Mystical System?

Once the terrifying pressure receded, An Rongru relaxed for a moment, and an overwhelming wave of exhaustion surged over her. Her limbs went limp as she slumped into the seat, gasping deeply to catch her breath. Sweat drenched her like rainwater, soaking her entire body. Her slightly full, luscious lips were stained with blood; clearly, she had unconsciously bitten through them while struggling to endure it.

Mu Xiao glanced at her. Not wanting this pressure to leave a shadow on her mind, he explained, "Now that the feeling of facing my pressure is still clear, focus on sensing the existence of your Mental Power. As long as you learn to synchronize your Mental Power with your thoughts, your control will improve to a certain extent—at the very least, you'll be able to use it freely. Also, while resisting, the mutated meat you ate for dinner caused countless thoughts and emotions to arise, speeding up your heartbeat and blood circulation. That indirectly accelerated your absorption of the rich nutrients in the mutated meat. You should be able to feel that your body no longer has that burning sensation in your blood. Once you recover your strength, kill a few more zombies tomorrow. When your Gene Resonance count increases, your physique may make a breakthrough."

"I know you mean well." A gentle smile bloomed on An Rongru's exhausted face. She could clearly feel that her vitality had grown stronger, while her Mental Power had become much more familiar, no longer carrying that initial awkwardness. Naturally, she understood that although Mu Xiao's methods seemed somewhat extreme, they were actually deeply meaningful to her.

He was a cold and ruthless man in his actions, yet meticulous in his thoughts. His tenderness was hidden behind that coldness.

That was An Rongru's assessment of Mu Xiao.

Although An Rongru had done her utmost to contend against Mu Xiao's pressure, she still had not awakened another Innate Ability. From beginning to end, only the Mental Power of "Life Detection" had continuously formed a barrier against Mu Xiao's pressure, reducing the burden on her body. No second ability had emerged to resist him.

That proved her other ability was not part of the Mental System, but an ability from another system. Perhaps it would only emerge under some particular opportunity.

Mu Xiao furrowed his brow, his thoughts constantly turning over what kind of ability possessed such characteristics.

"What does the number of Gene Resonances mean?"

Mu Xiao's words had piqued An Rongru's curiosity. She did not quite understand what it represented.

"You come from a wealthy, aristocratic family. You should have encountered people from the military, so you probably know how the Earth Federation classifies human physiques, right?" Mu Xiao prepared to explain from the basics.

"Mm." An Rongru nodded. "C-Class Physique is for ordinary people, while SSS-Class Physique represents the strongest people in the world."

"That used to be true, but it may not remain so in the future." Mu Xiao explained the physique levels New Humans would possess. Apex Physique was merely a foundation; beyond it were several major realms, each of which contained smaller stages.

He did not want An Rongru to take in powers too distant from her current level too quickly, so he only explained the Old Humans' system. An SSS-Class Physique had to break through into the new level of Apex Physique before one could be considered a true New Human. He did not elaborate further, instead returning to the subject of Gene Resonance.

"Gene Resonance is the number of times one optimizes one's bloodline genes. Once you complete the Foundation Establishment realm, you can cultivate Source Force Martial Arts or Soul Secret Arts to strengthen your combat power. As long as you continue advancing through the realms, you can evolve into an eternal, immortal energy body and exist alongside the universe." Mu Xiao smiled faintly. "Put simply, it's like becoming an immortal or a god in novels—creating all things and forming a world of your own."

Then his tone shifted as he continued, "Of course, aside from those vast and distant realms, Gene Resonance also brings many benefits. For instance, aging slows, lifespan increases, and the more your bloodline genes are optimized, the greater your physique's compatibility becomes. The more abilities you can accommodate, the more your combat power increases as well."

"So that means I can stay beautiful forever?" Delight flashed through An Rongru's beautiful eyes, as though some of the exhaustion had faded from her face.

"..."

Mu Xiao had overlooked just how much women cared about their appearance.

"You could put it that way." Mu Xiao said, "You currently have fifteen Gene Resonances. As long as your body does not suffer any severe injuries, you can probably live fifteen years longer and maintain your present appearance for fifteen years,

before your bloodline begins to age. If you break through to a higher realm, you may even return to your youthful years."

"One resonance represents one year of lifespan?" An Rongru asked in shock.

"Don't assume Gene Resonance is simple. You'll understand in the future." Mu Xiao reminded her, "At first, one Gene Resonance means one extra year of life. But when you cultivate into other realms later, a single realm may represent ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years... Once you reach a certain level, life is practically eternal. But truly attaining immortality is far from simple."

"It really is so distant." An Rongru sighed, then asked, "How did you know that I currently have fifteen Gene Resonances?"

"By observing someone's vitality and aura, then combining that with information returned by Mental Detection, I can roughly determine their level of evolution—as long as their evolution level is not too much higher than mine. Actually, you can also detect your own physical condition. Calm your mind, sink your Mental Power into your body, scan inwardly to observe the movements of your bloodline genes, and sense the resonance frequency of those genes. That is one kind of information representing your own evolution level." Mu Xiao could already determine his own evolution level with a single thought. After all, he had experienced rebirth once before; no one knew the direction of evolution better than he did.

"I'll try." An Rongru closed her beautiful eyes and began her first attempt at meditation.

As long as one repeatedly familiarized oneself with the workings of one's body, one could learn the resonance frequency of one's bloodline genes with a thought. After all, it was the movement of one's own body. Once accustomed to it, the brain would naturally receive feedback.

It was her first time trying to understand the resonance frequency of her bloodline genes, so she could not avoid being somewhat unfamiliar with it.

