Chapter 186 - 159: Did One Sickle Just Harvest Everything?

Chapter 186: Chapter 159: Did One Sickle Just Harvest Everything?

"Mist Tree Fruits?"

Just as Ji Zhixing was about to take all the Mist Tree Fruits out of his arms, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him. Two figures walked over, one after the other. It was the female teacher from Feng City University and the male teacher from Yun City University. They had clearly been attracted by the commotion here.

The female teacher from Feng City University was tall, her long hair tied into a ponytail. With a longsword hanging at her waist, she looked like an unsheathed blade. Meanwhile, the male teacher from Yun City University was burly and had a resolute face. Dressed in a dark martial arts outfit, he exuded a steady, imposing aura.

As the two approached, their eyes fell on the Mist Tree Fruits in Ji Zhixing’s hands, both revealing looks of astonishment.

"Where did you get these?" the male teacher from Yun City University asked Ji Zhixing. "Has Mist Valley been conquered by Lu Xinghe and the others? Or did something unexpected happen over there, and you got a lucky break?"

His tone was filled with surprise. As far as he knew, Mist Valley had been occupied by Lu Xinghe, Cao Zhenxing, Gongye Zhou, and Yu Mengdie. No one else could even get close. For Ji Zhixing to get his hands on the Mist Tree Fruits, the only possibility was that an accident had occurred in the valley, allowing him to reap the benefits.

Although the female teacher from Feng City University didn’t say anything, she also looked toward Ji Zhixing. Evidently, she shared the same thought. The only thing they didn’t understand was what kind of accident could have happened in Mist Valley that even Lu Xinghe’s group of four couldn’t control.

Hearing this, Ji Zhixing paused slightly before replying calmly, "Nothing unexpected happened, really. It’s just that when I went over, they didn’t spot me, so I secretly picked some extra Mist Tree Fruits to bring back."

After speaking, he directly pulled out the rest of the Mist Tree Fruits he possessed. These fruits were very light, each the size of cotton candy. As he took them out of his Genetic Melting Furnace, they suspended in midair, clustering together like a massive cotton cloud. A full hundred or so Mist Tree Fruits gathered and floated in the air, looking incredibly spectacular.

"This is..."

Bai Yuan, who initially had an indifferent expression, felt his pupils constrict sharply at the sight. He swept his Spiritual Power over them, and a number instantly surfaced in his mind: one hundred and twelve. This amount accounted for over eighty percent of all the Mist Tree Fruits in Mist Valley.

If Ji Zhixing had only obtained one or two, he could still understand it. That would likely just be good luck, picking up a bargain. But one hundred and twelve... That was no longer just a lucky break. It was akin to taking a sickle and harvesting a crop that someone else had painstakingly cultivated for days.

"What’s going on? So many Mist Tree Fruits? Where are Lu Xinghe and the others? Are they completely useless? They spent days on end at Mist Valley—what on earth were they doing? To actually let Ji Zhixing snatch the prize right from under them!"

Meanwhile, the expression on the Yun City University male teacher’s face froze entirely. He couldn’t wrap his head around how Ji Zhixing had managed it. He had always been very satisfied with Lu Xinghe from his university, considering him the most outstanding genius of his cohort, bar none. But now, the Mist Tree Fruits that Lu Xinghe and three peer-level geniuses had failed to secure after days of hard work had been secretly harvested by Ji Zhixing alone—taking over eighty percent of them, no less. This made him feel rather embarrassed.

The Feng City University female teacher’s expression wasn’t very pretty, either. Gongye Zhou and Yu Mengdie were both students from her university, yet they had been repeatedly outsmarted by a student from Yu City University’s elite class.

"A total of one hundred and twelve Mist Tree Fruits. They can be exchanged for 11.2 million points," Bai Yuan finally regained his senses and spoke to Ji Zhixing.

"Thank you, Teacher Bai. Please exchange all of these into points for me," Ji Zhixing said.

Bai Yuan nodded, gathering up the floating Mist Tree Fruits. After storing them away, he couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer and asked, "Can you tell me how you got your hands on so many Mist Tree Fruits?"

He was truly curious. He knew exactly what the situation was like in Mist Valley. Moreover, with Lu Xinghe’s group of four standing guard, how did Ji Zhixing get in? And how did he pick so many Mist Tree Fruits right under their noses?

"I developed my Size Manipulation gene ability," Ji Zhixing replied openly.

Since Lu Xinghe and the others had seen him use the ability in Mist Valley, he couldn’t hide it even if he wanted to. Rather than having others guess endlessly, it was better to just say it outright.

"Size Manipulation? You actually developed it?" Bai Yuan’s pupils shrank slightly upon hearing this.

The Size Manipulation gene ability was a five-star quality gene ability. He had originally thought that even if Ji Zhixing exchanged for all twenty bottles of the Size Manipulation gene potions the school had requisitioned, or even another twenty bottles in the future, he still likely wouldn’t be able to develop the ability. He hadn’t expected the young man to actually succeed. And with only fifteen bottles of the gene development potion exchanged, no less! This proved that Ji Zhixing indeed had a talent for this—a very high level of talent, in fact.

