Ability Awakening

A crack began to appear in Gu Ding's Innate Gene Lock. Under Sea Emperor's watchful gaze, the crack rapidly widened, and in less than two minutes, the Gene Lock finally shattered completely.

A terrifying surge of energy poured from Gu Ding's Gene Chain, instantly crushing and annihilating the artificially added Sealed Gene Lock.

Gu Ding vaguely heard two sharp cracks and felt as though something within his body had been opened.

"Have I advanced to a Second-Order Gene Body?" Gu Ding could clearly feel every cell in his body frantically dividing and regenerating, each one containing several times more energy than before. The only explanation was that his Gene Lock had been broken and he had advanced to a Second-Order Gene Body, causing drastic changes in both his cellular activity and cellular strength.

The transformation lasted nearly ten minutes before gradually slowing down.

"That's right. Not only have you advanced to a Second-Order Gene Body, but you've also awakened an extremely terrifying ability." As Sea Emperor re-examined Gu Ding's various physical indicators, he discovered that Gu Ding's increase in strength this time was far from insignificant. He brought up the data projection:

Name: Gu Ding

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Gene Level: Second-Order

Special Ability: Second-Order Berserk (Evolvable)

Ability Description: Attack power, defense, speed, and recovery ability increase threefold for ten minutes.

Side Effect: Enters a state of exhaustion for ten hours, with combat power halved.

Cell Comprehensive Index: 100

Mental Strength Index: 98

Combat Talent: B+

Comprehension: A

Gu Ding's Cell Comprehensive Index had increased fivefold, and even his mental strength had risen by more than five times along with it. His first awakened ability had also directly reached Second-Order. Though this was not especially rare, Sea Emperor still felt that something else had to be hidden within Gu Ding's body. According to the records in his database, those born with Gene Shackles could possibly awaken a Fifth-Order ability the first time. At the very least, it should have been Fourth-Order; there had never been one below Third-Order.

Liliath, standing nearby, also saw Gu Ding's data projection. She blinked in surprise. "You're only a Second-Order Gene Body, so how can your Cell Comprehensive Index be as high as 100? The limit for a Second-Order Gene Body is only 30. Even with an unusual physique, reaching 50 would already be terrifying. A Cell Comprehensive Index of 100 is the limit of a Third-Order Gene Body. Anything beyond 100 falls within the range of a Fourth Order Gene Body."

"And your Mental Strength Index is so high too? My mental strength only reached 100 because I inherited a special ability carried in my ancestral genes. But yours naturally grew to 98..."

"Actually, what I'm most satisfied with is this special ability I just awakened." Gu Ding grinned. "Before, I was thinking that if I advanced to a Second-Order Gene Body, the best ability would be one that directly increased my combat power. I didn't expect to actually awaken one that does exactly that."

"Your ability can only be considered ordinary," Sea Emperor muttered under his breath. He had originally held some expectations for Gu Ding's awakened ability, but it had turned out to be only Second-Order Berserk.

Liliath did not offer any evaluation of Gu Ding's ability either. One reason was that her own awakened ability was extremely unique, so there was little basis for comparison. The other was that she had seen quite a few people awaken abilities above Third-Order on their first try. In that regard, Gu Ding was indeed not particularly impressive.

"I think the most practical ability is the best ability for me." Gu Ding gave Sea Emperor this reply. "With a threefold increase in combat power, plus the twofold boost from my armament, and another twofold boost from the fourth level of the Limitless Body Technique, my combat power should at least rival that of someone with a Cell Comprehensive Index of 1,200. That should be enough to take down an ordinary Fifth Order Gene Body. It's just a pity the duration is a bit short."

"Your calculation is correct. Under normal circumstances, a Fifth Order Gene Body has a Cell Comprehensive Index between 300 and 1,000. But don't forget that if your opponent also knows combat techniques or possesses good equipment, their combat power may also be boosted to a certain extent." Sea Emperor reminded him. He felt that Gu Ding was still a long way from becoming a true powerhouse. "Besides, using the fourth level of the Limitless Body Technique with a Cell Comprehensive Index of 100 counts as operating under overload."

"Got it." Gu Ding was still grinning. "No matter what, it's enough to kill those big monsters outside."

"Are you confident you can beat those guys?" Liliath asked with a smile.

"There shouldn't be much of a problem." Gu Ding flashed his trademark grin.

"Do you mean one of them, or all five?" Liliath narrowed her eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

"One is definitely no problem. As for five, I'll have to try before I know." Gu Ding was quite frank. He did not know exactly how strong he had become.

"I can help restrain one and let you fight four at once." Liliath grew a little more serious when she said this.

"It's fine. I'll try first. If I really can't handle it, you can help then." Gu Ding still wanted to test the limits of his strength.

"Alright." Liliath knew that Gu Ding must have some confidence if he said that. Since he was confident he could handle them, there was no need for her to insist on interfering. Thinking that they could enter the shipyard and search for an intact spaceship after killing the five giant beasts, she felt a faint sense of anticipation. "Once we kill these five monsters and find a good ship in the shipyard, we can leave."

"It won't be that simple." Hearing Liliath say that, Gu Ding hesitated briefly before deciding to reveal the truth. "There's another powerful being in the shipyard, at least a Sixth Order Gene Body. These five giant beasts are just minor guards. If it weren't for that beast's orders, they would have slaughtered each other long ago."

"There's a Sixth Order Gene Body hiding in the shipyard?!" Liliath thought she had misheard. "Are you sure?"

She had originally wanted to ask how Gu Ding knew, because she had tried connecting to the shipyard's network, but the scan showed that all the cameras had been destroyed. Since Gu Ding spoke so certainly, he had to be very confident. After thinking it over, she decided not to ask.

"I'm certain. That thing already possesses a certain degree of intelligence, so it probably won't be easy to deal with." Gu Ding voiced his concern as well. "But no matter what, we should kill these guards first."

"I'll still go with you. I'll just watch from a distance, and if you need help, I'll step in." Liliath was also worried that Gu Ding might not be able to handle all five alone.

"Sure. Though I doubt you'll get the chance to make a move." Gu Ding grinned.