Chapter 7
As his body rotated continuously while wrapped in a sea of lightning, Yang Jian could see something happening. At this point, it was already too late and he could only make a final push here.
In front of him, a beautiful and clear mark in the shape of a trident was seen on his opponent's forehead. The spiritual qi coming from her became more potent and stronger than before.
If Yang Jian couldn't get past this, he knew that he would lose here. Since that was the case, he could only use all of his strength in a single attack.
Glob! Glob!
Surrounding the young girl, invisible layers of spiritual energy formed to protect her while making its way towards Yang Jian. With his third eye, all he could see was himself about to be buried in a torrent of water-like qi. The qi were round and shaped like rings that seemed to be attacking him.
Now, Yang Jian had mustered all of the lightning he could and continued to shoot forward.
Bang!
His spearhead directly slammed into what felt like a huge mountain that was thousands of meters tall. As he concentrated all of his energy into a single point, he could see that the first layer of the rings that had changed into circular walls, began to crack slightly like gla.s.s.
With a single motion, Yang Jian pierced through the first layer and proceeded to the next layer.
Bang!
With the second layer, Yang Jian felt as though he was trying to destroy a boulder using an egg. Even though it wasn't attacking him directly and only acted as a s.h.i.+eld, the second layer was incredibly tough and rebounded some of his own attack against him.
Puff!
A mouthful of blood was spat out of Yang Jian's mouth. Ever since he first entered the virtual s.p.a.ce, this was the first time he was injured. Using all of his strength, he tried to push forward as hard as he could.
The lightning around his spear seemed to have no effect on the water-like spiritual qi. His body slowly stopped rotating and once he stopped spinning completely, Yang Jian noticed a small scratch on the second layer that he had barely made using all of his power.
Bang!
A tsunami crashed furiously into his body, as Yang Jian's entire body was filled with pain. Not only that, he had to keep his breath steady so that he wouldn't drown. Even though he wouldn't die, the pain he suffered still existed even if he left the virtual s.p.a.ce.
Glob! Glob!
Opening his eyes slightly, Yang Jian saw the figure of his opponent before he was washed away completely.
Opening his eyes, Yang Jian found himself back in reality. He had been automatically kicked out when he had lost just now. Recalling the scene in his mind, Yang Jian shook his head as he decided to head home after his loss.
***********
That night, Yang Jian cultivated throughout the night, after having dinner. Inside his room, he sat on his bed and cultivated in both paths of cultivation. As he cultivated, he thought about his loss earlier in the day.
For some reason, he felt as though he had met his opponent before. Of course, when he tried to recall any memories he had of a young girl, he couldn't remember anything.
Not only that, the trident mark on her forehead caught his interest. Even before she used it, Yang Jian thought that he might not be able to win even if she didn't release it.
"When the seal was unleashed, my chances of winning dropped tremendously. Her genes must be related to one of the most famous Greek G.o.ds and brother of the mighty king of the G.o.ds of Olympus Zeus. The sea G.o.d Poseidon." he thought.
"Her genes must be incredibly high level even while they were tier 0. For her strength to suddenly soar by many times like that, there's no way it can be low."
That's right, genes also had levels even within each tier. The higher the grade of genes within each tier, it naturally meant that the power one had was greater than those with lower grade genes.
The grades of genes had simple names as well. Low grade, Mid grade, High grade, Mystic grade and Perfect grade. Even though genes could start off with a high grade, as the tier of genes and Gene score increased, there was a chance that the grade of one's genes would drop when moving to another level.
Of course, this could go both ways as well. If one's genes were Low grade at tier 0, there was a chance it could increase to Mid grade or even High grade once the gene evolved into a tier 1 gene.
Even two people with the exact same genes, with the exact same Gene score, if they were to fight; the one with the higher grade of genes had a much higher chance of winning. Of course, the grade of genes was an important factor, but so was experience in battle.
If you sent a newborn baby onto a battlefield, they would just be slaughtered in an instant, no matter how talented they were, afterall, if they don't know their own abilities, how could they fight?
As he thought about it, Yang Jian thought that her genes must at least be of the Mystic grade. Especially so for the seal that awakened her latent powers, it was certain that it was a Perfect grade gene.
Currently, Yang Jian didn't know the grades of his genes. The mysterious book that was given to him didn't display the grades of his genes. Suddenly, Yang Jian felt something as he focused his mind onto the star map.
Looking at his status page, he realized something new had popped up for him.
===========
Name: Yang Jian
Gene Score: 0.7
Eye Gene (Perfect): 7
Warrior Gene (Mystic): 8
Gene Points: 5
===========
"It seems like my thoughts caused a change. Now I can see the grade of my awakened genes, I also gained additional gene points, maybe I now earn two a day?" Yang Jian thought.
"My genes are also high grade, it's no wonder I can fight against those above my own level. If I can manage to awaken all my genes at the perfect grade, wouldn't I be invincible?"
As he thought that, he also knew that his other genes weren't his main ones, hence they didn't show unless he wanted them to.
