Han Wu decided to test Merge with his locusts first. He selected two freshly hatched ones and noted their compatibility was very high. Spending 10 Divine Points, he successfully merged them. The resulting locust was visibly twice as large but remained at the Elite rank.
Next, he experimented with Elite locusts, merging them continuously. After merging 100 of them, the resulting locust had grown to the height of an average person, but it was still Elite.
Curious, Han Wu scaled up the test to 1,000 Elite locusts. The merged locust now matched the size of an elephant but remained an Elite life form.
Hmm... Does this mean that merging the same life forms only increases their size without affecting their rank? he wondered.
To test this theory further, he selected 2 Unique locusts: the defensive Abyss Locust and the powerful Primal Locust. Their compatibility was moderate, so merging them cost 10,000 Divine Points and took a full hour. When the process finished, the merged locust sported a robust body armored with a dense exoskeleton, clearly combining the strongest traits of both.
The experiment sparked new ideas on what to do next. He decided to merge a Heavenly Demon Insect and a Dark Curse Bug with the newly merged locust. After spending 1.1 million Divine Points, a locust emerged bearing all four characteristics.
This new locust matched the size of a mammoth. Its dense exoskeleton provided exceptional defense, a long horn sharp as a sword stood ready for offense, and it could meld into shadows to unleash dark energy orbs that cursed enemies. Though it remained a Unique locust, its combat power rivaled that of a Heroic locust.
Han Wu decided to push the experiment further by merging a Heroic Locustman with it. Their compatibility was low, forcing him to spend 5 million Divine Points to merge them.
He waited 35 realm hours for the process to complete. The new Locustman stood five meters tall and retained all four of its original traits. The merge had elevated it to a Heroic life form, but its actual combat power surpassed that of a regular Heroic Locustman.
Han Wu placed it in the Blood Coliseum to test its strength. As he predicted, even the strength-focused Heroic Minotaur failed to defeat it. He then matched it against several other opponents, confirming that it could overcome every Heroic life form except the Heroic Osteomancer in its bone giant form.
“Could this be a new way to nurture powerful Heroic units?” Han Wu wondered, surprised by his discovery. A stable Evolution Path that reliably produced Heroic units was highly coveted across the Divine Civilization. As long as they agreed, Han Wu could mass-produce strong Heroic units for them within a short period.
Han Wu’s excitement faded the moment he saw the cost. Setting aside the units required to merge into a Heroic unit, the merging process alone demanded an overwhelming 6.1 million Divine Points. The sheer amount made him sigh at his own poverty. If he had the funds, he would’ve already transformed every one of his Heroic Locustmen giants.
Still, after so many successful attempts, Han Wu grew eager to try merging materials. He pulled out thousands of Fire Stones and started merging them. After spending 10,000 Divine Points, he succeeded in merging 1,000 stones into a single, fist-sized red crystal. It was no longer a mere Fire Stone but had become a Rank 1 Sacred Object, Fire Crystal.
[Rank 1 Sacred Object: Fire Crystal. After equipping to the Core, all races obtain the fire attribute, and their mastery of fire-based skills increases.]
A thousand Fire Stones and 10,000 Divine Points had yielded only a single Rank 1 Sacred Object. Though it was a clear loss, Han Wu chose to keep merging, hoping to turn his luck around. He merged 2,000 Fire Stones and spent 20,000 Divine Points to produce a Rank 2 Sacred Object. Next, he combined 4,000 Fire Stones with 40,000 Divine Points to obtain a Rank 3 Sacred Object.
Finally, he merged 8,000 Fire Stones and invested 80,000 Divine Points to create a Rank 4 Sacred Object. The higher the rank, the more difficult the merging process became. Reaching Rank 4 was the current limit of his abilities. Satisfied, he paused to check the market price of the Rank 4 Sacred Object Fire Crystal online. To his surprise, it was listed at 1.6 million Divine Points.
Even after deducting the cost of materials, Han Wu realized he stood to gain roughly 800,000 Divine Points in profit. This was an entirely new avenue for making money. Based on his pace, he could craft a Rank 4 Sacred Object every 2.5 realm days. If he worked nonstop for an entire realm year, he could potentially earn 150 million Divine Points. That was already enough to purchase a single Divine Essence!
Even Gods would salivate at the thought of earning a single Divine Essence daily! Han Wu could apply this method to other stones—Light Stones, Dark Stones, Iron Stones, and more—to produce Sacred Objects of different attributes.
“It looks like I’ve found another way to make money,” he muttered, excitement sparking in his eyes.
Unbeknownst to Han Wu, a God had stepped out of the teleporter and appeared in the capital. His first move was to activate the transponder and scan for a signal. A faint ping soon came through, and the God, named Hu Hai, broke into a wide grin.
“The signal’s weak, but it's pinging ten times faster than before. I’m close to the thief who stole the God King’s treasure. This place is near Imperial College, so I should head there and test it on Han Wu to confirm if he’s really the culprit,” he muttered, striding toward the college.
As Hu Hai reached the college gates, the guards stopped him. Despite being a God, he didn’t dare challenge them. They were only Divine Beings, but this was Imperial College, a place that had produced Demigods, Gods, Major Gods, and even God Kings. To force his way in would be suicidal.
Frowning, Hu Hai considered how to get inside when two Demigod parents stormed out. They were furious, berating the college for protecting their son’s murderer. They claimed suspension was no real punishment and voiced other grievances.
Hu Hai quickly approached them, revealed his identity as a God, and projected his Divine Authority as he spoke. “Can you help me? I’m willing to pay handsomely.”
The parents eagerly accepted. A God offering a reward? No one in their right mind would refuse. They quickly agreed to assist him.
From their conversation, Hu Hai learned they had come demanding justice for their son’s death. The killer, by sheer coincidence, was the very person Hu Hai had been hunting: Han Wu.
What luck. The murderer they’re after is my target too. I can pose as a grieving family member and use this opening to enter Imperial College and confront Han Wu myself, he thought.