Taking Private Customization

Lin Zhen smiled and nodded. "Although this Private Customization carries a huge risk, Brother Zhao, please trust me. I'm sure I can get through this."

Zhao Liang nodded as well. "If you're really that confident, then that's wonderful news. Private Customization can raise your physical fitness by at least seventy percent. If you're lucky, exceeding eighty percent isn't impossible. If you improve by eighty percent, Lin Zhen, your strength may very well reach Level Seven Initial—at the very least, the late stage of Level Six Warrior."

"I think so too. Oh, right, Brother Zhao, I want the last First Class Student slot."

"If you succeed, I can make the decision to give you that final First Class Student slot. Lin Zhen, First Class Students not only get a seven-percent discount and a monthly salary percentage; more importantly, the Martial Hall's Hunting Squads will soon be recruiting students from this batch. First Class Students will definitely be fought over by good teams then. If you join a good Hunting Squad, our lives as Martial Artists will be secure. You'll hunt monsters and make money until your hands go numb."

"Hehe! Of course that would be great. Brother Zhao, I'm going to optimize now."

"Go on. Good luck!"

Hearing that Lin Zhen was going to undergo Gene Optimization first, many students gathered around.

If Lin Zhen succeeded, he would become the first Second Class Student in the Martial Hall to complete optimization, and the First Class Student slot would undoubtedly be his.

Even Shen Tuohua and Fu Chengya came over. In their eyes, Lin Zhen posed some threat to their standing, and they both wanted to see his Optimization Result. If Lin Zhen's result proved unsatisfactory, then even if he was given a First Class Student slot, he would not threaten them.

Lin Zhen completely ignored the people around him and walked into a small room.

There was only a wooden bed in the room, along with a clock on the wall for timing. Lin Zhen sat cross-legged on the bed and took out the Gene Potion.

"This Gene Potion was mixed according to the proportions I tested in my previous life. At my current age, its ingredients can be considered the most suitable possible."

"According to interstellar testing methods, after taking a privately customized Gene Potion, the starting point for improvement is ninety percent. As for how far above ninety percent it reaches, that depends on luck. I hope my luck isn't too bad."

Lin Zhen did not think his luck was bad. Even if it had been, that was in his previous life. If his luck were truly bad, how could he have encountered something as rare as a Cosmic Black Hole and been reborn?

Thus, he was brimming with confidence in this bottle of potion.

He swallowed it in one gulp, and the potion began to take effect within his body.

His genes changed, but that did not mean he was no longer human. Rather, the cells in his body began rapidly dividing, reorganizing, and strengthening, becoming even more vibrant with life.

Gene Optimization was an extremely crucial step. Without Gene Serum, humans could only train themselves to the level of Level Four or Level Five Warriors at most. Only when Gene Serum entered the body and transformed human cells could Martial Artists continue advancing.

After the first optimization, Martial Artists could not absorb all the medicinal power. Some remained in the body. The better the first Optimization Result, the easier future advancement would be. It was the best chance to widen the gap between oneself and other Martial Artists, which was why people placed such importance on the first Optimization Result.

Lin Zhen had undergone Gene Optimization once in his previous life, but it had been far less exhilarating than this time. It felt like someone who had not drunk a drop of water for a long time, who had become shriveled from thirst, suddenly soaking in a bathtub filled with nutrient solution. Every cell in his body cried out in delight as strength spread through him.

"What a powerful feeling. I can clearly feel my strength increasing. My body's toughness and flexibility have both improved enormously. This is an all-around enhancement. I succeeded!"

He did not know how long the process lasted. Only when the last cell had been strengthened did Lin Zhen slowly open his eyes.

He looked up at the clock on the wall and froze. Forty-five minutes had actually passed!

The Gene Enhancement process was normally completed within half an hour. Even exceptional enhancement took only a little over thirty minutes.

In his previous life, his Gene Optimization had taken only fifteen minutes. This time, it had taken a full three times as long!

"It looks like this optimization had an excellent result. I hope it gives me a surprise."

Lin Zhen stood and walked out of the small room.

The moment he stepped outside, a burst of commotion erupted.

Fu Chengya was the first to confront him. The First Class Student looked at Lin Zhen disdainfully. "Lin Zhen, what the hell were you doing? Don't you know there are so many people waiting outside? You deliberately dawdled in there for forty-five minutes. What were you doing?"

"I was optimizing."

"Pah! Who are you trying to fool? Does optimization take forty-five minutes? My Optimization Result was Good, and it took less than twenty minutes. Even if yours was Excellent, it wouldn't take thirty minutes, would it? You did it on purpose, just putting on an act!"

Shen Tuohua also looked disdainful. "Lin Zhen, there should be a limit to your act. You're only a Second Class Student. Even if you performed well at the bar last time, that was only because I wasn't there. A Second Class Student should be grateful just to receive a Good rating. Don't tell me you got Excellent."

Fu Chengya continued, "Maybe he got a Poor rating and was too ashamed to face anyone, so he deliberately dragged things out in the room."

Because of the bar fight, he was still jealous of Lin Zhen and always wanted to put him down.

Lin Zhen looked at the two First Class Students. "You both say I was deliberately wasting time. But if I wasn't, what will the two of you do?"

"Pah! How will you prove it?"

"I naturally have my methods. If I can't prove it, I'll give each of you five million. But if I can prove it, do you dare each lose five million to me?"

Fu Chengya and Shen Tuohua exchanged glances, both feeling uncertain.

One of them came from No. 1 Middle School and the other from Second High School. Both were elite schools, and the two of them were fairly wealthy. But they had also spent plenty buying cultivation techniques and weapons. Unlike Lin Zhen, who had received a free twenty-million reward from the Martial Hall, they did not have much money on hand.

Still, neither of them believed Gene Optimization could take forty-five minutes. Especially in front of so many students, would refusing not be humiliating?

"I'll bet with you. Since you want to hand over money willingly, I, Fu Chengya, have no reason to refuse."

"A bet it is. Everyone here can serve as witnesses. Lin Zhen, you can't back out if you lose."

With the wager settled, Lin Zhen sneered at the two of them. "You don't know this yet, do you? I took a privately customized Gene Potion."

"Private Customization!"

Everyone drew in a sharp breath.

Zhao Liang had not told anyone that Lin Zhen was using a privately customized potion. If he had taken Private Customization, then taking more than half an hour was indeed possible.

After all, once Private Customization succeeded, its transformation effect would be at least seventy percent, so it would naturally take longer.

Seventy percent! If Lin Zhen succeeded, would he not become the number one student in the Martial Hall?

"Y-you succeeded?" Shen Tuohua and Fu Chengya asked in unison.

"Do I look like I failed?" Lin Zhen countered, then strode directly toward the Punch Power Tester.

The students behind him surged after him. Even some passing Martial Artists stopped to watch what was happening.

If Lin Zhen succeeded, Martial Artists would likely come to recruit him into their squads. After all, a successful Private Customization was truly rare.

In fact, the Martial Artist squads from Raging Wind Martial Hall that ventured out to hunt had already begun watching this batch of students.

Casualties in the Wilderness Area were perfectly normal, and even entire squads being wiped out happened from time to time. Many squads were short-handed. After these students took Gene Potions, their strength would improve rapidly. After being taken to the Wilderness Area for a period of training, they would become capable hands. Some outstanding students had already entered the sights of these Martial Artist squads.

Lin Zhen was one of them. Now that news of his taking Private Customization had spread, many Martial Artists appeared to watch his performance. Some had even taken out their phones, ready to record it.