Chapter 7: Fusion, Evolutionary Path

Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Fusion, Evolutionary Path

Ji Zhixing thought, "It’s decided!

"A weak gene can be evolved, but such high compatibility is something you can only hope for, not seek!"

A flash of resolve crossed his eyes.

He hesitated no longer. Reaching out, he forcefully pressed the confirmation button on the metal platform in front of him.

BEEP!

A crisp electronic sound chimed, and the containment chamber opened automatically. It revealed a gene sample quietly floating inside—a hazy halo of light. Within it, one could faintly see a shadow so tiny it was almost imperceptible. It was none other than the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene.

"Genetic Melting Furnace!" Ji Zhixing willed, immediately activating the furnace within his body.

An invisible power permeated from him, instantly enveloping the gene sample inside the containment chamber. The halo trembled slightly before transforming into a streak of flowing light. It flew directly out of the chamber and sank into his body.

At the same time, the faint sound of whirring machinery came from inside the metal platform. A brand-new gene sample slowly rose from the platform and was automatically delivered into the upper containment chamber, which then closed silently.

Ji Zhixing wondered, "My Genetic Melting Furnace is different from others. I wonder if there will be anything special when using it to refine genes."

He looked at the Genetic Melting Furnace within his body. In the hazy, gray space inside, the newly absorbed halo floated quietly. It was the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene.

"Refine!"

He didn’t delay for a second. Focusing his intent, he immediately channeled the power of the Genetic Melting Furnace. The Eight Trigrams Map on its inner walls suddenly lit up and began to slowly rotate.

Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui—the eight trigrams each bloomed with differently colored lights. They intertwined to form a profound and mystical power that enveloped the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene.

HUMM...

The Three-inch Stone Monkey gene vibrated gently. Its halo grew brighter and brighter, as if undergoing some sort of tempering.

At almost the exact same moment, Ji Zhixing clearly sensed something. Within his Genetic Acupoint that was compatible with ape-type genes, the light that originally occupied seventy-two percent of the area was actually beginning to slowly expand!

"What’s going on?" Ji Zhixing’s pupils shrank, and his heart pounded fiercely. "Can I actually increase my compatibility with a gene by refining it?"

No sooner had the thought arisen than he saw the light in the Genetic Acupoint spreading at a visible rate.

Seventy-three percent... seventy-five percent... seventy-eight percent...

"It really is increasing!" An irrepressible wave of wild joy surged in Ji Zhixing’s heart.

He had never heard of such a thing! The compatibility between genes and a Cultivator had always been innate. He had never known anyone capable of altering their compatibility with a gene.

"It’s at eighty percent!"

The light in the Genetic Acupoint continued to expand. Its resplendent brilliance was incredibly dazzling.

"Eighty-three percent... eighty-five percent..."

Ji Zhixing could feel the refinement accelerating inside the Genetic Melting Furnace. Under this refinement, the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene became increasingly pure and bright. It was as if all of its impurities were being stripped away, leaving only its absolute core essence.

"Eighty-eight percent... ninety percent..." Ji Zhixing grew tense.

The expansion of the Genetic Acupoint seemed to be nearing its limit, yet he hoped his compatibility with the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene could be even higher.

"Ninety-five percent... ninety-six percent..."

Inside the Genetic Acupoint, the light had already occupied over ninety-five percent of the area. Only a tiny sliver at the edges remained dim. Yet, this tiny sliver acted like an insurmountable barrier, slowing the light’s expansion speed to a crawl.

"Refine!" Ji Zhixing gritted his teeth, frantically channeling the Genetic Melting Furnace.

BOOM!

The rotation speed of the Eight Trigrams Map inside the furnace abruptly accelerated. The eight streams of light nearly merged into one, transforming into a brilliant torrent.

HUMM!

The gene sample suddenly erupted with a blinding radiance!

Ji Zhixing’s body shuddered. Within that Genetic Acupoint, the final dim area was completely submerged by the light. In a split second, the entire Genetic Acupoint lit up entirely!

