Ultragenic Warlord

Chapter 702: Another Evolution

Zhang Lie's mouth twitched. Was this really the work of the king of the realm, who was still little more than a teenager? Did the king of the realm really think him so lecherous? Just what was he thinking?

Surely not. Zhang Lie realized in just an instant that this was probably an idea that someone else had suggested to the king of the realm in an ill-guided attempt to induce Zhang Lie to remain in this world.

Unfortunately for them, Zhang Lie, who was in the middle of his second life, was no longer such an inexperienced greenhorn that he would lose his mind at the sight of beautiful women.

He ignored them all, prohibited them from bothering him unless they were explicitly summoned, and began the process of absorbing the disaster gene fragments into his body.

Zhang Lie cut his palm with Guicang, then allowed his blood to drip onto the disaster-grade core. Like a wad of cotton, the disaster-grade core continuously absorbed Zhang Lie's blood, dyeing it red. The sand that surrounded the core began to avoid Zhang Lie's palm, until it too was dyed red.

Zhang Lie had to reopen the wound a few times before the orb was entirely a clear, vibrant blood-red color. He clutched the prickly disaster-grade core as he sent concentrated, rainbow-colored genetic energy into it for over an entire hour before he felt it starting to soften.

After another ten minutes or so, the entire core had softened completely.

As Zhang Lie clutched the crystalline orb, flecked with blood-red grains of sand, he felt some unusual sense of kinship with it. Once he felt such a sensation, Zhang Lie couldn't resist his impulses any longer, and he swallowed the core whole.

As the core slid down his throat, Zhang Lie felt a fiery, numbing sensation spread throughout his body. Subsequently, all that energy contained within the core burst apart.

Zhang Lie hissed as his body began to turn red, the color of a boiled prawn. Blood frothed and boiled within his body as a terrifying energy rampaged his body from the inside out. Blood seeped from his skin and pores, then boiled in the air. The residue detached itself automatically from his body, forming blood-red grains of sand that revolved around him.

Twenty disaster gene fragments were a threshold for evolution. Zhang Lie believed that he wouldn't undergo such an evolution again considering that he had already become a disaster-grade lifeform, but it had happened nevertheless.

Perhaps because Zhang Lie was finally getting used to absorbing disaster gene fragments, or perhaps because his status of life had increased to that of a disaster-grade lifeform, the process was far more painless than before.

After a moment, Zhang Lie shut his eyes ?calmly. This level of pain was something he was far too used to—it would be easy enough to bear.

His blood boiled, his body swelled, and golden light emanated from his body.

As the golden light spread, the bloody grains proliferated, revolving in Zhang Lie's chambers and forming a miniature hurricane. Unfortunately for the rare treasures that decorated the room—on the king of the realm's orders—all of it was scoured and destroyed by the bloody grains that surrounded Zhang Lie.

The king of the realm, noticing the disturbance, shook his head with a smile in familiar exasperation. He waved a hand and used the realm's authority to isolate Zhang Lie's room.

He was a young king in the prime of his power. The previous king, who was ailing and growing old, and thus unable to control the realm's authority completely, had only managed to block off the light emanating from Zhang Lie's chambers.

The new king of the realm was young and yet immature, but he was able to manifest greater power.

That day, when Zhang Lie absorbed the disaster-grade core in the ninth prince's quarters, there was no one around. Now, however, Zhang Lie's estate was filled with servants, and it would take quite some time to send all of them away.

In court, a few of the officials noticed the changes in the king of the realm's expression.

"Is something the matter, your majesty?"

The king of the realm shook his head. "It's nothing. You can continue."

As Zhang Lie absorbed more disaster gene fragments, they changed his body from the inside out. His muscles enlarged. Genetic energy circulated through his framework, faster and faster.

As he assimilated the disaster gene fragments into his body, Zhang Lie gave off stronger and stronger beams of light. Circulating genetic energy through his body now took just over ten seconds, an incredible and previously unimaginable speed,

The blood-colored sand began to revolve more and more quickly. Zhang Lie's body gave off popping sounds, and his evolution was spurred further and further onward by the energy of the disaster-grade core.

His bones broke down and regrew time and again, and his capillaries burst before coming back thicker and thicker.

The entire room where his body was located was being scoured clean.

The king of the realm's barrier began to crack. The energy that Zhang Lie absorbed from the disaster-grade core made him so strong that he was unconsciously affecting space itself.

His eyes and mouth began to radiate rainbow light, which seeped out through the barrier that the king of the realm laid down. The cracks widened, and the entire manor began to shake. The king of the realm had no choice but to dismiss court, then teleport over to Zhang Lie's manor.

The servants and maidens knelt down upon seeing the king. "We welcome your majesty."

The king of the realm, however, had no attention to spare for them. He hurriedly reinforced the barrier by physical contact.

By that point, Zhang Lie was undergoing the most crucial part of his metamorphosis. The bloody grains of sand were slowly turning rainbow-colored, forming a gigantic cocoon wrapping around Zhang Lie. Suddenly, black beams of light shot out from within the cocoon, along with huge waves of energy.

The king of the realm hurriedly reached out to contain the energy within.

If he allowed it to escape, it would level the entire capital to the ground.

The king of the realm gritted his teeth as he tried to vent the energy away. Sweat trickled down his head. "Just what is Master up to? He would have destroyed the entire capital if I hadn't done anything!"

According to the lingo of the Milky Way, Zhang Lie was all but a starbreak annihilator in a human form.

Even the king of the realm's reinforced barrier began to crack. He knew that, once it did, the frightening energy within would engulf him within moments. Even so, he didn't give up. He continued pouring energy into the barrier, attempting to vent whatever energy Zhang Lie was exuding.

As the cracks continued to propagate, however, the king of the realm felt his strength waning. Just when he was about to reach his limit, the ferocious energy from within relaxed, and the king couldn't help but sigh in relief.

He had almost perished.

To be frank, he had never expected that, as the king of the realm, he would almost lose his life trying to vent the excess energy that Zhang Lie was exuding upon treading new ground with his cultivation…

1. You would think that Zhang Lie would have learned to isolate himself given that he's basically leveled settlements in the past while absorbing gene fragments, wouldn't you?