The next morning, Yang Jian went to school again. Afterschool, he would go to visit the virtual s.p.a.ce and train while gaining battle experience. By now, Yang Jian felt as though he had been through years of warfare and battle, sharply raising his instincts and honing his skills.
For the next few weeks after that, Yang Jian went to cla.s.s as usual during the day and cultivated during the night without sleep.
One day during a lecture, the princ.i.p.al made a school-wide announcement "Tomorrow, the school will be holding the annual schoolwide tournament! All students are to be at the
"Yes, it begins!" someone shouted from their seat near Yang Jian.
"Hahahaha! I can't wait to beat up some freshmen!" Cla.s.smate A shouted.
The Annual Tournament took place every year at Yang Jian's school. As the name implies, it's a tournament for everyone to show off their skills in front of a large audience.
At the start of the tournament, the freshmen are able to challenge the third-year students to test their skills. Naturally, the third-year students with a higher Gene Score would win however, some excellent freshmen may sometimes win against the third-year students.
Afterward, three separate tournaments between all three years are held concurrently. First years against first years, second years against second years, and third years against third years.
Yang Jian, of course, didn't care and just went on with his daily routine like normal. While he was cultivating like mad, he had gained 42 Gene points during the three weeks that he had spent cultivating his Gene Score.
With these points, it was time for Yang Jian to unlock more Tier 0 genes.
=========
Name: Yang Jian
Gene Score: 0.7
Eye Gene: 8
Warrior Gene: 7
Gene Points: 47
=========
Looking at his current genes, Yang Jian looked around the Genetic Map in search of more genes to awaken. After a quick search, he decided on which genes he would awaken.
[Healing Gene Unlocked]
[Blood Clotting Gene Unlocked]
[Acceleration Gene Unlocked]
[Flesh Gene Unlocked]
[Healing + Blood + Acceleration + Flesh = Regeneration]
[Regeneration Gene Unlocked]
[Regeneration + 1]
[Regeneration + 1]
[Regeneration + 1]
[Warrior +1]
After spending some more Gene points, he decided to save his points for another time, Currently, he believed that his current genes were enough.
=========
Name: Yang Jian
Gene Score: 0.8
Eye Gene: 8
Warrior Gene: 8
Regeneration Gene: 4
Gene Points: 37
=========
Since he had a large amount of gene points left over, he decided not to use them for now. With a Gene Score of 0.8, he knew it would be easy to get into a majority of the colleges throughout the entire solar system.
But this wasn't enough, Yang Jian plans to reach a minimum of 1.0 and score well on the exam in order to be chosen by the Federal University. The Federal University, is the number one college in the entire galaxy. Many dreamed of enrolling into the university, however the criteria was hard to meet.
Even after reaching a Gene Score of 1.0 which many could not do, that was only the minimum requirement to enroll, in fact, there was another exam that would take place after both the written and fitness exam in order to be chosen by the Federal University.
At the same time, he didn't want to increase his gene score too much, else suspicion may arise about his sudden growth. It was already fast that he had gotten to 0.6 quickly, now just a few weeks later and he was already at 0.8, it wouldn't be strange if someone wanted to dissect his body.
Now that he had proven himself within the school, Yang Jian was allowed to continue being an Interstellar Cultivator. His homeroom teacher had long spoken to his father about his recent mock exam scores, making his entire family proud of him. His parents no longer encouraged him to find a regular job, and instead supported him fully in his new pathway.
There were only two months left until the actual exam, everyone especially the third-year students of his school were all working as hard as they could.
Yang Jian arrived in his cla.s.sroom as his homeroom teacher brought the cla.s.s out to the practice field outside. There, every cla.s.s from Cla.s.s 1-1 to Cla.s.s 3-10 could be seen already waiting, creating a huge ruckus within the seats.
His cla.s.s was the last to arrive, and when they did arrive, it seemed like the battle had already begun. On the field, multiple shadows could be seen all at once.
The field below could allow up to ten one on one battles at a time. With this, it wouldn't take long before the event was over. Looking down, Yang Jian noticed a young man that was a freshman who challenged a third-year student from the next cla.s.s.
Since he focused on studying all the time, Yang Jian naturally didn't know any of the people in the other cla.s.ses. In fact, he probably only knew the names of one or two people in his own cla.s.s!
After a manner of minutes, the third-year student crushed his opponent. Of course, he didn't go too far since it was only a duel. While Yang Jian was observing the fights, he noticed that a small number was displayed above everyone's head.
It seemed to Yang Jian that not only did the mysterious book grant him the ability to awaken and strengthen his genes, it also enabled him to grasp the strength of anyone else around him.
However, this didn't happen while he was at home or any other time. "It must have activated when I strengthened my genes this morning, of course, I can only see the scores when I focus on them, otherwise it wouldn't appear." Yang Jian thought.
What number was it? Of course, it was their Gene Score. For example, the freshman who had lost had a Gene Score of 0.1 while the third-year student had a Gene Score of 0.5. It was obvious who the winner of such a battle was.
