Chapter 180 - 154: The Deed Is Done

Chapter 180: Chapter 154: The Deed Is Done

"What is it?" Ji Zhixing looked at Xiao Mingyue in surprise, wondering why she had suddenly become so serious.

Xiao Mingyue took a deep breath. Looking at him, she said, "I plan to tell my family about us as soon as we leave the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land this time."

Ji Zhixing stared blankly for a moment before falling silent.

It wasn’t that he lacked a sense of responsibility; on the contrary, he valued their future together so much that he worried her family would try to force them apart once they found out. After all, he could only be considered half a genius right now—and that was merely within Yu City Base City. Out in the wider world, someone in his situation wouldn’t even be called a genius.

Xiao Mingyue had mentioned before that she wasn’t born in Yu City Base City, but had moved here from somewhere else. For her family to raise someone like her and casually use a Heart Refining Stone as her pillow, they were definitely not ordinary.

"Your family probably won’t agree to us being together, right?" Ji Zhixing asked.

Xiao Mingyue nodded, then shook her head. "But don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. They don’t have the final say in this matter.

"The one who calls the shots in the family is my great-grandfather, and he already told me I could choose for myself."

Despite her words, Xiao Mingyue felt a bit apprehensive. Even though her great-grandfather had told her to choose for herself, his underlying implication had clearly been for her to choose among geniuses who had fused with at least a seventh-rank Glory-level gene. He had explicitly told her she could pick whoever she liked, as long as they weren’t trash.

Compared to those top-tier geniuses, the current Ji Zhixing was obviously still far behind. However, she had already formulated a plan to deal with this.

"But just in case, before I officially tell my family, we need to do one thing," Xiao Mingyue said.

"What is it?" Ji Zhixing asked.

Her cheeks flushed slightly. Looking up at him, she declared, "Seal the deal and consummate our relationship!"

Ji Zhixing froze. After a long pause, he asked, "Now?"

Xiao Mingyue rolled her eyes and gave his waist a hard pinch. "When we get back to school!"

"Will that actually help?" Ji Zhixing asked cautiously.

Blushing even deeper, she explained, "My genetic ability is special. Once we... I will end up sharing one of my abilities with you.

"By then, it’ll be too late for them to stop us even if they want to."

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath and said no more, reaching out to pull her into his embrace. Xiao Mingyue didn’t resist, curling up completely in his arms. Neither of them wanted to speak. They simply wished to quietly enjoy the peaceful moment.

Early the next morning.

The sky was just beginning to brighten when Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue got up. After a simple wash and a quick bite to eat, they went to find Bai Yuan.

"This is the rod you wanted." Seeing the two of them, Bai Yuan directly took out a purple-gold long rod and tossed it to Ji Zhixing.

The long rod traced an arc through the air, bringing with it a low, whistling sound of breaking wind. Ji Zhixing reached out and caught it. It felt heavy in his hands, at least twice the weight of the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod. The entire rod was purple-gold, its surface engraved with dense lightning patterns that extended from tip to tail. Gripping it, he could even feel a faint electric current transmitting from the rod, making his palms tingle slightly.

"The Thunderous Rod. A third-rank, five-star rod weapon. It comes with the Third-rank Five-star Thunderous Thousand Jin Staff Skill. It increases strike speed and boosts the power of rod techniques, but only a Cultivator with lightning-attribute Genetic Source Power can use it," Bai Yuan briefly introduced.

"Thank you, Teacher Bai," Ji Zhixing quickly expressed his gratitude.

Bai Yuan waved his hand dismissively without saying much else.

Ji Zhixing stored the Thunderous Rod into his Genetic Melting Furnace and headed back with Xiao Mingyue. As they walked, he activated his Genetic Melting Furnace to begin refining the new weapon.

About ten minutes later, the refinement was complete. In that instant, a surge of information flooded into his mind—it was exactly the cultivation method for the Thunderous Rod Technique. He summoned the Thunderous Rod again, and that feeling of complete unity between man and weapon once more washed over his entire body. He could clearly feel a profound connection forming between himself and the rod.

"Come on, let’s find a place to test out your new equipment," Xiao Mingyue said, looking at him with a smile.

"Alright," Ji Zhixing nodded.

In a wide, open wilderness within the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land.

Ji Zhixing stood in the center of the wasteland. Taking a deep breath, he focused his mind, and the Thunderous Rod materialized from his Genetic Melting Furnace into his hands. Gripping the rod with both hands, he closed his eyes as the cultivation method for the Thunderous Rod Technique surfaced in his mind.

Sudden Lightning!

SWISH!

Ji Zhixing thrust the rod forward, moving as fast as a sudden flash of lightning. The tip left a trail of purple-gold electricity in the air before abruptly exploding with a muffled boom, shattering a rock in the distance into pieces.

Lightning Flash and Thunder Roll!

The long rod swept horizontally, creating overlapping shadows. A single swing seemed to multiply into seven or eight rods, striking in different directions simultaneously in a dazzling display.

Call of Heavenly Thunder!

