Chapter 212: Secluded Cultivation Begins
After leaving Qinghui Base, Zhou Ming did not return to the camp. Instead, he went to the black market at Ant Dwelling Ridge.
This trip was mainly to help Su Mei purchase the class advancement materials for a Beast Knight.
After learning about Tamu World and the reasons behind the invasion of the foreign races, Zhou Ming naturally would not devote too much energy to the camp. He needed a butler-like assistant.
And Su Mei happened to be the most suitable candidate.
Her father was Su Mei’s greatest bond. Even if he had not undergone bloodline modification, he would not harbor any disloyal thoughts.
In addition, her Beast Taming talent was outstanding, not much inferior to Mu Ye and Ding Mowen.
Moreover, ten years of wilderness life had ensured that she was not influenced by the emotional tendencies that often appeared in women. She handled matters rationally and was exceptionally decisive and efficient.
Therefore, Zhou Ming did not mind spending some resources to cultivate her.
Ant Dwelling Ridge, ever since abnormalities appeared in the Panlong Mountain Range, had become increasingly prosperous and bustling.
Whether day or night, large numbers of people came here.
Moreover, the presence of Professional Beast Tamers appeared here with increasing frequency, and various precious resources continued to surface.
At the same time, among the items sold on the black market, potions and equipment used to save lives or enhance strength had seen their prices skyrocket.
Ordinary high-tier potions or standard transcendent equipment, which could originally be purchased with Alliance Coins, were now all settled using Source Crystal Coins.
It could be said that the black market at Ant Dwelling Ridge had made a fortune by leveraging the Giant Race’s descent upon the Panlong Mountain Range.
The primary main material for Ferocious Beast class advancement was the Twin Lotus, a mutated plant that could help deepen the spiritual connection between a Beast Tamer and their beast, thereby guiding them to form a life-and-death contract.
The second main class advancement material was blood energy essence refined from high-tier Ferocious Beasts.
This blood energy essence contained no bloodline aura at all. It was a pure form of life energy, mainly used to improve the Beast Tamer’s physique and provide the energy required for the beast’s transformation.
As for the other auxiliary materials, they were relatively common and could be purchased even with Alliance Coins.
With the Professional Beast Tamer strength that Zhou Ming displayed, he quickly acquired the items he needed at the black market.
Class advancement materials were extremely precious to Apprentice Beast Tamers, but to Professional Beast Tamers, they were merely expensive materials at most.
The Twin Lotus and the blood energy essence together cost nearly five hundred Source Crystal Coins.
After all, these two materials were well-known class advancement materials with high demand. They were unlike the Worm Potion Zhou Ming had used for his own class advancement, so the high price was considered normal.
As for the auxiliary materials, the total cost was less than one million Alliance Coins.
After purchasing everything he needed, Zhou Ming directly rode Silver Scale back to the camp.
“This is the Beast Knight class advancement material. In addition, there is also one vial of Earth-Walking Dragon bloodline essence.”
In the small courtyard’s living room, Zhou Ming placed the Beast Knight class advancement materials in front of Su Mei, along with a vial of bloodline essence he had refined from the Earth-Walking Dragon’s blood.
“The Earth-Walking Dragon’s bloodline essence should not be used casually unless it is absolutely necessary. Otherwise, if you want to advance further in the future, you will need to obtain a higher-grade dragon-type Ferocious Beast bloodline.”
The success rate of class advancement was not as high as imagined. Zhou Ming had also considered that he currently did not have the time or energy to slowly wait for Su Mei to succeed in her advancement, so he had no choice but to give her the Earth-Walking Dragon bloodline essence he had refined as insurance.
“Thank you, my lord.”
Faced with Zhou Ming’s gift, Su Mei did not engage in excessive pleasantries.
Because she knew that things she would never have been able to touch in her lifetime were handed to her by her lord with the expectation that she would pay a corresponding price.
And Su Mei had long been mentally prepared for that.
Life in the wilderness had taught her that there was no such thing as a free lunch.
On the contrary, she greatly approved of this kind of interest-based exchange.
“I hope you do not disappoint me.”
After saying this, Zhou Ming let Su Mei withdraw with the items and instructed the Snake Guards to ensure that Su Mei would not be disturbed during her advancement to a Professional Beast Tamer.
In the following few days, Zhou Ming handled the matter of the special operations squad applying for bloodline modification.
However, this time it was not completely successful. One person still died due to abnormal circumstances that caused their genes to collapse.
Regarding this matter, Zhou Ming carefully investigated the cause. It turned out that the person’s genetic structure was more unstable than that of ordinary people.
After a strict investigation, the final cause pointed to consanguineous marriage and reproduction.
Faced with such a reason, Zhou Ming could only shake his head. After all, some Wildfolk camps were too small, and such situations were unavoidable.
After learning the cause, Zhou Ming made the matter public.
First, it was to reassure the people of the camp. Second, it was to inform everyone in advance of the new requirements for bloodline modification, in order to avoid similar situations from happening again.
After dealing with these miscellaneous matters, Zhou Ming returned once more to the small building by the underground lake.
The research materials Lei Yuan had mailed to him this time were things that even the Duanmu Family might not possess, so he naturally had to devote careful effort to studying them.
Now that he had precious materials in hand that needed to be mastered, he was not in a hurry to return to the Panlong Mountain Range. After all, the original purpose of obtaining merit was to gain access to high-level knowledge.
Now that he had acquired advanced knowledge, he naturally would not risk entering the Panlong Mountain Range.
Inside the small black room of the second-floor laboratory, a burly man was tightly restrained on the experimental platform.
His mouth had already been sealed with tape, and his face showed an expression of extreme terror. Yet no matter how much he struggled, it was useless.
At this moment, the only thing he could do was regret why he had failed to control his lower half.
The burly man before him was a newly incorporated Wildfolk. Seeing that the women in the medical room were young and beautiful, he thought the camp was still the same as before.
Just as he was about to succeed, he was unexpectedly discovered by personnel from the Inspection Department. In the end, he was detained by Li Bao, waiting for Zhou Ming to return and deal with him.
As for these unruly Wildfolk, Zhou Ming actually liked them very much, because they gave him sufficient justification to take action.
Beside the experimental platform, Zhou Ming was preparing dragon blood.
The terrifying corrosiveness of dragon blood had already caught his attention back when he was at the military stronghold. Now that he had an experimental subject, he naturally wanted to study it thoroughly.
Moments later, the metal syringe was filled with scarlet liquid. From a distance, it looked just like blood drawn from a living organism.
“If you made a mistake, you must accept punishment. If you can endure it, that means your crime does not warrant death.”
Looking at the burly man still struggling desperately on the experimental platform, Zhou Ming spoke in a cold tone as he “comforted” him.
However, upon hearing Zhou Ming say this, the burly man struggled even more violently.
But the alloy restraints on the experimental platform could even restrain low-tier Ferocious Beasts. How could the burly man possibly break free?
Without hesitation, Zhou Ming directly performed an intravenous injection.
“Activate the genetic structure detection instrument and connect the electron microscope.”
After injecting the prepared Earth-Walking Dragon bloodline, Zhou Ming immediately instructed the intelligent assistant in the laboratory, Snake Spirit No. 2.
An electronic voice sounded, and the research on the corrosive properties of dragon blood officially began.
Zhou Ming stood beside the experimental platform, fully focused on recording all kinds of changes, especially how the genes contained within the dragon blood forcibly and dominantly integrated into another organism.