The glow was so blazing it was impossible to look at directly, as though a miniature sun had settled down within him.

One hundred percent compatibility!

Ji Zhixing had never heard of anyone achieving a one hundred percent compatibility with a gene.

"I wonder if there will be anything special about such compatibility..." Ji Zhixing thought, taking a deep breath and trying hard to calm himself down. "Fuse!"

He did not hesitate. With a thought, his Genetic Acupoint generated a fluctuation, drawing in the fully refined Three-inch Stone Monkey gene.

Instantly, a profound sensation washed over his entire body. He could clearly sense a brand-new power welling up within him.

The power was faint, of course. After all, the Three-inch Stone Monkey was merely a Tier One gene, inherently weak in its own right.

But...

Ji Zhixing stood rooted to the spot, his expression shifting rapidly before settling into pure shock. He closed his eyes slightly. The sounds of trainees walking around completely failed to affect him. He was listening to the voice emanating from the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene inside his body.

The reason Genetic Cultivators could evolve genes was that they could hear the voice of the genes. Moreover, the higher the compatibility between a Cultivator and a gene, the more they heard, and the more accurate the voice was.

"Three-inch Stone Monkey—

"Staff Soldier Stone Monkey—

"Ten-foot Stone Monkey—

"Ruyi Stone Monkey—

"Nine-orifice Stone Monkey—

"Tongming Stone Monkey—"

At this moment, Ji Zhixing heard the ultimate evolutionary path from the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene. At the very end of its evolution, the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene could even evolve into the Fighting Divine Monkey gene, or perhaps an even higher-tier, more powerful gene.

"This is too strong. If I can really reach that stage, let alone a Tier Seven Glory Level gene, even a Tier Eight Legendary Level or Tier Nine King Level gene would be nothing!" Ji Zhixing thought, taking a deep breath.

He continued to listen to the voice of the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene.

"For the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene to evolve into the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene, I need to master four gene abilities.

"Currently, I only have one passive gene ability: Stone Heart.

"Stone Heart can only strengthen my mental will and increase my resistance to mental shocks and Illusion Techniques. It provides no direct boost to my physical combat strength.

"Aside from Stone Heart, the other three gene abilities I need to master are Stone Skin, Gigantification, and Innate Staff Heart.

"As long as I master these gene abilities, I can evolve the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene into the Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene!"

"What are you doing?"

Just then, an angry voice suddenly came from behind. Ji Zhixing turned around and saw that it was his homeroom teacher, He Yanbing.

"Teacher He," Ji Zhixing said calmly. "I went up to the second floor, but my compatibility with those Tier Two genes was simply too low."

"And then?" He Yanbing’s chest heaved. "Then you came down to the first floor? Have you ever paid attention in my class? Don’t you know that high-tier genes, no matter how low their compatibility, are still stronger than low-tier genes?"

"Teacher, my compatibility with this gene is seventy-two percent," Ji Zhixing replied.

"Seventy-two percent?" He Yanbing was stunned.

She turned to look at the metal platform in front of Ji Zhixing, but upon seeing it, her chest began heaving again.

"You chose the Three-inch Stone Monkey gene? Have you lost your mind? No matter how high the compatibility is for this kind of low-tier gene, how much combat power can it possibly give you?"

"Teacher," Ji Zhixing called out softly.

He said nothing more. Instead, with a thought, he activated the Genetic Acupoint in his body. The next moment, a hazy halo of light emerged at his Dantian.

"What’s going on?" He Yanbing was taken aback.

This halo was precisely the phenomenon that manifested after awakening a Genetic Acupoint. But Ji Zhixing had clearly already fused with the gene. Under such circumstances, the phenomenon displayed should have included the phantom of a Three-inch Stone Monkey.

Yet, the phenomenon Ji Zhixing displayed only consisted of a halo. There was absolutely nothing else.

"What I awakened is a Dual-Core Genetic Acupoint. I’ll treat this as my own experiment. If my Three-inch Stone Monkey gene fails to evolve, I definitely won’t choose a Tier One gene the next time I come," Ji Zhixing said slowly.