Chapter 131 - 123: Tier 3! Ten-foot Stone Monkey Genes!

Chapter 131: Chapter 123: Tier 3! Ten-foot Stone Monkey Genes!

"Ji Zhixing won! I can’t believe even Du Zhan was no match for him!"

"No wonder he was able to crush the Genius Class students and take first place on the freshmen trial leaderboard. It turns out he’s not just lucky; he actually has the strength to back it up."

"It’s more than just strength. Xu Cheng and Du Zhan are the top students in magic and physical attacks respectively."

"Both of them lost to him. This proves that his abilities are well-rounded with no weaknesses."

"I thought he relied on luck before, but it seems I was blind."

"From today on, Ji Zhixing is the number one student in the Elite Class."

Below the arena, the spectating students buzzed with discussions, their voices growing louder by the second. Many who previously thought Ji Zhixing had relied on luck to top the freshmen trial leaderboard were now changing their tune. A single battle might involve some luck, but Ji Zhixing had defeated Xu Cheng and Du Zhan back-to-back, and both victories were achieved in head-on clashes. This could never be explained away as mere luck.

Amidst the crowd’s chatter, Ji Zhixing stood on the arena and swept his gaze over the surrounding freshmen. A surge of heroic ambition couldn’t help but well up in his heart. This time, he had defeated Du Zhan. Next time, his target would be those students from the Genius Class—the geniuses who had fused with Tier-4 Morning Star genes, and even Cao Zhenxing, who had fused with a Tier-5 Radiant Moon gene.

"It won’t be long," Ji Zhixing thought. He took a deep breath, suppressing his thoughts, and turned to walk off the arena.

Xiao Mingyue was waiting for him at the bottom of the arena. It wasn’t just her; Su Qing, Zhou Han, and Tie Shan were also there.

"Zhixing, you’re amazing!" Zhou Han looked at Ji Zhixing and said excitedly. "You defeated Xu Cheng and Du Zhan consecutively. From now on, there shouldn’t be anyone in the Elite Class who can rival you.

"I even feel that if you can evolve your gene one more time, you wouldn’t be at a disadvantage even against those guys from the Genius Class."

Ji Zhixing smiled upon hearing this. When he first joined the squad formed by Xiao Mingyue, Zhou Han had acted slightly aloof, speaking very little and maintaining a lukewarm attitude. But as time passed, Zhou Han had completely changed his tune in front of him, and that aloofness was nowhere to be found. This was the change brought about by true strength.

Chatting as they went, the group walked out of the Martial Arts Hall. Zhou Han, Tie Shan, and Su Qing were all quite excited, chiming in one after another about the recent battles. Xiao Mingyue also maintained a smile on her lips, occasionally interjecting with a comment. However, Ji Zhixing had already regained his composure. Looking inward at his gene aperture, he knew that his Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene had reached the critical point of evolution.

"I’m sorry," he said, looking at the group. "I have some things to take care of and need to hurry back first. Let’s talk later."

Zhou Han and the others were momentarily stunned before quickly replying, "Alright, we’ll talk later. If you have matters to attend to, go handle them quickly."

Ji Zhixing nodded and exchanged a glance with Xiao Mingyue. She immediately understood his situation. Her heart tightened, and after excusing herself from Su Qing and the rest, she quickly hurried toward the villa with him.

Once there was no one else around, she lowered her voice and asked, "How is it? Is your gene about to evolve?"

"Soon." Ji Zhixing nodded without breaking his stride. "It should be completed today."

Xiao Mingyue took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in her heart. "Then let’s hurry back. Gene evolution is a major event; we can’t delay."

The two quickened their pace, cutting across the campus, and soon returned to the villa. Upon entering, Xiao Mingyue escorted Ji Zhixing to the door of the Cultivation Chamber.

"Go on in, I’ll wait for you outside," she said, helping him open the door. "Call me if you need anything."

"Okay." Ji Zhixing nodded and stepped inside. The door to the Cultivation Chamber closed behind him.

Ji Zhixing walked to the center of the Cultivation Chamber and sat cross-legged. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and sank his consciousness into the gene aperture within his body.

Inside the gene aperture, the phantom of the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey was trembling violently. Dazzling light burst from its body, growing brighter and brighter until it practically illuminated the entire space. Its body slowly transformed within the light—its bones elongated, its muscles expanded, and its fur grew out.

Ji Zhixing could feel his gene undergoing a massive metamorphosis. It felt just like a seed that had accumulated enough strength and was finally about to break through the soil.

BOOM!

After an unknown amount of time, a low rumble echoed within the gene aperture. The sound wasn’t loud, but it seemed to emanate from the very depths of his gene. Immediately after, the light radiating from Ji Zhixing’s gene phantom suddenly retracted.

Within the gene aperture, the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey had taken on a completely different appearance. Not only did it look taller, more robust, and more muscular, but its fur had also changed from a grayish-brown to a dark gray, standing on end like steel needles.

The most striking feature was its eyes. Previously, the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey’s eyes were calm and overbearing, carrying the murderous aura of a seasoned veteran. Now, this stone monkey’s eyes contained something more alongside that calmness and dominance: absolute confidence. It was a bone-deep certainty in its own strength. It was as if nothing stood before it that couldn’t be solved with a single strike of its staff. And if one strike wasn’t enough, then two.

"It’s done," Ji Zhixing thought, joy welling up in his heart. The Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene had finally evolved into the Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene. Tier-3. From this moment on, his first gene had officially stepped into the ranks of Tier-3.

