With Andrew and the other two guarding outside the study just in case, Chen Mo was finally ready to begin the enhancement of his own body using the Perfect Blood.
He had planned and worked toward this day for years.
Closing the study door, Chen Mo returned to the wide desk and sat down.
Before beginning, he activated his senses, closed his eyes, and carefully probed the surroundings.
Every tiny sound entered his ears.
The steady heartbeat of three people came first — Andrew and the others, posted outside and guarding the study door with their lives.
Other than the three of them, there was no other life around the study.
Alexander Corvinus, who had originally been assigned to stay close to Chen Mo, was now lying weakly in an isolated, reinforced chamber in the back of the castle after having large amounts of blood drawn.
Steel-reinforced concrete walls, plus a thick, specially made steel door — even at his peak, Alexander Corvinus could never escape it easily.
In addition, hundreds of fully armed knights had been deployed — half guarding the main castle where Chen Mo was located, and the rest guarding Alexander's confinement area.
Even if he somehow escaped the room, there was no possibility of breaking through the three-layered defense formed by the entire Knight Order — especially after Andrew and the others had been strengthened by the Perfect Blood.
With their current strength, the three of them working together could give even Alexander Corvinus a hard time.
The arrangements outside were airtight.
Nothing unusual.
Chen Mo opened his eyes and finally began the ritual of strengthening himself.
First, like Andrew had done, he drank a single drop of Perfect Blood.
After swallowing, he waited quietly.
But nothing happened — no changes at all, as if he had swallowed ordinary blood.
The first attempt failed.
Chen Mo did not get angry but sank into deep thought.
After a while, he nodded slightly.
When Andrew and the others drank the Perfect Blood, they evolved almost immediately.
He didn't.
The problem was clearly physiology.
Andrew was a vampire.
Vampires could directly absorb consumed blood, converting it into their own power — even gaining the memories of the blood's owner.
Although Perfect Blood freed them from their dependence on blood, the mechanism was still there.
But Chen Mo was not a vampire.
Even though he was far stronger than any of them, he was still a human being and could not directly convert blood the way vampires did.
That meant he needed a different method — and fortunately, he had already prepared for this.
Opening a drawer, Chen Mo took out glass containers and a set of syringes, specially prepared by the workshop for this day.
His medical knowledge from the school library finally came in handy.
First, he extracted a drop of his own blood and dripped it into a glass dish.
Then he added a drop of Alexander Corvinus's blood.
The two droplets touched, merged, and formed a slightly larger drop.
After some time, Chen Mo stirred it with a glass rod.
The blood separated, then fused again into one single mass.
Confirming that the blood did not coagulate, Chen Mo finally relaxed.
Technically speaking, Chen Mo had blood type AB — the universal recipient.
He could accept any type of blood.
But Perfect Blood was far from ordinary, and Chen Mo didn't dare risk anything without testing first.
Since the mixture did not clot, he could proceed.
Filling a syringe with Perfect Blood, Chen Mo rolled up his left sleeve, exposing the vein at the crook of his elbow.
He positioned the needle, slowly inserted it into the vein, paused briefly, then pushed the plunger, injecting the Perfect Blood little by little.
He moved carefully, ready to stop at the slightest sign of danger.
But clearly, his worries were unnecessary.
As the Perfect Blood entered his bloodstream, he felt a hot current spreading through his veins, reaching his heart.
His heart began to beat faster.
His body heated up — intensely so — but not in a harmful way.
Carried by his powerful heartbeat, the Perfect Blood traveled rapidly through his entire body, and everywhere it passed, the cells began to change.
Genes were reorganizing, evolving toward a more perfect state.
But after finishing the first vial, the feeling gradually weakened — not enough blood.
Without hesitation, Chen Mo injected more Perfect Blood.
The burning sensation returned — this time fiercer than before.
He felt as though his very blood was boiling.
His veins carried molten magma instead of blood.
Wherever the burning current flowed, his body seemed to melt in lava only to condense again into some entirely new substance.
The violent changes brought excruciating pain — worse than when he underwent the Super Soldier Serum enhancement in the Captain America world.
This was gene-deep evolution.
Every nerve, every cell was being rewritten from the inside out.
Drawing on his previous experience and overwhelming willpower, Chen Mo forced himself to remain conscious, slumped in the large chair as sweat poured down like rain.
As more Perfect Blood flowed into him, the agony reached its absolute peak.
Just as Chen Mo was about to pass out, the evolution of every cell in his body finally completed.
His bone marrow began producing new blood, replacing the ordinary human blood in his veins.
A gentle yet powerful warmth surged through his entire body — similar to when he first injected Perfect Blood, but far softer.
Eventually, all the blood circulating through him had been completely replaced by his own Perfect Blood.
Having fused with Alexander Corvinus's Perfect Blood, Chen Mo's body transformed dramatically.
His previously maxed-out physical limits were broken through, granting him a new increase in power.
The improvement wasn't enormous — now seven times that of an ordinary human — but Chen Mo could feel that he had not reached his limits.
The Perfect Blood greatly expanded his potential, and as time passed, he would continue to grow stronger.
As for where the limit was… he had no idea.
Perfect Blood did not merely enhance his physique.
It rewrote his genetics.
His entire body was no longer the same — his potential had become immeasurable.
Chen Mo didn't just receive Perfect Blood…
He now possessed Perfect Blood.
His genes and cells had changed.
His bone marrow now produced Perfect Blood continuously — blood potentially even stronger than Alexander Corvinus's.
Beyond strength and limitless potential, the most important change was:
Chen Mo had gained true immortality.
The Super Soldier Serum slowed aging dramatically but could not stop it completely.
That was why he had arranged for Colonel Phillips and Howard Stark to freeze him periodically to avoid dying of old age while overseeing S.H.I.E.L.D.
But the Perfect Blood was different.
Chen Mo now truly possessed an immortal life.
Time would mean nothing.
He would no longer worry about growing old while spending decades in different movie worlds.
From this moment on, Chen Mo possessed a truly immortal body.
After years of planning, manipulating, searching, and fighting, he had finally obtained everything he desired.
When the process was complete, Chen Mo opened the door and stepped out of the study.
Outside, Andrew, Viktor, and Amelia, who had been standing guard in full alert, immediately turned and bowed.
"My lord!"
"Stand down from high alert. Bring little Selene to me."
"Yes, my lord!"
After the three left, Chen Mo went to the bath.
During the enhancement, sweat had drenched him completely.
His robe clung to his skin uncomfortably — a thorough bath was necessary.
With the maids' assistance, Chen Mo bathed and refreshed himself.
When he returned to the study feeling clear-headed and revitalized, Amelia was already waiting, holding little Selene's hand.
Andrew and Viktor had gone to reorganize the Knight Order, lift the emergency alert, and reassign duties, so they had not returned yet.
Seeing Chen Mo come in, both Amelia and the little girl bowed.
"My lord!"
"Lord of the domain!"
Little Selene stared at him with her big eyes, unsure why the lord had summoned her.
"Selene, come here."
Chen Mo beckoned her.
The little girl toddled forward, craning her neck to look up at the towering figure before her.
"Open your mouth."
Thinking he was giving her something tasty again, Selene obediently opened her mouth wide.
The candies crafted by the workshop were very sweet — one of the few things she could eat besides blood.
But the lord always said children shouldn't eat too much sugar or they'd get cavities.
She was only allowed one piece per day.
No one could disobey the lord's order, so no matter how she pouted or begged Amelia for more, Amelia never gave her another piece.