Whispers in the Alley

"Holy shit! Two moves! Lu Tengfei definitely hid his strength in the previous thirteen matches!"

"Damn it, kid, you made a killing betting on five moves!"

"Both of you, stop talking and let me cry for a while!" another person said at that moment.

"What happened?"

"I fucking placed two bets, and one of them was on the Bona Golden Ape to win..."

Once the match ended, they began settling bets and clearing the arena, because the next match would begin in another ten minutes. Tang Yu and Meng Xuanxuan had not placed any bets, so they left early. Although they had not come specifically to watch this, after seeing it, they still felt an inexplicable thrill that made their blood boil.

"Lu Tengfei is too strong! And his gene count is only 150. That's simply unbelievable!" After leaving the arena, Tang Yu still could not suppress his admiration. He estimated that if he fought Lu Tengfei, he would be killed in fewer than ten moves—not defeated, but killed! And that was only an objective estimate. Lu Tengfei definitely still had trump cards he had not used. Otherwise, he would be even more terrifying.

"Hey, brother, how much did you win just now?" Tang Yu was deep in thought when someone suddenly patted his shoulder. Turning around, he saw the burly man who had bet on Lu Tengfei. Thick brows, big eyes, and a body full of fat—yes, a body full of fat!

"Didn't bet. I was just accompanying a friend to take a look." The other man was polite, so there was no reason for Tang Yu to be cold toward him. He answered casually.

"Your girlfriend? Tsk, tsk. You little brat, why bring such a pretty young lady to a place like this?" Tang Yu had been about to leave, but he had not expected this fat man to be so familiar with strangers. He opened his mouth and began chatting with Tang Yu right there on the street.

"Why not take another look around inside?" As he spoke, the man pointed toward the merchant association deeper inside.

"We'll come back tomorrow. We've been wandering around all day since we got here, and we're a little tired." Tang Yu's words were half true and half false. More importantly, he wanted to get back to the hotel as quickly as possible, use nutrient solution to replenish the Origin Force his body had depleted, and then use the Gene Enhancement Serum to see how much he could raise his gene count.

"That's true. There'll be some good stuff up for sale here tomorrow night. Even if you don't buy anything, you should come join the excitement!"

Tang Yu and Meng Xuanxuan were both stunned when they heard this. Clearly, they had not known about it, but now they did.

"What? You didn't know?" Seeing the expressions on Tang Yu and Meng Xuanxuan's faces, the rough man with thick brows, large eyes, and a fat body looked surprised. But he quickly understood. They were two young people, probably here for the first time. It was normal for them not to know.

"Old Biao! Are you leaving or not?"

"Heh, I'm heading off first! We can chat again sometime!" He had wanted to chat a little longer, but hearing his companion call, the man had no choice but to leave first.

"Was he talking about tomorrow's auction?" On the way back to the hotel, Meng Xuanxuan could not help asking Tang Yu. Old Black had mentioned it before. The main attraction of this auction was probably the so-called remains of the Mechanical Clan.

"Probably." It was Tang Yu's first time in the black market as well. How could he possibly know?

After returning to the hotel, Tang Yu wasted almost no time. He sat cross-legged on the bed, calmed his breathing and focused his mind, adjusting himself to his best state.

Although Origin Force Awakening came from the human body itself, once it was exhausted, it was difficult to replenish. If one relied on slow cultivation to restore it, the efficiency would be terrifyingly low. But humanity's cleverness lay precisely in this. Calling it a shortcut would not be wrong.

That shortcut was nutrient solution. Not only could it sustain the necessities of the human body, but more importantly, the nutrients within it could be directly absorbed by cells, transformed into Origin Force, and stored within the body. This saved a great deal of time.

Opening his eyes, Tang Yu picked up a test tube, broke it open, and drank it in one gulp. It tasted somewhat like milk, with a faintly fishy sweetness.

Gurgle! Gurgle!

Tang Yu heard gurgling sounds coming from his stomach, as if he were starving. In truth, his body had made no sound at all. It was simply that his cells were too hungry and urgently needed nutrients. The nutrient solution he drank happened to replenish them, causing his brain nerves to produce a certain illusion and send that feedback to his nervous system.

Tang Yu felt as though his body were a shriveled sponge, while the nutrient solution was a pool of clear water. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he had completely absorbed all the energy in the nutrient solution. The Origin Force in his body's cells had reached saturation. At that moment, Tang Yu's gaze fell upon the Gene Enhancement Serum. Its vivid crimson color possessed a fatal allure, especially when paired with its effects and price.

"My gene count is currently 122. I haven't undergone any gene serum modification yet, so the increase after taking it should be substantial. I should reach around 150. As for strength, if I keep cultivating diligently, it will naturally improve as well!" With that thought, Tang Yu's gaze sharpened. He reached out and crushed the sealed crystal, then swallowed the crimson gene serum. The moment it entered his mouth, he felt a surge of heat. Even the blood and vital energy in his body seemed to stir restlessly.

