Chapter 138 - 128: Drop by Drop, Finally Completing the Transformation

Chapter 138: Chapter 128: Drop by Drop, Finally Completing the Transformation

CRACK! CRACK!

Bolts of lightning struck down one after another.

Ji Zhixing stood on the ground. The Root of the Earth allowed him to continuously restore his genetic source power. The Five-Colored Spiritual Light converted the absorbed lightning into his own strength, while the life energy within the mist constantly repaired his body. Combined with his high-level self-healing ability... with several recovery methods stacked together, he wasn’t afraid of Xu Cheng’s lightning at all.

In fact, he even felt quite comfortable.

Getting struck by lightning was supposed to be a torment, but nourished by the mist, it transformed into a bizarre kind of enjoyment—like soaking in a hot spring, or getting a deep tissue massage.

In the distance, the leading teachers from the three universities stood in a clearing, conversing in low voices. Suddenly, they all raised their heads simultaneously, casting their gazes toward Ji Zhixing’s direction.

Over there, purple electricity flashed, accompanied by the continuous, dense, explosive roars of lightning.

"What are they doing?"

"Are they cultivating?"

The female teacher from Feng City University frowned slightly, sensing the distant energy fluctuations. The figures of Ji Zhixing and Xu Cheng reflected in her mind’s eye.

A look of astonishment crossed her face. The opening of the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land was such a precious opportunity. Everyone else was racing against the clock to find the Withered Wood Regeneration Dew, yet someone was actually cultivating here?

She exchanged a glance with the teacher from Yun City University, and together they turned to look at Bai Yuan.

Bai Yuan stood to the side with his hands clasped behind his back. His expression was placid, as if he had heard and seen nothing.

"Bai Yuan, the students from your school certainly have quite the personality," the teacher from Yun City University couldn’t help but remark.

"You might want to sense it a little more carefully," Bai Yuan said lightly, tilting his head up to gaze at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

"Sense it more carefully?" The expressions of the other two teachers shifted. They hastily focused their minds and probed toward Ji Zhixing and Xu Cheng once again.

"Wait, that’s not right!"

"They are condensing the Withered Wood Mist. What kind of method is this?"

The commotion caused by Ji Zhixing and Xu Cheng not only caught the attention of the teachers but also alarmed some of the nearby students. The students from the three schools had scattered throughout the Withered Wood Forest, each searching for areas with dense mist. Hearing the explosive cracks of lightning echoing from afar, many hurried over to see what was happening.

However, upon their arrival, they were met with a jaw-dropping sight.

In a clearing, a young man in black was waving his hands incessantly. Streaks of purple lightning flew from his palms, blasting toward the opposite side. Standing opposite him was a young man in simple leisurewear, remaining perfectly still and allowing the lightning to strike his body. His form was enveloped by a flowing five-colored light that absorbed the lightning bolts one by one.

"What are they doing?" A student from Feng City University gaped.

"Getting struck by lightning?" another person guessed, sounding uncertain.

"That guy... is he cultivating? Cultivating here? Using lightning to temper his body?"

"Forget it, ignore them. What a waste of my time. I thought there was some kind of treasure."

After murmuring among themselves, a few of them shook their heads and turned to leave. Although the scene was shocking, they cared far more about the Withered Wood Regeneration Dew. Rather than sticking around to watch the spectacle, they were better off hurrying to find places with thick mist.

However, some students from Yu City University recognized that Ji Zhixing was the one causing the commotion. They gave him a deep look before turning away.

Seeing everyone looking at him and Ji Zhixing as if they were monkeys on display, Xu Cheng’s face darkened considerably. He gritted his teeth and intensified the power of his Purple Thunder-Attracting Technique once again.

The purple lightning grew thicker, its glare more blinding, and its explosive roars more deafening. He vented all his frustration onto Ji Zhixing.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

The lightning bolts fell one after another, much denser and fiercer than before.

Ji Zhixing stood in the center of the lightning storm, feeling the changes within his body.

