Chapter 192: The Transformation Plan
Dragon Bone Tower, the study room.
Su Nan flipped through the battle report in his hand, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
The report indicated that Xie Man had encountered an extremely powerful demi-human known as the Half-Spider Monster, which was likely a Fourth Circle Legend-level creature or even stronger.
“A half-human, half-spider monster?”
Su Nan's gaze shifted thoughtfully.
Such monsters were not uncommon in the Underworld; after all, mutated spider species were a prominent lineage there. However, none had ever reached Fourth Circle Legend-level.
Considering the feature of the creature possessing Dark Elf-like characteristics in its upper body, a sudden thought struck him.
Could it be a Spiderfied Elf?
Su Nan's expression grew serious.
One was the Spider Goddess, an evil deity who governed the laws of assassination, darkness, and spiders.
She was known for her cruelty and capriciousness, delighting in having her followers turn on each other, killing one another for power while she reveled in chaos, destruction, and torment.
Among the many gods, the Spider Goddess was not particularly strong—barely middle-tier at best.
Su Nan remembered her because, many years later during the Wizard's resurgence, a coalition of Wizards had attempted to attack the Spider Goddess, only to fall into an ambush and suffer heavy losses. This incident caused quite a stir within the Wizarding community.
The Spider Goddess had many followers, including Demon Hunter Spiders, Demispider Godspawns, Yithians, Soul Devouring Spiders, Phase Spiders, and Dark Elves.
Su Nan recalled that one of the 'ingredients' used to create a Spiderfied Elf—the 'Materials'—was indeed Dark Elf.
The birth ritual of the Spiderfied Elf was dark and twisted; it involved a large number of spiders engaging in a kind of gu-like combat. The flesh and souls of the defeated were completely absorbed by the victor as nutrients, and the final survivor emerged as a terrifying fusion of countless spiders.
Then, by absorbing the flesh and souls of multiple Dark Elves, the Spiderfied Elves were born.
The Spiderfied Elves created through this ritual possess powers that surpass those of Fourth Circle Legends.
Although they haven't reached the level of Formal Wizards, if four or five Spiderfied Elves joined forces, they might stand a chance against a Formal Wizard in the current unique environment of the Starlight Continent.
“But why are there Spiderfied Elves in Spider City?” Su Nan wondered, frowning in thought.
As God-Favored Creatures, Spiderfied Elves can only be created by the Spider God Queen.
The ritual merely produces a vessel for the Spiderfied Elves; they can only be successfully shaped when the Spider God Queen descends with her divine power.
“Could it be that the Spider God Queen's tentacles have already infiltrated the Starlight Continent?”
Su Nan suddenly recalled that, according to his memory, Spider City seemed to have unified the Southeast Region of the Underworld around 1,300 years after the Starlight Calendar began.
When Xie Man and the others encountered the Dark Elves before, he had pondered this situation, perplexed as to why the Dark Elves, who thrived on internal conflicts, would suddenly give up fighting and join forces to expand outward.
But if it was indeed the Spider God Queen, then everything would make sense.
Only an edict from a god could suppress the selfish desires of the Dark Elf families, compelling them to abandon their conflicts and unite.
Furthermore, only the support of a god could grant Spider City, which wasn't particularly powerful, the sudden strength to unify the Southeast Region.
What Su Nan couldn't comprehend, however, was how the Spider God Queen managed to infiltrate their power into the Starlight Continent.
He knew that the Starlight Continent had long been sealed by a collective effort from Wizards, so unless a heavy price was paid, the Spider God Queen shouldn't have the power to break the seal.
After thinking for a moment without arriving at a solution, Su Nan shook his head and decided not to dwell on it further.
He now considered the Starlight Continent his territory, and regardless of the Spider God Queen's plans, he wouldn't allow her to interfere with his affairs.
After all, the Spider God Queen couldn't truly descend, and as long as it wasn't her true self that appeared, Su Nan felt no fear.
If she dared to reach out, he'd dare to sever her hand.
After contemplating for a moment, Su Nan summoned Karolina and instructed, “Deploy the Secret Puppet to Fire Hammer City and have them handle the Spiderfied Elves.”
The God-Favored Creature is essentially a type of Divine Being, possessing a body infused with Divine Energy, which cannot be squandered.
A vague idea began to take shape in Su Nan's mind.
If all goes well, perhaps he could discover another method to obtain Divine Energy.
Karolina quickly acknowledged the order and left to make the necessary arrangements.
Su Nan had no intention of informing his subordinates about the Spider God Queen.
