Chapter 75: Refining the Blood Beast, Loot Dropped

Chapter 75: Chapter 75: Refining the Blood Beast, Loot Dropped

"Ji Zhixing!"

A crisp voice suddenly rang out. Yu Zhirou paused in her steps and turned to look. In the distance, a girl in a silver-white combat suit was waving at Ji Zhixing. The girl had outstanding looks and an extraordinary temperament; one glance was enough to tell she was no ordinary person.

"Who is this?" Yu Zhirou frowned. She wondered how there could still be someone among the freshmen who dared to approach Ji Zhixing so openly. Weren’t they afraid of being implicated by him?

Hearing the call, Ji Zhixing turned his head. Seeing it was Xiao Mingyue, he immediately walked over. As he approached her, he noticed two boys and another girl standing beside her, all of whom carried an impressive aura.

"Let me introduce you," Xiao Mingyue said, pointing at Ji Zhixing as he approached. "This is Ji Zhixing, a self-recommended student of our school this year. He’s the one rumored among the freshmen to have offended Gu Zheng." She paused before continuing, "He has dual Genetic Apertures. One is fused with the Tier Two Staff Soldier Stone Monkey gene, and the other is fused with the Tier One Willow Tree gene."

Hearing this, the three of them looked at Ji Zhixing in surprise.

"Offended Gu Zheng? You’ve got some guts." A tall boy raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over Ji Zhixing with a scrutinizing look. "Hello, my name is Zhou Han. I fused with the Tier Three Frost Giant Wolf gene."

"Hello," Ji Zhixing nodded.

"I’m Su Qing, fused with the Tier Three Flame Spirit Butterfly gene," the girl said with a smile, her voice crisp and clear.

"I’m Tie Shan, fused with the Tier Three Earth-Shaking Barbarian Bear gene," the last boy said in a muffled, booming voice. He was burly, standing there like a solid wall.

Ji Zhixing’s heart stirred slightly. "All three have Tier Three genes," he thought, glancing at Xiao Mingyue. "The only one whose gene remains unknown is Xiao Mingyue’s. So on the surface, I should be the weakest one in this squad. However..." He felt the surging power within his body. "After developing the Rock Body ability, my strength shouldn’t be any weaker than an ordinary Cultivator who has fused with a Tier Three gene. After all, a four-star quality Rock Body paired with Giantization provides absolutely devastating explosive power."

"Alright, now we all know each other," Xiao Mingyue smiled. "Let’s go. We can discuss our specific abilities on the way. We’ll get familiar with each other once we hunt a few Blood Beasts."

None of them objected. They followed Xiao Mingyue and prepared to leave.

"Ji Zhixing!"

Just then, a few figures walked over and blocked their path. Ji Zhixing looked up and recognized Chen Wenjie and Han Shuang from Gu Zheng’s squad. There were three other people with them, but he didn’t recognize those three.

"Is there a problem?" Ji Zhixing asked coldly.

"No problem. We just came over to see what kind of team would actually party up with you," Chen Wenjie said, looking at Xiao Mingyue and the others with a half-smile.

Hearing Chen Wenjie’s words, Zhou Han and the rest frowned.

"Is he Gu Zheng?" Xiao Mingyue glanced at Chen Wenjie and asked Ji Zhixing.

"No, he’s just one of Gu Zheng’s lackeys," Ji Zhixing shook his head.

"And here I thought he was Gu Zheng," Xiao Mingyue turned to Chen Wenjie. "If you don’t have any business, stay away from me. My cousin is Qin Xiaoran from the senior year Genius Class. My cousin is the one who asked me to team up with Ji Zhixing. If you or Gu Zheng have a problem with it, you can go talk to my cousin directly."

"Uh..." Xiao Mingyue’s words instantly froze Chen Wenjie in his tracks. Han Shuang, who was beside him, also changed her expression.

A senior?

The Genius Class?

Qin Xiaoran?

A figure like that was someone even Gu Zheng couldn’t afford to offend right now, let alone them.

"Sorry..." Chen Wenjie hurriedly stepped aside to clear the way. The others did the same.

"Let’s go," Xiao Mingyue said upon seeing this. She led her group deeper into the Blood Beast Secret Realm, leaving behind Chen Wenjie and his group with ugly expressions.

"What’s going on?"

"Who is that girl on Ji Zhixing’s team?"

The surrounding freshmen who witnessed this scene all wore looks of surprise.

"How could this be?" In the distance, Yu Zhirou, who had been paying attention to them the whole time, had a wildly fluctuating expression.

"Thanks," Ji Zhixing turned to Xiao Mingyue once they were away from the crowd.

"It’s a small matter," Xiao Mingyue shook her head. "I don’t know what kind of conflict you have with Gu Zheng or how you offended him, but the gene you fused with previously was only Tier One. I figure no matter how bold you are, you definitely wouldn’t actively provoke a genius who fused with a Tier Four gene. So, I can somewhat guess what really happened."

Ji Zhixing cast a surprised glance at Xiao Mingyue, not expecting her to view it that way. After a brief thought, he gave a rough summary of his past conflict with Gu Zheng. He mentioned how Gu Zheng had used him and his classmates as bait, and how he had snatched the biggest prize right from under Gu Zheng’s nose.

"Impressive!" Zhou Han and the others were astonished when they heard this. They hadn’t expected him to be so daring. In that situation, if it were them, they probably would have just fled after jumping into the water. Yet, Ji Zhixing had actually dared to go retrieve the Red Iron Ore.

"As expected, it’s roughly what I guessed," Xiao Mingyue nodded. She then added, "However, we don’t need to worry about Gu Zheng. The entire secret realm is under the school’s surveillance. Even if we run into him here, he can’t do anything to us.

