Chapter 183 - 156: Size Manipulation Ability Developed

Chapter 183: Chapter 156: Size Manipulation Ability Developed

"His speed is indeed a bit faster than mine right now," Ji Zhixing thought.

Ji Zhixing controlled the thundercloud while simultaneously flapping his Purple Gold Thundercloud Wings, desperately speeding forward. Propelled by the wings, the thundercloud was already incredibly fast. The wind howled in his ears as the scenery below rapidly blurred past.

However, when he glanced back, he found that Gongye Zhou was indeed slightly faster. Although the difference wasn’t massive, the distance between them was noticeably shrinking bit by bit.

"This can’t go on," Ji Zhixing thought with a frown. At this rate, Gongye Zhou would catch up in no time.

Turning his head, Ji Zhixing shouted at his pursuer, "Gongye Zhou, you’re chasing us all by yourself? Catching us won’t do you any good! I suggest you head back early, or else the other three will snatch all the treasures!"

Gongye Zhou didn’t say a word; he simply accelerated toward Ji Zhixing. His expression was cold and stern, his eyes filled with a chilling intent. He still held a grudge from the last time Ji Zhixing used the thundercloud to chase him back into the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest. This time, he was determined to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"This guy..." Ji Zhixing thought, feeling a wave of helplessness at the sight of Gongye Zhou’s relentless demeanor. It was obvious that his pursuer wouldn’t rest until he caught up.

Seeing Gongye Zhou closing in, Ji Zhixing willed his energy to move. He raised his right hand, and a streak of purple-black lightning suddenly materialized in his palm. It was the Thunder of Annihilation.

"Go!" Ji Zhixing swung his arm forward, and the Thunder of Annihilation shot from his palm, striking directly toward Gongye Zhou.

"Lightning? He can control lightning?" Gongye Zhou’s expression shifted.

He had already investigated Ji Zhixing’s background and knew that neither of the two genes Ji Zhixing had fused with were suited for long-range combat. Ji Zhixing had always relied on close-quarters combat; the only time he had utilized the power of lightning was when he controlled that thundercloud last time. But now, Ji Zhixing’s thundercloud clearly lacked much offensive power. He hadn’t expected Ji Zhixing to possess an innate ability to manipulate lightning for long-range attacks.

Gongye Zhou hurriedly shifted his posture mid-air. With a powerful flap of his illusory horse wings, he darted to the side, narrowly dodging the Thunder of Annihilation. The purple-black lightning brushed past him and blasted into the distant ground, blowing out a scorched crater. Having evaded the strike, the distance between Gongye Zhou and Ji Zhixing immediately widened again.

"Do you really think you can shake me off like this?" Gongye Zhou fixed a deadly glare on Ji Zhixing, a sneer forming on his face. He had fused with the Tier Five Flowing Cloud Celestial Horse Gene, which granted him much more than just speed.

"Is that Ji Zhixing?" In the distance, several students from the three universities were standing on a hill. Catching sight of the scene from afar, they were quite surprised.

"Are Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue being hunted down by Gongye Zhou?"

"They’re moving so fast!"

"The one who is truly fast is Gongye Zhou. Ji Zhixing is merely relying on that thundercloud. In terms of true strength, he definitely isn’t Gongye Zhou’s match."

The students chattered endlessly as they watched the pursuit. However, none of them favored Ji Zhixing’s chances. After all, the genes Ji Zhixing had fused with were too inferior. The gap between Tier Three and Tier Five was not something that could be easily bridged.

"Alright, stop wasting time." Just then, Lu Xinghe, who was standing in front of the valley in the distance, glanced over. His voice wasn’t loud, yet it echoed clearly in everyone’s ears.

"Are you going to head back on your own, or are you going to wait for me to make a move?" he said calmly, looking at Ji Zhixing from afar. "Let me be clear: although you aren’t slow, if I have to step in, you won’t stand a chance."

Ji Zhixing frowned, wondering if Lu Xinghe was really that domineering. He cast a distant look at Lu Xinghe. Despite being a genius who had fused with a Tier Five gene like the other three, Lu Xinghe was noticeably far more overbearing than them.

"Let’s go." Ji Zhixing pulled Xiao Mingyue slightly and didn’t hesitate any longer. After retracting the thundercloud, he spoke respectfully into the empty air before him, "Lord Azure Sky Divine Wood, please teleport us back to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest."

As soon as he spoke, a spatial fluctuation enveloped the two, teleporting them back to the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest.

It was incredibly frustrating! But there was no other way. This was the consequence of being weaker than others. If he possessed enough strength, he wouldn’t be the one retreating today; Lu Xinghe and the others would be the ones stepping aside.

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath.

"I’m going to put all my focus into developing the Size-Shifting ability next," Ji Zhixing said, turning to Xiao Mingyue. "I won’t be exploring anywhere else for the next few days. We’ll put everything on hold until I fully unlock the Size-Shifting ability."

"Okay." Xiao Mingyue nodded, then offered some comfort. "We don’t need to rush. They might be strong, but that’s only for now. Sooner or later, you’ll surpass all of them—and leave them far behind."

"Yeah." Ji Zhixing nodded, but the sense of urgency in his heart didn’t diminish at all. His current goal wasn’t just to surpass Lu Xinghe and his group, but to acquire enough points to make another massive profit before their time in the Spirit Ruins Treasure Land ended—enough points to develop the Innate Stone Embryo ability as well.

