So Ling Yun had an idea. Under his deliberate guidance, the copying ability began to directly modify the power of the flight technique. This magical technique, which he had only learned for less than a few hours, began to change. The original speed limit was forcibly broken, and with the support of strong energy, Ling Yun's flight speed increased greatly, almost ten times faster than before. In the blink of an eye, he caught up with the plane. Then, Ling Yun entered the plane through the crack that James had torn open, and then sealed the crack again with his mental force field.
Of course, the optimized flight technique was not just about breaking through the limits. Ling Yun could also feel many huge changes, but now was not the time to experience these changes. Being able to save people in time, Ling Yun finally felt relieved. He was even more surprised to find that he had saved Li Lingling and the others.
Xia Tian and Ling Yun had always had a good relationship. Their shared experience of life and death had made them close friends. Although they hadn't been in contact for more than half a year, Ling Yun still smiled when he thought of Xia Tian's carefree attitude. He felt a brotherly feeling in his heart. Besides, he was now a special employee of Sihai Group, receiving a fixed allowance of 100,000 yuan every week. From this perspective, Xia Tian was still his boss and his direct superior.
Ling Yun was naturally anxious when her boss was injured. Chen Jiaxuan was still treating Xia Tian in a private room and had no idea what was happening outside. Ling Yun hesitated, unsure whether she should go in immediately or wait a little longer.
He could have used the panoramic view to observe, but doing so would be tantamount to spying on his friend, something Ling Yun, given his personality, naturally wouldn't do. Ling Yun wasn't particularly worried about Xia Tian's injuries. Although he didn't possess the holy light techniques of the Arbitration Institute, his copying ability and the Hand of God should be able to dispel the vampire's dark energy. Even if Xia Tian's heart was corrupted by the dark energy, Ling Yun had a way to pull him back from the brink of death.
All methods lead to the same goal. All energy attributes may seem different, but that is only the surface. At Lingyun's level, one has already learned to use the essence of power to solve problems, which is not only thorough but also a permanent solution.
Looking at James, whose eyes remained fixed, the vampire was still imprisoned. Unless Ling Yun or another super strong person intervened to break the imprisonment, Marquis James would remain in his current state until he truly grew old.
The scan of James by the copying ability is nearing completion. It is clear that he is a mutated vampire, otherwise he would not have survived with his heart and head destroyed, as Lingling said, and he could even transform!
Fortunately, this guy was imprisoned when he was still a marquis. If he were allowed to transform again and advance to the level of a duke, even Ling Yun wouldn't be able to guarantee the safety of the plane. However, it seems that James's transformation is not autonomous, or rather, his transformation ability is not complete. Only after being damaged by external forces or even dying once can he truly activate his transformation power. The process involved is unimaginably painful.
Although it wasn't a complete transformation ability, it still piqued Ling Yun's interest. At this moment, all the scans of James were complete. Since Ling Yun advanced to a super strongman, his copying ability hadn't significantly evolved, only its speed had increased almost tenfold. Previously, scanning James would have taken at least several hours, but now it only took minutes.
Ling Yun re-examined the vampire's genetic data and realized that the vampire's transformation ability was not without cost. Before transforming, James needed a long energy accumulation process, which could take several years or even decades. This time would be enough for a human to live a lifetime, but for a vampire, it was just a period of time in a human's life.
What Ling Yun didn't know was that James had been asleep for three hundred years before he appeared, accumulating energy for three hundred years, which gave him three opportunities to transform. Unfortunately, before he could transform into the Grand Duke for the last time, James met with annihilation.
The powers gained after the transformation don't belong to the vampire himself. James is still the same low-ranking vampire viscount; becoming an earl or marquis is merely a concentrated manifestation of his accumulated energy. Once the energy is used up, he will return to being the somewhat delirious viscount he once was. However, the energy accumulated over three hundred years is enormous, enough for James to eliminate all his opponents in a short time.
Unfortunately, he encountered Ling Yun. Against Ling Yun, even if James transformed into the Duke, it would be useless; at most, it would only cause Ling Yun some minor trouble. However, the transformation data provided Ling Yun with a clue: how to significantly increase his strength in a short period of time.
Among those with superpowers, there are many who can generate tremendous power in a short period of time by stimulating themselves, such as Oswit's transformation into a monster and Wu Xun's giant transformation. However, without exception, these superpowers will produce side effects, just like overusing aphrodisiacs. What is actually overdrawn is the mental field and the body. If the stimulation of some superpowers exceeds a certain limit, it may even cause irreversible damage to the superpowered person.
In short, it's best to use supernatural abilities with caution, unless it's for saving your life or in a critical situation. This is a consensus among people with supernatural abilities.
However, James' transformation obviously has no side effects. Although it takes a long time to store energy, which other superhumans may not have, for Ling Yun, the yellow book barrier that has been integrated into him is just a nuclear battery that is constantly absorbing energy.
If Ling Yun were to instantly boost his current power through transformation without any side effects, what level of power would he reach? Just thinking about it made Ling Yun's breathing slowly stop.
That is unimaginable power, surpassing any super strong person in the world, and even enough to instantly kill a super strong person!
The transformation data has been optimized and is currently undergoing simulation testing within the yellow book barrier. Since the fusion barrier, the space testing ground that Ling Yun has always dreamed of has also been established in the blink of an eye. All new or mutated supernatural arts can be perfected through segmented simulation.
To some extent, Ling Yun's ability to use barriers at this moment has surpassed that of Yu Xiujie!
Looking at James, Ling Yun couldn't figure out why mutated types of vampires would appear. This question seemed irrelevant, but for Ling Yun, everything had a cause and effect. James's transformation was insignificant to him, but it posed a significant threat to ordinary superhumans. If there were other mutated vampires like James among the dark creatures, one could imagine the dangers facing the human world.
