The Bountiful Rewards of the Trial Mission

Chapter 7: The Bountiful Rewards of the Trial Mission

"Drawing... Draw complete."

"Congratulations, Host. You have obtained the innate divine ability: Advanced Perception."

"Advanced Perception: (Active) You can sense some information about powerful beings up to two minor realms above you. (Passive) Your sense of danger will be exceptionally keen. System evaluation: Know yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

Seeing Advanced Perception added to the innate divine abilities section of the panel, Chen Lin wasn't disappointed. On the contrary, he was pleasantly surprised. Although this ability wouldn't make him stronger, it was far more practical.

For instance, knowing some of an opponent's information would let him devise a response faster and more effectively when facing an enemy. His heightened awareness of danger would also help him evade threats at critical moments and stay alive. Strictly speaking, in this perilous jungle, this innate divine ability seemed tailor-made for Chen Lin. It would help him survive.

Just then, the Guide's cold voice sounded again.

"Item Exchange System activated: Contractees can exchange items with the Main God Coffin using Death Energy points."

"Authorization unlocked. The highest authorization level is nine stars. Note: Within your authorization level, you can inquire about information related to the Main God Coffin, and the system will answer for free. Current contractee authorization: one star."

"One-star authorization unlocks the Item Trading System: Contractees can make equal-value exchanges of items with the Main God Coffin. The system will automatically evaluate an item's worth and randomly grant a reward of corresponding value. (Note: Items produced by the Main God Space cannot be exchanged.)"

"Main quest activated: The contractee must break through the postnatal stage within three months and reach the innate stage."

"Quest completion rewards: 1. Two bottles of mid-grade Gene Optimization Serum. 2. Three Senzu Beans. (Produced in the 'Dragon Ball' world.) 3. One randomly selected set of Dharma Artifacts. Quest failure penalty: 1,000 Death Energy points deducted. Note: If your Death Energy is negative, the system will execute the Host's termination. Current remaining Death Energy: 127 points."

"Guide, are you messing with me?!"

Even someone as composed as Chen Lin would have cursed up a storm if he could speak. Break through from the postnatal stage to the innate stage in three months? What a joke! In his previous life, it had taken him a full five years just to go from the middle postnatal stage to the peak postnatal stage! And he was only at the middle postnatal stage now. How could he possibly reach the innate stage?

Each major realm had four minor realms: early, middle, late, and peak. The difference between each realm was substantial, and the higher the level, the more their strength diverged by leaps and bounds.

Even with the abundant spiritual energy in this world, advancing from the middle postnatal stage across two minor realms to the innate stage in three months was nothing but a pipe dream without some heaven-defying stroke of fortune!

What he was thinking about now wasn't how to complete the quest, but how to gather enough Death Energy points to stay alive!

Ordinary early-stage postnatal ferocious beasts yielded one to two Death Energy points when killed. Middle-stage beasts yielded three to five, while late-stage beasts yielded five to ten. The stronger ones could even yield fifteen points or more. In other words, to gather the 1,000 Death Energy points he needed to save his life, he would have to kill without stopping, day after day!

It was already getting dark. Chen Lin had no choice but to set aside the quest for now. Hooking the system's reward with his forelegs, he hurried cautiously toward his nest.

By the time he returned to his nest, darkness had fully fallen. At night, this vast, boundless jungle was far more alive than it had been during the day. The roars of all kinds of ferocious beasts and raptors rolled like thunder, and the place had once again become a paradise for beasts locked in deadly combat. But none of this had anything to do with Chen Lin. All his attention was fixed on the Main God Coffin's item exchange list, and he couldn't tear himself away.

"The Item Exchange System is divided into four categories: bloodlines, cultivation, technology, and magic."

"Innate Dao Body bloodline. System evaluation: 95 points. Bloodline advantages: Cultivation without bottlenecks; mastery of all techniques. Death Energy required for exchange: 999,999,999 points."

"Ancestral Witch bloodline. System evaluation: 90 points. Bloodline advantages: Communicate with Heaven and Earth; control wind, water, thunder, and lightning; possess a powerful body that is nearly indestructible. Disadvantage: Cultivation takes far too long. Death Energy required for exchange: 750,000,000 points."

