After ordering the system to start the process, Lin Wu felt a strange emptiness filling him. It was hard for him to comprehend but it was as if there was a part of him that had disappeared. If he could compare it to anything, he could tell that it was similar to having your head hair shaved off.

But this feeling soon started to fade away. In replacement of it, there was now a feeling of satisfaction similar to how one felt after a good meal. The feeling lasted a few minutes after which it finally ended and Lin Wu could sense the dense spirit qi in his meridians.

No longer were there any wisps in it, but rather only liquid drops of spirit qi in them. Their quantity was much less than before, but the power they exuded was much stronger. Not only did it feel like a quantitative change, but also a qualitative one.

"This feels, good…" Lin Wu muttered as he stretched his body.

He took a look at his body but found it to be the same as before. At least no physical changes could be perceived directly. His body size was the same as before too, but Lin Wu couldn't tell if it was because of him being in a shrunken form.

'Let's take a look at the requirements of the next stage.' Lin Wu thought.

"System, show me the host data." Lin Wu ordered.

~Ding~

——

HOST NAME: Lin Wu

AGE: 2 years, 3 months, 21 days

LIFESPAN: 150 years

HOST SPECIES: Crimson Eyed Emerald Worm

HOST CULTIVATION: Late stage of the Qi Refining Realm

-Spirit Qi required to upgrade = [0000/1500] units (liquid spirit qi)

QI STORAGE: 6628 units [wisps]

BLOODLINE: 1. Crimson Eyed Emerald Worm (System Manufactured)

2. Unknown (+2)

CULTIVATION TECHNIQUES: None

QI SKILLS: 1. Qi Amplification (Minor)

INNATE SKILLS: 1. Radiation Manipulation (minor) (Proficiency: Novice)

2. Cellular Manipulation (lesser) (Proficiency: Intermediate)

3. Cellular Crystallization (great) (Proficiency: Intermediate)

INVENTORY: Broken Spear, Broken metal plate, Beast carapace (fragment), Pink Women's underwear, Dagger

BEAST CORE: Not formed

VITAL ENERGY STORAGE: 7250 units

SYSTEM ENERGY STORAGE: 7542 units

RAW BLOODLINE DATA COLLECTED:

1. Common Grass Mouse

2. Rock Trampler Boar

3. Human

4. Unknown (+2)

5. Ash Crowned Buck

——

Lin Wu looked at the stored spirit qi and was a bit confused.

"System, was the spirit qi storage not converted to liquid form?" Lin Wu questioned.

~Ding~

——

ANSWER: The system converted the host's own spirit qi that was in the form of wisps into the liquid form. The spirit qi stored in the system's storage can be freely converted, thus there was no specific need to do it. If the hosts wants, the system can switch the default unit to liquid spirit qi.

——

"Yeah, that would be good. Make liquid spirit qi the default since I'll be needing that now, anyway." Lin Wu ordered.

~Ding~

——

The default unit for spirit qi has been changed.

Current spirit qi storage: 662.8 units [Liquid Spirit Qi]

——

Lin Wu nodded his head in acknowledgment and took another glance at the requirements for the next stage.

'Hmm, I need a bit more than double the amount I have right now. It'll take a while to get it and the next stage will probably take even longer.' Lin Wu thought.

~Sigh~

"Looks like I have to go back to hunting beasts again. I don't have anything I can do in this region, anyway. It's not like there is anything alive here to hunt." Lin Wu muttered to himself.

Lin Wu started to enlarge himself back to his normal size so that he could leave the underground safe house that he had just made. Unlike the last time, there was no suffocating feeling that Lin Wu had to go through and it felt more like he was removing some tight fighting clothes, like that one pair of skinny jeans he owned in his past life.

~Phew~

"This is so much more comfortable." Lin Wu uttered in pleasure.

He then turned his head up to the tunnel that led him here and started to climb back up. It didn't take him much longer to leave it, as he didn't have to move any dirt. Upon coming out of the hole, Lin Wu took a look around and wondered where he should go next.

'Hmm, the quest tells me to obtain the bloodline samples, but I don't know where more of them could be. As for the second quest, that is even more difficult. Hunting a beast that strong is no joke and will probably require a lot of preparation on my end. And that's IF I find it.' Lin Wu thought to himself.

Just as he was thinking of his next line of action, an alarm sounded.

~ALARM!~

——

WARNING!: Highly dangerous targets approaching the host. The host is suggested to hide.

——

For a second there Lin Wu did not respond as he was frozen in shock. He then started to run while shouting at the system.

"System, how many are there, what are their cultivation levels, and how quickly will they reach here?" Lin Wu hurriedly questioned.

~Ding~

——

ANSWER: There are fifteen human targets coming towards the host's location, their cultivations are varied but the lowest one among them is at the early stage of the core condensation, eighth at the mid stage of the core condensation realm, five at the late stage of the core condensation realm, while the highest is at the peak stage of the core condensation realm.

As for their time of arrival, they will be reaching the host in 60… 59… 57…

——

A window showing a timer was now floating in front of Lin Wu along with the answer that the system had just told him.

"Oh, I'm done… Dammit, not so fast! I gotta think of something, quick. They will definitely capture me or kill me if they see me, I cannot die so fast. I've barely lived in this life for a few months, at least the time that I was actually awake." Lin Wu said with frustration.

Just as Lin Wu was wallowing in fear and desperation, an idea struck his mind. And he gritted his teeth.

"I got no choice, this will either work or I'll just die." Lin Wu said with determination.

And with this idea in his mind, Lin Wu triggered the innate skill of cellular manipulation and started to shrink himself.