Another Return, a Leap in Life Level (II)

The moment Qi Yuan saw the System Return rewards, it was as though a mountain of gold had fallen from the sky and struck him. His mind went dizzy.

Successfully gifted one S-class Bloodline Evolution Potion to a disciple!

Base Multiplier: 30x. Beginning return.

Detected that the gifted item brought the disciple immense surprise, triggering a 100x critical reward. Final Return Multiplier: 3000x!

Return rewards: 300 drops of Dragon Origin Essence. This return triggered a perfect critical hit, granting a special reward: 1 Dragon Origin Crystal.

Rewards have been deposited in the System Space and can be claimed at any time.

"Perfect reward!"

"Haha, it actually triggered a perfect reward! This new disciple of mine is really doing me proud!"

"Damn, Dragon Origin Essence—300 drops at once! Judging by the ratio, this is a treasure even more precious than an S-class Bloodline Evolution Potion! I'm going to be rich!"

"And there's the Dragon Origin Crystal. As a special reward, it must be far more precious than Dragon Origin Essence!"

He quickly checked the system's description of the Dragon Origin Crystal.

With just one glance, he froze on the spot!

Dragon Origin Crystal: a rare treasure of heaven and earth. Consuming it can slightly increase one's Life Gene Level!

"Good heavens! A treasure that can increase Life Gene Level... Is this really something I can come into contact with now?"

Qi Yuan felt as though, after being struck by that mountain of gold, he had fallen into a vat of wine.

Not only was his head spinning, but scenes that could only appear in the sweetest dreams kept surfacing in his mind!

A treasure capable of increasing one's Life Gene Level was no longer something that could be measured in money!

Treasures of this level were extraordinarily rare. Usually, only experts at the Immortal level or above could come into contact with them.

For an ordinary Realm Lord, even if you had money, you would not even get to see such a treasure. How could you possibly buy it?

Therefore, even if this Dragon Origin Crystal only raised one's Life Gene Level by a tiny amount, its price would absolutely reach an astonishingly exaggerated figure!

If word got out that Qi Yuan possessed such a treasure, countless Domain Lords, Realm Lords, and perhaps even Immortal God-level experts would likely come looking for him to kill him and seize it!

"To be safe, I'll use it as soon as possible."

Qi Yuan forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart.

He looked at Liao Li, who was respectfully kneeling before him, and gently flicked his hand.

"Go back now and use that S-class Bloodline Evolution Potion immediately. Don't keep it."

"Yes, Teacher!"

Liao Li respectfully accepted the briefcase containing the S-class Bloodline Evolution Potion and the Dragon Vein Fruit, then quickly returned to the room where she usually cultivated.

Before long, Qi Yuan faintly heard bursts of heavily suppressed, agonized low roars coming from Liao Li's room.

"Hehe, Bloodline Evolution Potions don't feel good going down. Still, after using it, my disciple's foundation should improve considerably. I wonder whether her return multiplier will increase as well."

Qi Yuan was in no hurry to use the Dragon Origin Crystal. Instead, he sat quietly by the window and waited.

More than an hour later, the agonized low roars from Liao Li's room gradually subsided, replaced by an immensely powerful life aura that rapidly spread outward.

"Has the evolution been completed?"

Qi Yuan immediately looked at the system panel in his mind—

Name: Liao Li

Race: Chuan Li Clan

Realm: Star Traveller, Level 2

Attribute: Lightning

Cultivation Path: Martial Artist

Base Return Multiplier: 33x

"33x! It really increased!"

Qi Yuan's eyes immediately lit up!

After using one S-class Bloodline Potion, Liao Li's Base Return Multiplier had actually increased from 30x to 33x!

Although the increase was small, it let Qi Yuan see a certain possibility!

"A bloodline improvement represents a stronger foundation and greater potential. Could it be that the system determines the Base Return Multiplier according to a disciple's potential?"

