Chapter 72: Rock-Solid Body, Completed!

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Rock-Solid Body, Completed!

Ji Zhixing followed Xiao Mingyue across the long tree-lined avenues of Yu City University, heading toward the villa district.

The plane trees flanking the road were lush and leafy. Sunlight spilled through the gaps in their canopy, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Ji Zhixing glanced at Xiao Mingyue beside him. During their first meeting, they hadn’t exchanged a single word, leading him to assume she was an aloof and frosty girl.

He didn’t expect her to be so outgoing.

"This is it."

The two of them walked until Xiao Mingyue stopped in front of a detached villa.

Ji Zhixing looked up.

The villa was three stories high with a minimalist, modern exterior. The walls were made of pale gray stone, accented by expansive floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

There was a modest courtyard in front of the door, planted with a few nameless flowering trees. They were currently in bloom, their pink-and-white petals swaying gently in the breeze.

"Come on in."

Xiao Mingyue pushed open the courtyard gate and led Ji Zhixing inside.

The villa’s interior was even more spacious than it appeared from the outside.

The first floor housed the living and dining rooms. The decor was simple but exuded a sense of high quality in every detail.

"The gravity Cultivation Chamber is underground." Xiao Mingyue pointed to a door next to the stairs. "Follow me."

She pushed open the door, revealing a staircase leading downward.

The two descended about twenty steps before the space abruptly opened up before them.

It was an underground room of roughly fifty square meters. The walls and ceiling were constructed of heavy alloy, gleaming with a cold metallic luster.

The floor was lined with dark gray non-slip material that yielded with a slight elasticity underfoot.

"This is the gravity Cultivation Chamber." Xiao Mingyue walked over to a control panel on the wall and lightly tapped it a few times.

"HUM!"

A low hum resonated from all directions. Ji Zhixing immediately felt an invisible force press down from above, acting on his entire body.

"This is double gravity," Xiao Mingyue said. "Get used to it first. We’ll increase it once you feel ready.

"The gravity Cultivation Chamber can be dialed up to thirty times normal gravity, but given your current Cultivation, I suggest you max out at ten."

Ji Zhixing nodded, feeling the weight bearing down on him.

"Double gravity is definitely much heavier than normal." He moved his limbs, sensing that every movement required extra effort.

"Cultivating in this environment puts a massive strain on the body," Xiao Mingyue continued. "To develop the Boulder Physique, you need your four abilities—Stone Bones, Stone Tendons, Stone Muscles, and Stone Skin—to truly fuse into a single entity.

"Gravity will subject your body to constant pressure. Under this duress, your four abilities will instinctively work in synergy to resist the external oppression.

"Over time, they will naturally merge into the Boulder Physique."

Ji Zhixing listened intently, nodding inwardly.

"In that case, the gravity Cultivation Chamber is indeed very useful to me. I just wonder how long it’ll take to develop the Boulder Physique ability."

"Thank you," he said sincerely.

"You’re welcome." Xiao Mingyue waved her hand. "You’re a member of my squad now. Helping you is helping myself.

"In the Blood Beast Secret Realm, the stronger you are, the greater our squad’s haul will be."

She paused, then asked, "Also, do you need my help with your cultivation this time?"

"Your help?" Ji Zhixing was surprised.

"The gravity chamber has monitoring equipment that tracks your physical data in real-time."

Xiao Mingyue explained, "If you want, I can adjust the gravity for you based on those changes to accelerate your cultivation speed.

"I’m very good at this," she added. "Of course, I’m also a bit curious—curious as to how you’re already developing a new genetic ability so soon."

Seeing Xiao Mingyue stare at him with burning eyes, Ji Zhixing felt like he was being eyed by a female scientist eager to slice him up for research.

"In that case, I’ll have to trouble you." He hesitated for a moment but ultimately agreed.

"Alright." A hint of a smile touched Xiao Mingyue’s face. "You get ready to cultivate down here, and I’ll head upstairs to monitor your data and adjust the gravity."

With that, she announced her departure, turned around, and left the gravity Cultivation Chamber.

The metal door slid shut behind her with a dull thud.

Silence fell over the Cultivation Chamber, save for the low hum of the gravity apparatus.

"I owe her quite a big favor this time."

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath and walked to the empty space in the center of the chamber. Sitting cross-legged, he closed his eyes and began circulating the Genetic Source Power within his body.

"Boulder Physique..."

He chanted silently, attempting to make the four abilities—Stone Bones, Stone Tendons, Stone Muscles, and Stone Skin—work in tandem.

To his senses, his bones, tendons, muscles, and skin were all different from those of an ordinary person. This was the metamorphosis brought about by these four genetic abilities.

Yet, these four abilities acted independently, like four separate entities with little connection to one another.

"I need them to fuse together..."

Ji Zhixing tried marshaling his Genetic Source Power to link the four abilities.

He could feel that under the oppression of gravity, the four abilities were indeed much more active than usual, as if instinctively resisting the external pressure.

