Chapter 71: Found a Way

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Found a Way

Inside his dorm room, Ji Zhixing took out a bottle of Source Power Genetic Potion, unplugged the stopper, and downed it in one gulp.

The potion entered his stomach, turning into a warm current that was refined and absorbed by his Genetic Furnace. Over the past few days, he had been refining three bottles of Source Power Genetic Potion daily.

However, even though he felt he was getting closer and closer to breaking through and becoming a Rank-Two Genetic Cultivator, there was still an invisible barrier blocking his path. He knew he had hit a bottleneck. Every major realm breakthrough for a Genetic Cultivator came with the possibility of encountering a bottleneck. Only Cultivators who had fused with higher-tier genes would experience fewer obstacles.

Originally, he thought it wouldn’t be too difficult for him to break through to become a Rank-Two Genetic Cultivator. To his surprise, he found himself stuck right here.

Time flew by, and the morning quickly passed.

At noon, instead of continuing to hole up in his dorm, Ji Zhixing left the building and headed toward the cafeteria. Walking across the campus, the sunlight falling on him brought a wave of comfort.

He thought, "The Light Gathering ability of the Willow Tree gene can absorb sunlight and restore my genetic source power."

Thinking of the Willow Tree gene made him feel a bit helpless.

He pondered, "Both of the Willow Tree gene’s abilities are restorative, and both restore genetic source power. Furthermore, if I want it to evolve into the Five-Colored Willow Tree gene, I need to develop a self-healing ability—which is also restorative."

Shaking his head, Ji Zhixing stepped into the cafeteria. Because it was noon, the place was packed. After getting his food, he searched for a while before finally finding an empty seat.

"Hello, may I sit here?"

He had just sat down and taken a few bites when a tray was suddenly placed on the table across from him.

Ji Zhixing paused. Looking up, he discovered that the newcomer was actually Qin Xiaoran’s cousin, Xiao Mingyue. Today, Xiao Mingyue was still wearing a light white dress, though the style looked slightly different from yesterday’s. Seeing him look up, she gave him a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"Um..."

Ji Zhixing hesitated for a moment. However, considering Qin Xiaoran’s status, she probably wouldn’t be afraid of Gu Zheng. He nodded and said, "Of course. Go ahead."

"What’s that about? Am I that annoying? We’ve met once before, yet you still hesitated when I asked to sit here?"

After sitting down, Xiao Mingyue didn’t start eating immediately. Instead, she stared at Ji Zhixing questioningly. Her voice was pleasant, and she wore a smile as she spoke, clearly just joking around.

"You misunderstood."

Ji Zhixing explained calmly, "I offended someone—a student from the Genius Class. When I came to the university today, I found out that my roommates had all moved out of the dorm to avoid being associated with me.

"So, I was just wondering if you, as Senior Brother Qin’s cousin, might get dragged into this mess by sitting with me."

"A student from the Genius Class?" Xiao Mingyue was taken aback. "Are they really that overbearing?"

Ji Zhixing just smiled.

"Why do I get the feeling you aren’t much affected by this?" Seeing Ji Zhixing’s demeanor, Xiao Mingyue was slightly surprised.

Students in the Genius Class mostly fused with Rank-Four Morning Star-level genes. As for Ji Zhixing, even if his gene had evolved, he currently only possessed a Rank-Two gene. The gap between them was like the difference between heaven and earth. Yet, despite offending such a person, Ji Zhixing seemed to have no worries at all.

"Worrying won’t change anything, will it?"

Ji Zhixing chuckled. "Besides, I’m currently at Yu City University, so naturally, I don’t have to worry about him doing anything.

"As for the future...

"Who knows? Maybe my gene will evolve to Rank-Four someday."

"You’re quite confident."

Xiao Mingyue gave him a surprised look. She could tell that Ji Zhixing wasn’t just talking big; he genuinely possessed that kind of confidence.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, staring at him, she vaguely sensed that he was somewhat different from when they met a few days ago. The difference lay in his aura. During their last encounter, she had sensed a sharp, piercing edge from him. But today, in addition to that sharpness, she also felt a vibrant vitality.

"What’s wrong? Is there something on my face?" Noticing her staring, Ji Zhixing met her gaze and asked.

"Have you... undergone some kind of change over the past two days? I feel like your aura is different. Of course, you don’t have to say anything if it’s a secret," Xiao Mingyue asked as she studied him. She wasn’t the type to hold her questions in, but she naturally wouldn’t pry if Ji Zhixing was unwilling to share.

"A change in my aura?"

Ji Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat. He shook his head and replied, "It’s probably because I fused with a second gene."

"A second gene? You awakened a Dual-Core Genetic Aperture?" Xiao Mingyue was amazed.

Ji Zhixing gave a slight nod.

"Impressive!" Xiao Mingyue gave him a thumbs-up and asked, "Can you tell me what your second gene is?"

"The Willow Tree gene." Ji Zhixing didn’t hide it.

"The Willow Tree gene?" Xiao Mingyue nodded thoughtfully. "Then the abilities you gained after fusing with it must be Rooting and Light Gathering, right?"

"You even know that?" Ji Zhixing was a bit surprised.

