97: Chapter 97 Evolution! Moonshadow Wood Dragon!

Upon returning home, Lin Fan tossed his backpack onto the sofa, collapsed onto the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.

Xiao Zhuang slid down from his wrist and coiled up on the nightstand, its vertical pupils half-closed, clearly exhausted as well.

Lin Fan began to review the day's battles.

He had fought three matches today, and his disadvantage was obvious: the gap in Rank and cultivation.

This was the importance of the number of armor apertures.

Ye Qing had seven armor apertures, Ye Wushuang had eight, and he currently only had four.

The more armor apertures one had, the faster one could Cultivate, and the greater one's spiritual energy storage would be.

Furthermore, the higher the Rank, the slower the Cultivation speed, meaning the disparity in strength would only grow wider later on.

He was currently Rank 26. Not to mention Ye Qing, who was already a year older than him.

Ye Wushuang was Rank 33; even though they were the same age, there was a gap of a full seven Ranks.

If not for the fact that he was generous with himself, downing plenty of meditation fluid, this gap would only be even larger.

However, Ye Qing and Ye Wushuang's family backgrounds were not lacking in resources either. To narrow the gap with them, he could only find another way.

Lin Fan waved his hand, and several jade boxes were laid out on the bed.

These were Ye Wushuang's payment, and they were also the Materials needed for the next evolution of Tongtong and Xiao Zhuang.

These were Lin Fan's source of confidence.

In terms of personal Cultivation speed, he couldn't compare to Ye Wushuang and the other, but when it came to nurturing Armor Spirits, they couldn't even catch up to him.

Lin Fan lined up the jade boxes on the bed. The Shadow Crystal emitted a cold, eerie light, the shadow flood dragon scale looked like a piece of black glazed glass, and the Slumber Cocoon lay quietly at the bottom of the box, its surface covered with fine silver patterns.

He stared at these Materials for a while, then put away Tongtong's portion, leaving only Xiao Zhuang's.

Xiao Zhuang seemed to sense something; it poked its head out from the nightstand, its vertical pupils fixed on those Materials as it flicked its tongue.

Lin Fan reached out and patted its head. "What's the rush? You're still one Rank short."

He picked up the shadow flood dragon scale and examined it under the light.

Dark purple light flowed within the scale; it was good stuff, truly a high-quality Material.

When Ye Wushuang made a move, everything was indeed top-tier.

Lin Fan called Xiao Zhuang to his palm, and his left eye felt slightly warm.

【Hidden Route】: Rank requirement. If it consumes 1 Moon Essence and 1 shadow flood dragon scale on the night of a full moon, it can evolve into a Moon Shadow Wood Flood Dragon (Earth Spirit High-Grade), gaining a thin Dragon Clan Bloodline.

He opened his phone calendar; the night of the full moon was three days away.

Three days to push Xiao Zhuang from Rank 27 to Rank 28.

Lin Fan looked at Xiao Zhuang. "Can you make it in time?"

Xiao Zhuang flicked its tongue, its vertical pupils filled with an unyielding spirit.

Lin Fan smiled. "Alright, then let's give it a shot."

Thus, Lin Fan spent a huge sum of money to buy a Spirit-Nourishing Fruit.

The Spirit-Nourishing Fruit was a type of spirit fruit that gently and rapidly increased an Armor Spirit's Rank, and its price was quite steep.

Most importantly, this type of spirit fruit that could increase an Armor Spirit's Rank was often priceless and unavailable in the market.

In the end, it was only through President Ye Wenyuan's connections that Lin Fan managed to obtain one through internal channels.

Hard work pays off; with the help of the Spirit-Nourishing Fruit, Xiao Zhuang finally successfully broke through to Rank 28 before the night of the full moon.

On the night of the full moon, Lin Fan took Xiao Zhuang to a secluded mountain peak on the edge of the city.

The view here was expansive, allowing for the maximum absorption of moonlight.

He carefully placed the Moon Essence and the shadow flood dragon scale side-by-side on a smooth rock.

Xiao Zhuang coiled on the rock, its vertical pupils fixed on those two items, its body slightly tense.

Lin Fan took a deep breath and poured the Moon Essence onto his palm.

The silvery-white liquid felt cold to the touch, as if he were holding a handful of moonlight. He brought his palm to Xiao Zhuang's mouth.

Xiao Zhuang opened its mouth and bit into the silver-white mass. The Moon Essence slid down its throat and into its body.

Xiao Zhuang's body shuddered violently, and silver-white light burst out from within it, as if something had exploded inside.

