Uka’s low Dragon roar, accompanied by the unique hum from his chest cavity, echoed under the vast dome, precisely reporting the cold numbers:
“Twelve-order Mirage Demon, current quantity: 8,000, with 1,547 individuals having a life strength above 60 points, and among them, 43 have reached the Upper-Rank Demigod level…”
Zhou Qi leaned back on the throne forged from steel, his fingertips unconsciously tapping on the cold, dark-gold veined Zerg bio-alloy of the armrest.
Each tap caused a subtle spatial ripple, revealing the inadvertent overflow of the immense power within him.
Listening to Uka report the billions of armored warriors and millions of elites, a heroic feeling of controlling the stars surged in his chest.
These numbers were solid proof of his journey from a bug breeder to a planetary-level Dominator.
The Antarctic Otherworld!
That treasure trove, frozen with ancient Titan and containing the secrets of the previous era, attracted his will like a magnet.
Taking it down would not only mean another leap in resources but also that he would have more dependents.
However, this surging desire for conquest was forcibly suppressed when Zhou Qi observed the Evolution Space from the light screen.
The training ground currently had a dedicated area specifically designed for the Mirage Demons.
At this moment, dozens of elite Mirage Demons were engaged in extreme combat within it.
Their figures were like phantoms, their liquid metal blades on their arms cutting through the air, creating sharp sonic booms and visible, fragmented spatial cracks.
Each strike was enough to tear apart a heavy tank, like a missile bombardment.
Strong?
Very strong!
The initial life strength of a twelfth-order Mirage Demon started at the Peak of a Lower-Rank Demigod, and some of the earlier-born ones, after continuously devouring high-energy substances and training in the Evolution Space, had already broken through 65 points in life strength, entering the realm of a Middle-Rank Demigod.
But, it’s not enough!
Zhou Qi’s brows furrowed imperceptibly.
His perception penetrated space, clearly seeing several researchers in white coats at the edge of the training ground, nervously recording energy readings.
On the light screen, although the Peak curve representing the Mirage Demon’s attack strength was dazzling, in Zhou Qi’s mind, he had already anticipated that the Antarctic Otherworld would surely contain elite units of Upper-Rank Demigods and Over-Rank Demigods, and even Perfection Demigods.
This made the Mirage Demons seem very weak.
Ant swarm tactics were meaningless in planetary-level collisions.
Once he, the Ant Queen, the Golden Emperor, and other top combat powers were tied up by the opponent’s Titan, the Zerg’s massive basic legions, facing the enemy’s elite mid-to-high-level combat power, would only be efficiently slaughtered, cut down, and become targets for the enemy to gain military merits.
Imagining billions of Army Ants being frozen, torn apart, and instantly vaporized by energy torrents, Zhou Qi’s fingers left a shallow white mark on the armrest of the throne.
A chasm!
Between Middle-Rank Demigods and Upper-Rank, Over-Rank Demigods, there was a huge, potentially fatal chasm!
Mirage Demons had great potential, but time… what he lacked most was time.
The Evolution Space was incredibly efficient, investing tens of billions of Evolution Points could make them grow rapidly, but to cross that crucial threshold of 70 points and become Upper-Rank Demigods capable of standing on their own, it was by no means something that could be mass-produced in a short time.
Upgrade the Ant Queen?
The Sixteenth-Order Ant Queen reproduced twelfth-order dependents, starting at an extremely high point.
If he could upgrade her to Seventeenth-Order or Eighteenth-Order, the initial life strength of the newborn Mirage Demons would undoubtedly be higher, allowing them to reach the realm of Upper-Rank Demigods faster.
But the consumption of Origin Points… upgrading to Seventeenth-Order would require a full 10,000 points!
Eighteenth-Order was an astronomical figure.
Although he possessed 6,380 Origin Points, this resource was like a strategic reserve; every single point had to be used where it mattered most.
His gaze refocused on the Void Realm light screen before him.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment, deciding to upgrade the Evolution Space first, hoping that the upgrade would refresh and introduce new functions.
“Beep, congratulations Host for consuming 18 Origin Points (90%), Evolution Space has been upgraded to Level 16 Evolution Space, new additions: one plant and one animal enhancement slot each, one evolution origin point.”
Hum—!
In the depths of his consciousness, that unique space carrying the mysteries of Zerg evolution seemed to have been thrown into a gravitational singularity.
The teleportation area within the Evolution Space also increased accordingly to 3,500 meters.
The effect was immediate!
But this was still not enough!
Far from enough!
His gaze was sharp as a knife, fixed on the next line:
【Evolution Space Rank: 16】
【Required to upgrade to Rank 17: 90 Origin Points (after 90% discount)】
【Confirm upgrade?】
“Confirm!”
This time, Zhou Qi’s command carried an undeniable decisiveness.
Boom—!!!
“Beep, congratulations Host for consuming 90 Origin Points (90%), Evolution Space has been upgraded to Level 17 Evolution Space, new additions: one plant and one animal enhancement slot each, one evolution origin point, one Talent Extraction Slot, Evolution Furnace function.”
This time, the tremor was no longer a hum at the conscious level, but like a stellar core exploding deep within his Soul!
The very Foundation of the Evolution Space’s existence was violently shaking and reshaping!
The silver-white barrier originally covered with quantum patterns completely disappeared, replaced by a deep, chaotic, dark Void Realm background, as if the Universe was just beginning.
In the Void Realm, countless more ancient, closer to the Origin of Dao profound runes appeared out of thin air; they were no longer fixed patterns, but slowly rotated and came into being and perished like living stars.
The most core change appeared in the center of the space.
A huge, pure energy-composed, blazing “Furnace Core,” seemingly made of countless miniature galaxies, was slowly forming!
It emanated a majestic vitality that nurtured all things, while also containing terrifying high temperatures that could incinerate all things.
Around the core, space was distorted, and the flow of time seemed to become unstable.
A strong will, eager to devour and transform, permeated from within.
Zhou Qi was startled, not even bothering with the Talent Extraction Slot, and began to check this new function.
【Evolution Furnace】
Form: A blazing core composed of high-dimensional energy in the center of the space, which can manifest as a physical furnace phantom.
Function:
Group Potential Smelting: A single dependent race can be selected, and massive Evolution Points and specific high-energy Materials, such as planetary-level biological tissue essence, high-purity energy crystals, rare minerals containing spatial/temporal properties, etc., can be invested to catalyze the overall life potential of the target race.
Effect: Significantly increases the average life strength of the race, and has a higher probability of prompting those with outstanding potential to Break Through their current life strength Bottleneck! The higher the Bottleneck, the lower the Breakthrough probability, and the greater the cost required.
Talent Directed Induction (small probability): Investing top-tier Materials containing specific Laws or characteristics, such as Golden Emperor’s shed Dragon scales containing stellar power, Netherfrost Overlord’s ice core fragments, unknown core components of the Lunar Pyramid, etc., has a very small probability of inducing the target race to Awaken rare Talents or special mutations related to the Material’s characteristics during the smelting process.
Training Field Overlay: During the activation of the Furnace, if the target race is in the Evolution Space, their training effects, including life strength increase speed and Talent unlocking probability, will receive an additional 200% boost!
The Furnace’s energy will forcibly catalyze their evolution process; the effect is overbearing, the process is painful, but the efficiency is astounding.
Cost: Each activation consumes a huge amount, depending on the quantity, quality, and desired effect of the target race. The smelting process will cause high-intensity load on the target race, with an individual collapse and death risk of about 5-15%.
Furthermore, the same race cannot withstand multiple smeltings in a short period.