Chapter 59: Video Spreads, Classmates Shocked

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Video Spreads, Classmates Shocked

"Look! Ji Zhixing just got a ten-win streak at Radiant Mall! He took on four opponents at once in his last match!"

Having received Ji Zhixing’s confirmation, Zhou Yuan acted like an excited monkey who had just been handed a golden ticket. His fingers flew across his screen as he eagerly opened their class group chat and uploaded the video, which was over ten minutes long.

With every tick of the upload progress bar, his smile grew wider, as if he were the one looking so awe-inspiring in the arena instead of Ji Zhixing.

Ji Zhixing stood nearby, shaking his head at the sight of him. "I’m going to be famous now," he thought to himself.

Humans were social creatures after all. Even if they claimed not to care, how many could truly detach themselves from the judgment of the world?

Even a Saint had their joys and sorrows, let alone an ordinary person like him.

Ever since he fused with the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene, the gossip behind his back had never ceased.

They called him a fool and said he was ruined.

Or they accused him of lying about having dual gene apertures.

However, he knew his own situation. He knew the door to evolution was already open to him and that he would definitely be able to evolve the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene. Because of this, he hadn’t let their words affect him much.

Now, watching Zhou Yuan send the video to the group chat, Ji Zhixing suddenly felt the pent-up frustration in his chest dissipate significantly.

It was a really good feeling.

"Alright, I need to go back and rest. We’ll talk later." Leaving the hustle and bustle of Nanshan Avenue behind, Ji Zhixing bid farewell to Zhou Yuan and hailed a taxi by the side of the road.

"Sure, let’s catch up later!" Zhou Yuan waved, lowering his head to continue scrolling through his phone, his grin stretching as wide as Old Gao’s.

Ji Zhixing got into the car and gave the driver the address for Tingyu Garden.

The car started. He leaned back in his seat, pulled out his phone, and opened the class group chat to take a look.

"Just as I thought!"

Ji Zhixing shook his head. Although he had anticipated it, the speed at which the group chat blew up still exceeded his expectations.

After Zhou Yuan sent the video, it was like a depth charge had been dropped into the chat. What had been a ghost town instantly erupted with activity.

Messages popped up one after another, moving too fast to read.

"Is that Ji Zhixing? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

"What’s going on? How did he get so strong? Three Tier One Two-Star Staff Techniques? It hasn’t even been that long!"

"And is that the Gigantification gene ability? He’s developed that ability too?"

"I remember him saying that as long as he developed the Stone Skin, Gigantification, and Innate Staff Heart abilities, he could evolve his gene. Does this mean he’s already developed two of them?"

"That’s too fierce! That sweeping strike sent three of them flying at once. So badass!"

"A ten-win streak, especially that final battle where he instantly defeated four people... Is Ji Zhixing really going to evolve his gene?"

"@Ji Zhixing, come out and explain!"

Watching the messages jump across the screen, a faint smile appeared on Ji Zhixing’s face.

He watched for a few seconds but didn’t reply. Locking his screen, he closed his eyes, rested his head against the headrest, and let out a long breath.

He was truly exhausted from that last battle.

Especially after activating Gigantification, the genetic source power in his body had poured out like floodwaters rushing through open gates. Now, his entire body felt drained.

The car drove steadily along the road, its engine humming in a low, even tone.

He was just about to take a nap and wake up when he arrived home when, suddenly, a strange movement stirred within his gene aperture.

"Hmm?"

His eyes snapped open. He sat up straight, his pupils shrinking slightly.

Inside his gene aperture, the phantom of the Three-inch Stone Monkey was expanding and contracting. It rhythmically pulsed as if it had its own heartbeat, emitting a muffled, drum-like thud that only he could hear.

With every contraction, the phantom became a fraction more solid, and with every expansion, its light grew a fraction brighter.

At the same time, a faint, peculiar aura emanated from his gene aperture. The aura was very weak and carried a hint of ancient desolation, but Ji Zhixing caught it clearly.

"What’s going on?" he thought, his heart jolting as an unbelievable idea surfaced in his mind. "Is my gene about to evolve right now?"

Not having time to overthink it, he immediately closed his eyes, sinking his consciousness into his body to carefully listen to the voice of his gene.

He held his breath, fully concentrating on capturing the information transmitting from the depths of his gene.

A moment later, Ji Zhixing took a deep breath and opened his eyes, an uncontrollable gleam flashing in them.

"It’s actually evolving!" he thought in ecstasy. "And it’s happening today!"

According to the information he perceived, the reason his gene was evolving so quickly was actually related to his exhilarating battle today, as well as the refreshing sense of satisfaction he felt after seeing his classmates’ reactions.

It seemed that today’s hearty, almost unrestrained battle had completely shattered the emotional baggage he had been accumulating over this period.

It had also cleared the final obstacle for his gene evolution.

"Emotions?" Ji Zhixing vaguely grasped a new concept. "Aside from stacking abilities, emotions actually have an impact on gene evolution."

He took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

RING RING RING...

Right then, his phone suddenly rang.

Ji Zhixing opened his eyes and glanced at the screen. It was his mother calling.

He answered the call.

"Zhixing!" Zhang Yulan’s voice was urgent and tense. "I just heard someone say that a video of you was posted online, saying you went up on an arena to fight. Zhixing, what on earth is going on?"