Pointing the rod at the sky, he drew upon the power of the surrounding void, transforming it into Thunder Power that reinforced his body. His hair stood on end slightly as lightning flickered across his body, his aura surging dramatically.

Thunder Prison!

The long rod spun, creating a circular barrier of purple-gold electricity around him. The intertwining lightning emitted a dense CRACKLE, completely enveloping him.

Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens!

Thunderous Might!

Gripping the rod with both hands, Ji Zhixing executed the stances of the Thunderous Rod Technique one by one.

"Phew!"

Ji Zhixing lowered the rod and stood upright, letting out a long breath. Having performed the entire set of rod techniques, his eyes were filled with delight.

"Not bad." Xiao Mingyue walked over with a smile. "This Thunderous Rod Technique is more than just one tier stronger than your previous Nine-Tiered Tide Rod.

"The speed and explosive power, especially, are on a completely different level."

"Yeah." Ji Zhixing nodded. "The Nine-Tiered Tide Rod focuses on endless continuity, wave after wave. The Thunderous Rod, on the other hand, prioritizes speed and explosiveness for one-hit kills.

"The styles of the two rod techniques are entirely different.

"I just wonder how long it will take me to completely master it."

He had always been fast at cultivating rod techniques. From foundational rod arts to the Eight Army-Breaking Rods, and then to the Nine-Tiered Tide Rod, he had mastered each one much faster than anyone else. But now that he had developed the Hundred Generations Stone Heart ability, his comprehension had vastly improved, meaning his cultivation speed would undoubtedly be even faster.

He thought, "Hopefully, it will be quick."

Afterward, he familiarized himself with the new rod technique while searching for new treasure lands with Xiao Mingyue. As they walked, he would occasionally swing the rod. The Thunderous Rod felt more and more natural in his hands. Over the course of just a single day, he became proficient in the technique, lacking only the comprehension of its thunderous, crushing will.

However, their luck in finding treasure lands wasn’t as good. He and Xiao Mingyue had wandered the wilderness all day, but aside from occasionally encountering a few stray genetic beasts, they found absolutely nothing. After killing and refining those genetic beasts, he only obtained a few Genetic Source Stones.

"It seems the treasure lands around here have been mostly picked clean." As evening approached, Xiao Mingyue looked at the dark red sunset on the horizon and spoke with a hint of resignation.

Ji Zhixing also felt helpless. But neither of them had any better ideas, so they could only return to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest.

"Time to continue cultivating!"

After resting briefly upon returning to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest, Ji Zhixing resumed refining the Size Manipulation Gene Development Potions.

Days passed one by one.

In the blink of an eye, their group had been inside the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land for over half a month.

Ji Zhixing had already used up the eight bottles of Size Manipulation Gene Development Potions he initially exchanged for, but he still hadn’t managed to develop the five-star genetic ability. The difficulty of developing the Size Manipulation ability far exceeded his expectations. After consuming eight bottles of potion, he felt he was still a long way off from unlocking it. Left with no other choice, he spent more points to exchange for a few extra bottles.

That night, after finishing his cultivation, Ji Zhixing walked out of his tent to find Jiang Qingqian sitting next to Xiao Mingyue, chatting.

"Ji Zhixing." Seeing him emerge, Jiang Qingqian greeted him with a smile. "You cultivate every single day. Do you really have hope of evolving your genes to the Morning Star level?"

Under normal circumstances, Genetic Cultivators had a lot of free time. After all, apart from improving their cultivation and practicing their genetic abilities, there wasn’t much else for them to do. As for developing new genetic abilities, that was something only a small minority would attempt. Ji Zhixing was evidently one of that minority. And an incredibly fanatical one at that.

Ji Zhixing smiled and replied, "I’m working on it. Doesn’t the book say everyone has a chance to evolve their genes?"

Jiang Qingqian secretly curled her lip. She hadn’t even heard the ’voice’ of her own genes yet. How was she supposed to evolve them? Unless she obtained a genetic inheritance or had heaven-defying luck, it was impossible.

As they chatted, Jiang Qingqian suddenly mentioned, "Our time here in the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land might end earlier than expected this time."

"End earlier?" Ji Zhixing paused in surprise.

"Right," Jiang Qingqian said. "I heard from Teacher Bai Yuan that there aren’t many undiscovered treasure lands left in the Spirit Ruins. Among them, only one major spot remains.

"This particular spot is very special; it’s located in a fog-shrouded valley. For the past few days, Lu Xinghe, Cao Zhenxing, Gongye Zhou, and Yu Mengdie have all been eyeing it.

"I reckon once the treasures there are claimed, we’ll be leaving the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land."

"Why so soon?" Ji Zhixing was astonished. Originally, they were supposed to stay in the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land for a month. Only half a month had passed, and it was already ending early?

Jiang Qingqian shook her head. "Isn’t it just our bad luck? Normally, a genius who has fused with a fifth-rank gene like Cao Zhenxing only appears once every few years in our Yu City Base City.

"The same goes for Wind City and Yun City Base City.

"But this year, four such geniuses with fifth-rank genes have emerged across the three base cities.

"Besides, you surely know what you did yourself, right?"