Chapter 65: Isn't Skipping Ranks in Demonic Cultivation Classes Completely Normal?

Li Ang did not notice the strange changes happening to Old Tang, as he was entirely focused on the blood inside the bowl.

To his disappointment, however, nothing happened at all.

It was as if Old Tang truly were nothing more than an ordinary human being.

Yet, knowing the plot, Li Ang was well aware of what kind of monster was hidden beneath Old Tang's decadent exterior.

His blood was definitely not that simple.

'Is something missing...?'

Li Ang touched his chin and fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, watching this scene unfold, a sudden chill crept over Old Tang.

'Does this employer of mine have some kind of weird fetish...?'

'Should I just find an excuse and slip away?'

These were his current thoughts.

Unaware of what was going through Old Tang's mind, Li Ang simply frowned as he looked at the completely unresponsive blood of the Dragon King, pondering how to stimulate its activity.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

'Ah, I've got it!'

Relaxing his body, Li Ang used a small blade to cut his palm, letting his own blood drip toward Old Tang's blood.

...

...

Hiss—!

After a few seconds of calm, the previously lifeless blood suddenly erupted into a plume of white smoke, as if it had been ignited.

Old Tang, the owner of the blood, stared in utter astonishment at the sight.

'Is this my blood?!'

Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would have thought this was the blood of some extraterrestrial alien.

Moreover, in all his years, this was the first time he had ever seen his own blood undergo such a transformation.

However, Li Ang had no leisure to care about what Old Tang was thinking right now; he cautiously extended his finger toward the Dragon King's blood in the bowl.

As for why he was so bold...

Naturally, it was due to the confidence brought by the Triple Inversion of Mortality.

Besides, in the original story, wasn't Chu Zihang drenched in Teacher Amamiya's dragon blood and turned out completely fine?

Li Ang did not believe he would be weaker than Chu Zihang.

The moment his finger made contact with Old Tang's blood, a familiar burning sensation instantly washed over him.

Only this time, the burning sensation was countless times more intense than the previous encounters with the blood of the fifth-generation and fourth-generation species.

In just a fraction of a second, Li Ang was drenched in cold sweat from head to toe.

Yet, ignoring the pain surging through his body, he looked at the professional interface before him and revealed a gratified smile.

Beside him, seeing the bizarre expression on Li Ang's face, Old Tang's body involuntarily stiffened.

'No way, is this employer of mine actually out of his mind?!'

He was genuinely starting to feel scared.

What was even more critical was that the aura emanating from the other person at this moment made him inexplicably feel a sense of unease.

Gradually, Old Tang fell into a trance; he seemed to see a gigantic bronze city deeply buried beneath the water, and within it, an egg that made him feel a bloodline connection.

He tightly clutched his head in pain, and immediately afterward, countless images began to flash back through his mind.

A few seconds later, Old Tang's expression gradually calmed.

He raised his head to look at the figure in front of him studying his blood, remaining completely silent.

On the other side, as Li Ang made contact with the Dragon King's blood, the experience points belonging to the [Hybrids] class on his professional interface were growing at a rapid pace.

[Absorbed the dragon blood of the King in Yellow / King of Bronze and Fire, Class Experience +457]

[Absorbed the dragon blood of the King of Bronze and Fire, Class Experience +624]...

Unfortunately, a mere tiny fraction of the Dragon King's blood was obviously not enough to push this class to maximum level. Fortunately, Old Tang had initially provided 400cc of blood.

With a somewhat pale complexion, Li Ang grinned and, without the slightest hesitation, poured all the remaining Dragon King's blood from the plasma bag into the bowl. Then, repeating his previous operation, he abruptly plunged his palm straight into it.

Sizzle—!

A continuous sound of fine burning echoed, and the heart-piercing pain left Li Ang covered in cold sweat.

Yet, when he saw the crazily soaring experience points of the [Hybrids] class and felt the steadily climbing power within his body, he felt that the suffering he was enduring was worth nothing.

After all, there were countless people in this world who wanted to gain power but had no pathway to it.

He even had the mood to jokingly remark to himself in his heart:

'I really am not a masochist...'

Finally, after enduring an extremely painful wait, the information Li Ang wanted to see popped up on his professional interface.

[Absorbed the dragon blood of the King of Bronze and Fire, Class Experience +4875].

[Hybrids: Lv20].

Take a gamble, and a bicycle turns into a motorcycle.

Li Ang had undoubtedly succeeded; the [Hybrids] class directly advanced ten levels, becoming his second max-level class.

Feeling the explosive power within his body, he drew his hand back with a sense of relief.

'As expected, power obtained by taking shortcuts is truly intoxicating.'

'Too bad the risks aren't small either.'

The reason Li Ang dared to pull off such a stunt, aside from the Triple Inversion of Mortality, was naturally due to his overpowered attributes—[Physical Strength 6.9, Mental Strength 8.5].

If an ordinary hybrid had dared to operate like him, they would have long since died completely due to the pollution of the Dragon King's blood, or if not dead, they would have degenerated into a ghoulish Dead Servant.

How could they possibly be bouncing around as lively as he was now?

With both [Craftsman Apprentice (Alchemical)] and [Hybrids] successfully reaching max level, the only thing blocking Li Ang from transitioning into a [Dragon-Vein Alchemist] was the final condition.

And also the most difficult one.

Replacing the bloodline within his body with dragon blood of the third-generation species or higher was evidently an extremely harsh prerequisite.

Of course, the rougher the seas, the richer the catch; the rewards it would bring would presumably exceed Li Ang's imagination.

Moreover, he also wanted to see just how massive the gap was between this second tier and the first tier.

'Unfortunately, due to the previous incident, I'm afraid I won't be able to obtain detailed information regarding the Nibelungen Project from the Academy anytime soon.'

'In that case, I can only count on Norton. He should be able to whip up something similar.'

'But how should I go about convincing him?'

They were completely unrelated strangers after all; Norton obviously wouldn't easily help a hybrid like him.

Yet, just as Li Ang was pondering his next countermeasures, a cold, stern, and majestic voice suddenly echoed in his ears.

"What..."

"Are you doing?"

Li Ang snapped his head around to see that Old Tang, standing behind him, was now glaring at him with a pair of blinding golden pupils, gazing at him with absolute indifference.

No, not Old Tang.

Rather...

The King of Bronze and Fire, Norton.

'He really was drawn out by me.'

'Fortunately, I sent that tip-off letter beforehand. I just wonder what the situation at the Kuimen Gorge is like right now.'

'However, judging by the timeline of the original work, even if those hybrid factions in the Central Plains remain indifferent, there is still more than a month left before the implementation of the Kuimen Project.'

Thinking of this, Li Ang felt slightly more at ease.

He had long prepared a contingency plan for Norton's awakening; waking up early wasn't a major issue. Or rather, even if he didn't wake up now, Li Ang would have had to find a way to rouse him later.

He just wondered how much of Old Tang's presence still remained within that body; this would undoubtedly dictate the actions he would take next.

With that thought, Li Ang asked, "How should I address you?"

"Norton..."

"Or Old Tang?"