Chapter 100: Gene Tough Guy Two

Pale Continent, Colorful Mist Coast.

Three kilometers east of the teleportation array.

Under the night sky, two players sat on the white sand beach, chatting idly.

Blowing with the salty sea breeze, listening to the sound of waves lapping against the shore, mixed with the cries of seabirds from afar, such an environment made them feel incomparably comfortable.

Before them was a newly lit bonfire, the wood crackling as it burned in the flames.

One of them was breaking branches, constantly adding wood to the bonfire to fuel the fire.

On an iron rod propped up ahead, freshly caught crabs were skewered; under the flame's roasting, their shells gradually turned red, emitting an enticing aroma that mixed with the smoky scent of burning wood, making one's mouth water.

This was a monster known as the "Golden Claw Crab."

Its Hunting Rank was 0, but the taste was incomparably delicious; after consumption, one could gain about 0.5 points of Body Tempering experience, with the specific effect depending on the crab's size.

After capture, they could be sold in the Exchange Hall for a price exceeding 3 points of Sacrificial Power, and they were often in short supply, showing a clear upward trend in price.

Ever since the Colorful Mist Coast opened, the Golden Claw Crabs here had been caught in large groups, becoming a rare delicacy in the eyes of players.

Roasting crabs on the beach had become a popular leisure activity.

Nowadays, many players engaged in violent battles against insect tides and black tides in the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range during the day, then came to the Colorful Mist Coast at night to relax, focusing on a balance of tension and ease.

"It's so unbearable; I shouldn't have logged on today. Do you know how painful it was when I heard that news..."

Jiang Cheng rotated the iron rod in his hand, crafted from weapon fragments, flipping the roasting crab over, complaining incessantly while casting resentful glances at the player beside him from time to time.

"It's just a piece of spiritual farmland. When I die, you'll have to inherit this field anyway, so what's the rush?" The man speaking was about twenty years old with short hair; at this moment, he could barely hide the smile in his eyes, then continued:

"But honestly, the battle to purify the Cloud Field was truly electrifying. The Guild Master of the Divine Hall Society really has some skills; he actually managed to turn our final losing situation around."

"Electrifying my foot; hearing that news nearly made me collapse. How did you manage to get into the top 1000 of the Contribution List?"

Jiang Cheng, who was speaking, could barely hide the bitterness in his eyes, then added another sentence:

"This hurts more than killing me."

Facing his good brother's complaints, Xia Sheng, sitting nearby, wore a Iron Face full of satisfaction:

"This is fate. The Divine Hall Society originally wanted to invite us to participate in the purification campaign together, but you had matters to attend to and logged off; who can you blame?"

Hearing his good brother's answer, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but bare his teeth, saying viciously:

"Nauseating, dizzy, want to vomit. Honestly, if you had earned a few hundred points of Sacrificial Power, I might have been even happier than you; we could have bought a few portions of spiritual fish meat, got a few spiritual plants, and sat by the seaside enjoying a grand meal with these crabs—I would have sincerely blessed your good luck. But you damn well earned a 25-square-meter piece of spiritual farmland! This is a treasure that can continuously produce Sacrificial Power. Now I can't eat, I don't want to sleep, and just thinking about it fills me with hatred... You truly deserve to die."

Hearing his good brother's endless complaints, Xia Sheng reached out to grab the iron rod:

"Can't eat, you say? If you can't eat, you'll eat them all anyway. I'm starving after killing evil spirits all day; it's just the right time to replenish nutrients."

"Don't even think about it. Even if I have no appetite, I must eat... I'll eat three, you eat two."

After some playful banter, the two starving individuals began to attack the crabs.

Peeling open the hard crab shell revealed crab meat that was white as jade and plump; by the flickering firelight, one could see the fibrous texture of the flesh.

The seawater roasted dry had turned into granules, seeping into the meat through pre-drilled holes in the shell; one bite delivered a delicious flavor mixed with the salty fragrance of seawater, greatly awakening their appetites.

Before long, a skewer of crabs was consumed.

Feeling unsatisfied, the two stood up and rushed toward the sea, beginning to search the beach for figures of Golden Claw Crabs.

Half an hour later, the two players returned to the bonfire holding four Golden Claw Crabs washed with seawater, skewered them on the iron rod, and continued roasting them over the fire.

Only after finishing the four Golden Claw Crabs did they feel satisfied, deciding it was time to attend to their main business.

Discarding the crab shells in their hands, Jiang Cheng and Xia Sheng exchanged a glance, then each took out a dark red seed from their respective spatial bags.

Before they even began, expressions of pain already appeared on their faces.

