Generous Rewards for the Trial Mission

Chapter 7: The Generous Rewards of the Trial Mission

"Drawing... Draw complete."

"Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the innate divine ability: Advanced Perception."

"Advanced Perception: (Active) You can perceive partial information about powerhouses up to two minor realms above your own. (Passive) Your sense of smell for danger will be extremely keen. System Evaluation: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."

Looking at the Advanced Perception that had appeared in the innate divine ability column on his panel, Chen Lin did not feel disappointed; instead, he felt a sense of pleasant surprise. Although this talent did not make him physically stronger, it was far more practical.

For instance, when facing an enemy, knowing some of their information allowed him to devise countermeasures faster and more effectively. Furthermore, the ability to sense danger would allow Chen Lin to dodge threats at critical moments and preserve his life. Strictly speaking, in this jungle fraught with peril, this divine ability was practically tailor-made for Chen Lin, allowing him to survive more effectively.

Immediately following this, the Guide's cold voice rang out once more.

"Item Exchange System activated: The Contractor may use Death Energy points to exchange for items with the Main God Coffin."

"Access granted, maximum access level: Nine Stars. Hint: You may query information regarding the Main God Coffin within your access level, and the system will answer for free. Current Contractor access: One Star."

"One-Star access opens the Item Trading System: The Contractor may conduct equivalent value exchanges with the Main God Coffin. The system will automatically evaluate the item's value and randomly provide a reward of corresponding value (Note: Items produced by the Main God Space cannot be used for exchange)."

"Main Quest activated: The Contractor must break through the Post-Natal realm and reach the Innate realm within three months."

"Mission completion reward: 1. Two bottles of mid-grade gene optimization serum. 2. Three Senzu Beans (produced in the 'Dragon Ball' world). 3. One random set of Dharma treasures. Mission failure penalty: Deduction of 1,000 Death Energy points. Note: If Death Energy becomes negative, the system will execute a deletion command on the Host. Current remaining Death Energy: 127 points."

"Guide, are you messing with me?!"

Even as composed as Chen Lin was, if he could speak, he would have been cursing loudly by now. Breaking through from the Post-Natal realm to the Innate realm in three months? What kind of joke was this? In his past life, it had taken him a full five years just to go from the mid-stage of the Post-Natal realm to the peak! Not to mention that he was currently only at the mid-stage of the Post-Natal realm; how could reaching the Innate realm be easy?

Each realm consisted of four minor stages: early, mid, late, and peak. Each stage was distinct, and the higher the level, the more vast the disparity in strength.

Even with the rich spiritual energy of this world, unless one had a heaven-defying encounter, crossing two minor stages to reach the Innate realm within three months was nothing but a pipe dream!

Now, he wasn't thinking about how to complete the mission, but how to scrape together enough Death Energy points to save his life!

An ordinary early-stage Post-Natal ferocious beast provided 1 to 2 points of Death Energy upon death, a mid-stage beast provided 3 to 5 points, and a late-stage beast could provide 5 to 10 points. More powerful ones could even provide 15 points or more. This meant that to gather the 1,000 points of Death Energy needed to survive, he would have to kill incessantly every single day!

The sky was already growing dark. Chen Lin had to temporarily set aside the problem of the mission. He hooked the items rewarded by the system with his forelimbs and dashed cautiously and swiftly toward his lair.

Returning to the lair, the sky had turned completely dark. At night, this vast jungle was far more vibrant than during the day. The roars of various ferocious beasts and raptors rolled like thunder; this place had once again become a paradise for beasts to slaughter one another. However, none of this concerned Chen Lin. His mind was currently entirely focused on the Main God Coffin's item exchange list, unable to tear himself away.

"The Item Exchange System is divided into four major categories: Bloodlines, Cultivation, Technology, and Magic."

"Innate Dao Body bloodline, System Evaluation: 95 points. Bloodline advantage: No bottlenecks in cultivation, mastery of all laws. Death Energy required for exchange: 999,999,999 points."

"Ancestral Witch bloodline, System Evaluation: 90 points. Bloodline advantage: Communion with heaven and earth, manipulation of wind, water, lightning, and electricity; physical body is formidable, nearly indestructible. Disadvantage: Cultivation takes an excessively long time. Death Energy required for exchange: 750,000,000 points."

