"So this is dragon's blood?" Rowan held his breath slightly as he looked at the golden liquid. This stuff was a treasure capable of raising a warrior's level by at least two tiers. In the original story, Luo Feng had used dragon's blood when he was at mid-level Warlord, and his rank had leapt directly to junior War God. Its effects were nothing short of terrifying. The lower the user's strength, the greater the boost. Rowan was only at mid-level Warrior right now if he used dragon's blood, he could probably jump straight to high-level Warlord. "No… using dragon's blood right away would be wasteful." He shook his head, put the dragon's blood back, and instead picked up one of the four square boxes. Inside, cushioned by foam, sat a ping-pong-ball-sized green stone the jade marrow. It looked like fine jade, but beneath the surface, faint phosphorescence shimmered beautifully. The manual explained that jade marrow formed deep in jade mines, and even an entire mine might yield only a basketball-sized piece. It could cleanse and refine the body, improving physical fitness and genetic potential. With his current mid-level Warrior strength, he could rise to junior Warlord after consuming it. "No wonder this thing costs twenty billion a piece two whole levels, just like that!" He stared at the tiny piece of jade marrow in awe. The Extreme Martial Hall clearly had its reasons for giving something along with dragon's blood as a reward for elite trainees. "Too bad, like dragon's blood, you can only use jade marrow once in a lifetime. A second dose does nothing." Still, he had four pieces. Even if he gave one each to Natasha and Hill, he'd have two left for himself. "That leaves this one must be the Spirit of Flora." He turned toward a cylindrical container made from Kelu alloy. For Hong, among all these treasures, the Spirit of Flora was the most precious. Dragon's blood could be reproduced, jade marrow mined but each Spirit of Flora consumed was gone forever, and they were never traded publicly. Opening the container, Rowan saw a root segment resembling ginseng, but crimson in color and covered in scale-like patterns. "Something like the millennium black crow root, but a different Spirit of Flora?" A fragrant scent washed over him instantly. He flipped open the manual. "Millennium Red-Scaled Ginseng? Effects: extends lifespan, increases physical ability by seven to eight times… War God-level warriors have a high chance to reach high-level War God?" No wonder it was called a Spirit of Flora the effect was heaven-defying. Rowan had thought Hong's gift might be weaker than the millennium willow heart Luo Feng had found on Mist Island. Apparently not. The willow heart had taken Luo Feng from junior War God straight to mid-level War God, just a step away from high-level War God. The Red-Scaled Ginseng could take someone from junior War God to high-level War God outright. Different effects, but equally potent. "No better or worse just different specialties," he thought, grinning. Fresh chapters posted on NoveI(F)ire.net With this, he was guaranteed to become a high-level War God. "Jade marrow, dragon's blood, millennium Red-Scaled Ginseng…" He murmured, eyes gleaming. He quickly worked out the optimal sequence first jade marrow to reach junior Warlord, then dragon's blood to become junior War God, and finally the Red-Scaled Ginseng to ascend to high-level War God. If he used the ginseng now, he'd stop at junior War God, wasting the other two. "Good. Slower upgrades will let me build a solid foundation." While all three claimed to have no side effects, advancing too fast could leave one hollow inside. Right now, his movement, blade skills, and power control were still lacking jumping straight to War God would be meaningless if he couldn't wield that strength. "Let's start with the jade marrow." He put the Red-Scaled Ginseng back and examined the instructions: Pierce the jade skin, consume the liquid inside. Drawing the Dragon-Pattern Saber, he carefully pierced the surface. The shell was hard, but the inside soft. At one-third depth, a faint glow seeped out along the blade's tip. Pulling the saber free, he saw a thick, emerald-green liquid glistening with light. Tilting the jade above his mouth, he let the liquid drip in. Cool, refreshing energy slid down his throat and into his stomach, then spread rapidly through his limbs. His body trembled, every cell singing with joy. The sensation surged in waves for half an hour before fading. A sticky grime coated his skin impurities forced out by the jade marrow. "My strength… feels much higher!" Flexing his hands, he felt new power in his bones, muscles, sight, and hearing. After a shower, he approached the strength-testing machine. The number flashed: 7,892 kg. He inhaled sharply before, he'd been just under 2,900 kg. That was an increase of nearly 5,000 kg! Training to gain that much would take at least one or two years. "Pay-to-win really is satisfying." He was just shy of the Warlord-level threshold of 8,000 kg just a few more days of training and he'd cross it. At only sixteen years old, a junior Warlord was already a marvel. "Right, if my warrior rank rose, what about my psychic power?" Diving into his sea of consciousness, he saw that the inner mist was now much denser, filling almost the whole space but the dark-gold droplets were gone, meaning all his psychic power had been expended. "Let's see what level my psychic force is now." He pulled out a Series-7 flying knife, wrapped it in his formidable mind power, and sent it slicing through the air toward the machine's target plate… ————————————————————————————————————————————————— Already hooked? Tell me what reeled you in leave a review, spark the fire with a comment, and if we hit every 250 Power Stones, a bonus chapter drops! The evolution's just begun. Dive deeper into Unbound Evolution and stay leagues ahead! [email protected]/_tey