Stone Skin reacted first. A grayish-white stratum corneum surfaced from beneath his epidermis, coating his body.

Immediately after, Stone Muscles, Stone Tendons, and Stone Bones were activated in turn. His muscles tensed, his tendons pulled taut, and his bones emitted faint cracking sounds.

"Yes, just like this..."

A surge of joy welled up in Ji Zhixing’s heart.

He could feel that under the heavy gravity, the four abilities were slowly drawing closer together, like four originally independent entities attempting to embrace one another.

"But... it’s not enough."

He realized that although the four abilities were all active, they were still quite a ways off from true fusion.

"I need even more pressure."

He opened his eyes, about to say something, but just then, his body suddenly sank. It was as if a small mountain had been pressed onto his shoulders.

The gravity had sharply increased.

"Is this triple gravity? Or quintuple?"

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath and continued driving the Genetic Source Power within him.

"Stand up, don’t sit!"

Xiao Mingyue’s voice rang out through the speakers in the gravity chamber. "You can try cultivating a universal genetic ability in this environment.

"The Staff Soldier Stone Monkey genes you fused with have a sharp, aggressive edge. This type of gene usually prefers motion over stillness."

"Alright!"

Ji Zhixing complied and stood up. His knees buckled slightly, and his bones let out faint creaking sounds, as if struggling to withstand the pressure.

"PHEW!" Ji Zhixing exhaled sharply and drew his Tide Listening Rod.

"Breaking Army Staff Technique."

Gripping the rod with both hands, he began to execute the Breaking Army Staff Technique.

Shattering Void!

The long rod cleaved downward, generating a muffled whistling sound as it tore through the air.

"So heavy..."

Ji Zhixing furrowed his brows slightly.

Under the oppression of this gravity, every one of his movements became sluggish. His originally fluid staff technique now seemed somewhat stagnant, as if something were dragging it down.

But he didn’t stop.

Shattering Void, Shaking Earth, Startling Thunder, Breaking Army...

Stance by stance, he practiced repeatedly.

Sweat quickly soaked his clothes, sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the floor.

"This feeling... it’s like carrying someone on my back."

Ji Zhixing gritted his teeth and persevered, time and time again repeating the moves he already knew by heart.

Time ticked by, minute by minute.

He noticed that the gravity acting upon him wasn’t constant.

Instead, it changed every so often.

It was completely irregular.

In this state, his four abilities—Stone Skin, Stone Muscles, Stone Tendons, and Stone Bones—operated simultaneously.

A grayish-white stratum corneum surfaced on his body; his muscles were taut as iron, his tendons strung tight as bowstrings, and his bones hard as steel.

"This feeling..."

Ji Zhixing felt a thrill of excitement.

Under this gravitational pressure, he could clearly feel the connection between the four abilities growing tighter.

They no longer acted independently but had begun to work in synergy, jointly resisting the external pressure.

It was only when the gravity suddenly shifted that his four abilities would fall into disarray.

But almost immediately, they would adapt.

"Yes, just like this!"

Irrepressible joy swelled in Ji Zhixing’s heart.

He could sense the rudimentary form of the Boulder Physique slowly taking shape.

However, under such intense pressure, he also felt the heavy toll on his body.

Especially his viscera and internal organs.

"Keep going! Don’t stop!" Xiao Mingyue’s voice echoed through the chamber. "Don’t worry about crippling your body! Give it everything you have!

"Unleash your staff technique to your heart’s content!"

Accompanying her words, the force acting upon Ji Zhixing abruptly intensified once more.

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath.

He swung the Tide Listening Rod and circulated his four abilities with all his might, allowing them to constantly chafe and fuse beneath the crushing weight.

"His body is nearing its limit, but his four genetic abilities are also on the verge of complete fusion.

"If he holds on a little longer, he should succeed."

On the first floor of the villa, Xiao Mingyue watched Ji Zhixing’s figure on the screen, along with the massive amount of accompanying data, occasionally adjusting the gravity in the Cultivation Chamber.

Just then, her phone suddenly rang.

She glanced at it and immediately hung up.

Meanwhile, inside the gravity chamber, time ticked by, minute by minute.

"Almost... almost there..."

Ji Zhixing’s heavy breathing was exceptionally clear as it mixed with the hum of the gravity apparatus.

Sweat rolled down his forehead and dripped onto the floor, quickly evaporating.

His body was trembling slightly—his muscles spasming instinctively under the heavy pressure—yet his expression was incredibly tranquil, even carrying a hint of satisfaction.

He could feel the barriers between the four abilities vanishing bit by bit; they were truly fusing together.

It was like four separate puzzle pieces seamlessly snapping together to form a whole.

"Done!"

After an unknown amount of time, the Tide Listening Rod in Ji Zhixing’s grip came to an abrupt halt.

At this moment, his internal body was undergoing a frantic metamorphosis.

Within him, after countless rounds of friction, the four abilities of Stone Bones, Stone Tendons, Stone Muscles, and Stone Skin finally merged completely.

The Boulder Physique was complete!