"Almost there," he thought.

He could feel his self-healing ability inching closer and closer to that critical threshold. Stimulated by the lightning, the life energy within the mist was rapidly integrating into his body. Every cell was cheering; every inch of his skin was stretching out. It felt just like a withered tree regaining its vitality.

"Drink this bottle of potion first. Hang in there a bit longer. Don’t go limp after just a short while like you did before." During the gap between Xu Cheng’s lightning strikes, Ji Zhixing retrieved a bottle of Tier 2 Source Power Genetic Potion from his genetic furnace and tossed it over.

Xu Cheng was visibly going much harder than usual this time. Ji Zhixing was worried the guy wouldn’t be able to hold out and would deflate before long.

Xu Cheng caught the potion, took a deep breath, popped the cork, and downed it in one gulp. As he refined the Source Power Genetic Potion, he continued to hurl lightning bolts at Ji Zhixing. One after another, without a moment’s pause.

While Xu Cheng relentlessly blasted lightning, he suddenly noticed that something was off.

The mist surrounding Ji Zhixing was actually becoming thicker. The milky-white fog surged in from all directions, swirling and gathering around Ji Zhixing to form a zone of dense fog. Every lightning bolt he threw now had to cleave through the mist before it could strike Ji Zhixing.

"What’s going on?" Xu Cheng was bewildered, and his hand movements subconsciously slowed down.

His gaze remained locked on the mist. He realized that the fog wasn’t gathering naturally; rather, it was actively gravitating toward Ji Zhixing. It was as if something on Ji Zhixing’s body was attracting it.

DRIP!

Right at that moment, as a massive amount of mist congregated around Ji Zhixing’s body, a crystal-clear drop of liquid condensed in mid-air. The liquid was only the size of a fingernail, completely transparent, and emanated a faint luster. Born from the mist, it slowly plummeted.

Before Xu Cheng could even react, he watched Ji Zhixing—who seemed completely prepared for this—produce a jade bottle out of thin air. With an outstretched hand, Ji Zhixing caught the falling droplet neatly inside the bottle.

"Withered Wood Regeneration Dew?" Xu Cheng’s eyes widened.

Although he had never seen the Withered Wood Regeneration Dew before, the moment this phenomenon occurred, how could he not recognize what it was?

"Why did you stop?" After storing the Withered Wood Regeneration Dew, Ji Zhixing looked at the dumbfounded Xu Cheng and said calmly. "Don’t mind me. Let’s keep going."

He tossed the jade bottle in his hand over to Xu Cheng. "Also, this is for you. I told you I wouldn’t scam you, so I definitely won’t scam you."

Xu Cheng caught the jade bottle, glanced down at it, and then looked back up at Ji Zhixing. "Using my lightning to assist your cultivation can actually condense this stuff?"

"What kind of wishful thinking is that?" Ji Zhixing cast a sidelong glance at him. "This is my own ability. What does it have to do with you? I could condense this even without you.

"Just focus on striking me with lightning. You work for me, and I pay your wages—it’s that simple. Don’t go imagining things."

Xu Cheng’s mouth twitched. However, having gotten familiar with Ji Zhixing over the past few days, he knew the other guy was just joking around, so he didn’t take it to heart. He took a deep breath, stored the jade bottle in his genetic furnace, and then accelerated his lightning strikes.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Lightning rained down on Ji Zhixing densely once again. The Five-Colored Spiritual Light circulated madly, absorbing and converting the bolts one by one. During this process, the surrounding mist grew thicker and thicker, forming an increasingly massive fog cloud around Ji Zhixing.

DRIP!

After some time passed, another drop of Withered Wood Regeneration Dew condensed and slowly fell. Ji Zhixing extended his hand, aimed a jade bottle at the liquid, and caught it steadily. This time, he didn’t give it to Xu Cheng, instead tucking the bottle away into his own genetic furnace.

DRIP!

DRIP!

