Chapter 84: Refining Blood Crystals, Developing the Gigantification Ability

Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Refining Blood Crystals, Developing the Gigantification Ability

Meanwhile, others in the Blood Beast Secret Realm were also looking at the first-day points leaderboard.

"What’s going on? Did the university mess up the rankings? Why does it feel like something’s wrong with the list?"

"What’s wrong with it?"

"Look at the guy in fifth place!"

"Holy crap! What’s this about? Ji Zhixing from Regular Class Twenty-One?"

"Isn’t he that self-recommended student who supposedly offended Gu Zheng from the Genius Class? How did he get on the points leaderboard? And in fifth place, no less?"

"That’s exactly why I said something’s wrong."

Similar conversations echoed in every corner of the Secret Realm. Many people stared at the rankings on the light screen, murmuring among themselves, their faces filled with astonishment. Such a thing had never happened before at Yu City University.

Students in the Genius Class had all integrated Tier Four Morning Star-level genes, which were on a completely different level from regular genes. Even if a non-Genius Class student occasionally surpassed a Genius Class student, they would at best rank in the teens, and typically, those students came from the Elite Class, having integrated Tier Three genes.

But now, Ji Zhixing, a regular class student who had only integrated a Tier Two gene, was actually crushing the majority of the Genius Class students in the rankings. The sensation this caused was simply too massive.

"Look at Gu Zheng’s ranking!" someone suddenly noticed the main point and shouted, pointing at the light screen.

On the screen, a name was clearly displayed in the sixth-place spot.

"Sixth place, Gu Zheng, Genius Class, 39,000 points."

He was suppressed right below Ji Zhixing.

"Haha, Gu Zheng is probably going to die of anger this time!" Many people were highly amused by this sight.

If Gu Zheng had been standing right in front of them, they naturally wouldn’t have dared to show it. But since no one even knew where Gu Zheng was, nobody cared about his feelings. Seeing a Genius Class student like him being suppressed by Ji Zhixing from a regular class even gave many people a sense of schadenfreude.

"To offend Gu Zheng and still be able to suppress him—this Ji Zhixing really has some skills."

"When we first entered the Secret Realm earlier, those guys who were close to Gu Zheng tried to cause trouble for Ji Zhixing, only to end up embarrassing themselves. Now, even Gu Zheng has been suppressed by Ji Zhixing."

Discussions rose and fell in various parts of the Blood Beast Secret Realm, with almost everyone talking about Ji Zhixing.

"How did he do it?" In the valley where the Yu City University students had initially entered the Secret Realm, Huang Yu stared at the leaderboard in the sky, his mind feeling completely numb.

However, even more stunned were Yu Zhirou and Qi Xingzhou standing not far away.

"Ji Zhixing surpassed Gu Zheng?" Yu Zhirou even wondered if she had fallen into some sort of illusion. But even after digging her fingernails into her flesh, she couldn’t wake up from it.

"How is this possible?" Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang, who had just encountered Ji Zhixing not long ago, looked at the leaderboard in the sky and felt a wave of utter disbelief.

Earlier, they had fled at the sight of Ji Zhixing not because they feared him, but because they feared Xiao Mingyue, who was by his side. But now, looking at Ji Zhixing ranked fifth on the leaderboard, the two of them felt a genuine chill. At this moment, Ji Zhixing truly made them feel threatened, like a thorn in their sides.

Meanwhile, deep within the Secret Realm, inside a blood-red forest.

Gu Zheng stood under a large tree, staring up at the light screen in the sky with a livid face. His gaze was fixed on the fifth-place spot, glaring at that name.

"Ji Zhixing..." he gritted his teeth, forcing the name out from between them.

"Fifth place? On what grounds?" He clenched his fists until his knuckles let out loud CRACKING sounds.

Originally, he hadn’t taken Ji Zhixing seriously at all. He had simply planned to dispose of him whenever they crossed paths in the wild. He might not have even needed to do it himself; Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang alone could have handled it. He never expected that Ji Zhixing would actually suppress him on the first-day points leaderboard.

"I have to find a way to get rid of him as soon as possible!" Gu Zheng took a deep breath. Now that many people knew about the conflict between them, and Ji Zhixing had caused such a huge sensation, who knew how many people were secretly laughing at him right now.

On the other side, in front of the tents beneath the cliff, Ji Zhixing’s group returned to their respective tents after their initial excitement subsided. The night wind blew across the cliff, letting out low howling sounds, while a few dim, illusory stars hung in the blood-red sky.

Ji Zhixing crawled into his tent, zipped up the flap, and sat down cross-legged.

"I’m a bit tired today, but I can still hold on," he thought to himself. "I haven’t tested it out since I got the Blood Crystals. Let me first see if I can use them to enhance my Gigantification ability."

"Refine." With a shift in his thoughts, he activated the Gene Furnace.

The Eight Trigrams Map slowly rotated. As time passed, the Blood Crystals inside the Gene Furnace began to disappear one by one. Then, a surge of pure energy poured out of the furnace, flowing first into his limbs and bones before converging into his Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene node.

Ji Zhixing could feel his Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene slowly transforming.

About two or three hours later, after refining over thirty Tier One Blood Crystals, he felt a wave of mental exhaustion and had to stop.

"I can’t go on. My Spiritual Power is about to dry up." He rubbed his temples, his head feeling heavy and groggy. "There’s an improvement, but it’s not huge."

He carefully sensed his Gigantification ability and found that there was indeed a trace of progress, but there was still a long way to go before it could evolve into Super Gigantification.