With a flick of his finger, Ling Yun released a small portion of James's restraints, allowing him to speak freely. Ling Yun wanted to learn more from this guy. Of course, if James didn't cooperate, Ling Yun could also try out the effects of the God-Searching Technique.
James looked at Ling Yun with a strange and fearful gaze. This human, who had subdued him with a mere gesture, was just standing there normally, not releasing any pressure, yet he made James tremble involuntarily.
"How many vampires are there like you?" Ling Yun asked directly, voicing his true question.
This statement seemed nonsensical, but James immediately understood Ling Yun's meaning. He also knew that lying and deception were useless against a super strong person like Ling Yun; they would only hasten his demise.
He thought carefully for a moment and replied, "I should be the only one. I am a survivor of the mutation activity of the Remer family three hundred years ago. However, at that time, everyone in the family thought I was dead, so I was buried in the grave. It was not until recently that the family held a grand worship ceremony, which made me wake up."
Ling Yun was relieved. It seemed that James was just an accident. Just like he accidentally gained superpowers, James also accidentally gained the ability to transform. Perhaps during the mutation activity, James's genetic sequence was affected by a unique influence and thus benefited from the misfortune. But unfortunately, this benefit did not last long.
"What is the mutation activity? What is the worship activity?" Ling Yun was very sensitive to the two activities James mentioned, and even realized something directly.
"These two are actually one. Mutation activities are part of the worship activities, which are also known as sacrifices. They are religious activities in which our great vampires pray to their ancestors or gods. After the sacrifice, many vampires will gain new mutation abilities or become stronger, but they may also die. Sacrifices are very dangerous. My transformation ability came from the sacrifice activities, but unfortunately, all the vampires who worshipped at the same time as me died."
James spread his hands as he spoke, a look of sadness appearing on his face.
"Sacrifices can grant power and mutated abilities?!" Ling Yun was shocked. This was the first time he had heard of the mystery of dark rituals. If power could be obtained without relying on opportunities or cultivation, but simply through sacrifices, wouldn't all the dark creatures in the world become rampant?
James was equally surprised. "You didn't know? Seventy percent of vampires obtain dark energy through inheritance and sacrifice. It's even possible for a hybrid vampire to become a pure vampire as a result. The mutation abilities are varied and you might not necessarily gain anything."
"Since you can gain power through sacrifice, why are you vampires so suppressed by the Arbitration Council?" Ling Yun asked the question that had been on his mind.
James's face showed a mixture of hatred and helplessness: "Sacrifices cannot be held at will. They require numerous sacrificial offerings and a long period of preparation. The entire process is time-consuming and labor-intensive. A large-scale sacrifice can take decades to prepare, and once the process is interrupted, the sacrifice will have no effect. Only a portion of the vampires gain power from sacrifices, and some sacrifices not only fail to distribute power but may even lead to death. The danger ratio is very high, so we vampires will not hold sacrifices unless we lose too much power or the entire dark creature race is facing a life-or-death situation. As far as I know, from the Middle Ages to the present, the vampires have held no more than five sacrificial activities, and there has not even been a large-scale sacrifice."
"I see," Ling Yun nodded. Everything comes at a price, and the vampires can't expect something for nothing. "So, how is the power of your sacrifices transmitted?"
“It is passed on to us by the objects of our sacrifices,” James answered without hesitation. “We worship our ancestors, and they give us power; we worship the devil, and the devil gives us power!”
"Do you believe in the existence of your ancestor Cain or demons?" Ling Yun asked incredulously, experiencing for the first time the fervent religious faith of a vampire.
“Of course, if my ancestors didn’t exist, or if demons didn’t exist, how would we gain power?” James countered.
Ling Yun was speechless. He did not believe in the existence of gods. Having witnessed the essence of power, he only believed in the natural way. But how could he explain these principles to a vampire? Moreover, he could not explain the bizarre thing of gaining power through sacrifice.
Could there really be a demon in some nameless space? Ling Yun wondered silently.
Chapter 413 A Delicate Moment
"Don't you vampires only come out at night? And you usually act in groups, so why would you choose to attack an ordinary human plane during the day?" Ling Yun asked the last question in his mind.
James hesitated for a moment, but seeing Ling Yun's piercing gaze, he said, "Actually, I am not a pure vampire. My father and mother are a vampire and a werewolf, respectively. I am the offspring of the two. Although I am a vampire, I also work for werewolves."
“Werewolves?” Ling Yun looked at James’s pointed ears and seemed to understand something. “Aren’t you all dark creatures? Why are you distinguishing between each other?”
“Werewolves are werewolves, and vampires are vampires,” James said, shaking his head. “They are two different races, just like you and Americans are all human, but can you be considered the same race?”
Ling Yun nodded. The vampire analogy was quite vivid and simple, helping him understand the difference and relationship between the two.
"Attacking this plane wasn't my idea, but rather on the orders of the Golden Wolf King Michael and Grand Duke Ulysses. He said there's a girl on board who possesses a pure yin body and is a virgin, making her the perfect sacrifice. If we capture her and use her as a sacrifice, our chances of success will increase significantly," James said after a moment's thought.
The sacrificial ceremony should not be leaked, but when facing a super strong person like Ling Yun, there is no need to hide anything. Besides, even if you suffer a lot, the truth will still be found out in the end, so it is better to just tell the truth yourself.
Ling Yun's mind went blank for a moment. He grabbed James by the chest and demanded, "What sacrificial ceremony? Speak up! How did the Wolf King and Ulysses know about Lingling's spirit body?"