"It's truly sinful; the technological progress on this thing is too slow. Why can't it release new versions frequently like the arms dealers do?"

Hearing Jiang Cheng's complaint, Xia Sheng couldn't help but roll his eyes:

"Stop talking nonsense; are you eating or not?"

"Eat, must eat."

"I'll count; 3, 2, 1, swallow together."

"Okay."

Three seconds later, two figures began rolling painfully on the beach.

Even with 90% pain reduction, the intense agony still felt unbearable to them.

What was even more painful was that they needed to observe their physical condition while enduring the severe pain, occasionally drinking healing potions during the process to ensure they wouldn't run out of health and die while bearing the suffering.

It wasn't until twenty minutes later that the constantly climbing pain gradually subsided, allowing them to finally stand up and move.

However, the effects of the gene enhancement had not completely disappeared.

Both men's expressions still appeared abnormally painful, yet they simultaneously took out a second gene seed from their spatial bags.

This was not their first attempt, but the torment brought by the gene seeds still made them tremble.

At this moment, Xia Sheng took a deep breath, then took the lead in stuffing the second gene seed into his mouth and swallowing it:

"Damn, this is life-threatening!"

With blue veins bulging all over his body, Xia Sheng's frame began to tremble uncontrollably once again.

He hurriedly took a bottle of recovery potion from his spatial bag and gulped it down.

The healing liquid slid down his throat, carrying a slight warm current that circulated within his body, quickly repairing the internal injuries caused by the gene seed.

During this period, the pain continued to intensify, but Xia Sheng still gritted his teeth and persisted.

Because he knew clearly that this was the only way for a lone player like him, who possessed neither techniques nor wealth, to rise quickly.

As lone players, their methods of earning Sacrificial Power were limited.

To save on Sacrificial Power, he and his brother had chosen the most painful method: obtaining Body Tempering experience by consuming gene seeds.

They had also considered obtaining Body Tempering experience through other channels.

However, the mainstream methods of acquiring Body Tempering experience were all extremely expensive.

For instance, obtaining Body Tempering experience through dietary supplements like spiritual plants and spiritual fish meat was indeed an enjoyable process, but it was also the most costly option.

The Body Tempering experience gain provided by spiritual materials and spiritual fish meat resulted in negative returns, costing more than directly converting Sacrificial Power into Body Tempering experience.

After improvements across multiple versions, each gene seed now provided Body Tempering experience at a cost price plus approximately 15%, making it the method with the highest return on investment for acquiring such experience.

Precisely because of this, a very small number of players chose the path of body tempering by swallowing gene seeds.

He and his good brother were two among that tiny minority.

Players like them were jokingly referred to on the forums as "Gene Tough Guys" or "Gene Supermen."

In the eyes of other players, they were fools who would stop at nothing to save a few scraps of Sacrificial Power.

They believed that enduring such intense pain just to save those few cents worth of Sacrificial Power was pointless; it would be better to go out and kill a few more evil spirits, as the Sacrificial Power earned could completely cover the returns brought by the gene seeds.

Regarding such thoughts, Xia Sheng held a different perspective.

Swallowing one gene seed indeed only earned a 15% bonus to Body Tempering experience, but what about two? Three? Ten?

If the earnings aren't enough, make up for it with quantity.

Killing evil spirits only earns a few coins; the Body Tempering experience revenue I get from downing a handful of gene seeds is more than what you earn killing evil spirits all day.

This is just a game; nothing you do can kill you permanently. Since you can't die, why fear the pain of gene seeds?

Aside from saving up to purchase new Soul Souls or increase Star Vein levels, any excess Sacrificial Power should be used entirely to gorge on gene seeds.

A 15% bonus to Body Tempering experience was enough to let them lead the vast majority of players.

This was also the reason they could be listed on the Body Tempering leaderboard, and the reason why the management of the Divine Hall Society had invited them to the purification campaign.

The torment of pain continued.

One seed was just the beginning, followed by a second, a third...

Stimulated by intense agony, the two ignored the looks other passing players gave them as if they were fools, rolling painfully on the beach.

When they endured until their health was nearly depleted, they would pull a bottle of recovery potion from their spatial bags and drink it, thereby countering the damage to their bodies caused during the gene seed enhancement process.

Two hours later, the two, nearly exhausted, sat before the bonfire, curled up, their expressions weak.

Their ashen faces looked as though they had just suffered through a severe illness.

"It's too difficult; next time, let's save up more Sacrificial Power before buying and eating them. Maybe a new version of gene seeds will be listed, allowing us to suffer less pain."

Hearing Jiang Cheng's suggestion, Xia Sheng nodded weakly:

"Okay, next time we'll save more... By the way, after we recover our stamina, let's catch some more crabs to eat; I'm so hungry."