DRIP!

As time ticked by, a drop of Withered Wood Regeneration Dew would fall near Ji Zhixing at regular intervals. This phenomenon subsequently caught the attention of some students passing by the duo.

"He can gather the mist and collect Withered Wood Regeneration Dew?"

"What kind of ability is that?"

A few people exchanged glances, looks of jealousy flashing in their eyes. But after eyeing Ji Zhixing and then looking at Xu Cheng, they ultimately decided against approaching them.

It was permissible to fight over opportunities within the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land. However, this Withered Wood Forest was right under the noses of several teachers from the three universities. Squabbling and snatching treasures right here wouldn’t be very appropriate. Furthermore, the mist surrounding Ji Zhixing clearly hadn’t formed naturally; he had lured it over using some kind of technique. Under these circumstances, they felt even less inclined to make a move.

As time steadily slipped away, the mist in the Withered Wood Forest grew increasingly sparse. The amount of Withered Wood Regeneration Dew being produced also dwindled.

Realizing this, the students who had scattered throughout the forest began to return from afar. When they arrived near the clearing, they immediately spotted the anomaly surrounding Ji Zhixing.

By now, there was very little mist left anywhere else. Yet, the fog encircling Ji Zhixing’s body was so dense it had practically solidified into a tangible substance, wrapping him up completely. Beside him, crystal-clear drops of Withered Wood Regeneration Dew would intermittently plummet from the vapor, which he would catch with his jade bottle.

"What’s the situation?"

"Does anyone know who those two are? How are they doing that? Why is all the mist gathering around them? That’s too overpowered, isn’t it?"

The students from Feng City University and Yun City University stopped in their tracks one after another, staring at Ji Zhixing and Xu Cheng with eyes full of astonishment.

"I just asked the people from Yu City University," someone spoke up. "They said both of those guys are from Yu City University’s elite class."

"Just from the elite class?" The person who had asked the initial question sounded slightly surprised.

"Yeah," the one who answered replied. "Though I heard the guy getting struck by lightning is named Ji Zhixing. He took second place in Yu City University’s selection tournament. He’s very strong."

"Very strong? How strong can he really be?"

"If he’s merely an elite class student, then the gene he fused with is definitely only at the Tier 3 level—not to mention he was only the runner-up."

"I’m guessing the two of them just got lucky. They probably just happen to possess some special ability that allows them to attract and gather the mist here to condense the Withered Wood Regeneration Dew."

Many students from the Feng City and Yun City Genetic Universities shook their heads after inquiring about Ji Zhixing’s situation.

Tier 3 genes were already considered very powerful in the eyes of ordinary people. But to genius class students like them, who had fused with Tier 4 genes, it really was nothing to write home about. Their true competitors in this place were each other—the geniuses who had fused with Tier 4 or even Tier 5 genes.

As for Ji Zhixing... although he was somewhat unique, he still wasn’t worth paying too much attention to.

"It’s done!"

Right at that moment, after enduring bolt after bolt of lightning strikes, Ji Zhixing finally felt his high-level self-healing ability undergo a metamorphosis.

It felt as though a thin veil had finally been pierced. From deep within his body, a brand-new surge of power welled up.

It was the Super Self-Healing Ability!

Four-star quality!

He could sense that his body was undergoing a qualitative change. Every single cell had grown more active, and the repair speed of his damaged tissues had accelerated several times over. As he was now, a normal wound could probably heal back to normal in just a few minutes.

"It’s finally done!" Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, his heart filled with wild joy.

BUZZ!

Suddenly, the instant he developed his Super Self-Healing Ability, the mist gathering toward him abruptly accelerated.

The vapor acted as if it had been caught by an intense gravitational pull, surging madly from all directions to form a visible vortex around him. Massive amounts of mist swirled and converged, growing thicker by the second.

Then, drop after drop of Withered Wood Regeneration Dew condensed from the vortex, falling slowly like a drizzle of rain.

What was going on?