The mutation process lasted significantly longer this time, continuing for over an hour. It wasn't until nearly two hours had passed that the strengthening of the thirteen survivors stabilized.
The one that surprised Qi Ping the most was the fifty-first drone—the one that had snatched the last portion of the potion. Not only had it survived the high-mortality first two stages, but it had also evolved a characteristic no other drone had: wings!
Currently, its wings were so transparent they were nearly invisible. However, looking closely with divine sense, one could feel a super-strong resilience and a terrifying sense of sharpness. The danger it radiated was the strongest among them!
Qi Ping was no longer a novice. With the constant supply of honey, his cultivation was steadily approaching the Qi Refinement Fourth Layer. Combined with his Barkskin and Wood Shield Art, he was quite sturdy. Yet, this single drone, which hadn't even finished its breakthrough, gave him a profound sense of threat.
While he was delighted, Qi Ping secretly prayed it would survive the final rank advancement.
Aside from this wing-mutated drone, among the other twelve, five had bloated bodies and stomachs. Four had achieved a balanced strengthening, with slightly more pronounced mandibles. Two had massive tail stingers. And finally, one was entirely enveloped in a blood-red light.
Five types of survivors had made it past the second stage.
In the Demon Insect manual, bloated bodies and large stomachs were usually stress-induced mutations meant to prevent the violent energy from bursting the body. These mutations were generally useless, and such "Pot-bellied Bees" usually died during the rank advancement. Thus, Qi Ping held little hope for them.
The "Balanced Bees" were decent. Though they lacked standout features, they retained the base characteristics of the Golden Marrow Bees—the safest evolutionary path.
The tail-stinger drones likely represented toxic strengthening. Qi Ping liked this; if you can't win a fair fight, use poison!
As for the one wrapped in blood-red light, Qi Ping couldn't understand it. Such cases were rare. Since it was still mutating, it couldn't communicate, so he remained in the dark about its status.
"I hope at least a third of these thirteen can succeed!"
According to the recipe's description, if three or four out of a hundred insects succeeded, it was considered a good result. If four or five of his thirteen could finish the rank-up, it would be a phenomenal success rate.
Actually, having thirteen out of fifty-one reach this stage was already much higher than the manual's probability. Qi Ping estimated that Beast King's Grace played a major role. Furthermore, these bees had been eating honey made from Blood Ginseng, giving them a high compatibility with the Bloodline Mutation Potion.
Another hour passed. As the final results drew near, Qi Ping became increasingly restless. Even the fifteen hundred bees on the periphery fell into a similar state of tension.
Under the gaze of so many, the thirteen drones finally began their final advancement! Once they passed this, they would be First-tier Late-stage spirit beasts.
Simultaneously, their auras reached the limit of the Mid-stage. Then, thirteen late-stage auras began to rise one by one.
It had begun!
However, shortly after the process started, one Pot-bellied Bee couldn't handle the pressure and exploded with a "bang." Qi Ping had expected this; they were essentially failed mutations.
After the first, the second, third, and fourth Pot-bellied Bees all failed and burst. Just as Qi Ping thought the last one would also fail, it managed to persevere. He gave it a few extra looks.
For a while, there were no more deaths, and Qi Ping's nerves relaxed slightly. "Good! It looks like things are going well!"
But before he could fully relax, four more explosions made his heart sink. Two of the four Balanced Bees had failed. Worse, both toxic-stinger bees—which Qi Ping had high hopes for—also failed.
His dream of a toxic bee army was shattered. He felt terrible.
Misfortunes never come alone. Soon after, the mysterious blood-red drone also exploded. This final bang made Qi Ping feel utterly miserable. He had been so curious about that one!
However, he found some comfort when no further failures occurred. Eventually, four perfect, stable First-tier Late-stage auras rose into the air!
"The remaining four finally succeeded..."
His heart finally settled. It was done! Usually, three or four out of a hundred was good. Four out of fifty-one was an excellent success rate. Even though he mourned the loss of the toxic and blood-red bees, he was satisfied.
"At least the fifty-first drone with the wings succeeded!"
This was his greatest joy. That bee was clearly the strongest in terms of combat power. Its wing mutation undoubtedly brought extreme speed; he hadn't forgotten how it had shot past the hive like a bolt of lightning earlier.
"Two Balanced Bees succeeded, which is also good!"
Balanced Bees had the best foundation for future mutations.
"But what is with this Pot-bellied Bee? Didn't the manual say this mutation almost never succeeds?"
That was his biggest mystery. After observing it for a while, he realized it was different from the descriptions.
'In the records, a Pot-bellied mutation is a localized deformity that has no combat value and cannot break through. But while this one looks similar, its body has a strange sense of coordination and flow. Most importantly... it actually succeeded.'