Had the news spread that fast?

Ji Zhixing was stunned.

He gave a helpless smile and softened his voice. "Mom, don’t worry, it’s nothing major. I just participated in an official arena challenge and sparred with a few people. I won all my matches and didn’t get hurt."

"You fought a few matches? Are you alright? Are you sure you’re not hurt?" Zhang Yulan’s voice grew even tighter.

"Of course I’m fine. I’m on my way home right now, completely in one piece. So just relax. If you don’t believe me, you can get a good look at me when you get back."

"Okay, okay. As long as you’re fine." Only then did Zhang Yulan breathe a sigh of relief, her voice softening. "Then go back and get some good rest. I’ll cook dinner tonight."

"Got it, Mom." Ji Zhixing hung up the phone and shook his head.

He didn’t tell his mother about his gene being on the verge of evolving.

There was no rush for that. The evolution process required peace and quiet, and he didn’t want his mother to fret and worry while anticipating the result.

It wouldn’t be too late to give her a surprise once he completed the evolution and truly evolved the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene into the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene.

The car stopped at the entrance of Tingyu Garden.

Ji Zhixing paid the fare, pushed the door open, and walked quickly inside.

His pace was brisk, almost jogging as he passed through the residential community’s garden.

The restless power within his body was growing stronger and stronger. The Stone Monkey phantom was churning violently inside his Dantian, looking as if it could break out of its cocoon at any moment.

He desperately needed a quiet place to complete this metamorphosis.

When passing below Building Three, the middle-aged woman who lived upstairs was just returning from outside with a grocery basket. Seeing him, she subconsciously stepped aside, a trace of unnaturalness flashing across her face.

Ji Zhixing didn’t look at her, taking the stairs two at a time as he headed up.

His mind was completely occupied with his gene evolution. He had no time to bother with irrelevant people.

"In a rush to get reincarnated? Walking that fast, aren’t you afraid of falling to your death!

"Just you wait! Let’s see how long you can stay arrogant!"

The woman finally muttered this to herself once Ji Zhixing was far away.

She was already in her forties and had spent half her life wallowing in petty neighborhood dramas, never having experienced a moment of true glory.

Therefore, despite her age, the fact that her son had awakened a Tier Two gene aperture recently had inevitably inflated her ego.

Watching the messages in the class group chat, Huang Yu played the video over and over again. "How did this guy’s strength improve so quickly? To think he’s even developed the Gigantification ability," he thought to himself. "Could he actually be able to evolve his gene?"

Unable to hold back any longer, he dialed Yu Zhirou’s number.

He didn’t hold many negative feelings toward Ji Zhixing.

When they bumped into each other, they could still exchange friendly greetings with a smile.

However, seeing Ji Zhixing’s rate of progress, he was still shocked.

"Hello?" After the phone rang a few times, Yu Zhirou picked up, her voice as coldly elegant as ever.

"Zhi Rou, quickly look at the class group chat!"

"What’s wrong?" Yu Zhirou’s voice was calm, seemingly uninterested in the commotion of the group chat.

"It’s Ji Zhixing! I’m guessing his gene is about to evolve! You’ll know once you see it!"

"Ji Zhixing’s gene is about to evolve? How is that possible?" Yu Zhirou’s voice finally changed, carrying a trace of fluctuation.

"When I first saw people talking about it in the group, I didn’t believe it either," Huang Yu said. "But Zhou Yuan sent a video in the chat. In the video, he got a ten-win streak at Radiant Mall, and he took on four opponents at once in the last match. He even used the Gigantification ability!"

Yu Zhirou bit her lower lip. After hanging up the phone, she immediately opened the class group chat.

She scrolled to the video Zhou Yuan sent. Her finger paused over the screen for a moment before she tapped it open.

The video was quite long, recording everything from Ji Zhixing’s first match in the arena to his final 1v4 sweep.

She saw the earth-shattering Gigantification, the sweeping strike that sent enemies flying, and the sheer dominance Ji Zhixing displayed when fighting four people by himself.

She watched from beginning to end, the expression on her face shifting from initial shock to disbelief, and finally to an indescribable complexity.

"How is this possible?"

Yu Zhirou clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deeply into her palms.

She had always thought that Ji Zhixing was ruined.

He had fused with a Tier One gene and chosen the weakest Three-inch Stone Monkey. Even if he mastered a few staff techniques, so what?

Tier One was just Tier One. He would never be able to catch up to her.

She was about to head to Yu City University soon. In the future, she was destined to exist on an entirely different level than Ji Zhixing.

But this video...

She stared at the frozen frame on the screen, her expression changing again and again.

"No." She suddenly loosened her fists, taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "If it’s just the Gigantification ability, he still can’t evolve his gene.

"According to what he originally said, if he wants to evolve his Three-inch Stone Monkey gene, he still needs to develop the Stone Skin ability.

"We’re not far from the start of the semester at Yu City University. As long as he can’t evolve his gene before then, at least for this year... he can forget about getting into Yu City University through a self-recommendation!"

Yu Zhirou took a deep breath.

If she previously hadn’t cared about Ji Zhixing.

Then now, she had already begun to dread running into him.