"Me too, so hungry." Jiang Cheng curled his body up, nodding with trembling lips.

Just as the two were chatting, a black shadow suddenly appeared beside the bonfire, stirring up a gust of wind that caused the fire to fluctuate violently, sending sparks flying in all directions.

Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng looked up.

They saw an elderly man with white hair and an aged Iron Face standing by the bonfire; he wore a tattered suit of armor, and a broken blade, missing half its length and covered in rust, hung at his left waist. His deep eyes were carefully examining them, a slight smile on his Iron Face, the corners of his mouth turning upward slightly.

With just one glance, they could tell the old man was definitely not a player.

Although he had a human-like appearance and the equipment he wore seemed cobbled together from the Ancient Battlefield region, there was no game name above the old man's head belonging to a player.

Even if a player hid their game name, a scarlet flame emblem representing their faction could still be seen above their head.

Focusing their gaze, the old man's analysis information floated into their minds:

[Ascetic]:

Hunting Rank: 79 (Hint: The target's bodily functions have severely declined, causing a significant drop in the Hunting Rank evaluation)

Target Introduction: The last clan leader of the Great Flame Clan in the Colorful Mist Coast region, and also the sole surviving member of the Great Flame Clan. He dedicated his life to researching "Quasi-Rule" abilities; his overly aged body can no longer support the advancement of his research projects, and he is nearing death from old age.

Seeing that the other party's Hunting Rank had actually reached level 79, both Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng were startled.

"Hiss, Dog Life, this old man's strength is quite formidable."

"I'm more concerned that the old man is about to die; can we find an opportunity to knife him? This is level 79; think about how many gene seeds we could gorge on if we kill him," Xia Sheng said in the voice channel with a hint of excitement.

Just then, the old man suddenly spoke, baring his broken and uneven teeth in a grin:

"The energy substance you two just ate, could you give me one?"

The old man's request made Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng silently curse in their voice channel.

A single fourth-generation gene seed sold for 350 points of Sacrificial Power in the Mall Realm; to them, the old man's behavior was tantamount to openly demanding sixty thousand Meng Yuan from them, which was simply excessive.

Seeing they remained silent, the old man seemed to think they did not understand the common tongue of the Monster World, so after a brief moment of thought, he switched to another language and continued asking.

However, under the Guidance's analysis and translation, the old man was merely repeating his previous words.

"No, you really have the nerve to ask." Xia Sheng's expression showed his displeasure.

Xia Sheng's reply brought a smile to the old man's Iron Face, and he understood what Xia Sheng meant.

He then raised his right hand, unclenched his tightly gripped fist, and revealed a golden crystal stone resting on his palm.

Through analysis, they discovered this was actually a spiritual ore stone of "Grade 7" quality.

"How about trading this?"

"No problem." Before Jiang Cheng could even speak, Xia Sheng answered without hesitation.

A Grade 7 spiritual ore stone was worth at least eight times the price of a gene seed; no matter how they calculated it, this trade would not be a loss.

Saying this, Xia Sheng turned his head to look at Jiang Cheng and spoke in their squad chat channel:

"How much Sacrificial Power do you have left?"

"221 points."

"Transfer it all to me."

"Okay."

Understanding that this deal was a guaranteed profit, Jiang Cheng decisively transferred his remaining Sacrificial Power to Xia Sheng.

After receiving the Sacrificial Power, Xia Sheng summoned the Mall Realm interface, jumped to the gene seed sales page via the history log on the left sidebar, selected one seed, and placed the order immediately.

[Challenger Notification: Purchased custom Mall Realm item "Gene Seed," deducting Sacrificial Power balance: 350 points.]

Accompanied by the notification sound, the gene seed automatically entered his spatial inventory.

Taking out the gene seed, Xia Sheng handed it to the old man, exchanging it for the golden crystal stone in the other's hand.

The moment it was in his possession, he tossed the golden crystal stone into his spatial inventory, fearing the old man would turn hostile once he had the gene seed.

A hunting level of 79 was far beyond anything they could contend with.

Seeing the golden crystal stone vanish, the old man first froze, a hint of curiosity floating in his eyes, but he did not ask, instead lowering his head to look at the gene seed in his hand.

After staring at it for several seconds, he lifted the gene seed and moved to put it in his mouth.

Witnessing this scene, Xia Sheng decisively spoke up to stop him:

"Don't eat it, it hurts a lot."

Hearing this, a hint of amusement appeared in the old man's eyes:

"This old one has been observing you two for quite some time; naturally, I understand that this thing will bring intense pain to the body."