The Starlight Continent had not been seen for many years, yet many legends about gods still circulated across the land.
In the eyes of wizards, gods are merely high-level life forms—valuable materials brimming with treasures and great experimental worth.
However, in the eyes of ordinary people, gods are lofty beings not to be profaned or offended.
Revealing the existence of the Spider God Queen to his subordinates would only stir unnecessary worry and panic.
After all, they didn't need to confront the Spiderfied Elf; these God-Favored Creatures would naturally be dealt with by the Secret Puppet.
Snapping back to reality, Su Nan set aside the frontline battle report and turned his attention to the report from Starlight Academy.
A new batch of students had recently enrolled at Starlight Academy, and everything was progressing smoothly, with no issues thus far.
Currently, the entire Starlight Academy boasted over eight hundred students.
Considering the vast land area of the Prosperous Star Empire, the rate of student growth would not be slow. It was estimated that within seven or eight years, the total number of students would exceed one thousand.
By that time, the number of Second Level Wizard Apprentices should reach three digits as well.
"It's a pity that the number of Third Level Wizard Apprentices is still too low; otherwise, many matters would be much simpler."
Both the academy instructors and the refining of resources require a significant number of Third Level Wizard Apprentices.
Nevertheless, Su Nan understood that this process could not be rushed.
Even with abundant resources, it would still take at least twenty to thirty years for individuals like Xie Man to advance to Third Level Wizard Apprenticeship.
After all, not everyone has a Synthesis Cube like he does.
Setting aside the academy report, Su Nan then picked up another document.
A bold title was inscribed on it:
"Dragon Forest Zone 2 Modification and Sub-Dragon Species Bloodline Enhancement Plan."
This was a new initiative that Su Nan had recently conceived.
"Long Lin, the operation is gradually stabilizing, and the energy overflow has persisted for quite some time.
Approximately three points of the energy cycle remain idle.
Therefore, Su Nan has been contemplating how to utilize this part of the energy cycle.
The only current energy consumption in Zone 2 comes from the Large Magical Plant Garden.
However, despite bearing the name 'Large', the Magical Plant Garden actually occupies only a small portion of the area, leaving most of Zone 2 vacant.
After much consideration, Su Nan decided to restart Zone 2.
Of course, he will not cultivate a Giant Dragon.
Setting aside the fact that a true Giant Dragon cannot be found at present, even if one could be located, he wouldn’t be confident in suppressing multiple Giant Dragons, let alone cultivating them.
His plan is to relocate all Sub-Dragon Species groups with a Bloodline concentration above 70% from District 1 into Zone 2, transforming Zone 2 into a high-level breeding ground for large Sub-Dragon Species.
With this foundation, he will gradually enhance the Bloodline concentration of these high-level Sub-Dragon Species groups by improving the hidden Dragon Blood vein concentration.
Since he cannot find a true Giant Dragon, he will cultivate one himself.
By incrementally increasing the Bloodline concentration of the Sub-Dragon Species groups and then stabilizing it through selective breeding, he aims to achieve a qualitative change through quantitative growth. Sooner or later, he will be able to cultivate a true Giant Dragon.
However, this is a very long process.
It may take hundreds of years before significant results are visible.
But Su Nan can afford to wait.
After all, the next seven hundred years are a development period; he doesn't mind this.
By that time, he should also possess enough power to cultivate a Giant Dragon.
"Nearly a thousand Sub-Dragon Species will require Bloodline Refinement surgery; this is a massive undertaking."
Su Nan alone cannot complete this plan.
He divided the entire plan into several steps.
The task of collecting Subdragon Blood was naturally assigned to the Second Level Wizard Apprentices of Starlight Academy in the form of tasks.
He is solely responsible for synthesizing Subdragon Blood.
As for the Bloodline Refinement surgery, this task has also been delegated to Rose, Scepter, and Traveler in the form of assignments.
"With just Rose and the others, initial progress on the plan shouldn't be very quick."
Su Nan thought for a moment and decided to add new implementers to the plan."
Those skilled in Biological Modification could also take on tasks.
Su Nan finished modifying the plan, set it aside, and prepared to begin preliminary work tomorrow.
He then summoned his status panel.
【Su Nan · Aernest, Human Male】 【Vaporization: 1.64%】 【Skills】 Star Ring Meditation Lv19 (MAX) Potion Making Lv5 (35/20000) Biological Modification Lv4 (924/10000) Puppet Refining Lv5 (10356/20000) Magical Item Manufacturing Lv4 (7294/10000)
As he looked over the data on the panel, Su Nan shook his head slightly.
