Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 134 Picking up the leaks
The businessman noticed Ron's interest in the gladiatorial contest, and the smile on his face became more flattering, and his fat palms began to rub unconsciously.

"Since Your Excellency intends to participate in the gladiatorial contest, it is crucial to select a high-quality combat slave."

He said meaningfully, "We have a batch of top-quality embryos in our backyard specifically for VIPs like you. Why don't you let me take you to see them?"

Ron nodded slightly and followed the businessman calmly, but he was already a little wary of this businessman who was always talking nonsense.

Through the businessman's previous introduction and his own observations, Ron has realized a key problem:
These so-called "high-end combat slaves" are basically quick-made products, deformed weapons forcibly created through rough blood fusion and mental control.

They may be able to burst out amazing combat power in the short term, but without exception they all have fatal flaws:
Mentally unstable, short-lived, and potentially out of control at any time.

"A truly high-quality combat slave should be like Tracy's leopard girl." Ron thought to himself.

Although Li Yue came from an exterminated indigenous tribe, her blending process is obviously more gentle and meticulous.

Basically, they moderately strengthen and stimulate the already superior bloodline, and cultivate it from a young age to allow the body and mind sufficient time to adapt.

The combat slaves trained in this way are not only powerful in combat, but also able to maintain basic sanity, and their lifespan is far longer than those quickly produced products.

Passing through a dim corridor, the merchant took Ron to a compartment in the deepest part of the exchange.

Pushing open the heavy metal door, there are dozens of special culture chambers inside, each of which is filled with embryos or larvae of some kind of creature.

"This is our 'seed bank' where all our most precious cargoes are conceived."

The merchant proudly introduced: "These are rare bloodlines collected from all over the place, some even directly from expedition teams in the areas surrounding the Great Abyss."

Ron looked around, activated his extraordinary recognition ability, and carefully scanned each culture chamber.

"How about this?" The merchant pointed to a culture chamber containing a purple-black embryo, his eyes gleaming with greed.
"A hybrid of a hellhound and an abyss worm. Upon reaching adulthood, it can master both the blackfire and earth and stone swimming abilities. The price is only 500 magic stone fragments."

[Hellhound and Abyss Worm Hybrid Embryo

Bloodline Fusion Degree: Gold Ring 32%
Stability: Very low
Expected lifespan: 3-5 years

Special abilities: Blackfire, Swimming in Earth and Stone (Unstable)
Risk Assessment: Extremely high, with an 80% probability of distortion during growth.

Ron's expression remained unchanged, but he was already certain in his heart that this was another short-lived and unstable combination.

"What about this?" The merchant enthusiastically guided him to look at another incubator, which contained a liquid embryo glowing with golden light.

"This is a rare treasure! A fusion of a phoenix and a mercury creature, priceless! Upon reaching adulthood, it not only possesses partial regenerative abilities but can also manipulate metal elements. It's the perfect bodyguard and combat assistant!"

Phoenix (thin) and mercury element mixed embryo

Bloodline Fusion Degree: Gold Ring 25%
Stability: Almost zero
Expected lifespan: Less than 2 years

Special abilities: Limited regeneration, metal control (extremely unstable)

Risk Assessment: Catastrophic level, core energy structure is in chaos and may collapse at any time.

Ron looked at the extraordinary identification results and gained a deeper understanding of the businessman's shamelessness.

This is not a treasure at all, it's a time bomb.

The forced fusion of these diametrically opposed elements has almost zero stability and may self-destruct at any time.

How dare this businessman do this? Is there really some amazing background behind him?
"Here are a few more exquisite ones that are more suitable for high-level modulation."

The businessman didn't notice Ron's thoughts at all and continued to talk:

"This is a fusion of a star fairy and a high-level ghost, a combination of a deep-sea murloc and a wind elemental fairy, and the most precious one—a hybrid embryo of the legendary Time Giant Lizard and the Eye Demon!"

