Chapter 73: Advancement to the Black Iron Realm! [Extra chapter for 30,000 recommendation votes]

After transforming into a Bloodthirster, Lin Huang’s physical abilities were a perfect copy of Bai’s traits. His speed now matched Bai’s exactly; the two shot forward, one after the other, yet they were still a step slower than the Violet Gown Enchantress.

When the Enchantress had given up attacking Lin Huang, she had already withdrawn from the range of his blood energy assault. Now, as the two pursued her relentlessly, the distance only grew wider.

Watching the Violet Gown Enchantress escape farther and farther, Lin Huang felt a surge of unwillingness. He had nearly been killed by her, and had been forced to use a temporary transformation card. If he did not kill that Enchantress, he would never be able to swallow this humiliation.

In his fury, his Snow-Treading Phantom steps activated unconsciously, causing his speed to soar severalfold, closing the distance to the Enchantress rapidly.

“To think I can use my own skills even while transformed!” Lin Huang only now realized this, having assumed that his personal skills would be unavailable after transformation. Yet as a Bloodthirster, he found himself unrestricted.

A flash of inspiration struck him. “That means I can use the Wild Desolation Blade Scripture as well!”

With several swift steps, he caught up to the Enchantress. The blood energy wing on his right morphed into a war blade, slashing toward her. This was the nineteenth form of the Wild Desolation Blade Scripture—the crimson-gold tip of the blade shot through the night like an arrow loosed from its string, aiming straight for the back of her head.

Sensing fatal danger from behind, the Enchantress’s phantom-like figure flickered, narrowly dodging Lin Huang’s deadly strike.

She was about to continue her flight, only to find her left, jade-like arm suddenly ensnared by a coil of crimson-gold energy, impossible to break free.

Lin Huang had, at the very moment of his attack, transformed his left blood energy wing into a whip, quietly winding it around her arm.

Realizing escape was futile, the Violet Gown Enchantress finally gave up running. Her head twisted a hundred and eighty degrees, and the pair of blood-red eyes on that ghastly white mask fixed on Lin Huang, lunging at him with sudden ferocity.

Since Lin Huang was still rushing forward, her abrupt reversal brought them instantly within her attack range.

Six jade-like arms transformed into six deadly weapons, launching a torrential assault upon Lin Huang.

Were he still in his human form, Lin Huang would have stood no chance in a head-on clash. But now he had transformed into a Bloodthirster—moreover, a mutated Bloodthirster identical to Bai—his combat power was on par with this Enchantress; both were at Blackiron Level Three.

In this direct confrontation, Lin Huang felt not the slightest fear. His blood energy wings once more became twin blades, colliding fiercely with the Enchantress’s arms.

Noticing Bai closing in from behind Lin Huang, the Enchantress seemed to go all out, desperate to defeat Lin Huang before Bai could arrive. She unleashed her ultimate skill—Thousand-Handed Soul Reaver. Six arms blurred into countless afterimages, multiplying into thousands, surging toward Lin Huang like an all-encompassing tide.

Lin Huang switched from offense to defense, his defensive blade techniques forming an impenetrable barrier, parrying every one of the Enchantress’s attacks. In just a few seconds, their blows had exchanged over a hundred times.

At that moment, Bai finally caught up. Her blood energy wings spread wide and, from over ten meters away, she launched an attack against the Enchantress.

Knowing she was no match for both adversaries, the Enchantress attempted to flee once more.

Yet just then, a crimson-gold blade light flashed into existence within the void. The Enchantress had barely turned when a blade of that same hue pierced through the back of her head, the blade’s tip emerging from the rear of her white mask.

The Enchantress’s body abruptly froze; her mask began to fracture, and her form swiftly disintegrated.

Retracting the crimson-gold blade, Lin Huang’s lips curled into a slight smile. “Trying to run? I was defending just now, not because I couldn’t kill you, but because I wanted to familiarize myself with these blood energy wings, to wield the Wild Desolation Blade Scripture with greater precision.”

No sooner had Lin Huang finished speaking than a beam of white light burst from beneath the Enchantress’s mask, enveloping him completely.

[Host’s main body undergoing Life Light Baptism. Forced exit from transformation state!]

Little Black’s voice sounded abruptly. Before Lin Huang could react, he was wrenched out of Bloodthirster form, restored to his original human state.

He stood bathed in pure white radiance, while the Life Wheel within him began to transform rapidly. The previously gray-white, stone-like Life Wheel began to shift toward a black metallic state.

Lin Huang knew what was happening—his Life Wheel was evolving into a Blackiron Life Wheel.