Xiao Mingyue said proudly, "I know about most genes. Generally speaking, those two abilities are the most commonly acquired by Cultivators who fuse with the Willow Tree gene."

Ji Zhixing nodded in understanding. He had learned quite a lot of knowledge back in high school, but it clearly couldn’t compare to hers. Thinking of this, an idea suddenly struck him. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," Xiao Mingyue gestured for him to speak.

"Sure," Ji Zhixing said after a moment’s thought. "I want to develop the Four-Star Rock Body ability. This ability can be formed by fusing four lesser abilities: Stone Bone, Stone Tendon, Stone Muscle, and Stone Skin.

"The current situation is that I’ve already developed these four abilities, but I’ve encountered a problem while trying to fuse them into the Rock Body.

"According to the information I gathered from listening to my genes, I either need to comprehend it myself, or put myself under the pressure of a special environment to trigger the development.

"Do you know of any special environments suitable for developing the Rock Body?"

"UMM..." Xiao Mingyue paused, then gave Ji Zhixing a glance. "I have exactly what you need at my place."

"Huh?" Ji Zhixing was taken aback, not quite grasping her meaning.

Xiao Mingyue pointed in the direction of the Yu City University villa district. "I rented a villa over there, and it comes with a Gravity Cultivation Chamber.

"If you want to develop the Rock Body ability, the Gravity Cultivation Chamber is an excellent choice."

What an enviable rich person! Ji Zhixing was completely speechless. He had previously wondered what kind of person would spend two million Genetic Coins per semester just to rent a campus villa. He didn’t expect to meet one so soon.

"Well..." He hesitated before asking, "Other than renting by the semester, do you know if the university’s villas can be rented by the day?"

"PFFT..." Xiao Mingyue couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

"I guess that’s a no," Ji Zhixing shook his head.

He really wanted to develop his Four-Star Rock Body before officially entering the secret realm tomorrow. Every bit of extra strength meant he could reap greater rewards in the secret realm, allowing him to catch up to Gu Zheng and his group that much sooner.

"Hmm..." Seeing Ji Zhixing’s expression, Xiao Mingyue reigned in her smile. "It’s impossible for the university to rent a villa to you by the day.

"But I can.

"You just said your roommates moved out. Does that mean your previously arranged team disbanded too? If so, why don’t you join my team?

"As a team member benefit, I can let you borrow my Gravity Cultivation Chamber."

"Uh..." Ji Zhixing was stunned for a second. "The person I offended is Gu Zheng from the Genius Class, who fused with the Sword Feather Peacock gene. Are you sure you won’t get into trouble for this?"

He was now well aware that after entering the Blood Beast Secret Realm, the only way to obtain Blood Crystals was to kill Blood Beasts and then refine them with his Genetic Furnace. If he wanted to acquire a large number of Blood Crystals to upgrade his Gigantification ability to Super Gigantification, he had to kill as many Blood Beasts as possible. However, fighting alone was definitely far less efficient than working with a team, not to mention far more dangerous.

"If there are any problems, I can just find my cousin. He’ll take care of it," Xiao Mingyue smiled.

"Thank you so much," Ji Zhixing expressed his gratitude.

He knew she was just joking when she mentioned ’team member benefits.’ After all, with her wealth, who couldn’t she find if she wanted a teammate?

"Let’s eat, then. I’ll take you over there once we’re done." Xiao Mingyue picked up her chopsticks.

The reason she was lending the Gravity Cultivation Chamber to Ji Zhixing was partly because she found him pleasant to look at, and partly out of curiosity. She had heard from Qin Xiaoran that Ji Zhixing had only recently completed his genetic evolution. To be able to hear the voice of the genes right after evolving... and to develop several genetic abilities in such a short span of time... He was even planning to fuse them into a four-star genetic ability! If anyone else had told her this, she would have thought they were crazy. But when Ji Zhixing spoke just now, she could clearly feel his earnestness.

She thought, "This kind of talent..."

Xiao Mingyue’s heart stirred, and she cast a few more scrutinizing glances at him.

"By the way, since we’re forming a team, could you tell me what gene you fused with and what abilities you have?" Ji Zhixing asked as he looked up after taking a few bites of his meal.

"I can’t tell you what my gene is," Xiao Mingyue replied with an apologetic expression. "But I can talk about my abilities. I possess the Enveloping Wind ability, which allows me to cast speed boosts on myself and others.

"I also have a few pieces of Genetic Equipment. Some come with offensive skills, and others have defensive skills..."

Ji Zhixing listened intently. He was slightly surprised that Xiao Mingyue refused to disclose her gene, but he didn’t mind. Such things were a matter of personal privacy, after all. If others didn’t want to talk about it, he naturally wouldn’t force them. He just silently guessed that the gene she had fused with might be extremely special. He just didn’t know what rank it was.

"Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Gravity Cultivation Chamber."

After finishing her meal and noticing Ji Zhixing’s expectant gaze, Xiao Mingyue smiled. She put away her tray and walked out of the cafeteria with him, heading straight for her villa.

*(Today’s baseline of five Chapters and 15,000 words is complete. I’ll check the stats tomorrow and try to figure out a way to release some bonus Chapters.)*