"We will stay in the Blood Beast Secret Realm for ten days this time. After ten days, the school will teleport us out. Aside from that, if we face life-threatening danger in the secret realm, the school will also teleport us out. So there’s basically no risk of dying here.

"However, once teleported out, it means an early end to this trip to the secret realm. Therefore, everyone should still be careful. Don’t leave early because of carelessness."

The group all nodded in agreement.

They walked out of the valley they were in and entered a blood-colored mountain forest. The trees in the forest were tall and bizarre. The trunks were dark red, and the leaves were also dark red, making them look as if they had been watered with blood. The ground was covered with a thick layer of red fallen leaves, soft to the step and producing rustling sounds.

"There’s a Blood Beast," Tie Shan, who was walking at the very front, suddenly stopped and lowered his voice.

The group immediately went on high alert and followed his gaze. In the woods ahead, a robust creature was lowering its head, gnawing on something. It was a wild boar, but much larger than an ordinary one—it stood as tall as a person’s chest. Its entire body was covered in dark red bristles that stood upright like steel needles. The most striking feature was its forehead, where a single, blood-red horn grew, gleaming with an eerie light under the blood sun. Its eyes were also blood-red, brimming with tyranny and bloodlust.

"A Unihorned Blood Pig," Xiao Mingyue said softly. "A Tier One Blood Beast. Its strength isn’t that great, making it perfect for practice." She turned to look at Ji Zhixing. "Ji Zhixing, you make the first move. You fused with a Tier Two gene, and I’m sure the rest of them are secretly doubting your strength. It’s the perfect chance to show them."

"Alright," Ji Zhixing smiled and didn’t decline.

He drew the Tide Listening Rod from his Genetic Furnace, gripped it tightly, and walked toward the Unihorned Blood Pig.

The Unihorned Blood Pig seemed to sense the danger. It abruptly raised its head, its blood-red eyes fixed fiercely on Ji Zhixing.

"SNORT!" It snorted loudly, its front hooves pawing at the ground. Then, lowering its head and aiming its horn at Ji Zhixing, it charged fiercely. Its speed was incredible. With its four hooves flying, it was like a runaway truck, hurtling forward with ferocious momentum.

Looking at the Unihorned Blood Pig, Ji Zhixing did not use his Giantization ability. He simply gripped the rod with both hands and slowly accelerated, charging head-on at the beast.

"Shatter Space!"

The moment he clashed with the Unihorned Blood Pig, he made his move. The Tide Listening Rod swung high into the air and, carrying the full might of his body, smashed down!

He didn’t actively unleash the Rock Body. However, aside from significantly boosting his defense when actively triggered, the Rock Body genetic ability also passively enhanced his strength. Stone Bone, Stone Sinew, Stone Muscle, and Stone Skin—these four abilities merged into one, keeping his body in optimal condition at all times.

The power behind this swing was at least double what it had been before he developed these abilities. Coupled with the augmentation of the Innate Staff Heart, the sheer force was astounding.

BAM!

The long rod smashed ruthlessly onto the top of the Unihorned Blood Pig’s head with a dull, heavy thud. The Unihorned Blood Pig’s skull shattered instantly, sending blood and brain matter splattering in all directions. Its body stiffened abruptly before crashing to the ground. Its limbs twitched a few times, and then it lay completely still.

Dead in a single strike!

Ji Zhixing retracted the Tide Listening Rod and crouched down. Without standing on ceremony, he directly stored the Unihorned Blood Pig’s corpse into his Genetic Furnace and began refining it. Once that was done, he turned around and walked back to the team.

"Pretty decent strength," Zhou Han thought, a hint of approval welling up as he recalled Ji Zhixing’s strike. Just two days ago, his own base combat power was probably about the same. It was only when he utilized his Deep Freeze Frost ability that he could unleash even greater power. Yet, he had fused with a Tier Three gene, whereas Ji Zhixing had only fused with a Tier Two gene.

"Not bad at all," Tie Shan echoed in his muffled, booming voice.

Su Qing didn’t speak, but she similarly felt that with such strength, his addition to their team wouldn’t hold them back.

"Alright, let’s keep moving." Xiao Mingyue glanced at Ji Zhixing, knowing that he still had many abilities he hadn’t revealed, such as Giantization and the Rock Body. However, showing just this much was more than enough. She clapped her hands. "There should be plenty more Blood Beasts in this forest. Let’s hunt a few more."

The group nodded and continued deeper into the mountain forest.

Ji Zhixing quickened his pace to keep up with the team. While keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings, he urged his Genetic Furnace to speed up the refinement of the Blood Beast.

A moment later, the refinement was complete.

"A drop!"

Ji Zhixing’s expression lit up with joy as he looked inside his Genetic Furnace. In addition to two new Genetic Source Stones, there were two thumb-sized, dark red crystals.

Unlike the Genetic Beasts outside, the Blood Beasts in the Blood Beast Secret Realm had a chance to yield Blood Crystals upon being refined, in addition to Genetic Source Stones.

"According to the information provided by the school, an average Cultivator needs to kill about five Blood Beasts to get one Blood Crystal," he thought, keeping a straight face. "But I got two just from refining a single one... It seems my Genetic Furnace indeed provides a bonus when refining Blood Beasts. If I can maintain this drop rate, the harvest over these ten days should be quite substantial. Furthermore, after killing and refining a Blood Beast, aside from Blood Crystals, there’s also a chance to obtain genetic potions or Genetic Equipment. Moreover..."

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body. "If I can break through to Tier Two while in the secret realm, that would be even better."