The pitch-black drone was encased in what looked like ink-dark armor, exuding a dense metallic sheen. Even its wings bore intricate black patterns, appearing unusually tough.
“Judging by these traits, if I’m not mistaken, this must be a defensive-type bee.”
The emergence of the Venomous Bee and this Obsidian-Armored Bee put Qi Ping in an excellent mood.
Even though the failure rate this time was higher, obtaining these two mutated breeds alone was already a massive win.
Of course, he’d need to wait for the drone to awaken and test its exact attributes.
But what delighted Qi Ping the most was the long-awaited Druid EXP that finally arrived during the four drones’ transformations.
[Druid EXP +29!]
[Druid Level: Lv.2 (179/200)] → [Druid Level: Lv.3 (8/400)]
“Finally—Level 3!”
Though the EXP gain was lower than last time’s 47 points, Qi Ping wasn’t too bothered.
“Probably because the Balanced Bees weren’t a new breed.”
What mattered was that he’d reached Level 3 Druid—the key threshold for unlocking [Wild Shape]!
[Generating Level 3 Druid Skills…]
[Please select your class skills…]
[Beast King Druid (Choose 1 of 2): Wild Shape, Bloodlust Bestowal]
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Lv.1 Wild Shape: You can transform into an animal and gain its supernatural abilities. (Gain one new form every 3 levels. Must be a familiar animal, and its total energy cannot exceed your own.) (Active, Non-Upgradable)
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Lv.1 Bloodlust Bestowal: As a Beast King Druid, you can grant your animal companions the passive skill [Bloodlust]. (Active, Non-Upgradable)
[Jungle Druid (Choose 1 of 2): Healing Touch, Grasping Vine]
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Lv.1 Healing Touch: Consume energy to summon restorative power, effective on flesh, plants, and similar injuries. (Active, Upgradable)
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Lv.1 Grasping Vine: Consume energy to summon a giant vine to attack enemies. (Active, Upgradable)
“Wild Shape, Bloodlust Bestowal, Healing Touch, Grasping Vine… Four options, but only two choices.”
Qi Ping didn’t hesitate much this time.
For the Beast King Druid path, [Wild Shape] was the skill he’d been eagerly anticipating—so much so that his entire rush to Level 3 was for this very ability. There was no question here.
While [Bloodlust Bestowal] was strong (dramatically boosting an animal companion’s short-term burst power), it paled in comparison to the sheer utility of [Wild Shape].
“I’ll pick it later—but not now.”
“Beast King Druid skill selected: Wild Shape!”
For the Jungle Druid path, Qi Ping’s current weakness was still his biggest limitation. Unless he could share a cultivation-boosting talent from an animal companion, his growth would remain slow.
Thus, unless a skill was as uniquely valuable as [Plant Growth] or [Wild Shape], survival and support skills took priority.
[Healing Touch] was a no-brainer—it could save his life, heal injured animal companions, restore their combat readiness, and even mend damaged spiritual herbs.
“This skill is essential from early to late game. Absolutely mandatory.”
“Jungle Druid skill selected: Healing Touch!”
[Skill selection complete. Updating status panel…]
[Name: Qi Ping]
[Level: Lv.3 (8/400)]
[Class: Beast King Druid (Primary), Jungle Druid (Secondary)]
[Talents: Animal Companion, Nature’s Affinity]
[Animal Companions: (1/3) Golden Marrow Bees]
[Wild Shape: (1/1) Golden Marrow Bee]
[Shared Talent: Grand Brewmaster]
[Skills: Lv.2 Plant Growth (67/200), Lv.1 Beast King’s Blessing (15/100), Lv.3 Bark Skin (268/400), Lv.1 Healing Touch (0/100)]
[Permanent Skills: Speak with Animals, Befriend Beast, Wildheart]
[Wild Shape Forms: Golden Marrow Bee (Can freely transform into any mutated variant of the same bloodline. Current options: Golden Marrow Bee, High-Speed Cutter Bee, Potbelly Bee, Balanced Bee, Venomous Bee, Obsidian-Armored Bee.) (Transformation fails if the target’s energy exceeds your own or is not at the same tier.)]
[You have gained an additional Animal Companion slot.]
“I can choose any bee from the Golden Marrow bloodline?!”
“Not just the High-Speed Cutter Bee—I can even turn into the newly mutated Obsidian-Armored Bee and Venomous Bee?!”
This revelation sent a surge of exhilaration through Qi Ping.
All he could think was: “This is insane!”
In his past life (as a gamer), there was no mechanic for breeding mutated animal companions, so he’d never known [Wild Shape] could include all variants of a base form.
Now, not only could he disguise himself as a Golden Marrow Bee undetected, but with enough energy, he could also morph into a High-Speed Cutter Bee, Obsidian-Armored Bee, or even the Venomous Bee at will.
The Potbelly Bee and Venomous Bee weren’t particularly useful—one was pathetically weak, and the other only had its venom.
But the High-Speed Cutter Bee and Obsidian-Armored Bee?
One was so fast it could rival—or even surpass—a 9th-Level Qi Refining cultivator. The other was clearly defense-oriented (though its exact durability needed testing).
“One for speed, one for defense. As long as I have enough energy, these will be lifesavers in a chase!”
“With this skill and my bee swarm, few below Foundation Establishment can threaten me now.”
“Even against a Foundation Establishment expert, I’d have a chance to escape!”
“This settles it—I’m committing to beekeeping long-term. The [Spirit Beast Cultivation: Insect Volume] can take my swarm to Foundation Establishment, maybe even Core Formation if I’m lucky. But for anything beyond, I’ll need more clues from Nan Jie…”
“For now, let’s test [Wild Shape].”
“Select first transformation form: Golden Marrow Bee!”
[Confirming first transformation form…]
[Wild Shape: (1/1) Golden Marrow Bee]
Just as Qi Ping was about to activate the skill, a High-Speed Cutter Bee zipped to his side in a blur.
“Buzz… (Boss! Many deadly bugs approaching!)”
“Buzz… (There’s also a two-legged creature in black robes. Its aura is at late first-tier…)”
A Qi Refining late-stage cultivator in black robes?
Qi Ping’s brow furrowed.
The demonic insects’ arrival was expected—exactly three days since the last attack. But a black-robed cultivator at this level?
What’s going on?
