The Leap of Life

In the quiet, deep darkness of the cave, Ji Yun sat cross-legged on a raised stone platform. He held the translucent white crystal in his palm, trying to sense how to absorb it.

At a glance, this white crystal was clearly different from a Vegetation Spirit. Crystals generally couldn't be consumed. Ji Yun knew full well that using a treasure incorrectly could have serious consequences.

As he carefully sensed the vast energy within the white crystal, Ji Yun couldn't help but feel deeply shocked. This tiny crystal contained an immense amount of energy, far more than the Vegetation Spirit he had consumed before. The Vegetation Spirit had raised his physical abilities to the High-Level War God level. What would happen if he used this?

Ji Yun didn't dare imagine it.

"It worked!" Ji Yun exclaimed, delighted.

He had successfully guided the energy within the white crystal into motion. It seemed poised to flow into his body.

Boom!

The immense energy surged out of the white crystal like a mighty river, rushing into Ji Yun's meridians. It came so suddenly that he nearly failed to withstand it.

His body shook, and it took him a long while to steady himself.

The river of energy coursed freely through his meridians, expanding and extending them. Then it burrowed into the cells throughout his body. The cells absorbed and devoured the energy, converting it into pure Genetic Origin Energy.

"That's it?"

Ji Yun frowned slightly. He had expected some kind of breakthrough, but the vast energy had merely been absorbed by his cells. Now there was no reaction at all.

Ji Yun lightly moved his arms, then even his legs, and couldn't help feeling disappointed.

There still seemed to be no change.

"Did I absorb it the wrong way? That can't be. I clearly absorbed the energy inside the crystal, and the white crystal has already shattered." Ji Yun looked at the dim, broken crystal in his hand.

Suddenly!

The cells inside Ji Yun's body began to swell.

Every cell in his body felt as if it were being pricked by needles. The swelling was intense and agonizing, and Ji Yun couldn't help crying out in pain.

"Ah!"

Ji Yun felt his whole body heating up. He hurriedly adjusted his posture and settled down again. This might be the beginning of an improvement. His past experience with the Vegetation Spirit had taught him that at a time like this, he should focus on the sensations and do his best to prevent anything from going wrong.

Every cell in Ji Yun's body seemed to be boiling. The cells that had absorbed vast quantities of energy were now releasing equally vast amounts of Genetic Origin Energy. The energy released by each cell began to gather, drop by drop, like water beading together. The droplets became streams, then brooks, then rivers...

A wave of heat rose from all over his body, swirling and gathering until it converged in Ji Yun's lower abdomen, at his dantian.

Boom!

Ji Yun felt as though something in his dantian had opened. Energy poured into it.

Inside his dantian.

It was as if Pangu had opened the heavens and the earth. A dantian that had not existed before suddenly opened with a thunderous roar! The swirling Genetic Origin Energy spun faster, expanding and contracting again and again. With every cycle, it grew smaller! Ji Yun felt his consciousness shudder, and his body trembled!

The swirling Genetic Origin Energy continued to gather, finally forming a sphere.

Suddenly, the sphere collapsed inward, as though a black hole had appeared at its center. Endless energy was drawn into it and absorbed, seemingly becoming a singularity.

"Hum." His dantian trembled.

A Miniature Planet appeared in the vast dantian! It was cyan! The Cyan Micro-Planet was, in truth, a unified whole formed by currents of energy that flowed like wind, solidified, dispersed, and gathered together again, endlessly transforming!

The Cyan Micro-Planet spun continuously, sending out waves of strange fluctuations!

Ji Yun focused his mind and guided the Genetic Origin Energy out of his dantian and throughout his body.

The cyan Origin Energy flowed through his meridians, constantly transforming his body. Cracking sounds rang out. Ji Yun felt as if his bones were being tempered: crushed, restored, crushed again, then restored once more. The process repeated over and over.

At the same time, strange cyan lines began to spread across Ji Yun's body, forming an eerie Secret Pattern Diagram over his skin.

"Hoo." After enduring the intense pain of having his bones tempered, Ji Yun let out a long breath and opened his eyes.

The bone-tempering had been painful, but the exquisite sensation that followed left him intoxicated.

When the Genetic Origin Energy finished tempering his bones and his body began to undergo its transformation, Ji Yun was shaken like never before. It was as if his body had gone from that of a grown man who had reached his limits and could no longer improve to that of a baby in an instant. His bones, muscles, and internal organs had all undergone a fundamental change!