With this in mind, he and Xiao Mingyue set up their tent together. Once it was pitched, he crawled inside and began refining the Size-Shifting Gene Development Potion.

By evening, the students from the three universities were returning one after another. Some of them gathered together, discussing their gains for the day or what they had seen and heard.

"This morning, I saw Gongye Zhou hunting down Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue," someone mentioned.

"Gongye Zhou chased Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue? What was the result? Did he catch them?" Upon hearing this, the crowd immediately looked intrigued.

"It wasn’t a matter of whether he caught them or not," the speaker replied. "Before they could even properly clash, Lu Xinghe intervened. He just shouted one sentence, asking if Ji Zhixing would leave on his own or wait for him to strike. As for the outcome... well, I don’t think I need to tell you."

"Lu Xinghe? Then there’s no need to guess. As long as Ji Zhixing isn’t an idiot, he definitely bolted right away."

"Exactly." The first speaker nodded.

"Do you guys think Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue were chased by Gongye Zhou because they had their eyes on the Mist Treasure Land?"

"For sure."

"Then they were biting off more than they could chew. That treasure land is occupied by Lu Xinghe and his three companions. How could anyone else possibly snatch treasures right out of their hands?"

The crowd murmured in agreement. In truth, others had also harbored ambitions for the Mist Treasure Land at first, but after a few probing attempts, everyone had given up because it was simply impossible to get close. If they even tried to approach, Lu Xinghe would actually attack, and his methods were brutally ruthless.

Although Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue were formidable, in everyone’s eyes, they still fell far short when compared to Lu Xinghe’s group of four. It was even seen as foolishly overconfident.

"Ming Yue, what happened?" When Jiang Qingqian and Xu Cheng returned and heard people gossiping about the incident, they immediately asked Xiao Mingyue.

"It’s nothing," Xiao Mingyue shook her head. "Zhixing and I just went to check out the situation at the Mist Treasure Land this morning."

"What’s there to see?" Jiang Qingqian shook her head, not pressing the matter further.

In her heart, however, she shared the same sentiment as the others: no matter how strong Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue were, it was impossible for them to reap any benefits from the Mist Valley right under the noses of Lu Xinghe and his group. After all, the two sides were simply not on the same level. Unless Ji Zhixing could conjure up another thundercloud, which was clearly impossible.

Time flew by, and three days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these three days, Ji Zhixing and Xiao Mingyue didn’t go anywhere; they remained entirely within the Dead Wood Regeneration Forest. Every day, Ji Zhixing was either practicing the Thunderous Rod Technique or developing his gene abilities inside the tent.

His proficiency in the Thunderous Rod Technique steadily grew. The boost in comprehension brought by the Hundred Generations Stone Heart ability allowed him to master the staff technique at an astonishingly fast pace. Coupled with the assistance of his two innate staff talents and the unique properties of his Genetic Melting Furnace, he felt he was only a hair’s breadth away from mastering this Tier Three Five-Star Staff Technique.

At the same time, his development of the Size-Shifting ability had finally reached the final stage.

"The last bottle!" That evening, Ji Zhixing took a deep breath as he stared at the final bottle of the Size-Shifting Gene Development Potion inside the Genetic Melting Furnace. Fifteen million points. Fifteen bottles of the potion. If this didn’t work, he probably wouldn’t be able to hold onto much of his remaining points.

"Let’s begin." Taking a deep breath, Ji Zhixing began to refine this final bottle of Size-Shifting Gene Potion.

As he refined it, he sank his consciousness into the Genetic Acupoint of the Ten-foot Stone Monkey Gene. Within the Genetic Acupoint, the illusion of the Ten-foot Stone Monkey floated silently. Compared to before, its body was now coated in a faint layer of light.

Ji Zhixing resonated his mind with the Ten-foot Stone Monkey Gene, repeatedly comprehending the method to cast the Size-Shifting ability. During this resonance, he could see the body of the Ten-foot Stone Monkey growing larger one moment and shrinking the next. At its largest, it was like a small mountain; at its smallest, it was like a tiny ant. When it enlarged, its muscles bulged, radiating a terrifying sense of power. When it shrank, its form became nimble and agile, yet still harbored explosive strength.

"Almost there!" Ji Zhixing thought. "Just a little bit more!"

He could feel that he was inching closer and closer to that critical tipping point. The Super Gigantification ability had been converted by over ninety percent; only the final step remained.

Time ticked away, minute by minute, second by second.

"BUZZ!"

After an unknown amount of time, the Eight-foot Stone Monkey Gene Illusion within Ji Zhixing’s body suddenly trembled. Following that, he felt his Super Gigantification ability mutate.

"Size-Shifting... it’s a success!" Ji Zhixing thought in ecstasy.

Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his soaring excitement and carefully sensed the information regarding this new ability.

Size-Shifting, a Five-Star quality ability. The advanced version of Super Gigantification.

Unlike Super Gigantification, Size-Shifting allowed the user not only to enlarge their body but also to shrink it. When enlarged, his strength would correspondingly increase. When shrunk, his strength wouldn’t decrease, but his body would become much more agile—a smaller target that was far harder to detect and hit.

"This ability..." Ji Zhixing carefully analyzed the detailed information of the Size-Shifting ability. The more he sensed it, the more intense the pleasant surprise on his face became.

"I’ve got a plan!" A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, his gaze burning with intensity.