He thought to himself, "A Tier-3 Gene, yet he developed a five-star quality gene ability... Could this kid really evolve his gene into a Morning Star-grade gene?"

He had also been a student at Yu City University in the past, and he had even fused with a Tier-4 Gene. Only after so many years of hard work had he managed to bring his Tier-4 Gene to the verge of evolution. He had been quite proud of himself, but compared to Ji Zhixing, he felt that his thirty-odd years of life had completely gone to waste.

"Not bad," Bai Yuan nodded, then said no more.

"The Size Manipulation gene ability?" Hearing Ji Zhixing’s words, the female teacher from Feng City University and the male teacher from Yun City University also realized what had happened. They finally knew how he had pulled it off.

But upon realizing it, the two exchanged a glance, both seeing the astonishment in each other’s eyes. The Size Manipulation gene ability was a five-star quality gene ability. Ji Zhixing, a Cultivator who had merely fused with a Tier-3 Gene, had actually developed a five-star quality gene ability?

"No wonder he managed to make Gongye Zhou and Yu Mengdie eat dirt several times. It seems his compatibility with his gene is truly incredibly high," the female teacher from Feng City University thought, taking another look at Ji Zhixing and raising her evaluation of him a few notches.

"Teacher Bai, I’ll take my leave now."

Ignoring the gazes of the other two teachers, Ji Zhixing bid Bai Yuan farewell and turned to walk toward his tent.

At that moment, Xiao Mingyue was sitting outside the tent, reading a book in her hands. Wearing a white dress with her long hair draped casually over her shoulders, she looked peaceful and beautiful. Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Ji Zhixing returning from Bai Yuan’s direction. Her eyes instantly lit up. She quickly put away her book, stood up, and looked at him, asking expectantly, "How did it go?"

"I got them," Ji Zhixing said with a smile. "Just a little flaw, though. There were over a hundred Mist Tree Fruits in Mist Valley; I picked one hundred and twelve, but there were still twenty or thirty left that I couldn’t get my hands on." He then recounted the details of what had happened to Xiao Mingyue.

"Mist Tree Fruits?" Xiao Mingyue thought for a moment after listening, seemingly guessing what Ji Zhixing was talking about. She asked, "How many points is one of the Mist Tree Fruits you mentioned? A hundred thousand points?"

"Yes, a hundred thousand points each," Ji Zhixing nodded.

"A hundred thousand points... That means you earned over 11 million points this time!" A joyful expression appeared on Xiao Mingyue’s face. "With these points, plus the ones you have left, it should temporarily be enough for you to develop the Innate Stone Embryo ability."

After spending these past few days together, she already knew that Ji Zhixing generally consumed fewer resources when developing various abilities compared to others. With the points currently in his hands, he might truly be able to develop the Innate Stone Embryo ability. Even if it wasn’t enough, it shouldn’t be too far off.

"I feel it’s about right, too," Ji Zhixing nodded. "The Spirit Ruins Treasure Land expedition should be ending soon. Once we return to the university, I’ll figure out a way to develop the Innate Stone Embryo ability."

Right now, he was only one condition away from evolving his Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene into the Ruyi Stone Monkey gene. He was also on the verge of upgrading his Bedrock Physique ability into the Innate Stone Embryo ability.

Once the Innate Stone Embryo ability was developed, his Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene could evolve into the Morning Star-grade Ruyi Stone Monkey gene. If he could evolve his gene to Tier-4, the status and treatment he would receive would be completely different from what he had now.

He thought to himself, "Soon..." A trace of anticipation flashed in his eyes.

SWISH!

Right at that moment, accompanied by a ripple in space, a figure flashed not far away, and Xu Cheng appeared in the clearing. Seeing Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue, Xu Cheng immediately walked over to greet them. "Ji Zhixing, didn’t you say yesterday that you were going out today? Why are you still here?"

"I did go out," Ji Zhixing shook his head. "I just got back as well."

"You went out?" Xu Cheng glanced at Ji Zhixing in surprise. However, he didn’t ask further, simply assuming that Ji Zhixing had just gone out for a stroll and returned empty-handed. After all, the treasures in the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land were almost entirely depleted by now, and most people wouldn’t manage to scrounge up anything even if they went out for the whole day.

"What about you?" Ji Zhixing asked Xu Cheng. "Why are you back so early today?"

"Don’t even mention it!" Hearing this, an expression of sheer bad luck immediately appeared on Xu Cheng’s face.

"When I was outside just now, I ran into Gongye Zhou from Feng City University. The guy looked furious, acting like a complete lunatic, though who knows what kind of awful thing happened to him.

"My guess is that he, Lu Xinghe, and the others attacked Mist Valley, but they ended up fighting internally over uneven distribution of the loot. Then he saw me, knew we had a good relationship, and wanted to take his anger out on me.

"It’s bloody ridiculous! How could I possibly be his match? Before he could even get close, I just teleported straight back." After Xu Cheng finished speaking, he couldn’t help but curse a few more times.