Ron scanned them one by one, and the results were almost the same - low integration, poor stability, many hidden dangers, but the price was sky-high.

The merchants are clearly picking out the most expensive and rare embryos, but those that are actually the least suitable for beginners, and they clearly want to take advantage of the opportunity to make a killing.

"Do you have any more basic embryos?" Ron asked calmly. "I've just started blood modulation and want to start with something simple."

The businessman's smile froze for a moment, then turned into flattery again:
"Of course there are! But those are just ordinary stuff. A genius like you, sir, should start directly from the high end and get to the end in one step."

"I want to take a look at the basics first." Ron's tone was calm, but his eyes had become firm.

The businessman had no choice but to take Ron to another room. The culture chamber here was obviously not as sophisticated as before, and the creatures in the chamber were relatively ordinary.

"These are some common races, cheap, but nothing special."

The businessman's interest was obviously waning, and his tone was somewhat flat: "A big shot like you shouldn't be interested in these things."

Ron ignored the other party's guidance and carefully observed each culture chamber.

He noticed several seemingly neglected pods placed against the wall. Inside one of them was a small blue life form floating. It looked like a newly born larva, not an embryo.

When I got closer, I saw that it was a young mermaid, no more than 20 centimeters long, with an upper body similar to that of a human female.

But its skin is light blue, and its lower body is a slender fish tail with fine silver-blue scales.

It looked very weak, its body curled up in the culture medium, its little face full of pain, and it was obviously in some unhealthy condition.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, pointing at the little mermaid.

The businessman glanced at it, a look of disgust on his face:

"It's just an ordinary siren larva, of no particular value. It's naturally weak, eats a lot but doesn't grow much, and probably won't live much longer. It's not worth wasting your time at all."

Ron activated his supernatural recognition and carefully scanned the little mermaid's situation:
【Ordinary Siren (Juvenile)
Bloodline purity: Silver ring 95% (rare high purity)
Condition: Severe malnutrition
Special Talent: Big Eater (Second-tier talent, the more nutrition you take in, the higher your growth rate and potential limit will be; otherwise, your growth will be inhibited)
Potential Assessment: If adequate nutrients are obtained, it can reach the upper limit of the gold ring; and has amazing plasticity, and has the opportunity to advance to a higher bloodline after modulation.

Ron's heart was shocked. This little thing looked frail, but in fact, it possessed a rare high-purity bloodline.

Coupled with the extremely rare special talent of "big eater", as long as there is enough nutrition, the future potential is simply limitless!
The reason why it looks sick now is precisely because of the lack of sufficient food and nutrition, which has caused its talent to backfire on itself and inhibited its own development.

The slave traders threw it in a corner, apparently because they saw that it ate a lot but had no effect, so they thought it was a worthless defective product and prepared to discard it.

This is simply a great opportunity to pick up a bargain!

"How much is this little guy?" Ron asked casually.

The businessman was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting Ron to be interested in this "substandard product":

"It... fifty, no, forty magic stone fragments. But honestly, if we hadn't signed a contract with the relevant sea area supplier, prohibiting the abandonment of embryos and cubs at will, we would have probably lost this little guy long ago."

Ron heard the disdain in the businessman's words and deliberately showed a slightly hesitant expression: "How about thirty dollars? After all, it's in such a bad condition."

The businessman thought for a moment and waved his hand, "Deal. It's a waste of culture medium to keep it anyway."

Obviously, in his eyes, this little siren was indeed worthless.

Then, Ron noticed several smaller culture chambers nearby, in which were floating some small transparent gelatinous spheres of different colors, but almost identical in size and structure.

"What are these?" he asked, pointing to the gelatinous spheres.

"Ah, those are the lowest-level autophagic oozes, purely experimental materials. I heard there are higher-level ones at the Crystal Spire. But these are just the last-minute shipments that the boss gave me when he bought them. If you like them, I can sell them to you at a low price."