"Heavenly Kingdom God Clan bloodline. System evaluation: 80 points. Bloodline advantages: Nearly immortal through 'reincarnation'; possesses various superpowers. Disadvantages: Awakening the bloodline requires a fortuitous opportunity, and awakened abilities are difficult to control. Death Energy required for exchange: 600,000,000 points."

"Super Saiyan bloodline. System evaluation: 70 points. Bloodline advantages: Strength greatly increases each time you recover from a severe injury; in theory, you can evolve without limit. Disadvantages: Weak soul abilities and low immunity to viruses. Death Energy required for exchange: 50,000,000 points."

"T-Cameron virus bloodline (improved version). System evaluation: 70 points. Bloodline advantages: Can infect organisms and create clones. If the main body dies, you can use a clone to resurrect. An exceedingly evil creation. Disadvantage: Its evolutionary path can become unpredictable. Death Energy required for exchange: 500,000,000 points."

"Xenomorph bloodline. System evaluation: 60 points..."

Chen Lin felt his throat grow dry. These bloodlines, which he'd never dared even dream of before, actually existed—and could be exchanged for Death Energy. But the strings of digits listed beside them poured over him like a bucket of cold water from head to toe.

"Those prices are insane! You might as well just rob me!"

Chen Lin was at a loss for words. Seeing so many heaven-defying bloodlines and not being able to exchange for any of them was enough to make anyone itch all over. So he decided to spare himself the frustration and stopped looking at the bloodline section, switching instead to the cultivation list.

The cultivation exchange list was just as tempting. Take the cultivation world's three great miracles, for example: the Innate Technique, the Heaven Mending Technique, and the Heaven Derivation Technique. These were all methods cultivated by sages, yet each required hundreds of millions of Death Energy points to exchange for—prices every bit as outrageous as the bloodlines. Some pills and divine cultivation artifacts were just as absurdly expensive. Looking at his pitiful hundred-odd Death Energy points, Chen Lin could only sigh at his empty purse. His enthusiasm promptly ebbed away, and he decided not to bother looking at the technology and magic categories.

After that, Chen Lin grew curious about the Item Trading System that came with one-star authorization. But after looking around, he couldn't see anything valuable on him to exchange, so he would have to learn more about this function another time.

Finally, he turned his attention to the low-grade Gene Optimization Serum in front of him.

"Low-grade Gene Optimization Serum: Extracts superior DNA fragments from a living organism and recombines them to induce evolution, unlocking the organism's potential and purifying its bloodline. Note: There is a small chance of activating ancient genes remaining in the bloodline, causing unpredictable changes."

The low-grade Gene Optimization Serum piqued Chen Lin's curiosity. After all, it was a reliable way to improve his strength, and that was what he needed most right now.

After hesitating for a while, Chen Lin ignored the small-probability event the Guide had mentioned and carefully opened the glass container. At once, the blue liquid shimmered with light, brilliant as a tiny river of stars. Its profound aura left Chen Lin entranced.

He gently tipped the liquid into his mouth, unable to describe its taste. It was as boneless as quicksilver, and the moment it entered his mouth, it flowed down his throat and into his body without leaving a drop behind.

A long while later...

Suddenly, Chen Lin let out a muffled growl, and his back wings snapped open with a whoosh. The two antennae on his head stiffened, then began flailing wildly. His graceful, slender waist writhed uneasily, while wormlike bulges sprang to life across his abdomen. The red patterns on his two sickles twisted and strained, gradually beginning to spread.

Pain! Pain that pierced to the marrow!

Chen Lin couldn't make a sound and could only endure it silently. The process of extracting and recombining superior genes was undoubtedly painful and drawn-out. But Chen Lin knew that as long as he endured this period, his strength would improve dramatically. Fortunately, his will was strong, and he gritted his teeth and bore it.

"Riiip!"

More than half an hour later, the two giant sickles on Chen Lin's chest underwent another change. Five tiny barbs, shaped like willow leaves, quickly sprouted from the tips of the blades. They grew about an inch long, sharp and uncanny. Then, strangely, clusters of spiral folds grew along the femurs and tibias of his forelegs. They could extend and retract freely, like suction cups.

By now, the eerie red patterns on Chen Lin's two sickles had spread across his chest and were gradually creeping toward his head and abdomen.

At last, his genetic evolution slowly came to a halt.