At level 15, Huang Yi had not anticipated the metamorphosis and was nearly harmed by the System’s immobility setting during that evolution; this time, he was equally unaware of what settings the System might implement—all was unknown.
For safety’s sake, Huang Yi activated the Eye of Time, constantly monitoring the System’s actions. His energy value was only 1800 points now, so he couldn’t keep the Eye of Time activated for too long.
Huang Yi took out the Half-Beast Crystal that had exploded from the Barbaric Hammer, holding it tightly in his hand. The crystal’s azure glow bathed him, casting his expression in solemn gravitas.
The next moment, Huang Yi chose to absorb the Half-Beast Crystal and began his evolution!
Monitoring closely with the Eye of Time, Huang Yi watched for any potential changes in the System’s behavior. To his slight surprise, there were no changes this time; the evolution seemed to proceed very smoothly, the complete opposite of the loss of control that he had experienced during his previous transformation.
Yet Huang Yi did not let his guard down; after all, he could only see a few seconds into the System’s future, unable to foresee more distant outcomes.
As Huang Yi partially focused on the Half-Beast Crystal, a strange chilling sensation surged from it, passing through his arm into his body, rapidly spreading to his limbs and reaching every corner and organ within.
Suddenly, the Eye of Time revealed that in five seconds, the System would exhibit an abnormal behavior!
Huang Yi’s heart tensed, uncertain what this abnormal behavior might entail!
Seconds ticked by—one by one...
Three seconds!
Two seconds!
One second!
At that moment, Huang Yi felt a violent surge of energy from the Half-Beast Crystal as it began assailing different parts of his body, desperately trying to integrate but met with his body’s instinctive rejection—the two forces clashed!
And the result of this conflict was intense pain for Huang Yi!
It was like a true biological evolution, transforming the structure and tissues of his body into another being in a short span of time. The agony of this evolution penetrated deep into his bones; so viscerally real that Huang Yi almost believed this wasn’t a Virtual World but a tangible reality, where he was truly evolving, growing stronger!
Huang Yi bore the pain, continuing to absorb the energy from the Half-Beast Crystal, his hands starting to shake involuntarily as the pain intensified. Any other player might have chosen to give up by now, for the agony was simply too overwhelming; when pain surpasses a certain threshold, many would rather abandon evolution entirely.
Gradually, Huang Yi felt the conflict between his body and the Half-Beast energy reaching a stalemate, before slowly integrating. The skin on his arms grew rougher, his complexion turned golden, and he faintly began to resemble a Half-Beast.
Then, Huang Yi felt his body growing stronger and taller, muscles bulging as every part shifted toward the Half-Beast form.
In this way, Huang Yi endured the pain while experiencing his body’s evolution.
Thankfully, the agony didn’t last too long; after all, The Second World is but a Virtual World and is not meant to make one suffer ceaselessly. After enduring five minutes, the Half-Beast Crystal in Huang Yi’s hand had completely lost its energy, turning colorless and disintegrating into ash, scattering into the air!
By then, Huang Yi had completely transformed into the form of a Half-Beast! His towering figure, bulging muscles, and glittering golden skin exuded an aura of sheer brute force, resilience, and tenacity—all the attributes of a formidable warrior, like a Vajra War God guarding this world!
Huang Yi was not particularly concerned about his appearance; he had previously been a cute little cat, then evolved into the fierce true form of the Beast King, and now into the robust Half-Beast. Forms could change at any moment and were not fixed for life; perhaps his next evolution would turn him into an elegant and handsome Elf. The form was not crucial—as long as he grew stronger.
System Prompt: Congratulations on completing your evolution!
Current Evolution Phase: Second Rank
Current Evolution Form: Half-Beast
Current Form Expertise: Survival capability. Significantly increased resistance to disease and poison, and a slight boost to constitution and defense.
Hence, Huang Yi had successfully evolved into a Half-Beast, and in addition to disease and poison resistance, the Half-Beast’s constitution and defense were not negligible, thus giving him a slight boost in these aspects.
Huang Yi’s strength had increased significantly, his resilience to attacks greatly enhanced, making it much harder for him to be defeated!
Next, brandishing his massive Wolf Fang Club, he approached the 9th Stage with killing intent!
The Gardeners on the 9th Stage continued to water their flowers, leading their peaceful lives. Just then, a burly Half-Beast charged in, like a wolf among sheep, and a throng of Gardeners swarmed towards him. But his body was exceptionally tough, their attacks on him were as inconsequential as tickles.
Eventually, the group of Gardeners was brutally killed while the Half-Beast remained unscathed!
This was Huang Yi now, with greatly improved resilience to damage, it was very evident. Last night during level grinding, he had to dodge the attacks of those Gardeners, but now he no longer needed to; he took them head-on, making slaying the monsters more direct and efficient.
And so, fighting all the way, Huang Yi finally arrived at the third boss point he had never managed to pass before—the Great Gardener!
The Great Gardener was a squat goblin who, upon seeing Huang Yi arrive, shrieked and lashed out with his Flower Vine.
That Flower Vine, which had repeatedly struck Huang Yi dead before, could inflict tremendous damage with disease and toxic effects if one came too close.
But now, Huang Yi didn’t dodge. He charged straight in!
"Snap!" The next moment, the Flower Vine hit Huang Yi’s golden skin, making a crisp sound. The Great Gardener, noticing this, smiled with satisfaction, waiting for Huang Yi’s demise.
However, Huang Yi was utterly unaffected and, in turn, rushed forward, wielding the Wolf Fang Club at high speed!
The Great Gardener’s face froze in disbelief, struggling to accept the reality before him!