"Ji, tell us-when did you master the Army-Breaking Staff Technique?" Liu Qifan asked, his eyes wide.
Zhang Haocheng leaned closer too. "Yeah, it's only been a few days! How did you do it?"
Ji Zhixing smiled and explained, "Just now, while fighting the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King."
He paused, then continued, "Actually, yesterday I figured out how to infuse my will into my staff technique. I just couldn't get it right every time."
"It took that life-or-death fight with the Iron-Feather Mountain Chicken King to truly master this Staff Technique."
"Badass!" Liu Qifan gave him a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration.
Zhang Haocheng sighed in amazement too. "Your talent really is something else."
Luo Yongguang and Xie Jia also looked impressed.
Ji Zhixing smiled without saying anything more.
He looked at the staff in his hand, then at the school bus in the distance, and told them, "Go rest on the bus. Don't wait for me. I'm going to try the Stonewall Staff Technique."
"You're still going?" Liu Qifan looked helpless.
They had spent the entire day running around and fighting one battle after another. They were already exhausted, yet Ji Zhixing still wanted to practice his staff technique.
"I'm just giving it a try." Ji Zhixing smiled. "Go get some rest."
"All right, then let's head back to the bus," Zhao Qing said.
She looked at Ji Zhixing, a trace of astonishment in her eyes as well. In the two days she had led the squad, she had witnessed both his talent and how hard he worked.
This guy might really amount to something someday, Zhao Qing thought as she led Liu Qifan and the others onto the bus.
Ji Zhixing watched them board, then walked to an open patch of ground. With a thought, he stored his staff in the gene furnace.
"Refine."
With a mental command, he activated the gene furnace and began refining the staff.
A short while later, the refinement was complete.
Streams of information flooded his mind, and he instantly grasped how to train in the Stonewall Staff Technique.
At the same time, that sensation of being one with his staff once again swept through his entire body.
There it is again.
Ji Zhixing reached out and retrieved the staff.
This staff was called the Yellowstone Staff.
Gene equipment was named by whoever first obtained it.
The Army-Breaking Staff Technique requires infusing army-breaking will into the staff technique-advancing unstoppably, with an invincible presence.
The Stonewall Staff Technique, on the other hand, requires infusing the will of bedrock into it, becoming steady as solid rock and standing immovable.
These two kinds of will are completely different.
Army-Breaking is offense, while Stonewall is defense, Ji Zhixing mused. Having mastered the Army-Breaking Staff Technique first, learning the Stonewall Staff Technique might not be so easy.
But now that I have a first-order, two-star innate staff heart talent, who knows?
Ji Zhixing tightened his grip on the Yellowstone Staff and began practicing.
Immovable Bedrock!
Gather Stones into a Mountain!
Steadfast as a Mountain!
He practiced one move after another.
With his foundation in basic staff techniques and the Army-Breaking Staff Technique, he soon learned all the moves of the Stonewall Staff Technique.
Meanwhile, guided by the Yellowstone Staff, he could feel a sense of steadiness and weight welling up within him as he performed the Stonewall Staff Technique.
It was as though he had truly become a massive rock, Rooting into the earth and utterly immovable.
Let's try without the Yellowstone Staff guiding me.
After practicing a few rounds, Ji Zhixing began trying it without the Yellowstone Staff's guidance.
Sure enough, it doesn't work.
Only a short while later, he shook his head.
Without the Yellowstone Staff guiding him, he simply couldn't enter that state in which both body and mind seemed to become solid rock.
Looks like it's just like when I practiced the Army-Breaking Staff Technique, Ji Zhixing understood. I still need to practice over and over, let my body remember this feeling, then try to grasp it.
He abandoned the idea of a shortcut and continued practicing.
Once, twice, three times...
Before long, his arms began to ache, and his stamina couldn't keep up.
No good. I've worn myself out too much today. Ji Zhixing shook his head and put away the Yellowstone Staff.
Rather than boarding the bus right away, he walked to a large rock and sat down with his back to the bus.
After resting for a while, he began refining the Gene Source Stones stored in his gene furnace to replenish his depleted gene source force.