Taking advantage of this time, Mu Xiao retrieved a bottle of high-proof liquor from the counter. He poured all the Blood Beads he had gained today onto a plate, washed them with alcohol, and then sorted them by quality.

Blood Beads could strengthen one's physique, but their effect was not very great. They were only truly effective in treating injuries and restoring vitality.

However, Mu Xiao's memories contained formulas for many mature potions from the future era. As long as he used precious medicinal herbs along with a large number of Blood Beads, he could bring out the effects of both the herbs and Blood Beads to the fullest, producing valuable potions that were extremely rare even in the future era.

That was why he was temporarily storing these Blood Beads. Once he returned to his residence, he would move the batch of precious medicinal herbs stored there back to the Lawyer Building, then properly prepare potions suitable for himself and strengthen his physique to the greatest extent possible.

With a sweep of his Mental Power, he assessed the Blood Beads' quality. Using Telekinesis, he sorted the large number of Blood Beads by quality in less than a minute.

"Three hundred eighty-eight Inferior Brown Blood Beads, one hundred ordinary vermilion Blood Beads, seventy-eight high-quality dark-red Blood Beads, twenty-five precious purple-red Blood Beads. What a pity there aren't any Blood Crystals..." Mu Xiao muttered as he packed the Blood Beads into separate bags. At that moment, An Rongru opened her eyes as well, clearly having gained something.

"Just as you said, my bloodline has a faint vibration frequency." An Rongru asked curiously but with certainty, "I found fifteen faint vibrations of the same frequency within it. After each vibration ended, my bloodline and genes produced one resonance, then the next faint vibration began. Does that prove my evolution level is fifteen Gene Resonances?"

"Mm." Mu Xiao nodded. "It's like a heartbeat, except the movement of the resonance frequency is much subtler. Ordinary people cannot detect such minute changes within themselves. Only New Humans like us can sense this resonance frequency of our bloodline genes."

"Oh. My evolution level is fifteen Gene Resonances, so what is my physique?" An Rongru asked.

"You can assess yourself according to your own strength, using the comprehensive values established by the Earth Federation. But judging by your physique's strength, you are only around S-Class. Still, you ate quite a lot of mutated meat today, so you may possess the strength of a Double-S-Class Physique." Mu Xiao said, "Once your Gene Resonance count increases tomorrow, your physique should be able to break through Double-S-Class."

After tempering her will against Mu Xiao's terrifying pressure, An Rongru's mind was exhausted, but she still forced herself to stay alert and asked, "Did you discover my New Human Innate Ability just now?"

She also harbored a desire for power.

Seeing how weary she was, Mu Xiao noticed the bloody tooth mark on her lower lip, an injury she had unconsciously inflicted while resisting the pressure. He took two cups from beneath the counter, crushed an Inferior Brown Blood Bead into some liquor, and poured her half a cup of strong alcohol. "Drink a little to refresh yourself. It can ease your physical exhaustion, and your lips are damaged. It doesn't look very good."

"Mm." An Rongru held the cup and took a light sip. Her jade-like, beautiful face became as radiant as a peach blossom, exceptionally moist and glowing.

"I didn't discover your Innate Ability. It may not belong to the Mental System..." Mu Xiao paused, poured himself a cup of strong liquor, and took a small sip. With the spicy taste of alcohol in his mouth, he said, "It may be a passive ability from another system. I can't determine it for now."

"A passive ability?" An Rongru asked in confusion.

"It means the ability will not reveal itself until a certain opportunity arises," Mu Xiao answered.

After chatting over half a cup of liquor, An Rongru's spirits improved considerably, and her body regained some strength. Yet the fragrant sweat on her skin had made her outer clothing cling tightly to her body, clearly outlining her incredibly voluptuous figure before Mu Xiao's eyes. Once she noticed it, she was too embarrassed to continue talking with him and hurried off to the bathroom to wash up.

An Rongru's body was indeed alluring, but Mu Xiao paid it no heed. His mind was occupied with a speculation.

Could her ability belong to the Mystical System? That would mean she has the potential to cultivate Soul Secret Arts...

He had reason to suspect it, because only the Mystical System possessed such "hidden" qualities—it would not reveal itself without the right opportunity. It was a system filled with the unknown; otherwise, it would not be called the Mystical System. Moreover, the Mystical System held the greatest natural talent for cultivating Soul Secret Arts.

The other systems, however, all had more or less discernible traits.

For example, the Physique System enhanced defense and close combat, but a beautiful married woman like An Rongru had nothing to do with close combat. The Source Force System's defining trait was the most obvious: energy attacks, much like Mu Xiao's Telekinesis—formless and invisible. But she could not possibly conceal such an ability so deeply. Although the abilities of the Mental System, Transformation System, Intelligence System, and Spatial System could be hidden to some extent, none of them could have remained so calm beneath Mu Xiao's terrifying pressure.

Of course, the Intelligence System was a support ability and likewise could not be detected through ordinary methods. But someone who possessed an Intelligence System ability would certainly know what kind of knowledge they had mastered, rather than being like An Rongru, who seemed not to have grasped anything at all.

The Spatial System also had certain traits. At the very least, one would possess an understanding of space and the ability to stir spatial fluctuations. If she had spatial abilities, she would not have lasted only such a short time against Mu Xiao's pressure.

As for the Mental System, Mu Xiao possessed Pure Mental Force and understood better than An Rongru herself what degree of Mental Power she possessed and what characteristics her abilities had. The Transformation System was also among the most obvious types of abilities; she could not possibly belong to that system.

That left only one possibility: the Mystical System.