The merchant said casually, clearly considering the goods to be of little value to him:
"They have almost no bloodline characteristics of their own. They can acquire some of these characteristics by devouring other creatures, but the duration is very short. Generally, only beginners of this level will use them for simple training."

The results of the extraordinary identification show:
[Autophagic Slime (Basic)
Characteristics: Can engulf other biological tissues, temporarily acquiring some characteristics, and color changes reflect the stability and fusion of the engulfed tissues

Purpose: Excellent blood modulation tester, can intuitively display the modulation effect and stability

(The bloodline limit that the basic type can withstand cannot exceed the silver ring level)
Origin: An experimental creature created by the ancient alchemist Lance
Because of this invention, blood modulation became an independent discipline, bringing endless benefits to the creator.

"I'll buy a culture chamber first and try it out when I get back." Ron decided immediately.

This creature is a perfect training tool for beginners. It can intuitively show the effect and stability of blood modulation, which is much safer and more efficient than blind experiments.

"One ten magic stone fragment." The merchant rubbed his hands and said, after all, he could make some money.

"Nine of them together, seventy. I'll just buy them and try them out. If they don't sell it to me, I'll leave."

Ron used the most unpretentious bargaining skills and pretended to leave.

The businessman frowned and finally agreed:
"Hey... sir, I agree to this price!"

After all, in his eyes, these are nothing more than low-end goods, and being able to sell them is already a profit.

At the time of settlement, Ron only spent a total of one hundred magic stone fragments, and obtained a small mermaid with amazing potential, and nine autophagic slime monsters for blood modulation practice.

Compared with the "top-quality goods" that the merchant initially tried to sell him, which cost hundreds or even thousands of magic stone fragments, the difference was simply the difference between a sky-high price and a bargain.

Of course, in the eyes of businessmen, Ron was nothing more than a fool who didn't understand the market and was reluctant to spend money, and wasted money on some useless things.

When leaving the exchange, the businessman still said goodbye with a smile on his face, but he felt a little speechless in his heart.

"This young apprentice simply doesn't understand the goods. He's choosing those worthless, cheap things over the real treasures. When he tires of these toys, he'll naturally come back to buy a real combat slave."

Ron was holding a special container containing the little siren and the autophagic slime, with a barely perceptible smile on his face.

He couldn't wait to return to the workshop and start his blood modulation experiments.

This time the harvest may be much richer than he expected.

………………

After returning to the workshop, Ron immediately took the newly acquired "experimental materials" into the most hidden laboratory.

"Master, do you need my help preparing anything?" Ailan asked softly at the door, the vines dancing gently.

"Prepare some high-nutrient concentrate, the more the better."

Ron whispered, "Also, if there are any guests visiting during this period, try not to let anyone know of the existence of this laboratory."

Ailan nodded, and the blades drew a line of elegant words in the air: "Understood, Master. I will prepare a special cover formation."

After settling the little siren, Ron began to study the nine autophagic slimes.

Each one is placed in a special glass container, appearing translucent and colloid, like nine huge drops of water, floating quietly in the culture medium.

"Autophagic slime monster." Ron whispered to himself, observing this strange creature intently.

"A great creation of ancient alchemists, created specifically for blood conditioning experiments."

He opened the "Introduction to Bloodline Modulation" borrowed from the school library and carefully read the part about the slime monsters:

".Autophagic oozes are one of the cornerstones of the discipline of bloodline modulation. They can temporarily acquire some of their target's characteristics by devouring biological tissue, and their color changes visually reflect the stability and integration of their bloodline."

"The ooze's color changes follow this pattern: blue represents cold attributes; red represents heat attributes; green represents life attributes; purple represents space or time attributes; black represents rejection or corruption; white represents high stability; and gold represents perfect fusion."

"It was thanks to the invention of this creature that blood modulation was transformed from a dangerous blind experiment into a controllable science. As a result, Alchemist Lance received endless blessings, ultimately breaking through the boundaries and achieving the status of a true great wizard."

(End of this chapter)