"I'm a genius, a self-taught genius. I don't need a teacher or anyone to instruct me."
"I know how Supervisor Wang will try to persuade me. He'll say I shouldn't be so arrogant, that there's always someone better out there. That acting so rashly will leave me battered and bruised, or even get me killed!"
"But I don't believe that. I'm confident I can become a War God by cultivating on my own!"
Li Xin truly had no idea how to explain why he didn't want to sign the Special Training Contract, so he simply played the part of an arrogant, conceited genius.
After all, he couldn't exactly tell them he had a cheat avatar called the Eternal Divine Brain. Going to the Extreme Martial Hall headquarters would only hold him back. He wouldn't go even if they beat him to death.
"You..."
"Ah, fine. Since you refuse to sign, there's nothing I can do. I can't convert this contract into Huaxia Currency for you, because I don't have that authority!"
"But I'll give you a year to change your mind. If you decide to sign this contract within that year, you can come to me anytime."
Ming Chengjun looked at Li Xin and shook his head helplessly. He truly couldn't understand the world of geniuses.
In his view, a genius as confident and arrogant as Li Xin would one day fall like a comet.
Still, he would keep the contract open for Li Xin for a year. A genius deserved the right to change his mind.
"Thank you, Supervisor Wang!"
With the matter settled, Li Xin breathed a sigh of relief. He had been afraid Ming Chengjun might send him straight to the Extreme Martial Hall headquarters if they disagreed. With his current strength, he wouldn't have been able to resist at all.
After signing the contract, Li Xin walked out and saw that many warriors were still lingering nearby. They silently watched him pass, the envy in their eyes plain to see.
Li Xin ignored their gazes and made his way to the exit. To his surprise, his father was already waiting for him there.
"Xin, well done! That's my son!"
When Li Houming saw Li Xin come out, he couldn't hide the smile on his face. The warriors who had come out earlier had already spread the news about Li Xin everywhere, and a few questions had told Li Houming all he needed to know.
So many factions had tried to recruit him, each represented by an important figure in Kyoto Base City. With talent like that, their Li Family was about to soar!
"Dad, let's go home first."
Seeing his father like this, Li Xin felt too embarrassed to tell him that he had refused to sign the Extreme Martial Hall's Special Training Contract.
Besides, Ming Chengjun had promised not to publicize the matter, so it probably wouldn't get out.
"Right, right! Let's go home first!"
With that, the two drove home together.
"You're home, son! Wash your hands and get ready to eat."
The moment Li Xin arrived home, he found that his mother, Li Meifang, had already prepared dinner and was waiting for them.
Li Meifang was an Advanced Warrior. She had once hunted monsters on the same team as Li Houming, but after he lost his arm, she had retired along with him and returned home.
After dinner, Li Xin discovered that a hundred million had been deposited into his account. It was the startup funding the Extreme Martial Hall had given him.
"Xin, I know you have plenty of startup funds now, but a warrior can never have enough money. Our Li Family isn't particularly powerful, but we can still give you ten million to get started."
After the meal, Li Meifang transferred ten million into Li Xin's account.
"Thank you, Mom!"
Li Xin knew that giving him ten million was already close to his family's limit. After all, most of the household income came from his third uncle hunting monsters in the wilderness.
His father worked as an instructor at the Extreme Martial Hall, while his second uncle, a retired soldier, also served as an instructor in the military. Neither earned very much.
At the Liu Family home:
"Dad, Li Xin from the Li Family, he..."
Even though Liu Yifan had become a warrior, he was still seething when he returned home, so he told his father about Li Xin.
"That bastard Li Houming really did raise a fine son!"
Liu Wutian also had only one arm. His missing arm had been cut off by Li Xin's father, Li Houzhong. It was no exaggeration to say that a blood feud existed between them.
"Dad, why don't we secretly get rid of Li Xin while Li Houzhong is away? If we let him grow stronger, he'll become a formidable enemy of our family!"
Liu Yifan spoke viciously.
"Stay out of this, and don't compare yourself to him. Buy a cultivation manual and focus on training for now. In a while, I'll have your uncle take you out to gain some experience."
Liu Wutian cut off his son's line of thinking. They were only a War General Level family. They didn't have the power to kill someone inside the Base City and escape punishment.
"I'll rent a laboratory first."
Li Xin had no idea that someone was plotting against him. Once he received the money, he didn't immediately log into Limit Home to buy cultivation manuals.
Instead, he used the Extreme Martial Hall's connections to find a technology laboratory in the Tianjin District.
Although the laboratory wasn't top-tier, it was more than enough for Li Xin. Without delay, he brought over the laptop that had fused with the Eternal Brain.
Then he began buying the world's highest-performance desktop computers, various alloys, and the components needed to upgrade and optimize his computer.
He also spent ten million on all kinds of scientific and technological knowledge through Limit Home. Everything he bought was within the access privileges he currently held.
With the Eternal Divine Brain, he mastered all the theoretical knowledge he had purchased in just a few days.
He also modified his laptop based on the world's most advanced desktop computers.
[Eternal Divine Brain advancement progress: 3%]
"It really works!"
Li Xin was delighted at the sight. At last, he could see hope of upgrading the Eternal Divine Brain.
"It's time to build the Eternal Divine Furnace!"
The Eternal Divine Furnace was the only technology passed down within the Eternal Divine Brain, and it was also its energy core. For the Eternal Divine Brain to advance, the Eternal Divine Furnace had to contain enough energy to support it.
Over the following days, Li Xin spent every moment in the laboratory except when eating, drinking, or using the bathroom. After ten days and numerous failures, he finally built the Eternal Divine Furnace.
It took the form of a cylindrical storage unit ten centimeters in diameter and thirty centimeters tall. A flexible metal tube extended from it, ending in a sharp needle.
"It's time to reveal the Eternal Divine Furnace's true power!"
Li Xin brought the Eternal Divine Furnace into the laboratory's warehouse. There were two cages there. One held a severely injured, anesthetized Steel-Boned One-Horned Pig at the Elementary Beast General rank.
He had paid the hefty price of fifteen million to buy this live specimen from the HR Alliance.
The other cage also held an Elementary Beast General Steel-Boned One-Horned Pig, but this one was dead.
Li Xin inserted the needle extending from the Eternal Divine Furnace into the dead Steel-Boned One-Horned Pig. An invisible suction force continuously drew the energy from its flesh and blood into the Eternal Divine Furnace.
In less than two seconds, the Steel-Boned One-Horned Pig had been drained into a shriveled husk. Its entire corpse looked as though it had been dead for centuries, and the slightest touch reduced it to ash.
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