Every cell was like a drop of water in a vast ocean, beginning to compress and become denser. Yet the size of the cells did not change. This caused the originally full cells to become empty, and every cell in his body became like a lone wolf that had gone three to five days without meat, desperately needing replenishment. Tang Yu understood that the Gene Enhancement Serum was taking effect, beginning to increase his cells' capacity.

After more than an hour, the hunger gradually faded. This meant that the medicinal effect of the Gene Enhancement Serum had basically been completely absorbed by his body.

"Phew..." Tang Yu opened his eyes and let out a long breath. "So... hungry!" Tang Yu stared at the nutrient solution on the table like an opium addict from ancient times seeing drugs when his addiction struck, his eyes glowing green.

Click!

Without even thinking, he picked up another tube of nutrient solution and swallowed it in one gulp. After absorbing it again, he finally felt much better.

"Damn it! How is this any different from taking drugs?"

After eating and drinking his fill, Tang Yu immersed both body and mind in cultivation. Without the slightest warning, the moment his mind settled into a meditative state, his consciousness was pulled into the black crystal between his brows. Tang Yu did not resist, because he could sense that this pull held no malice toward him.

The instant his consciousness was drawn inside, the figure that looked exactly like him began to move.

Full Moon Fatal Strike!

Prodigal Son Turns Back!

Bone-Twisting Layered Palm!

Every move and technique within Primordial Martial Way was performed by the version of himself inside the black crystal with perfect clarity. Perhaps when Tang Yu himself used them, there would still be flaws—one could say they were riddled with openings—but when that "self" used them, they seemed utterly natural. Tang Yu watched closely, yet he could not find the slightest flaw.

As he watched, he gradually felt drowsy. When he could no longer hold on and fell asleep, his consciousness withdrew from the black crystal.

He carefully recalled every image that had flashed through his mind. They replayed vividly in his head again and again, and gradually, Tang Yu grasped a crucial point. Unfortunately, he only understood the theory for now and had not yet put it into practice. Comprehension was one thing; being able to apply it was another.

Without realizing it, Tang Yu's mental power had also improved greatly.

Mental power was also an extremely important factor on the path of a martial artist's cultivation. Gene count could be improved through Gene Enhancement Serum, Berserk Gene Serum, or even more advanced scientific methods. That was what the Xia family had done. But mental power was different. Still, such enhancement only applied to the early stage of Origin Force Awakening. The Metamorphosis Realm was not merely a change in one's genes, but a qualitative transformation of one's spiritual will. External objects could not interfere with it at all.

When one's genes reached a certain level of saturation and one's spiritual will rose to a corresponding height, a martial artist could use mental power to sense and absorb all kinds of energy from the universe, continuously perfecting themselves. Energy crystal blocks were products of pure cosmic energy compressed to an extreme degree. Giving such things to Tang Yu would be a complete waste, because he simply could not control the dissipation of energy.

But it would be different if they were used by an expert like Qin Bo. Metamorphosis-level experts possessed control far beyond that of Awakened martial artists. Energy dissipation was simply impossible for them, so waste was not an issue.

After storing the two tubes of nutrient solution he had absorbed in every cell of his body, Tang Yu was in better condition than ever before. He wanted to cultivate, but his current cultivation had already reached its limit. He wanted to sleep, but his mind was far too alert, and he could not fall asleep at all. This was rather awkward. He had never encountered such a situation before!

With nothing else to do, Tang Yu could only open his door and plan to take a walk outside. Checking the time, he saw that it was already two thirty in the morning. Before he knew it, he had reached the entrance of the hotel and walked out along White Street.

This time, Tang Yu did not head deeper inside. Instead, he went in the direction of the city gate. There were still many alley entrances he had never explored, and he did not know what lay within them.

"Sixth Brother, have you found out everything?" In a dark corner, two people spoke in hushed voices.

"I found out. That bald guy is Wang Jing, the son of Wang Zhengguo, the mayor of Heavenly Capital City. His gene count is over 190, but booze and women have hollowed out his body. His combat strength is probably not even as good as mine!" Hearing his Fifth Brother's question, Sixth Brother curled his lip and answered disdainfully.

"We absolutely cannot be careless about this. That old man beside him is an expert!"

"I checked that too. That old man is the Wang family's steward, and his strength is indeed very high. His gene count has broken through 300. Normally, someone like him could never have been brought under the Wang family's control. Unfortunately, decades ago, he got into a conflict with the local natives on Demon Cloud Star and was beaten by a group of them. Although he kept his life, his strength has not improved in all these years. He's probably finished!"