Taking a deep breath, Ji Zhixing suppressed his excitement and began to listen to the information transmitting from the depths of his gene.

"No changes at all..." A moment later, a hint of regret appeared on Ji Zhixing’s face.

The quality of his various abilities hadn’t changed. However, he also knew this was actually quite normal. After all, his abilities were already of very high quality, considered top-tier among Tier-3 genes. In particular, the Gigantification and Unmoving Stone Heart abilities were both of four-star quality. Since the Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene was only a Tier-3 gene, it was naturally very difficult to elevate these two abilities to five-star quality.

"However..." Just then, Ji Zhixing suddenly felt a new power surging within his body. The power flooded out from his gene aperture and instantly spread through his limbs and bones, merging into every muscle and every bone. He sensed it carefully and soon captured the information regarding this new ability from the depths of his gene.

"Innate Divine Strength," Ji Zhixing silently muttered the name.

It was a three-star quality gene ability, and a passive one at that. It didn’t need to be actively cast; it would naturally enhance his strength.

"Not bad," he thought, feeling satisfied with the changes this new ability brought him. Although his previous Rock-Solid Physique ability could also enhance his strength, its primary function was for defense, with the strength boost merely being a secondary effect. But Innate Divine Strength was different. It was a tangible passive ability solely dedicated to increasing his physical power. There were no other flashy effects—just a pure strength amplification.

"With Innate Divine Strength, my power has increased by nearly half compared to before."

Ji Zhixing clenched his fists, feeling the surging might within his body. The sensation of strength was more than a notch higher than before. His bones were denser, his muscles tighter, and every muscle fiber brimmed with explosive power.

"I wonder how strong I’d be if I used Gigantification right now," Ji Zhixing thought, his heart racing. The Gigantification ability already provided a massive strength boost on its own. Coupled with the passive bonus from Innate Divine Strength, the stacking of the two would absolutely elevate his power to a terrifying level.

"It’s just a pity that there’s no one around right now who can force me to use my Gigantification ability." He shook his head as the dozen or so people from the Genius Class surfaced in his mind—Gu Zheng, Cao Zhenxing, and the other geniuses who had fused with Tier-4 Morning Star genes.

"For the time being, there should still be a significant gap between Cao Zhenxing and me," Ji Zhixing reasoned. The disparity between a Tier-5 Radiant Moon gene and Tier-2 or Tier-3 genes was not something that could be easily bridged by a few abilities.

"However, if I run into Gu Zheng again..." A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. His Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene had already evolved into the Tier-3 Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene, and he had gained the three-star passive ability, Innate Divine Strength. If he encountered Gu Zheng again, he definitely wouldn’t be as miserable as last time.

"There’s no rush," he thought, taking a deep breath to suppress his racing thoughts. "One step at a time."

He stood up, stretched his body a bit, and walked to the door of the Cultivation Chamber, pushing it open and stepping out. Outside, Xiao Mingyue was standing in the corridor, leaning against the wall, her eyes fixed entirely on the door. Hearing it open, she immediately looked up.

"How did it go?" she asked expectantly.

"The evolution is complete," Ji Zhixing smiled, walking over to her.

"Quick, tell me, what changed?" Xiao Mingyue’s eyes lit up as she grabbed his arm.

Ji Zhixing didn’t hide anything, detailing his gains from the evolution one by one.

"Not bad, it’s good that it evolved," Xiao Mingyue nodded, saying happily. "There is a fundamental difference between a Tier-3 gene and a Tier-2 gene.

"Although your previous Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene was also very strong after you developed a few abilities, its gene source power fundamentally lagged behind that of other Cultivators who had fused with Tier-3 genes.

"But now that you’ve evolved it into the Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene, there’s no longer any difference between you and other Cultivators with Tier-3 genes."

Ji Zhixing nodded; he knew this as well. For example, back when he fused with the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene, even though it was a Tier-1 gene like the others, his gene source power was still slightly inferior to other Genetic Cultivators who had fused with a Tier-1 gene. This was the disparity innate to the genes themselves. And that was just the gap within the same tier. Had he been compared to Cultivators with Tier-2 genes at the time, the gap would have been even wider.

Naturally, the same applied now. Compared to the students of the Genius Class, even if they used abilities of the exact same four-star quality, the fundamental gap in their genes would put him at a disadvantage. However, that was under normal circumstances. Now that he possessed numerous abilities, through their mutual synergy, even if he were weaker than the Genius Class students, the difference shouldn’t be too vast.

"By the way," Xiao Mingyue suddenly asked. "After your gene evolved, did you hear a new genetic voice? Do you know the next advancement path for your Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene?"

As soon as she said this, a look of tension crossed her face. Compared to everything else, whether Ji Zhixing’s Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene could advance to a Tier-4 Morning Star gene was the most crucial detail. Tier-3 to Tier-4 was a massive threshold. In the future, if Ji Zhixing could cultivate to the Tier-4 Morning Star level, he would be able to fly through the air and break free from the shackles of the earth. That would be a leap in his very level of existence. Across the entire Yu City Base City, Genetic Cultivators of Tier-4 and above could be counted on one’s fingers. If his Ten-foot Stone Monkey gene could evolve to Tier-4, his status would change completely.

"I heard it," Ji Zhixing said with a smile.

"Really?" Xiao Mingyue’s eyes lit up fiercely. Although she had been hoping for it, she hadn’t expected Ji Zhixing to genuinely hear new genetic information immediately after completing his gene evolution once again.

"Yeah," Ji Zhixing nodded. "Moreover, I should be able to develop one of the five-star gene abilities very soon."