Another Breakthrough Outside the City

A slender woman stepped out from the crowd of people organizing their gear in front of the mechas, wearing a tight-fitting suit of red and black armor that wrapped snugly around her entire body.

She walked over and stopped in front of Yuan, reaching up to tap her faceplate to reveal a delicate and stunningly beautiful face. She pointed a finger at the Action Mecha beside her and said with an indifferent expression, "Do you know how to pilot a mecha?"

Yuan replied nonchalantly, "I do. I've piloted a Training Mecha at the Martial Arts Hall."

"That's good enough. I'll have someone teach you how to operate this Action Mecha; it's very simple." She turned and walked toward the group organizing their gear, signaling for Yuan to follow.

"I am the captain of this Scavenger Team, Jona Guila. Although No. 3 Main Mine isn't far from the Tuka Tribe, you must follow my commands throughout the entire journey, understand?"

"Understood, Captain! No problem, Captain!" Yuan feigned the excitement of someone leaving the city for the first time, acting like a sycophant slightly infatuated with his beautiful captain while observing the people at the scene.

Jona clearly felt that Yuan's reaction upon seeing her face was only natural. Hmph, men!

She called over a team member who looked very honest and simple-minded to explain the controls of the Action Mecha to Yuan, then turned back to continue packing her own gear.

The annoying voice of Purple Crystal rang out in Yuan's mind once again: "You're acting suspicious!"

While familiarizing himself with the Action Mecha's controls according to the team member's instructions, Yuan replied in his Consciousness Sea, "What's suspicious about me? Of course I'm going to react when I see a beauty! This is called a disguise, get it?"

Purple Crystal sneered, "Do you really think the people behind the scenes who went through so much trouble to lure you out of the city would be stupid enough not to plant a few moles in this Scavenger Team?"

"You're winking at a blind man; it's a total waste of effort, hahaha!"

Yuan: "..." (Handsome guy speechless.jpg)

"The team member in front of you looks like an Earth Rank, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" Yuan asked, feeling strange.

Purple Crystal's voice became even more brazen: "He is actually an incredibly powerful warrior who has stepped into the threshold of the Origin Laws at the Sky Rank (Universe Rank). Killing a newbie Earth Rank Level 1 Spirit Reader like you would only take the flick of a finger!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan nearly fell off the seat of the Action Mecha. The honest-looking team member even asked with concern, "What's wrong, little brother?"

Yuan struggled to squeeze out a slightly awkward smile: "Nothing, brother. Please, continue. I'm a bit nervous since it's my first time leaving the city!"

"Don't worry, little brother. There are plenty of Patrol Mecha on the way to the mine, and with us brothers looking out for you, it's very safe!" The honest team member patted his chest to reassure him, looking exactly like an ordinary Earth Rank Level 9.

Yuan thanked him profusely on the surface while roaring internally: "I'm only an Earth Rank Level 1. I'll be finished the moment I step out of the city gate. How could I possibly escape before reaching the mine!"

"Don't worry, they are afraid of alerting me prematurely, so they won't make a move on you until we get close to the mine!" Purple Crystal assured him.

"Hurry up and think of a way! How are we supposed to leave the Scavenger Team?" Yuan demanded.

Purple Crystal answered with annoying nonchalance: "Think of a way yourself; consider it a test! My power cannot be easily used until the forces behind this reveal themselves!"

Yuan, conversely, stopped being angry: "Are you kidding me? How could the speed of a mecha possibly outfly a Sky Rank who can fly freely!"

Yuan tried to mimic Purple Crystal's nonchalant tone and continued: "I might as well surrender now and just defect to them. I'll ask them to perform a lobotomy on me!"

"I'm a genius who has grasped a Conception, anyway. They won't kill me!"

Purple Crystal sneered: "Hahaha, keep dreaming! In order to make you break through to the Earth Rank without alerting me so you'd leave the city, they used a drop of 'Mandala Liquid'!"

"That's what allowed you to grasp a Conception and step directly into being an Earth Rank Spirit Reader. However, those idiots underestimated my existence!"

"I stepped in and absorbed eighty percent of the 'Mandala Liquid.' With such a huge disturbance, how could I not have noticed?"

