Chapter 114 - 112: Word Has Spread, Ability Development Successful

Chapter 114: Chapter 112: Word Has Spread, Ability Development Successful

"Is this really okay?" Ji Zhixing looked at Xiao Mingyue in surprise.

Developing two abilities simultaneously—and by sleeping in a bathtub, no less—was something he wouldn’t have dared to imagine before.

"If I say it’s okay, it’s okay," Xiao Mingyue said with a smile, her tone resolute. "Little Life Spring Water is different from other gene-developing potions. It takes effect without needing you to actively refine it.

"Once you lie down inside, your Five-colored Willow Mutant Tree gene will automatically absorb its power.

"As for you... you just need to use the power of the Heart Refining Stone to temper your will.

"Unmoving Stone Heart requires the refinement of the mind, whereas the advanced self-healing ability requires the nourishment of life energy. The two don’t interfere with each other at all, so they can be completely synchronized."

After hearing this, Ji Zhixing immediately felt eager to try. He hadn’t considered developing two abilities at once before, but if it was possible, he certainly didn’t mind giving it a shot.

"Should we start now?"

"Let’s get something to eat first, then we’ll begin," Xiao Mingyue said, pulling him toward the door. "I reckon once you fall asleep, you’ll probably sleep straight through to tomorrow."

"Alright." Ji Zhixing nodded.

The two of them left the villa and headed to the cafeteria. As it was noon, the cafeteria was bustling with people coming and going.

Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue got their food and found a seat by the window. As they ate and chatted, Xiao Mingyue asked about his trip to Yang Man Ni’s office, and Ji Zhixing gave her a brief rundown.

Just then, three figures carrying food trays walked over to them. It was Zhou Han, Tie Shan, and Su Qing.

"Zhixing! Ming Yue!" Su Qing called out from afar, quickening her pace before sitting down beside them.

"You guys are here to eat too?" Xiao Mingyue asked.

"Yeah," Su Qing nodded, though her gaze remained fixed on Ji Zhixing, hesitating to speak.

Noticing her stare, Ji Zhixing looked up. "What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No..." Su Qing hesitated, but couldn’t hold back anymore. "Zhixing, I just heard someone say that you rejected Mr. Liang Jin’s offer to take you as his apprentice?"

Zhou Han and Tie Shan also put down their chopsticks, staring intently at Ji Zhixing as they waited for his answer.

Ji Zhixing was taken aback. "Did the news spread that fast?"

"You have no idea how huge this is," Zhou Han said with an exaggerated expression. "Right now, it’s all over Yu City University’s campus network.

"The forums have exploded. There’s post after post discussing how you refused Mr. Liang Jin’s apprenticeship.

"What on earth were you thinking?" Zhou Han looked at Ji Zhixing with a face full of pity. "That’s a Sixth-rank Blazing Sun Level legacy!"

If he had the chance to obtain such a legacy, there was no way he would ever give it up. Forget about the Sixth-rank; he would risk his life to fight for even a Fourth-rank Morning Star Level legacy. After all, even now, he had yet to hear the voice of his own gene.

Beside him, Tie Shan and Su Qing also wore expressions of pity. They shared Zhou Han’s thoughts, feeling that it was an immense shame for Ji Zhixing to give up the chance to become Liang Jin’s apprentice.

Leaving everything else aside, the help Liang Jin could provide as a Fifth-rank Moonlight Level Gene Practitioner was beyond ordinary imagination. Resources, guidance, connections... these were things ordinary people might never obtain even if they struggled their entire lives.

Hearing this, Ji Zhixing smiled, his tone calm. "It’s simple. My goal isn’t the Sixth-rank Blazing Sun Level."

Zhou Han and the other two fell silent.

They had considered this possibility before coming over. Ji Zhixing rejecting Liang Jin had to be because he had a higher goal. However, hearing him actually say it out loud still made it hard for them to believe.

After all, if his goal wasn’t the Sixth-rank Blazing Sun Level, it had to be the Seventh-rank Glory Level. But at that level, there was only one such person in the entire Yu City Base City.

