Chapter 27: Let Me Handle This, Two-Star Staff Technique Mastered

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Let Me Handle This, Two-Star Staff Technique Mastered

"Tsk, tsk, as expected of Tier One Two-Star Genetic Equipment." Liu Qifan walked over, eyeing the Breaking Army Rod in Ji Zhixing’s hands with sheer envy. He had assumed that Ji Zhixing only managed to execute the staff technique by relying on the weapon’s guidance.

Recovering from his daze, Ji Zhixing didn’t bother to explain and simply smiled.

"Let me see if this Petrified Crab will drop anything good," Zhang Haoceng said enthusiastically as he stepped forward, preparing to refine the creature’s corpse.

"Wait, Old Zhang. Let me refine this one."

Seeing this, a thought stirred in Ji Zhixing’s mind, and he called out to stop Zhang Haoceng. If his genetic furnace truly had a bonus for producing potions, he needed to refine as much as possible to fully utilize this advantage. He paused for a moment before adding, "Let me refine a few more of the Petrified Crabs we hunt next. When we hunt other genetic beasts later, you guys can have my share."

"Sure, since you need the Stone Skin Potion anyway." Zhang Haoceng paused for a second before waving his hand, completely unbothered.

The others nodded in agreement. To them, it didn’t really matter which genetic beast they refined. They always took turns anyway; if Ji Zhixing refined a few more Petrified Crabs this time, he would just refine fewer when they hunted other beasts later. Besides, Petrified Crabs yielded the Stone Skin Genetic Potion—a rather niche item that could be bought for a mere ten thousand genetic coins. If anything, Ji Zhixing was actually getting the short end of the stick by choosing to refine the Petrified Crabs.

"Thanks." Ji Zhixing nodded. He crouched down and pressed his hand against the Petrified Crab’s corpse. With a mere thought, the power of the genetic furnace surged out, enveloping the entire body. The very next second, the Petrified Crab turned into a streak of light and was absorbed into his body.

Ji Zhixing closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into the genetic furnace. Within the hazy gray Furnace Space, the corpse of the Petrified Crab floated silently. With a mental nudge, the Eight Trigrams Map on the inner walls of the furnace abruptly lit up and began to rotate slowly. A few minutes later, the refinement was complete.

He swept his consciousness over the area, his heart skipping a beat. Three items had appeared in the Furnace Space. Two of them were the usual Genetic Source Stones. The third item, however, was a tiny white bone vial. Its surface was smooth and warm like jade, and it contained a milky-white liquid.

"This is..." Ji Zhixing was utterly shocked. "A Stone Skin Genetic Potion!" He stared at the small vial, his heart missing a beat. A Stone Skin Genetic Potion! The very potion used to develop the Stone Skin ability!

"It actually dropped?" An uncontrollable surge of ecstasy welled up within him. He took a deep breath, forcing down his excitement. "This is insanely good luck," he muttered to himself.

The first time he refined an Iron Feather Pheasant King, it dropped an Origin Power Genetic Potion. Now, refining this Petrified Crab had yielded a Stone Skin Genetic Potion. This drop rate was absurdly high.

He pondered silently, "The first time could be chalked up to good luck, but a second back-to-back drop? That’s definitely not normal.

"My genetic furnace might genuinely have an extra bonus when it comes to producing genetic potions.

"If that’s true, I’ll be able to make money far faster than anyone else. Even developing genetic abilities will be significantly easier."

He opened his eyes.

"How was it?" Zhang Haoceng asked, seeing that Ji Zhixing had finished refining.

Ji Zhixing shook his head and extended his hand, revealing a single Genetic Source Stone resting in his palm. "Still just one Genetic Source Stone."

Since his genetic furnace was special and entirely different from anyone else’s, he couldn’t just tell the truth about everything. He understood all too well the principle of never flaunting one’s wealth.

"It’s fine," Luo Yongguang consoled. "If it doesn’t work the first time, we’ll just try a few more times. It’s still early today anyway. Let’s keep luring them."

"Exactly!" Liu Qifan clapped his hands together. "If we lure a few more out, we’re bound to get lucky eventually!"

The group took turns comforting Ji Zhixing. They all knew that not getting a drop was perfectly normal. Forget failing once—it was absolutely ordinary to fail dozens, hundreds, or even more times. If genetic potions were that easy to obtain, they wouldn’t be nearly as expensive.

"Let’s continue." Ji Zhixing smiled, putting the Genetic Source Stone away. The five of them returned to the edge of the lake, picked up some rocks, and continued tossing them into the water.

SPLASH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

One stone after another plummeted into the water, kicking up sprays of water. The surface of the lake remained tranquil, save for the rippling circles spreading outward.

"I hope we can lure a few more," Ji Zhixing thought silently as he continued tossing stones into the water. "One bottle of Stone Skin Genetic Potion likely won’t be enough to help me develop the Stone Skin ability. I’m going to need more."

Not far away, the two squads from Class Two and Class Three were also busy luring crabs. The sun gradually rose higher into the sky, and before they knew it, it was noon.

The sunlight beat down directly, reflecting a blinding glare off the lake’s surface. The group found a patch of shade beneath some trees near the bank and sat down to rest, taking out their rations and water for a simple lunch.

"We only managed to lure four of them all morning," Liu Qifan mumbled around a mouthful of flatbread. "This efficiency is way too low."

"That’s already pretty good," Zhang Haoceng said lazily from where he lay draped over a rock. "Didn’t you see the teams from Class Two and Class Three? They only lured two or three all morning."

