Ten Days

Ji Zhixing sat cross-legged on his bed, holding a bottle of pale golden potion.

It was a Gigantification Gene Potion.

He took a deep breath, pulled out the stopper, and drained the pale golden potion in one gulp.

As the potion reached his stomach, a warm sensation instantly swept through his entire body.

He could feel its medicinal power seeping into every limb and bone, resonating with his genes in some strange way.

Now!

With a thought, Ji Zhixing immediately activated his Gene Furnace, refining the medicinal power and speeding up its absorption by his Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene.

Hum!

Suddenly, his consciousness seemed to be drawn into a strange space.

This is...

Ji Zhixing's heart jolted.

He saw a clear phantom image of a monkey appear in his mind.

It was a Three-Inch Stone Monkey, small and grayish-brown all over, crouching on a bluestone rock and watching him with lively eyes.

The Three-Inch Stone Monkey...

Ji Zhixing murmured inwardly.

The next instant, the phantom monkey moved.

It abruptly stood up, a faint golden glow spreading over its body.

Then, under Ji Zhixing's gaze, its body began rapidly growing taller!

Three inches... four inches... five inches...

The monkey's body swelled visibly, its muscles bulging and its bones lengthening. In the blink of an eye, its height had increased by more than half.

The Stone Monkey, originally only about three inches tall, now stood five inches high.

So this is the Gigantification ability...

Ji Zhixing said to himself.

At that moment, he felt as though he had become the monkey.

He could clearly feel how Gene Source Force surged, how bones grew, how muscles expanded, how skin stretched taut...

The sensation was all too real.

It was as though he himself were the monkey, experiencing the process of his body being stretched larger.

So that's how it works...

Understanding welled up within Ji Zhixing.

The Gigantification ability makes the Gene Source Energy within the body circulate in a special way, drawing out the body's potential.

This pattern of circulation...

He carefully sensed it, committing every detail firmly to memory.

Just then, the monkey's body began slowly shrinking.

Five inches... four inches... three inches...

In the blink of an eye, the monkey returned to its original state and crouched on the bluestone rock again.

But the next instant, it stood up once more, golden light spreading over its body.

It used the Gigantification ability a second time!

The monkey's body began growing taller again, inch by inch.

Ji Zhixing immersed himself in the sensations once more.

This time, he was even more focused, even more attentive.

He sensed the paths along which Gene Source Energy circulated through the monkey's body, the changes in every cell, and the transformation from tiny to enormous.

So that's how it works...

This pattern of circulation, this frequency, this rhythm...

Ji Zhixing half closed his eyes, completely absorbed in these insights.

His consciousness seemed to merge with the monkey as he experienced the mysteries of the Gigantification ability again and again.

Time ticked by.

The monkey used the Gigantification ability over and over, and each time, Ji Zhixing gained new insights.

An unknown length of time passed.

Ji Zhixing slowly opened his eyes.

A trace of exhaustion flickered in his eyes, and he looked somewhat weak.

"Developing a gene ability really does drain your mind."

Ji Zhixing rubbed his temples, marveling inwardly.

His head felt heavy and muddled, as though he had stayed awake for several days and nights in a row.

"This bottle of Gigantification Gene Potion is used up."

He examined the state of his body and found that the potion's medicinal power had been completely absorbed.

His Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene also seemed to have undergone some subtle changes.

"I gained some insights, but..."

Ji Zhixing frowned.

"I'm still a long way from actually developing the Gigantification Gene Ability."

"Developing a gene ability doesn't just require me to memorize how it operates. I also need to plant the seed of the ability in my genes."

He could sense that he had only touched the threshold of the Gigantification ability. He still had a considerable distance to go before truly mastering it.

Looks like I'll need more Gigantification Gene Potions.

Ji Zhixing thought silently.

But he also knew that he could not take Gigantification Gene Potions one after another.

Doing so would adversely affect both his body and mind.

"I'll have to wait until tomorrow to take the second bottle."

Ji Zhixing checked the time and found that nearly two hours had passed.

"I'll rest first."

He stood up and stretched his body. At noon, he ate something and took a short nap, only then recovering his mental energy.

Afterward, he went to the open space downstairs.

With a thought, a pale blue staff appeared in his hand.

