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*A clarification is needed regarding the term "peak", coming after "late-stage". Although it was not mentioned in the level classification, it can be deduced that it is the stage that makes the transition to the next level. I hope the explanation is clear.
Wu Liang sniffed the air, then his face darkened with anger.
"Little Xuexue, you actually stole the spiritual medicine while I was evolving! I'm angry!"
Ling Qingxue curled her lips, a smile playing on her lips.
"What you see is what you get. Did you see me steal the spiritual medicine?"
"You…" Wu Liang was speechless.
Damn it, the Grumpy Empress is so unfair!
There was nothing he could do. Having failed to catch her red-handed, Wu Liang could only swallow his anger.
He pushed off with his hind legs, trying to jump onto Ling Qingxue's shoulders as before, but she dodged him.
Wu Liang immediately felt wronged. "Little Xuexue, you don't like me anymore. You won't even let me come close to you. How can you refuse someone as cute as me?"
Ling Qingxue frowned, her expression one of utter disbelief.
Wu Liang's rugged appearance was hardly endearing. It was already a miracle she wasn't calling him an ugly thing.
"You're so big now, weighing at least 45 kilos. Do you expect me to carry you?"
Wu Liang was slightly taken aback, then looked at his own size.
"Oops, I've gotten bigger again."
No problem, he had plenty of ways.
Wu Liang directly upgraded the "Size Control" skill to level 4, spending a total of 17 evolution points. That left him with only 9.
[Size Control Lv4: The host can consume energy to freely increase or decrease its body size. Current range: eight times.]
Then, Wu Liang shrank to the size of a kitten and jumped onto Ling Qingxue's fragrant shoulder again. This time, she didn't dodge.
Ling Qingxue tilted her head, looking at him helplessly.
"Why do you like sitting on my shoulder so much? Can't you just walk on your own?"
Wu Liang raised his chin. "I like being on top. Up here, I have more control, and the view is better."
A real man only likes being on top!
Looking at the unpolluted, clear river in front of him, Wu Liang's eyes lit up.
"Little Xuexue, let's take a bath. You scrub my back, and I'll scrub yours. I can help with other things as well."
"Get lost!"
In the end, they did take a bath.
Ling Qingxue scrubbed him in the river for a while, then set up a spirit formation to block his sight. Only then did she feel safe enough to wash herself.
"Where's the trust between humans and their beasts? I'm your magical beast now. What's wrong with a couple of glances? It's not like I can do anything to you..."
"Just wait, I'll become a Spiritual Master and break your spirit formations sooner or later!"
Magical beasts also possessed spiritual power and could theoretically become Spiritual Masters, but the ones with such talent were extremely rare.
Although magical beasts were inherently intelligent, learning the complex structure of a spirit formation was no less difficult than having them thread a needle and sew clothes. Setting up a formation required meticulous work.
Even after transforming into human form at the King Level, the essence of a magical beast would not change.
Moreover, magical beasts wouldn't waste time learning spirit formations that were useless to them. Physical combat was where their true strength lay.
...
After that, at Wu Liang's insistence, they rested for nearly a day. It wasn't that he was lazy, but rather that the large number of beast corpses he ate needed a day to digest. Once he absorbed this massive wave of attribute points, his strength would increase significantly!
Furthermore, he also needed to upgrade his skill levels.
[Ding! Second Level early-stage Earth Rock Boar digestion complete. Strength +24, Defense +20, Speed +10, Evolution Points +25!]
[Ding! Second Level mid-stage Copper Armor Turtle digestion complete. Strength +28, Defense +36, Evolution Points +32!]
[......]
[Ding! Second Level late-stage Bloodthirsty Wolf digestion complete. Strength +40, Defense +20, Speed +50, Evolution Points +42!]
Hearing the System notifications constantly popping up in his mind, Wu Liang's mood improved again.
The Second Level early- and mid-stage beast corpses had all been digested, his attribute points had skyrocketed, and his evolution points were also quite good.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on breaking through to First Level late-stage!]
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on breaking through to the peak* of the First Level!]
Two consecutive System notifications sent Wu Liang soaring with joy.
"My attributes are definitely comparable to the Second Level early stage! I should be just as good in a fight!"
This was the raw, brutal beauty unique to his four main attributes.
As long as he continued to improve his four attributes, his strength would absolutely explode.
"The next evolution is still a long way off, so I'd better upgrade a skill first!"
Wu Liang rubbed his hands together like a fly, an excited smile on his face.
Thoughts raced through his mind, and several skills on the System panel began to upgrade rapidly.
[Host: Wu Liang]
[Beast: Glutton Beast (Next Form: Monster Beast, Evolution Points required: 1000)]
[Rank: First Level Peak]
[Talent: Devouring All Things (50%)]
[Bloodline: Low-level five-star]
[Attack: 530]
[Defense: 605]
[Speed: 440]
[Spirit: 240]
[Evolution Points: 10]
[Skills: Gluttonous Stomach Lv. 8, Greed Lv. 6, Damage Reduction Lv. 6, Size Control Lv. 4, Supernatural Smell Lv. 5]
[Gluttonous Stomach Lv. 8: Fixed passive skill, representing the digestive ability of the Gluttonous Beast. The stomach can store 80 cubic meters of food and can digest everything to nourish itself. Digestion speed is increased by 50%.]
[Greed Lv. 6: You possess an insatiable greed, desiring to possess everything. Activating this skill briefly increases all your attributes by 60%, during which time you are immune to all pain and remain at peak condition.]
[Damage Reduction Lv. 6: You can absorb all attacks that fall on you; the current absorption rate is 6%.]
[Supernatural Smell Lv. 5: Possessing an unparalleled sense of smell, you can perceive objects within an 800-meter radius.]
...
This cost over 200 evolution points, arguably Wu Liang's most extravagant expenditure.
The resulting improvements were undoubtedly enormous.
"Gluttonous Stomach" had been upgraded to Lv. 8, increasing digestion speed and storage space.
"Greed" and "Damage Reduction" had both been upgraded to Lv. 6. Using the skills increased all attributes by 60%, and the damage reduction reached 6%—it was insane.
This was only the initial stage. Once the skills were maxed out, all attributes would increase tenfold, and the damage reduction would reach 100%, making him truly invincible.
[Host, your understanding is incorrect. Damage reduction, strictly speaking, does not necessarily give complete immunity.]
Wu Liang scratched his head. "How is it then?"
[The principle behind the Damage Reduction skill is that the host relies on the Taotie bloodline to absorb a portion of all types of attacks that fall on him. However, the host's absorption ability has its limits. Exceeding the host's limit, even if the Damage Reduction ratio reaches 100%, it cannot achieve complete immunity.]
Wu Liang suddenly realized. "You mean if the attack that falls on me is 100 points, and the current ratio is 6%, meaning I can mitigate 6 points of damage, but if my absorption limit is only 5 points, then I can only mitigate 5 points of damage?"
[That's right. The specific Damage Reduction value is related to the Damage Reduction ratio, and also to the host's own absorption limit.]
Wu Liang showed a regretful expression. He initially thought it would give him complete immunity.
However, even though it was related to his absorption ability, this skill was still powerful.
As long as he continuously increased his defense value, the impact of the attacks he received would also decrease.
With the added weakening from the "Damage Reduction" skill, how much damage would he actually take?
And not to mention, the Taotie was a top-tier divine beast. Even among equals, how much could its stats surpass his?
Mechanically, he's invincible among his peers!
So let the Grumpy Empress handle the higher-level opponents...
After all, Grumpy Empress had some experience with high-level matches.