Chapter 56: 1 Million Gene Coins, Choose Any Item

Chapter 56: Chapter 56: 1 Million Gene Coins, Choose Any Item

"Watch out!"

The burly figure gave a low shout and lunged forward, charging like a fierce tiger descending a mountain. He carried no other equipment besides a heavy machete. The back of the blade was as wide as a palm, and its edge gleamed with a cold light. As he moved, he carried a ferocious, brutal aura, swinging his blade down in a vicious chop.

"Immovable as a mountain!"

Ji Zhixing did not counterattack. He twirled his long rod, executing the Rock-Solid Staff Technique. The overlapping shadows of the rod carried a heavy, imposing aura, like an unshakeable mountain peak.

The Tide Listening Rod in his hands was over two meters long, while the burly man’s machete was only a bit over a meter. With this disparity in reach, the burly figure couldn’t close the distance at all. Every slash was intercepted early by the Tide Listening Rod, emitting a series of CLANG CLANG CLANG as metal clashed against metal.

However, for some reason, even after failing to break through for a long time, the burly figure did not use his Tiger Roar ability.

"This guy is draining my stamina!" he realized.

Ji Zhixing finally noticed something was wrong after blocking over a dozen consecutive strikes. The opponent was clearly waiting—waiting for him to show fatigue, to grow impatient, to reveal a flaw. His expression shifted. He knew he couldn’t let this continue.

He had stepped onto the stage to win, and to win as many matches as possible. If this war of attrition dragged on, he would consume far too much stamina even if he emerged victorious. With a shift in his thoughts, his staff technique abruptly changed.

"Breaking Army!"

He stepped forward forcefully. The long rod transitioned from a defensive posture to an offensive one in an instant. With a Breaking Army stance, he struck straight toward the burly man’s chest, carrying an indomitable will.

"I was waiting for you to attack!"

A cold light flashed in the burly figure’s eyes. He dodged the rod with a sidestep and simultaneously threw his mouth wide open.

"ROAR!"

A tiger’s roar exploded from his throat. The soundwave felt almost physical, engulfing a ferocious and tyrannical aura as it rushed straight at Ji Zhixing’s face. The piercing, shrill sound caused the air around the arena to tremble. Below the stage, the audience instinctively covered their ears.

After the roar, the burly figure didn’t even look. He slid past Ji Zhixing’s Tide Listening Rod and chopped down with his machete. The strike was fast and ruthless, aimed for a guaranteed hit.

CLANG!

The blade didn’t bite into flesh; instead, it was deflected by Ji Zhixing’s sweeping strike. Immediately after, the long rod spun along the deflected momentum of the blade and viciously slammed into the side of the burly figure’s waist.

BAM!

The burly figure was sent flying sideways. The referee caught him in mid-air, dissipated the force of the blow, and placed him steadily below the stage. After finding his footing, he looked up at Ji Zhixing with a dazed expression.

"How is this possible?" he muttered. His Tiger Roar rarely failed. Among Tier One Cultivators, very few could withstand that bellow.

"Just as I thought!" Ji Zhixing rejoiced inwardly. "My Stone Heart ability, combined with the spiritual will tempered by my three staff techniques, is indeed enough to block his Tiger Roar."

When the roar rushed into his mind, the Stone Heart ability acted like an invisible shield, blocking the vast majority of the impact. The remaining shockwave was like a gentle breeze brushing against his face. He only felt slightly dazed for a split second before regaining absolute clarity.

"Match two, the challenger wins!"

The referee cast a surprised glance at Ji Zhixing before announcing the result loudly.

"He won again!"

"This young man is incredible! That’s two wins in a row!"

"Those two staff techniques he just used—one offensive, one defensive—were absolutely amazing!"

"Awesome!"

"Keep going!"

Enthusiastic cheers erupted from the crowd below. The atmosphere grew increasingly heated. More and more people gathered inside the mall. The corridors on the upper floors were packed with onlookers craning their necks to watch.

Amidst the cheers, the mall immediately sent out the third Defender. This person hadn’t fought yet, so no one knew his abilities. He had a lean build and sharp eyes, and he held a pair of short spikes in his hands.

As soon as the referee signaled the start, Ji Zhixing raised his rod in a Rock-Solid stance, assuming a defensive posture.

SWISH!

The man made his move. With a blur of motion, he appeared right in front of Ji Zhixing, his speed astonishing. Ji Zhixing hurriedly swung his rod to block. In the next second, the man shifted his footwork and slipped around his side like a phantom, thrusting a short spike straight toward Ji Zhixing’s ribs.

"A speed-type Cultivator?"

Ji Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat. Not daring to be the slightest bit careless, he fully exerted his Rock-Solid Staff Technique to maintain a constant defense. The long rod transformed into layers of barriers in his hands, completely blocking all of his opponent’s attacks. Amidst his defense, he tried several times to counterattack using the Breaking Army Staff Technique, but the man dodged every strike with incredible speed.

"This won’t do. If this keeps up, my stamina and gene source power definitely won’t hold out!" Ji Zhixing’s expression was solemn, and sweat was already seeping through his clothes.

Then, right after the man dodged his Tide Listening Rod once again, his staff technique subtly shifted. This time, his strike no longer carried an indomitable momentum. Nor was it immovable as a mountain, giving off a flawless and impenetrable feeling. Instead, the moment the technique was unleashed, the roaring sound of ocean tides echoed across the arena.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

The sound of the tides was sudden and disruptive to the mind. Thrown off by the noise, the Cultivator’s originally swift figure suddenly stagnated, his movements slowing by half a beat.

"An opening!"