The scales on its body began to glow—not the dull greenish-black from before, but a bright greenish-black tinged with silver light.

Immediately after, Lin Fan picked up the shadow flood dragon scale and handed it to Xiao Zhuang.

Xiao Zhuang did not hesitate and bit down.

The scale shattered in its mouth, and dark purple light mixed with silver light, clashing frantically inside its body.

Xiao Zhuang's body began to tremble violently, the patterns on its scales flashing alternately between silver-white and dark purple.

It let out a low hiss, twisting its body into a ball as if enduring immense pain.

Lin Fan placed his hand on it, and spiritual energy poured in frantically.

"Steady."

Gritting his teeth, he guided those two forces to flow along its Meridians within its body.

Under the guidance of his spiritual energy, the silver-white power of the Moon Essence and the dark purple power of the flood dragon gradually changed from frantic clashing to testing each other, and finally to a slow Fusion.

Xiao Zhuang's body began to change.

Its form slowly elongated under the moonlight; its originally slender snake body became more robust, and four tiny bumps even faintly protruded from its abdomen.

The edges of its greenish-black scales were plated with a layer of flowing silver.

On top of its head, two small, hard bumps quietly broke through the skin; although they hadn't formed into horns yet, they had begun to take shape.

The most significant change occurred in its vertical pupils.

The originally dark green eyes were now tinged with a cold, silver radiance.

As its gaze shifted, there was an indescribable majesty.

Finally, all the light retracted.

A greenish-black flood dragon snake, about two meters long, with small bumps on its head and silver-edged scales, coiled quietly on the rock.

It raised its head, looking at the full moon in the sky, and let out a clear and long hiss, the sound carrying a faint, lingering echo of a Dragon roar.

Lin Fan's left eye felt slightly warm, and information appeared.

【Race】: Moon Shadow Wood Flood Dragon

【Aptitude】: Earth Spirit High-Grade (Limit: God Spirit High-Grade)

【Rank】: Rank 28

【Attribute】: Wood/Dark (Contains thin Dragon Clan Bloodline)

【Armorization Part】: Left Hand

【Armor Skill】:

Moon Shadow Thorn: Shoots wood thorns containing the power of moonlight from the right hand, which can penetrate defenses and cause continuous corrosion upon hitting. Under moonlight, the number of Moon Shadow Thorns doubles, and the penetration power is greatly increased.

Wood Shadow Stealth: Merges into trees or shadows to conceal the body. The first attack in Stealth state deals additional moonlight damage, and when using Stealth under moonlight, it leaves no spiritual energy fluctuations.

Flood Dragon Poison Fang: The power of the poison is greatly increased, while also carrying shadow erosion and moonlight burning effects, which can weaken the target's defense and cause continuous damage.

Moon Shadow Clone: Consumes a portion of spiritual energy to create three Clones with 50% of the main body's strength. Under moonlight, the number of Clones doubles.

Moonfall Sky Strike: Draws upon the power of moonlight to condense a massive beam of moonlight that descends from the sky, dealing a devastating blow to the target area.

【Evaluation】: An extremely rare dual-attribute evolution route; the Wood attribute provides vitality and control, while the Dark attribute provides concealment and burst damage. The Moon Shadow Wood Flood Dragon's combat power doubles at night, making it a powerful Armor Spirit capable of both strong attacks and control. Its thin Dragon Clan Bloodline gives it the potential to evolve into a True Dragon.

【Subsequent Evolution Routes】:

【Conventional Route】: Rank requirement 38, Moon Shadow Flood Dragon King (Heaven Spirit Mid-Grade), requires consuming 3 Moon Essence, 3 shadow flood dragon king scales, and 1 Millennium Flood Dragon Pearl.

【Hidden Route 1】: Rank requirement 36, on the night of a lunar eclipse, consumes 1 True Dragon Blood, 5 Moon Essence, and 1 Dark Attribute Flood Dragon Pearl, can evolve into Moon Radiance Dragon Flood Dragon (Heaven Spirit High-Grade).

【Hidden Route 2】: Rank requirement 36, if during the once-in-a-millennium "Moonfall" celestial phenomenon, consumes 1 Moon Dragon Pearl, 1 True Dragon Reverse Scale, and 1 Taiyin Fruit, can evolve into Taiyin Flood Dragon (Heaven Spirit High-Grade), discarding Wood attribute abilities to gain Taiyin power, possessing the ability to manipulate lunar phases and influence tides.