Chapter 108: Isn't It Normal for a Demon Path Profession to Skip Levels?

Li Ang didn't notice anything unusual about Old Tang; he was fully focused on the blood in the bowl.

Unfortunately, nothing happened, to his disappointment.

It was as if Old Tang were truly just an ordinary person.

But Li Ang, who knew the plot, clearly understood what kind of monster lay hidden beneath Old Tang's decadent appearance.

His blood was certainly not that simple.

'What's missing?'

Li Ang stroked his chin and fell into thought.

Meanwhile, Old Tang, upon witnessing this, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine for no apparent reason.

'Could this employer have some strange fetish?'

'Maybe I should find an excuse to slip away.'

That was his current thought.

Li Ang didn't know what Old Tang was thinking; he merely frowned at the Long Wang's blood in his hand, which showed no reaction at all, pondering how to activate its vitality.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

'Ah, I've got it!'

Li Ang relaxed his body, sliced his palm with a small knife, and dripped his own blood into Old Tang's.

Chii—!

After a few seconds of stillness, the previously motionless blood suddenly erupted into white smoke, as if ignited.

Old Tang, the blood's owner, stared in stunned disbelief at the sight.

'Is this my blood?!'

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he'd have thought it was some alien's blood.

Besides, he had never in his life seen his own blood change like this before.

But Li Ang had no time now to care what Old Tang was thinking; he carefully extended his finger toward the Long Wang's blood in the bowl.

As for why he had such boldness—

It was naturally the confidence granted by Reverse Birth: Three Layers.

Besides, in the original story, Chu Chu Zihang was drenched in the Great Master's dragon blood and suffered no ill effects.

Li Ang didn't think he was weaker than Chu Chu Zihang.

As his finger touched Old Tang's blood, the familiar burning sensation surged instantly.

But this time, the burning was countless times stronger than before, when he'd touched the fifth- and fourth-generation breeds.

In an instant, cold sweat soaked Li Ang's entire body.

Yet he ignored the pain coursing through his body, instead staring at his class panel with a relieved smile.

Old Tang, seeing the strange expression on Li Ang's face, involuntarily stiffened.

'Wait, this employer really is messed up, isn't he?!'

He was genuinely frightened now.

More importantly, the aura radiating from the man made him feel inexplicably uneasy.

Gradually, Old Tang slipped into a daze; he seemed to see a vast bronze city buried deep beneath the water, and within it, an egg that resonated with his bloodline.

He clutched his head in pain, and then countless images began flashing through his mind.

A few seconds later, Old Tang's expression grew calm.

He lifted his head and stared at the figure before him studying his blood—silent.

Meanwhile, as Li Ang touched the Long Wang's blood, the experience bar for his 【Hybrid】 profession surged upward.

【Absorbed the Dragon Blood of the Bronze and Fire King, Profession Experience +457】

【Absorbed the Dragon Blood of the Bronze and Fire King, Profession Experience +624】

Unfortunately, such a small amount of Long Wang's blood was clearly insufficient to level the profession to max; fortunately, Old Tang had initially supplied 400cc of blood.

With a pale face, Li Ang grinned without hesitation, poured all the Long Wang's blood from the blood bag into the bowl, then repeated his earlier action, and plunged his palm into it.

Zizizi—

A continuous hissing of burning filled the air; the excruciating pain made Li Ang drenched in sweat.

Yet when he saw the 【Hybrid】 experience bar skyrocketing and felt the power surging within him, he decided the suffering was worth it.

After all, countless people in this world longed for power but had no way to obtain it.

He even found himself teasing himself internally:

'I'm not a masochist, really.'

Finally, after an excruciating wait, the profession panel displayed the information Li Ang had been waiting for.

【Absorbed the Dragon Blood of the Bronze and Fire King, Profession Experience +4875】

【Hybrid: Lv20】

Risk it all, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.

Li Ang had succeeded without doubt—his 【Hybrid】 profession leapt ten levels, becoming his second maxed-out profession.

Feeling the explosive power within him, he exhaled in relief and pulled his hand back.

'Indeed, power gained through shortcuts is intoxicating.'

'But the risks are also substantial.'

Li Ang dared to do this not only because of Reverse Birth: Three Layers, but also due to his overpowered stats: 【Physical Strength 6.9, Mental Strength 8.5】.

Any ordinary hybrid who attempted this would have long since died from Long Wang's blood corruption—or, if they survived, descended into a Dead Servant.

They wouldn't be hopping around as lively as he was now.

And now that 【Journeyman Craftsman (Alchemy)】 and 【Hybrid】 had both reached max level, the only thing left blocking Li Ang's class advancement to 【Dragon Vein Alchemist】 was that final condition.

And it was the hardest condition of them all.

Replacing the blood in his body with dragon blood of the third generation or higher — that was clearly an extremely demanding condition.

Of course, the bigger the waves, the pricier the fish; the payoff it brought was bound to exceed Li Ang's imagination.

Besides, he wanted to see just how big the gap between the second energy level and the first really was.

'Too bad, because of what happened earlier, there's no way I'll be able to get detailed intel on the Nibelung Project from the Academy in the short term.'

'Then I can only count on Norton — He should be able to rig up something similar.'

'But how do I convince Him?'

They weren't related in any way, so Norton clearly wasn't going to help a mere Hybrid like him just like that.

But just as Li Ang was mulling over his next move, a cold, hard, and commanding voice suddenly rang out in his ear.

"You"

"What are you doing?"

Li Ang whipped his head around, and saw Old Tang, who was standing behind him, staring at him coldly with a pair of golden pupils blinding enough to sear the eyes.

No — not Old Tang.

But rather—

The Bronze and Fire Long Wang, Norton.

'I actually drew him out.'

'Lucky I sent in that tip-off letter earlier — just don't know what the situation is like over at Kui Sect right now.'

'But judging by the timeline in the original work, even if those Hybrid factions in Shenzhou sit on their hands, there's still over a month to go before the Kui Sect plan is carried out.'

Thinking this, Li Ang felt a little steadier in his heart.

He had long since had a contingency plan for Norton's awakening — an early awakening was no big deal; in fact, even if Norton didn't wake up now, Li Ang would have had to find a way to rouse him later anyway.

The only thing he didn't know was how much of Old Tang still remained in the body—that would undoubtedly affect the course of action he took next.

With that thought, Li Ang opened his mouth and asked, "What should I call you?"

"Norton."

"Or Old Tang?"