"That 'Mandala Liquid' costs three trillion Credit Points a drop! Those idiots are probably wishing they could kill you a hundred times over to vent their anger!"

Yuan felt a bit dazed: Three trillion. At his dad's monthly salary of ten thousand Credit Points, how many years would he have to work...

Yuan decisively stood up, bypassed the honest team member, and shouted toward Captain Jona: "Captain~ I have something to tell you. Actually..."

"Alright, alright, I'm afraid of you. Once we get out of the city gate, I'll help you trigger your Genetic Origin Energy so your warrior strength also breaks through to the Earth Rank. That way, I can use your Conception to exert a tiny bit of my own strength to help us escape!"

"You're a lucky kid! Just wait and feel how I utilize your Conception later!"

Thus, Yuan paused for a moment and continued to Jona: "Actually... actually, you look really beautiful. You're the prettiest big sister I've ever seen!"

The crowd burst into laughter, clearly not very afraid of this Flying Star Rank captain who was the strongest on the surface.

Jona's face darkened. So what if he's handsome? He's weak and has a loose tongue.

She was just about to stand up and teach Yuan a lesson, but remembering the mission, she had to suppress her anger, gritting her teeth as she said, "Then I really must thank you!"

"You're welcome!"

The conversation between Yuan and Purple Crystal, while long in description, actually happened very quickly. Yuan had only been in the team for five minutes when everyone finished packing their gear, loaded it behind the mechas, and marched out of the city gate.

As they crossed the gate, the noisy Purple Crystal was uncharacteristically quiet. Yuan, having lived for eighteen years and leaving the city for the first time, was able to fully immerse himself in experiencing the world outside.

Due to the proximity to the mine where geological shifts were violent, combined with the regular clearing of Desolate Beasts near the city.

Even with the abundant Universe Energy, the wilderness outside the city couldn't grow much vegetation, appearing very desolate and bleak.

It formed a stark contrast to the technologically advanced Isis Race city on the other side. Occasionally, one could see colorful Desolate Beast blood, fur, and bone fragments scattered on the gravel, emitting a faint, bloody stench...

They hadn't traveled very far, and the massive human city behind them still occupied more than half of their field of vision.

Purple Crystal suddenly shouted: "Right here! If we go too far, those people might not be able to resist making a move directly!"

A strange ripple emanated from Purple Crystal, instantly spreading throughout Yuan's body. His Genetic Origin Energy began to boil like oil in a hot pan, and Yuan's face turned bright red.

Piloting his mecha in the middle of the formation, Yuan looked exactly like a student who suddenly needed to use the restroom during class.

He raised his hand and shouted urgently toward Captain Jona at the front of the team: "Captain Jona! Captain Jona! I can't control my Genetic Origin Energy anymore. I, I'm about to break through to an Earth Rank Genetic Warrior."

As he spoke, he detached himself from the formation on his own, unbuckled his harness, jumped out of the mecha, landed on the ground, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to enter cultivation.

The group still in the sky could even see Yuan sitting on the ground, letting out a long sigh of relief!

Qiaona was furious, ordering everyone to descend from their mechs and guard the perimeter around Yuan. Although they were still close to the city, it was inevitable that some blind Desolate Beast might come looking for trouble.

She had originally thought this would be a simple mission, but she never expected the person she had to escort to be so infuriating!

Thinking of the mission, Qiaona felt a bit helpless and had to console herself, Considering you're quite handsome, I'll endure it!

Yuan was an Earth Rank Level 1 Spirit Reader, but he was still only a peak Apprentice Rank Level 9 Warrior.

Inside his Consciousness Sea, the voice of Purple Crystal spoke continuously: "Your consciousness and spirit are sufficient, and your body has reached the peak of Apprentice Rank Level 9. It's easy; you'll succeed in just a few breaths!"

Just like when Yuan last attempted to break through as an Earth Rank Genetic Warrior, Purple Crystal guided the Genetic Origin Energy, directly skipping the initial guiding process.

Every cell in his body seemed to boil. The Genetic Origin Energy that had been lurking in his cells, waiting to be absorbed, surged into the Dantian area in Yuan's abdomen. Streams of energy gathered into a river, constantly rotating and converging.

