Chapter Ninety-Seven: Compressed Energy Shot

In the deep pool below the waterfall, a thick, pungent stench of blood hung in the air.

Several half-dead mutated water anacondas writhed desperately, trying to escape. But their spines had long since been shattered; they could no longer swim freely as they once had. All they could do was watch helplessly as they slowly sank toward the bottom of the pool, until they drowned.

Like snakes and caimans, they relied mainly on their lungs to breathe. These mutated water anacondas were no exception. As cold-blooded creatures, their metabolism was slow; they did not need vast amounts of oxygen to maintain body heat, so after taking a breath of fresh air, they could remain underwater for quite a while.

But even so, they still had to surface for air.

Now that they could no longer swim, their end was already decided: death by drowning.

Lu Chen watched coldly as the last surviving anaconda fled toward the forest on shore, but he did not pursue it at once.

With all four limbs hooked against the rock, he opened his mouth and drew in a sudden breath.

Whoosh...

The air around him was violently sucked inward, forming a whirlpool visible to the naked eye.

Perhaps because he had drawn in too much air, Lu Chen’s abdomen swelled abruptly. Red mist began to seep from the scales on his body, as though he had been draped in a blood-colored mantle, making him look eerily and horribly demonic.

Especially the row of bone spurs along his back, which gleamed with a dark red sheen and crackled without pause. It was as if some energy were racing from his tail along his spine, finally gathering between his abdomen and lungs.

Puff...

Lu Chen opened his jaws again, and a blood-red sphere burst forth.

In the blink of an eye, it shot fifty or sixty meters away.

Boom!

A deafening explosion rang out.

Dust billowed skyward, branches and leaves scattering in all directions...

The mutated water anaconda caught in the center of the blast was blown to pieces.

Lu Chen darted over in a few leaps and stared at the crater before him, nearly two zhang across, falling momentarily silent.

A beast tailed by calamity? Or Godzilla?

How exactly had the ancestral awakening of his bloodline given rise to this new mutation ability?

In truth, Lu Chen was somewhat bewildered himself.

After swallowing too many spirit stones earlier, the bloodline awakening value on the system interface had surged by nearly double. Seemingly by instinct, a great deal of new information had appeared in his mind, and he had somehow been able to do this.

So when hunting the anacondas, he had tried gathering energy within his body through sheer willpower—and unexpectedly succeeded on the first attempt.

The energy stored in his cells had rapidly converged into a sphere, then been released outward...

So the bloodline awakening was truly evolving toward the path of immortals or demon beasts?

Only, this step forward had been so enormous that Lu Chen felt as though he had strained something vital; now he could not help suspecting he was dreaming.

Once he had calmed down, he turned his attention to the system interface again and checked his body’s latest data.

Host: Lu Chen

Possession Type: Mutated Caiman

Weight: 489 kilograms

Length: 4.92 meters

Age: 1 year and 8 months

Suitable Temperature: 0-50 degrees Celsius

Energy Points: 695.9 (obtained by hunting prey or spirit stones; in addition to the host’s daily consumption, these points may also be used to alter the host’s own attributes. Total accumulated: 107,000)

Toe-Claw Strength: 733 kilograms

Bite Force: 895 kilograms

Speed: 16.9 meters per second

Scale Defense: 505

Heart Enhancement: 300

Other Attributes: None

Mutation Abilities: Bloodline Awakening (27%), Compressed Energy Bullet (Tier 1, a method by which the energy accumulated within the host is compressed and then released outward; advances continuously as the degree of bloodline awakening increases)

Evolution Level: 4 (when the host accumulates 10 million energy points, the next level of evolution will be unlocked. Completion: 10.7%).

At first, Lu Chen had thought new mutation abilities would only appear after advancing to Tier 5. Now it seemed that was not necessary.

This new ability arose after the bloodline awakening increased, and it could continue to improve, much like an innate power.

In that case, he now possessed another means of ranged attack.

For Lu Chen, that was undeniably a good thing.

Next, he checked the other data.

With ample, high-quality flesh and blood, Lu Chen’s body had been as if under a cheat code. In just a little over ten days, he had reached an astonishing 489 kilograms.

This was an utterly unbelievable surge!

It could even be predicted that before long, he would soon break through to over 1,000 jin.

In the natural world, an ordinary caiman would need at least ten years to reach this level.

And Lu Chen was not yet even two years old.

However, in terms of size alone, for a mutated caiman nearly five meters long, this weight was somewhat on the low side.

In nature, an ordinary caiman of that length would already weigh well over a ton.

That was because, during their growth, they moved too little and accumulated too many impurities and too much fat in their bodies. Lu Chen was different: he exercised a great deal every day, so his body had almost no fat accumulation, and beneath his scales were only dense, well-developed muscle groups.

Add to that several rounds of tempering, which had expelled most of the impurities and filth from his body, greatly increasing muscle density.

So although Lu Chen’s weight was slightly lower than that of an ordinary caiman, his limbs were packed with explosive power.

Besides, it might also have something to do with his bloodline awakening.

After reviewing his body data, Lu Chen turned his gaze back to the compressed energy bullet.

He was like a child who had just received a new toy and wanted to enjoy it to the fullest in one go.

Open his mouth, inhale, gather and compress energy through his will... then release it!

Boom!

A fierce explosion erupted once more in the distant forest.

After watching it, Lu Chen gained a deeper understanding of the compressed energy bullet.

For now, his maximum attack range was roughly one hundred meters. Compared with humanity’s advanced missiles, not to mention even the firing range of ordinary firearms, it was still far too short.

But for the present, it was more than enough.

After firing several more energy bullets to his heart’s content, Lu Chen returned to the bottom of the deep pool and buried all the remains of the anacondas in the mud and sand.

Then he sprinted toward the river farther away.

In just a few short hours, Lu Chen had already arrived back in the area of his former territory.

From his nostrils, he clearly caught the scent of the Crocodile Boss and the others.

At the moment, the four fellows were not lingering near the cave, but were hunting a black bear?

Not seeing them for several days had only made them bolder—they even dared to hunt black bears now!

With curiosity, Lu Chen followed the scent and rushed over quickly.

When he reached the edge of the battlefield, he deliberately appeared from downwind, then restrained his aura and hid in the undergrowth.

Chirp chirp... squeak squeak...

Hiss hiss hiss...

The four fellows were bullying the black bear for not understanding crocodile speech, openly discussing tactics right in front of it.

Black Dot launched the first attack from the air, the Crocodile Boss charged head-on, and Crocodile Two and Crocodile Four struck from the side and rear in quick succession.

That three-hundred-jin black bear had no power to resist at all; in just a short while, several bloody holes had appeared in its thick fur, and one of its eyes had been burned blind by flames.

If they launched another round of attacks, this fellow would be completely dead.

Chirp!!

Suddenly, Black Dot let out a sharp, urgent cry, warning its companions that another animal was approaching.

At the reminder, the three caimans immediately abandoned their prey and gathered together at once.

These fellows remained as sharp as ever.

Lu Chen stepped forward with great satisfaction, slowly emerging from the undergrowth.

His jet-black scales shimmered with a metallic coldness under the sunlight, and the row of bone spurs on his back seemed to pierce the sky.

His limbs were thick and powerful, and his massive body resembled a boulder.

Coupled with his fierce gaze, he radiated the brutal, savage aura of the primeval wilderness.