"Based on these results, I definitely need more Blood Crystals," he calculated inwardly. "However, I can stay in the Secret Realm for ten days. In ten days, if I can reap the same harvest as today every single day, it should be enough. If not, I’ll just have to use my points to keep exchanging for Blood Crystals from the university later."

He stood up, stretched his body after sitting cross-legged for over two hours, lifted the tent flap, and walked out.

The night breeze blew against his face, feeling chilly but refreshing his spirits.

"Hm?" Right then, his gaze shifted, spotting a figure sitting not far away.

It was Xiao Mingyue. Surprisingly, she hadn’t returned to her tent but was sitting on a large boulder beneath the cliff, staring up at the night sky, lost in thought.

"You’re not asleep yet?" Ji Zhixing walked over, sat down beside her, and asked curiously.

Xiao Mingyue turned her head, glanced at him, and smiled. "I just drank a Spiritual Power Recovery Potion, so I can’t sleep."

Ji Zhixing was speechless. A single bottle of Spiritual Power Recovery Potion cost at least ten thousand Gene Coins. For a problem that could be solved simply by sleeping, who in their right mind would drink that for no reason?

"Could it be that you’re feeling down because you only got one Blood Crystal today?" he teased.

"Don’t show me that smug expression." Xiao Mingyue rolled her eyes at him. "Don’t forget you still owe me a lot of money."

Ji Zhixing instantly found himself at a loss for words. He didn’t just owe her money; he owed her a massive favor.

"Why aren’t you asleep either? Aren’t you tired?" Xiao Mingyue asked upon seeing his silence.

"How could I not be tired?" Ji Zhixing said as he rubbed his head. "I just finished cultivating and came out to stretch a bit. I’m going to bed soon."

"Your mind is feeling unwell?" Xiao Mingyue glanced at him, noticing his head-rubbing gesture. Reaching out, she took a potion bottle from her Gene Furnace and handed it over.

The bottle was transparent, containing a pale blue liquid.

"Give it a taste. Gulping down one bottle works better than anything else."

"No way." Ji Zhixing hurriedly waved his hands. "I’m a poor man. I have no use for such a precious thing." A single bottle of Spiritual Power Recovery Potion cost at least ten thousand Gene Coins; he couldn’t bear to waste it.

"Just take it since I’m offering." The corners of Xiao Mingyue’s mouth curled up slightly. "If you don’t take it, how can I ask you for help if something comes up in the future?"

"You’d actually have something you need my help with?" Ji Zhixing smiled. After thinking about it, he reached out and accepted the potion. She was right; he already owed her plenty of favors, so one more wouldn’t make a difference. Plus, his mind really was heavily exhausted right now.

He pulled out the stopper, tilted his head back, and downed the potion. The liquid felt slightly cool as it entered his mouth, carrying a faint sweetness as it slid down his throat. This Spiritual Power Recovery Potion was truly miraculous; with just a bit of refinement, the medicinal properties began to take effect, rapidly restoring his Spiritual Power. The groggy feeling receded like the tide, leaving his thoughts clear and his entire body relaxed.

"I do. But not right now," Xiao Mingyue blinked, answering his previous question. "You’re too weak."

Ji Zhixing was speechless.

"But if you can evolve your gene to the Tier Seven Glory level in the future, you’ll definitely be able to help me," Xiao Mingyue added.

"The requirements are that high?" Ji Zhixing looked at her in astonishment.

Tier Seven Glory level. That was an existence standing at the very pinnacle of humanity. In the entire Yu City Base City, only the Guardian Envoy had reached that level.

"Scared?" Xiao Mingyue raised an eyebrow.

"It’s a bit high," Ji Zhixing glanced at her, "but no problem."

Xiao Mingyue was momentarily stunned before she burst into laughter.

"Then it’s a deal?" She extended her hand, curling it into a fist and reaching out toward him.

Ji Zhixing paused for a second before extending his own fist, bumping it against hers. They pulled back immediately upon contact. Their gazes met in the air for a brief moment before both looked away.

"Alright, get to sleep early," Xiao Mingyue stood up, nodded at Ji Zhixing, and turned to walk into her tent.

Ji Zhixing shook his head and also returned to his tent. However, after getting back inside, he didn’t go to sleep immediately.

"I can’t let that bottle of Spiritual Power Recovery Potion go to waste," he thought to himself. Sitting back down cross-legged, he pondered for a moment before opening a bottle of Source Power Gene Potion and beginning to refine it.

Once the refinement was complete, he went back to refining Blood Crystals, continuing to enhance the quality of his Gigantification ability.

Early the next morning, Ji Zhixing was woken up by an excited shout.

"I’ve broken through and become a Tier Two Genetic Cultivator!"

It was Su Qing’s voice.

Ji Zhixing crawled out of his tent and saw Su Qing standing beneath the cliff, her arms wide open, her entire body exuding a scorching aura. Behind her, the faint phantom of a Flame Spirit Butterfly could be seen.

"Not bad. Now our team has three Tier Two Genetic Cultivators," Xiao Mingyue said with a smile.

"Congratulations." Zhou Han and Tie Shan also walked over, offering their congratulations one after another.

"Su Qing has broken through, but what about Xiao Mingyue?" Ji Zhixing thought, glancing at Xiao Mingyue, who was standing beside Su Qing. "Her genes shouldn’t be too bad. With her wealth, it feels a bit strange that she’s still a Tier One Cultivator even now. However, that’s her private matter, so it’s not polite to ask too many questions."

He stepped forward and smiled at Su Qing. "Congratulations."