"Since the Base Return Multiplier can increase, could I cultivate an exceptionally gifted disciple with an extremely high return multiplier myself?"

But after only a brief consideration, he abandoned the idea.

To turn an ordinary disciple into a supreme genius with a Base Multiplier of seventy or eighty times or more would require an unknown amount of resources and effort.

Rather than waste that much time, he might as well find a genius disciple with a high multiplier from the start!

"Mm, Liao Li's improvement is basically complete. Now it's my turn."

Qi Yuan withdrew his gaze from Liao Li's direction.

He walked to the center of the room and sat directly on the floor.

Then, with a thought, he took the Dragon Origin Crystal he had just obtained from the System Space.

The Dragon Origin Crystal was roughly the size of an infant's fist. Its entire body was blood-red, yet faint golden rays seeped hazily from within.

An invisible pulse, like the beat of a heart, continuously rippled out from it, making even Qi Yuan's soul tremble.

"Dragon Origin Crystal. Pierce the shell and consume the Golden Liquid inside..."

Qi Yuan instantly understood how to use the Dragon Origin Crystal.

Without hesitation, he channeled origin energy through his fingertip and instantly pierced the crystal's red shell.

Gurgle, gurgle~~~

The gemlike, resplendent Golden Liquid essence began to flow from the puncture. At that instant, a craving from the depths of Qi Yuan's soul rose within his consciousness!

"Ha—"

Qi Yuan immediately opened his mouth.

Whoosh~

That Golden Liquid, so beautiful it stirred the soul and brimming with endless vitality, transformed into a slender golden stream and instantly entered Qi Yuan's mouth.

The entire Dragon Origin Crystal was only the size of an infant's fist, and the Golden Liquid essence within amounted to less than half a cup.

Yet after Qi Yuan swallowed it in one gulp, the Golden Liquid essence instantly spread throughout his entire body via his esophagus, blood vessels, meridians, and even the gaps between every cell.

"Boom!"

An indescribably mysterious energy exploded instantly within his body!

If Qi Yuan's earlier consumption of Dragon Origin Essence had merely transformed his bloodline and physical body,

then what he was experiencing now was the complete destruction and reconstruction of everything from his flesh-and-blood genes, to his soul, to his entire Life Imprint!

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~~~

Every inch of Qi Yuan's flesh, every cell in his body, and even every fragment of his genes continuously broke down, were sifted, regenerated, and recombined. Even his genetic information was changing.

At the same time, his soul and will felt as though they were being crushed beneath an enormous millstone. His entire soul had already reached the brink of collapse and extinction.

Yet throughout this process, strands of special golden energy continuously flowed into his genes and cells, merging with his soul and accelerating the reconstruction of his genes, cells, and soul.

Thus, he continuously broke down and was erased, then continuously regenerated and reshaped.

Qi Yuan's entire body convulsed unconsciously.

Pain!

An ultimate pain that truly penetrated deep into his soul!

At times, it felt as though a volcano had erupted within him, as if his whole body had been swallowed by lava and burned to ash.

At other times, it felt as though he had fallen into an abyss of ice. The bone-piercing cold seemed capable of freezing even his soul!

Crack, crack~~

Qi Yuan's skeleton was deforming. The bones in his shoulders and back bulged outward, as though a pair of wings were about to burst from his body!

His fingers were also mutating, shifting toward the sharp form of a beast's claws.

His eyes, teeth, internal organs, and every other part of his body continuously underwent all kinds of mutations.

Only after this state of agony and mutation had continued for nearly an hour—

did his body's genes, cells, soul, will, and everything else finally seem to find a most perfect state of balance.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle~~~

His cells rapidly divided, multiplied, and recombined. His soul, which had been on the brink of collapse, gathered anew in a tougher, clearer state.

The various mutations in his body gradually faded, returning to their original forms.

Everything seemed to have returned to calm.

Yet beneath that calm, a Leap in Life Level had begun to occur—