As Ji Yun put it, even his aura of life felt different.

Before, he had still carried the aura of a human. Now his aura seemed almost divine.

"What level am I at now? Am I Beyond War God-level? A Councilor-level expert?"

Ji Yun had already encountered powerful fighters other than Hong, but no one besides Hong had ever made him feel particularly oppressed.

"I should be no weaker than the Inspectors now."

Ji Yun clenched his fists excitedly. He merely swung his hand, yet it seemed to cut through the air, producing a sharp, low-pitched whistle.

"Councilor-level experts can fly, so that's one way to test myself: can I fly? Also, they all have their own special abilities. What's mine?"

At a thought, a figure shot skyward and slammed into the cave ceiling. With nothing beneath his feet, Ji Yun hovered in midair, perfectly still.

He really could fly!

If Ji Yun, as a High-Level War God, had already been one of the pinnacle fighters among humanity on Earth, then now he stood at the very peak of the pyramid, a figure capable of influencing the course of nations.

"Special ability?" Ji Yun carefully sensed his body and the Miniature Planet within him. Although he was communicating with the Miniature Planet, the Secret Patterns that had appeared on his body earlier slowly came into view. Suddenly, Ji Yun moved. A figure flashed back and forth through the spacious cave.

Looking closely, the figure left a string of afterimages and could move even faster, almost as if he were teleporting. But it wasn't true teleportation; it was merely an illusion created by his incredible speed.

"This is a special ability I've never heard of before." Ji Yun mused silently. He had never heard of a Councilor renowned for Phantom God Blink.

Inside the blood-red spacecraft in the underground world.

The short, demon-like figure cried out in surprise. "That's actually a Wind Phantom Body, an extremely rare trait among those with a Wind attribute! A Wind Phantom Body is naturally sensitive to the Wind Law, which gives one a considerable advantage in comprehending the laws." The figure pondered for a moment, then continued, "Could this be why that kid's level of mastery is so high? Is it because he's naturally attuned to the Law of Wind?"

Ji Yun raced through the cave and, in the blink of an eye, shot out of the underground river. He stepped onto the air and looked down at part of the island.

"So this is the power of a Councilor-level expert!"

Ji Yun moved his hand slightly, and cyan light surged from his body. Genetic Origin Energy gathered and transformed around him. Then Ji Yun darted away, leaving a few afterimages in the air.

"Damn it, why did he go so far away?"

Inside the blood-red spacecraft in the underground world, the demonic figure was furious. Under normal circumstances, anyone who discovered a treasure that could let them break through would surely become greedy and want more. But Ji Yun was an exception.

Ji Yun believed treasures like this were incredibly rare, and finding even one was already a stroke of great fortune. So he had turned and left without hesitation, with no intention of searching for more.

Ji Yun was flying through the air when his eyes suddenly shifted toward the other side of the island.

On the far side of the island, a Martial Artist in a black Combat Suit moved like lightning, charging straight toward a willow tree. He was so fast that in the blink of an eye he was less than ten meters away. The willow tree seemed to grow furious and launched an attack... Countless willow branches swarmed toward the Martial Artist, while one pale golden branch after another quickly joined the fight.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three people beside the Martial Artist quickly joined the battle as well. The four of them teamed up to attack the same willow tree, which was about 1.8 meters in diameter. Two of them had black Flowing Light spreading from their bodies and covering them from head to toe.

"That must be the Black God Set Hong mentioned," Ji Yun said, watching the people below with interest.

Ji Yun had already realized that these were all Vegetation Spirits, but they held no appeal for him anymore. At most, they could help his father and friends recover their health. With Ji Yun's current strength, getting a few would be easy. Even if he couldn't simply take one, he could still seize one by force.

"Hm? Someone's trying to steal it? It's Luo Feng!"

Ji Yun immediately recognized him. He also overheard their conversation. "So that Asian man I saw earlier, the Martial Artist wearing a Black God Set, was Li Yao, who has a blood feud with Luo Feng."

"Just watch. Once Luo Feng gets a Vegetation Spirit, he'll probably become a peak High-Level War God Psychic Master, on par with an Invincible War God." Ji Yun knew how much Vegetation Spirits could improve a Martial Artist's physical abilities. And given how quickly Luo Feng's strength was increasing, his Psychic Energy must be considerable too.

Within thirty minutes, while Ji Yun watched closely, Luo Feng successfully absorbed the Vegetation Spirit. He then pursued Li Yao and the others.