A year had passed, yet the progress of refining his Spiritual Power had increased by less than 0.3%.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the Vaporization and Spiritual Power surrounding the Talent Crystal showed almost no change.
"The progress is still too slow."
"Hopefully, the front lines will bring some surprises."
The only cause for celebration was that Potion Making had finally reached Level 5.
Puppet Refining had also seen considerable improvement due to the recent large-scale refinement of high-level Golems; the progress bar was already past halfway.
Magical Item Manufacturing had also gained proficiency thanks to the refinement of Wizard Artifacts.
However, the progress bar for Biological Modification had barely moved.
After all, aside from increasing the concentration of the Bloodline for Hidden Dragon, he rarely used this skill now.
The dark underground passage was silent, with only faint footsteps echoing.
As she walked alone, Ta Jiana's beautiful face remained calm and collected. With each step, her figure blended into the shadows, resembling a dark elf merging with the darkness.
Continuing without pause through several forks in the passage, Ta Jiana suddenly stopped.
At the same time, a cautious voice emerged from the darkness ahead.
"Who's there?"
"To the God Queen, we offer blood, death, and souls. The spiderweb of the deep pit will cover the world."
As Ta Jiana spoke the password, the lingering Killing intent around her instantly dissipated.
Footsteps echoed from the darkness ahead.
Vinya emerged, followed by two male Dark Elves.
Unlike Vinya and Ta Jiana, who wore fine chainmail, cloaks, and two exquisitely crafted scimitars at their waists, the two male Dark Elves were clad only in leather armor, with no additional protection, each carrying just one scimitar.
The two men trailed several steps behind Vinya, their eyes lowered, not daring to meet her gaze.
In Spider City, female Dark Elf warriors had the right to punish lower-ranked male Dark Elves who dared to offend them. The reasons for such offenses were numerous; simply staring at a female Dark Elf for too long was one of them. In fact, if a female Dark Elf were in a bad mood, she could always find a suitable reason for punishment.
“What’s the situation?” Vinya asked impatiently.
Ta Jiana shook her head before replying, “Taren City has already fallen to the Star Alliance. I saw their Golem standing on the city walls.”
“Damn it!” Vinya cursed under her breath. “How could the Star Alliance be so fast? We’ve been marching all night!”
Ta Jiana pursed her lips, saying nothing.
The main force of the Star Alliance army was composed of the tireless Golem Legion, and trying to compete with their marching speed was simply foolish. Besides, their army also had morale-drained Slave Troops dragging them down.
“What do we do next?” Ta Jiana asked.
Vinya pondered for a moment and then said, “We need to report this to the Matriarch. Taren City is a vital passage in this region; she will definitely order an attack on it!”
Ta Jiana hesitated, about to speak.
Seeing her expression, Vinya frowned, waved for the two male Dark Elves to step back, then moved closer and lowered her voice. “Are you thinking about that again?”
Ta Jiana sighed and said, “I just think going to war with the Star Alliance is too risky. After all, they are a massive power that has conquered most of the Southeast Region, and with the Wizard leading them, I really don’t have high hopes for this war.”
Vinya scoffed, “You worry too much. Don't forget we have the Spiderfied Elf bestowed upon us by the God Queen!”
Mentioning the Spiderfied Elf, Vinya's face lit up with excitement.
"You saw the previous battles—our enemies are no match for the Spiderfied Elf. They were easily crushed, and the same will happen to the Star Alliance!"
"No matter how powerful the Wizard is, can he surpass the Spiderfied Elf?"
Seeing Vinya's confidence, Ta Jiana's lips curled slightly, but in the end, she chose to remain silent.
Unlike the other fervent tribesmen, she always harbored a tinge of unease toward that God Queen.
Vinya glanced at her and whispered, "It's fine to voice your doubts to me, but keep them to yourself around others. If those words reach the ears of the Matriarch or the Martial Arts Chief, you'll regret it!"
Ta Jiana's expression stiffened, and she nodded solemnly. "I know what's at stake."
The Dark Elf's methods of torture were notorious throughout the entire Underworld. He was ruthless to his enemies and merciless—even deriving pleasure—when punishing his own tribesmen for their mistakes.
Ta Jiana had no desire to experience that firsthand.
The two ceased their conversation and turned toward the camp.
Before long, the once-quiet camp buzzed with activity as large numbers of Slave Troops were driven out, marching toward Taren City.
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