"Boom!"

As if Pangu were splitting heaven and earth, the Dantian, which had not existed before, was instantly blasted open!

The rotating Genetic Origin Energy accelerated, constantly expanding and contracting; with every expansion and contraction, its volume grew smaller!

Yuan felt his consciousness tremble, and his entire body shuddered! This time, he succeeded with ease!

In his vast Dantian, a Micro-Planet appeared! Unlike the "Micro-Planet" in his Consciousness Sea, which had been transparent when it was first born, this Micro-Planet in his Dantian was silver-white!

The entire silver-white Micro-Planet was actually a unified whole, composed of a massive aggregation of silver-white hexahedral crystals!

The silver-white Micro-Planet was constantly rotating on its axis, emitting waves of strange fluctuations!

Genetic Origin Energy! A thought stirred in Yuan's heart, and a wisp of silver-white energy instantly flew out of his Dantian and flowed into his body.

"Click~ click~ click~"

In an instant, every part of Yuan's body—his bones, bone marrow, skin, meridians, and internal organs—was rapidly undergoing change.

This transformation was even more exaggerated than when his Spirit Reader power had crossed into the Earth Rank! Yuan felt as if his flesh and bones were being smashed to pieces inch by inch, only to be reconstructed again!

"Let me see what your special ability is within the light attribute," Purple Crystal chuckled strangely.

"Don't be nervous. Genetic Origin Energy is the most suitable for remodeling the body. The extent to which it transforms the body is far more dramatic than the transformation from spirit power."

"Oh? Tsk tsk! It's actually Light Distortion! You're quite lucky!" Purple Crystal praised him with a sarcastic tone.

Yuan's entire body was leaping forward in strength, far more dramatically than an average warrior crossing into the Earth Rank!

After all, not every warrior could first undergo the strengthening process of an Earth Rank Spirit Reader.

"What is this 'Light Distortion' ability you speak of?" Yuan asked quickly.

"At the Apprentice Rank, Spirit Readers have a huge advantage over ordinary warriors!" Purple Crystal said.

"However, once you step into the Earth Rank, warriors also possess their own methods! These are special abilities."

"Among different Earth Rank warriors, some have special abilities like 'Flame,' others have 'Body Strengthening,' and so on."

"In the universe, various special abilities are mainly categorized into eight major types: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Light."

"Yours is the relatively rare 'Light Distortion' within the 'Light' attribute," Purple Crystal said.

Yuan listened with some confusion, as the education he had received previously did not contain this information, and what Tuowei had said earlier was somewhat vague.

"Simply put, it's because of differences in physique and soul."

"The Universe Energy that your bodies absorb is actually different, so the Genetic Origin Energy formed by the conversion is, of course, also different!"

"Genetic Origin Energy is mainly divided into eight attributes: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, and Light. And your special abilities are bestowed by this Genetic Origin Energy!"

"They can also be divided into eight major categories, but each category can be further divided into many types!"

"For example, the 'Fire' category can be divided into 'Flame Human,' 'Fire Refining,' and many others. Even with the same 'Fire Refining' at the same Earth Rank Level 1, the temperature controlled by different people can be higher or lower."

Yuan finally understood. In fact, there was no hierarchy of superiority or inferiority among the eight major categories.

Any category could contain extremely powerful special abilities, and any category could also contain very weak ones!

And Yuan himself possessed "Light Distortion" under the Light category.

The members of the Scavenger Team present looked at Yuan on the ground, his body surface flowing with silver-white light, but they were not surprised.

As long as one was a person here, they were at least Earth Rank; those who hadn't reached Earth Rank had long since perished...

In his Consciousness Sea, listening to Purple Crystal's uncharacteristically detailed explanation.

Yuan suddenly realized: "So, according to what Tuowei meant earlier, the Light Artistic Conception I comprehended requires the corresponding Light attribute Genetic Origin Energy in my body to support, or even drive it, right?"

"Correct! You are indeed a smart lad; you've even learned to jump to conclusions!"

"Now, stand up and get back into your mech. Next, watch my performance! Hahaha!" The confident laughter of the purple crystal echoed wildly in Yuan's Consciousness Sea.