Ji Yun followed Luo Feng from a distance. With his Wind Phantom Body, he had no fear of being unable to keep up.

Suddenly,

A fiery red streak of light shot toward them from the distant horizon, like a meteor. Against the night sky, it stood out vividly.

The fiery red streak stopped in front of Luo Feng. It was a white man with brown curly hair, wearing a Combat Suit. He hovered in midair, the space around him seeming to ripple slightly. Flames flickered across his body as he looked at Luo Feng and asked in English, "Who are you?"

Ji Yun watched from a distance, frowning.

"A Councilor-level expert? Why did he arrive so quickly? Didn't Luo Feng notify the Dojo?"

Ji Yun assumed that Luo Feng had discovered the Vegetation Spirit long before he had and must have already notified the Dojo, so he hadn't sent word himself. How could he have known that Luo Feng hadn't done so because he hadn't even recognized the Vegetation Spirit?

Ji Yun watched from afar.

After speaking with Luo Feng, the man surrounded by flames nodded slightly, then suddenly shouted, "Katlan, all four of you, come out!" His deep voice spread rapidly, carrying across all of Mist Island.

A series of explosions immediately rang out across Mist Island. Soon, four people gathered below—the same four Ji Yun had seen earlier attacking the Vegetation Spirit: Li Yao and his companions.

It seemed they hadn't reached an agreement. Luo Feng turned and ran, and the Councilor-level expert transformed into a streak of fiery red light and pursued him. But the outcome took Ji Yun by surprise: the Councilor, wreathed in flames, fell behind. He promptly accelerated by a great deal, yet the distance between him and Luo Feng not only failed to shrink; it grew wider and wider.

Without a sound,

Ji Yun appeared in front of the Councilor.

"What?" The Councilor's expression changed. Ji Yun had appeared before him in an instant without him noticing. The only person whose speed he had ever seen match that was the Second Speaker.

"Who are you?" the Councilor asked quietly.

"Ji Yun of the Limit Dojo," Ji Yun replied with a smile.

"I'm not interested in the Vegetation Spirits, but you'd better stop chasing Luo Feng. Also, people from the Limit Dojo will be here soon. You should focus on figuring out how to protect the remaining Vegetation Spirits."

"Ji Yun? The Ji Yun who ranked first in the Elite Training Camp?" The Councilor wasn't ignorant of current affairs. He immediately guessed Ji Yun's identity, but he couldn't believe he had already become a Beyond War God-level expert.

"Ji Yun, my name is Fal." Councilor Fal's expression changed briefly, then returned to normal. He nodded. "Fine, I won't make things difficult for you. I hope the Limit Dojo won't make things difficult for me either." With that, Councilor Fal turned and descended.

"Quick, split up and gather the Vegetation Spirits. If any of you can't handle something, notify me immediately," Councilor Fal shouted.

Luo Feng returned and hovered beside Ji Yun, his expression complicated.

He had always thought of himself as a Psychic Master with outstanding talent, but Ji Yun had already become a Beyond War God-level expert. He had no idea when he himself would be able to break through.

Boom!

The air suddenly trembled. A purplish-red streak of light came to a stop in front of Ji Yun and Luo Feng almost in the blink of an eye. It was a purplish-red triangular fighter jet. Its streamlined triangular shape looked almost identical to the one Hong had ridden the previous time, except for the color.

"Whoosh!" The hatch opened automatically.

Two figures flew out. The fighter jet closed its hatch on its own and hovered in midair.

"Are you Luo Feng?" one of them asked. Ji Yun hovered nearby, giving the two men some reason to be wary.

"Greetings, Inspectors," Luo Feng said, bowing hurriedly.

The two figures hovered in front of Ji Yun. One had long, flowing hair and always wore a faint smile. He gave the impression of a gentle breeze, bringing calm to all who felt it. The man hovering beside him, however, was as cold as a mountain, with a Golden Mask on his face.

"And who is this?" the long-haired man asked with a smile.

He already had a suspicion. After all, Ji Yun had caused quite a stir back then. Still, he hadn't wanted to believe that Ji Yun had broken through so quickly again.

"Ji Yun." Ji Yun was brief and to the point. Then he thought of something and added, "The Ji Yun from the rankings."

"Gasp." The two men drew in sharp breaths.

Luo Feng being a Psychic Master was one thing, but how had Ji Yun suddenly become a Councilor-level expert?