Why did the first-year only have a Gene Score of 0.1 while even many third-year students have a 0.2 or even a 0.3 Gene Score? That was because humans could only awaken their genes upon reaching the age of sixteen.
This was because, when kids grow into adults, they would lose some of the bones they had since birth. Only when they reached the age of sixteen, would they gain new bones that allowed them to awaken their genes.
That was why, getting a Gene Score of 0.6 and being able to attend college was hard for many students. If they were unable to reach the threshold, they would have no choice but to find a regular job.
This was why the number of Interstellar Cultivators were rare. As for spiritual cultivators, many of them belonged to a clan, which kept their manuals hidden and spread only amongst the clansman, it was incredibly hard to get ones hands on a manual even if they had the money.
Of course, there were also polytechnic colleges which humans have still adapted since the ancient era for those with the potential to reach a Gene Score of 0.6 within a year of failing to enroll into a college.
After watching the battles come to an end, Yang Jian hadn't found an opponent with a similar Gene Score to himself. With his score, he was already one of the strongest in the entire high school he attended, in fact, when he had only a 0.6 Gene Score; he could already beat up Kong Bo who had a score of 0.9 using his tyrannical strength.
Just as he was about to lose hope, Yang Jian noticed a single man jump down onto the platform. It seemed like no one else wanted to battle against him. The young man below was an extremely famous individual within the academy.
Word was that the young man was a descendant from a strong family of Interstellar Cultivators. He had a Gene Score of 1.3 already at this point and more than qualified for the Federal University.
From the rumors that were spread, it was said that he enrolled into this school because one of his relatives was the headmaster. Apparently, his family had sent him here in order to learn to be humble, while calming down his arrogance.
However, it seemed his family was worried for no reason. The young man who was not only powerful and rich, he was also handsome and humble. He was polite to everyone and neither was he arrogant due to his superior strength.
Though, that was only from the rumors that were being spread. The young man was so famous that even Yang Jian who was known as the study maniac that didn't care about anyone else knew about him.
"If I remember correctly, his name was Ouyang Ping???" Yang Jian tried to recall. Even though the young man was much stronger than him just by Gene Score alone, Yang Jian still wanted to test himself against this opponent.
It had been a while since he had last found a strong opponent. When he found a strong opponent, Yang Jian's blood would boil and will him with excitement.
Getting off his seat, Yang Jian jumped from his seat which was over thirty meters away, down to the platform where Ouyang Ping was standing.
Bang!
Yang Jian's body flew like an arrow that was released from a bow by a master archer. His body crashed through the air like a meteor as he landed on his two feet.
Boom!
The ground beneath his two feet was cracked due to the sheer force of his landing. Even though the ground was made of an extremely st.u.r.dy material that was harder than steel, Yang Jian still managed to cause cracks on it just by jumping.
"Whoa, Yang Jian wants to challenge Ouyang Ping? Is he crazy?!" a student from his cla.s.s shouted.
"So what? Didn't you just see him jump all the way down there from up here? Don't forget that he defeated Kong Bo who has a Gene Score of 0.9! From now on, Yang Jian is my idol!" another student scolded him.
Not only were those from his cla.s.s surprised, even those who had heard of him from the other cla.s.ses were surprised. They had heard of the study maniac who had suddenly defeated Kong Bo who was considered as the number one student apart from Ouyang Ping.
Now that they had seen him in person, they were all looking forward to seeing the top two figures of the school compete with each other.
"I am Yang Jian, please allow me to test myself against you." Yang Jian said to his opponent, who was standing across from him.
"So you are that study maniac, I heard that you defeated that Kong Bo not too long ago. I have been searching for an opponent such as yourself for a long time. I hope you will not disappoint me." Ouyang Ping replied.
Yang Jian nodded. Since both sides had agreed to battle, they both prepared themselves for this battle between the strongest students in the entire school.
Whoos.h.!.+
Since he was weaker, he thought it would be best to make the first move. Yang Jian took a step forward from his spot, and arrived in front of Ouyang Ping within a few breaths of time.
His fist came out as he aimed for his opponent's face.
Bang!
Ouyang Ping had antic.i.p.ated this attack and blocked using his arm. Yang Jian's punch had dealt some damage. He could tell since Ouyang Ping's feet s.h.i.+fted a few centimetres sideways from the ground.
Whack!
His leg came out and lashed at Ouyang Ping like a whip.
Boom!
Boom!
A knee was raised as Yang Jian's leg smashed right into his opponent's kneecaps. Seeing that his attacks were blocked, Yang Jian stepped back and kept a short distance between himself and his opponent.
Whoos.h.!.+ Whoos.h.!.+
At the same time, two figures turned into blurry afterimages that slammed into each other. The two figures moved at incredible speeds and displayed unparalleled strength like no other.
The battlefield shook from the might of their attacks alone, even if they were just the residual shockwaves that were left behind after each blow.