It was the Tidehearing Staff.

He had already refined the Tidehearing Staff.

He wielded it just as effortlessly as he had previously wielded the Army-Breaking Staff and the Yellowstone Staff.

"Let's begin."

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, gripped the staff with both hands, and began practicing the Tide-Listening Staff Technique.

When striking with the Tide-Listening Staff Technique, the sounds of the tides accompanied the staff, unsettling an opponent's mind.

This staff technique emphasized overcoming hardness with softness, countering movement with stillness, or catching an opponent off guard. It was completely different from the fierce, overbearing Army-Breaking Staff Technique and the mountain-like immovability of the Stonewall Staff Technique.

Ji Zhixing struck out with his staff, its shaft slicing through the air with a faint whistle.

The sound hovered at the edge of hearing, like the tides rolling in from far away, stirring unease in the heart.

This feeling...

As he practiced, Ji Zhixing explored the intricacies of the Tide-Listening Staff Technique.

He discovered that although the technique appeared gentle, it concealed deadly intent.

The sounds of the tides could disturb an opponent's mind without them realizing it, making them expose an opening.

Once I master the Tide-Listening Staff Technique, perhaps I can use it as a trump card.

Ji Zhixing thought silently.

He practiced again and again, darting across the open space, his staff moving like a dragon and raising wave after wave of tidal sounds.

That afternoon, his mother, Zhang Yulan, returned with his younger sister, Ji Zhiyu.

"Zhixing, you bought all these groceries?"

Zhang Yulan walked through the door and was immediately astonished to see the kitchen piled with all kinds of vegetables and meat.

"Mom, although I was trapped in the Underground Water Cave a few days ago, I gained quite a lot," he said with a smile. "From now on, just leave buying the groceries to me."

Hearing this, Zhang Yulan smiled with relief. "Good, good. My son is making something of himself."

Ji Zhiyu's eyes brightened as well.

That evening, Zhang Yulan brought out plate after plate of food.

Sweet-and-sour ribs, steamed carp, smashed cucumber salad...

Ji Zhiyu's little mouth never stopped moving, and she ate until her belly bulged.

"These ribs are delicious, big brother," she said indistinctly, placing a piece in his bowl with her chopsticks.

Ji Zhixing smiled, warmth welling up in his heart.

From now on, he could finally change a few things.

But I have to become stronger. I'm still far too weak.

He silently vowed to himself.

The days passed one by one.

Every day, Ji Zhixing followed his routine, taking Earth Core Spirit Liquid to improve his cultivation.

He took Gigantification Gene Potions to develop his gene ability.

Aside from that, he went downstairs to practice his staff techniques.

Ten days later.

In the open space downstairs, Ji Zhixing held the Tidehearing Staff and struck out.

Whoosh!

The staff sliced through the air, producing a strange sound.

It sounded like surging tides, wave after endless wave, unsettling the mind.

"I've done it!"

Ji Zhixing drew back his staff and stood still, delight on his face.

The Tide-Listening Staff Technique really is the hardest of the three staff techniques, he reflected. It took ten straight days of practice, with the Tidehearing Staff in hand and the help of my Innate Staff Heart Talent, to fully master it.

An ordinary person might not master it even after a year, or longer.

He swung the staff again, and the sounds of the tides rang out once more.

The sound hovered at the edge of hearing, seeming to come from every direction and making it impossible to tell where the staff would strike.

Still, this is only a First-Order Two-Star Staff Technique, Ji Zhixing thought silently as he put away the Tidehearing Staff. It'll probably be most effective when used to catch someone off guard.

If my opponent is prepared, its mind-disrupting effect will be greatly diminished.

Even so, this staff technique gives me another killing move.

He put away the Tidehearing Staff, thinking silently, I'll return the staff to Teacher Sun in a couple of days. I've mastered all three two-star staff techniques. Next, I'll focus on developing the Gigantification ability and evolving my Three-Inch Stone Monkey Gene.

Just then, the woman who lived above his home was returning from outside the residential complex.

Seeing Ji Zhixing standing in the open space, she immediately lowered her head slightly and slowed her steps, her gaze wavering as she avoided meeting his eyes.

Ji Zhixing paid her no attention. He simply turned and walked home.