With that said, he swallowed the gene seed without hesitation, accompanied by the sound of gulping.

Seeing this, Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng couldn't help but bare their teeth, already able to foresee the old man's upcoming reaction.

But to their surprise, the old man's expression did not change in the slightest; after a brief silence, he grinned, revealing his broken teeth:

"Not bad, very not bad."

"Doesn't it hurt?" Xia Sheng asked, somewhat puzzled.

"It's bearable, but ultimately, it lacks a certain something." Feeling the power of the gene seed releasing within his body, the old man looked at the two again and couldn't help but nod:

"You two are quite remarkable; would you be interested in following me to learn the Supreme Divine Art?"

"Wait, we barely know each other, and you're openly asking to take disciples; isn't this progress a bit too fast?" Xia Sheng asked with a puzzled expression.

Hearing this, the old man laughed heartily:

"I have no descendants; my inheritance must be passed on to someone, and I find you two very suitable; whether you are willing or not is up to you."

As the old man spoke, a Challenger Notification suddenly rang in the minds of Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng, who were about to answer:

[Challenger Notification: Hidden Quest triggered: Secret Art Cultivation.]

Quest Reward: Unknown.

At this moment, Qi Sheng, situated behind the scenes, was also observing the old man who had made contact with the two players.

Through analyzing the information, he discovered the old man might possess a quasi-rule-level ability, which sparked his curiosity about the elder.

The so-called quasi-rule ability, simply explained, was a special ability inferior to a true rule but approaching the scope of rules.

Although it was close, truly becoming a rule-level ability required crossing a chasm that was nearly impossible to traverse.

The characteristic of a quasi-rule ability was that it surpassed mortal power, but that was where it ended; it fell far short of the effects of a true rule-level ability.

Meanwhile, every rule-level ability possessed the powerful trait of altering the laws of the world.

For example, the flesh reshaping trait of Emperor Tomb Village, the pheromone evolution trait of the insect Black Tide, the endless devouring trait of the black Black Tide, the divine metal trait of the mechanical legion, and so on.

There were obvious differences in strength among various world-level rule abilities, but even the weakest rule-level ability was incomparable to a quasi-rule level.

This was also the reason he issued the quest, wishing to uncover the truth.

He had already understood the old man's intentions.

Clearly, he held Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng, these two players, in high regard; with his life force nearly exhausted, he wished to pass his research legacy on to them.

Hearing the hidden quest notification, joy was unmistakable in the eyes of Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng.

Facing the old man's invitation, they agreed without hesitation, then looked at the elder and asked curiously:

"Why choose us?"

In response to the question, the old man sat down before the bonfire, a glint of brilliance appearing in his yellowed eyes:

"Because you are native lifeforms of this world, not an external force; this can be distinguished by the aura on your persons, and your willpower reminds me of my former self; back then, I was just like you, enduring endless pain for the sake of growth."

As he spoke, Xia Sheng and Jiang Cheng gradually learned the old man's background story.

The old man's name was Ku Xing, the last clan leader of the Great Flame Clan.

The time of his birth coincided with the early stage of the black Black Tide's rampage across the Misty Coast.

To resist the black Black Tide's invasion, the Great Flame Clan shook hands and made peace with several nearby racial factions that had fought each other for generations, joining forces to oppose the black Black Tide.

But under the sweeping terror of the black Black Tide, their resistance appeared utterly powerless, fundamentally unable to halt the black Black Tide's continuous advance.

During this period, clansmen died one after another, and under the corrosion of the black Black Tide's energy, all things on the Misty Coast withered away.

It was during that stage that Ku Xing ascended to become the clan leader.

He knew deeply that relying solely on the power of mortal beings was fundamentally insufficient to resist the black Black Tide; only rule-level power was the key to opposing it.

For this purpose, he embarked on a long-term research project, attempting to create a powerful ability comparable to rule-level power.

Facts proved that he simply could not achieve it.

However, his deep research over long years allowed him to find a trait of an ability that approached the rules.

That was pain, the immense power brought forth by an extreme emotion.

Speaking to this point, Ku Xing looked at Jiang Zhou and Xia Sheng sitting beside him:

"My vitality within is currently withering, my life hangs by a thread, and my days are numbered; I wish to pass my life's research on to you... I have only one request: if the opportunity arises in the future, contribute your strength to the fight against the black Black Tide."

"No problem." Hearing this request, Xia Sheng nodded and agreed without hesitation.

As members of the player faction, their world-level main quest was precisely the confrontation with the terrifying black Black Tide.

This was already their duty.

"Follow me." The old man stood up at this moment.

"Where to?"

"The Great Flame Clan lands."

(End of Chapter)