About half an hour later, his gene source force was fully restored.
That should do it. Ji Zhixing opened his eyes and, with a thought, retrieved a small white bone vial from his gene furnace.
It was the Stone Skin Gene Potion he had obtained by refining the Petrified Crab earlier that day.
With his back to the bus, he was positioned just right to block the others' view.
"The Stone Skin Gene Potion." He took a deep breath and unscrewed the cap.
A faint, stony tang drifted out. It wasn't unpleasant.
Without hesitation, Ji Zhixing tilted his head back and poured the entire vial into his mouth.
The potion felt slightly cool on his tongue, with a faint bitterness. It flowed down his throat and quickly merged into his body.
The next instant, a strange sensation rose from his Gene Aperture.
He quickly closed his eyes and sank his awareness into his body.
Within his Gene Aperture, the phantom that had fused with the Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene trembled slightly, greedily absorbing the potion's power.
He carefully contemplated the information conveyed to him by the gene.
Developing the Stone Skin gene ability primarily depended on the gene absorbing the Stone Skin Gene Potion.
But if the cultivator cooperated and carefully sought insight, they could also accelerate the process.
This could reduce the amount of Stone Skin Gene Potion consumed.
Moreover, this wasn't limited to the Stone Skin gene ability. Developing most gene abilities also required the cultivator to cooperate by seeking insight.
"One Stone Skin Gene Potion really isn't enough." After an unknown amount of time, Ji Zhixing felt that peculiar sensation disappear. He opened his eyes and sighed softly.
Although he had expected it, he was still somewhat disappointed.
People online said some had used dozens of Gigantification Gene Potions without developing the Gigantification ability. I've only used one Stone Skin Gene Potion. It's normal for it to fail.
He put away the empty vial, stood up, and turned toward the bus.
On the bus, Liu Qifan and the others were already asleep, snoring softly.
Ji Zhixing quietly found his seat and soon fell into a deep sleep as well.
The night passed without incident.
Early the next morning, as dawn was just breaking, everyone woke up one after another.
After a quick bite to eat, the squads set off again.
"Zhixing, where are we going today?" Liu Qifan asked.
"Let's check out Stone Lake again," Ji Zhixing said. "I want to see if we can get anything today."
"Sure. Stone Lake it is."
The others nodded without objection.
They had a great deal of respect for Ji Zhixing.
The five left camp and headed south, arriving once again at the shore of Stone Lake.
In the early morning, a thin mist shrouded Stone Lake. Its clear waters shimmered, making for a beautiful view.
But as Ji Zhixing swept his gaze across the shore, he saw that someone was already there.
They weren't from their Third Middle School, though.
They were the students from Rain City Middle School.
The group stood on the shore, looking toward the center of the lake.
Hearing their approach, the Rain City Middle School students glanced back at them, then turned away without acknowledging them.
Their gazes were as indifferent as if they had been looking at stones by the roadside.
"Let's go."
Then Gu Zheng spoke, took out a palm-sized toy boat, and tossed it forward.
The little boat swelled in the wind, quickly transforming into a wooden boat with a carp-shaped prow. The members of his squad moved, all leaping aboard.
Gu Zheng stood at the bow while the others each took an oar. The wooden boat slowly left the shore and headed toward Lake Center Island in the middle of the lake.
Gene equipment?
Ji Zhixing's interest stirred, and he felt a little envious.
"They're going to Lake Center Island again?" Zhang Haocheng asked in surprise. "I wonder what's there. I heard they spent all day on the island yesterday."
"Those guys!"
Watching the Rain City Middle School students depart, Liu Qifan said indignantly, "They seemed pretty polite back at our camp. Who would've thought that when we ran into them here, they wouldn't even give us a nod?"
"What can we do? Our talent's poor." Luo Yongguang shook his head, looking somewhat rueful as well.
"Ah!" Liu Qifan sighed. "Gene evolution is too hard. I still haven't heard my gene's voice. Even if Zhixing can evolve his gene to the second order, evolving it to the third or fourth order in the future will probably be as hard as climbing to the heavens."
Before you continue