"Heavenly Kingdom God Clan bloodline, System Evaluation: 80 points. Bloodline advantage: Nearly immortal through 'reincarnation,' possesses various superpowers. Disadvantage: Awakening the bloodline requires 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 advantage: Strength increases greatly after recovering from severe injuries, theoretically capable of infinite evolution. Disadvantage: Low soul ability, low immunity to viruses. Death Energy required for exchange: 50,000,000 points."

"T-Cameron virus bloodline (improved), System Evaluation: 70 points. Bloodline advantage: Can infect organisms to form clones; if the main body dies, it can be reborn using a clone. An extremely evil product. Disadvantage: The direction of evolution is unpredictable. Death Energy required for exchange: 500,000,000 points."

"Xenomorph bloodline, System Evaluation: 60 points..."

Chen Lin felt his throat go dry. These bloodlines, which he wouldn't have dared to even imagine before, actually existed and could be exchanged for with Death Energy. However, the string of numbers following each bloodline was like a bucket of cold water poured from head to toe.

"So expensive, you might as well just rob me!"

Chen Lin felt speechless. Seeing so many heaven-defying bloodlines but being unable to exchange for them left him feeling as if he were being scratched by a cat. He decided to stop looking at the bloodline column to avoid the frustration, turning instead to the Cultivation list.

The Cultivation exchange list was equally tantalizing. For instance, the three great miraculous techniques of the cultivation world—the "Innate Technique," "Heaven Mending Technique," and "Heaven Derivation Technique"—were all techniques practiced by Sages. Yet, the Death Energy required for each was also in the hundreds of millions. The prices were just as exorbitant as the bloodlines. Some pills and cultivation artifacts were also ridiculously expensive. Looking at his own pathetic 100-plus points of Death Energy, Chen Lin could only lament his empty pockets. His enthusiasm plummeted, and he simply stopped looking at the remaining Technology and Magic categories.

Afterward, Chen Lin felt a bit curious about the Item Trading System brought by his one-star access. However, looking around, he didn't seem to have anything of value to trade, so he decided to leave that function for later.

Finally, he turned his attention to the low-grade gene optimization serum before him.

"Low-grade gene optimization serum: Extracts superior DNA molecular fragments from the organism and performs recombinant evolution, stimulating the organism's potential and bloodline purity. Hint: There is a small probability of triggering ancient genes left in the bloodline, resulting in unpredictable changes."

The low-grade gene optimization serum piqued Chen Lin's curiosity. After all, this was something that would steadily improve his strength, which was exactly what he needed most right now.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Lin ignored the small-probability event mentioned by the Guide and carefully opened the glass container. Instantly, a blue fluorescent glow flickered like a brilliant galaxy, and the profound aura left Chen Lin intoxicated.

He gently poured the liquid into his mouth. He couldn't describe the taste, as the liquid was as soft and boneless as mercury. As soon as it entered his mouth, it flowed down his throat and into his body without a drop remaining.

A long while later...

Suddenly, Chen Lin let out a muffled roar. His back wings snapped open with a "swish," and the two antennae on his head suddenly went taut before dancing wildly. His elegant, slender waist twisted uneasily, and worm-like protrusions began to ripple rapidly across his abdomen. The red patterns on his two scythes twisted and struggled, gradually showing signs of spreading.

Pain! Pain that reached deep into his marrow!

Chen Lin could not make a sound; he could only endure it silently in his heart. The process of extracting and recombining high-quality genes was undoubtedly painful and long, but Chen Lin understood that as long as he survived this period, his strength would greatly increase. Fortunately, his will was firm, and he endured it bitterly.

"Screech!"

After another half an hour or so, the two giant scythes on Chen Lin's chest underwent another change. At the tips of the scythes, five tiny, willow-leaf-like barbs grew rapidly, extending about an inch and appearing sharp and eerie. On the femur and tibia of Chen Lin's forelegs, clusters of spiral folds grew strangely, capable of expanding and retracting like suction cups.

By this time, the eerie red patterns on Chen Lin's two scythes had spread to his chest and were beginning to creep toward his head and abdomen.

Finally, the genetic evolution slowly came to a halt.