Once the transformation was complete, the Life Wheel shrank to roughly a third of its original size, and three blank rings formed around its outer edge. Each ring bore 360 segments, identical in number to the Life Light segments.

However, these were not Life Light segments but Life Energy segments. If only the innermost ring was filled with Life Energy, it meant Blackiron Level One; the second ring, Blackiron Level Two; the third, Blackiron Level Three. When all 1,080 segments overflowed, another Life Light Baptism would bring advancement to the Bronze rank.

Lin Huang had looked up all this information countless times on the Emperor Heart Network.

When his Life Wheel’s metamorphosis ended, the Life Light Baptism from outside was also drawing to a close. Just as the process was about to finish, a thumb-sized, dark gray granule burst from the Enchantress’s body, burrowed into Lin Huang, and lodged itself within his newly reformed Blackiron Life Wheel.

Lin Huang directed his consciousness inward and found, in the white expanse of his Life Wheel world, a new thumb-sized gray granule alongside his dozen or so cards.

[Life Seed detected. Do you wish to convert it into a card?] came Little Black’s voice.

“Even a Life Seed can be cardified?” Lin Huang was momentarily stunned and couldn’t help asking.

[It can be directly made into a card, no auxiliary materials required.]

“If I turn it into a card, and you ever leave my body, wouldn’t I lose the Life Seed’s talent?” Lin Huang voiced his concern.

[No. The Life Seed is not an item generated by the cards, but a real object originally present. If I leave the host’s body, the Life Seed will simply revert from card form to its normal state.]

Little Black’s explanation finally put Lin Huang at ease. “Alright, go ahead and cardify it!”

Moments later, Little Black’s voice sounded again.

[Cardification complete. New card type added: Life Seed Card!]

Lin Huang immediately examined his newly gained Life Seed Card. On the front was a fuzzy, dark gray sphere; flipping to the back, he checked the detailed information.

[Life Seed Card]
[Life Seed Name: Phantom Hand]
[Rarity: Rare]
[Type: Composite]
[Talent Effect 1: Flexibility of Ten Fingers +20% (Basic)]
[Talent Effect 2: Double-Handed Attack Speed +20% (Basic)]
[Talent Effect 3: Arm Bone Flexibility +20% (Basic)]
[Advancement Effect: Each advancement stacks all three talents by +20%.]
[Card Evaluation: Not bad.]

Seeing this talent card, Lin Huang was briefly stunned. He distinctly remembered that the starting bonus for the Phantom Hand Life Seed was only 10%, and each advancement only stacked by 10%, yet now it was 20% each. On second thought, since he had slain a Violet Gown Enchantress—a Life Seed of higher rarity—it wasn’t surprising for the talent effects to be doubled. In any case, the result was a pleasant surprise.

“With a base of 20%, after three advancements to Gold level, it’ll be 80%. That’s nearly double my hand speed. This is an excellent talent!”

Having successfully advanced to Blackiron, and gained a Life Seed and ability better than he’d hoped, Lin Huang had finally achieved his purpose for coming here.

Withdrawing his consciousness from within, he let out a slow breath. “At last, I’m Blackiron!”

Remembering his newly altered attributes, he opened his exclusive personal card for a look.

[Host: Lin Huang]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 15]
[Combat Level: Blackiron One]
[Life Seed: Phantom Hand (Rare)]
[Combat Skill 1: Wild Desolation Blade Scripture (Blade)]
[Combat Skill 2: Snow-Treading Phantom (Movement)]
[Monster Skill 1: Blood Energy (Level 2)]
[Monster Skill 2: Might (Intermediate)]
[Monster Skill 3: Great Strength (Intermediate)]
[Monster Skill 4: Demon-Eye Intimidation (Intermediate)]
[Monster Skill 5: Absolute Defense (Basic)]
[Summoning Rights: Unlocked]
[Summonable Creatures: 2]
[Evaluation: Well, you’ve finally reached Blackiron.]

“My combat level’s not ‘None’ anymore…” Lin Huang noted. “There’s a Life Seed now, combat and monster skills are separated, and I can summon two creatures!”

He was long used to ignoring Little Black’s snarky evaluations. All in all, his journey through the Forest of Forgetfulness had exceeded expectations.

Not only had he advanced to Blackiron, with a Life Seed talent better than he’d hoped, but he’d also obtained an epic-grade Dragonblood Summon Card.

“I wonder when Miss Leng and the others will finish their mission? In the meantime, I’d better work on filling my Blackiron Life Wheel with Life Energy!”

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[Extra chapter for 30,000 recommendation votes!]