Ji Zhixing had only fused with a Second-rank gene. Did he truly have that kind of confidence? The confidence that he could grow to that level in the future?

"But that’s the Seventh-rank..." Zhou Han muttered, his tone laced with disbelief.

"I know." Ji Zhixing nodded, offering no further explanation.

Some things couldn’t be clearly explained. People would only believe him when he actually reached that step.

The others shook their heads, deciding not to say anything more. However, they still felt sorry for him in their hearts, thinking he was aiming too high and being unrealistic.

"Alright, let’s eat," Xiao Mingyue spoke up to break the silence. "Everyone has their own path."

Zhou Han, Tie Shan, and Su Qing exchanged glances and quietly lowered their heads to eat.

After finishing their meal, the group went their separate ways. Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue walked back to the villa together.

On the way, Xiao Mingyue tilted her head and asked, "Did something happen today? Otherwise, the news wouldn’t have spread so fast."

His rejection of Mr. Liang Jin’s apprenticeship should have only been known by a few people. Neither Teacher Yang nor Mr. Liang Jin was the type to spread the word.

Ji Zhixing nodded and recounted his encounter with the teacher while he was cultivating at the training ground.

"I see." Xiao Mingyue nodded, understanding the situation. She looked at Ji Zhixing and said earnestly, "You don’t need to care about what others think. Just follow your own ideas from now on. Even if others don’t believe in you, I do."

Ji Zhixing glanced at her and nodded.

Upon returning to the villa, Xiao Mingyue pushed open the bathroom door and pointed at the bathtub filled with a pale blue liquid. "Ready?"

Ji Zhixing looked at the tub of Little Life Spring Water and took a deep breath. "I’m ready."

"Here." Xiao Mingyue went back to the bedroom, retrieved her pillow made of Heart Refining Stone, and handed it to Ji Zhixing.

Ji Zhixing took it and looked down at it. The pillow appeared quite ordinary. Its surface was pure white, smooth and fine, as if polished from jade. But if he stared at it for long enough, it was as if he could see illusions within it—mountains, rivers, stars, clouds, people...

"This is the Heart Refining Stone?" Ji Zhixing asked.

"Yeah. Don’t stare at it for too long, or you’ll get dizzy," Xiao Mingyue reminded him.

Ji Zhixing nodded and averted his gaze.

"Good luck. I won’t go in to watch you bathe," Xiao Mingyue waved at him with a smile, then walked out, closing the door behind her.

Ji Zhixing shook his head and set the pillow aside. He took off his clothes, drew a deep breath, and stepped into the bathtub.

A warm sensation instantly enveloped his entire body. The pale blue liquid seemed almost alive, gently clinging to his skin and slowly seeping into his pores. A gentle and pure surge of life energy poured into his body from all directions, thoroughly relaxing him.

At the same time, the Five-colored Willow Mutant Tree gene within his Gene Aperture trembled softly. Its branches swayed and its leaves unfurled as it began to continuously absorb the power of the Little Life Spring Water from the tub.

"So comfortable..."

Ji Zhixing leaned against the edge of the tub and positioned the Heart Refining Stone Pillow at the backrest. There was a slight indentation there, perfectly catching the pillow and preventing it from sliding down.

As the back of his head rested on the pillow, a cooling sensation immediately flowed out from it, traveling up the back of his head and pouring into his mind. Enveloped in an ever-growing sense of comfort, Ji Zhixing unknowingly drifted off to sleep.

After falling asleep, he felt himself entering one dream after another. The dreams were so real that he couldn’t tell whether they were illusions or reality.

In one dream, he became a beggar. Ragged and unkempt, he curled up in the corner of a ruined temple, his stomach grumbling with hunger. It was the twilight of a dynasty; the world was in chaos, and the people were destitute. The government was corrupt, local tyrants ran rampant, and the commoners were forced into cannibalism just to survive. Witnessing far too much suffering, a fire ignited within his heart. Ultimately, he rose up in rebellion. A single call gathered a million followers, conquering cities and sweeping across the realm. Years later, he overthrew the old regime, established a new dynasty, ascended the throne as Emperor, and ushered in an age of prosperity.

