately fascinated by how the organs could further augnt their strength, and the two picked up the slack. Leng Ning and ng Qi also beca interested upon learning that the organs could improve their abilities. Unfortunately, lacking Skills to transform them into demons or generate demonic aura, they could not graft any organs. There was also the risk that the organs would be poorly compatible with them.
Leng Ning and ng Qi sighed in frustration. anwhile, Han Wu quickly devised a thod for them to graft the organs. He reverse-engineered techniques developed by the Assist Civilization to induce specific Skills, then combined them with knowledge he had gained from adventuring in other civilizations.
First, he used the blood of demonoids and selected organs as base materials. Then, he calibrated the concentration and properties of the mixture using his own Life Energy, eventually creating an elixir capable of transforming humanoids into demonoids.
He presented two vials of black Demonoid Elixir. His friends could hardly believe that it could make their bodies compatible with the enhanceable organs and even doubted whether it was safe to drink.
Han Wu did not rush them. He placed the vials in their hands and left the choice entirely up to them. Facing the decision, ng Qi turned to Su i. He liked her, and everyone knew it, but he also understood the vast gap between their strengths. If he didn’t push himself now, he would never have the chance to stand beside her in the future. For the sake of that future, he steeled himself and drank the vial.
“My dear friend, I trust you!” he shouted, his voice both a declaration of gratitude for the opportunity to grow stronger and a desperate attempt to convince himself that the elixir would work.
He closed his eyes, enduring the vile taste as it lingered in his mouth. Thirty seconds passed, and nothing happened. Doubt crept in. Perhaps Han Wu’s elixir had no effect at all.
“Hmm... I think I know why. It’s probably waiting for a catalyst.” Han Wu approached ng Qi, placed his palm on his shoulder, and infused him with Life Energy and Dragon Energy to act as the catalyst.
Suddenly, ng Qi felt a violent surge of strength erupt from deep within his body. He grew larger, and his muscles tore through his skin as blood spilled freely. Under ordinary circumstances, he would have bled to death many tis over, but the elixir’s restorative properties accelerated his healing. His body teetered on the edge of life and death, simultaneously destroying and regenerating itself.
Each ti a part of his body was torn apart, new muscle sprouted from the wounds, stronger than before. The elixir offered no relief from the searing pain, and ng Qi writhed violently in agony.
His companions watched, trembling at the sight of the relentless tornt.
Han Wu chuckled. “Don’t worry. He won’t die. He’ll survive this and erge stronger than ever.”
Although Han Wu’s knowledge of dicine and alchemy was limited, he had infused the elixirs with vast reserves of Life Energy, enough to support ng Qi’s evolution.
Five hours passed before the pain finally subsided. ng Qi collapsed from exhaustion, and his body returned to its normal state. His clothes, however, had been shredded beyond recognition, leaving him completely naked.
Han Wu poured water over him to wash away the stains and then dragged him into the tent to rest.
Leng Ning studied ng Qi’s pitiful state and then the vial in her hands. She had initially thought that it was ineffective, but now it seed otherwise. Still, she could not bring herself to drink it. She was a girl, and a striking one at that. The thought of ending up like ng Qi—naked, writhing in agony as her body was torn apart—was unbearable.
Han Wu cleared his throat, a hint of embarrassnt in his voice. “The effects vary with each person. ng Qi’s body is exceptionally resilient, so the elixir transford him physically. You, as an ice mage, will experience a different process. It shouldn’t be nearly as painful.”
“Really?” She sounded skeptical.
Han Wu nodded. “Really.”
Leng Ning resolved to drink it. Before she did, she warned coldly, “If I end up like ng Qi, I will freeze you into an ice sculpture, shatter your body, and then kill myself.”
Her tone carried unshakable conviction, and her gaze cut like ice. She was not bluffing. For the first ti since eting her, Han Wu felt a flicker of fear.
Leng Ning braced herself for the elixir’s vile taste and drank it. Han Wu stepped forward and activated its effects. Her body began to transform. Unlike ng Qi’s violent transformation, her skin gradually beca coated with a thin layer of icy scales, spreading even over her ears and eyes. She did not writhe in agony but sat perfectly still, her body rigid and controlled. At the sa ti, faint cracks echoed as frozen blades sprouted spontaneously around her.
Han Wu and the others kept a careful distance, both to avoid the blades and to ensure they did not distract her during the transformation.
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