Leaning against a tree trunk, Ji Zhixing ate in silence while calculating in his head.

"Four Petrified Crabs this morning, and I refined all of them. But aside from the first one dropping a Stone Skin Genetic Potion, the last three only yielded Genetic Source Stones.

"Still, obtaining one Stone Skin Genetic Potion and eight Genetic Source Stones from four Petrified Crabs... This haul is actually astounding.

"But I can’t keep doing this going forward. I can’t just hog all of our hunted targets to refine myself, and the efficiency of hunting Petrified Crabs is genuinely too low."

He finished his food and stood up. "Let’s go. We’re switching targets for the afternoon."

"Switching targets?" Liu Qifan paused. "We’re not luring crabs anymore?"

"Yeah." Ji Zhixing nodded with a smile. "Petrified Crabs are too hard to lure. We only got four all morning, and I ended up refining all of them. I should help you guys hunt this afternoon."

The others exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then let’s go find something else this afternoon." Zhang Haoceng rolled over and climbed to his feet.

The five of them packed up their belongings, left the lake, and began searching for genetic beasts elsewhere. Zhao Qing trailed behind the group, occasionally chiming in to chat.

Their luck that afternoon was quite good. They searched around the small town and successively stumbled upon a few straggler genetic beasts. Thanks to their tacit teamwork, they swiftly dispatched the creatures one by one. However, refining these genetic beasts still didn’t yield anything special.

As evening approached and the sun began to set in the west, the five were just preparing to return to camp when a familiar cry suddenly echoed from ahead.

"CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!"

"It’s an Iron-Feathered Pheasant!" Liu Qifan’s eyes lit up.

The group immediately snuck over. Peering through a dilapidated wall in the small town, they saw a clearing ahead where five Iron-Feathered Pheasants were actively foraging for food. One of them was exceptionally massive, sporting a glaringly bright red wattle on its head. It was none other than an Iron Feather Pheasant King!

"Five of them!" Zhang Haoceng sucked in a breath. "That’s two more than last time."

Ji Zhixing’s gaze swept over the flock of Iron-Feathered Pheasants as he rapidly calculated in his head.

"Five in total, including one Chicken King. The setup is similar to last time, just with two extra ordinary ones.

"We managed to kill three last time; we should be able to handle five this time."

He lowered his voice. "We charge straight in. Let’s rush up and take out an ordinary Iron-Feathered Pheasant first. Then, we stick to the old plan: I’ll stall the Chicken King while the four of you eliminate the remaining three Iron-Feathered Pheasants as quickly as possible."

The others nodded.

"Charge!"

The five of them burst out from behind the ruins, sprinting straight for the flock of Iron-Feathered Pheasants. Startled, the pheasants descended into total chaos. The group quickly closed the distance to the nearest Iron-Feathered Pheasant and made short work of it, killing it in mere seconds.

"CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!"

Seeing this, the Iron Feather Pheasant King immediately charged over in a furious rage.

"Halt!"

Ji Zhixing lunged directly at it, raising his Breaking Army Rod high before smashing it down!

Space-Shattering Stance!

The rod slammed into the wing the Chicken King flapped at him, emitting a muffled THUD. The impact forced the Chicken King back a step, but it retaliated by pouncing furiously at Ji Zhixing.

On the other side, Xie Jia conjured twisting vines to bind their targets, Luo Yongguang held the line with his shield, and Liu Qifan and Zhang Haoceng unleashed a flurry of sword and spear strikes, swiftly slaying another Iron-Feathered Pheasant. Having killed two Iron-Feathered Pheasants in rapid succession, the group felt a wave of relief and immediately engaged the remaining two.

Space-Shattering!

Space-Shattering!

Space-Shattering!

Battling the Iron Feather Pheasant King, Ji Zhixing unleashed the Space-Shattering Stance time and time again. Every single strike was infused with his sheer willpower. As strong as the Iron Feather Pheasant King was, it couldn’t take him down in the short term. The more Ji Zhixing executed the Eight Breaking Army Rods, the more fluid and natural his movements felt. That indomitable, forward-marching will grew increasingly clear and intense in his heart. Without even realizing it, he had become completely immersed in the heat of battle.

His eyes saw only the Chicken King.

His heart felt only the rod in his hands.

"This feeling..."

Finally, at a certain moment, he felt as though he no longer needed to deliberately focus his consciousness. With a single swing of his rod, the true intent of breaking an army was born naturally, seamlessly integrating into the weapon.

BAM!

His rod crashed down onto the Chicken King’s wing, violently knocking the massive appendage downward. The Chicken King let out a cry of pain.

"I did it!" A wave of ecstasy washed over Ji Zhixing. He could clearly sense that he had finally and completely mastered the Eight Breaking Army Rods.

"Zhixing, we’re coming!" Liu Qifan’s voice rang out, accompanied by the others.

Catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, Ji Zhixing saw that all four ordinary Iron-Feathered Pheasants had collapsed to the ground, and his four teammates were now rushing over to assist him.

"Alright!" he responded. Joining forces with the rest of the group, they quickly surrounded and killed the Iron Feather Pheasant King.

"Phew!" Liu Qifan panted heavily. "Five of them again! We hit the jackpot this time!"

Ji Zhixing remained silent.

"According to the genetic information I heard, as long as I master a Tier One Two-Star Staff Technique, I can develop the Innate Staff Heart ability. It should be complete by now, right?" he thought.

Putting away his Breaking Army Rod, he carefully sensed his body for any changes.