Developing His First Gene Ability

Ji Zhixing sank his awareness into his body and looked at the Gene Aperture that had fused with the Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene.

Inside the Gene Aperture, the spectral image representing the Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene was giving off a faint glow and trembling gently.

Is this... Ji Zhixing's heart stirred. Is my gene transforming?

He focused his attention and sensed it carefully.

There's no mistake. My gene is transforming, Ji Zhixing thought as he examined it. But it might still need some time before it develops the innate staff heart ability.

It shouldn't take too long, though. I just need to wait a little longer.

He opened his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Seeing Ji Zhixing standing motionless, Liu Qifan walked over and asked.

"Nothing." Ji Zhixing shook his head and smiled. "Just a little tired. I'm taking a breather."

"Fair enough. You held off the chicken king all by yourself for so long. You must be exhausted." Liu Qifan nodded.

Then, following their agreed order, the group began refining the five Iron-Feather Mountain Chickens.

Ji Zhixing had refined four Petrified Crabs that morning, so he didn't get a share this time.

He sat to one side, resting as he watched the others refine them.

Before long, Liu Qifan, Luo Yongguang, and Xie Jia had all finished.

Zhang Haocheng had been allotted the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King. Brimming with excitement, he took the king into his gene furnace, only to open his eyes several minutes later with disappointment written all over his face.

"Still just a Gene Source Stone, only a little bigger. Even this chicken king was no use."

"You just have bad luck." Liu Qifan chuckled. "When Zhixing refined a chicken king before, he got a whole bottle of Origin Force Gene Potion."

"Your luck wasn't much better than mine." Zhang Haocheng curled his lip.

The sky was growing dark. Exhausted after a full day of hunting, they all quickened their pace toward camp.

When they returned, quite a few teams were already back in the clearing. But the atmosphere was somber, nothing like yesterday's lively mood.

"What happened?" Sensing that something was wrong, Liu Qifan asked quietly.

Ji Zhixing had noticed it too.

He looked around and saw that some students looked grim, while others were discussing something in hushed voices.

"Something happened," Zhang Haocheng said with a frown.

They hurried to ask around.

They soon learned the reason.

A student from Class Four had suffered an accident while hunting Gene Beasts. The senior student leading the team hadn't been able to rescue them in time. The student had been seriously injured and rushed back to the city.

Seriously injured... Ji Zhixing's heart sank a little.

"I heard the injuries were really bad. They nearly died." Liu Qifan shook his head.

"It's too dangerous."

"Good thing someone was leading them. Otherwise, it would've been even more dangerous."

They discussed it, the mood heavy.

Ji Zhixing remained silent.

"Injuries are common when Gene Cultivators hunt Gene Beasts." Zhao Qing walked over, her tone calm. "Even losing your life is nothing unusual."

"You have someone leading you right now, so things are a little better. Without a leader, it would be even more dangerous."

They nodded, their hearts heavy.

This was the road that lay ahead of them.

Once they became Gene Cultivators, even first-order gene cultivators, they would earn money far faster than ordinary people.

But danger would also follow close on their heels at every moment.

"All right, let's stop talking about this. Everyone's tired. Hurry up and eat something, then get some rest."

Ji Zhixing patted their shoulders, sat down by a large rock, and took dry rations and water from his bag. He ate with the others in silence.

As he ate, he pondered what was on his mind.

Seriously injured... he thought silently. This is the world of Gene Cultivators. Rewards come with risks. If I want to grow stronger, I have to shoulder those risks.

All I can do is grow stronger as quickly as possible. Strong enough to protect myself. Strong enough to protect the people around me.

As he was thinking, another team approached from the distance.

It was the group from Rain City Middle School.

They were the same as ever, composed and unhurried. The boy called Gu Zheng walked at the front, his expression placid.

Everyone was familiar with them by now, so no one stared anymore. Only Qi Xingzhou and a few others greeted them and exchanged a few words.

Ji Zhixing glanced at them, then looked away.

By the time they finished eating, the sky had gone completely dark.

Ji Zhixing was about to board the vehicle with the others to rest when his body suddenly jolted.

A strange sensation welled up from deep within him.

This is...

Startled, Ji Zhixing immediately closed his eyes and sank his awareness into his body.

Within him, the Gene Aperture that had fused with the Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene was now radiating brilliant light.

Amid that light, entirely new information surged into his mind like a tide.

Innate staff heart!

He had finally developed his first gene ability.

It was different from stone heart. Stone heart was a one-star passive ability that merely gave him a little more resistance against attacks on his mind and spirit.

Innate staff heart, however, was a two-star quality ability!

Two-star!

Delight filled Ji Zhixing's heart.

He carefully examined the information about this new ability.

Innate staff heart could enhance his talent for staff techniques and speed up his training in them. It could also amplify the power of the staff techniques he used.

With the amplification from innate staff heart, his two-star staff techniques could almost rival three-star gene abilities in power!

Three-star! Ji Zhixing's eyes blazed.

Three-star gene abilities were something only people like Huang Yu and Yu Zhirou, who had fused with second-order genes, could possess.

And now, when he used the Eight Army-Breaking Staff Moves, their power could reach that level!

Of course, innate staff heart also amplified staff techniques rated three-star or higher, but the boost wasn't as great.

But...

Ji Zhixing's thoughts raced. The quality of a gene ability can be improved. To keep improving the quality of my innate staff heart ability, I just need to keep practicing staff techniques.

As long as I keep practicing, one day it can evolve to three-star, four-star, or even higher!

The more Ji Zhixing thought about it, the brighter his eyes shone.

"Zhixing, what's wrong?" Liu Qifan asked when he saw Ji Zhixing suddenly stop.

"I have something to do. You guys go ahead and get on."

Ji Zhixing shook his head and looked into the distance.

Teacher Sun Dajun was over there, talking with several other teachers.

"What is it?"

Liu Qifan asked casually.

"I've mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique and developed the innate staff heart talent. I'm going to ask Teacher Sun to teach me another staff technique."

Ji Zhixing smiled at Liu Qifan, then strode toward Sun Dajun in the distance.

"Nutcase!"

Liu Qifan muttered, unable to figure out what Ji Zhixing was planning.

As for Ji Zhixing's claim that he had mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique, he didn't believe a word of it.

How could anyone master it that quickly?

"What's going on?"

Zhang Haocheng and the others also looked at Ji Zhixing in surprise.

"Who knows what he's up to?"

Liu Qifan shook his head.

The group decided not to board the vehicle after all and waited there for Ji Zhixing to return.

"Teacher Sun," Ji Zhixing said as he approached Sun Dajun.

Seeing that it was Ji Zhixing, Sun Dajun nodded and smiled. "Need something?"

The other teachers turned to look at Ji Zhixing as well.

"Teacher Sun, I'd like to practice the Stonewall Staff Technique," Ji Zhixing said. "Would you be able to teach me?"

"The Stonewall Staff Technique?" Sun Dajun paused, then shook his head. "Didn't you say that mastering a first-order two-star staff technique would let you develop the innate staff heart talent?"

"The Army-Breaking Staff Technique you're practicing and the Stonewall Staff Technique I practice are about equally difficult."

"Until you've mastered your current staff technique, I suggest you focus on it alone."

"Thank you for your concern, Teacher Sun," Ji Zhixing said. "But... I've already mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique and developed the innate staff heart talent. That's why I wanted to learn the Stonewall Staff Technique from you."