In another dream, he became a one-armed Swordsman. In his youth, his clan was exterminated by enemies, his parents brutally murdered, and he barely escaped with his life, losing an arm in the process. To exact revenge, he painstakingly practiced his Sword Technique for over ten years, braving the elements, leaving countless sword marks on his sharpening stone. In the end, he tracked down his foes. With one man and one sword, he slaughtered his enemies to the last. Though heavily wounded himself, he ultimately became a legendary hero renowned throughout the world.

In yet another dream, he became a scholar. After studying diligently in poverty for decades, he finally topped the imperial examinations, rising to the position of Prime Minister, where he reformed corrupt policies and brought prosperity to the masses.

Dream after dream, lifetime after lifetime.

Those experiences, those emotions, the joys, sorrows, partings, and reunions all flooded his heart. Meanwhile, as he traversed these dreams, the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene in his other Gene Aperture trembled faintly, as if undergoing some kind of metamorphosis.

Time slipped away, and before he knew it, the dawn of the next day had arrived. Ji Zhixing’s eyes moved, his eyelashes fluttering slightly as he slowly awakened from his slumber.

Even after waking, he was still somewhat dazed, as if still immersed in those dreams. Beggar, Swordsman, scholar, general, Healer... the faces and experiences of those people flashed through his mind one by one, feeling like a lifetime ago.

He wondered, "Who... am I?"

He remained disoriented for a second before snapping completely awake.

"Ji Zhixing. I am Ji Zhixing."

He took a deep breath, suppressing the fragments of those dreams. But in the next moment, his heart skipped a beat as he sensed the changes in the two genes within his body.

First was the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene. Listening closely, he soon discovered that his originally Three-star quality Stone Heart ability had genuinely transformed into Four-star quality after this single sleep!

"Unmoving Stone Heart... Four-star!"

An irrepressible wave of joy surged in Ji Zhixing’s heart.

With a heart like an obstinate rock, external demons struggled to invade. A Four-star quality Unmoving Stone Heart meant his resistance against mental attacks had reached a new height. Many Illusion Techniques, mental impacts, and mind-interfering abilities would now have virtually no effect on him.

Next was his Five-colored Willow Mutant Tree gene. Over the course of the night, its self-healing ability had also evolved from a Two-star intermediate self-healing to a Three-star advanced self-healing.

"Advanced self-healing... Three-star!"

He could feel a subtle change deep within his body. His cells were more active, his metabolism was faster, and the repair speed of damaged tissues had drastically increased.

"It actually worked!"

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath and stood up from the tub. He looked down at his body. Despite being submerged all night, his skin showed no signs of pruning. It remained as smooth and firm as before, perhaps even more radiant.

The pale blue liquid in the tub had now become almost completely transparent. All of the life energy had been absorbed by his body. Ji Zhixing stepped out of the bathtub, grabbed a nearby towel to dry off, and put on fresh clothes before pushing open the door and walking out.

In the living room, Xiao Mingyue was sitting on the sofa. Hearing the noise, she looked up, and a smile broke out on her face upon seeing Ji Zhixing emerge.

"How did it go?"

"It worked." Ji Zhixing returned her smile. "Both abilities succeeded. Unmoving Stone Heart, Four-star. Advanced self-healing, Three-star."

"Congratulations!" Xiao Mingyue’s eyes lit up. She stood up and walked over to him. "If you want your Five-colored Willow Mutant Tree gene to continue evolving, you’ll still need to find lightning-attribute power. However, for your Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene, you only need to develop the Super Gigantification ability to reach the Third-rank."

Ji Zhixing nodded, feeling just as expectant. "Almost all of my other abilities have been developed. From now on, I’ll focus entirely on developing the Super Gigantification ability, striving to evolve the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene into the Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene as soon as possible."