Ji Zhixing strode forward. The Tide Listening Rod moved like a Flood Dragon emerging from the sea. With a few consecutive strikes, he forced the Cultivator into a corner with no room to retreat. A final tap of the rod to the chest secured his victory.

"He won again?"

"That’s three matches already!"

"That’s the third staff technique he’s shown, right? Where did this young man come from? Did he really fuse with a Tier One gene?"

Heated discussions broke out below the stage. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on Ji Zhixing, filled with surprise and curiosity.

After winning the match, Ji Zhixing wiped the sweat from his forehead, his breathing slightly ragged. Three consecutive fights had heavily depleted his stamina and source power. With a thought, the gene furnace in his body began to operate, refining a bottle of source power gene potion he had placed inside to accelerate the recovery of his internal source power. This bottle of source power gene potion was one of the two that had dropped when he killed Liu Qing back then.

However, he had only recovered a fraction of his source power before the mall’s fourth Defender stepped straight onto the stage.

Pressing forward indomitably!

This time, instead of defending passively, he chose to take the initiative and attack. The one who had come up was a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man had no weapons. He simply raised his arms, which transformed into a pair of bear paws. Like two shields, they continuously blocked Ji Zhixing’s strikes. It wasn’t until a minute later that he was finally knocked flying by Ji Zhixing’s torrential assault, losing the match.

Then came the fifth match.

And the sixth.

Drenched in sweat, Ji Zhixing secured six consecutive victories.

"To think someone could get a six-win streak, and he’s so young too!"

"Just four more wins and it’s a ten-win streak!"

"How did this guy get so strong? He mastered the Rock-Solid Staff Technique, and now the Tingchao Staff Technique too," Zhou Yuan muttered to himself, standing in the crowd with his phone held high. He had fused with the Sword Arm Mantis Gene and possessed a two-star saber technique talent. Yet, even now, he had only just mastered the basic saber techniques.

At the entrance of the mall, several black cars came to a halt. An elegantly dressed young man stepped out of a vehicle, followed by a few attendants. The mall manager, who had been waiting at the entrance, immediately hurried over to greet him, bowing deeply.

"Young Master, you’ve arrived."

The young man nodded. Just as he was about to head inside, he suddenly heard deafening cheers erupting from within the mall. He paused his steps. "What’s going on? Is the challenge tournament we’re hosting this popular?"

The manager quickly replied, "Our mall is hosting the Glory Challenge today. A very capable young man showed up, and he’s already won six matches in a row."

"Six matches in a row?" A look of surprise appeared on the young man’s face.

"Yes," the manager said, wiping his sweat. "But don’t worry, Young Master. After fighting six matches back-to-back, he’s at his limit. Our people will most likely take him down in the very next match."

The young man’s expression suddenly changed. "Take him down? Why would you do that?"

The manager was stunned.

The young man glared at him and lowered his voice. "Are you an idiot? Six consecutive wins—do you know what that means? If you have someone defeat him now, won’t our hype instantly die out?"

The manager opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words to speak.

The young man continued, "Hurry up and have them stall for time. Give him more time to rest.

"Also, tell the remaining four Defenders to try their best to lose once they get on stage. But they can’t make it obvious; the audience must not see through it.

"If anyone catches on, I won’t let them off easily!

"And another thing," he added after a brief pause, "go motivate that young man. Tell him that if he secures a ten-win streak, our Radiant Mall will double his reward!

"In addition, we will allow him to pick any item worth up to two hundred thousand Gene Coins from the mall."

"This..." The manager looked utterly astonished.

"What do you mean, ’this’?" the young man said impatiently. "The Defenders we picked are all experts. If he can pull off a ten-win streak, imagine the massive amount of traffic it’ll generate once word gets out!

"By doubling his rewards and letting him choose an item for free, it’ll show just how generous our mall is. Won’t our reputation instantly skyrocket?"

He shot the manager a sideways glance. "Even if he fails to get the ten-win streak, we’ll just give him the standard reward. It’s only a few hundred thousand anyway; what’s the big deal?"

The manager nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, of course! I’ll get it done right away!" He pulled out his walkie-talkie, quickly stepped to the side, and began giving orders in a hushed voice.

Back on the stage, Ji Zhixing leaned heavily on his Tide Listening Rod, panting for breath. The recovery speed of the source power gene potion couldn’t keep up with his consumption, leaving him with very little source power remaining in his body. He glanced at the four remaining Defenders below the stage, estimating his limits in his mind. "I’m almost done. If I keep fighting, I can probably win at most one more match."

"Young friend."

Just then, a manager from the mall walked onto the stage, looking at him with a beaming smile. Ji Zhixing furrowed his brows, unsure of what the man intended to do. However, since the other party was giving him time, he naturally took the opportunity to focus on his recovery.

"Young friend, our boss watched your battles and is highly appreciative of your skills," the manager said. "He just sent word: as long as you can win four more matches and achieve a ten-win streak, our mall will double your reward.

"That means your original reward of five hundred thousand Gene Coins will be doubled to one million.

"On top of that, you can choose any item worth up to two hundred thousand Gene Coins from our Radiant Mall and take it home.

"So, what do you think? Do you want to take on the challenge?" The manager spoke very slowly, as if worried Ji Zhixing wouldn’t hear him clearly.

"Double the reward?

"Any item up to two hundred thousand Gene Coins?"

Ji Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat. He never expected that participating in this challenge tournament would yield such incredible benefits.

He felt out his current stamina and gene source power. His eyes flashed as he replied, "Fighting them one by one is too troublesome. I wonder if your mall can let the remaining four come at me all at once?"