As the one hundred and seventy male bees dispersed across the open ground, their transformations quickly began.
The enhanced version of the Bloodline Mutation Potion, made from the five-hundred-year-old blood ginseng, possessed potent effects. The aura and phenomena accompanying its ingestion were far more intense than the basic version taken previously.
An eerie, powerful, golden-red spiritual energy swirled around the male bees, casting strange, colored light into every corner of the illusion array.
With the appearance of this phenomenon, an immensely fierce and violent aura began to erupt from within the bees’ bodies!
Faced with this violent power, there was no such thing as gradual progress; there was only success or death!
Perhaps because the potion’s power was too strong, the moment its effects were stimulated, male bees began to burst and die, one after another.
In just a short while, over twenty male bees had perished.
This caused Qi Ping’s heart to clench with anxiety.
The success rate for transforming to the second stage was much harder than the first time. Cross-tier transformation wasn’t so easy to succeed at. Even achieving half the previous success rate would be considered good.
Previously, during his two previous transformations of the bee colony, under the effect of the [Beast King’s Grace] skill, the success rate had been around four successes out of every fifty-odd bees.
If it followed half that rate, then successfully transforming six out of one hundred and seventy male bees would be considered good, maybe even less.
However, because these one hundred and seventy male bees were elite soldiers meticulously selected by the colony over a year, and Qi Ping had also participated in the selection process, coupled with the attribute bonuses the queen bee’s special nature brought to the colony, Qi Ping allowed himself a bit more hope for the final number of successes.
In Qi Ping’s expectations, successfully transforming seven or eight would be a success!
But the start had delivered a critical blow.
Qi Ping even subconsciously noticed the queen bee’s feet gripping tighter, clearly her内心 (nèixīn – heart, inner feelings) was not calm either.
Fortunately, after the initial deaths, the rate of death suddenly slowed down, allowing Qi Ping to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Ultimately, in the first stage of the potion’s integration, one hundred and twenty male bees withstood the violent demonic energy, while fifty male bees exploded from being unable to bear it.
“For the first stage to have this success rate is already much higher than the first transformation. Considering the violent power of the enhanced Bloodline Mutation Potion, achieving this success rate fully proves the powerful individual quality of this batch of male bees.”
The effect of selective breeding was also demonstrated in the first stage.
“Next is the second stage…”
The second stage: physical transformation, developing complete mutated organs or bodies!
Intense transformations began in succession at this moment!
“Based on the experience from the first transformation, the mortality rate for this stage is about two-thirds. Plus, with this transformation being more difficult, the mortality rate is estimated to exceed two-thirds.”
Facts proved Qi Ping’s estimate for the second stage wasn’t wrong; this stage directly claimed eighty-two male bees!
In the end, only thirty-eight male bees survived this stage!
Seeing this result, Qi Ping’s expression darkened. This mortality rate wasn’t good!
Moreover, according to the Spiritual Beast Cultivation: Insect Chapter, the mortality rate in the upcoming third stage would be the highest, and by a significant margin!
If that were the case, the final number of successful transformations was very uncertain!
This result caused Qi Ping’s eased heart to clench up again.
However, the one thing that consoled Qi Ping was that among the thirty-eight bees surviving the second stage, several types undergoing transformation were exceptionally eye-catching.
One type was two bees whose bodies were covered in blood-red armor, exuding an eerie aura.
A similar transformation had appeared during Qi Ping’s first colony transformation, but it had failed in the final step.
“I didn’t expect the Blood Armor Bees to appear again, and two of them at that, with auras far more powerful than the one from the first transformation.”
“I wonder what the talent of the Blood Armor Bee is. Surely this time, with two, at least one can succeed?”
Qi Ping was very curious about the innate attributes of the Blood Armor Bee.
Besides the Blood Armor Bees, two other bees, one covered in dark golden armor and the other in emerald green armor, also caught Qi Ping’s attention.
Because the strange-colored light on them was just as intense as on the Blood Armor Bees, they could almost be called the ‘Three Colorful Masters’ among them; it was hard for Qi Ping not to notice. Apart from these three, there were bees developing six wings, super strong antennae, super large tail stingers – it seemed almost everything was covered.
Of course, the most pleasant surprise for Qi Ping was that the Brewer Bee with the big belly seemed to have reappeared, but it also seemed a bit different, so Qi Ping wasn’t too sure.
“I’ll just wait and see the final result. No matter how powerful they look now, if they can’t survive the final stage, it’s all meaningless…”
The third stage of transformation was the longest.
Qi Ping watched as bee after bee died during the process of entering the third stage, his heart anxious but helpless.
After waiting for a long time amidst anxiety and hope, Qi Ping finally welcomed the final result.
The auras of eight bees completely stabilized at the early second stage!
Upon seeing the final result, Qi Ping completely breathed a sigh of relief at that moment!
“Eight!”
“Eight male bees successfully transformed to the second stage!”
This success rate was almost exactly what Qi Ping had predicted.
“It seems the elite soldiers selected for transformation by the colony over the past year were effective, and the [Beast King’s Grace] effect remains stable!”
This success rate was actually quite remarkable, because according to the Spiritual Beast Cultivation: Insect Chapter, successfully transforming three out of one hundred and seventy would be considered lucky, already above average.
And here, a full eight had succeeded!
This was thanks not only to the Beast King Druid’s talent skills but also to the colony’s own efforts!
“Overall, the result isn’t bad!”
Qi Ping was quite satisfied with this outcome.
The queen bee and the surrounding observing colony also showed joyful emotions.
Their colony had gained seven types of second-stage bees!
They thought evolving one or two types would be amazing, but now there were a full seven types!
Although Little Spirit Fox and Little Flower Fairy didn’t understand, sensing Qi Ping and the bees’s joyful emotions, smiles also appeared on their faces. If Qi Ping was happy, they were naturally happy too.
“Next, it’s time to see the strength of these eight bee types.”
“I hope they can bring surprising delights once again!”
In the following days, Qi Ping busied himself testing the characteristics and talents of these eight mutated bee types.
When the final results came out, an extremely satisfied expression appeared on Qi Ping’s face.
Among these eight second-stage bee types, there were two Balanced Bees. These were a necessary transformation type; you couldn’t go wrong with them. Their combat effectiveness and honey-making abilities were both up to standard, making them the most orthodox Gold Marrow Bees.
Among the remaining six, there were three types: Scout Bees capable of silent reconnaissance, Mountain-Moving Bees with greatly increased strength, and the Venomous Bees Qi Ping was relatively familiar with.
Among the Scout Bees, Mountain-Moving Bees, and Venomous Bees, aside from the Mountain-Moving Bees which were clumsy and had obvious weaknesses, the other two types – Scout Bees and Venomous Bees – had significant uses.
Although the Scout Bee’s combat ability was mediocre, it possessed super strong perception and the ability to conceal its aura, making it suitable for scouting dangers and standing guard for Qi Ping, maximizing its functionality.
The Venomous Bee’s toxicity remained formidable. As long as it could inject enough venom into an enemy’s body, most creatures of the same level couldn’t withstand it.
Then, the most pleasant surprise for Qi Ping were the last three types of bees, the ones that had attracted his attention the most during the second stage – the Three Colorful Masters!
